Doctor Leonard McCoy keyed in his access code and tiredly entered his two bedroom home. The first thing he noticed was the silence. His home was never quiet. Loud, pulse pounding, music usually greeted him and he was used to the infernal noise. It was all part of being a parent. Tiberius, his sixteen year old son, didn't know the meaning of quiet. "Tibby?" He called out as he dropped his old fashioned medical bag onto a nearby computer terminal. "You home, boy?" He walked into the living area, where Tiberius, called Tibby by friends and family, was usually located, only to find it empty. Now he was beginning to feel the threads of panic set in. Tiberius was always home at this time, no matter what. They had dinner every night, together. And neither of them ever missed it. "Computer, has Tiberius' access code been entered today?" He moved towards the computer terminal in the living area and scanned the information displayed on the screen. He sighed and lowered himself into a nearby chair. He now remembered that Tibby had theater practice tonight and would be late for dinner. Suddenly he felt very old and very tired. He placed his head in his hands and left the wariness overtake him. That is where Tiberius found him sometime later.
"Pa, I'm home!" Tiberius Alexander McCoy called out as the door hissed shut behind him. "Pa?" He walked further into the house and dropped his bag onto the floor beside the kitchen table. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his fathers medical bag so he knew he was home. He stuck his head into the living area and spotted his father, seated beside the computer terminal. "Pa, you alright?" He stepped into the room and quickly made his way over to kneel down in front of the older man. He laid his hand on his fathers knee. "Pa?" He whispered. This wasn't the first time he had found his father like this and he had a feeling that it wasn't going to be the last.
The elder McCoy blinked and stared blankly at the younger man kneeling before him. "Tibby?" He asked after several moments of silence. "When did you get home?"
Tiberius eyed his father then rose and sat beside him in a nearby chair. "Just a few minutes ago. I called ya but when you didn't answer, I came alookin. Are you ok, Pa? You haven't been yourself lately." He was worried for the only parent that he knew.
Leonard Bones McCoy gave his son a sad smile. He took a few minutes to take in the teens appearance. His dirty blonde and boyish face reminded him of his lost love. The other man that had helped father the boy, with the help of advanced medical technology; of course. "Your old man is getting old, Tibby, that's all. Life is catching up with me."
"You're thinking about him again, aren't ya?" Tibby knew of the man that he once referred to as father. The man that chose to leave him and his Pa when he was only a toddler of two. "He isn't worth it, Pa."
He sighed. "You know me too well, boy." The elder McCoy, gruffly, replied. "I wish you could've known him though."
"Ya, well, I didn't really have a choice in the matter. He left, Pa. He left us not the other way around. He chose to go off chasin his career. That was more important. And it isn't doing you any good fretten over it. Now, I'm hungry. I'll replicate us something. Go on into the kitchen and I'll tell you all about the play we're putting on."
Leonard pushed himself up and made his way into the kitchen. The boy might resemble James T. Kirk but that is all. His personality was entirely that of a McCoy. He had no desire to join Starfleet or even leave Earth. The boy didn't have an adventurous bone in his entire body and for that he was thankful.