"Ah, Jim..."

"Yes, Bones?"

"Sorry if I said anything... you know ..."

"Bones, after all we've been through, I don't think..." He broke off and clapped a hand on the shoulder of his chief physician. Both smiled. "And thanks for prying me out of that chair."

Turning toward his bedroom door, he waved a hand backward and said, "See you in the morning."

Leonard McCoy watched his friend turn away, and he found that a strange combination of relief and regret was spinning through him. He shook his head once, twice, and turned toward his own room, a new thought crossing his mind.