For Author's note and Disclaimer, see chapter 1

Chapter 16

"I think it's getting colder," Nurse Chapel frowned as she rubbed her hands together. Their last patient having been nothing serious. Just a linguist who had tripped. People were tired, which showed in more ways than one.

"You should get up to the mess," Bones frowned as he peered at the screen. "Temperature has dropped."

"I'll call engineering," Chapel made her way over to the com system. "Nurse Chapel to engineering."

"Engineering here," the Scottish lilt came back over the com, somewhat distorted. "We're doing wha' we can, but we had a couple of conduits that blew, everything's a bit glitchy."

"We understand, just please try and get it as soon as you can," she urged.

"Aye, that we will," the chief engineer promised. "Ye have my word on that."

"Thanks Scotty, nurse Chapel out," she smiled softly. "Hopefully it won't take long Doctor," she mused.

"It's already been too long," he muttered, glaring at the screen. Trying to focus on a research program while the temperature was constantly dropping was frustrating. "That's what you get for hopping around in these tin cans, only a complete fool would think otherwise."

"Need I remind you that you are serving on a starship?" she smiled softly. "It's not so bad you know."

"It's plenty bad enough," he muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You should get out of here. I'll call you back if I need you."

"I'm not leaving you here alone," she shook her head. "I don't trust you enough for that."

"I think you're forgetting who's the boss here," Doctor McCoy fixed her with a firm look. As he exhaled he frowned, there was a faint mist in the air and he sighed.

"We don't have any patients," she rubbed her arms again. "We're both going up to the mess for a few minutes. By the time we've had a cup of coffee the problem might be resolved."

"Right," McCoy sighed as he turned off the screen, rubbing his hands together. He could clearly see his breath in the cold air. Whatever the problem was the sickbay was no place to stay for any prolonged time. "I guess trying to get some work done is out of the question."

"I'm sure we'll be able to get back to it later," she soothed. "In the meantime, why don't we have that coffee?"

"Because there is something called caffeine poisoning you know," he mused as he pulled off the borrowed sweater.

"We'll detox when we're through with this," she soothed.

"We're gonna need it," wrapping his arms around himself he started for the door. The corridor was no better, but as soon as they excited the turbolift there was a noticeable shift in temperature. Not that he was really able to enjoy it while his body was still so cold.

Sometimes he didn't know what the worst part was, sitting down in the icy sickbay until he started to get a headache from tensing up from the cold, or, heading up to the warmer parts only to be called back down as soon as he started to thaw. It never failed, all he had to do was to decide he really should try and finish a whole nutrient bar, then naturally someone had done something they rather should not have done and he had to sort out the mess.

A twisted knee later he figured the half hour before a group of navigators would be coming down for their booster shots of nutrients and vitamins wasn't worth it, though he urged his nurse to stay up. He didn't need her for something so simple.

He was however very grateful for the fact that she had brought a mug of coffee with her when she came back down. "Thank you my dear," he wrapped both hands around the mug. His breath still hanging in the air as the heat still hadn't returned and they really did not have long before it became a real problem.

"You're welcome," she smiled softly as she blew on her fingers before picking up the PADD. "But you'll have to be quick if you want to finish it, we've got an engineer coming in a minute."

"What is it this time?" putting the mug down he took the PADD. "We're not going to have anyone left to make the repairs if they keep getting themselves into this kind of trouble." He had just put the PADD down again when a middle aged man came in with a sheepish look on his face and cradling two fingers in his other hand.

"Alright, on the table," he sighed softly, giving the coffee a longing look. "Let's have a look at that."

"I was working on some wiring when the hatch fell closed," the man stated. "Caught my hand."

"I can see that," he ran his tricorder over it, no fractures, no sprains, just some swelling. A little regeneration therapy for the soft tissue damage was basically all that was needed. "Normally I'd say rest the day out, but given how short they are on people it's up to you, I'll give you something for the pain, but there is no damage. Just need to take care of the swelling and you'll be good to go."

"I'll be going back to my post then," the engineer decided. Once the regeneration was complete he accepted the pill and the mug of water that the doctor handed him. Tremors running through his body from the cold. His hand shook enough so when the man made to take the mug from the doctor he spilled nearly half of it.

"Just one second," McCoy picked up the hypo he kept ready with the vitamin solution. Giving him a quick shot of it as he drained the water. "There, and for heaven's sake, be careful."

"Yes sir, I will," the man promised as he put down the empty mug and hurried for the door, rubbing his hands over his arms.

Sighing McCoy turned back to his coffee mug, it'd be cold more likely than not, but at least the caffeine should still give him something to go on. Taking the mug he put it to his lips and frowned. He was sure it had been half full, but even as he tilted it no coffee reached his lips and he lowered the mug. Peering into it he tilted it, and watched as the coffee did not even stir in the mug. The water they kept for the patients were in a thermos and had kept a cold temperature. The coffee in his mug was unprotected and now had frozen over. Gritting his jaw he put it down on the desk and tried to decide if breaking the ice of the coffee was too desperate. Sighing he made to lay down the hypo he was still holding. His frown deepening as he looked down on the hypo, coffee all but forgotten. "Well that just tears it!"

Nurse Chapel looked up startled at his exclamation as he stalked to the com unit on the wall. "Blast it all Scotty, we need some heat down here and we need it now!"

"That ye doctor?" Scotty's voice came back through the slight distortion.

"Yes it's me, what in tarnation are you doing? We can't work here like this, we need some heat blast it all!"

"I donnae understand it, our readings says ye got heat," Scotty sounded confused even through the static.

"Well, hang your readings, we haven't got any heat at all here," he snapped.

"Bones," the Captain's voice cut through. "I'm here in engineering now, something might be wrong with the instruments, they do show you got heat and full life support."

"Then you come over here and see what you think about it," he snapped as he looked down on the hypo still in his hand. Trying to open his fingers he couldn't move them.

"Captain, hold on one second please," nurse Chapel stepped in, frowning as she saw him. "Doctor?" Taking his hand her frown deepened as she noted the water that had spilled on the sleeve of his tunic had actually frozen, and obviously he had had water on his hand when he picked up the hypo. Between the moisture and the cold metal the instrument had actually frozen to his fingers. The doctor, obviously having already reached the same conclusion grasped it with his other hand and she stopped him. "Don't you dare, you'll tear the skin off and there will just be more damage."

"Well, I'm not waiting for it to thaw," he snapped. "Lord knows how long that'd be."

"We're not doing that, but you know better than to damage the skin," she pointed out. "Now sit there and don't move," she pointed to the desk and he opened his mouth as if to object, then shuffled over with a scowl on his face and Chapel smiled to herself. Doctor McCoy could take some getting used to, but once one knew how to handle him he really wasn't so bad, but obviously the temperature had dropped further than they could handle. She pressed the button for the com again. "Captain, actually if you could come here we'd appreciate it. We do have a problem with the heating, and if you could bring some lukewarm water with you?"

"Lukewarm water?" the Captain sounded slightly confused.

"Yes sir," she confirmed. "We could really use some right now."

"Alright, I'll be there in a few minutes," he stated.

"Thank you, sickbay out," she terminated the call. "And you sit and behave until he gets here," she ordered leveling a finger at her superior.

"Of all the blasted nuisances…" he muttered to himself, though he did remain where he was, fingering the hypo. He was still scowling at the offending instrument when the Captain and the Chief Engineer walked into sickbay.

"Well, the readings were wrong, there's nae doubt about that," Scotty mused as he wrapped his arms around himself.

"How long has it been this bad?" Jim frowned, holding a thermos and shaking his head over the way their breaths hung in the air, white puffs to mock them.

"Been colder all of today, only got quite this bad a couple of hours ago," Bones sighed. There was no point in denying it even if he had to admit he found it embarrassing. "Had a patient that spilled some water, and it froze."

"Froze," Jim frowned, surprised. "It's that cold?"

"Well why the Sam Hill do ya think I've just about had it with it," Bones half snapped. "Yes, the water darn well froze, as did my coffee, and I got enough people coming in I need to be able to treat them, but we can't do it here like this."

"No, ye cannea," Scotty shook his head. "Now if I only knew what was off wi' them readings, I ken."

"And you can't stay here like this," putting the thermos with the water he had brought on the desk Jim frowned as he picked up the half empty cup of coffee and peered into it. "The coffee is frozen…"

"And so is this dang blasted thing," he held up his hand, trying to bite back the frustration. "Had some of the water he spilled on me I reckon, picked it up to give him a shot, and that was all it took." Nurse Chapel had brought a basin over and checked the temperature of the water.

"That froze to?" Jim stepped forward, grabbing his hand, noting the frost crystals on the metal, the frozen spot on the uniform tunic. His frown deepened to real concern as he met Bones' eyes.

"That's what we wanted the water for," Chapel stepped in with a small smile. "Doctor, if you wouldn't mind," she gestured to the bowl and Bones shrugged, his shoulders slumping in a way Jim was learning to recognize. It tended to happen when Bones had to admit to a weakness he wanted to deny, when something was wrong and he had hoped no one would find out he hadn't been stronger. As far as he could tell, there was no reason for it now, but then there hadn't been one the other times either the way he saw it. He watched quietly as nurse Chapel poured the water slowly over his hand, and Bones worked the hypo free as the thin ice coating was dissolved. Laying it aside carefully and drying his hand with the towel that the nurse handed him.

Running the medical scanner over his palm Jim noted how he handled the instrument with some amount of trepidation. Hardly surprising, and touching his own hand to the metal object on the table he found it cold enough to burn under his touch.

"Don't do that," Bones gave him a light glare.

"How bad is it?" Jim ignored the statement.

"Won't be a problem, any damage was only through the first layer of skin, a little dermal regeneration and it'll be good as new," the doctor looked up. His hand wasn't the problem. The fact that it was cold enough for instruments, and coffee, to freeze was. "I need the equipment here Jim, if it wasn't for that, I'd have packed up long ago, but there's not enough of it we can move."

"But you can't stay down here like this either," just the short time he had been there he felt half iced over. Rubbing his hands together, then tucking them under his arms for warmth he sighed. "Take care of that regen, then once that's done, take what you can and move up to the mess. Anything that's not critical will just have to wait."

"I'll put a couple of lads on it," Scotty promised. "I cannae say how long it'll take before I know exactly what the problem is, but I'd be guessing a ruptured line somewhere."

"Just let us know when you have more," Jim stated. "And as soon as you've taken care of that hand, I'll make sure you can set up shop in the mess. Actually, let me know when you're on the way up, we can lend you a hand carrying it up if you need it." He was also hoping that he would be able to make sure his friend had something to eat then. As far as he knew Bones hadn't yet, and there was a light stew in the mess for the crew. Nothing much, but like Bones had declared it was something and much better than nothing.

"We'll let you know," Nurse Chapel promised with a smile. Jim wasn't really surprised she was the one who spoke, Bones was muttering something under his breath. Clearly still not entirely happy with the situation and he led Scotty out of there so the two of them would be able to finish. It was better that way, let them wrap it up in peace.

TBC

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