Leonard McCoy was sitting in a saloon when Jim West walked in. West sat down at the bar beside him. "You frequent these places, don't you?" West asked.

"I wouldn't say that," Bones replied. "Just trying to figure out what I'm gonna do with myself."

"And you think drinking is going to help you figure that out?"

"Probably not."

"We got a telegram back from Washington. The President wants to meet your captain."

Bones looked at him with a little surprise. "Why?" he asked.

"Oh, for his part in helping destroy something so…dangerous to mankind."

"That's Jim alright. He jumps in first and thinks later."

"He could most likely have a job with the secret service."

Bones shook his head. "That's sounding so permanent," he said. "Did you tell them he's from the future?"

"Uh, no. I thought I'd keep that tidbit to myself."

"Suppose he gets into this and then suddenly vanishes? What will you tell them then?"

"We'll just have to say he disappeared. That'll be true, won't it?"

"I suppose. You get Jim into this, you're gonna have some competition, and you're also probably going to have Carol barking your tree. She doesn't want him doing dangerous jobs, and especially ones that take him away from her, even if he is riding around in a fancy train."

"I guess they'll be getting married soon."

"I'm sure you're right."

"I've been hearing talk around here about a dance this Saturday. I think I'll take that in. Sure is a good place to meet women."

"Sounds like a good idea if we're gonna be here. The social event of the year?"

"I don't know, but it's a social event. Plus, it's where we're meeting with a spy."

Bones looked at West then. "You're going on a case now?" he asked quietly.

"One that we won't be taking the train from here."

Bones shook his head. "What am I doing? Are you trying to get me involved in this?" he asked.

"If you'd like to be involved," West replied.

Bones rubbed his face and blew out a breath. "What could you possibly want me to do?"

"Something that's right up your alley, and you have a lot of knowledge about."

"Boy, you really know how to lay it on thick."

West smiled. "I guess that means you'll take the job?"

"I'll have to talk to Jim about this. Technically, he is still my captain, although I don't know how much longer that will be."

"So let me know what he says."

West left the saloon, and Bones sat there thinking about what he had just been told. He realized he was bored stiff, and he was going to take that on, if for nothing else, just so he could know what was going on.

"You're gonna do what?" Artemus Gordon asked when West told him his plan to bring Bones into the plan.

"Artie, if he's involved, it will give you and me a better chance of getting in and out before anyone sees what we're doing."

"But Jim, I'm always the master of disguise."

"You will be, but he's a real doctor. You know why I'm bringing him into it."

"I can see that, but I usually know what to say."

"He'll be a great distraction…after we find out what the spy knows."

"If you think it's necessary to have a third party."

West looked at Artie. "Are you actually jealous and having a problem with this?" he asked.

"Jealous?" Artie asked with surprise. "I'm shocked that you would even suggest that. Shocked, I tell you."

"Don't be so dramatic."

"I just wonder why you think we need a third partner in this."

"Artie, he's not a third partner, and we may end up using them all since they're here. That Jim Kirk is quite good at creating distractions I think."

"So am I, if you remember."

"Of course, but if we have someone else to do that, then you can do something more important."

"Jim, you disappoint me, trying to bribe me."

"Yes, and you're just leading me on into more argument."

Artemus smiled. "It was easy to do," he said. "So what are we getting ourselves into this time, and dragging our friends into?"

"Diamonds…very big ones that have been stolen."

"Diamonds? We're going after stolen diamonds?"

"And trying to find out who's stealing them."

Artemus shook his head. "Oh, any time you're dealing with something that big, it's dangerous," he said.

"Our missions are usually dangerous," West replied.

"Don't I know it, but some of our missions have been because you have a knack for getting into trouble."

"I always know you'll be somewhere around."

"Yes, to get into trouble with you."

"I already talked to the good doctor about it. He says he has to talk to his captain first."

"Hmmm. They're very loyal to him. He must be quite talented where he comes from."

"Is that what it takes to win loyalty?"

"Either that or a big army."

West smiled. "I think the captain will be glad to help us, and maybe employ the rest."

"By the way, have you met our new visitor?"

"New visitor?"

"Yes. She just popped in from the future today."

"Ah. Another of his crew?"

"Exactly, and this one is female, and is involved with the Vulcan."

"She's a Vulcan too with the pointed ears?"

"Oh no. She's quite human. Why don't I take you in there to see her now?"

"Fine."

West and Gordon went into the train where Spock and Uhura sat in the lounge car. They stood up. West's surprise was evident. "Jim West, meet Nyota Uhura," Gordon said as he looked at West's surprised face.

"I must say there are some very beautiful women in the future," West said as he took off his hat.

Gordon looked at Uhura. "This is my partner, Jim West."

"How do you do?" Uhura asked and offered her hand.

"Quite well," West replied and kissed her hand. "And your name is…I didn't quite get that."

"Just call me Uhura."

"Lovely."

"We have been waiting for Captain Kirk to return," Spock said. "Do you know where he is?"

"No," West replied. "But, uh, I think we should find him soon. Does he know you're here, Miss Uhura?"

"Not yet," Uhura answered.

"I'm sure he's going to be quite surprised."

Just then, Bones came in. "Is Jim here?" he asked.

"No," West said. "We were just discussing that fact."

"Well, where did they walk to? Los Angeles? That must be some discussion they're having." Bones realized Uhura was standing there then. "Uhura? How did you…"

"She arrived in the same fashion as the rest of us," Spock said.

"What's he gonna do? Bring the whole crew here?" Bones frowned. "I wish he'd bring my brother here." He shook his head. "What am I saying?"

Bones felt like he was the fifth wheel. "I'm going to look for Jim," he said. "He should be out there somewhere."

Bones left the train and headed off into the town. He looked up and down the streets but did not see Jim or Carol. "Boy, I miss that communicator," he said. "I need a horse." He walked on grumbling. He looked behind him and ran into someone who was coming out of a shop.

The someone was a woman who was carrying packages, and they fell to the ground. "I'm sorry!" Bones said.

"OH! Why can't you watch where you're going?" the woman asked.

Bones picked up the packages. "I'm sorry."

"You said that." The woman straightened her dress and took the packages.

"Well, I could carry those for you."

"No thank you."

The woman turned her nose up in a haughty way and walked on. "Well, good day to you too!" Bones said sarcastically and put his hat back on. He was wearing a cowboy outfit this time, and he supposed she just thought he was a drifter. He hoped no one else thought he was a drifting gun slinger. West had told him he did not need to walk around in that outfit without a gun in this town so he had agreed.

Bones walked around to the next street. He felt underdressed when he met up with the women who seemed to all be wearing pretty dresses. He was wearing a striped shirt this time and something similar to what Jim had been wearing before, but his outfit was dark brown. He had always liked watching old films, but he felt like he was in one now.

"Hey!" someone yelled.

Bones did not look around because no one in this town knew him, but then, they yelled, "Hey!"

Bones looked this time and saw a man coming toward him who gave all the appearance of a mountain man, and he was carrying a long rifle that looked like it was well-kept. "You talking to me?" Bones asked.

"Yeah, I'm talking to you!" the man answered.

"I don't know you."

The man stepped up onto the boardwalk, and Bones had to look up at him slightly. "You got a problem?" Bones asked as he backed up a step.

"I heard tell of a man claiming to be a doctor in these parts. He was in Carson City a few days ago."

"Uh, that was me."

The man narrowed his eyes at Bones and chewed on his mustache. "You a McCoy?" he asked.

Bones noticed people were starting to look that way. He took a deep breath. "Yes, I am," he said. "Why do you ask?"

"What you got that gun for?"

"Varmints."

The man stared at him a moment. "You need a doctor?" Bones asked.

"If you're a McCoy, I wouldn't let you touch me with a stethoscope," the man said.

"Why not?"

"Cause I'm a Hatfield. I ain't never seen no McCoy that could become a doctor."

"Well, you're looking at one now, and furthermore, I'm not part of those McCoys in that Hatfield/McCoy feud, so you can just look somewhere else."

"You ain't from them Kentucky McCoys?"

"I'm from Kentucky, and I'm a McCoy, but I'm not a part of that feud, so if you'll excuse me."

Bones started to walk away, but Hatfield grabbed him by the arm. "I ain't through talking to you," Hatfield said.

"Well, I'm through talking to you!" Bones declared and jerked his arm from his hand.

Suddenly, Hatfield punched Bones, and he fell off the boardwalk into the street. Bones sat up and wiped some blood off his chin. He glared at Hatfield. "Alright, you wanta have a fight, I'll give you one!" Bones said as he got up and started that way.

A gun shot stopped Bones in his tracks. He looked and saw the sheriff coming that way. "Alright, boys, there won't be any feuding in this here town!" he said.

"I'm not feuding!" Bones declared. "He's trying to pick a fight with me!"

"I don't care who did what! You two are coming with me."

"Now, wait a minute…"

"I saw the whole thing, Sheriff!" someone said.

Bones looked to see a woman coming that way. She had brown hair that was fixed in spiral curls and she was wearing a dark red dress. "That man right there attacked him!" she said. "He was just walking along here!"

"Now, Miss Gina, you need to stay out of this," the sheriff said.

"Sheriff, I saw this hooligan attack that man right there. He was not doing anything!"

Bones realized this woman had a Southern accent, and he wondered why she wanted to defend him. "He's still going to the hoosegow," the sheriff said.

"Why, can't you see he's a Southern gentleman?" Gina asked with her hands on her hips.

"You can visit him in the jail."

"But, Sheriff, I was…" Bones started, but the sheriff took him by the arm. He looked at Gina. "Can you go to that train out there in back and tell Jim West that I'm in jail?"

Gina nodded. "I sure will."

Bones had no choice but to go with the sheriff, and he found himself in an old western jail. The sheriff took his gun belt and locked him in a cell, and locked Hatfield in the other cell. "I can't believe this!" Bones declared. "I was looking for someone!"

"Why don't you be quiet?" the sheriff asked.

"I'm a doctor, not an outlaw!"

"Oh, you're a doctor?"

"Yes I am!"

"I've never seen you here before."

"I've not been here before! I am a visitor to this town! Is this how you treat visitors?"

"It is when they disturb the peace."

"I wasn't…"

"Quiet."

Bones threw his hat down as the sheriff just left the cell block. He looked at Hatfield who had not said a word. "This is all your fault!" he said.

"Shut up!" Hatfield replied. "Getting so men can't even fight anymore!"

"What good does fighting do?"

Hatfield went over to the bars that separated him and Bones. "You're a McCoy! I'm gonna kill you!"

"Why? I have never done anything to you!"

"Yes you have! You was born!"

Bones glared at him. "I'll be out of here long before you are!"

"I'll find you! A fancy talker like you can't stay hid!"

"Who are you calling a fancy talker? I'll fancy talk you right in the nose!"

"If these bars wasn't here, I'd show you what a fight is!"

"I might show you what a fight is!"
"You're a McCoy alright! I'm surprised you didn't back shoot me!"

"You're a nut case! I'm not in this feud!"

"You McCoys are all cowards!"

Bones knew this argument was doing no good. He paced back and forth in the cell. He hoped that woman would go and tell Jim West that he was in this jail.

Jim West walked into the sheriff's office. "Sheriff, I understand you have a friend of mine in this jail," he said.

"And who might your friend be?" the sheriff asked.

"Doctor Leonard McCoy. I want him released right now." West showed the sheriff his ID.

"James West?" The sheriff looked at him. "You're the real James West?"

"I am. Now, let my friend out of that jail."

"I didn't know he was a friend of yours. After all, he is a McCoy, and that other one in there is a Hatfield."

"Doctor McCoy has nothing to do with that feud."

The sheriff got the keys and they went into the cell block. Bones stood up from the cot. "I was beginning to wonder if you were coming," he said.

"You don't have any more faith in me than that?" West asked.

"Well, I didn't know if Gina told you or not." Bones put his hat back on and looked at Hatfield who walked up to the cell door. "I told you."

"I'm gonna find you, McCoy," Hatfield said.

West walked over to the cell door. "You best leave this man alone," he said. "He works for the United States government. The president wouldn't be very happy about you killing one of his men."

Hatfield just stared at him a moment. "I don't care nothing for the government."

"You better."

With that, West and Bones walked out of the cell block with the sheriff. "That guy in there's serious," the sheriff said. "You best watch yourself, McCoy."

"Like I said," Bones replied. "I'm not looking for any trouble."

The sheriff gave him his gun belt. "If you wear that, you're liable to find trouble whether you want it or not."

Bones put the gun on anyway. "I'm a doctor, not a gunfighter, but I'm gonna wear a gun anyway."

They left the sheriff's office and waiting outside was Gina. "Well, I think I should thank you, Ma'am," Bones said.

"Anything for a Southern gentleman," Gina replied. "Especially a doctor."

Bones smiled. "I take it you're from the South?"

"I sure am. From Tennessee, that is."

"Well, I'm mighty pleased to meet you."

West cleared his throat. "Why don't you ask her to the dance as your guest this Saturday?" he asked quietly and then walked away.

Bones scowled at that, but then he shrugged. "So, are you going to the dance?" he asked.

"Well, I probably would if the right gentleman asked me," Gina said. "Since I'm not invited myself."

"Am I the right one?"

Gina smiled. "You sure are, Doctor McCoy."

"Great. I'll meet you there, or pick you up."

"You can meet me right down there at the dress shop. That's where I work part of the time."

"I'll see you then."

Bones turned and headed back to the train. West was waiting for him when he passed by the general store. "So, is she going with you?" West asked.

"Yeah," Bones replied. "Why do I need a date?"

"So you won't look like you're working."

"Oh. Well, I haven't asked Jim about this yet. I never found him."

"Maybe he's back at the train by now. We also have the problem of another of your friends who dropped in on us."

"That's another reason we need to find Jim."

"Don't worry."

When they arrived at the train, Jim and Carol were there, and they were just as surprised to see Uhura. "Did you know she was here, Bones?" Jim asked.

"Yeah," Bones said. "I've been looking for you and getting into trouble."

"Carol and I were talking."

"Must have been some talk."

"Well, it was. We're getting married."

"Oh, is that all? I thought you were already engaged."

"I mean, we're getting married soon."

Bones was a little stunned. "You mean here?" he asked. "In the nineteenth century?"

"Yes," Jim said.

"You think we're never going to get back, don't you?"

"There's no way of knowing, Bones."

"Mister Spock and I have been talking about that," Gordon spoke up. "We want to devise a plan to trick this Q into sending you back…unless you just like it here."

"It's not all that bad," Jim said. "But what's your plan?"

"We're thinking he's a lot like the good Doctor Loveless, whose name certainly fits him. His ego is what drives him, and as long as that ego is fed, he continues, but he can't stand it if no one is interested in what he has to say."

"Are you suggesting that Q is the same way?"

"He seemed like it to me."

"It is safe to say that Q has a very big ego," Spock said. "Since he is immortal, we cannot threaten him in any way to make him send us back. Therefore, it is logical to believe that we must find a way of tricking him."

"We never know when he'll show up," Jim said. "You're saying that we should plan something and everyone just goes into it when he appears."

"Precisely."

Suddenly, Q appeared. "Oh, I want to hear this!" he said dramatically. "Do go on!"

Everyone just backed up slightly and stared at Q. "I'm so hurt," Q said. "You always have these looks on your faces when I show up. Don't tell me you don't like me. And we were having such fun."

"You're playing with people's lives," Jim said.

"Am I? I saw your little display at the lab, Captain. It was brilliant. Such a display of emotion! You must have made your Vulcan friend there very proud. But what did you change? What will your life be like if you go back to your own time? Khan won't be there to help you get your ship back! What will happen? You must have a million questions. Either way, you're going to lose something."

The others all looked at Jim. This all seemed to be about him, and they were just the pawns. "Why?" Jim asked. "Why me?"

"Because you are so fascinating, Captain. The most famous captain ever to grace Starfleet…and they didn't even know it for a long time. OH, the ridicule you went through just to get where you were. But what will you do now? Think of how different your life will be if Khan was never created."

Q vanished as quickly as he had appeared. Bones looked at Jim, and he could see the worry and anguish on his face. "He's baiting you, Jim," Bones said. "He's just trying to mess with your mind."

"What if he's telling the truth?" Jim asked. He looked at Uhura. "Is anything different? Am I still the captain of the Enterprise?"

"Do not answer that," Spock interrupted. He looked at Jim. "Captain, you should not allow yourself to be tortured in this way. Doctor McCoy is correct when he says this being is messing with your mind. He wants to cause you anguish."

Jim considered that. "If Khan had never been created…" He thought of the impact that one being had on him in such a short time.

Carol put her hand on his forearm. "Jim, don't let him do this to you," she said.

Jim looked at her thinking that she looked terribly lovely in that dress. He would stay here for her. He could not give Carol up…could he? Would he know he had loved her before? Would he still be the captain of the Enterprise? The only reason he had become the captain again was because of…Khan…because of a crooked Admiral who was bent on starting a war with the Klingons so he could achieve fame and "lead the troops into battle".

Jim realized everyone, even West and Gordon, was waiting for him to snap out of his thoughts. "Alright," he said. "I'll be alright."

"Jim, there's something I have to talk to you about," Bones said. "Are you ready to listen?"

"Yes, Bones."

"I'm gonna work with West and Gordon on this mission they're on…that is, if it's alright with you."

"Bones, I can't tell you what to do here."

"I still can't just run off like that without letting you know."

Jim nodded. "What are you gonna be doing?" he asked, suddenly becoming very curious. "What's the mission about?"

Spock raised an eyebrow and looked at West. "I believe you will have more help than you anticipated," he said.

"I think this is going to work out fine," West said with a slight smile. He had a feeling that Jim Kirk and his team could accomplish anything.