.o0o.

McCoy didn't like having to take the detour to the cafeteria to get his lunch before heading back to Sickbay, but he knew that Chapel would just chew him out and send him down as soon as he got back anyway. She practically forbade him from using the replicator in Sickbay after the first week since he'd become, according to the tenacious nurse, 'more sedentary than a rock.'

This was, of course, untrue as he still tended to the small but steady stream of patients that flowed into Sickbay like it was mandatory. Speaking of mandatory, physicals were coming up in a few days. He'd certainly be moving around then.

As he entered, McCoy caught the tail end of M'Benga's conversation with Chapel.

"...and some even go insane when their spouse dies. Their brains seem to rewire around the link and when it's removed, it's like removing a large part of the brain. Since he's not a Vulcan, he doesn't have any natural defenses against that."

McCoy decided this conversation about him had gone on long enough. "You think I'm going insane?" He prompted as he came around the corner, setting his tray on an empty bed and crossing his arms over his chest.

"No, sir." M'Benga responded smartly, straightening immediately.

"Good." McCoy's voice was tight. "Then let's get this straight. Spock's not dead, and I'd appreciate it if you refrained from discussing my brain without me."

"It's not what you think." Chapel insisted, though she still looked cowed. "We were discussing possible causes of your... strange behavior."

McCoy wasn't sure if he should be frightened or angry. "What strange behavior?"

"Well, a couple times you just abruptly left Sickbay in the middle of a conversation. One time you tried talking to me in a language I didn't even recognize." Chapel looked nervous. "Then yesterday, you said you didn't know how to help Ensign Andrews."

"I never said that. I treated him."

"Yeah, not ten minutes after declaring that he should see a doctor." Chapel fidgeted. "We were just trying to think of an explanation that wasn't..."

McCoy knew where she was going with this. But Serin had cleared him for duty. Baker had killed Terik. Stark had been removed to the brig and was now off the ship. "Wasn't Romulan." He didn't know if it was a statement or he was finishing Chapel's thought.

M'Benga nodded. "I thought it might have something to do with your link with Spock."

McCoy bit his lip and glanced at Spock's still form. "I've gotta go."

He wasn't sure if the other two protested because he was already out the door. He jogged down the mostly empty corridors to the transporter room. "Beam me to the shuttle." The doctor ordered the technician.

McCoy had wondered how the Indyrin on Andar IX had managed to cause interference across the whole planet while this Indyrin had regulated it to a single shuttle without affecting the Enterprise. He'd expected a long, technical explanation about chemicals interacting with the atmosphere, and that's exactly what he'd gotten when one of the scientists relayed the Indyrin's answer. They'd also relayed that Serin had requested he'd come visit, but McCoy just hadn't wanted to leave Spock. Now, though, he fervently needed answers that only Serin could provide.

There were two scientists who looked up at his sudden appearance but didn't say anything and another one tangled with the tree. A vine stretched out for him immediately, and he let it wrap around his torso, feeling a mind connect with his own.

'Doctor.' It was Serin's voice. 'I was not expecting you to visit after such a delay.'

McCoy briefly wondered if he should feel guilty about that. After all, Serin had saved his life. He ignored it for the urgent problem in his mind. 'I thought you cleared my mind of all Romulan influences.'

'I did. It remains clear.'

McCoy breathed a sigh of relief. But Chapel wouldn't have lied about his behavior. 'I've been blacking out recently. Doing strange things I don't remember doing.'

'Allow me to investigate.' Serin replied.

McCoy found himself transported into a maze. It was one of those mazes with high green hedges that he'd seen as a kid but never actually entered. High above him he could see a clear blue sky. Birds tweeted. It was too perfect. It gave him the chills.

He looked both ways. They appeared exactly the same. He dug the tip of his boot into the dirt below him and drew an arrow. McCoy wasn't sure why he was in a maze, but he was sure that he was supposed to be finding the center where something important would be.

Heading off in the direction of his arrow, he walked for a ways before rounding the corner. Almost immediately, he came upon a dead end. Cursing, McCoy returned to his arrow, only to find it pointing the opposite way. He frowned and looked back where he'd been. He was certain that's where he'd come from. Passing the arrow, he went down the other path. It, too, rounded a corner and ended. Growling, the doctor returned to his arrow, which was now pointing the direction he could have sworn it was originally. 'Who makes a goddamn maze with no way out?' That arrow marked where he started and there were only the two roads from there.

McCoy looked about. He would have to think outside the box. He clawed at the greenery only to find stone wall beneath. If he couldn't go through the hedge, maybe he could go over it. He tried to climb, but the hedges gave under his weight leaving him pawing at the unforgiving stone wall. He frowned and looked back at his arrow.

While he was very sure he'd come to this stupidest conclusion, he turned around and went back the same way he'd just checked. It was no longer a dead end. He frowned but followed the road to where it made another turn, nearly falling into a pit. Wheeling his arms, McCoy caught his balance, then gazed into the hole. It was too dark to see the bottom, which meant that it must be awfully deep given how bright it was outside.

The hole wasn't that wide, perhaps he could jump it. McCoy nodded to himself, then made a running leap for the opposite side. Just as his foot nearly landed, the ground below him disappeared and he fell.

He landed almost immediately on top of his arrow. He was back at the start. Only, the arrow was again pointing the wrong way. Shrugging, he went the opposite way of the arrow. So far, the arrow had only pointed to dead ends. He rounded the corner and was pleased to see an open passageway. Despite leaving from the opposite direction as last time, he found the hole again just around another bend. Unable to climb the walls and unable to jump it, McCoy wasn't sure what his options were. Finally, he decided to reach in with his foot, only his foot connected with solid ground. Piece by piece, he found the ground rising up to meet his feet. He walked safely across the hole.

McCoy walked along to the end of the row where the maze turned again, and looking carefully for holes this time, continued walked down the next path. Branches seemed to appear from the walls and grab at his ankles. He picked up his pace and started jogging, barely evading the branches. He turned another corner but the branches kept at him.

Ahead of him, a door slid shut as he jogged toward what had been a clear path moments ago. He stopped short even as the branches started at him again. The door swung back open. McCoy hurried for it once again, separating himself from the branches. The door closed. He stopped. The door opened. Ignoring the branches which had again latched onto him, thorns prickling his skin, he took a single step forward. The door stayed open. Moving much slower, he inched through the doorway, finding the steps harder and harder to make as the branches clung to him, pulling him backwards. Once he was passed, he jogged so the door slammed shut, trapping out the branches.

Where was Serin, anyway?

He turned the corner, only to find a fork in the road, each way ending just a ways down the path. He cursed. Turning towards his right, McCoy caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He spun around in time to see that the other path had opened up for a brief moment but had closed once he looked at it. His brow furrowed. How could he use an exit that he couldn't look at?

Facing the true dead end, he started walking backwards. It was almost torture not to glance over his shoulder, but he kept his eyes locked on the opposite wall. Sure enough, he made it through the opening before he slammed shut as he passed it.

He turned back around. There was a large, solid brown box in front of him. He tapped at the front. It did nothing. He circled the box, only to find an opening at the back. Cautiously, he stepped in. In front of him, a long stretch of maze appeared. He proceeded.

Suddenly, the hedges erupted in flames and McCoy found himself running to try to get away from them. The ground below him was shaking and nearly stumbled into the fiery walls. He caught himself and pressed forward. He was getting close. McCoy briefly wondered what would happen to him if he died inside his own mind. Was this even his own mind or was it the Indyrin's mind? Somehow he felt certain he was in his own.

McCoy plowed into a clearing and the flaming hedges vanished. Instead, he was in a field of bright colored flowers. Above his head, something glittered and he found a glowing gold ball zooming in and out of the flowers and through the air. He grabbed it as it flew passed his head, catching it in one hand. It burned and he nearly dropped it.

'Do not let go.' Serin's voice cautioned, though the Vulcan was nowhere to be seen.

McCoy held on tighter despite the searing sensation in his hand. The landscape ripped apart and he was standing in a black void with Serin beside him. 'What's going on?' McCoy demanded.

'It seems, Doctor, that Spock passed his katra onto you when he believed he was dying on Terik's ship.'

'What's a katra?' The term sounded familiar. Had Spock mentioned it? His hand ached, and he grasped his other hand around it to make sure he wouldn't let go.

'His consciousness. Or perhaps soul would be a better translation. That is what I had you fetch from the maze so that we might return it to him. I have already asked the scientists to have Spock's body brought here.'

His soul? McCoy held Spock's soul in his hand? He hoped he didn't drop it.

'The loss of awareness you experienced was Spock asserting control over your body. The experience is disorienting. He may not have even been aware that he was doing it.'

He found himself strangely unrepulsed by the thought of Spock taking control of his body. 'Will he be alright?' McCoy wanted to look at the ball again, but was afraid he might let it go.

'The only known instances of having a katra removed from someone's mind and then later returned left the individual disjointed and took many months of recovery. However, the process has always been described as a stripping and transferring of layers. From the form in which you've found his katra, I believe it may have been kept all together.'

McCoy wasn't sure he liked the sound of that. He shifted the ball to his other hand and examined the damage it had done. His skin was blackened, blood seeping out. He swallowed hard, but kept his hold tight on the katra. He had to keep it safe. His hands would be fine; this was only in his mind.

He felt another mind join them, faint but recognizable. 'Spock.'

Serin nodded. Spock's body appeared between them. Serin took McCoy's hands in his own, guiding them down until they were pressed against Spock's chest. Serin nodded, so the doctor finally released his death grip on the small ball, keeping it between his hands and Spock. It glowed brightly, then sunk into the Vulcan's chest.

He met Serin's eyes. 'Thank you.'

'Goodbye, Doctor.' Serin returned as McCoy felt himself slipping out of the Indyrin's mind.

McCoy opened his eyes and immediately turned to Spock who was seated limply a few feet away from him. For a deafening moment, he thought it was all for naught. Then, Spock opened his eyes and turned toward him. The link flared to life with such ferociousness, he almost gasped. There, that strange kind of love was dancing along the link as Spock looked at him with the same calm expression he always wore. Only, now McCoy knew better.

McCoy didn't think; he threw himself at Spock, kissing him with all the passion that had been cooped up inside of him for the last few weeks. After a brief hesitation, Spock returned the kiss, matching McCoy's force and enthusiasm.

It lasted only a few moments before they heard someone clearing their throat. McCoy didn't even feel embarrassed as he pulled away. Mostly, he just felt kind of annoyed. "You always check out your patients this way, Bones?"

McCoy glared up at his captain, accepting the tricorder he offered as a token of peace. Kirk was all smiles as he gazed fondly at Spock. McCoy ran the device over Spock, though he wasn't sure what he was expecting to find. The only thing that had been wrong with him before was his mind, or rather, his katra. "How are you feeling, Spock?"

"Feeling, Doctor?"

McCoy could feel his emotions over the link. He was feeling several things, but love was primary among them. He wondered if Spock was trying to pull that no-feeling Vulcan mumbo-jumbo again. He scowled. "You know, nausea, light-headedness, headache... anything that a doctor examining you might need to know."

"Negative."

"And how about your mind? Difficulty thinking? Memory gaps?"

"I'm uncertain where we are or how long we've been here. The last thing I recall is being on the Romulan vessel." Spock stated.

"You've been out for weeks." Kirk informed him. "And you missed some major butt kicking by Bones here."

Spock turned quizzically toward the doctor and raised his hand in an invitation to meld. McCoy allowed it, letting Spock see the last few weeks from his perspective. He inspected the incident with the Indyrin very thoroughly before moving through the rest of the events. He paused at Serin's actions, but diligently worked through everything he'd missed. In turn, McCoy watched Spock's mind carefully. It felt whole. However Spock had managed to bind it together must have worked. Finally, they separated and Spock raised his eyebrows. "Fascinating."

McCoy folded his arms. "That's it? I save your life and all I get is a 'fascinating'?"

Spock raised an eyebrow and paused for a beat. "T'lannoh mi notolei."

The doctor recognized it as what Serin had said to him earlier. A beautiful mind. He pulled Spock toward him and kissed him again.

"Doctor." Spock interrupted him, drawing back. "I would prefer if you refrained from such interactions in front of the Captain."

"Don't mind me." Kirk said with a grin.

McCoy released the Vulcan and stood up, allowing Spock to do the same. He wobbled. "I may need to amend my previous response concerning light-headedness."

McCoy rolled his eyes and slipped an arm around his waist. "Eating something will probably clear that right up. You dropped a couple pounds when you were sleeping."

Kirk came around Spock's other side to lend a hand and flipped open his communicator. "Three to beam out."

.o0o.