Peak of Fools

Chapter 14 - 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.