"What do you mean he's not there?" Kirk hissed through the communicator. Though he wasn't standing beside him, Spock could practically see the twisted expression of anger and confusion on Kirk's face.
"It appears that Doctor McCoy has left with Doctor Jancit," Spock gulped as he walked briskly through the halls of the complex, scanning desperately for any sign of McCoy. "They have left behind two spilled cups of coffee and the doctor's phaser," Spock continued, rounding the next corner.
"Fuck," Kirk grumbled through the communicator. "Bones can't stand it when I put my feet on the coffee table, there's no way in hell he would've left that mess there. And his phaser? He knows better than that."
"I am patrolling the halls as we speak," Spock reassured him.
"You think it was Luna? Or the Klingons? Or Henyar's minions?" Kirk asked hurriedly.
"Unclear, Captain." Spock replied promptly.
"Check the security cameras and see if you can find anything out. I'm on my way," Spock could hear Kirk shifting painfully on the other line.
"No," Spock said firmly. "You require medical attention. I will find Doctor McCoy." He raced towards the security room.
"I'm fine, Spock. I'll have them stop the ambulance and let me out, no problem." He groaned and Spock could hear the commotion of nurses in the background.
"Captain, the only reason that they gave you your communicator back is because it is an emergency. They will not let you out of their sight, nor should they," Spock insisted.
"Find him, Spock," Kirk huffed after a brief silence. "And hurry."
"Aye, Captain." Spock closed the communicator and raced to the security room.
/
"I'm sorry that it has to be like this, Doctor McCoy," Jancit held the phaser to McCoy's head as they overlooked the streets of San Francisco from seventy stories up. The wind tousled McCoy's hair and blew it into his face as he stood on the edge of the rooftop. "I respect you. I always have. For both your loyalty and your skills. I wish I didn't have to do this."
"Then don't do it," McCoy said stiffly as he tried to assess his options.
"I don't have any other choice, Doctor." Jancit insisted.
"Yes, you do. We can work this out, Jancit. Just let me down from here and we can talk this through. We can talk to the not-corrupted Starfleet officials. We can turn this around." He pushed, gulping slightly as Jancit pushed the phaser further into his scalp.
"You and I both know I can't do that. I've gone too far. There's no turning back." He sighed and pushed McCoy further slightly.
"And what do you think they're going to say when they find out that I 'jumped'? I didn't even leave a note. They'll know something's up. And it'll lead back to you." McCoy snarled. "Spock knows that I was having coffee with you. How are you going to explain this?"
"The Klingons attacked us. Brought us up to the roof. Forced you over the edge. They left me behind to serve as a warning. They told me to tell the story." Jancit shrugged and McCoy shuddered at how easily he had formed the lie.
"They'll question you, Jancit. They won't take something like this lightly. Especially if it would bring us to war with the Klingons." McCoy wracked his brain for something more to say. What would Kirk do? He thought over and over.
"Doctor McCoy, I know every trick in the book. I went to school and studied these tactics for years. They won't break me." He said confidently and pushed McCoy again. "Now it's time for you to go down."
"And if I don't? You'll what, shoot me? Try explaining that." McCoy continued to lead on the younger man, not giving up hope that his friends would find him in time.
"Easy," He chuckled. "I just-"
He was cut off by the sound of the roof access door cracking open. "Drop the phaser, Doctor Jancit. Step away from Doctor McCoy." Spock's cold voice made McCoy's heart do a back-flip with joy.
"Spock," Jancit's voice suddenly became timorous and scared. His hands shook and McCoy's muscles tensed as he felt the phaser begin to shift on his scalp. "Spock, you've got to help me," He shook. "The Kahn-ut-tu, she's got control of my mind!" His voice cracked and quavered. "I can't stop her." He cried out.
"Don't listen to him, Spock! The man's mad!" McCoy shouted in response.
"Doctor Jancit, lower your weapon and step away from Doctor McCoy!" Spock repeated, trying to maintain his stoic expression.
Jancit began to lower his phaser slowly and McCoy breathed in relief. "I'm sorry." Jancit whispered before giving McCoy a quick shove, sending McCoy stumbling off the edge of the building.
/
McCoy felt the air leave his body as his foot caught on the edge of the building. Everything seemed to slow down around him as he realized that he was falling. It took him what seemed like a few minutes to recognize that the ground was now so much farther beneath him. He didn't realize that he was no longer grounded to the apartment building. He couldn't perceive that his body was falling.
Suddenly, everything became faster again, and he felt the air rushing past him as he tumbled downwards. He couldn't hear Spock scream out and stun Jancit. He couldn't hear the Vulcan calling out his name. He watched the windows of the building rush past him as he descended.
This is it. He thought. This is the end. He closed his eyes and accepted his fate. He thought about the good times that he had. He thought about his daughter. He thought about Kirk. He thought about Spock, and Uhura, and the rest of the crew. He tried, but he couldn't find any regrets. Only that he couldn't warn Spock about the truth about Jancit. They'll figure it out, He smiled to himself. They're smart. They'll figure it out. He accepted his fate. He counted on his faith to carry his soul to heaven.
What he didn't count on was the sharp pain as his shoulder was wrenched out of its socket and his body slamming into the side of the building. If there was any breath left in his lungs, it would've been pulled out of him then. His eyes snapped open and he saw Kirk's hand wrapped tightly around his wrist.
"Bones!" Kirk grunted, his face twisted with agony and strain, his upper body peeking out of the window of the building. He was cradling his other arm gently against his chest. "Bones, I need you to help me out and pull yourself up. I can't grab you with my other hand."
McCoy pulled himself out of his trance and sucked air back into his lungs, then struggled to pull his free arm up to the windowsill as Kirk yanked him upwards.
"C'mon, Bones," Kirk grunted as he pulled his friend up with all his strength. "C'mon!"
McCoy's hand curled around the windowsill and he pulled himself up with all the strength he could muster. Kirk pulled him through the windowsill and the two men tumbled onto the ground of the apartment. Both of their chests heaved with the effort and Kirk's face was twisted with pain as he cradled his shoulder. Everything was starting to hit McCoy, and he took shallow breaths as he realized that he had likely broken several ribs, and had dislocated his shoulder.
"Sorry for the rough landing, Bones." Kirk groaned as he struggled to his knees. "You alright?"
"Yeah," McCoy said gruffly, his eyes snapping shut as he felt his ribs shifting in his chest. "Yeah, I think so."
"Thank God," Kirk breathed in relief and pulled the communicator from his belt. "Spock?" He muttered. "Spock," He repeated and McCoy could hear the other line opening.
"Captain, Doctor McCoy-" McCoy was surprised to hear Spock's voice so broken and defeated.
"He's fine, Spock. A little roughed up, but he's fine. He's with me in apartment five-twenty-five." He breathed. "Send up a medteam and meet us down here."
"Aye, Captain." Kirk could hear the relief in Spock's voice before he shut off the line.
"Jim, how did you find me?" McCoy breathed.
"It's a long story," Kirk chuckled. "Involving an angry Spock, a few assault charges that are definitely going to be filed from some angry ambulance workers, a broken elevator, a whole lot of luck, and a hunch."
"Jim?" McCoy huffed.
"Yeah, Bones?"
"You're impossible."
"Well, Bones. This is what you get for talking to my shrink." He chuckled and McCoy rolled his eyes, but couldn't help a small smile from forming on his lips.
/
"So?" McCoy asked from the couch as Kirk stepped through the door to their quarters. "How'd it go?"
"Let's just say that Klingons hate negotiations," Kirk grumbled as he ran his fingers through his hair. "We were in there for ten hours Bones. Ten." He flopped down on the couch beside McCoy and heaved a heavy sigh. "But, I think we've worked the big stuff out, mostly."
"Just like that?" McCoy asked in disbelief.
"Well, they were fairly receptive when we handed them Admiral Henyar's confession and Jancit's confession. I mean, don't get me wrong. We're by no means friends with them, but at least we're not still on the brink of a full-scale war." He shrugged, wincing slightly as the burn on his shoulder shifted.
"You alright?" McCoy asked, quickly picking up on Kirk's expression of pain.
"Yeah, I'm good," He laughed dryly. "I'm even better now that they've let me know that there's a root to undo Luna's grip on my mind."
"And Luna?"
"She's in custody. They'll put her on trial soon." Kirk reassured him.
"But what about Neural?" McCoy asked.
"That's where things get a little bit sticky," Kirk sighed heavily. "To keep things peaceful, Starfleet had to cede our influence there, and all of our future influence there. But the Klingon's involvement there is still under negotiation."
"And the Klingons are actually negotiating?" McCoy asked in disbelief.
"Well, less of negotiating and more of arguing. But, while that goes on it'll keep them from destroying the planet. I don't know, Bones. All of those politics are way beyond me. But it'll work out, Bones. We've got the right team for the job. And we'll probably be negotiating the little terms on everything for the next couple of days. But at least we've made steps in the right direction."
The two men sat in silence, each of them reflecting on the events in the past couple of days. Neither of them could quite wrap their heads around it yet. It was a lot to take in, after all. McCoy found himself reluctantly admitting to himself that he was homesick for the Enterprise. He missed the crew, most of all. It wasn't the same without them all aboard and working together.
"Hey, Bones," Kirk finally broke the silence and stood up. "Come with me." He extended his good hand to the doctor and pulled him off the couch. He snatched a blanket off the couch and led McCoy through the door and to the elevator. McCoy followed him curiously as they reached the roof. Kirk laid down the blanket on the ground and lowered himself onto it, then patted the blanket beside him, inviting McCoy down. The two men stared up at the stars in the sky, watching them twinkling and shining high above them.
"I'm sorry, Bones." Kirk said quietly, his voice soft and sad.
"For what, Jim?" McCoy asked, raising an eyebrow at the younger man.
"For everything I've done. For hurting you. For the roof. For the shrink. For everything." McCoy could hear the pain in the captain's voice. "I'm sorry."
"Jim, you've got no reason to apologize," McCoy said softly. "But you do have a reason to make me a promise. Promise me that you'll never forget what you mean to me. What you mean to Spock. What you mean to the entire goddamn universe. Never forget that, alright?"
"Okay," Kirk whispered, almost inaudibly after a long pause. "Bones?"
"Yeah, Jim?"
"I can't wait to go back to the Enterprise."
"Me neither, kid." McCoy nodded his head, a small smile creeping across his lips. "Me neither."
/
Thanks for reading, everyone! Sorry it took so long for me to update, but I hope that you find the end of the story worth it. If you like this story, feel free to check out all of my other stories and all the ones that I'm going to write in the future. Thanks again for all of the feedback and follows and favorites! But most importantly...Live long and prosper.
-buckminsterbarnes