.o0o.

Kirk hummed to himself as he headed for Sickbay. He was going to figure out what Baker was doing, put a stop to it, and get his ship back. Co-captaining was simply not on the menu, particularly when they were heading toward an unknown number of Romulan vessels. About five feet from the door, he abruptly started limping.

Chapel was quick to greet him at the door, helping him over to a bed and asking him what had happened. He shook his head and nodded toward Hovard, who was sitting in Bones' office like she owned the place. Chapel seemed to get the message much clearer than that one time he mistakenly said he needed a real doctor.

She folded her arms and stood back. "Are you sure?" Kirk nodded. "She's a weird one."

"What do you mean?" Kirk kept his voice low, but Hovard was already coming out of the office so Chapel didn't have time to answer.

Chapel didn't need to answer. Hovard was, indeed, weird.

"I twisted-" Kirk began, but Hovard cut him off.

"There is nothing wrong with you."

Accurate or not, Kirk didn't like that quick response. When Bones responded like that, it was only after a thorough once over, two or three hand-held scans and an intense staring contest with the biobed readings. "You didn't even look at it."

And that was the precise moment Kirk pinned down exactly what about her bothered him. Her expression was as bland as Spock's, despite just being critiqued. He sat up on the bed, giving complete access to his foot and watched expectantly. Hovard bent down and looked at it without any scanners. It was almost comical, if only this wasn't his doctor. "There is nothing wrong with your foot, either."

"You didn't even check."

She gestured up to the biobed scanner as if she'd been staring at it the whole time. "No sign of elevated heart rate, pulse rate, or respiration, which would be extremely abnormal in the case of such an injury. No indication of stress. Rank of captain or not, I find it incredibly disrespectful to waste my time with pretend injuries while the ship is already overtaxed medically." Hovard took a step back. "If you would like some painkillers, Chapel can assist you; otherwise, I have more pressing matters to attend to."

Kirk conceded that she was more competent than he had given her credit for. "Fine." He didn't apologize because he didn't feel sorry about what he'd done. He also couldn't imagine that Hovard would care for an apology. He gestured Chapel back over once Hovard had disappeared into the office. "Real chipper, that one."

Chapel snorted. "Sure. You know I would have alerted you if she'd done anything medically unsound, right?"

"Of course. And I still expect as much." Kirk looked back at the woman with the tight black bun atop her head. "So, other than her personality, no complaints?"

"I can find something if it'll help get Dr. McCoy back in here."

"Don't suppose it would. Keep me posted."

"Yes, sir."

Kirk didn't bother limping back out the door. He just took his dignity and fled. Whatever Baker was planning, Kirk was certain that doctor was in on it.

Back to the Bridge he went to keep a close watch on how things were going. Uhura gave him a faint smile as he stepped onto the Bridge, but no one else even looked up, including Baker, who was sitting in his chair. His chair.

Baker barely glanced up at him before handing over a PADD with all recent activities. There wasn't much going on with the ship, all things considered. Scotty had reported in that almost all of the repairs had been made, with a glaring exception of C Wing of Deck 4, which required new hull plating, and a few other problems which would have to wait for the supply ship to arrive. If they were sending the ship from Earth or even one of the closest outposts, that would still take far too long. They'd likely be meeting the Romulans without a fully repaired ship. Their best hope for this mission was to remain stealthy and avoid facing the fleet directly.

Kirk passed the PADD back to Baker and proceeded to loiter around the Bridge for longer than even he could defend as necessary. Baker was still rotating through his crew in what appeared to be the same shifts Spock had assigned weeks ago. It was so very respectful, and Kirk hated every minute of it. It was like she was trying to lull him into compliance. He had no intention of complying.

He yawned, remembering that he was very tired. He felt reasonably secure with Uhura and Sulu on the Bridge and decided that he could probably afford to take a nap. After all, he didn't want to be completely exhausted when the Romulans came around. Kirk strolled onto the turbolift like he didn't have a care in the world, and headed back to his quarters. He needed a plan of action. Perhaps Spock would have some ideas. Kirk made a quick detour to Spock's chambers.

Bones quickly put his hand behind his back when he entered. Kirk was immediately suspicious. "No Spock?"

"Not recently. We... kind of got into an argument."

"That's not news." Kirk frowned because Bones was behaving as if it were. "What's in your hand?"

Bones gave an awkward smile and brought the hand back out, holding it open. "The Indyrin seed." Bones gave a half shrug and tightened his grip. Kirk was sure there was more to that story, but dropped it when he asked, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Kirk sat down and folded his hands in his lap expectantly. "About Spock?"

Bones bit his lip. "I think he wants this to be a... real relationship."

"And?"

"And I happen to be straight."

"Bones, face the facts. You're in a consensual, soon to be sexual, relationship with a man we both know you happen to be attracted to. If you want to call that straight, I don't personally care, but I think you're avoiding the real problem. You either love Spock or you don't. If you don't, Spock has seen enough of your mind to understand that. If you do, then you need to stop tripping over yourself and fix this."

"It's not that simple, Jim!" Bones huffed, folding his arms across his chest, the seed nestled in his hand making his armpit glow. "I know I love him as one good friend to another, and thanks to that damn link, I happen to be attracted to him, but is that all that makes love love? I can't believe that that's all there is to it, especially when there's this Vulcan voodoo messing around up here." He gestured emphatically to his head and swirled his free hand around to the point where it was almost comical. "And even if I did love him romantically, what difference would it make when his definition of love of mental compatibility?"

At this point, Bones' other hand had come up to join the first, and Kirk couldn't help but notice that the seed appeared to be super-glued to his palm. Even more interestingly, it appeared to not only be glowing, but growing ever so slightly. "What...?" He mumbled, joining Bones on the bed and pulling his hand toward him. The glow faded slightly, and it became clear that a small leaf had escaped the confines of the hard shell and was sprouting out of Bones' hand.

"Well, that's just dandy." Bones grumbled. "Because I don't have enough problems already."

Kirk held the doctor's hand, examining the seed closely, previous conversation all but forgotten. "How'd you manage to do this?"

"I don't really know. It just attached itself and wouldn't come off." Bones admitted, looking at Kirk with more than a little concern in his eyes.

Kirk opened his mouth without being entirely sure what he was going to say when the comm unit went off.

"Baker to Kirk."

Kirk stood and walked backward toward the wall, still looking at the new Indyrin growth. "Kirk here."

"The supply ship is about to dock. I thought you might want to come down for that."

"That was fast." Kirk rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I thought for sure they wouldn't make it for at least another week."

"Me too." Baker replied. "Seems like they had a volunteer from a nearby settlement. A Vulcan."

Now Kirk found himself truly confused. He didn't know of any Vulcan settlements anywhere around here. He wondered if the Vulcan would be the healer he requested. "On my way." He looked back at his friend. "Just... tell me if anything changes." Bones nodded.

Kirk sighed and hurried down to the shuttlebay. He noted that Baker hadn't come down from the Bridge and that Scotty was shouting hurried orders to the crew to take the supplies to where they were needed.

"What's it look like?" He asked his chief Engineer.

Scotty had a gleam in his eye. "We've got everything we need to finish those repairs, and with the extra hands from the Pioneer, we ought to be finished in three or four days."

Kirk patted him on the back. "We could encounter Romulans at any point. See if you can't cut that number in half."

Scotty deflated, slightly. "Aye, sir." Scotty then scurried away to make it happen.

Kirk turned to face the Vulcan who'd volunteered to help them out and had two surprises in quick succession. First, the face was unexpectedly familiar, and second, the Vulcan was dressed in a Starfleet uniform. "Serin?"

Serin inclined his head. "Captain."

"You're in Starfleet?" Kirk noted that he carried a rank of ensign. It was even more unusual for a Vulcan.

"Indeed. I joined shortly after Enterprise departed from Vulcan. I was assigned to the human settlement on Havar III due to the abnormal prevalence of mental illness and my own medical background. I had only been on the planet for three days when we received word that the Enterprise was in need of supplies as well as a Vulcan healer. I will assist you in whatever way I can."

"But why'd you join Starfleet?"

Serin's brow lifted. "I was intrigued by the interactions between humans and Vulcans that your crew represented and wished to study this in more depth. I believe the unique situation between Spock and Dr. McCoy may encourage other Vulcans to consider Starfleet as well."

Kirk nodded slowly. "It's actually because of Dr. McCoy that I wanted you here. I'm sure you're aware of the Romulan plants in Starfleet officers?"

"I am. I was not informed that there were any aboard the Enterprise. Dr. McCoy is one of your concerns?"

Kirk nodded. "And we've got another problem waiting in the brig. I need you to make sure there's no way for the Romulan programming to take over again."

Serin straightened further. "That is a most challenging task. I cannot guarantee success."

"Just do your best."

Serin nodded gravely and followed Kirk out. Kirk allowed a little hope to blossom in his stomach. If Serin could clear McCoy, he could replace Hovard and stand a better chance of protecting his ship from whatever Baker had planned.

.o0o.

A/N: Sorry for the long delay folks. Work keeps on getting in the way of my life. Not much longer, now! Also, I was super excited to see all of those reviews! Keep 'em coming. K, thanks!