Lt. Commander Scott sighed as he walked down the corridor. His mind still wandered to the image of Mira. It had been two weeks since she had walked the halls of the Enterprise, but none the less she was not forgotten by the Scotsman.
The crew personnel that walked passed him paid him no mind, except perhaps the occasional Engineer, who smiled and nodded to him. Scotty, however, just gave a strained smile. He could still remember how Mira's eyes sparkled and he recalled her kind and enduring smile perfectly, as if he had seen it only moments ago. He heaved a heavy sigh as he entered the Engineering Room. The familiar humming of the machines made him realize that his feet had carried him subconsciously to the room where he felt most relaxed, to the room he was most familiar with, to the room where his love for physics and equations was understood.
One of the new additions to the Engine Room approached his boss cautiously. "Excuse me, sir, but didn't you get off two hours ago?"
Scott scanned the remark in his head. He felt shocked that the redshirt in front of him didn't understand yet that when he felt troubled this was the place that he came to when he didn't particularly feel like reading and then rereading technical manuals to relax. Instead of informing the young man, however, he merely replied "aye laddie… I did," in a halfhearted tone, before turning on his heel and hearing the familiar swoosh of the door.
Minutes later he found that while he had once again submerged his mind to thoughts of Mira he had walked into the mess hall on deck eight. Glancing around the room he saw Doctor McCoy in a conversation with Captain Kirk and Spock, who were sitting across from their companion with their backs to the door. The trio was unaware by Scott's entrance. Many of the other people inhabiting the room were too busy hurriedly eating their food to get to their shift; those who could take their time were talking casually to the others at their table while slowly raising their forks to their mouths. The voices that traveled to Scott's ears were the voices of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, who happened to be at the table closest to the door.
"… The engineers are worried about Scott because he wanders around the corridors after his shift with his eyes glazed over and a vacant expression on his face and during his shifts he gets caught up in his thoughts. They think he's still thinking about Mira." Kirk's distinct voice traveled to the Scotsman first.
"Kirk I understand, but surely you can't blame him, besides there is not much I can do." Bones said, raising an eyebrow.
"Doctor, I think the Captain was thinking of the human method of-" Spock's monotone voice was interrupted by the country doctor's deep twang as he said:
"Of talking things out to ease the pain. Yes Spock, you don't have to be a Vulcan to know about that method, but no matter how much the man talks you can't heal a broken heart."
Scott's eyes dropped to the floor and he turned towards the door, realizing that there was only one thing that could help the pain. That one thing was not food, but scotch and a good sleep.
"Well I wouldn't say that his heart can't mend bones, Bones." Kirk's voice reached him just before he left the room.
Scotty went back to his quarters and decided on drinking only one glass of Scotch before getting ready for bed. As he drank the liquid he thought of all the women he had loved in the past. After tempting himself to one more glass he headed for his bathroom when his thoughts came upon the image of a woman in communications with a beautiful name with beautiful face to match. He thought of Uhura and he smiled. Perhaps there was one hope left for a heart that was broken one too many times.