Thank you so much to everyone who gave their input! Now I know exactly where this story is going!

This chapter is dedicated to all who have been waiting patiently for Jim to get more involved in this!

After they had gotten Jim all tucked in and made sure he was sound asleep, Spock and McCoy turned off the bedroom light, shut the door, and made their way into the living room to sit on the couch.

"Computer, raise room temperature ten degrees," said McCoy.

Spock smiled at him appreciatively. "Leonard, though I appreciate your efforts to make me more comfortable, I do not wish for you to make yourself uncomfortable."

"I'm from the south, darlin'. It ain't too hot for me. Besides, now I can take off this shirt," he smirked, removing his uniform shirt, leaving himself in only his black undershirt.

"In that case, raising the temperature is most logical."

"Logic my ass, you just wanna get me naked," the doctor teased.

"Indeed."

At that, Bones blushed and shifted on the couch, he wasn't used to Vulcan bluntness in relationships. "I think I'm gonna go break out that Romulan ale. You want anything?"

"Perhaps I shall indulge myself and have a small piece of chocolate. However it is important that we do not become so intoxicated that we will not be able to assist Jim should he need it. Also, we do not wish to do something we may later regret."

Bones nodded. The last he wanted was to wake up with a hangover and no memory of a drunken escapade with Spock. "I think I have an idea. Have you ever had hot cocoa, Spock?"

"Yes, I have consumed the drink once at a holiday party aboard the Enterprise."

Bones frowned. He hadn't expected Spock to have ever had it before, but then his charming southern smirk was back. "Well, you've never had my hot cocoa before and trust me, honey, you're in for a treat. I make the best hot cocoa this side of the galaxy."

Spock didn't bother to point out the low likelihood of Leonard's statement, and decided to go along with him. "Very well, I would enjoy trying your hot cocoa."

"Coming right up," he smiled before disappearing into the kitchen.

He returned in a few minutes with a steaming mug of cocoa and a glass of Romulan ale for himself. He had lacked many essential ingredients such as milk and marshmallows, but he had made the best out of his limited resources.

Upon entering the living room he found Spock looking out the window, deep in thought and observation. Leonard set down their drinks on the table and went to stand by him.

The snow was quite beautiful, and for someone like Spock who had grown up on Vulcan where there was no snow, it was most fascinating and for some reason, quite romantic.

"Beautiful," Leonard finally murmured, breaking the peaceful silence.

"I agree; the snow is most beautiful. But not as beautiful as yourself, Leonard."

Bones was completely unsure of how to react so such a compliment. "Wow, Spock. That's like the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me. You're starting to freak me out."

An eyebrow quirked. "How so?"

"Just forget I said that. I'm just not used to you being all romantic and stuff."

"That is because we have only recently begun our romantic relationship. I am confident you will adjust to my compliments quickly."

Bones smiled. "Yeah, I'm sure I will."

They walked back over to the couch to have their drinks. Spock to a few seconds to admire the chocolate aroma of his drink before finally tasting it.

"So… what do you think?"

"It is by far the best hot chocolate I have tasted," the Vulcan stated.

McCoy smiled. "Told you I made good cocoa."

"I never doubted you."

They drank in comfortable silence for a while until they heard Jim whimper in his fitful sleep from the other room. McCoy frowned. "God, I wish we could just go in there with him and help him; comfort him."

"We could," Spock suggested gently.

Leonard shook his head. "No, I don't wanna talk relationship with him while we're stranded down here. If he doesn't want us it'll just freak him out. If he does… it might be more than he can handle in his state." Leonard had to think of the situation as a lose-lose in order to not get his hopes up. Soon Jim's whimpers, Spock's sympathetic gaze, the alcohol, and his own pessimism, were too much for him and Leonard broke down, trying his best not to cry and failing.

Spock was a bit taken aback at first. "I trust these are not tears of joy…"

"God dammit, I can't believe I'm fucking crying! I'm sorry, Spock! It's just, what if we never make it off of this planet? Jim's not getting any better, he's getting worse! If we don't get him help soon he could die of dehydration and I'm useless to help him! I'm running out of hypos, we're running out of food, I want you so bad but we don't have any privacy, if the generator breaks we're all gonna freeze to death,—"

Sensing Leonard was nowhere near the end of his rant, Spock quieted him with a kiss and then held him close. "Leonard, please, calm yourself. I am well aware of the dire nature of our situation; there is no need to recount it out loud. It is important that you remain calm. There is still a 63.4 percent chance that the Enterprise will rescue us before it is too late."

Upon hearing he had a 36.6 percent chance of dying on the frozen planet, he started to sob all over again. Perhaps percentages were not as comforting to humans as they were to Vulcans. Spock repositioned himself on the couch and tilted the crying man's chin up to look him in his teary eyes.

Leonard blinked and let the remaining tears fall as he locked eyes with the Vulcan. When the tears rolled down Leonard's cheeks, Spock gently brushed them away like he remembered his mother doing when he would become emotionally compromised as a child.

The sadness and hopelessness in McCoy's eyes was so deep and genuine that it completely shattered Spock's heart. He hadn't felt emotion that strong since the tragic death of his mother, and from that moment on he was absolutely certain he was in love.

Without another comforting word, Spock leaned in and kissed Leonard deeply, pushing forward as many comforting thoughts as he could through their physical contact. McCoy gasped upon feeling Spock's thoughts in his own head. They were all comfort and concern, but mostly intense passionate love.

Spock brought his hand up to Leonard's face, wordlessly asking permission to mind meld. Bones looked apprehensively towards the bedroom door where Jim slept restlessly.

"He is asleep, he will not find out," Spock illogically assured him. There was a 28.6 chance that Jim would indeed catch them, but Spock decided it was best not to mention percentages again.

Leonard nodded hesitantly at first but then fervently. "Please."

Taking a deep breath, Spock lay them both down on the couch and put his long fingers on the doctor's psi points. "You must relax, Leonard," he whispered. "My mind to your mind…"

By the time the meld was over, McCoy had long since stopped caring about privacy and they weren't all too worried about the couch; they were willing to bet it had been defiled before.

After what was by far the best sex in his life, Leonard lay panting on the couch with an equally exhausted Spock lying next to him. "Wow."

"Indeed."

"I'm really surprised Jim didn't hear that."

"Yes, it is fortunate he is so deeply asleep."

"…I love you."

"As I love you."

Leonard slowly sat up and started gathering their clothes off of the floor around the couch. He held up a blue shirt. "Um…"

Spock took the shirt from him and smelled the armpit, causing Leonard's face to crinkle in disgust and confusion. "It is yours," Spock concluded, handing the shirt back to him.

"How do you know?"

"I recognize the smell of your deodorant."

Bones smiled but shot him a glare. "You're such a creep."

Spock quirked an eyebrow. "There is nothing creepy about it, Leonard. I am simply observant."

They quickly got dressed, placed their cups in the kitchen sink, and carefully crept into the bedroom. Sure enough, Jim was sprawled out across the bed diagonally, mouth open, drooling, and snoring loudly. Sound asleep.

"Should we try and move him?" Bones finally asked after they both stared at him for a good minute.

"It would be logical. He was expecting us to join him."

Bones nodded and they gently pushed Jim to one side so that he was no longer covering the entire king sized bed. Once they finished resituating him he stirred briefly and mumbled something in his sleep. Something that sounded oddly like 'Spock'.

While the Vulcan's eyebrows went into his hairline, the doctor's knit together in confusion. "Did he just say your name?"

Spock took a moment to ponder the implications of Jim saying his name in his sleep. "Highly unlikely," he concluded.

Bones agreed and they both climbed into the bed, the doctor in the middle. "Goodnight, Spock."

"Goodnight, t'hy'la."

Bones knew exactly what that word meant and he was glad that the light was off so that Spock couldn't see him blush deeply.

It was well into the middle of the night when Bones awoke to loud moaning coming from Jim's side of the bed. He turned around just in time to see Jim get out of the bed and run to the bathroom. Instinctively, he got out of bed to see if he was okay, being careful not to wake up Spock as he did so.

When the doctor entered the outpost's small bathroom and flicked on the light, he found Jim kneeling on the ground with his head resting on the toilet seat. "Hey, Bones," he said weakly before throwing up again.

The doctor winced. "Oh, Jim. I'm so sorry this had to happen. Of all the times to get the flu…"

"It's just my luck," Jim sighed. His stomach content for the moment, Jim got up and turned on the faucet, splashing his pale yet burning hot face with cold clean water.

"I wish I could do more to help you," said Bones.

"You're doin' a great job taking care of me, Bones. You're doing the best you can with what you've got. I want thank you for that, honestly."

"You're welcome, Jim," he replied with a small smile.

Jim opened one of the cabinets above the sink and to his extreme joy, found a bottle of mouthwash. "Oh God. Look, Bones, it's a gift from heaven. You have no clue how bad my mouth tastes!"

He gratefully took a giant swig of the minty cool liquid into his mouth and thoroughly swished it around before spitting it out. He breathed out in relief. "That feels so much better."

Since his breath was minty fresh, an idea suddenly came into Jim's feverish mind. It wouldn't be too awkward, would it? He and Bones had kissed before when they were drunk. And Jim desperately wanted to kiss the man standing next to him. If it turned out too awkward he could just claim he didn't remember it in the morning and blame it on the fever. What did he have to lose?

"Hey, Bones, come 'ere," he said nervously.

Though he was slightly confused as to what Jim could want, the doctor complied and stepped to within a foot of the pale captain.

Jim smiled apprehensively, cupped Leonard's check in warning, and pulled him in for an amazing and very minty kiss. Needless to say, the doctor was shocked at first, but soon began kissing Jim back with fervor and passion.

Shortly after skillfully adding a little tongue to the equation, Jim pulled back with a satisfied grin. "'Night, Bones," he said, beaming. He clapped the other man on the back good naturedly before turning and going back to bed.

Bones stood exactly where Jim had left him, utterly stunned. 'What the fuck just happened…?'

Reviewers get a big minty kiss from Jim too! ;)
(Don't worry, he's not contagious!)