Kirk looked more sullen than Spock had ever seen. Ever.

"So, he has to die? Conspiracy or no?"

"Captain, that evidence has always been under debate. But the fact remains, his death makes the Soviet KGB very anxious to prove they were not behind it. This sharing of information in turn leads to several renegades on either side of the Iron Curtain being brought low by shared intelligence, especially in the 1970's."

"So, despite the man's bad back, McCoy's shouting out at just the right moment saves him? Is that so bad a thing, Spock? Think of all the good he will do. The hearts he will lift. More, if there is a conspiracy, he can live to expose it. Save Dr. King--his own brother--who knows, maybe even Lennon."

"Captain, his mindset is still that of a man who sees World War III as inevitable. While he does keep this nation out of the Vietnam Conflict, as a result, America is never humbled as to the limits of military might. In 1979, the battle is joined in Afghanistan. The result----"

Kirk needed to say only one word.

"Armageddon."

Spock shook his head.

"Armageddon is merely a hill in Israel, where I once visited the Meggido Kibbutz with my mother. A poor term for the death of a world-and the Federation."

So Kirk and Spock looked over those streets of Dallas, looking for signs of McCoy's emergence in the days prior to the 22nd. There was one obvious place they did not look.

In a book repository, an insane man struggled with one under the influence of 23rd-Century narcotics. Despite Oswald's obsession, McCoy was on a crusade. He seized and struck Oswald with his own gun, knocking him out. McCoy bound him.

"Not this time, ANIMAL!"

 Still not together, McCoy positioned himself by the window, his addled mind intending to snipe the assassin in the grassy knoll, if there was one. His captive made a surprising plea.

"Please, whoever you are! I'm not Lee Harvey Oswald! I'm a time traveller. My name is Doctor Sam Beckett. If I'm not free, we'll never find out who really kills Kennedy."

McCoy laughed.

"If you are a time traveller, ignore JFK and consider WJC--next time, don't inhale!"

"WJC? You're a time traveller, too. Why?"

He was still gone, mentally.

"A Nation died, here. People held the South responsible. Blamed the Eastern power elite. Blamed industrial concerns in the West. He lives, it all flows in a smooth line. Then, I'll find him, tell him to keep it in his pants, and everything will be alright."

As an invisible presence helped 'Oswald' to undo his bonds, Kirk and Spock burst in. McCoy held them at gunpoint.

"You look like my friends. But I can't be sure."

"Bones, give me the gun."

"No, Jim. The grassy knoll. I'm going to pepper it. I've seen him. The real killer. Arrogant cuss. Chain smoker. Now things are made right."

'Oswald' was now free.

"That's my line, friend."

As they struggled for the rifle, Spock nerve-pinched them both. He then saw Kirk make for the window. As his friend's mouth opened, Spock went to repeat his motion, but Kirk was ready. As they struggled, though, the fateful shots rang out, and a panicked Oswald, no longer claiming to be a time traveller, fled. Outside, a newly-posessed Secret Service Agent saved the life of The First Lady. President Kennedy, though, was dead. In a sewer grating below Elm Street on Dealey Plaza, a man without conscience looked proudly out on the Nightmare he had crafted, then took another whiff of yet another cigarette.

Spock saw the disgusted look on Kirk's face. McCoy was beginning to stir, the effects of the drug wearing off.

"Damn it, Spock! Suppose that had been Surak?"

Spock seemed as close to human tears as Kirk had ever seen him.

"Then, Jim, I would have counted on you to hold me back."

As they exited the Guardian of Forever, Kirk barely took in its offer of future journeys. He heard Scotty's question.

"Sir, where were you? You were only gone a minute."

Kirk whipped out his communicator.

"Where were we, Scotty? 'Don't Let It Be Forgot...That Once There Was A Spot...A Fleeting Whisp Of Glory...That Was Known As...Camelot.'"

One final pause.

"Let's Get The Hell Out Of Here."