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Episode 8: A Lesson in Needs

Xxxxx

"Kirk to sickbay." The Captain's voice came over the com.

"What is it, Jim?" Bones asked in a tone that suggested his focus was elsewhere.

"Are you busy, Bones?" He sounded a bit hurt.

"No, just working on something… What did you need?" He asked, giving the intercom his undivided attention.

"I was wondering if you had those supplies the Lexin colony requested."

"Yeah, they're already packed and on the shuttle." McCoy answered, again sounding distracted.

"Bones, are—" He paused and sighed. "Why don't you and Spock come to my quarters later, we can discuss details of the mission and anything you two have come up with from the data they sent over."

"Sounds good, Jim. See you tonight." McCoy turned off his intercom and began typing on his computer once more.

Xxxxxxxx

"Gentlemen." Kirk stepped aside and let them enter.

"Captain." Spock stepped over the threshold, followed by Bones who held out a data disc.

"Here's that report you wanted, Jim." He said a bit awkwardly as he handed the brightly colored cartridge over.

"Report..?" The Captain asked in surprise. Even Spock had turned around with a raised brow.

"About what happened…" He said quietly, shifting his weight to his cane.

"I.. I see…" Jim looked to the hybrid then back to the other human. "Thanks Bones."

The three men sat and discussed what was to happen when they reached Lexin Prime, along with counter measures to ensure they did not contract the virus.

Once their serious discussions had ended they turned the evening into more of a social event. Spock suggested a game of Gin while James provided the drinks. However, McCoy began to get annoyed after a round or two. His friend and his lover were both oddly quiet, not letting the topics of discussion vary from the mundane. Bones had a sinking feeling it was because of him. They were still walking on eggshells around him and it was irritating.

"Are we gonna talk about the elephant in the room?" McCoy shuffled the playing cards.

"The only earth mammals in the room are yourself and the Captain." Spock arched a thin pointed brow. "Perhaps your departure from sickbay was premature."

"Shut up Spock… I'm talking about what happened on that God forsaken planet, Firack 9." Bones began to deal the cards, the other two men glanced at each other.

"I see. Proceed doctor." He began looking over his cards.

"Bones?" Jim looked up at the other man who had been silent for some time.

"Where do I start…?" Bones blinked a few times coming out of his thoughts.

"When it all went pear-shaped." Spock placed a card down. "To coin the phrase."

"I like pears." McCoy chuckled at the reference, thankful for the break in his irritability, then donned a serious expression. "I guess the storm then… We took shelter in a nearby alcove. Only four of us and it was dry enough." He shrugged and set down a card as well.

"Says the one that complained the most about the damp." Jim gave a small chuckle as he set down a card to be replaced.

"The storm made it impossible to contact the ship so we toughed it out overnight." Spock placed a card down as he listened. "But in the middle of the night.. I woke up to something.. moving around us… I assumed it was just a local animal trying to get out of the rain like us."

"Did you get a good look at the creature?" Spock asked in interest.

"Nah, too dark. Besides when I went to grab my tricorder to take a reading, I was struck on the back of the head." He took a card and replaced it with one from his hand.

"There wasn't anything there when we woke up." Jim shrugged and did the same.

"Unfortunate." Spock frowned and set down his cards to reveal his victory. "Continue." He nodded to McCoy who was grimacing.

"So I was struck in the back of the head." He stated pointedly and handed Spock the cards for him to shuffle. "When I came to I was staring at myself. The bastard had replicated me perfectly." He cut the deck.

"That would coincide with my own experience." Spock nodded as he dealt the cards. "I could feel his anger and fear." He explained when he spotted the odd look his Captain was giving him.

"Yeah…" He sighed heavily. "Well, I tried to escape but he beat me to a pulp and broke my leg. Calling for help just resulted in more beating…" McCoy shuddered and Jim placed a card down, listening intently. "He had a… almost a rudimentary telepathic ability." Spock raised an eyebrow as Bones placed a card on the table.

"Were you able to defend against it?" The Vulcan queried as he took his turn.

"Mostly… he had already started learning somethings about me before I realized what was happening. I guess beating the hell out of me had other tactical advantages." James took the card Spock had discarded and traded with one from his hand. "Once I figured it out, I filtered what he learned so it was limited to medical knowledge." McCoy placed another card on the table.

"Why medical knowledge?" Jim asked while Spock scowled as he picked up the card and replaced it with a card from his hand. "It's not like he'd use it to help you…" It was Kirk's turn, but he wasn't really playing, only swapping cards half-heartedly.

"I figured if he was gonna parade around as me, the least he could do was a save a life…" Bones shrugged and picked up a card from the deck and smiled. He set it in his hand and laid the cards down so the other two men could see he had won.

"A rare moment of human logic." Spock gathered the cards and handed them to the Captain.

"Right…" McCoy continued while Kirk took the cards and began shuffling. "While he was in there, I kept hearing his voice saying 'Delegate Ka'll' like if he said it enough he'd find information about him. I just kept feeding him medical materials but I guess that pissed him off because I got this migraine and it sounded like he started shouting inside my head. Then he left. I tried to move but he had broken a rib and I developed hemoptysis…" He rubbed his tender side while Spock cut the deck. "I wasn't going anywhere and I certainly couldn't scream for help. I think I blacked out a couple times." Jim dealt the cards.

"You did seem to lose consciousness a few times. But in very brief intervals." Spock confirmed.

"Before I knew it he was back.. sort of looming over me. As if he was checking to make sure I hadn't gone anywhere or that I couldn't go anywhere. He said something about a humanoid life sign?" McCoy rubbed his head as if trying to remember. "Then he stabbed me in the stomach and kicked me… then Jim showed up." He shrugged. "Thank God for that." He sighed, his hands trembling.

"Being connected to you, I was able to discern that the Leonard McCoy with Jim was not, in fact, the real McCoy." Spock stated folding his cards together so they all lay on top of one another in his hand.

"I asked Mister Spock to give me a question to ask him that you surely would have known the answer to." Kirk chimed in.

"What was it?" Bones chuckled.

"What did the bowl of petunias think as it fell to its demise?" Jim asked before Spock could answer.

"That almost sounds like a joke." He laughed. "The answer of course is not again. Which leads to many philosophical debates about what the bowl of petunias meant by that." Spock nodded once with a small smile. "What if he had known that?" Bones questioned.

"Then I would have come up another plan to out him as an imposter to Jim." He stated matter-of-factly. "However it did not come to that. The Captain was able to fool him into believing we were reading another humanoid signature on sensors."

"I told him the ship was picking up another biosign but to keep quiet so as not to alarm the rest of the crew. He took the bait, hook, line and sinker." Jim stated proudly.

"This led him to believe you had escaped and he left to make sure you had not." The Vulcan explained.

"He led me right to the cave. I tried to contact the ship again but got too much interference." The Captain took a gulp of his drink.

"I assume when he saw you he thought we were able to detect your signature and so he stabbed you, hoping that if you died we would no longer look for the extra lifeform." Spock, who had been looking at the table as he told McCoy the other side of the story, looked up to see his lover's tired eyes staring off into the distance, only half listening to them. Kirk had begun talking again but the hybrid silently lifted a hand to stop him. "I think, perhaps, we should retire for the evening, doctor." He set the cards down.

"Yeah…" McCoy laid his cards on the table and stood, somewhat wobbly. Spock placed a hand out to steady him which was patted gently when he believed he could move safely on his own. They excused themselves and left the Captain's quarters, heading back to Spock's abode seeing as it was closer.

The pair cleaned up and got ready for bed. Bones slowly, carefully, lowered himself into bed, followed by his Vulcan counterpart. They laid facing one another in silence for a long while.

"You know…" McCoy cleared his throat, his eyes misty. "I was really scared for a while there…" Spock caressed his lover's cheek with his thumb gently. "I was afraid he'd hurt other people … you, Jim, Chapel… anyone and everyone on the ship. Delegate Ka'll."

"An illogical fear, as I had known from the beginning he was an imposter. Even if he had made it aboard, he only would have gotten as far as the brig."

"A dying mind is a rather illogical one Spock." McCoy sniffled and let out a shaky breath. "I was even scared you'd mistake him for me." McCoy swallowed back a sob biting at the back of his throat.

Spock was silent, not daring to dignify such a statement with a response.

"The thing that scared me the most though was… That I left you here.. Without saying-" He choked back another sob. "Without saying the last word." McCoy finished with a small bitter chortle. Spock allowed a bit of mirth to slip past his lips just before leaning in to kiss the other man.

Their kiss was slow and soft and meaningful. What McCoy had originally mistaken for a lack of wanting in the beginning of their relationship, he quickly realized was Spock's unspoken way of conveying a plethora of emotion he otherwise would never outwardly acknowledge. The Vulcan deepened the kiss and pulled him close. Leonard hissed and grasped at the cloth wrapped around the other man.

He needed this. He knew he needed this. He could feel the longing, the pain, the ache… love. The silent word that was said with every interaction of the two. Every eyebrow twitch, every squint, every grimace, every slandered word, everything.

Everything…

Teeth clacked against one another's as the kissing became more heated. Spock had once said pain was an emotion he could control with his disciplined mind. McCoy was not so disciplined but wasn't about to let that bother him.

Not tonight.

His still bruised lung caused McCoy to gasp more than simply pant but he urged Spock on nonetheless. He had always found their…. Activities…. To lean a bit towards aggressive (perhaps because of the hybrid's pent up emotions). Tonight that didn't matter. Maybe it never did. McCoy only knew that no matter how much he hurt tomorrow, he absolutely wanted this tonight.

He absolutely needed Spock.

Xxxxxxx

"Spock." Jim caught the Vulcan in the turbolift. "Was that Bones I just saw limping to the infirmary?" He asked with a concerned expression. "What happened? Is he alright?"

"I believe that physical activity proved to be too strenuous on him." Spock answered vaguely.

"Physical activity?" Kirk questioned and scowled in confusion. "But all we did was play cards last n-" He froze mid-sentence when the realization struck him like a falling whale. "I see… I'm surprised at you Spock.." The Vulcan cleared his throat and shifted his weight.

"Leonard was rather… insistent." He said, praying the doors would open soon.

"I bet…" The Captain chuckled and shook his head slightly when the turbolift doors slid open and his First Officer quickly made his way to his post.