McCoy stopped by the nurses' station for a moment to inform the head nurse that he was releasing Spock. "He's Vulcan," he said, as though that explained everything. "He'll do better in his own healing trance than getting pumped full of drugs here, especially since we don't even know which drugs will work on him. I'll make sure he gets to his quarters safely and check in on him tomorrow."

"All right, Doctor, if you're sure that's best," the nurse replied, taking the PADD from him. "But you're off duty tomorrow, aren't you?"

McCoy shrugged. "You do what you have to for a shipmate. No rest for the weary."

Spock noted that the nurse — a rather young woman to be in charge of the ward, even for the night shift — blushed at the grin McCoy gave her before leaving. While it seemed to be proof of the doctor's attractiveness, Spock felt no compulsion to point it out to him; in fact he was relieved to be leaving the hospital. But as they took the turbolift down to the ground level, he noticed again how exhausted McCoy looked.

"Leonard," he said quietly, even though they were alone in the turbolift, "if you are too tired for any... activities... tonight, I can defer to another time when—"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" McCoy demanded, turning to him, incredulous. "I had to self-medicate while ago just so I wouldn't explode and do something seriously unprofessional in a hospital room, and you want me to fucking wait until I'm not tired?"

Spock felt the heat of McCoy's gaze warming his cheeks. "I was... obviously mistaken," he said, inclining his head in apology. "If you are feeling capable..." The turbolift doors opened so they stepped outside.

"I'm feeling damn capable, thanks, and if I have to spend my entire day off sleeping to recover, so be it," McCoy huffed under his breath, mindful of the people walking by. "The only question is, your place or mine?"

"I have no preference," Spock said, falling into step beside him.

"Well, I gotta shower, at least, or I'll stink like a Denebian slime devil before we're through. Plus I gotta replicate some medical supplies."

The lifted eyebrow and emphasis McCoy placed on the last term clued Spock in that the supplies in question were not exactly medical in nature. As to what they might be, he could not hazard a guess, but he was confident the doctor knew what he was doing.

"In that case, perhaps I will join you in your quarters after showering also and dressing in something more appropriate."

McCoy smiled at him, making his heart flutter for a second. "Wear something you can take off quickly."

Spock struggled to remain composed as they stepped up to the site-to-site transporter.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry, folks - it gets X-rated from this point on so I can't post it here. If you're older than 18, please follow it on AO3 (archiveofourown dot org/works/7910338) or my website (theanishimori dot wordpress dotcom/star-trek/).