"You know how I feel about surprises."
Leonard warned Jim as he was bodily dragged across the room by his Captain. In the middle of Jim's surprise birthday party, Uhura had whispered something in Kirk's ear and soon the two were conspiring in a corner, leaving Leonard and Spock wondering what was up.
"If I didn't know and trust those two, I'd tremble in fear if they decided to band together and take over the world, because they could."
"An unlikely scenario, doctor," Spock replied, "but I find the sentiment accurate. Nyota and the Captain have a rapport that is most unexpected, given their acrimonious meeting."
Leonard snorted. He'd heard the stories alright. Jim had tried to hit on her and got the snot beat out of him by belligerent cadets, which is why he looked so bad when Leonard had met him on the shuttle.
The captain was approaching him at a fast stride, looking like the cat that ate the canary.
"Hey, Bones! C'mere! We've got a surprise for you!"
"Me? It's your birthday, Jim."
"I know, but this is something you'll really appreciate."
Skeptically, Leonard was now following Jim and Uhura through Yorktown's big hotel, shaking his head at the captain's impulsiveness.
"This had better be good, Jim, if you're dragging me away from my whiskey," he grumbled.
"Trust me, it is," Jim answered, with another enigmatic smile.
"Right through these doors. Go on, Bones."
Very, very, slowly and warily, as if the surprise was a bomb waiting to go off, Leonard opened the doors to one of the smaller conference rooms. At first glance, all he saw was a random woman working on a PADD, but then she looked up and his heart skipped a beat.
"Carol Marcus?" He muttered in disbelief. He hadn't seen her since she'd taken a research post on a Starfleet outpost just a year into the five year mission and left the Enterprise.
"Leonard McCoy!" Carol exclaimed, rushing over to greet him with her warm smile. "How have you been? I can't believe it's been two years already!"
"Ummm, well, I've had better weeks," he admitted. He was still unsure how they hadn't ALL died, but thanked his Stars for Jim's crazy genius.
"I heard," Carol said soberly. "We thought you were all dead, but I should have known the captain better. Besides, you're too stubborn to die, right?"
"Right. But if Jim thinks he's ever going to get me to fly a freaking alien spacecraft ever again, he's got another thing coming. I've never been so scared in my life."
"I heard you handled it really well, though." She said encouragingly.
"If you call almost crashing twice handling it well," he snorted.
He'd been on the verge of admitting he was interested in her back on the Enterprise, but before he could, she announced she was taking the research post and it was going to be a great thing for her career and she was very excited for the opportunity. He'd shut his mouth about his feelings and said good-bye with a smile, but her absence had hurt.
"So, uh, how have you been?"he managed awkwardly, trying not to stare. She was just as beautiful as ever, with longer hair that was pinned up in the standard bun and clad in the long sleeve uniform dress.
"Very busy, but good. It's been a productive time and I've learned a lot. It was all too easy to overwork, though, without a bossy doctor to drag me away from the science periodically," she added with mischief.
"They do call them shifts for a reason, you know," he put in with a mildly displeased look. "Wouldn't want such a bright scientist to work herself into an early grave. Goodness knows I have a hard enough time keeping Jim from it."
She gave him a knowing look and wrapped him in a hug, which certainly DID NOT make him think about how much he loved the smell of her and how perfectly they fit together.
"Oh, I've missed you, Leonard," she said fondly. "Any interesting developments happen in your life while I've been gone?"
"Not really. Jim's pushing me to find some pretty young thing, but nothing's stuck. It would take quite the woman to put up with cantankerous ole me all the time," he said evasively.
There was only one woman he was interested in, and there was no way she'd feel the same way.
"Well, then, nobody will mind if I steal you from Jim's party for a bit? I'm not afraid of your crankiness, Len."
"No, you sure aren't," he agreed, warmth filling him at the knowledge she could at least put up with him. "And no, I don't think Jim will mind. He's the one that showed me where to find you."
"Hmm, how very ungrateful of him. I though you were like two peas in a pod," she told him, as he sat down across from her.
"Aww, Jim was pretty happy about it. This time it's clear he's got ulterior motives."
Carol propped her chin on her hands and arched a perfect brow.
"And what do you speculate would those be, doctor?" She asked impishly.
"Well, it could be one of two things. Either he wanted me out of the way in order to flirt with the cute nurse he's got a crush on, or..." he trailed off, suddenly shy.
"Or?" She prompted.
"Or the infant got it in his head to play matchmaker, misguided as it may be."
Heat flooded his face at this admission, and he looked everywhere BUT at Carol, hoping she wouldn't be annoyed with him.
"Knowing the captain, I have a feeling there is truth to both your theories. He heard every word of your flirting on the planetoid and clearly decided to remember it for later."
Leonard blushed again. "Don't remind me. I was an idiot."
"You were flustered and out of your element, that was plain as day. It was kind of cute. It was far less irritating than the Captain's ogling, believe me."
Leonard snorted. "Doesn't excuse me. I cringe thinking about that whole debacle."
"The torpedoes?"
"Yeah. I put us both in danger because I didn't know what the heck I was doing."
Carol looked pensive for a moment, then suddenly gave an evil smirk.
"So your hands aren't always so legendary. It's okay, Len."
He laughed and face palmed. "You can bet Jim never let me hear the end of that one. I, unlike him, do know when to quit, however."
"You do, but I hope you know when to start again."
The tone in her voice made Leonard pause and look at her steadily. Was she saying what he thought she was saying?
"Well, that depends on how far apart we'll be for the next few years. Kinda hard to flirt long distance."
"True," she admitted, with a small smile that grew bigger as she continued. "But what if I told you I'm coming back to the Enterprise when she's rebuilt?"
"Then I'd say welcome back, Dr. Marcus," he said in a low voice that only vaguely disguised his inner hope beginning to rise again. "And I'd get started on making the most of a second chance, starting with trying to understand what makes that genius brain of yours tick."
"Sounds like a good plan," Carol agreed, her multicolored eyes seeming to glow in the low light. Leonard thought he hadn't seen such a gorgeous picture in all his life and he took the opportunity to get started on the first half of his plan.