For a moment Spock was going to protest but saw something he had only seen a few times when his father would give his mother the same look when he had some unusual plan in mind for how they would spend their time. "You misunderstand me, Captain as I do expect something of them while here. But before I continue could you ask your Security to please escort T'Tonan to his quartrs and ensure there is no way he can contact anybody not on the ship."

Kirk got T'Tonan taken out and then moved slightly, trying to think what the whole crew would be needed there for, "What would you expect of them, Sir?"

"Am I correct in believing that having them here doing nothing would constitute leave and the days deducted from their annual leave?"

"Yes, but I am sure,"

"Captain Kirk, what I would expect of them is for them to relax and enjoy their time here and at the end of their stay to fill out a form, using less than ten standard words, giving their overall thought of their stay. By filling out the forms they will not have been on leave but will have been taking part in what Humans call a fact finding mission as it will inform us as to the overall impression of the facility by the crew of a starship so that we will know how to improve it for those who will stay there." Kirk saw how the man looked at him and knew that, like Spock, he would be seeing how he was trying to not laugh out loud. "I would not have invited them to come and stay at the risk of losing leave time they could spend with their families after all they have done. They will have plenty of time to fill however they wish while here, they will have time away from the ship, and yet not officially be on leave as they will be doing an assessment for the Vulcan Ambassador. I trust you and ayour crew will find that acceptable."

"Yes," for a moment Kirk was surprised at Sarek's way of thinking to accommodate the leave as work so the days were not deducted as annual leave, " Yes, Sir. I am sure they will. Thank you."

"I look forward to meeting you again, Captain, and to personally thank your crew for that they have done for my son."

"We will be there in approximately twenty-seven days, Spock will contact you with a more exact time."

"I shall advise Amanda of that fact. I am in the process of sending my son a message he will want to see with one of the others with him, Captain. He should know that I was contacted after the event to confirm details requested" Sarek held up his hand,"Live long and prosper." and Kirk struggled to give the salute, seeing the start of a smile on the ambassador's face.

"Till then, Sir."

Once the screen was blank Kirk looked at his senior bridge crew one by one and knew that they had done so much for him, for Spock, and for themselves as he knew they all had differing degrees and levels of friendship with Spock that their actions and statements had clearly revealed. He had known of the friendship that McCoy had with Spock but had not fully realized just how deep the friendships were between the others and Spock. When he looked at McCoy he got a slight nod as he did when he looked at Spock.

"Well, at least we know where we will be staying when we get to Vulcan. I want to thank you four for how you helped McCoy treat Spock, I want to thank you, McCoy, for letting them take over, and I want to thank you, Spock, for fighting back to us." Kirk looked at each of them then closed his eyes, "I don't know about all of you but I am in serious need of some sleep so I am having the six of you off duty as well for the next twenty-four hours."

"I'll be along shortly to ensure you are not working, Jim." McCoy nodded at Kirk and looked at Spock, "And I will see you later about when you can be formally discharged from,"

"Doctor, I will spend approximately six minutes with the four assistants individually and will then go to my quarters where I shall rest for the remaining time stated by the Captain." For just a moment McCoy was going to protest but nodded. "I shall see you before I report for duty."

"Just make sure that your resting is not reading all the reports written since the explosion. Make sure you do actually rest your entire body and not just your physical one."

All McCoy got for a response was a raised eyebrow as Spock turned to look at the four still seated. "I would appreciate it if I could see you individually for approximately six minutes to discuss different aspects of your treatment of me as well as to personally thank you. I would also appreciate it if Mister Scott were the last to come in."

The four just exchanged looks as they left the briefing room then Chekov went back in and found Spock standing with his hands behind his back, "Sir?"

"Mister Chekov, I wish to not only personally thank you for your assistance in my recovery but also for adding to the range of Terrain foods I now have a better appreciation of. Although the way of being introduced to them was, to a degree, crude, they did prove to be most beneficial. Is it my understanding that they are traditional foods that you slightly changed?"

"I only changed them by not adding the full amount of Vodka I was told to use. I know Vulcans do not drink alcohol and yet it was quite common back then in Russia to use a large amount of it." Chekov smiled as he looked at Spock, "I remember getting very drunk on it the day I found out I was accepted for Starfleet."

"I would be pleased if you could note done the method used to prepare the food, I am sure to find it of interest and have no doubt my mother would find it most fascinating."

"I will do that as soon as I return to my quarters."

"Thank you, Pavel. That would be most kind I shall see you on the bridge in twenty-three point," he stopped and almost laughed when he saw a look he knew translated to "Here-we-go-again-with- being-exact-down-to-the-last-decimal-place." and just nodded, "I look forward to seeing you on the bridge at our next shift."

"Thank you, Sir. Sulu will be in next."

"It is good to see you are feeling better, Mister Spock."

"It is partly your doing, Mister Sulu, for which I wish to personally thank you for as the massage no doubt relieved the pressure on the various parts of my mind that the inhaled toxins had the greatest affect on."

"I did have vague recollections of my grandmother doing it to me a few times when I had severe headaches whenever I was studying for final testing in subjects I was not strong in or was getting too excited about even the remote possibility of flying a different craft."

"That, your piloting ability, is something I wish to ask you about. You are aware that there is a new pilot only medium range craft being finished at Starfleet Command that will need testing?"

"Yes, a rapid deployment ship for the delivery of urgently needed supplies and with no defensive capabilities. There were over a hundred and fifty applications that were accepted and all of those selected have been assessed. We were still disabled when," Sulu stopped as he did not want to think of the opportunity that the attack on the ship had cost him and at first he thought Spock had turned away and gone to the computer to avoid having to see his raw emotions. He saw the slight nod of the Vulcan's head as he stood from the computer, just turning off the screen but not the link, something he thought of as most unusual for him.

"If memory serves there was some contention about the applications as there was a clause that allowed for senior officers to make an applications on behalf for a junior officer providing they could give detailed reports of the junior officer's experience and character as it allowed for all Starfleet personnel to apply and not just those in close proximity to Command."

Sulu nodded, "Yes, there were a lot of pilots at Command who were furious that those of us already piloting craft should be allowed to apply. They seem to not realize how unique the craft is. At least next time we get there I will be able to see it."

"Please turn on the screen of the computer and read the first paragraph aloud to me. I am not sure but I am certain there is something wrong with the wording."

Sulu walked over and, thinking that he should tell Doctor McCoy about Spock not turning off the screen and not being certain about the use of words, started to read without really thinking about what he was reading, "After thoroughly reviewing all the material supplied to the Selection Committee by First Officer Spock we hereby announce that Officer Hikaru Sulu of the starship Enterprise will be the test pilot of," he stopped and looked at Spock who just looked back at him, "Sir?"

"I am somewhat puzzled, should it not be who supplied the information before who the receiver was?"

"I, I, I do not know what to say other than thank you so much."

"As soon as I heard that it was being designed I knew it would need to be tested and you are, as far as I am aware, the best to test such a craft as you would know how to test all its abilities and see what needed to be improved as well as what other applications the craft might have. I briefly discussed the matter with my father as I did not want those deciding on the candidate to be look more favorably or less favorably at the application by it coming from the ship and we agreed it should be from the non-ambassadorial computer at my parents' house under my mother's middle and maiden name. They would have contacted my father some eighteen days ago to confirm all the details and would have confirmed that I sent the application to them for forwarding. They would then have contacted him four days ago with the decision. I merely compiled all the necessary information to attest to your abilities with various craft. Please forward that to your own computer." Still no believing it Sulu finished reading the message before he sent it to his computer and closed the link. "Might I ask why you looked so concerned when I asked you to read?"

"I, I was afraid you may not have totally recovered. I was afraid that there might be,"

"Some lingering mental impairment?"

"Yes."

"I believe what you and the others did ensured that that was not going to happen. Your treatments were designed to be highly effective and, with the expertise with which the four of you applied your skills, they proved to be highly effective and left me with no mental impairment nor, once my digestive system had cleared itself of Chekov's potent but most effective food, any physical hindrances."

For a moment the two looked at one another, Sulu slowly realizing that Spock would have sent the information before applications were even asked for eight weeks ago when he would have had time to tell him of the application and Spock seeing the slow realization and acceptance on Sulu's face. This was a matter strictly between the two of them. Spock gave a nod, "I look forward to seeing you on the bridge at our next shift."

Uhura walked in and smiled as she saw her friend standing in his usual "at ease" pose clearly analytically watching her approach. For too long she had thought she would never see him like that again. "It is wonderful to see you looking so well, Mister Spock."

"I have you and the others to thank for that. I wish to thank you for your care and your ability of multitasking."

"Sir?" she had not been aware of multitasking, only massaging his feet.

"Your foot accupressure in conjunction with the massage and your singing. I only in the later stages became aware of how your singing was both making me listen and think while the work you were doing with my feet was having the desired effect on my internal organs."

"I tried to think of songs that might make you think as well as relax as well as to help me keep in rhythm with my hands."

"You sang many unfamiliar songs and one was somewhat comical about three icons of a country called Down Under."

Immediately she remembered the song., "You mean the one that goes

Rugby, racing and beer,

Rugby, racing and beer,

Down under they're mad over

Their rugby, racing, and beer."

"Yes. It seems to me that it and the one with the long place name are by the same songwriter as there is the same tempo and language."

"I believe they were, Sir. I can ask my friend as she is fastidious about finding out the whole history of a song."

"I would appreciate that."

"I better not linger as Scotty is pacing and muttering out there about," Uhuara smiled and tried her best to have a slight Scottish accent, "'the lad already has thanked us by coming back ta us.' and the three us agree. Seeing you fully recovered is more than we could have hoped for. Doctor McCoy had told us what those fumes you inhaled could do to Vulcans."

"And is why only eight point six percent of your songs were Vulcan in nature and then the same song?"

Again Uhura smiled, "As I told Healer T'Tonan, I only know that one Vulcan lullaby."

"Which you sang beautifully despite the difficulty some have with the Vulcan language. Once again thank you for your active assistance in my recovery. I look forward to seeing you on the bridge at our next shift."

"I also look forward to seeing you there. Just do not be too hard on Scotty. He was so close to striking Healer T'Tonan so many times, muttering something about him 'being as helpful as a bonfire on a traditional curling rink'."

As Uhura left Spock momentarily closed his eyes trying not to smile at the mental image he had of the possibility of a bonfire on a traditional curling rink. When he opened his eyes the Scotsman was standing before him looking a bit uncomfortable and highly annoyed.

A/N One chapter to go on this one. Tomorrow - if I do not melt away in this humidity - I should get it done. Take care, enjoy, and HAVE FUN.