Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek, not even in an alternate dimension do I own Star Trek. I play with Star Trek in the hope of sharing a good story for others to enjoy, in the Spirit of Star Trek. No harm shall come to the characters in my story that can not be fixed by Doctor McCoy and a large enough hypo.

Author's Note: Spew warnings do apply, it can be hazardous to your screen to drink any kind of beverage while reading. On occasion, a stuffy can be helpful. For details of how to best care for your screen, see Scotty...

Close Quarters

Chapter 1

"Alright Gentlemen, what's our status?" Captain James Kirk of the Starship Enterprise looked around the conference table. The Senior staff was gathered, usually that meant that whatever current crisis they were facing would be averted, with a minor difference of opinion as about how it was to be done. "Doctor McCoy, how are you doing in sickbay?" The injured crew had to be a priority, at least the more seriously injured ones.

Now the doctor leaned back tiredly in his seat, which was a good sign for the crew that had been treated and a bad sign for the man who had seen to them. "A few more serious injured, a lot of medium to minor injuries. Everyone who was in a more serious condition is treated and stable, a few of the minor ones remain to be seen to. Nurse Chapel is working on it now, mostly just a few bumps and bruises left, a couple of them I just want to check in with in a day or two and they should all be fine."

"I'm glad to hear that," Jim nodded. "Mr. Scott?" After the injured crew the engines and the life support was the next pressing matter.

"We're in trouble Captain, and there's no doubt about it," the engineer shook his head sadly. "She's a mess and we're working as fast as we can, but it's gonna take time. We barely got life support back on, an' even that's hanging by a thread."

"How are the engines, can we make it somewhere else for repairs?" the Captain asked. Life support was a very pressing problem.

"We haven't got warp, an' we can barely get along on impulse, an' that's if we nae worry about any 'o the rest," Scott shook his head. "If I put everyone I've got on the life support, well, I imagine it'd still take us a couple o' days before it was stable. It's a mess down there Captain, they hurt her bad."

"Yes, I know," the bridge was a mess as well, with blown consoles, the acrid smell of smoke lingering and even where they sat the lights kept flickering from time to time. Every time seemed to make Bones look up as if he thought it was a message from their destroyer. Well, the man feared small enclosed fast travelling space vehicles almost as much as he feared the transporter beam, and there were times where he wondered what had made the man chose a career in starfleet, almost as much as Bones did. There were hardly any aspect of it he was actually comfortable with. Even so, he was glad to have him, as a friend and as the ships surgeon because he couldn't think of many who was better suited to either. "We need life support, but we need engines just as bad. Any suggestions?"

"Well, if we didnea' put such a strain on the life support, it woulda' be more stable," Scott started slowly. "We got it on, we just can't keep it up for the whole ship. If we closed off sections, we wouldn't nae put near the same strain on it. Then we could focus on the engines and get them up to where we can at least limp along."

"Is it doable?" it sounded like the far better option.

"Aye," the engineer nodded. "Ah' can turn it off for certain sections, reduce crew quarters, take all non-essential compartments off line."

"I don't want any shortcuts on sickbay," doctor McCoy spoke up. "I want it online and with full life support at all times. If I have to treat someone, I don't want to have to wait for someone to find the right switch to make the lights come on again."

"You got it," Jim nodded. "Essentials, bridge and sickbay needs to have full power and life support at all times. But if we can cut down on the rest I don't think that's going to be a problem. How do you want to go about it Mr. Scott?"

There was no real objections to the engineers plan, to reduce crew quarters and the need for heated and powered sections by the crew bunking up. It might not be the most comfortable, but they could take out just over two thirds of the crew quarters that way, and focus on the more important things.

Which was why two hours later the door to his quarters opened and showed Spock and Bones each with a bag, pillow and blanket in hand.

"The reorganisation of personal quarters is proceeding satisfactorily," Spock stated as he strode inside.

"Got a few more kinks sorted out," Bones stated much more casually. "Cutting down on staff unless needed, so, how do you want to do this?" he dropped his bag on the floor beside Jim's desk and sat down on the chair. Spock put his own bag down by the divider wall, more organised Jim mused, but then his two friends were very different from one another. They seemed to thrive on those very same differences.

"I figured we could come to an agreement between the three of us," Jim mused. Naturally they had all shared close quarters of various forms on landing parties and missions before. It was however different than their current situation. As senior officers one of the few privileges allowed, for practical reasons as well as privileged comfort was their own private space. It made sense, their positions were more demanding and more was expected of them. As Captain and First Officer he and Spock needed to be ready at all times. They could not be bothered by a roommate who might disrupt their routine and sleep schedule, not to mention the sensitive information they sometimes worked on, even in their quarters. As a medical officer McCoy was the only one who was generally exposed to everything possibly harmful, while he might due to this have developed a fairly strong immune system the same was not necessarily true for everyone else in his vicinity. Also, as someone who might work double shifts in sickbay he needed to be able to go back to a quiet and familiar surroundings where he would be able to sleep at any time.

Even though McCoy's and Spock's quarters were just beside the captain's, they had wound up on the wrong side of a an emergency bulkhead, closing a section off.

Sharing like this would be different than sharing a prison cell where the solidarity of confinement would cause them to support each other. It was an invasion of private space in every way though Jim did not worry about it much. As a Vulcan Spock was generally not demanding, he required little comfort and was fully capable of understanding the needed sacrifices of the situation.

Bones might grouse a little, but it was without bite and the man was not difficult. The southerner was by nature fairly easy going for all he tried to show differently and through all the years Jim had known him the most disgusting habit the man had ever displayed was removing sock lint from his toes. Indeed, if any of them favoured cleanliness and hygiene it was the doctor and while he might lounge in the desk chair he was not in any way disrespectful towards anyone's privacy.

"If I may make a suggestion?" Spock raised an eyebrow and Jim nodded.

"Go ahead," they would be offered less comfort, but he had no doubt they would manage. The only problem he could possibly foresee was that Vulcans by nature prefered a much higher temperature at a time where life support was limited to the barest necessity and did not allow for much.

"As we have two easily accessible bedding options available to us, I would point out that the bed is sufficiently large enough to hold two, provided neither one is of larger than average size," Spock stated. "And the Doctor is the by far smallest body of us, with you not all that much larger."

"Always said you were skinny as a reed, Doc," Jim teased. "Seems to be to your advantage this time. Not sure the couch is large enough to be comfortable for you though Spock."

"Not overly so Captain, but as the largest frame of us, I would take up by far too much space for anyone else to fit comfortably on the bed, and even the two smallest of us would not in any way be able to use the couch. It seems only logical that the method that allows everyone the largest amount of comfort is the most reasonable one."

"Fine by me," Bones shrugged.

"I certainly have no objections," Jim decided. Spock as a Vulcan also prefered to avoid an excess of physical contact while Bones did not care overly much either way. Given that 'skinny' was barely enough to describe Bones, it would have been possible by a bit of luck and effort to let them share the standard sized bed, but he had a strong feeling that they would both prefer not to. They were friends, close friends in their own snappish and argumentative way, but prolonged close contact was not the best connection between the two of them.

Spock took his bag over to the couch while Kirk went to the small storage drawer and took out an extra blanket. They were forced to keep the temperature down to ease the strain on life support which for himself was not a problem. The Vulcan however normally thought the ship was on the far chilly side compared to his home planet. Bones, raised in the warm south and without even an ounce of body fat as insulation also was prone to feel cold which meant the two of them would be bothered by it far more than Jim himself, though he doubted either one of them would admit it. He still took the blanket over to the couch and sat it down so that Spock would have the option of using it if he felt the cold.

It was sometimes better not to draw attention to such matters or Spock would simply stoically insist he did not need it, in favour of the frail humans… Between his own and the one Bones had brought Jim was hoping the two of them would manage to stay warm enough.

It was too early to turn in just then, so he nodded to the chess set, turning to Spock. "A game?"

"It would be satisfactory," Spock inclined his head.

"What about you Doc?" Jim asked the other man. "I can offer a nightcap, help warm you up before it starts getting chilly here. Scotty said he'd have to turn down the temperature."

"Sure," McCoy nodded just as Jim had expected him to. "Then I'm going to use your computer, I have some files I'd like to review. There's a couple of the crew I know will have a harder time with this more compressed living than others. It might help to know what to expect."

"By all means Doctor," Jim allowed him to turn to the terminal while he fetched the bottle and two glasses from the cabinet. "Spock?" Vulcans did not drink alcohol, but he had some alternatives at hand for his friend.

"I do not require anything at this time Captain," Spock replied. "Vulcans drink to replenish the fluids in the body, to partake of more liquid than needed is illogical."

Jim smiled fondly at the statement while McCoy gave a snort as he accepted his glass with a nod of thanks to his friend. "It's a pleasure, a drop of brew to enjoy," he declared. "Relaxing."

"One should not require a toxin to relax Doctor, that is indeed, most illogical," Spock shook his head while McCoy grumbled something under his breath and turned his attention towards the computer screen. Glancing his way every once in a while during the game of chess Jim noted him transferring information to a card as well as making the occasional note on a PADD. Taking a sip from the glass next to him he sighed and rubbed absently at the bridge of his nose before calling up some new information on the screen.

"Trouble Doc?" while waiting for Spock to make a move that would no doubt get him in trouble he turned his full attention towards his other friend.

"Yes, no," McCoy shrugged. "I have no idea to be honest. There's a couple of things I don't like, but nothing I can really do anything about. Everything looks good on paper so far, but you know as well as I do that doesn't always last."

"To worry about something that might or might not happen is a waste of energy," having made his move Spock sat back in his seat. "If there is an obvious problem, it should be corrected, but if the problem has not yet arisen, and there is no obvious move to avoid it, then to wait and observe would be the better option."

"Yeah well, in this case, 'waiting and observing' feels too blasted much like using people for guinea pigs," McCoy muttered. "We got everyone cramped together in less than a third of the normal space, there's going to be friction Jim. Scotty threw a slumber party down in engineering, saying he wanted them close in case there was a problem there, and that means we got all of them in one small space."

"It's not ideal," Jim agreed, wincing as he noted what Spock had done to the chess board. That was the problem on fighting two fronts, you weren't able to apply your full effort on either. "But everyone knows it is a necessity, I'm sure everyone will do their best to keep things running smoothly." With a hint of resignation he moved his next piece.

"Everything that's ever been written about space psychology says this is a bad idea Jim, it might be a necessity, but that doesn't mean it's good," McCoy insisted.

"I think Doctor, that perhaps you should leave the matter of the psychological part of this situation to our designated ships psychiatrist, and focus on your own area, beads and rattles I believe?"

"I think I'll go on back to my quarters and sleep," Bones bristled.

"That would be ill advised Doctor, as I believe that area of the ship at the current has no life support, it is debatable if you would suffocate before you froze to death."

"Starting to sound better and better, compared to the cold hearted pointy eared hobgoblin here," McCoy snapped back. Jim sighed softly, as much as the two of them enjoyed trading insults and barbed comments, any slur to his professional capacity cut Bones to the bone. Something Spock had seemingly not fully grasped yet.

"Gentlemen, shall we try to get through one night before we're at each other's throats?" Bones had certainly brought home the point though, if the three of them, who enjoyed each other's company in many ways found it difficult, there was going to be a lot more friction amongst the crew. McCoy might get riled pretty easily, and could flare up five times in as many minutes. He always calmed down as quickly as he flared up, unless someone targeted his role as a medical officer, that he took to heart. Spock certainly knew how to push his buttons and could get to McCoy like no one else, but he sometimes forgot just how serious Bones took his role as a doctor. Just like McCoy though he would never mean the insults to truly hurt his friend went a little too far if he was too angry.

As odd as it was, the two of them seemed to have an understanding with each other about this. They forgave each other quickly and neither one of them held a grudge.

Some of the crew might though, and with some ill luck it might get ugly.

"Very well Captain, my apologies Doctor," Spock inclined his head while McCoy muttered something under his breath that could have been an apology, or something else entirely, which meant all was back to normal between them and Jim could go back to losing badly at chess in peace.

McCoy finally downed the last few drops in his glass and turned off the screen, rubbing a tired hand over his face as he did so. Glancing at the bed and shrugging he simply sat on the edge of it to remove his boots.

"We should be done in a few minutes," Jim spoke up, as weary as he looked he was not surprised if McCoy opted for going to bed.

"Don't worry on my account, reckon I could sleep through just about anything right now," McCoy replied softly. Pulling off his uniform tunic and folding it up roughly he placed it on the shelf beside the bed, uniform pants following, socks stuffed into the boots at the foot of the bed. Orderly and neat enough under the circumstances. Jim could likely have managed to scoop out a drawer each for them in the dresser, but that just meant one more area to crowd around when they were dressing. With the black standard issue undershirt and shorts McCoy simply crawled into bed, aligning himself along the very edge of it and leaving plenty of space for Jim.

By the time their game was finished Jim was fairly certain he was asleep. The soft even breathing carried just the faintest hint of snoring. Not enough to bother anyone he figured as he and Spock made ready to join him.

It was crowded Jim noted, and it was hard to ignore that there was another body in the bed as well. On the other hand, with the temperature below their average setting it was not unpleasant and Bones kept still and quiet throughout the night. Something he was not sure if he himself did.

The advantage of being the ones cabin the others occupied, even if he tossed and snored they could not very well throw him out...

TBC

Please review, the Cricket is hungry...