Title: Asclepius Revisited
Author: Still Waters
Fandom: Star Trek TOS
Disclaimer: Not mine. Just playing, with love and respect to those who brought these characters to life.
Summary: 76 McCoy episodes. 76 McCoy-centric reflections, codas, and missing scenes.
Notes: McCoy's response to Khan holding a knife to his throat in "Space Seed" is a fascinating look at his character. He remains perfectly still, keeps eye contact with Khan, and even tells him where to cut. There is no panic in his face, and even when Khan releases him, McCoy does not move away from the bed. He goes on talking to Khan as if nothing ever happened. I thought it would be interesting to explore his response to that threat through Kirk and Spock seeing video footage of the event after the fact. As always, I hope I did the characters justice. The several lines of dialogue quoted from the episode do not belong to me. Thank you for reading and thank you to all who have continued to follow this series over the years. I truly appreciate your support.
20.
When it came time to transport Khan and his conquerors down to Ceti Alpha Five, Captain Kirk initially planned to limit the transporter room to himself and security personnel. After Spock's meticulously logical refutation of every reason Kirk wanted him to stay on the bridge instead, Kirk put Scotty in command and oversaw the transport of Khan's crewmembers with Spock at his side.
Khan and McGivers were the last to be beamed down. Khan looked at McGivers as she joined him on the transport pad and nodded, confirming his choice. "Yes, a superior woman," he repeated his words from the hearing. He shifted his penetrating gaze to Kirk. "It is a pity, however, that your doctor's loyalty lies here. Not many men have told me exactly how to kill them when my knife is at their throat. I could use a man like that."
Kirk felt Spock holding back a raised eyebrow; an action that Spock would never admit held the same combination of alarm, surprise, and anger flaring in Kirk's gut. Kirk gave Khan a tight smile. "Yes, I'm sure you could," he murmured, before turning to the security officer manning the transporter. "Energize."
Once the bio scanners confirmed that Khan and his crew were on their way to ruling hell, Kirk instructed Scotty to continue their course, dismissed the security personnel, and strode into the corridor.
"Captain?" Spock asked quietly from just behind him.
"My quarters," Kirk replied brusquely.
Spock nodded and followed in silence.
Once inside Kirk's quarters, Spock paused a step from the doors as they slid shut, watching Kirk move purposefully to the computer. "Captain, are we not…."
"Going to see Dr. McCoy?" Kirk finished for him with a variation of the tight smile he had given to Khan. "You said it yourself, Mr. Spock. Insufficient facts always invite danger." He tapped the computer. "First, let's get some facts."
"Indeed," Spock agreed, moving further into the room as Kirk brought up the sickbay video footage.
Like most common areas of the ship, sickbay had hidden cameras to record all daily activities. While there was no need for crewmembers to continuously monitor the vast amount of video footage generated by a starship the size of the Enterprise, the footage was stored in the ship's logs for review as needed.
Kirk stood in front of the computer screen, too wound up to sit. Spock moved near enough to see the screen, but left room for Kirk to pace when needed.
They watched as Khan, thinking he was alone, got out of bed, only to freeze when he heard McCoy's voice from the other room. Two sets of shoulders tensed as they watched Khan take a scalpel from the old Earth medical instrument collection mounted on the wall, then return to bed.
Kirk began to pace as the video showed McCoy entering the room to check on his patient. The physician looked at the monitor, then down to the seemingly sleeping Khan. He reached for an eyelid, to verify one of the monitor's indicators.
Khan moved so quickly, Spock found himself mirroring Kirk's sharp, surprised inhalation.
Khan grabbed the right side of McCoy's neck with one hand while holding the scalpel to the left. McCoy went completely still.
So did Kirk. The pacing stopped, tense muscles and hardened eyes focused completely on the screen.
Khan looked at McCoy, waiting for a reaction. But McCoy didn't struggle. He didn't even look surprised. He remained still, but his eyes were clear and focused. Maintaining eye contact with Khan, he broke the silence. "Well, either choke me or cut my throat. Make up your mind."
Kirk didn't know whether to laugh or choke the man himself. What was he thinking? After telling Kirk that Khan could lift them both with one arm, there McCoy was, staring this genetically enhanced superman down and challenging him. No fear. As if he had done this before.
Khan's grip didn't waver as he asked where he was. But as McCoy began to answer, Khan's hand suddenly tightened, briefly cutting off McCoy's air, before it released enough to let him continue speaking. A warning. Kirk surged closer to the screen, as if he could get between them.
But McCoy didn't waver either. He remained still, eyes locked on Khan's. There was no panic, no cough or heaving chest, no bulging eyes, no attempts to shift his position to either help his airway or to escape. And still no fear as he said, "you're in bed, holding a knife to your doctor's throat."
Khan wasn't deterred by the obvious statement. "Answer my question."
McCoy didn't hesitate as he continued, "it would be most effective if you would cut the carotid artery, just under the left ear."
Kirk blew out a breath. McCoy's stillness was almost unnerving. Most people would struggle and try to free themselves, especially when their airway was being compromised. Of course, most people also wouldn't describe the efficiency of severing the carotid artery to a man holding a knife very close to said artery. What was McCoy doing? He was looking right into Khan's eyes, staring down a man who could easily end his life, as calm, collected, and focused as he was during surgery.
As if he had done this before.
Kirk unconsciously held his breath in the seconds after McCoy's anatomy lesson. Khan and McCoy kept eye contact in a tense, calculating silence, until Khan released McCoy's throat and moved the knife into a less immediately threatening position. Kirk breathed out heavily upon McCoy's release, leaning forward to brace his arms on the back of the desk chair as Khan said, "I like a brave man."
McCoy's breathing never changed. Neck free and airway open, he didn't bring a hand to his throat, swallow painfully, cough, or try to take a deeper breath. Kirk watched as McCoy continued to stand in the same place, right next to Khan's bed. He didn't leave the room. He didn't even step back to put more distance between himself and the man who had just threatened to kill him. Still maintaining that unwavering eye contact, McCoy took the scalpel from Khan's loosened, permitting grip and said, in the same calm, even tone, "I was simply trying to avoid an argument."
And then McCoy told Khan that he was aboard the Enterprise, answering his initial question as if nothing ever happened.
Kirk stopped the video. Arms still braced on the back of the chair, he dropped his chin to his chest, trying to organize his racing thoughts. McCoy had been in similar situations before, that much was obvious. His response to that imminent threat of death was not the instinctive, human response Kirk would have expected. The stillness, the calm tone, the lack of fear in his eyes…those were the result of training and practice. A response born of experience. And while Kirk knew that danger and violence could happen anywhere, that injured or medicated patients could be volatile, he still felt a protective anger that McCoy was well-versed enough to respond as he did.
But telling Khan which artery to cut? That was something different. Kirk knew McCoy didn't have a death wish. He was missing something, some other piece of McCoy's response.
He glanced back at Spock. His first officer's eyes shone with respect and an undercurrent of very human concern and protectiveness. "Impressive," Spock said quietly, still looking at the screen.
"Impressive?" Kirk echoed.
Spock shifted his gaze to Kirk. "Dr. McCoy's command of human psychology."
And there it was.
"A pity you wasted your life on command, Jim. You'd have made a fair psychologist."
"Fair?"
As Kirk recalled McCoy's response to how he counselled McGivers on her performance, he realized "fair" was being generous. Compared to McCoy, he didn't even rate. Because McCoy survived that encounter with Khan due to his expertise in psychology. Within a split second of having a knife to his throat, he assessed the dangerous stranger now in command of his airway, got to the core of who he was, and acted in a way that the man would respond to and respect. Calm. In control. Steady eye contact. Bravery in the face of danger. A subtle challenge. Facing death without fear.
Warrior to warrior.
And McCoy was right. Khan respected his response, deemed him worthy of living, and let him go. On a ship filled with weapons, with an old weapon at his own throat, McCoy honored his oath and used both his physiological and psychological knowledge to keep himself and his patient from harm.
Kirk shook his head in amazement as he thought back to what McCoy said when he gave his compliments upon discovering that the newly revived Khan would live.
"No, I'm good, but not that good."
"Yes, you are," Kirk murmured.
"Captain?" Spock inquired.
"Hmmm?" Kirk looked up, realizing he had spoken out loud. "Sorry, Spock." He cleared his throat. "You're right. Very impressive."
"Shall I begin reviewing sickbay security procedures?" Spock asked, anticipating Kirk's next orders.
"No, not yet." At Spock's raised eyebrow, Kirk continued. "You know how Bones gets if he's not consulted on anything that affects sickbay. And as Chief Medical Officer, he has a right to be involved in those discussions." Kirk paused, looking toward the door, before nodding as he made a final decision. "I…we'll talk to him later," he said, correcting himself as Spock's face made it clear that he would be there as well. "But there's something we need to do first."
When McCoy returned to his quarters that night, he found the sickbay display of old Earth medical instruments on his desk. Attached to one of the scalpels was a note:
I believe these are best suited to your quarters.
McCoy chuckled softly as he ran his fingers from the note to the cool handle of the scalpel. Physically moving the instruments from sickbay to his quarters was all Jim. But the note was pure Spock. Either way, the intent was clear: we believe you are safer with these here.
McCoy fell asleep that night with a warm feeling in his chest.
When he entered the sickbay treatment room the next morning, hypo in hand for a pale Ensign suffering a persistent migraine, McCoy knew he'd have a dinner invitation from Jim and Spock by the end of his shift. He also knew that his friends would have a lot to say. But in the moment between administering the hypo and ordering the lights to dim, McCoy turned his head to the blank wall where the scalpels had been displayed, then looked up at one of the hidden cameras, and nodded.
Message received.
I'm all right.
Thank you.
I will see you later.
Then McCoy dimmed the lights, quietly assured his patient he'd check on him soon, and went on with his work.