It was not until he was standing, with the others, looking at McCoy that Kirk vaguely remembered telling Sanchez just to keep an eye on things but that he would be back should an emergency arise. Just the thought of that man thinking he could be his First Officer was one Kirk did not want to have on so many levels.

McCoy looked steadily at each one, seeing the concern and knowing how they felt about their Vulcan friend. As he looked at them he realized that Spock was indeed thought of as a friend by all of them, that it really was not just James Kirk and himself who felt a kinship towards Spock. As he spoke he looked directly at Kirk, "There is a very, very slight improvement in his condition and it is for that reason I want the four to restart their treatments and for you to adjust their rosters for the next two days. We have two more days till Healer T'Tonan returns and decides if he can stay with us."

"No, Doctor McCoy," Uhura started and the others looked at her, Kirk ready to correct her as he was sure McCoy was correct. "According to the schedule Healer T'Tonan gave us we have fifty-three hours, that's possibly thirteen treatments from us if we keep our timing right."

"Now I," McCoy started.

"Excuse me, Doctor, but if we allow three hours for an hour for us to get ready and two one hour periods for you to check the results and we each work with him for only forty-five minutes that would be sixteen treatments." Sulu looked at the other three as though Kirk and McCoy did not exist, and both the excluded men knew the four were way ahead of them.

"Wendy Banning is a my station and is more than capable of being there while we are stationary. I could start now while you all get what you need prepared. I will fix a substitute oil from what is here but we have to get started." She only looked then at Kirk and he saw the determination on her face, "You do not object to amending our rosters, do you, Sir?"

"You do realize that your sleep patterns will," again McCoy started.

"Doctor," Chekov looked first at McCoy, "there is an old Russian saying that If the claw is stuck the whole bird is lost. Mister Spock's mind is stuck but we will not lose him. We can sleep later when he is better." he looked at Uhura, "While you work your magic I will go prepare what I will need."

"Aye, and I'll go and get,"

"Now just a minute," Kirk started and saw almost rebellion mixed with determination on the faces that turned to look at him, "I will arrange for your shifts to be covered but once this is over we will have a discussion about it."

"Yes, Sir." was said almost in unison before Uhura went into Sickbay's supply room and the other three all but sprinted out leaving Kirk and McCoy to look at each other in silent communication. They both knew that the seven of then were more than a command crew, they were a family. They had seen many time how when one was hurt or in trouble the others did all they possibly could to help, had been a part of that collective that often did not need words but fed of the actions of the others.

McCoy gave a slight nod, "If there is the slightest chance in not just hell but the entire known and unknown universes that Spock will get better and back to us you have to know those four will let nothing and nobody stop them from giving him that chance. I'll have to keep my eyes on them as they will have broken sleep for the next what was it, fifty-three hours?"

"I have to," Kirk stopped and looked at McCoy and grinned, "get Officer Sanchez to present me with a new roster of crew for the bridge."

"Jim, does he even know any of the crew? Does he know who is capable of being there?"

Kirk half-smiled in a way McCoy knew his friend knew what he was doing and he was enjoying it, "Bones, he's had what, say six weeks, to get to familiarize himself with the crew and their abilities. And, before you ask or comment, I am not comparing him with Spock. If he thinks he could be any sort of First Officer he has to learn what is expected of him and how to be prepared."

"You do realize that there is a crew of four hundred and thirty and he has only had six weeks to learn about them and the ship?"

"Bones, I do not think that even Spock knows all about each of the officers on the Enterprise individually but he does know the different areas and their complement and the abilities of the members of the crew. It is, after all, one of the duties of a First Officer, to remind the Captain of the personnel and their abilities, not their hobbies and interests."

McCoy smiled back, "You know, I bet that Spock would surprise you about what he knows about the interests and hobbies of the crew members. Oh, maybe not in any great detail but enough to make conversation if need be."

For a moment they were quiet a they watched Uhura walk from the Supply room to Spock's bed, gently place her hand on his as she said, "It is Uhura, Spock, I am about to massage your feet again and this time I will leave some socks on your feet till I come back. We all miss you on the Bridge, it just is not the same and won't be till you are there where you belong with us." and sat down and started to massage his feet as she had done before.

For a moment the two men just watched, each lost in the prayers to their gods that this worked then Kirk closed his eyes let out a breath he had not realized he had been holding, before he looked at McCoy and saw how intensely McCoy was watching Uhura.

"Bones?"

"An old, old, old system. Reflexology. This form is based on the feet representing the entire body. And before you ask I looked it up - old Earth ways where pressure to different part of the hand, feet, and head were believed to improve health." McCoy looked from Uhura working to Kirk, "And it seems it does work. Slight changes but there."

Kirk looked at McCoy and nodded, "So what Uhura is doing is similar to what Sulu is with his massage. But what about what Chekov and Scotty do? What have you found out about their methods?"

"Well Chekov's had a lot of cabbage like greens and the likes of kale and spinach which all have vitamin K, anthocyanins, lutein, folate and beta-carotene which have long been used for good mental health. Scotty's, Scotty's has very marginal alcohol and a blend of lavender and rosemary t0o further relax him and clear his mind. There is another substance in Scotty's that the Science Department is still trying to identify. They have come up with several possibilities but none of them fit into anything to do with medicine."

"You ask him yet?"

"Not yet. No doubt some old thing from Scotland that is as common as the Loch Ness Monster." McCoy shook his head. "I have not worked out which is worse, a stoic Vulcan or a Scotsman with more secrets and hidden talents than we can imagine."

"That's one of the reasons he is our miracle worker, Bones."

"Well, whatever he and the others are doing has shown a slight, a very, very slight improvement so it must be working on some level." McCoy studied his friend's face for a moment then said, "It is going to be a very long fifty-three hours, Jim. Not much you can do here."

"You have the latest meal records of those four?"

"Of course. I am keeping an eye on them. Nothing unusual. What,"

"I just want to make sure they are eating enough to help them get through what they have to do. Do you think only two hours of sleep between their sessions is,"

"Jim" McCoy was half-smiling as he shook his head, "do you really think they are going to worry about their sleep rotations when they know how Spock is and how important it is we prove to Healer T'Totan that this crew can do far more for him than any Vulcan hospital? Hell, you saw how surprised, for a Vulcan, he was when he saw the reaction of those four. What he really is not prepared for is the fight to get Spock back that those four will be doing in the next fifty-three hours. There's that old saying about nothing being stronger than the fury of a woman scorned but I would bet it pales when compared to the determination of those four to get Spock well enough to stay on the ship."

For a moment Kirk was quiet as he looked from the room that Spock was in to McCoy. Although he saw the answer in the eyes that were studying him Kirk asked the question he did not want to really know the answer to. "Bones, do you honestly believe that will happen or is it just what you want to happen?"

"Jim,"

Kirk held up his hand, "No. None of that." Kirk closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then looked at McCoy and McCoy noticed the slight change even before Kirk spoke. "Doctor McCoy, is it your medical opinion that First Officer Spock will fully recover as a result of the non-traditional yet traditional methods being employed on him by non-medical personnel?"

A/N Finally a cool day with a bit of a breeze - only problem is do I write or get out and see what the heat yesterday did to the garden and try to revive nearly dehydrated plants? Take care, hope you enjoyed reading this and HAVE FUN.