"Bones, I think I have a surprise for you that you're gonna like."

"Jim, you know I hate surprises."

"Not this one."

Kirk got a ridiculously smug smile on his face. He was rocking back and forth on his heels in anticipation of telling his best friend the news.

"What makes you so damn sure?"

"Well, I mean, if you don't wanna know then I guess—"

"—Oh fine! Just tell me already. You're gonna have a stroke the way you're flailing around."

"Turn around."

"What?"

"Turn… Around…"

Kirk placed both of his hands on Bones's shoulders and whirled him around to face the other direction. The Doctor's eyes became wide as saucers and his mouth slightly dropped open at the sight in front of him. A blonde haired beauty was sauntering towards him with a medical PADD in her hand. It was Christine Chapel. The woman he had so adored in the Academy, but never had the guts to ask out. There she was, right in front of him, looking absolutely stunning in that little mini blue dress of hers. The blue matching the blue that now twinkled in her eyes as she caught his glance. After catching his eye, she immediately blushed and glanced downwards; pretending to work on her PADD as she rushed past him.

Bones let his body turn to follow her until he absolutely could not go farther. Not once did he blink. He just watched her legs walk in that perfect rhythm; her butt swinging side to side as if she had it down to a science. Kirk just laughed at his friend.

"What in the hell is so funny?"

"Oh nothing," Kirk replied as he eyes rolled up to the ceiling and the closed-lip smile appeared on his face to give a false sense of innocence.

"What? It's just Christine."

"Oh yeah. What just happened to you is CLEARLY because it was 'just Christine'."

"Shut up," Bones retorted as he slapped Kirk in the shoulder with his PADD and kept going to SickBay.

"Good morning, Doctor McCoy," Christine chirped as Bones entered SickBay.

"Is it morning? I hadn't noticed."

Good god man keep it together, Bones thought to himself. He pinched the bridge of his nose and went to his station.

"Is there anything you would like me to do?"

Not anything that involves your uniform staying on, said those pesky thoughts.

"Um… could you post the patient schedules for today? I went through the files, but forgot to organize them."

"Of course," she replied with a shy smile.

The two worked separately for a while. Christine had finished her task quickly, and so went to clean all of the beds and instruments. Bones was working on some experimental antidotes for the Denobulan flu. It was running rampant, and he wanted to be prepared in case the ship had a sudden outbreak. After a while, he couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Nurse Chapel?"

"Yes, Doctor McCoy?"

"Where'd you go after school? Most of the medical team stayed, and yet you disappeared."

"I went home."

"Oh? Thought you might've settle down. Guess you decided working in the ship of eminent death and disease was a better plan?"

Why did I just say that, he chastised to himself.

Christine gave a small laugh at that. It sounded like a lark singing in Bones's ears.

"Firstly, I don't know how I would settle down with no one to settle down with."

Bones's ears perked up at that remark. His hands had stopped the work mid-air to hear the rest of what she had to say.

"Second, yeah, I guess hurdling towards death in space sounded more exciting than knitting a sweater in Oklahoma."

"Oklahoma? You don't have an accent."

"I try my best," she replied with a wink.

"Well I'm… I mean, we're glad to have you back."

"It's good to be back, Doctor McCoy."

"Leonard."

"Leonard," she mimicked; blushing once more as she retreated to give some information to the Captain.