.o0o.

McCoy sat on a chair four sizes too small with a tiara on his head and a pink cup clasped in his hand, his pinkie extended in a fascimile of properness and a grin capturing his face. Across from him sat Joanna, so recognizable as his daughter from every feature on her face. She was garbed in a crown and a scepter because she wanted to be king and her father would just have to play the princess. He accepted her generous offer graciously and the tea party commenced.

"Would you like some pink cake with your tea, Daddy?"

McCoy nodded enthusiastically, holding out his plate for the invisible cake. "Such a nice king." He complimented.

"Rulers should know how to share their stuff since they have so much of it." Joanna stated wisely.

"Absolutely." McCoy agreed.

They were suddenly interrupted by an outside voice. "You were quite challenging to find, Doctor."

McCoy's grin lapsed. While the voice was pleasant, it brought him pain. "Serin." He greeted, sipping at his empty cup. "Come, have tea with us."

Serin quirked an eyebrow and lowered himself into a tiny empty chair. "This is your daughter?" Serin asked.

"She's older now." McCoy added as he nodded, pouring some invisible tea into Serin's empty cup. Joanna giggled and squealed, "Daddy, you'll spill!"

"Good thing you're here then, Jo."

"Doctor, it is imperative that you return to the outer edge of the Indyrin's mind or you may be lost here forever. It was difficult to separate your entities already."

"I like it here." McCoy said firmly. "Besides, I don't think I'll survive this Vulcan voodoo in my head without Spock. From the way he described it, it sounded like insanity was the most probably outcome. Heck, maybe I'm already insane." McCoy smiled at his daughter who he rarely got to see. Now he could see her any time he wanted.

"Spock is alive."

"I felt the link die. Spock said that since the severance didn't work, the only way that could happen is if one of us died."

"Then you need to look deeper. Spock went into a healing trance. While it may appear that the link was severed, I assure you that it remains." Serin said it with such conviction that McCoy decided that it couldn't be anything but the truth. His eyes seemed suddenly so expressive.

"Serin." McCoy began. "If I go, the Indyrin will die. It can't sustain itself without a person at its core." The doctor poured himself another cup of tea as he gazed at the smiling child. "I don't know if I can watch it die."

"It need not die at all. I will remain. You will be able to leave with no ill effects."

McCoy turned sharply and suddenly they were no longer inside the memory. Serin had his complete attention. "Why would you do that? You said yourself that if you stay here long, you'll be stuck forever."

"I do not find the idea so displeasing." Serin countered. "Indeed, I find pleasure in the idea of studying this species as both its rarity and its telepathic powers are fascinating. Should I spend my life joined with one in the pursuit of knowledge, I will have spent it well."

"But... you might not be you any longer. Once you join, you'll never be the same."

"Doctor, we are always changing; it is illogical to attempt to remain completely unchanged. Furthermore, I find the prospect of undergoing this unprecedented change most intriguing." Serin was guiding him back toward the surface, he realized as he began to regain some of his senses. He didn't fight the shift. He could feel tendrils of the Indyrin's mind that he hadn't even noticed before disappear and he could feel that the Indyrin was unhappy, though not unwilling to let him go.

"Somehow, I get the feeling that you aren't like other Vulcans."

Serin's image seemed to show mirth without moving at all. "Vulcans are as diverse as humans, perhaps more so. Simply because we observe similar outside customs does not make us any less individual. But I think you are well aware of that."

McCoy nodded unnecessarily. He was a breath away from being human again. "Are you certain this is what you want?"

"An illogical question as I have already stated as much, but yes, I am certain."

"Well, we can't starve the poor fellow." McCoy joked, knowing that Serin did have emotions whether he chose to admit them or not.

"That will not be an issue, Doctor. Vulcans do possess emotions, generally perceived as stronger than humans', though after your outburst, I'm uncertain if this is strictly true." There was definitely some humor in Serin's tone, and then it softened before he continued. "Vulcan emotions are raw, powerful and dangerous. I know that you struggle to find emotions dangerous, but bear in mind that Vulcan emotions are not the same as human emotions. The Romulans have given us an opportunity to observe the destructive force of Vulcan emotions if untempered by a strict adherence to logic. Human emotions, on the other hand, are diluted by an ability to feel many of them at once. It is so rare for a human to feel nothing but anger that feeling anger is no longer dangerous. Instead, you find yourself torn between anger, and frustration, and confusion, and pity. Thus, an emotional reaction from a human tends to consider many aspects of a situation that a Vulcan must process intellectually."

McCoy pondered Serin's explanation. He hadn't actually considered that their emotions might themselves be different. And it almost sounded like Serin had just called human emotions more logical than Vulcan emotions. Which was funny in a way that he had trouble putting words to. Still, if what Serin said was true, even he would have to admit that the standard reaction of ignoring emotions did make a lot of sense for a Vulcan, though he was definitely not prepared to accept it as the best approach. And how much was Spock plagued by this? Did he feel things like Serin had described or was it different because he was half human?

Serin gave him a while to contemplate before interrupting. "Doctor, given that this may be my last opportunity to speak with you as nothing more than myself, I... desire to make you aware of something."

The human shifted awkwardly again, he could hear voices now and it was getting harder to remain on the surface without leaving or delving deeper. The Indyrin's mind was waiting eagerly beside them, ready to take one or the other of them back inside. "Go on."

"During the severance, your mind was on display for all those in the area. As I had not observed such an occasion before, I am uncertain if this is abnormal."

"So any passing Vulcan was privy to my thoughts?" McCoy grunted with some level of horror.

"Only the select few that were on call to assist in case of an emergency. Myself and a few other Healers. I believe you can appreciate that. Furthermore, as you were unconscious at the time, you were not having active thoughts that would have been projected."

"And? What did you see?"

"I would like to employ a specific Vulcan expression which does not, to my knowledge, contain a meaningful Standard counterpart. T'lannoh mi notolei. A crude translation would be that you have a beautiful mind."

With that, Serin nudged McCoy ever so slightly so he slipped the last bit out of the Indyrin's mind and made a face-plant on the deck of the bridge as his body fell from the Indyrin's base. He rolled over to get a final glimpse of Serin before the trunk swallowed him inside, and it was at once both horrifying and amazing. Serin had sacrificed himself for him, even if the Vulcan hadn't thought of it in those terms. It brought his mind immediately back to Spock and the link he'd formed between their minds. He had to get to Spock!

Scotty quickly appeared by his side, a laser cutter discarded on the floor nearby. It looked as thought he'd been systematically cutting a hole in the center of the bridge around the Indyrin. McCoy noticed that the roots had dug through the metal and the tree had joined itself to the ship. Scotty was probably attempting to move it then.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." He felt exhausted and a little light headed, but he didn't feel all that much worse for wear. "Spock?"

"Still in surgery." Scotty responded slowly. "But no news is good news, I think."

McCoy nodded absently, already trying for the door but finding his legs too unstable to walk properly. He leaned into Scotty for support. "Where did all the Romulans go?" He asked. He'd realized that they were separating from the Indyrin slowly, but the creature hadn't talked to him about the changes.

Scotty chuckled lightly. "I thought you'd have been aware since you captured the whole fleet in the first place. The Indyrin has been releasing them one by one over the last hour and Security has been taking them down to the brig. That's the only one left." Scotty pointed to Terik collapsed on the far side of the bridge, a vine still wrapped tightly around him. McCoy repressed a shudder. Had it been so little time since Terik had almost destroyed everything? Anger and hatred welled up in him. But he was also plagued by fear and a trace of vindication at seeing the captain captive.

The doors swung open and Baker came in. "Dr. McCoy?" She questioned, surprised by his presence.

McCoy shrugged, at a loss for words. Baker nodded like the exchange had somehow made sense and Scotty turned and began leading him to the door. They'd made it to the doorway when the distinct noise of phaser fire sounded behind them. They turned to see Terik sprawled at Baker's feet, a hole in his forehead. Baker was making no attempt to hide her action, a phaser raised in her right arm.

There was a moment of silence before Scotty cleared his throat. "Captain, didn't the Admiral order us to return every Romulan unharmed?" Scotty managed to sound more confused than anything else, but McCoy didn't care at all what the orders had been.

"I'm prepared to face the consequences." Baker replied simply, handing her phaser over to Scotty and slipping McCoy's arm over her shoulder. They all knew she was talking about a court-martial, which would undoubtedly occur after this mission if the Admiralty had indeed forbidden any deaths of the Romulans. Baker dismissed Scotty with a wave to get back to work and walked McCoy toward the shuttlebay.

"Serin took your place." Baker stated.

"Yeah." McCoy said unnecessarily.

"I'll let Kirk know and then I'll be reporting to the brig." Baker continued conversationally as she flew the shuttle back to the Enterprise. Stormclouds still raged outside. "You will want to go to Sickbay."

It was a cross between an order and a question, and McCoy remembered that he should probably get himself checked out as well. McCoy nodded and they lapsed into silence. His mind was completely preoccupied with Spock. His heart was thrumming tightly in his chest as he searched for the link. He had to go deep, deeper than he'd even expected the link to be before he felt the faintest flare. He wished it were a tangible flame so that he could nourish it, but he felt at a loss of what to do with the threadbare connection between them. He didn't know how he'd survive if it vanished. His chest burned and he thought he might be having a panic attack. He pushed it aside quite forcefully as they landed and took several deep breaths before jogging to Sickbay. He didn't know if his wobbly legs were a result of his experience with the Indyrin or because of the emotions racing through him.

"You're back." M'Benga commented with no small measure of surprise as McCoy made a bee-line for Spock's bed without a thought. "The Captain said I had to operate because you were stuck inside the Indyrin."

McCoy nodded absently. He wasn't sure if his hands would have stayed steady enough for the surgery even if he had been available. Spock would have needed many tiny movements to seal the internal bleeding. "Serin switched places with me." He responded idly as he watched the stats on the monitor and looked through the details of Spock's case on the proffered PADD. He'd been undeniably an inch from death, but now he looked like he should pull through. Physically, anyway. He'd been unconscious a long time with disagreeable brain scans. There was a chance he'd just never wake up. "Good job." McCoy congratulated, handing the PADD back because it appeared as though M'Benga had just completed a perfect surgery.

M'Benga nodded, pulling out a scanner and running it over McCoy. McCoy tapped his foot impatiently. M'Benga gave a helpless smile and held it up. "You're good." M'Benga obviously wanted to say something else, but thought better of it as he pulled the privacy curtain around them and left.

Now it was just him and Spock. He finally gave into the urge and picked up Spock's hand in his own, reassured by its warmth. He rested his head against the Vulcan's side to listen to the heartbeat for a long time. Then, McCoy bent over and pressed a chaste kiss to Spock's lips. "I love you." He whispered.

.o0o.