Day 56: Crossroader's Bar and Casino

[fourstonewalls]

Doyleton, Lana had surmised within the first few hours of her last visit, was too ordinary. Nothing this trip, even the abandoned building, had made her reconsider that assessment. She hadn't found the point where the small town stopped, and the lie started, where she could slip in a well-placed word and start to unravel the whole shebang

Comments

[doneinthree]

From his stance to the look on his eyes, there was no question that Kirk had readied himself for a confrontation, which made his expression of surprise all that more noticeable when Bones dropped his gaze. That was it? He'd been prepared for- well, something a lot worse than that. Calling any doctor unfit for his job was asking for a fight; doing it to Bones practically guaranteed it. Not only was he not giving Kirk an earful right now, he'd said thanks.

But then the thing which always made Bones different from most of the doctors Jim had known was that Bones would never hesitate to go above and beyond the call for his patients, even at the cost of his pride, and there was no small amount of pride there. So it was bad, then. In a way, he would've preferred an argument, because at least there would've still been that little seed of doubt over whether or not he was overreacting. Like this, knowing that Bones thought he was right to relieve him... Kirk sighed and glanced off for a second, looking less like a Starfleet captain and more like a young man who wished this wasn't up to him. "Alright."

Why the thanks? Kirk wanted to say it was just for making that call, but Bones' panic over having to meld with Spock had been too much for him to shrug off. He could understand discomfort with the idea. Twice now, he'd experienced a mind meld with a Spock, and it was... hardly recreational, but definitely preferable to rotting on a ice planet or having to worry about losing his mind. But fear?

"Bones. I don't know what's the deal between you and Spock, but... this one, from my universe..." How long had he known Spock? A few weeks, at this point, and with a fairly inauspicious start to this strange partnership he'd embarked on. At the time, Spock had driven him nuts - too careful, too detached, too set on proving him wrong - but what he had he learned since then? That despite all appearances, they weren't so different, maybe. No... no, when it came to the important things - the most important thing - they were the same. "We might've had our differences, but I'd trust him with my life. And I certainly don't value my well-being more than that of anyone else in this crew." Kirk smiled wryly and shrugged, before stepping aside to let the doctor pass.