It's for Your Own Good
Disclaimer: I don't own Chapel or McCoy, I just love them.
A/N: I'm not abandoning my Family Portraits series, I've just hit some writer's block, and I need a Beta.
"Nurse Chapel, once you've finished with the inventory you're free to leave." McCoy made in passing as he headed for his office. As soon as he could no longer see her, Christine made a face.
"Anything else Doctor McCoy?"
His only response was to grunt and all but slam the door to his office.
For two weeks, he'd been like this more gruff and distant and he'd reverted to calling her Chapel again. Christine sighed, they had finally gotten to a place where they could be friends, using first names, and then all that was shot to hell in a hand basket when she'd left for shore leave with a date. It hadn't even been a good date, she'd been set up with a friend of a friend, and when it was all over she'd gone to visit Leonard back in sickbay (she knew he wouldn't leave for the planet's surface it had been known to harbor many an unsavory plant and animal). When she arrived he was half drunk and nursing a half empty bottle of Kentucky bourbon. At first she assumed that he'd just talked to his ex-wife about Joanna coming on board for summer vacation and the conversation ended horribly as usual, but she was met with a far different reason for his boozing.
"Len, are you okay? Did you have a comm with Jocelyn?" She lightly rubbed his arm in what she believed to be a friendly comforting fashion. Suddenly, he jerked his arm away and mumbled incoherently under his breath.
"Len?"
"Chapel get the hell out of here, aren't you supposed to be off somewhere with your boyfriend?"
The entire drunken statement stung, from the use of her last name to the snarled way he said boyfriend. Before she could seem rankled, Christine straightened out and barked back a reply. The only way to deal with McCoy this way was to bite back.
"I don't have a boyfriend, I had a date there's a difference doctor." With that she strode out of sickbay, missing the small look of hope alight the drunken doctor's face.
They'd been at this formal, no nonsense, strictly professional dance, so to speak, for two weeks, and for two weeks the crew of the Enterprise had a running bet as to when the "tango of sexual frustration" as the captain had termed it, would finally result in a passionate finale. Either they would stupidly let their relationship drift away, or finally realize that no one else would be able to handle either of them. It was only a matter of time before one of them cracked. And one person watching them was having the hardest time watching this happen.
Gaila.
She couldn't handle being in the mess with both of them. There were so many hormones being unconsciously emitted by them both she thought she was going to burst. So she decided to do something about it. During her downtime she slipped away to her quarters and hacked into the system. Gaila pulled up the schedule and the schematics for sick bay. A sneaky smile crept upon her face as she located the CMO and head nurse…
"Chapel, go over the inventory, and then you're excused." McCoy dismissed.
"Doctor," Christine sighed exasperatedly, "I've already done the inventory."
"Well the system says otherwise, so get on it and get out."
Frustrated with this treatment, Christine stomped off to the inventory cabinet and violently began moving hypos and losing her concentration one dropped and crashed to the ground.
"Sonovabitch!" She managed to slice her finger as she tried to pick up the remains of the hypo. Although she thought she'd said it under her breath, McCoy barged into the small space and instantly began berating her.
"Damnit Christine, shit, are you okay? Go sit on that box, I'll get the dermal regenerator."
Christine was stunned. Did it take her bleeding to extract her name from his mouth? She sat thinking about it, maybe if she fainted and needed to be placed on a bio bed he would tell her he loves her or something crazy, and wonderful like that. She was pulled from her thoughts when McCoy strode back into the supply closet. As soon as he was fully inside the door slid shut, and locked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Elsewhere~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In her room, Gaila giggled at her handiwork. Finally they would be forced to talk to one another without prying ears, and hopefully work out their tension, it was driving her absolutely insane. 'It's for your own good guys' she thought to herself. Well if anything, it was for her own good. Then another idea popped into her head,"I wonder if I can get a feed from the closet...?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back in Sick Bay~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Sonovabitch!" they exclaimed together.
"Computer unlock supply door, sick bay. Access code Charlie-delta-seven-foxtrot. McCoy, Leonard."
"Access Denied"
As McCoy tried a few more access codes to unlock the door, while Christine sat on the box, he'd indicated and applied pressure to her cut finger. As he gave up, Leonard ran a hand through his hand and realized he was still carrying the dermal regenerator.
"Oh sorry, how's your finger? Gimme." He pulled her hand toward him and she had to suppress the shudder that ran through her at his gentle ministrations to her hand. This always fascinated her, how gruff and rough he was on the exterior, but whenever he worked on a patient he was nothing if not careful, gentle and thorough.
"You called me Christine." She needed to get it out, in the open. Prod him and figure out what the hell was going on.
"It's your name."
"Really, for the past two weeks I thought it was 'Chapel' or 'Nurse' or hell even 'you there.' I mean what the hell Leonard? What did I do, did I fuck up a report, did I do a critical procedure wrong, did I dirty your precious pristine sick bay? What? I wanna know what has you talking at me like I'm some fresh cadet who can't get her shit together."
It fell silent in the closet and all that could be heard was Christine's no labored breathing, she didn't pause during her entire rant and now she was flushed and looking anywhere but at McCoy.
"I thought we had become friends Len. It was nice to have a man on the Enterprise who was interested in my research, who treated me like an equal. Don't get me wrong no one purposely demeans me, but I keep getting treated like some delicate flower, and you don't do that. You know what I'm capable of and you let me in like a real friend. What happened? Really, and don't give me any shit Leonard McCoy, because damnit I don't deserve it. Where is the guy who talked to me about his daughter and what kind of father he is, or how I deserved more than Dr. Korby and his second hand praise? Where is he Len, because I miss him?"
Throughout her entire speech, Leonard couldn't believe what he was hearing, he knew he'd been an ass after their latest shore leave. Mainly out of bitterness. Believing that she'd found someone who really deserved her not some cantankerous sonovabitch divorcee. If he was completely honest with himself, he knew it wasn't just about the date she'd gone on, it was that he realized there was no way they could just be friends. Not from his end. He realized through all her ranting she was holding his hands. It would have seemed like pleading, except the fire in her sapphire eyes burned with something else. It remained silent while Leonard tried to find the words to say to her.
"Look Christine. I'm sorry, okay. I don't know what's been happening, but after you went on that date, I just couldn't handle it. I know 'it's none of my damn business' but, but it hurt okay. You're right we were getting closer and became friends, and I told you things that I don't even tell Jim. Because I know you, and you wouldn't lie to me and tell me I'm doing just great, when I'm really being just a dumbass. You're too important to me Christine, you want to understand fine!"
Her hands were still in his hands and he pulled her up flush against him and his lips crashed down to hers. He may fail with words, but he put his mouth to work. To show her why he'd been such an ass.
She wrenched her mouth away from his, astonished at his behavior. She was confused, and she voiced in, albeit very quietly in a near whisper.
"What? why?"
"Christine, everything you said us getting closer, me reacting horrendously to your date, don't you get it? I can't just be your friend. I see you anywhere and I'm thinking of ways to corner you to kiss you or hold you. I feel like a damned adolescent sometimes just being near you and smelling your perfume."
-Smack!-
"Well why didn't you say something sooner you big idiot!"
Before he could respond she pulled his head down to hers for heated kiss. He smiled against her lips as he backed her up against the door. They continued their heated kissing and caressing until they heard a soft hiss from the door. The lock had come undone, and they briefly pulled away from one another.
"How about we get a drink and continue this in my quarters?"
"Sounds like a great idea Len, but let me go change out of my uniform and I'll meet you there."
As they exited sick bay, little did they know that their entire encounter had been witnessed by some of their closest friends and crew members.
Gaila shut off the feed as they left the closet, and turned to those who'd gathered. Nyota and Janice were beaming, as Chekov and Sulu exchanged high fives, Jim just smiled goofily. Everyones murmurs and side conversations were interrupted but Scotty calling out,
"Who had todae? And tha'd be the good doctor whoo'd finely make a move?"
Nyota pulled out the chart and gasped, and before she could say a word,
"I believe Mr. Scott that I had today on our chart of betting."
All eyes turned toward the ship's First Officer, and Jim could have sworn he saw the beginnings of a smirk on the Vulcan's face.
The end!
The plot bunny got to me, I've been wanting to do another one based on one of my ipod drabbles. Review please and thank you!