You didn't really think I was going to end with that last chapter, did you? :)

I'm glad you guys enjoyed it - thank you so much for all the reviews and follows and favourites. I appreciate that you took the time out of your day to write a few words, phrases, paragraphs; it means a lot to me and I can't convey how humbling it is. Y'all are wonderful.

We are almost at the end, so hang on tight!

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek.

"Don't get yourself killed," is the first thing Bones remembers hearing when his consciousness decides to play nice and come back to the world of the living. "Ooooh, Jim, be careful, don't go and do anything stupid, but look at you lying in this bed and God, Bones, what the hell?"

The sound of Jim's voice trickles through Bones' subconscious like molasses, but before he can fully grasp what the voice is saying, the sedatives kick in and he's under again. This is how it is for the next few days as he drifts in and out of consciousness, hearing Jim's constant grousing and occasionally, Uhura's soothing voice reciting his vital signs. Once, he vaguely recognizes Chekov's voice cheerfully (if not with a tinge of sadness) reading him a new breakthrough in the medical field before Sulu's practicality draws him away.

But finally, one day he's awake enough to hear Jim complaining again. "-all the time in here, not enough time on the bridge and it's your fault, damn it Bones, if Starfleet hears about this-"

"Is that what I always sound like to you?" he mumbles as best he can and is rewarded by a delighted laugh from Kirk.

"Yeah, it is," the captain agrees, grinning when Bones finally finds it in himself to open his eyes, wincing at the bright, sterile med bay lights. His bright smile doesn't distract Bones from the overwhelming relief in his gaze. "You took a while coming out of it, Bonesy."

"Don't call me that," Bones groans. "Go away. Let me sleep."

"Are you kidding? This is the first time I've gotten to speak to you in a week. I'm not letting you go back to sleep."

"I hate you."

"You don't know how good it is to hear you say that."

Before they fall back into their usual bickering, Bones asks: "How's Spock?"

"He's up and about – woke up a few days ago. He took a pretty nasty wound to the chest, but I guess you already knew that."

Bones hums, feeling his voice vibrate in his throat. "I did." Then his eyes fly open and he stares at Kirk. "Wait, no, I got shot in the chest." His fingers fly up and begin patting his chest, freezing when he finds no scar to signify anything has ever happened. Then he realizes Kirk is smirking. "What are you laughing about?"

"Well… you were asleep for a week. So Mr. Chekov and I may have taken a few liberties with the problem of physics."

"You… descrambled and reassembled me."

"If you want to put it that way, then yeah, we did."

"Damn it, Jim!" Bones howls.

"I don't know what you're so uptight about – we managed to get you back to your body," Kirk protests.

Before Bones can find it within himself to throw something at the still-smirking captain, the doors hiss open and Spock himself walks in, looking none the worse for wear. "Ah, I thought I heard the Doctor's voice from down the hall," he says.

"It's a relief to see that face back to its usual expression," Kirk says, getting up.

"What expression do you mean, Captain?"

"You know. The blank one."

Spock only stares at him until Kirk gives up. "Alright, whatever, fine. I'm going to have to leave, Bones. I'll come back to visit later, alright?"

"Don't come back," Bones grumps, but Kirk only grins wider because he knows that's Bones' way of saying yeah, see you later, and it's just so good to hear that Southern sass again.

"Doctor," Spock says once the doors close behind Kirk. "How are you doing?"

"Well," Bones says dryly. "I'm surprised we're not dead, for one. For two, I have a splitting headache. For three-" He stops, features softening. "But how are you, Spock? That chest wound isn't anything serious, is it?"

"It hit where your human heart is usually located, Doctor." Spock takes Kirk's recently vacated seat next to Bones' bedside. "You may presume that I am grateful for the Vulcan anatomy."

Bones laughs sourly. "Sure. It still hurt like hell."

"It does, although I am unsure as to whether you have experienced deistic damnation. Still, there are issues to be addressed. Prisoners to interrogate."

"Yeah, what are you doing to the bounty hunter? What's happened since I've been out?"

"We have been keeping him in our containment facility. As it turns out, our prisoner possesses a certain fear of confined spaces. His current situation is not… shall we say, optimal for his constitution."

"I wish I could say I was sorry for him," Bones mutters.

"So do I, Doctor, but try as I may, I can find no sympathy for a man who would have murdered us both in cold blood." Spock leans back in his chair. "Lieutenant Uhura is in charge of negotiating with him in order to discover what he may know about the Argelians and their motives."

"Which means she's probably taking him to hell and back," Bones says, remembering how Uhura had once terrorized an entire group of students for practice during an interrogation class back at the Academy. He hasn't looked at her the same way since. "And the Argelians?"

"Once Captain Kirk confronted them with their deception, they promised us safe passage through the Belt. As it turns out, the reason why they wanted me alive was so that they could utilize my intelligence in order to rebuild their home planet."

"And I'm guessing Jim wasn't too happy about that."

A tiny smirk appears on Spock's face, not unlike the one Kirk usually wears. "Captain Kirk may have used some very choice human terms of annoyance to express his displeasure with the situation."

"Did we ever find out why they backed off so quickly the first time they ambushed us?"

Spock coughs. "As it turns out, Admiral Keueitt is an extremely inept tactician. He panicked and ordered the retreat before realizing his error. You apparently produced a very good bluff."

Bones snorts a derisive laugh before he winces. "Oh, God, my head."

"It will be sore for a few days," Spock supplies. "Nurse Chapel assures me, however, that you will be able to resume your usual post in a week or two. It will be a relief for me to relinquish all medical-based predicaments to your area of expertise."

"Why, Spock, it's as though you're saying I'm better than you at something," Bones quips, his mouth quirking in a smile.

Spock inclines his head in acknowledgement. "One thing, Doctor. You are better at one thing."

"I'd bet my horses that's not a correct assumption."

"Were gambling not against regulations, Doctor, I would take you up on that wager."

Bones wheezes out a laugh. "Hey," he says. "Thanks for not dying on me back in that alley."

"That would have been an impossible task as you were shouting at me," Spock deadpans. But he, too, softens. "Thank you, Doctor, for holding on to me."

"Friends?" Bones offers his hand.

Spock does not hesitate. He takes Bones' hand in his and shakes firmly. "Friends, Doctor."

Then he lets go of Bones' hand and adds with what could be described as humour: "Besides. As you have said before, there needs to be two of us to keep Captain Kirk in check."

"Damn fool would get himself killed without us."

"A very likely assumption, Doctor."

Aww look at you two getting along.

Much love,
ohlookrandom