Chapter 1

"Bones! Just who I wanted to see," exclaimed Jim, clapping McCoy heartily on the shoulder. "Did you see that Starfleet added to our medical budget? This means you can order that derma…..dilia….doro….whatever machine that you have been bugging me about for weeks." Jim snuck a look around the empty sickbay and leaned against the nearest biobed, munching on an apple.

"It's a new dermal regenerator, Jim. It's not that hard to remember. Besides, you should remember what it is. I've had to use it on you enough times," Bones grumbled.

Glancing up at Jim, he scowled. "God damn it, Jim. How many times have I told you not to eat food in my sickbay."

"I'm the captain here, Bones, so I think it's my sickbay. And you haven't had to use the dermal regenerator on me in like a month. And last time wasn't even my fault."

Bones turned to face Jim head-on. "I'm the doctor, so it's my sickbay, Jim. Deal with it."

"But, Bones," whined Jim.

"Mine. And it was completely your fault that I had to use the dermal regenerator on you last week. No one made you volunteer to run around the volcano on Irunia. No, you just had to show them how tough you were. And for Christ's sake you just had to run around it barefoot like the Irunians."

The sickbay doors whisked open and Sulu wandered in. Hearing one of the infamous Kirk-McCoy debates/bickering sessions going on in the corner, Sulu walked over to Nurse Chapel and quietly started speaking with her.

"Well, Bones," Jim explained, "the Irunians were going on and on about how strong they are and how fleet of foot they are compared to the measly, puling humans who live on such a mild planet and have to wear sunscreen in the heat and coats in the cold. The only one they had any respect for was Spock."

Bones growled, "Well, you should have let them adore Spock and let him handle the negotiations if they held Vulcans in such high esteem."

"I was going to, Bones, I really was…but then they told Uhura that they didn't understand why human men could be attracted to such fragile, imbecile creatures like human women. Uhura was about ready to sock them in the face, so I distracted them by challenging them to a race around their sacred volcano."

Sulu, finished with his business with Nurse Chapel, leaned back against the wall in the far corner, eager to hear how Kirk told McCoy about the end of the mission. Sulu had beamed down on that mission to take place in the diplomatic talks as well. McCoy was not going to like hearing the end of the story. Sulu always enjoyed it when McCoy began to look about ready to explode…as long as the doctor's tirade wasn't directed at him.

"So what," Bones asked, "you just had to run close enough to the volcano so that the ground was actually hot to prove to the Irunians how strong humans are? I don't believe you sometimes, Jim."

Jim scowled. "Well, no, Bones, they usually run much further down from where I ended up running."

Bones's face was starting to turn bright red. "So why, Jim? Why did you have to run where the ground was hot enough to give you second degree burns all over the bottoms of your feet? You just had to prove how tough Starfleet officers are? You just had to show off to Spock?"

Jim was starting to look a little sheepish, Sulu was surprised to see. He hadn't thought the Captain ever felt sheepish about anything.

"Well, Bones, I started running down lower with all of the Irunians, but there was a plant there that was making it hard for me to run, so I ran further up so that I could breathe better."

"What sort of plant, Jim?" asked McCoy, his voice quite soft. "Not one of those plants that I made sure to point out to you as plants native to Irunia that you are allergic to?"

Jim hesitated, but figured that there was no reason to deny it. "Yes, Bones. They were the blue-bearded something or other plants"

"My god, Jim!" Bones yelled. "You're allergic to those plants! I told you that you could beam down only if you promised me to avoid those plants."

"I did! I ran further up the mountain!"

"I didn't tell you to avoid the plants by burning your feet! How on earth do you get yourself into these situations, Jim? Of all the foolish things to do! You could've had an allergic reaction, you would've been dying on the side of the volcano, I wasn't there to help you, you should've left as soon as you saw those plants…I swear, Jim, I think the Irunians should've thrown you into the volcano…"

"Umm, Dr. McCoy?" interrupted Sulu from the corner. Jim and Bones turned around quickly, startled. Neither one of them had heard Sulu come in.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" said McCoy.

"The Captain did win, thereby demonstrating to the Irunians the strength of Starfleet and enabling us to secure a treaty with Irunia that will hopefully lead to peace in this part of the galaxy."

"See, Bones," quipped Jim brightly, "the burns were worth it. Plus, you got to use your dermal regenerator, which I know you love."

Bones threw Jim a dirty look and then turned to Sulu. "Are you sick, Mr. Sulu?" Bones inquired.

Sulu startled at the question. "No, sir. Why?"

"Then get out of my sickbay, kid, that's why."

"With pleasure, sir," replied Sulu, nodding at Jim on the way out.

Jim winked at Sulu.

After Sulu left the sickbay, Jim straightened up and stretched. He loved bickering with Bones once in a while. Okay, not once in a while, all the time. And it was good to have a crew who would jump in to help once in a while.

"So, Bones, what do you say to joining me for some Romulan ale this evening. You can watch me trounce Spock in chess!"

Bones snorted, raising his eyebrows skeptically. "I rather think that Spock will trounce you, Jim."

"Well if I go in with that attitude he will. Come on Bones, let's go get something to eat, and we can discuss my strategy."

Bones nodded. "All right, Jim. I think I've had enough fun here for today. Nurse Chapel, call me if anything exciting happens."

Chapel said, "Of course, Doctor." And with that, Bones and Kirk strode out of the sickbay, discussing the merits of Romulan ale over other kinds of alcohol.

Kirk would never say it out loud, but he treasured his time with Bones, and his time with Spock, over just about anything else in the world. Sure, he wondered once in a while what it would be like to have a wife and children, but he had long since figured out that that kind of life wouldn't be his if he wanted to continue to be the captain of the Enterprise.

Some people could make it work, he knew, but Kirk felt that it wouldn't be fair to have a family unless he were there all of the time for his wife and kid. Bones had a daughter, but wasn't able to be a part of her life as much as he wanted to, partly because of his career but mostly because of his ex-wife. Kirk knew that he had even less time off than McCoy because he was the captain. So he had come to terms with never having a family.

And he was fine with that. Bones and Spock were his family. So were Scotty, Uhura, Chekov, and Sulu. He was content.