"And this is why it was so funny when Jim tripped in front of the Duchess of Tyria 7," McCoy cackles, watching Jim faceplant again in living color. Off to the side, memory-Spock looks concerned and scandalized as memory-McCoy unconvincingly disguises his laughter as a coughing fit. Beside him, Spock's face twitches suspiciously as he watches Jim make a fool of himself.
"I see," Spock manages as the memory plays out around them. "Your view of the world is rather… energetic."
"Makin' the most of the little things," McCoy agrees, slapping Spock on the shoulder. "That's the human way to do it. All those little moments that make life worth the livin'."
"The little things…" Spock muses, "and the larger moments as well. Births. Graduations."
"'Course." McCoy nodded. "The big and the little things… all important together. That's why they call it life."
"Fascinating."
"Now you're gonna understand somethin' I've wanted to teach you fer a long time," McCoy informed his companion.
Immediately, the world around them starts to fade and reform, the bright colors of the reception fading into the cold sterility of a hospital. A young Dr McCoy moves from bed to bed, taking readings and murmuring to the children thereon.
"These kids were all presenting with some kinda new disease after being exposed to this experimental fuel source," McCoy explains, even though Spock could just download the information from his brain. It's more polite and less aggravating to say things out loud instead of just having them transferred, and Spock might as well learn that too while they're at this.
"I was tryin' to find a cure, and time was pretty scarce, so I bet you're wondering why I'm takin' the time to give 'em a smile and a few kind words, right?"
"Because they require hope," Spock murmurs, taking the room in. "Because it is important that they feel cared for, and that their lives here are more than just waiting in fear."
"That's it," Bones smiles. "And it took you long enough to learn it."