A/N: Hello, people! :) Thank you all again for these reviews! You guys are the best! :D
As to this particular chapter... well, it's a bit different from the previous ones. I think it's a little naive, it's also nothing of a "character study". It refers to the same quote as "So much more". Actually, I wrote "So much more" while writing this. :) I just felt like writing about it, so sorry about that... Anyway, I still hope you enjoy it. You will tell me what you think, won't you? :)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
The reasons
Sometimes Kirk wondered why Spock always called McCoy "doctor". There were a few possible reasons...
Spock was a very formal person, he addressed him "captain" almost all the time. But when they were off-duty, "Jim" seemed to be enough for him. And yet he had never heard Spock using McCoy's first name, although he knew that despite their constant fights they were incredibly close to each other. However, maybe not as close as he and Spock? But then again, even Scotty was "Mr. Scott" to Spock, not an "engineer". And McCoy still was a "doctor"...
Perhaps it was a result of Spock's deep respect for McCoy's knowledge and abilities as a physician. He had a true regard for his determination and devotion to his work.
And maybe it was due to the fact that McCoy was a doctor even when he was off-duty? He didn't stop to be one when he got outside his Sickbay, he was always ready to help. He was the healer in so many ways... But was that the reason?
Probably yes. But Kirk couldn't get rid of a suspicion... Hadn't he known Spock so well, he would have rejected such a thought as soon as it appeared in his head, but he was aware that Spock wasn't a machine and could be just as stubborn and mischievous as McCoy. That gave him some grounds to think that Spock, having in mind McCoy's "I'm a doctor, not a...", decided to keep addressing him this way until his friend would finally snap, irritated:
"Spock, I'm Leonard, not a doctor!"