Author's Note: God help me – I've been sucked into Star Trek. Just a fluffy friendly little interaction between the Captain and the Doc.
Warnings: None.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Just playing.
Bittersweet
A long, weary sigh escaped doctor McCoy's lips as he made his way down the corridors towards his quarters, once again finding himself grateful they were so close to the medbay. Of course sometimes that had its disadvantages but tonight it was definitely a blessing. He had been in the medbay for an almost triple shift with little more than an occasional snooze and now he was looking forward to a glass of bourbon (or two) and some well deserved rest. Keying in his access code he rubbed a hand tiredly over his face as the doors swished open. He stepped forward and turned into the room.
"Dammit Jim!" the doctor scowled heavily, crossing his arms and glaring at the man sitting on his couch cradling two glasses of bourbon, the bottle (what McCoy thought was his secret bottle) sitting on the small table beside him. "You do know that your captain override code is for emergencies only right?"
Kirk shrugged and held out one of the glasses towards his chief medical officer. The doctor simply continued to glare.
"Ok, I'm sorry. I just didn't think I should leave you drinking on your own tonight."
McCoy raised an eyebrow.
"Who says I'm drinking tonight?" he asked defensively. Kirk returned his own arched brow.
"Because you're missing your baby girl even more than normal right now," he replied calmly, again extending a glass towards McCoy. The doctor let out a deflated sigh, bowing his head briefly as he shook his head slightly. Not because the captain was wrong - more in the never ending disbelief of how well that beaten up kid from the shuttle now knew him. The cause of his almost triple shift had finally been born just over one hour previous, a beautiful little baby girl to two ensigns. McCoy had been the attending physician right through the pregnancy – even telling the couple they were expecting in the first place – and he would be damned to not see it through to the end. He did not care how advanced modern medicine may be childbirth was risky. And he was happy for the new parents, really he was, but Kirk was right. He could not help but remember the day Joanna had been born, remember as he had handed over the tiny little baby to her elated parents the first time he had held his precious little girl...
Stepping forward McCoy took the offered drink and slumped down on the sofa next to Kirk. The captain turned to face him.
"You're allowed to be happy for them but still be angry that you lost Joanna. It doesn't make you a bad person," he said quietly although he dropped his gaze to the liquid swirling in his glass. McCoy's lips quirked slightly.
"No it doesn't," he agreed softly, clinking his glass against Kirk's, offering a small but genuine smile as the captain looked back up. The words and you can be happy for them but still be angry that when your mother went into labour in space everything went to shit went unsaid but Kirk saw them in his friends' eyes. The two sat for several minutes in a comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts but the presence of the other kept them from being pulled in too deep and too dark. Of course it was Kirk who finally broke the silence.
"You know Uhura was saying how impressed she was with how attentive you've been through the whole pregnancy."
McCoy almost spat out the drink he had just sipped.
"Oh is that so?" he asked casually although his eyebrows twitched. Jim chuckled quietly, taking a sip from his own glass.
"Oh yeah," he nodded emphatically, unable to keep the smirk from his lips. "Spock agreed."
McCoy's arm paused half-way to raising his glass back to his mouth. Inhaling deeply he shook his head and took a drink.
"Nope," another shake of the head was followed by another sip of Bourbon. "M'Bega can do the hobgoblin baby."
Kirk laughed, shaking his own head as he topped up McCoy's glass and then his own.
"'Course he can Bones," he agreed although his lips curled into a knowing smirk. McCoy huffed quietly, his own lip curling up slightly but he did not argue further. Kirk screwed up his face. "I'm gonna be having nightmares about little Vulcan babies giving me the Uhura evil eye now."
McCoy scoffed.
"Serves you right," he smirked but the smirk dissolved into a real, genuine smile as he sipped on his drink. After all – nightmares about mini hobgoblins were a damn site better than wallowing alone in misery for the night…