For Author's Note and Disclaimer, See chapter 1

Chapter 28

Jim blinked awake when the comm by the bed buzzed again, Scotty's voice coming through and he sat up.

"Captain here, how's it going down there?" he wasn't sure exactly when McCoy had left but he figured it was some time since.

"We're doing well enough considering, Captain," the Scotsman stated. "A wee bit concerned though, the doctor was looking awfully peaked when he was done so he was. Ah ken he won't thank me for it, but we just wanted to make sure he made his way back alright."

"You're right," Jim allowed himself a smile. "He won't thank you for the 'mollycoddling' or whatever it is he calls it, but we both knows he'll appreciate it some just the same. I'll let you know when he gets back in, okay?"

"He's not there yet then?" Scotty frowned, concern showing across his features and Jim ran a hand through his hair.

"No, but he wouldn't have had time to yet, if he just left you?" there was a feeling of unease creeping up his spine, and he heard the rustling from the other side of the partition wall, straining to see who it was he felt the unease grow as he noted it was only Spock.

"Captain, he left more'n a half hour ago, he wouldnt've had needed more than five minutes to make it back to ye," Scotty frowned.

"Maybe he went past sickbay?" he felt like he was madly grasping at straws, but he the unease was now icy fingers crawling up and down his spine. He could have gone to leave something, or decided to make the report then and there. He could have any number of legitimate reasons not to go straight back to the cabin.

"He could've done that," Scotty stated, a grim look on his face. "But I donnae think so. He didnnae say anything about it so he didn't. Looked beat tired to, I donnae like it so I don't Captain. He should've been back with ye at least twenty minutes or more ago. I don't ken why he wouldn't be, but Ah don't like it so I don't."

"I don't like it either," Jim glanced up to where Spock stood quiet by the partition wall. "I know he always speaks about doing things right away, but he's never minded letting a report wait until the morning. I just don't understand it, what could have happened to him between here and engineering?"

"That I cannae say Captain," Scotty shook his head. "But I'll be glad to let him yell at me if I get ye all up for nothing, but right now I'd rather make sure he's doing alright first."

"We'll call in to sickbay, make sure he's not there, or the mess, and then if we can't locate him we'll make it down to you," Jim promised. Spock was already walking over to the wall comm, calling for sickbay where a junior nurse answered sleepily after a minute, allowing that she had not seen the doctor at all during the night. Jim had known as much as soon as she answered, if Bones had been there the nurse would never have sounded so reluctant to reply. It would be cold down there and he would have made sure they would be rotating through the night so no one was down there for much more than an hour at a time.

The few crew members in the mess also reported he wasn't there, and he did not answer the call Spock sent out as Jim hastily threw some clothes on. The Vulcan hastily pulled on his own uniform while Jim let Scotty know they had not found the doctor and would be making their way down to engineering. Hoping he had simply been waylaid on the way back. Possibly by someone else injured or sick.

Searching through the roundabout way that was still the closest way to sickbay at the moment they saw nothing. Barely anyone was making their way around the ship at the time. A few ensigns were taking care of an odd task here and there but most of the corridors were quiet and vacated.

"I donnae understand it," Scotty scratched his head as they met up with him. "He was tired alright, don't know if I ever seen him so tired, I near suggested he stayed here with us for the rest of the night but I figured he wouldn't be wanting to. Never did seem that comfortable down here, not like that. Don't like the engines much."

"Bones don't like to be reminded he's on a starship," Jim mused. "I think he finds it a mite hard to ignore when he's down here, but he does always try."

"But where could he have gone off to?" Scotty scratched the back of his head again. "It donnae make sense. He took care of the lads down here alright so he did, then he said he was gonna head right back up to bed and if ever a man looked like he needed it, he did. I wouldn't have thought anything at all about it, but there was just something ya know Captain. I ken he needs a wee bit of someone looking out for him at times so I do."

"I know Scotty, I know exactly how you feel," Jim mused. There wasn't always enough of them that felt that way but Bones certainly needed it at times. He was too used to standing alone and too scared to ask for help even when he should know he needed to. Bones was hard to get to know and he was scared to let anyone close enough to count on them. He needed everyone he could to watch his back. "And I'm glad he has you looking out for him," he clapped Scotty on the shoulder. "Let's think this through now. He's not back in our cabin, he's not in sickbay or in the mess, and I honestly can't see him picking this time to wander around the corridors."

"If that had been the case, he would also have answered our call," Spock pointed out. "It is a fact that if he had been able to, the doctor would have answered our hails, therefor we may presume that he is at the time unable to do so."

"But he wouldn't have gone anywhere else, and he's not where he should be, so where is he?" Jim frowned.

"Captain, we only searched the route he 'should' have taken to get here," Spock pointed out. "It is possible that he took a different way back, for example, the previously most common."

"He couldnae have done that," Scotty frowned. "That way haven't got no heat or life support right now. He knows that, he wouldnae have gone there."

"Normally I would agree that he would have avoided any unsuitable area," Spock agreed. "But as you only recently pointed out that the doctor was very tired, it is possible that he did not think about this, and took a more habitual path back."

"We put up signs, he would've noticed," Scotty frowned but Jim felt the icy unease that had been crawling up and down his spine close a fist around his heart.

"Signs only mean so much if you're too tired to pay attention to them," he breathed. "All of yesterday he kept being pulled away when he was trying to eat. When he got back he hadn't really had anything, I saw how tired he was, lethargic. If he was done here, and just thought about getting back…"

"Indeed," Spock inclined his head. "The doctor has on multiple occasions quite correctly cautioned us that tired men make mistakes they would not ordinary do. Professionally I would hold the Doctor McCoy in high regard and trust him to treat the men in any condition where he claimed himself fit enough to do so. However I must admit that it is possible that he in doing so exhausted himself past where he was able to safely consider such matters."

"He might very well have gone off there," Jim nodded. "We need at the very least make sure."

"Aye," as the Captain and the Vulcan hurried of the engineer followed them, long strides quickly taking them to the corridor that had been put out of use. They needed access to it to work in it, so the door was not locked. There was a warning posted on it not to enter without any form of protection, but as they correctly had pointed out. One needed to be able to pay heed to the warning to have any benefit from it.

The door hissed open at the command and Jim gasped. Several yards in, quite a distance given the stale air buffering them at the open door was a speck of command gold discarded on the floor. Looking past it, further in the dim corridor, nearly obscured against the wall and too far in to move safely was a crumpled heap of black uniform trousers and pale flesh.

"Bones!" the Captain made to dart forward but a strong hand around his upper arm pulled him back roughly. "Let me go Spock!" he turned his head to glare at him, pulling against the hold. "He's in there, we need to get him!"

"Ye cannae," Scotty started, his voice thick and choked. "Not like this. Ye just can't Captain. That's how far he got, there's no real air in there, not enough to breath anyways. That's how far ye'd get if ya went in there without supplemental oxygen. Ye can't do anything for him like that. We need to get oxygen masks, without them, there's not a blessed thing we can do…" He turned around to say a few quiet words to the ensign with them and the man took off, Jim paying him no heed as he was focused on the crumbled figure on the floor. So close to them, and yet out of reach. Scotty was right, even with the door open he felt a slight lightheadedness from the lack of oxygen.

"We can't leave him like that, we don't even know if he's still alive," he nearly choked on the words. When they were under attack, when they were in battle and he was in his chair he could push it all aside and focus on the job.

Standing in the corridor of his own ship, being able to see his friend and know he needed help, knowing that it could be a matter of seconds that determined his fate and yet being unable to go to him, that was by far harder to bear.

"Captain, the atmosphere on Vulcan is thinner than that on earth, quite frankly I often find the air aboard to be quite rich. As a Vulcan, I should be able to make it to McCoy without suffering the same ill effects as you would."

"Ya might make it in there, but ya wouldn't be making it out," Scotty shook his head. "Ya might be strong enough ta get to him, but carrying him back ye'd be exerting yerself more so ye would. Ye wouldn't make it back here, and ye wouldn't be able to make it to the other side either, it's too far."

"But I am correct in that I would be able to make it to him," Spock countered. "I would at the very least be able to ascertain his condition and ensure that he can be treated as quickly as possible."

"Spock, it's dangerous," Jim gritted his teeth. If Bones was still alive, if he was still breathing but slowly suffocating someone getting to him and making sure his airways stayed open, that he was not lying so as to be choking himself, could mean the difference between life and death. A minute could determine his fate, if it was not already past that time.

"I am aware of the risk," Spock stated calmly. "I am also aware of the doctor's needs, which are far more urgent."

"If you find it too much, come back, we don't need two of you in there," Jim decided. Out of the three of them, Spock stood the best chance of reaching their friend. "Don't try to bring him back, just make sure he's okay and we'll get oxygen masks to you as soon as we can."

Spock wasted no time on sentiments or acknowledgements, he simply strode into the biting cold corridor. There were only a meagre amount of oxygen in the stale air, he felt it but it did not trouble him quite as much as it would have troubled the captain. There was no doubt in his mind the doctor had passed out from oxygen deprivation as well as hypothermia.

The only question that remained was whether there was enough oxygen in the air for him to at least sustain himself unconscious or if he had suffocated where he lay.

Reaching the prone lifeless form he dropped a hand on the arm and found it icy cold to touch. The lips and fingertips were tinged with blue, but two fingers at the pulsepoint of the neck allowed him to feel a faint flutter.

"The doctor is still alive," he turned his head to call to the captain who heaved a sigh of relief. Behind him Scotty turned to the wall comm to call for medical personnel to get to them. He watched anxiously as Spock eased himself down on the floor.

"Is he gonna be okay?" he had to mentally stop himself from rushing in. If there was not enough oxygen for Bones, barely enough for Spock then he would do them no good rushing in. He would only make matters worse, but it was breaking his heart to watch the two of them in danger and not be able to do anything for them.

"I will endeavour to ensure he is as comfortable as possible until aid may get here," Spock decided. Easing the man into a position that would ensure that his airways stayed open he also pulled him against himself for warmth.

Jim nodded grimly, knowing all he could do was to watch as Spock eased an arm around Bones' shoulders. It felt like an eternity even if he knew it was mere minutes. Spock no doubt kept track of every second of the time, and would no doubt be able to relay that to them later. Jim himself was to busy trying not to panic and several times he had to mentally stop himself from going into the corridor and everything else be damned. Beside him, Scotty put a hand on his shoulder.

"If he's hanging on so far, he'll be alright," the older man stated softly though his words did not offer Jim as much comfort as he would have wished. "Don't sell the man short," the warm Scottish lilt continued on. "He's as stubborn a man as they come so he is, an' stronger than most give him credit for an' that's the truth of it."

"But what the hell was he thinking going this way," Jim demanded. "How could he make a mistake like that? He's supposed to be CMO blast it! Shouldn't he have more sense than getting himself killed?"

"Now that's not being fair Captain," the engineer gave him a disapproving look. "Ye said it yerself he nea got a chance to eat t'all, then nea getting no sleep either. Ye can't be giving him no grief over it, man's simply too wore out to know what he's doing anymore."

"Then he had no business being here in the first place!" Jim flared.

"Yer no being fair Captain," Scott shook his head slowly. "He did his job alright, well as anyone could be expected to, but that's where the danger is, when ye relax again, it happens to the best of us. And I reckon the man's been worked harder than most of us here. Ye cannae be going on yelling about him for it, tis isn't fair an I reckon ye know so."

"I know Scotty," he sighed. "It's just, hard. Standing here, not able to do anything."

"Aye Captain, it's the hardest," Scotty nodded slowly. "Always has been."

TBC

Thank you all who's read and reviewed, The Cricket is thrilled...