Part XXVIII

The remainder of the evening before starting meditation was occupied with working on the scarf. McCoy fell into an easy rhythm that pleased him. His manual control of Spock's hands was right where he wanted it to be.

~I'd meant to be further along with this project, but just as well, I suppose. My own body is going to take some therapy to get back to normal, so I can finish this with my own hands.~

~Perhaps now would be an appropriate time to put it away then. As you pointed out yourself, tomorrow will require your full attention.~

~Agreed. Just going to get to a good stopping point - which I just have.~

Spock took back over the body and began running through the routine he performed before starting meditation. Following along this time, McCoy noted that the steps leading to the meditation were as important as the act itself. The body, long accustomed to where the rituals were leading, was already well on the way to the serene state that the mind would soon be seeking.

For his part, McCoy was finding that serenity harder to attain. He knew better than any of them what the risks were and he also knew the surgery would be risky even with the latest in technology. Instead, he was going in with what was basically a fancy knife and a sewing kit, not able to even use his own hands. They never warned about stuff like this in medical school. Probably to keep the students from running away screaming.

Still, Spock was nothing if not persistent and he eventually drew McCoy away from the morbid turn of his thoughts and into the quiet nothingness that allowed his mind to rest without worries of the future or nightmares of the past.

When it came time to rise, McCoy took over the body from the start and Spock observed that the doctor had his own set of routines that he observed prior to surgery when the situation wasn't an emergency. First was a very minimal breakfast followed by a thorough cleansing of the body. After that, he changed into a fresh uniform and spent several minutes taking deep, regular breathes while visualizing the steps of the surgery. That done, he drank a cup of strong mint tea before stepping briskly out to join the newly arrived Chapel.

Exchanging little more than nods, they did such last minute preparations as were needed. McCoy's body was laid on its stomach, sterile sheets covering the entire body except for the small area of the back where his attention were going to be concentrated.

Christine had all of the sterilized instruments laid out neatly and ready. McCoy nodded his approval and then they went to ready themselves They passed through one sterilizing field before putting on surgical scrubs, masks, caps and gloves. Then they passed through a
second sterilizing field and entered the room.

Christine swabbed down the area with a disinfectant and then held her breath slightly as McCoy called for the scalpel. From his position as observer, Spock noted that once the initial cut was made, the two of them were as precise and focused as any Vulcan might strive to be.

The first hesitation came when the device was finally exposed. The pair studied it silently for several long seconds before Christine spoke. There was a slight tremor to her voice.

"He didn't intend for this to be removed, did he?"

"Havarn being the genuine SOB that he is, no, he didn't. You got the container for this piece of junk standing by?"

"Yes, Leonard, but if you remove that -"

"Chris, it's coming out. You know of anyone that could perform this surgery better than me?"

There was a long pause before she finally softly whispered.

"No."

"I'll minimize the damage as best as I can and, with luck, we might be able to correct it later. We're going to need a way to isolate all these leads from one another. I don't even want to guess about what might happen if they touch."

"I think I know what will work. I'll be right back."

"Whatever it is, don't forget to run it and yourself through the sterilizer field."

Despite his desire to speak out, Spock remained silent. McCoy was right. He couldn't continue on with that device in his body. He watched as the two of them worked in perfect concert to slow remove the device from McCoy's body. It reminded Spock somewhat of a picture he had seen of a jellyfish - a blob with several tentacles that had to be detached one at a time from the spinal column. As he freed each one, Christine took hold of it with a set of forceps before coating it with a gel-like substance that quickly hardened so that the end of it would not come in contact with either flesh or another tentacle.

After the fifth tentacle was freed and isolated, Christine took a moment to blot the sweat from Spock's forehead.

"You need to hold up for a minute, Leonard. I need to change the IV bag out."

"Figures. This is taking a lot longer than I expected, Chris. But it looks like we're halfway there."

Spock found that McCoy had been correct. Viewing - and feeling - surgery being performed from the vantage of the surgeon was very different from observing as a bystander. The hours of intense focus while being confined to the small space and the near constant movements of his hands made the whole process far more physically demanding than he had imagined. In all, it was five hours before the last tentacle was removed and the whole device dumped into the secure container. And even then, they weren't done.

The container was removed from the room and then the sterilization field was turned on in the room. After dropping off the container, Christine came back in with their regular array of equipment and they exchanged a glance as McCoy scanned over his body before starting again.

"Nerve damage. Well, there was no avoiding that. Let's see what we can do about keeping me mobile."