Even after the full decomposition of the body, the bones remain.
0o0o0
"I'm so proud of you Leanora! You look beautiful!" Clora said, buzzing about her daughter, with a huge smile on her face,
Leanora grimaced a little. She had a certain distaste for her given name, Leanora was so old sounding. It was a traditional name, yes, and she was quite sure that she had a great-times-something-grandmother somewhere far back that she had been named for, but if anything that only proved that it was an outdated name.
She also didn't enjoy being made a fuss of, especially by her mother, but she supposed that this occasion probably called for it.
She observed herself in the tall mirror she was facing, and once again wondered if she had chosen the wrong dress.
Although, chosen would be a strong word to describe what had happened.
Her mother had said she would pay for her dress, and then quickly added that it there was nothing she liked, she would get out her own white gown and have it altered for her daughter.
After a long afternoon at a dress salon a few weeks later, they had come away empty handed.
'There was simply nothing she had liked!' Leanora's mother had told people, when in reality there had indeed been a few that struck her as appropriate, but that her mother had found something wrong with in the end.
Leanora didn't really have opinions on dresses, at least she thought she didn't. The dresses she preferred at the salon were good enough she supposed, but the want to appease her overbearing mother seemed more important than her opinion, so she just smiled and nodded when her mother's old dress was retrieved from the back of a wardrobe.
"To think!" Clora then said, finally coming to a stop behind her daughter, and smiling to her in the reflection, tears now shining in her eyes, "Soon you'll be Mrs Burns! Mr and Mrs Burns!",
Leanora smiled what she hoped was a convincing smile and nodded, "Yeah" she then added a small shrug, "I mean, Dr and Mr, Mom. We'll be Dr and Mr",
Clora patted her daughter on the shoulder and nodded, going to wander about the room once more and find something else to fret about, "Of course, of course",
Sometimes Leanora thought that her mother must've forgotten the eight years she took to achieve her medical degree, she at least acted like it.
"Where is your father?" Clora huffed, fiddling about with the small bundle of blue flowers that would become his buttonhole, "Just like David to be late" she added, shaking her head,
"It'll be fine mom" Leanora said, watching her from the mirror,
"Just like him" she repeated, apparently having not heard what her daughter had said, "Just like David to be late for his own daughter's wedding",
Doctor Leanora Horatia McCoy sighed, and once again looked to her own image in the mirror.
White did not suit her, her hair tied into a bun did not suit her, and this ridiculous layer of makeup did not suit her either,
She silently hoped however, that marriage would.
0o0o0
Leanora woke with a start, sitting up from her bed, her eyes darting about the dark room.
Beside her single mattress, the time flashed in a bright red display. She sighed, it was barely even morning yet, the ship was sure to be completely asleep still. But she was awake, very awake indeed.
She hadn't thought about Earth in a long time.
Well, she had- she'd thought about the safety of a planet, versus the horrifying danger of being in space, and Earth would be the natural solution to that problem. She just hadn't thought about her life on Earth in a long time.
Leanora sighed and slipped from her bedcovers, finding her slippers quickly and hoisting herself to her feet.
She decided to go to the medical bay. Despite the fact that it was of course her natural habitat, she thought she may as well go to give herself the once over too. Unwanted thoughts and dreams were usually nothing to worry too much about of course, but on a ship like the Enterprise, where peculiar events were a weekly occurrence, it was better to be safe than sorry.
The lights in the corridors were set to low power to help simulate night time, but as Leanora passed under them, they brightened a little to guide her way.
She often found it strange that her quarters were not closer to the medical bay, not to complain of course, it was hardly any great distance, but there were other people who were closer.
As she turned the final corner, she found herself struck with a slightly odd sight.
A human sized lump was huddled by the door to the med bay, shifting regularly- breathing.
Leanora approached the silhouette, and when she finally came close enough to activate the light's sensors, it was brought out from the shadows and revealed to be the snoring figure of her friend and captain, Jane Kirk.
She sighed and kneeled by the other woman, putting her hand on her shoulder,
"Jane?" she asked softly, giving her a slight shake.
The captain's face twisted into one of annoyance, and she let out a whine,
"Jane, wake up" Leanora frowned, now tapping her face,
"Bones!" the other woman groaned, barely opening her eyes, "Bones?"
The brunette caught a whiff of her breath as she spoke and she backed up a little, "You're drunk Jane",
"Pffffffft" she answered, waving the doctor off of her,
She stood and folded her arms, immediately completely unsympathetic for the woman crumpled on the floor, "Get up, get yourself on a bed, and I'll give you something for the inevitable hangover you'll have tomorrow"
"Noo-" the blonde crooned, rolling her head about on the wall- shaking her head?
"Jane!" Leanora snapped,
The other woman finally opened her eyes wider and looked up to her, sighing deeply, "Fiine" she said, holding up her hand.
Bones took her offered hand and helped her, although unsteadily, to her feet,
"Are you alright?" she asked, still half holding her, "Can you stand?"
Jane wobbled and rested her head on the brunette's shoulder, closing her eyes once more,
"I'll take that as a no, come on" she sighed, half dragging the captain into the medical bay.
She helped her to sit on a gurney, and then struggled for a moment, trying to keep her from lying down on it,
Once Leanora was convinced the blonde was conscious enough to stay up right, she began to arrange everything she needed to bring her around completely.
"Drink this" Bones said, offering Jane a tall glass filled with a clear liquid,
"What is it?" she replied in a tired voice, taking the glass and staring deeply into it,
"Commonly referred to as water, it's necessary for sustaining human life, and the lives of most sentient creatures",
"I thought you were gonna give me medicine or somethin'" Jane slurred, bringing the glass to her lips, and beginning to drink from it,
"Oh, so you're expecting me to act as your physician? Something which you try and prevent me from doing on an almost daily basis?" Leanora asked, putting her hands on her hips,
The captain didn't answer, likely because her lids were starting to droop again,
"For Christ's sake-" Bones grumbled, "Jane, stay awake",
"I am, I am" she nodded, rather unconvincingly.
"Listen, do you want to puke now? Or in the morning?"
Jane's face screwed up, and she quirked an eyebrow at the doctor, "Neither? I don't wanna puke",
The brunette sighed, and swiftly jabbed the other woman's forearm with a needle she had concealed in her hand,
She made a pained screech in retaliation, and grabbed her arm as if she'd been violently attacked, "Warning Bones!?"
Leanora shook her head and looked to the readout on the needle, "Your blood alcohol is 0.41!" she exclaimed, blinking at the flashing numbers.
The blonde huffed and waved off the panicked tone in her voice, "Yeah, I always score high on tests" she mumbled,
"You know that anything over 0.25 is considered a serious health risk, right?"
She shrugged in response, and let her eyes close once more, "You're up late" she said softly,
Bones looked up from the small rack of vials she had collected together, "Hmm?" she asked, locking one into a hypo-spray,
"You're up late" Jane repeated, giving her a bleary look,
"And?" the doctor asked again, jabbing the needle into her arm once more,
The blonde flinched and squealed in response, "Stop that!" she grumbled, rubbing the spot that had been pierced, "Even you're usually in bed by now… and I take it from what you're wearing, that you were?" she added, feeling more and more sober by the second, "Wow… what did you give me?",
"It's a simple mix, just neutralises some of alcohol in your system" Leanora replied,
"You should carry one of those all the time" Jane smiled,
"No. Medication is not a quick fix for your alcoholism",
"Psssh, whatever" the captain said, her smile dropping and her cool palm coming to rest on her forehead, "What are you wearing?",
"What?" Bones asked. She then looked down to be reminded that she was only dressed in some pyjama shorts, a Starfleet vest and a pair of navy coloured slippers, "Oh-" she said with a sigh, "Yeah, I was in bed, but I- I woke up" she replied, perching on the gurney behind her and folding her arms,
"How come?"
"I had a dream" she said with a shrug.
Jane looked puzzled, "A dream? Like a nightmare?",
Leanora laughed humourlessly, and looked to her feet, "No, it was a memory",
"… a bad memory?" the captain suggested,
"It was my wedding day Jane" she said, raising an eyebrow,
"Oh yeah, sometimes I forget you used to be nailed down" the blonde laughed, but seeing the frown on her companion's face, she quickly stopped, "You never talk about it"
The doctor shrugged again, and her shoulders closed in further, indicating her unwillingness to talk about it now either, "Yeah, I guess I don't",
"Was it bad?" Jane asked softly, dragging her legs up to cross under her.
"Was what bad?"
"Your marriage? Like, was it really bad?",
Bones sniffed and sucked thoughtfully at her teeth, "It wasn't abusive, if that's what you mean- at least, not physically. He never hit me or anything like that, I don't think he could've… he was a bit… insipid",
The captain coughed awkwardly, "Still feeling a little in the clouds here Bones, mind using smaller words?"
She sighed, "Boring. Except, that's not really the word for it" she said, wincing as words failed her.
"Well…" Jane said, stretching out the syllables, "Maybe if you talked about it, I'd understand better",
"Jane!" Leanora groaned, rolling her eyes,
"Oh come on Bones! I've known you for like eight years!" she replied, "We shared a dorm! And I know next to nothing about your life before the academy… you know everything about me" she added.
The brunette huffed at the attempt of a guilt trip, "You know my recipe for Southern baked beans",
"That's not the same!" she snapped, "You know what? As your captain, I order you to tell me your life story",
Bones scowled, "Low blow Kirk",
"Hey, I'm drunk, I'll have probably forgotten most of it by tomorrow anyway… now, what was your husband's name?"
Leanora sighed and got comfortable on the hospital bed, "His name was Virgil"