Better Than That

Isilarma

This bugged me a bit in the film, so I decided to make my own interpretation. I hope you all enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

At first Spock thought it was a simple mistake. The entire crew had been under a great deal of pressure, and the doctor in particular had pushed himself far beyond what Spock had previously considered humanly possible. It was not inconceivable that stress and fatigue had momentarily clouded his thinking.

Then he read further and realised that there was no mistake.

"Dr. McCoy, this is Spock. Report to my quarters immediately."

There was a brief pause before the doctor replied. "This really isn't the best time, Spock."

"I have some questions regarding your report."

The pause was far longer this time. "On my way."

Spock took the opportunity to scan the report again, despite having memorised it the first time. It detailed the injuries received by various crewmen during the engagements with Marcus and Khan and the treatments they had received. Like all the doctor's reports it was characterised by a depth of detail and a clinical analysis that had surprised Spock the first time he had read one, but this one was not like the others.

The door chimed and Spock swivelled his chair round. Time to find out why that was. "Come."

His first thought was that McCoy was exhausted. The dark shadows under his eyes combined with the stubble on his cheeks and wrinkled scrubs were enough to tell Spock that it had been some time since the doctor had slept. Despite that, his dark eyes were sharp and alert as he came to stand in front of Spock's desk. "This'd better be important," he growled. "In case you've forgotten, I've got patients to see to."

Spock didn't bother pointing out that he didn't forget anything. He had learned to pick his battles when dealing with this particular human. "This will not take long, Doctor." He gestured to the PADD in front of him and noted how McCoy's body tensed. "You stated that the captain received a near-fatal dose of radiation poisoning."

"He did, sir."

"And that he was resuscitated and the relevant treatments prescribed."

"He was and they were."

Spock leaned forwards, not once taking his eyes from McCoy. "Doctor," he said quietly. "The captain died."

"Briefly," McCoy acknowledged. "Luckily we were able to bring him back."

"Using Khan's blood."

McCoy shook his head. "Captain Kirk was revived using the correct Starfleet treatments for radiation exposure." There was no emotion in his voice and he continued to stare at the wall above Spock's head. "It's all there in my report."

Spock's eyes narrowed. "You have committed perjury, Doctor."

"No, I haven't. Sir."

Spock stared at him. "Captain Kirk was dead. I watched him die." His heart contracted at the reminder, and it took all his newly regained control to keep his voice level. "I felt him die."

"Clinically dead patients have been revived before, Commander."

For the second time in as many days, Spock found himself at a loss. He had been expecting McCoy to come in fighting, to shout and pace and do all the things the human usually did. He had not expected to hear such cold, unemotional denial. "No one has ever survived exposure of this kind before, Doctor," he said softly.

"Jim Kirk has never been known for following convention, sir."

Spock was becoming increasingly confused. First the deliberate doctoring of the report, and McCoy's continued refusal to admit the truth, now the man's very attitude. Spock had been addressed with more respect in one conversation than he had in the entirety of their service together, and while he had often commented on McCoy's incorrigibility, the sudden reversal was somewhat troubling.

Something was very wrong here. Spock's resolve hardened; he and McCoy might not have the most cordial of relationships but the doctor was still a member of the crew, his crew while Kirk was out of commission. He would find out what was going on. He owed Jim that much.

"Doctor, we both know that you are in error," he said. "You will explain yourself."

He was expecting more denials. He was not expecting McCoy to give a derisive snort. "Do I really need to explain to you why it would be a really bad idea to let people know that Khan's blood can practically bring back the dead?"

"Doctor-"

"Use that famous logic of yours, Spock," McCoy snarled. "Is there anyone who wouldn't want to exploit this? Who wouldn't want to experiment with anyone they could get their hands on? They'd have a field day with Jim alone, and as for Khan and his people; they'd be worse than lab rats."

"You are exaggerating-"

McCoy's eyes flashed. "Am I now? You go up to anyone who's lost a loved one and tell them that there are people whose blood could have saved them. You think they'd just let it go?" His shoulders slumped as he turned away. "We'd become vampires, constantly demanding their blood and taking it when they refused." He passed a shaking hand over his face as he slumped against the wall. "No one should have to live like that."

"I was not aware that you felt so strongly for Khan and his crew," said Spock quietly.

McCoy glared at him. "I'm a doctor, damn it," he growled. "It's my job to feel about it. Don't get me wrong," he added when Spock raised an eyebrow. "I hope Khan stays in that pod for the rest of his miserable existence. But they have rights." His voice dropped as he leaned back against the wall. "We can't let anyone take that away from them. we're better than that."

Spock looked at him. He had to admit that there was a certain logic to McCoy's arguments. Even for Vulcans, the idea of such a potent restorative serum would be tempting. For humans, ruled by their emotions as they were, the consequences could be most unpleasant. However... "I do not believe that would happen, Doctor. Surely Starfleet Command would show some discretion with this information."

McCoy just looked at him. "Are you really telling me you trust Starfleet Command with something like this now?"

Spock was silent. While logic assured him that their superiors could be trusted, and deserved to know the truth, Marcus' betrayal was still too raw. Maybe they were being excessively cynical, but it would be illogical to deny the facts. There were good men and women in Starfleet, and many of them, but there were also people like Marcus.

"We can' tell 'em, Spock," McCoy mumbled. They'll wanna use it. Use them."

Spock rose to his feet, his reluctant concern deepening at the sound of the doctor's thickening accent, something he had long since come to associate with genuine exhaustion. "Doctor, when did you last sleep?"

McCoy snorted. "When am I s'posed to have time for that?" He scrubbed at his eyes with a trembling hand. His next words were so quiet that even Spock had to strain to hear them. "I can't do it again, Spock. I can't."

Spock did not particularly like McCoy. The human was illogical and irreverent, who seemed to delight in alternately manipulating and bullying the crew, including the captain, into doing what he wanted. He frequently insulted Spock's personality, race, logic, and anything else he could think of. Sometimes he wondered how the man had ever bothered to become a physician.

Except he knew exactly why. McCoy was, despite all outward appearances, one of the best doctors Spock had ever met. Since he had replaced Puri as CMO, the Medical Division had improved so much that Spock had nearly double-checked the figures. Even morale was up. Spock was the first to admit that he had no understanding of human emotional needs, but McCoy seemed to be able to exactly gauge the crew's status and how to tweak it for the best results. And when that was combined with Jim Kirk's own brilliance, those results were indeed fascinating.

McCoy was a good man. A man who had saved the captain's life and was now paying the price for it.

Spock owed him this much.

"Who else knows the truth behind yesterday's events, Doctor?"

McCoy's head snapped up. "What did you say?"

Spock raised an eyebrow. "I was not aware that your hearing was impaired."

McCoy stared at him a moment longer before shaking his head sharply. "No... The Medical staff and the senior command crew. None of them will say anything." Hope was beginning to show in his clouded hazel eyes. "Spock..."

"Your arguments were quite logical, Doctor," Spock interrupted. "I agree that the galaxy is not yet meant to know the truth." Whatever Khan might have done, they did not have the right to do this.

McCoy's eyes closed and he tilted his head back so that it rested on the wall. "Well, whaddya know? We finally agree on somethin'."

Spock frowned at him. "I do, however, have one condition."

One eye cracked open to regard him with definite wariness. "Oh? What would that be?"

"That you proceed to your quarters and get at least eight hours of REM sleep."

"No," said McCoy flatly. "The captain-"

"Is out of danger and under the care of your medical staff," said Spock. "Your presence there is not necessary at the present time. Unless, of course, your staff need your supervision."

"Of course they don't," McCoy snapped. "They're the best staff in the fleet."

"Then you have no excuse not to get some rest." He felt no shame in the manipulation. Serving with Captain Kirk had shown him that sometimes it was necessary to take extreme measures to guarantee the wellbeing of the crew.

McCoy stared at him for a long moment before scrubbing a hand across his face. "Outmanoeuvred by a Vulcan," he grumbled. "Now I really need to get some sleep." Hazel eyes locked on Spock's. "But I'd better be notified immediately if anything changes."

Spock raised an eyebrow. "I would not dream of doing otherwise, Doctor." He meant it. There was no one else on the ship, perhaps in the entire Federation, whom he trusted more with the captain's welfare. McCoy's eyes widened as he registered the sincerity and Spock couldn't suppress an all too human surge of satisfaction at the genuine surprise in his expression. He picked up his PADD and flicked to the next report. "Dismissed, Doctor."

He didn't look up as McCoy made his way to the door, stumbling now as his fatigue caught up with him, but he did hear the almost inaudible whisper just before the door hissed closed. "Thanks."

Maybe it wasn't a conventional course of action. Maybe it wasn't logical.

But, for once, Spock was sure that it was the right one.

Any feedback would be very much appreciated.