Virginia Robinson sat on her porch, the heat was stifling even that late in the evening. With her light wrap around dress on she still fanned her book in front of her face to try and cool down. The ice in her glass had long ago melted and the heat from her cigarette seemed to be hotter than usual. The only light came from inside, from the kitchen and the only sound were the crickets in the fields. The old farm was set on acres of land and from her vantage point Virginia could see anybody drive down the dirt road from almost a mile away. Standing, her hands went to the double bow at her waist, undoing the fabric she pulled the dress apart allowing the warm breeze to lick at her skin. Closing her eyes she let all thoughts leave her head, she felt tired. Pulling the dress back around her Virginia picked up her glass and book and opened the groaning screen door. She didn't bother washing her glass, placing it in the sink and throwing her book on the kitchen table.

Virginia felt herself being pulled from the depths of sleep, vaguely hearing the sounds of crumpling metal she found herself blinking slowly as she focussed on her nightstand in front of her. The undeniable sound of the porch screen door creaking open and closed made her bolt upright, eyes wide in panic. She held her breath, staring at her bedroom door which was ajar she waited, the sound of a floor board creaking was confirmation that somebody was definitely in her house. Without pulling the sheet off her legs she slipped them out and ever so slowly and carefully put her feet on the floor. Standing naked she felt vulnerable but didn't move, hopefully whoever it was downstairs would leave. Peering through the netted window she gasped as she saw billowing smoke and fire coming from one of the fields. Silently she walked over to her door grabbing her robe from the hook and the baseball bat she kept behind it. She immediately expected it to be one of the Jones' boy's out on a joy ride, still, she couldn't understand why they would just break in to her house unless they were that stone drunk!

Virginia knew that if she opened her bedroom door fully it would creak half way, so slipping through her hand gingerly stayed on the handle to stop it from opening fully. A smash of glass against porcelain stopped her in her tracks.

Her glass in the sink.

She held the bat above her head, ready to strike. Growing up with four brothers ensured she was a whizz with a baseball bat. As she took each step down the stairs she reminded herself to breathe. If she could get to the telephone she could ring the Sheriff, the light being turned on in the kitchen stopped her again. She peered through the bannister but couldn't see anything, rounding the corner she flexed each one of her fingers around the handle making sure she had a firm grip.

The noises had stopped, Virginia used her shoulder to little by little push the kitchen door open. Eyes wide she held her breath again but couldn't see anything so stepped further into the centre of the room towards the breakfast table.

"Hey." Virginia spun on the spot and swung towards the tall figure with all of her might but all she hit was air. 'A swing and a miss!' she could hear one of her brothers shout in her head. A pair of strong arms grabbed her from behind, locking her arms down by her sides. "Easy! Easy!" The man's voice was gruff and panicked, Virginia struggled as much as she could, kicking her legs in the air and squirming against him.

"Get your hands off of me!" She shouted, the bat was still in her hand and when she felt him loosen his grip she twisted round and tried to bring the bat up.

"I'm not going to hurt you Goddamnit!" Virginia yelped when he twisted her wrist until the bat fell to the floor, twisting her arm she found herself pushed face first against her kitchen table, the intruder holding her down. "Stop fighting me!" He shouted at her.

"Just take what you want but I swear to God if you lay one finger on me I'll…" Virginia shouted back, the man released her and Virginia took her opportunity and ran towards the back door. As her hand gripped the screen handle she felt his hands on her again, around her waist. Pulling her away from the door and pushing her against the wall she felt his full weight behind her pinning them both in place, his face buried in her hair and his heavy breathing whistling next to her ear.

"Damnit Woman I'm not going to… stop fighting me and I'll let you go!" She didn't know why but something in his voice made her think he was telling the truth and perhaps if she did as she was told she could make another run for the fields? She stopped struggling against him and stood still, her chest heaving up and down and her arm and wrist hurting like hell. "I'm going to let go alright." She nodded quickly. Feeling his hands release her Virginia felt him pull his body away from hers slightly, turning round she held onto her wrist bringing it to her chest. "I'm not going to hurt you." He repeated to her, holding out his hands in submission but still leaving no gap between them. Looking at him for the first time Virginia took in the man who had broken into her home, tall, dark hair and brown eyes. He was handsome. His singed clothes were strange, he definitely wasn't a vagabond and he certainly wasn't a local. The large gash on his forehead had stopped bleeding and was scabbing over. His eyes flickered over her and he took a step back, then blushing he muttered something about her robe. Looking down Virginia saw that the top of her bathrobe was wide open, letting go of her wrist she pulled it closed and held the neckline together tightly with her balled up fist. The man tentatively took a step forward.

"Stay back!" She shouted at him, "Get the hell out of my house!"

"You need ice on that wrist." She heard him say.

"What?! You're a Doctor as well as a crook! Get the hell out of my house!" Virginia looked at him incredulously.

"Just listen to me, please. Hear me out, I need your help…"

"Decent people knock on the front door! They don't break in and attack a Woman."

"I know, I'm sorry, please. My name is McCoy, Leonard McCoy. I was in a… crash… and I don't know where I am exactly. I'm Starfleet." Virginia looked back up to his head, it wasn't surprising really that he was talking in riddles. Her eyes flickered to the bat on the floor and then back up to him.

"Starfleet? What is that? Russian? Don't move, you hear me?! I'll call the Sheriff!" Virginia edged towards the fridge and pulled the small door down to grab ice out of the freezer box. Dropping it onto the table she pulled two dish cloths from a drawer and wrapped the ice in it. She gave him his due, the man didn't move. As she handed him the ice he nodded appreciatively to her.

"Thank you." He said bringing it up to his forehead and wincing when the material rested against the cut.

"You're welcome." Virginia whispered back, bringing her own ice up and placing it onto her wrist. "You said you crashed? Is that what's currently burning my crops?! Do you need a mechanic?" She had placed the kitchen table between her and him, this Leonard McCoy.

"You could say that." He scoffed.

"Well McAbee won't be open to the morning, I can ring for you if you want?"

"That's much appreciated." Virginia nodded again, the adrenaline was wearing off and she found that her hands were shaking. Making her way over to the cabinet she pulled two glasses out, setting them on the table she poked her head into the pantry, pulling a bottle of Bourbon off the shelf. He was watching her the whole time and when she took the ice off her wrist and pulled two cubes from the cloth, dropping one each into the glasses he found himself smiling. Virginia waved her hand between McCoy and the chair tucked under the table, pulling out her own she sat and took a large mouthful.

McCoy sat opposite her and picked up his drink, it looked like Bourbon, it smelled like Bourbon. When the alcohol ran down his throat he closed his eyes in response to the very real taste of the very real Bourbon, his head was spinning wondering what the hell had happened? One moment he was travelling to Space Station Four in a Shuttlecraft the next there was a huge Ion storm of some kind and he was waking up in a corn field and breaking into a house! There were no planets around Space Station Four? None of it was making sense.

"What's your name?" McCoy asked tentatively.

"Mrs Robinson." Virginia answered looking at him quickly.

"I apologise Mrs Robinson, can I take a look at your wrist? I am in fact a Doctor." He started edging from his chair but Virginia held her hand up.

"Stay where you are! You can take a look from right where you are Doctor McCoy." Virginia instructed sternly, removing the ice she stretched out her arm across the table towards him. McCoy gently took hold of her wrist and began examining it.

"Is your Husband not at home?" He asked as he turned her hand over.

"Just busy yourself with the wrist Doc, don't you worry yourself about my Husband." Virginia said, McCoy glanced up at her. Her cheeks and nose were bronzed from the sun, she was watching him with catlike eyes and arched brows. She was beautiful, even with her brunette hair pinned up into curls.

"It's just badly bruised, keep the ice on it for a while longer." He said, letting go of her wrist.

"You went to medical school for that?" Virginia gibed. McCoy took the moment to look around, the kitchen was large, full of mismatching furniture. A large dresser held plates and jars of jams and pickles, behind him sat a large range with a huge skillet sat upon it. The faded floral wallpaper clashed with the gingham window dressings. McCoy creased his brow in confusion; there were no signs of modern technology. Everything reminded him of Earth, he felt like he was definitely somewhere in the Mid-West, the woman's accent giving that away.

"You have a nice home." He spoke slowly, still taking in his surroundings and his mind running a million miles an hour.

"Thank you." Virginia answered hesitantly, opening the small wooden box that sat in the centre of the table she pulled out a cigarette and placed it between her lips. "So, how much of my corn have you destroyed?" She asked, going over to the range and pulling a match from a box. McCoy watched the smoke billow from her mouth, now all of his alarm bells were going off.

"I'm afraid I've done some damage." He answered. "I think the fires out now though."

"Well, there's nothing to be done now, we'll have to wait till the morning. I suppose you'll be looking for somewhere to sleep?" Virginia put out her cigarette and finished her drink. McCoy started shaking his head.

"I don't want to impose Mrs Robinson…" Virginia started laughing.

"A bit late don't you think, Doctor McCoy, given the fact you've destroyed my crop, broke into my house and manhandled me? Call me old-fashioned, but a Lady likes to be introduced to a Gentleman before receiving him in her home. And anyways, I don't remember my offering a bed to ya?!" Her icy glare and clipped tone told everything McCoy needed to know, this wasn't a woman to be trifled with.

"I'd be much obliged if you could point me in the right direction…." He answered sheepishly.

"I'm sure you would, stay there you hear. You give me anymore trouble and you'll be wishing you'd have crashed somewhere else!" Virginia left the kitchen, retrieving a blanket and pillow from the spare room. She was pleasantly surprised to see that McCoy had stayed where he was, at the kitchen table. She stood watching him, he had that morning's paper in his hand and he'd gone an awful shade of grey.

"You okay Doc?" She asked, worried that the blow to the head he had sustained was worse than either of them had thought.

"When is this paper from?" His voice was little more than a whisper.

"Why, that's todays?" Virginia answered. "Doc, you don't look so good?" He seemed to snap out of whatever thoughts were running through his mind and looked up at her, "You look like you've seen a ghost?" She laughed. "Here's your beddin', you can sleep on the porch. I'll be locking my door and remember I have the baseball bat." McCoy nodded silently, taking the bedding in one hand and the newspaper still in the other he found himself stood on the porch.

When Virginia had locked the door and left the kitchen he looked back down at the paper, all he could see was the date in the top right hand corner.

1949

Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it and you're looking forward to what happens next?! XOXO ;-) LLAP