Jim knew what he was doing. He had done it before. It was called binge drinking and he quite liked having no memories for a few days. He had done it for the first time after Sam had died, and then again after his mother declared he was useless, and on almost every birthday since his sixteenth. He knew the risks; he wasn't stupid.

He had stopped once he went into the Academy, once he met Bones. The man barely liked anyone but he had liked Jim and the one rule he had imposed had been no binge drinking. His reasoning? "I don't wanna loose my wingman."

He might have gone a bit too far this time, however. He woke up to a headache, cold extremities and a bad taste in his mouth. Not good, he thought.

"You sure are a dumb bastard, I'll tell you that," Jim heard a voice say above him. He opened his eyes, blinking as the bright light overhead hurt his eyes. Slowly, he began to make out the Sick Bay, Nurse Chapel and a very angry Bones. "Dammit Jim!"

"I know, I know…" Jim mumbled. "I'm s-"

"I almost lost you damnit!" Bones yelled through clenched teeth. He made a motion towards Chapel, who left immediately, and then turned back to Jim. "Don't you ever scare me like that again, you hear me?"

Jim nodded and tried to sit up. His arms wanted none of that, however, and he fell back on the bed with a grunt. He blinked, trying to get rid of the colourful circles that were dancing in front of his eyes. Bones had a nice pink circle right in the centre of his forehead. It made him look like an Indian from the 20th century. Jim tried to reach out to touch it and Bones slapped his hand away, harshly.

"You promised you'd-"

"I know, I'm sorry. What else do you want me to say?" Jim asked turning his head to the side and staring at the far wall. He couldn't even look at his best friend in the eye. "I just wanted it to go away. I didn't mean for it… I'm sorry."

"It?" Bones asked. "What 'it'?"

"Spock's face! I want his face to be erased from my memory."

"Why?" Jim didn't reply. "Jimbo, you gotta let me help you! Talk to me before you kill yourself!"

"I'm tired, Bones." Jim closed his eyes and waited for the sound of his best friends leaving. After a minute, Bones left but not before saying, "he's commed down here every ten minutes for the last two hours to see how you are. He's worried about you as much as I am. Stop bein' an pussy and talk to him!"

Spock was on his way out of his room to head to the science labs when he bumped into a hysterical Doctor McCoy. Nothing was said as the doctor grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to Jim's quarters. He could have easily stopped the physical contact but something in the way the doctor's eyes looked at him made him want to follow him. And he was correct.

Upon entering the captain's quarters, he saw Jim lying on the floor surrounded by vomit. The entire room was disorderly, even more than usual, and Jim appeared unconscious. The next few moments passed by so quickly that Spock barely had time to register them. He picked up Jim, carried him through the halls as Doctor McCoy followed, and not once did he leave his side once they reached Sick Bay. Doctors and nurses pried Jim from his arms and even then, only what Jim would have called a 'cheap-shot' hypo, made him give the unconscious captain over.

Spock was asleep a good twenty minutes. The moment he awoke, he demanded to see Jim. Doctor McCoy forbade it and sent him to his quarters. Spock went without a fight knowing that he would just impede Jim's recovery and so he went to his room and meditated. After ten minutes of failed meditation, he called down to sickbay for news.

"He is sleepin'," McCoy replied. "He should be up anywhere from ten minutes from now to two hours."

With that in mind, Spock commed sickbay every ten minutes for an update and each time getting a more irritated McCoy on the line. Soon, Spock found himself pacing, something he had never done before. He stopped that action immediately. Then, his heart beat increased after a fifth call and an announcement of 'I think he is stirrin' but not promises'. At the ninth call, his hands shook. At the eleventh, he nearly ran out of his room.

"Jim wants to see you," McCoy had said. "He is up and wants to see you."