Chapter Text
Irish Stew and Brandy
A steaming cup of tea with a shot of Terran brandy. Hot pancakes with maple sirup. A boiling pot of Irish stew. A mug of creamy hot chocolate.
During the estimated three hours since Spock's disappearance into the darkness outside, Bones had been busy with imagining what food and drink he would devour if they'd be lucky enough to get back to the Enterprise. Usually he would have disregarded such thoughts as unnecessary mind-games that would only increase the desperation one felt in a bleak situation such as this. But then Chekov had woken up after the brain-scanner had managed to heal his head injury faster than anticipated and they started to chat. McCoy suspected that his initial diagnosis of the navigator and the estimated length of the healing process hadn't been accurate due to the interference most of their instruments were experiencing from the energy source below. But thankfully this obstruction hadn't applied to the brain-scanner and McCoy assumed that it had to do with its mechanics. While tricoders, communicators and phasers operated with an electro-magnetic energy circuit, the brain-scanner drew his energy from a dilithium batterie. But the strange energy Spock had detected about 1000 meters below the plateau they were currently on, appeared to interfere with electro-magnetically powered instruments only. Bones was incredibly thankful - Chekov owned his life to such fortune. God knew, they hadn't had much luck with anything else since they had arrived on this strange planetoid.
So when the Russian had regained consciousness a few hours previously, their conversation somehow had quickly turned to food and drink. Hot food and drink to be precise. While the doctor was sitting right next to the ensign to provide him with some body-warmth, they had talked about their favourite meals and beverages. Chekov kept insisting that vodka was by far the better choice compared to brandy when it came to warming oneself in the cold. Soon after, he had fallen asleep and McCoy was grateful that the young man was able to get some rest.
His mind still occupied with stew and brandy, Bones now had to think of the new diet he had put Jim on recently. The captain had somehow managed to gain a few extra pounds, despite his physically demanding duties and his regular work-outs in the gym. A broad grin appeared on the CMO’s face. It probably has to do with his unscheduled late night snacks he's secretly having in his quarters when I'm not around, Bones thought and chuckled quietly. Jim... The smile slowly disappeared from his face.
He had made a promise to Jim before he left the Enterprise.
McCoy bit his lip. It had only taken him a few hours to break that promise. If he thought of it, he hadn't even tried to keep it. But to be perfectly honest, Bones admitted to himself, he had simply forgotten the promise since they had arrived on the planet.
Consciously forgotten it ...
Of course, Spock was just as guilty as he was thanks to his goddamn stubbornness and Vulcan arrogance, but did this make his own behaviour acceptable? Of course it didn't. Bones shook his head, his forehead in a deep frown. Blaming Spock couldn't distract from the fact that he had broken a promise he had made to his friend and captain. What kind of pal was he that he hadn't even tried to keep it?
McCoy recapitulated the last few hours since their arrival on the strange planetoid. Fair enough, they had been under immense stress and the circumstances were far from cosy. But it was amazing how easy it was for the Vulcan to unsettle him, to unnerve him, to piss him off to the extent that he would consciously forget about the promise so that he wouldn't need to obey it. And obey was the appropriate term for he had not just broken a promise but disobeyed a direct order from his CO.
Bones crossed his arms and frowned into the darkness in front of him. Everyone else on board the Enterprise managed to tolerate the First Officer's strange quirks and behaviour, why on earth couldn't he? The CMO shook his head, wondering. Of course, due to the nature of their jobs as the respective heads of their departments they couldn't really avoid one another and had to work together a lot. But Jim, who had to work with Spock all the time, got on better with him than anyone else did.
Maybe Jim is more tolerant, a quiet voice in Bones' head suggested. Mmh. Maybe. He had never considered himself as intolerant towards other species, such a notion was foreign to him and he despised it in others. But that wasn't really the point. Jim was also more patient and Bones was well aware of this.
With a deep sigh, the doctor concluded that he wasn't intolerant towards people or certain species, but rather intolerant towards certain character traits and behaviour patterns of some individuals. Spock's stubbornness annoyed him just as much as Jim's pig-headedness. The captain's pretended invincibility was just as irresponsible as Spock's inclination to constantly risk his neck for others on landing party duty. But McCoy was of the opinion that the Vulcan had more annoying character traits than anyone else aboard. Above all, he was infuriated by Spock's aloofness and cold-heartedness. He just couldn't believe that the guy was supposed to be half-human.
Nothing wrong with logic, McCoy mused. But having logic as the first and only point of reference in life was a bit sad. And it probably would make one very lonely.
Bones hadn't even realised that he was kneading his lips while he was having this rather illuminating insight.
Lonely.
Thinking of it, Bones realised that apart from Jim, Spock was rather isolated from the rest of the crew. Of course, the First Officer was highly respected by everyone aboard the Enterprise. But when it came to his personal contacts, to socialising and undertaking communal activities in his free time, Bones had difficulty to think of anything that didn't include Jim. Uhura had told him that once or twice Spock had shown her how to play on the Vulcan lyre, an activity that was of huge interest to the musical Communications Officer. But apart from that he couldn't think of any other occasions where the Vulcan had willingly socialised with any crew members. Of course, the job didn't leave much opportunity for hobbies and the like, and many of the crew simply chose to rest in their free time, especially during stressful missions. However, since McCoy had been onboard, there had also been some periods with free time which he always aimed to use constructively.
But in actual fact, Bones admitted to himself, he didn't have that many friends on board either apart from Jim. It weren't many, but at least he had a few friends: Scotty with whom he regularly shared a drink or two of whiskey, Christine Chapel who he enjoyed discussing his medical research with, Uhura and Sulu with whom he sometimes shared a late-night coffee in the cafeteria when they all were working the Gamma shift. So yes, he only had a handful friends on board, but Bones had always known that when it came to relationships it definitely was about quality not quantity. But Spock... his only friend on board was Jim and the Vulcan just didn't do spontaneous socialising like Bones and the others did. Hence, Spock's character and behaviour was obviously isolating him from his Human colleagues. And Bones didn't blame them.
Or did he?
Wasn't it true that actually he himself was spending quite a bit of his free time with the FO? Bones would often join Spock and Jim in the captain's quarters for a good-night drink after their obligatory evening of 3-dimensional chess on a Wednesday and Saturday - Spock would have a cup of herbal tea while he and Jim would indulge in something more potent. Didn't they share most of their meals together in the cafeteria? And what about the regular occasions when he asked Spock for some advice regarding his medical research or when the First Officer approached him to discuss the captain's general medical status or well-being? And during the botanics workshop Sulu was hosting a little while ago, where they had to work in pairs when dissecting some flesh-eating plants, he had teamed up with the Vulcan who was also taking part.
Thinking about it, Bones realised that in actual fact he was spending most of his free time with Spock in one way or the other. The doctor rose an eyebrow as he grasped that this was rather a lot of contact with someone he apparently disliked so much.
McCoy sighed. There was no denial, for all intents and purposes, it would only be fair to describe Spock as a friend. Maybe not such a close friend as Jim - and who could be anyway - but a friend nevertheless. He had never met anyone who could irritate him as much as Spock. But it was also true that he had never met anyone as loyal, intelligent or trustworthy as the Vulcan. Plus, they shared many professional, scientific interests. And most importantly - they shared the same best friend.
McCoy grimaced in the darkness as the realisation hit him. The FO had become a friend during the last year. But he doubted that Spock felt the same about him. The Vulcan also never got tired of exclaiming that the contact he had with Bones was always out of necessity. He was far too irrational, emotional and passionate for Spock's logical and controlled nature and the Science Officer never got tired of making this irrefutable fact known.
In conclusion, Bones doubted that Spock was able to establish and maintain friendships with anyone apart from Jim with whom he seemed to share a special connection. A bond that was naturally nurtured by the close contact and special trust a First Officer and captain usually shared. Friends or no friends, in any case Bones decided that if he should see the Vulcan again, he would try harder to obey Jim's promise. At least for the rest of this mission.