Monday

0700
Despite his late night, McCoy arrived in sick bay just as report was starting, in an excellent mood. He joined the staff at shift change and enjoyed every word of Mrs. Sanchez's lengthy report, which could have been summed up by saying Mr. Chekov had an uneventful night. He encouraged her to stay late and show him how to make the honey tea she so recommended for difficulty sleeping. While she stirred, he recounted his argument with Treos. She was very impressed and highly complimentary. He had not realized what a fine judge of character she was.

0900
Gouyen presented himself for his cardiac evaluation. Mindful of his discussions with Chapel, McCoy forced himself to allow Coh to give it. He contented himself with watching from the door and pacing in the hallway. About half way through the nurse manager left the procedure room and came out in the hall to talk with him.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"What do you mean? I am delegating authority and letting Coh use his expertise. It makes for greater job satisfaction. Or so I have been told."

"Well you are not doing it very well. You keep peeking in and ruining everyone's concentration. Things are going well. You'll get a verbal report as soon as he's finished. Stop bothering him. Why don't you go to your office and do some paperwork?"

"I'm all caught up."

"Go up to the bridge and bother them."

"We're due to enter a new system sometime today. You know I can't chance being on the bridge when we do. I hate seeing things on the screen. It reminds me how thin the hull is."

"Okay, well, you can't keep on watching us, you are making Coh feel like you don't trust him."

McCoy had nothing to say.

"Leonard," Chapel said with a sigh, "he is perfectly competent. You need to stop this. Have another breakfast. Go visit your pet ensign. Do something."

"My pet ensign?"

Christine nodded in the direction of the isolation unit.

"He's not my pet."

"Well whatever you call him, why don't the two of you sit down and have one of your little chats. It will calm you down and keep you busy for a while."

McCoy frowned. She sighed and said, "If that isn't something you feel an interest in, fine, I was just trying to help. Do whatever you want, but leave us alone. We'll let you know when we finish." She turned back to the room and firmly pushed the button to close the door.

McCoy paced around the unit one more time. The nurses at the desk watched him anxiously. He started over to the isolation unit but then realized it might look as if he were following Chapel's orders, so instead he grabbed a medikit and went off to security to check on Meyers and Goj.

They were sitting with the other miscreants on report. Both were healing well, in good spirits and looking forward to finishing their sentences and getting back to work. While they were on report they weren't supposed to talk, except when responding to superior officers, but no one stopped them from communicating in the sign language the division used while on silent missions. They kept challenging each other to contests, who could hold their breath the longest, who could keep a leg straight in front of themselves longer. As Leonard left they were beginning a push up contest, one armed, because of Meyer's cast.

1330
McCoy stayed off the unit for most of the morning. After his visit to security he went to engineering. He fussed at the staff there about their failure to put out warning signs when they were working on ladders, and then he checked the supplies in the first aid kits. A little disappointed that they were adequate, he accepted Scotty's invitation to lunch. They ran into Jim in the mess, and he enjoyed his meal despite having to see the number of carbohydrates the captain consumed. Afterwards, he returned to the medical unit. Chapel was working at the desk when he came in.

"Did you see Gouyen?" she asked.

"Gouyen? No, where is he?"

"I thought you might have seen him coming into security as you left."

"What's he doing in security?"

Chapel looked thoughtful and then said, "I have some great news Leonard, Gouyen passed with flying colors. I sent him back to work."

"You were supposed to discuss the results of the study with me."

"The study was normal. He's been off work almost a week and he wanted to go back. You know how those security guys are, work is their life. You weren't here. There was no good reason to keep him off any longer."

"We agreed we would discuss the results."

"Dr. McCoy, do you remember the discussion we had about sharing responsibility? I told Coh to send you a copy of the test, go look through it, I am sure you will concur with my decision."

"Miss Chapel, if I have learned anything this week it is that I am not comfortable supporting decisions I have no part of. I need to be consulted on these things. It is just the way I am."

The nurse nodded. "I am sorry doctor. I will try to remember. Would you like me to call security and have Gouyen come back?"

McCoy thought for a few seconds and then said unwillingly, "No, that won't be necessary. I will go look at the tests. I am sure you're correct. In the future just please remember I will not be supportive of decisions made without my input. I want to be involved."

Chapel nodded. She added. "Again, I am sorry that I didn't consider that. I should probably tell you that I checked the lab reports. Chekov's sputum was clear, so I had him moved to the floor."

"Christine!" McCoy said angrily.

"Leonard, you told me you wanted to move him."

"I did. It's just," he scowled at her.

"It's just what?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said.

She studied him closely and then said, "You wanted to be the one to tell him."

"Don't be ridiculous Chapel. I was just surprised that's all. Surprised and sorry that no one consults with the CMO when making major unit decisions."

She rolled her eyes. "I am sorry doctor, I was simply trying to clear out some space in case we have some actual patients come in, you know like we do every day? The ones that arrive without any warning? That stupid balloon was taking up too much room and it is difficult to clean around. I had it deflated and they are packing it away now. I fully accept the blame for not anticipating that the preparedness of the entire unit is not nearly as important as the CMO getting to pretend he's Santa Claus granting the wishes of all the little children on board. Well doctor, he's on the ward. We put him in his usual bed. Why don't you go see him? You can tell him it was all your idea, I'm sure he will be properly grateful."

McCoy continued to scowl but it didn't have any fire behind it. He said, "I don't need your advice or your permission to talk to the patients Miss Chapel. I shall be in my office if anyone is wondering where I am while they ignore my wishes." He stomped off in that direction.

She said quietly to his back, "And yes, he is too your pet."

1415
A little later McCoy decided enough time had passed that he could reasonably slip out without it looking like he had been hiding. He stopped in the supply room to use the replicator there and then he went to the ward. Chekov was in the first bed. He was sitting up, staring off into space with a pensive expression.

The overbed table was pushed to the side. There was a covered tray on the table. McCoy lifted the lid. The food was untouched. He looked over at Chekov, who wouldn't meet McCoy's eyes. He looked away, toward the other end of the room. He was still pale, his eyes were red and he had bruises showing at his collar, but he looked better than the last time McCoy had seen him.

McCoy had planned to say a simply hello, but instead he said, "Why aren't you eating?"

Chekov glanced up at the doctor and then away.

"Chekov, I asked you a question. Why didn't you eat your lunch?"

"It tastes like rotting flesh."

"How would you know? Did you eat a lot of rotting flesh over there in Russia?"

Chekov said, "No, and I am not eating it here either."

McCoy laughed and said, "Well when you put it like that, it almost seems reasonable." He set a mug on the table. "Mrs. Sanchez claims you like this stuff. I just made it, it's hot, so be careful."

Chekov didn't pick it up, but he sniffed at it. He said, "thank you Dr. McCoy."

McCoy took a seat. Chekov stared at his own his finger as he traced the insignias on the blanket.

"Chekov," McCoy started.

"Dr. McCoy," Chekov said at the same time.

"You go ahead," McCoy said.

The young man didn't look up. He said quietly, "I, I do not really remember everything clearly, but I know that you helped me, and I want you to know I appreciate it. I appreciate it very much. I," he paused and then said, "I am so embarrassed. I can't believe this happened again. I told Dr. Patel I did not want that medicine."

"Don't let it bother you. These things happen to everyone."

"It is good of you to say, but I know that is not true." It had been a long time since McCoy had heard the navigator sound so down.

McCoy said snapped, "I am a doctor, not an entertainer, and I don't have any interest in saying things just to make you happy." He did though, and he was pleased when Chekov smiled weakly. McCoy continued a little more kindly, "Son, everyone on this ship has done something stupid in front of other people at one time or another. Embarrassing doesn't kill anyone."

"Believe me, I know," Chekov said.

One of the lights on the monitor blinked and changed colors. McCoy glanced up and frowned. "Your fever is up again. You need some fluids, are you going to drink the tea or do you want something else?"

"This is fine." He took a sip and then said, "I used to drink it only to make Mrs. Sanchez happy, but I have had it so many times I have come to like it. She thinks most problems can be cured with tea." He sounded like he disagreed.

"I tried some this morning. She puts a lot of honey in it. It reminds me of my mama's sweet tea. That's served cold though. I don't know if you would like it."

"Very cold or very hot is best when you do not feel well." The boy paused and then said, "When I was sick my mother used to cut up very small pieces of fruit and freeze them, she would tease me to eat them. She would say, 'eat ten and I will tell you a story, eat twenty and I will tell you a long story'."

"She sounds like a clever woman."

Chekov shrugged and said wistfully, "she knew a great deal about illness."

McCoy noticed the ensign used a past tense, and it occurred to him that he was not the only one who avoided discussing his earlier life. He looked at Chekov for a moment and then said, "When my daughter was little and had a fever I used to mix warm water into Jell-O powder and feed it to her. It's a southern thing, my mama did it for me too. If I had told any of my professors, they would have been horrified, but it worked great. She had quite a sweet tooth, she would always drink it."

"You have a daughter?"

"Just the one, her mother and I are divorced. She's just a little younger than you actually."

"Really? How old are you?"

"I started young." McCoy snapped. He rubbed his chin and then said in a quieter voice, "I was still in college when she was born. We got married, I worked full time and went to school full time, the baby cried a lot, my wife was resentful, and then I started medical school and it really got hard." He paused and then added, "I always meant to tell you that I know a little something about taking on adult responsibilities while you're still young."

Chekov said, "The situations are different. I decided to do this Dr. McCoy, I wanted to. I am happy to be on the Enterprise."

"That's probably why you drive me so crazy."

Chekov looked at him thoughtfully, and then said, "she is lucky."

"Why would you say that?"

"She has a kind father."

"I'm not sure she would agree with you. I don't see her nearly as often as I would like. Sometimes I am not sure how much I know her."

"She knows that you love her."

McCoy had to smile, "You sound pretty certain considering you didn't know she existed five minutes ago."

"How could she not? Dr. McCoy, you do not hide your emotions very well."

McCoy laughed, Chekov looked pleased and added, "sometimes I think perhaps you are the anti-Mr. Spock."

"You know young man," laughed McCoy. "I've seldom had a compliment that pleased me more."

Chekov studied McCoy's face for a moment and then reached out to tap his arm. When the older man looked at him he said, "She knows."

"I hope so," McCoy said, "I hope it very much."

They sat in silence for a while. Chekov sighed and closed his eyes. McCoy wanted to gently remind him how important it was to stay hydrated. He barked, "Drink that tea before you fall asleep."

Chekov's eyes snapped open. He sat up straighter and grabbing the tea, drained it. The effort seemed to exhaust him. He barely got the cup on the table before he sagged back on the bed.

"Take it easy kid, did you do that just because I told you to?" McCoy asked.

The ensign gave him an exasperated look, "Yes sir, that is how Starfleet works. Senior officers issue orders, junior officers follow them."

McCoy took a deep breath, "I am not really the military type ensign, I often forget that what I say can be so powerful, which is a good introduction to the first of several things I need to speak to you about." Chekov looked at him warily. McCoy took another deep breath and continued. "Sometimes I forget to think about how much my decisions affect other people. When I got mad enough at Dr. Treos, I shut him down, which means that I could have done it earlier. I didn't in part because I wanted everyone to see him fail. I wanted to be right. More specifically, I wanted my coworkers to see that I was right. That was a mistake. For me the isolation unit was a minor inconvenience, I didn't consider strongly enough that for you it was much more than that. I hope that you will accept my apology."

"You do not have to apologize."

"I do. I lost my temper and thought more about the opinions of my peers than I did about the needs of the individuals the unit exists to serve."

Chekov said, "No, you helped me, as you always do." He played with the blanket some more and then said, "Dr. McCoy, I, I, I know I made this all worse. If I had done what Dr. Treos wanted maybe I wouldn't have been so sick." His voice petered off. He pulled at the blanket and then added, "I blame no one but myself."

"Yourself? I don't see that," said McCoy. The ensign continued to play with the blanket. McCoy watched a while and then said gently, "I can't understand until you tell me."

Chekov sighed and looked up. He said, "I was never like other children. I have been studied a great deal."

McCoy was so surprised he couldn't think of anything to say.

Chekov continued, "I thought I would never have to do that any more."

"Pavel," McCoy said. "You should have said something."

Chekov shook his head. "I said no. It didn't matter." He paused and then added, "I hoped if I refused to cooperate Dr. Treos would want someone better for his study and let me go. He didn't."

"No, he didn't, and I didn't make him. I should have. What you're saying only makes it clearer how much I failed in my responsibilities. I hope that you will accept my apology."

"If it matters to you, then of course, I accept your apology, but I would never blame you for any of this."

"Well it certainly wasn't your fault. I have an idea, how about we both blame Treos?"

Chekov gave him a real smile but shook his head. "He can't help himself. And really, when I think how many more people I could have humiliated myself in front of, I am almost glad I was locked away."

McCoy smiled. "You can't stay mad, and I can't not be mad. We are both kind of pathetic, you know that right?" Chekov nodded wearily. McCoy continued, "What do you mean Treos can't help himself?"

"Doctor Treos thinks of no one as his peer and so he thinks of no one as important. He cared that I did not do as he wanted, but he did not care that I was unhappy. How I felt did not affect his research. He could have made his life easier except for his bias. The nurses are lieutenants, any of them could have ordered me to do what he wanted. I kept waiting for him to involve them, but he never did. I believe as they played no part in his research they were of no interest to him."

"You know Chekov, I have been trying to figure out a succinct way to say what it is about him that bugs me, I believe you hit the nail on the head."

"I had a great deal of time to observe him."

"I suppose you did. He took it to an extreme, but I guess we can all be like that, get caught up in what is important to us.

"You are nothing like that Dr. McCoy. To you people are important simply because they are."

"I, wow, you're full of compliments today."

The young man shrugged. "I have had time to observe you too, I wish I did not have to spend so much time here, but if I must, I am grateful for you."

McCoy had to swallow hard before he could say, "Thank you Pavel, that was very kind. I appreciate that." He blinked his eyes and looked around the room. Then he said, "If it is alright, I think I am just going to sit here a little while, you go on and get some sleep." Chekov obediently shut his eyes, which made McCoy laugh again, he tried to do it quietly.

McCoy enjoyed the quiet and thought that someday, perhaps, he would introduce Chekov to Joanna. They had a lot in common; they were both good, smart people. They might enjoy talking.

The door to the ward opened. Chapel looked in. She frowned when she saw McCoy and said, "There you are! I should have known. I thought you were in your office, I have been calling there. Four ensigns playing in the labs exploded something, burns and minor puncture wounds, they're getting cleaned up but we need you to take a look at them."

McCoy jumped up. As he hurried past he said to Chekov, "We aren't finished, when I come back I am going to have a few things to say to you about unprotected sex, incomplete and misleading medical records, withholding information from health care providers, and then we're going to discuss your unwillingness to cooperate with my recommendations about eating."

He pushed past Chapel and towards the exam area.

Chekov looked at Miss Chapel and said, "lucky me."

"My advice is to stay asleep," she said. "Maybe he'll forget, or somebody else will get sick and distract him. It's been a while; the captain is due for a stay."

They could hear the doctor's raised voice in the passageway. Not all the words were audible, but 'idiotic' and 'time wasting' were clear enough.

Chekov looked up at the nurse. He sighed. Christine cocked her head and said, "I'm guessing right about now you are missing your robots."

"Not the air squids," Chekov replied, "but their volume control, yes."

1840
It was beta shift, but Leonard was still on the ward. He had finished patient care and stayed to yell at Chekov. He had left the door open and Christine could see him pacing in front of the bed. She couldn't make out everything he said, but she had heard parts of the lecture many times before and occasionally, when his passion got away from him he would shout phrases, or words. She could follow along fairly well. Chekov was no longer even trying to calm him down, but sat silent and still, an embarrassed smile on his face. Occasionally he glanced longingly at Christine.

She pretended not to see him but murmured to herself, "Don't look to me, baby. I can't help you. At this point, no one can. Running wouldn't even help. He would only find you and start over."

"Hey Chapel, what's up?"

"Hello Captain Kirk," she said dryly. He must have snuck in while she was watching the CMO. He draped himself across the desk, looking completely at ease, just like he always did. He really did not seem to remember her at all. She was not sure if that made her glad or sad. As there was no one else at the desk she had no choice but to speak with him.

He gestured toward the ward and asked, "Is that Bones?"

She replied, "Do you really need to ask? Two nights ago, he was celebrating the magic healing powers of touch. Today he is exploring bullying the patients into health."

The captain grinned and asked, "What's he yelling about now?"

"Well, we transferred Mr. Chekov to the unit, and almost immediately his fever went up. I believe Leonard went in there to remind him that he needs to try and drink more fluids, but apparently, something in the ensign's response led Leonard to begin to discuss the importance of participation-"

"In your own health care!" the captain finished for her with one of his marvelous grins. "Topic one in the Bones McCoy Guide to Mind Numbing Lectures for the Trapped Audience. I've heard it many times."

Despite herself Christine smiled. "Yes, well, somehow that led him to reflect on another favorite; I imagine you've heard it too. It begins 'If you think you are old enough to have sex then by God you are old enough to protect yourself from disease.' He is now well into his second fifteen minutes on what condoms are for."

"A classic! I've heard it many times. How's my navigator enjoying it?"

"Not much. He's tried all the standard deflection measures, blushing, stammering, sighing loudly and gazing hopefully at the door. Leonard will not be deterred."

"That cute kid stuff isn't going to have any effect on a professional grouch like Bones. If Chekov wants him to shut up he's going to have to call out the big guns. It's either puke, cry, or nothing. At this point fainting wouldn't even help, the good doctor would just continue to lecture his still body."

From the ward Leonard bellowed, "Do you want to ruin your life?" Then his voice dropped to its regular level and the rant continued.

"I would think he would feel a little hypocritical saying something like that. Everybody knows he knocked up his high school girlfriend, the Ice Queen of Atlanta. His kid's a teenager already. He can't have been that much older than Chekov when he got busy," the captain mused.

Christine looked around the desk to make sure they weren't overheard. She whispered, "Everyone does not know that Captain Kirk, and you should keep your voice down. Did you ever think that perhaps that is why he feels so strongly on this particular topic?"

"You're probably right, but really, don't you think saying it ruined your life is a little much? I mean, he's crazy about that kid."

"He doesn't regret Joanna, but I am sure he has some regrets about her home life. We all have regrets." She gave him a meaningful look. He gazed back innocently, blue eyes completely unclouded by guilt. She sighed and continued, "It doesn't mean we don't go on and make a very satisfactory, healthy life, full of friends and many, many meaningful relationships."

"Okay, sure whatever," the captain said disinterestedly, peering back to the ward. "Look at Chekov, I call that his polite face, when he smiles like that it means he thinks you are an idiot. Sometimes during department meetings, I think his face is going to freeze in that expression. Hey, did you hear that? Did Bones just say Chekov and I don't reflect well on his skills? Ouch. How did I get dragged into this? Better be careful Bones, keep talking and you may completely alienate our little super genius. Then who are you going to spew your philosophical warbling to? He's pretty much the only one left that actually listens."

Christine tried to keep from laughing by returned her full attention to the bay's message board. The captain continued to watch the lecture, occasionally commenting, either on doctor's words or Chekov's lack of response. She saw something marked 'important' from the surgeon general's office. Curious, she opened and read it.

"Oh no," she said.

"What's up?" asked the captain.

"The response to Leonard's original query about Treos is here. It wasn't marked urgent so it got sent to the unit's message board instead of his. It's been here for days."

"Is it bad?" Kirk asked, sitting up, suddenly completely interested.

"No, it gives him complete discretion to handle the matter and reiterates that the safety of the crew is always the primary responsibility of the CMO, the surgeon general exists to support him in that mission, blah blah, signed Admiral Kytel Oogten."

"Well, what's wrong with that?" asked the captain happily, flashing another wonderful grin. "That is great news."

Christine shook her head, "It means he's not in any trouble for shutting down Treos's research, but do you have any idea how completely insufferable he will be once he reads this? I mean, look at him, right now he's convinced his career is on the line and he still can't contain himself. Now that HQ has essentially backed up everything he said there will be no living with him. You can go ahead and be happy, you won't have to work with him."

The captain laughed and reaching out, patted her hand. "If anyone can keep him in line it's you Chris."

"I give up." she said. The captain looked at her quizzically. She continued, "I have been trying to get him to stop micromanaging, and take a broader view. I want him to stop inserting himself into every single patient's experience and to take care of himself a little bit. But this means it's a lost cause. I give up."

"Oh, he wouldn't be the Bones we all know and love if he changed. Everybody gets his very best every time. That's part of his charm." Kirk said.

"Again, you don't work down here, it may be charming for you, it is exhausting for us. He works himself into a frenzy and then calms himself down by exploding like some skinny volcano."

"So, don't listen. I never do."

She looked at the ward again, and said thoughtfully, "I need to develop a polite face."

"Great idea. Ask Chekov for help, he's certainly got it down." the captain returned to watching the lecture.

The doors to the unit opened and the three new graduates appeared. They were working all the shifts on this, their last week of orientation. Next week they would be regular members of the crew and assigned as needed. Christine was looking forward to it. Their skills were fine, but they were too enthusiastic. She thought they would be easier to tolerate as individuals, and not in a group.

"Hello Captain Kirk," purred Lieutenant Aya. Her friends smiled coquettishly at the captain. Christine made a mental note to schedule them to work when the unit was unlikely to have visitors.

"Ladies," said the captain, flashing some teeth.

McCoy's voice rose, and he yelled, "more water, less sex, that's your new goal Chekov."

The captain started to laugh, the three young women to blush. McCoy heard the captain and turning towards the desk said, "Shut up. This is mostly your fault Kirk. He follows your bad example." He started towards the desk angrily. All three of the young women left, almost sprinting away. The captain laughed harder.

"Report in twenty minutes!" Christine called after them.

"Get out." Leonard said.

"Why?" laughed the captain.

"If these are my last days on the ship I am running it my way. I have been far too accommodating with all of you. I don't need you and your poor attitude messing up my teaching. Go to the bridge."

"I came down here to visit my navigator. I am the captain. You can't order me to leave." The captain looked into the ward, Chekov had his eyes closed and his arms over his chest, feigning sleep.

"The hell I can't. Leave." said McCoy.

"I see what you mean." The captain said to Christine. She nodded an acknowledgement. "Fine Bones, tell Chekov I'll see him later. I have a present for him." He slid off his seat and left the unit, still laughing. Christine watched him go and then turned to Leonard.

"That felt good," he said. "Bad news Christine, I have reached a conclusion. I am just not the supportive co worker type."

Her lips twitched but all she said was, "I forwarded some messages to you. You may want to read them tonight."

"Thanks, anything else?"

The comm beeped and Scotty's voice came over it. "Medical, are you there, it's Scott in engineering."

She leaned over and said, "Go ahead Mr. Scott."

"Lieutenant Thomas walked straight into a beam. I don't know how he did it. It's large as life and it's not like it hasn't been there as long as he has. We're putting pressure on it, but he's spouting like a geyser and not making all that much sense. Do you want to send a stretcher, or shall we just walk him up?"

"Stretcher," McCoy said, "and don't bother the medics, I will go myself." he leaned into the comm, "I will be right down Scotty, don't move him." He started to the supply room, calling for an aid and transport.

"Of course you will." Christine said to herself. She watched him hurry off, the stretcher team barely managing to keep up. "Nice to have you back boss," she said.