During the night, Jim suddenly woke up feeling a little startled. He was not sure why he woke up. He did not think he had been dreaming anything. He certainly did not want to get up. He was warm with Carol up against his back. He did not hear the baby making any sounds, and he could see that he was still asleep.

Jim turned over on his back and stared at the ceiling. He felt wide awake. Carol propped up on her elbow and looked at him. "Why are you awake?" she asked.

"I don't know," Jim said. "I was just suddenly awake. I don't think I heard anything."

"Jim, you have to get some sleep."

"I'm trying. I was asleep." Jim looked at her. "Why are you awake?"

"Because you turned over."

"Sorry."

"Let's go back to sleep."

Jim lay there awake. He could not figure out why he had awakened so suddenly, but he had a feeling of dread.

Bones sat leaning back against the tree. He thought he was covered with sweat now. What else do you expect on an ocean world? He asked himself. How did Heegat think anyone would ever find him down there? Maybe he thought he would die down there before they found him. He supposed he could. He had not been able to do anything for his leg, and he was sure it was infected now, and it hurt worse now than it did when the break first happened. He had had everything he needed in that pack, and he supposed that was why Heegat had taken it. Why did he have to sit in the dark?

Bones was awake when the sky started changing from black to gray. He had never been so glad to see a sun coming up. He was incredibly thirsty. He looked around him and picked up two large pieces of bark from the fallen tree. He thought he could probably make a splint for his leg. He took the string from his hiking boot, and then looked at his leg. He could see the unnatural bend in the leg, and he knew that bone needed to be set. He did not think he could do that on his own, but he certainly did not expect to see anyone out there where he was. He had seen no one after he got on this trail…except Heegat. And where was that maniac now?

Just as Bones thought that, he heard something moving in the brush. He picked up a limb from the tree and listened. Whatever was out there was taking very slow steps. He could not imagine why Heegat would come back. He got his club ready and waited. When he thought whoever, or whatever, it was was right behind the tree, he moved around the side on his knees with the club in his hand. But it was the Pacifica equivalent of a rabbit.

Bones grimaced and sat back down. He watched the small animal which had long ears and soft fur just like a rabbit. It sat up and twitched its nose at him. "Well, you would probably smell funny too if you were in this predicament," he said. He did not know much about the animals on Pacifica, but he had seen one of these before. It was as docile as a rabbit, and it came over to him slowly sniffing as it came. "You must have been a pet before," Bones said as the animal sniffed his hand. He did not know why he felt so sleepy, but he wanted to get up and try to get back to the trail so at least he might have a chance that someone would find him.

Bones looked at his leg again, and it was incredibly sore. The thought of trying to set that bone himself almost made him dizzy and sick. Jim was always teasing him about having poor bedside manner, but if he knew the alternative, he might tell him it was okay. He had found out that he had an incredibly queasy stomach in his first year of medical school, but he had gotten over that…for the most part. He certainly did not like boats, but he usually just overruled his stomach and went anyway.

Bones realized he was rambling in his thoughts to avoid what he had to do in order to get up. "Jim, can't you get a little worried about me?" he said out loud.

There were two small trees very close together and he thought they would be perfect for this. He could put his foot between them and pull and set the bone…in theory. He had set bones before, but he had never set one of his own. Would he pass out? He certainly did when they were in 1879. He got his splint ready and moved a little closer to the small trees.

"Alright, McCoy," Bones said as he put his foot between the trees. "You remember that old saying physician heal thyself. I guess you're about to know what that means. Doctors make the worst patients." He lay there a moment and looked up through the trees at the incredibly blue sky. "I can't do it. Don't they have patrols out here somewhere?"

Jim and Carol were up because the baby was up, and they were going to breakfast. "We could have gotten breakfast brought to our room," Jim said as they were walking down the hallway.

"Why?" Carol asked. "Don't you like going out?"

"Sure, but we have a lot more privacy in the room, and if I take a notion, I can kiss you and…"

"Jim."

Spock was coming down the hallway. "Captain, I still have not heard from Doctor McCoy," he said.

Jim scowled at that. He knew Bones was cynical, but he could not imagine him keeping Spock worried like that. Did Vulcans worry? "And you're concerned about him?" Jim asked.

"I am," Spock replied. "Since we have known that there was a hostile being on the planet, and he is our friend…"

"Alright. We don't know that he's in any danger. Maybe he's just having a good time and doesn't want to call us."

Jim thought that sounded ridiculous even as he said it. "We're about to go to breakfast," he said. He looked at Alex whom he was carrying. "If he hasn't called by the time we're done with breakfast, we'll do something."

"Yes, Captain."

Just then, Andrea came down the hallway, and she was not looking very happy. "Good morning, Captain," she said. "How's Alex?"

"He's fine," Jim replied.

"Do you know where Leonard is…I mean, Doctor McCoy?"

"Uh, he went on a hiking trip."

"Oh. When did he leave?"

"Yesterday."

Carol folded her arms as she was angry at how McCoy had hurt Andrea like that. Andrea had been so happy about that relationship, and Carol could see how unhappy she was now.

"Do you know when he'll be back?" Andrea asked. "I want to talk to him."

Jim did not want to tell her that they had not heard from Bones. "He should be back later today," he said.

"Oh. Okay. Could you tell him that I want to talk to him?"

"Sure."

"I'll keep the baby for you today anytime you need me to."

"Thank you," Carol said. "We probably will need your assistance later today."

"Just let me know."

Andrea walked on, and Jim and the others walked on. "Oh! He makes me so angry!" Carol said.

"Who?" Jim asked.

"Your friend, that's who!"

"Now, don't go getting all angry at Bones. They had an argument."

"That he caused."

"Carol. Just stay out of that. It's best not to get involved."

"Have you talked to him?"

"Carol. It's not our business."

"Fine."

They went to the restaurant there where they were staying, and as they walked in, Admiral Winston was waiting for them. Jim almost stood at attention. "Captain, I was hoping to talk to you this morning," Admiral Winston said.

"Over breakfast?" Jim asked.

"Is that a problem?"

Carol waited to see what Jim said. She knew how he always thought he had to do everything the admiral wanted. "No, sir, it's not a problem," Jim said. "We'll be glad to have you join us."

Spock was still with them, so they got a table for four, and a baby. "Captain Kirk, I'm going to get right to it," Admiral Winston said after they were seated. "It was reported that one of those pirates made it to this planet aboard the ship you came back in."

"That's true, Admiral," Jim replied.

"How did that happen?"

"I don't know. We think he has a way of concealing himself. We didn't detect anyone on the ship. He could have left the planet already. He was probably just saving himself."

Admiral Winston looked at Spock. "Do you believe that, Mister Spock?" he asked.

Jim looked at Spock who was looking rather perplexed. "I do not, Sir," Spock answered. "We have also lost contact with Doctor McCoy. He went out for a hiking adventure, and has not contacted us like he planned."

Admiral Winston absorbed that a moment. "Are you telling me he's lost?"

"We do not know, but he had specifically told me that he would contact me last night, but he did not, and he has not contacted me this morning either."

Winston looked at Jim. "What do you think about that?"

"Well, he might have been somewhere that he couldn't get a signal," Jim said. "We don't know that anything's wrong. I told Spock that if he hasn't heard from B…Doctor McCoy by the time we're done here, we'll do something."

"Looks like you'd have more concern for a lost crew member when you know there's someone on the planet who most likely has a gigantic grudge against you and your crew. And if I'm correct, the Nausicaans enjoy torturing someone."

Jim frowned. "Admiral, we don't know that anything has happened to McCoy. This is all speculation."

"You may be right, Captain. We've analyzed the data from that ship, and I think we're gonna gain some new technology from it. They had perfected the chips. That's something that's being worked on, but it wasn't ready to use. That power source was fascinating. Tell me more about it."

"It was out in the open, Admiral. It didn't have to be contained. We didn't have much time to study it because he had set the self-destruct from there. We only had five minutes to get out."

"I understand."

"The sphere created power by rotating. Scotty probably knows more about that than I do. He was fascinated with the way it was made."

"I'm sure. And you're sure they contacted the Romulans."

"Absolutely, Sir. As you know, there were Romulans on that ship, and they had been on the Romulan side of the Neutral Zone. It didn't take them long to notice us either." Jim sighed. "I just wish we could have gotten that ship."

"To say the Klingons were disappointed would be an understatement. They felt that they had failed."

"I know. I told him that it was no one's fault. We just didn't anticipate those events. Who would have thought he would blow up the ship?"

"Question is: what stake do the Romulans have in this? What will they do next?"

"They don't have the ship anymore. What can they do?"

"They know who was on that ship, I'm sure. I don't believe they're finished."

"That's possible."

"If you think it's hard to make decisions on a starship as the captain, you should think about how hard it is to make decisions for all of Starfleet."

Jim frowned. "What decision are you trying to make, Sir?" he asked.

"The committee wants to confront the Romulans about this," Admiral Winston said. "But I'm not so sure that's the right move at this time. After all, we're still in the middle of the treaty with the Klingons, and although it's coming along well, it's still delicate. I just don't think we should start something else at this moment."

"I understand."

"I do know this situation is serious."

Jim was silent a moment wondering if Admiral Winston was going to ask him to contact the Romulans. He certainly did not want that task. There were some Romulans who were not hostile but there were others who definitely were, and they had all known about Nero as well. Some sympathized with him…he thought there was always a split about everything that happened. How could anyone justify someone destroying a planet?

"We'll talk about this again, Captain Kirk," Winston said. "I'll leave you folks to your breakfast."

Jim stood up as Admiral Winston stood up. "You're welcome to stay, Sir," he said.

"No. I have a lot of thinking to do and a lot of talking to do."

"Yes sir."

Admiral Winston walked out of the restaurant, and Jim sat back down. He had never really thought about how hard it must be to be the head of Starfleet. "Well, that was rather awkward," Carol said.

"Maybe he just needed someone to talk to," Jim replied.

"Apparently so," Spock agreed. "I am sure his job is very difficult most of the time."

After breakfast, of course, they had still not heard from Bones. Jim stood in the lobby of the hotel with Spock and Solan. "So, we're gonna go out and look for him," Jim said. "What if something happened to his communicator, and he's on his way back?"

"Then we will know," Spock replied.

"Right," Solan agreed. "You mean you're not concerned at all?"

"I am a little worried," Jim admitted. "I'll meet you guys here after I change into something else."

Jim went to his room and told Carol where he was going. "Would you like me to go with you?" she asked. "Andrea doesn't mind keeping Alex, and I think she wants to keep her mind off what your friend did to her."

"Carol, Bones has a right to either date her or not. It's none of our business. Being angry at Bones is…illogical."

Carol folded her arms. "I know you're right, but she's such a nice woman, and she made him happy. Why is he so uncomfortable with that?"

"I don't know, but like I said, it's none of our business. That is between them. Okay?"

"Okay, but I can't help but notice the change in her. She loves him."

"I know, Carol, and I know Bones loves her, but I can't make decisions for him. Who knows? Maybe they'll get back together."

"I hope so."

"Trying to force him into it is only going to make him run even further away. Just, please, stay out of it. Let her keep the baby."

"I'll be ready in a few minutes."

Jim, Spock, Carol, and Solan walked out to the trail that Bones had taken the day before. "If he stayed on the trail, what could happen?" Jim asked. "I guess it won't hurt any of us to have a good hike."

"Certainly not," Carol replied. "Fresh air and exercise."

"We're not exactly out here to sight see," Solan remarked. "What if he is in trouble out there?"

"Then we'll be there to help him," Jim said.

Bones was still lying on the ground as he woke up again. His foot was still between the two trees. He knew what he needed to do, but he was having trouble making himself do it. He was not sure he could keep it up once he started. "You're a doctor, McCoy," he told himself. "You can doctor your own self! Now get to it!"

He looked above his head at the tree he intended to use to help him pull on his leg. It hurt to raise his arms up there because of his broken rib too, but he did it anyway. He looked up at the sky and wished he was anywhere but there. He pulled on the tree and almost screamed as he could definitely feel where those bones were and he knew when he got them end to end too. His hands were shaking as he covered his face. He had thought about screaming but he thought it hurt too bad to even scream. He carefully got his foot from between the trees and put his makeshift splint on it and then lay back down on the ground. He had to sleep some more…

Jim and the others walked for two hours and then sat down to rest a few minutes. He drank some water. "He could have gone twenty miles in the length of time he was out here," he said.

"At least the trail is not so rugged," Carol replied. "It gets much steeper further along though."

"Yeah, I can see that. It is beautiful though, isn't it?"

"Absolutely. Look at that waterfall. No wonder Doctor McCoy wanted to come along this trail."

Spock looked out across the valley. "It is quite a lovely scene," he said. "I asked Uhura to come along, but she had a meeting this morning. She is working with the communications center here. I suppose we all have trouble relaxing."

They started walking again. Jim took out his communicator. "Bones," he said. "Bones." Of course, he did not get an answer. He looked up the trail they were on and saw nothing but nature. "Where are you, Bones?" he said.

Spock took out his tricorder. "I am picking up no human life signs in the immediate vicinity," he said.

"There's no telling how far he could have gotten. He left yesterday morning. I mean, if he walked all day, he could be way up there. We should have brought a ship."

"Now you tell us," Solan said. "I could have brought mine."

"Well, we're gonna enjoy this hike whether we find Bones doing fine, or whether something's wrong."

"What if he's hurt or something? It's gonna take us most of the day to get up there probably."

"We're on our way, Solan."

Solan did not think they were going fast enough, and he wished they had decided to bring a ship, but he also thought the captain did not really think anything was wrong.

Bones woke up again. He had not felt so sick since he had the flu when he was at the academy. He thought he had gotten it from Jim Kirk, who was always running around with so many beings. He wondered why he had tolerated Jim as a roommate. He had even entered pin numbers so that Jim could not get into the room until he was there. Jim always managed to figure them out though. Bones wondered how someone who seemed so arrogant and nonchalant could be so highly intelligent.

Bones grimaced at the pain in his leg. He sat up and wanted to lie back down, but he leaned back against the tree. He looked around him, but there was nothing out there, not even the "rabbit". He would try to get up. He found a limb from the tree that was about as big around as a cane. He broke the limbs off it and tested the limb to see how strong it was, and it was sturdy. He knew this was not going to be comfortable or fun, but he could not just sit there. He held onto the makeshift cane with one hand and the tree with the other and pulled himself up using only his left leg. He held onto the tree and stood there a moment.

Just as Bones was about to try to take a step, he heard something, but it sounded like it was moving fast through the brush this time. Suddenly, Heegat appeared. He grabbed Bones and shoved him down onto his back. Bones would have cried out with the pain, but Heegat covered his mouth. "A small fall was not enough to keep you in one place, I see!" he said menacingly.

Bones still had his makeshift cane in his hand and he jabbed the end of it into Heegat's side with all the strength he could muster. However, it did not go through Heegat's clothing, but it was enough to cause him some pain. Bones was not done yet. He rammed the cane into the side of Heegat's head next. That caused him to lose his grip and fall on the ground. Bones definitely could not move fast, but he tried to crawl away. Heegat grabbed him by his broken leg. He cried out but he turned with the cane and hit Heegat in the head again. This time, he was knocked out.

Bones groaned as he was on his back again, but he had to get up because he knew Heegat would not be out long. He turned over and started crawling. He had to find a way back up to the trail. He crawled around the ledge, dragging himself part of the time until he finally came around to a place that was not so steep. He would have to climb it with only one good leg and a broken rib, and he knew it was not going to be easy. He looked back the way he had come but he did not see Heegat. He knew he was bound to wake up. "Spock, where are you?" he asked. "Can't you get worried just this one time?"

Bones leaned on the side of the hill for a moment and then looked up. He certainly did not claim to be an extremely athletic person, but he would have to pull himself up this hill. He reached for a handhold and used his good leg to push himself up while he pulled. He looked up the hill, and it looked like a long way, but it was not really.

When Bones was almost to the top of the hill, he saw Heegat coming. He tried to scramble over the edge to get to the trail, but Heegat did not have anything holding him back from climbing that hill. Bones managed to get over the edge and sat up with his cane ready. As Heegat came over the edge, Bones tried to knock him off using the cane, but Heegat was ready for him. He grabbed the cane and managed to get over the edge of the cliff. He jerked the cane away from Bones, who turned and tried to get away from him, but Heegat swung the cane at Bones' hurt leg.

Bones yelled with that pain, but he kicked Heegat with his other foot. However, he could not get away from him because he could not run…

Jim and the others stopped again to rest, but they were starting to get more worried now because they had not heard from Bones all day. However, as they walked on, they saw something in the trail ahead. "Captain…" Spock began.

Jim ran to Bones, who was staked down in the middle of the trail. "Bones!" Jim exclaimed as he knelt beside him.

Spock, Solan, and Carol were there a second later. Bones opened his eyes. "Jim, get out of here!" he said.

"Captain, he has broken bones and internal injuries," Spock said as he was doing a scan.

"Jim…"

Jim cut the cords that were holding Bones' wrists and ankles to the stakes. "Jim, listen to me!" Bones said. "You have to…"

Solan drew his blaster as Heegat came out of the brush beside the trail. However, Solan was hit with a charge from Heegat's lance. Jim jumped up and tackled him before he could fire another one at Spock.

"Get Doctor McCoy back to the medical facility!" Spock said to Carol, and headed toward the scuffle.

Carol called to Pacifica security and told them their location, and to beam them to the medical facility. Bones wanted to protest that, but he did not have a choice. He could not help Jim in the condition he was in. He hoped Solan was okay, but Carol grabbed Solan's hand as they were being transported and he was transported too.

Jim and Heegat came to their feet, but Heegat was wasting no time. He started to fire an electrical charge at Spock, but he had to dodge a shot from Spock's blaster. Jim grabbed his own blaster and would have fired, but he was very close to Heegat, and he tripped him. Spock fired at him again, but he managed to dodge again.

Jim thought he was beginning to realize why this guy escaped on that ship. Heegat fired his electric charge at Spock, but Spock avoided it again and got a shot off that time. He almost hit Heegat that time, but he managed to get around it, and swung his lance at Jim at the same time. Jim ducked and tackled Heegat again. He touched Jim on the side of the head with the lance letting go a lesser charge which addled Jim enough that he could grab him around the neck.

"Let him go!" Spock demanded. "You have no means of escaping this time!"

"I will snap his neck!" Heegat declared as he got up holding Jim around his neck.

"If you do, you will die here!"

"I don't think so."

Heegat pressed a button on his belt and he and Jim started to be transported. Spock dived for them so that he could grab Jim's leg and be transported with them, but he was not in time.

Spock grabbed his communicator. "Pacifica Security! The Nausicaan has transported with Captain Kirk!" he exclaimed. "We must find him!"

"We read you," someone replied. "We are scanning the area now."

"I need to be transported back to Starfleet headquarters."

Spock waited and in only a few minutes, he was transported back to the headquarters. He had to let Admiral Winston know what was happening.