Someday Came Today

Notes:

This is unbeta'd so any and all remaining mistakes are my own. Hope you enjoy it, please let me know what you think; constructive criticism is always welcome! Thanks for reading!

The song is from a film called Small Town, Saturday Night. Chris Pine starred in it, and was amazing (as usual). But for the sake of this fic, just imagine that Jim wrote it.

This is the first part of my Music For The Soul series. Part two, Everytime, is up now.

Disclaimer:

I don't own the song, nor do I own anything to do with Star Trek.

Leonard McCoy had lost his mind.

It was the only way to explain the situation he currently found himself in. The dingy bar was packed with cadets clad in red uniforms and accompanying, arrogant smiles. He frowned at a particularly loud guy on the other side of the room; he seemed to be trying to impress a couple of females. From what McCoy could see, he seemed to be failing spectacularly. He rolled his eyes and dropped on to a bar stool, ordering himself a bourbon. He couldn't really afford it, but fuck it - he'd probably die on the shuttle ride tomorrow anyway.

As he sat there, staring into the bottom of his glass, he heard music start up from the back corner and turned to look. A young girl was adjusting the mic stand and smiling nervously. Finally satisfied with the equipment, she started singing some old country song; McCoy never really listened to country music in the past, but even he could tell that she was murdering the damn song. He winced and tried to block her out. It must have worked for awhile because the next thing he knew, the few locals that were in the bar, started cheering and hooting.

Leo risked a glance over his shoulder and sure enough, someone else had taken the place of the young girl - a young guy. This guy had the easy confidence of someone who knew he was good. Out the corner of his eye, Leo saw a man in grey sit up a little straighter and turn his attention towards the stage. He rolled his eyes again when he realised that the man in grey was in fact the same man who had persuaded him to enlist in the first place. Guess he'd found a new victim.

This time when the music started, Leo turned to listen; now he was almost curious about the kid. From what Captain...Pine? Pike? had said, he took his recruitment role very seriously and only ever approached the best. Leo wasn't one to toot his own horn, but he knew he was a damn fine surgeon. So what was it about the kid that the Captain had his eye on?

Leo signalled for another drink and then focused on the guy on the stage. He had a guitar in his hands now, Leo was struck by how young he really looked under the lights. Then when he started playing and singing, Leo stopped to thinking altogether.

Hm-m-m-m-mmm

Someday I will find My ticket outta here,

Wake up one mornin'
And just start packin'.
Yea-I'll make up my mind
And lay my down my fear,
Stop waiting for the next bad thing to happen.
I'm ready for the rainbow to begin,
I just got through a storm of tears
I thought would never end...

CHORUS
Someday was a dream that always seemed to turn out wrong.
But now it's not so far away,
Puttin' off tomorrow,
Is 24 hours too long.
I guess my someday came today.

Maybe I'll take the train,
To a place I've never been,
Or I could watch the sun fall into the ocean.
I finally feel alive,
Throw my heart into overdrive,
Get up and get this life in motion.
I'll do everything I'm meant to do,
Cause I'm past the pain and sorrow that kept it all from comin' true.

CHORUS x2

Yeah it came today,
Yeah, hm-m-m-m-mmm.

By the time the kid stopped singing, the entire bar was silent. Leonard found that at some point in the last 3 minutes, his jaw had dropped open. He snapped his mouth shut and threw his drink back. He saw Pike stand and make his way over the stage, before he could get there however, the loud ass cadet from earlier started swinging his fists like a madman and almost hit the Captain by mistake.

McCoy sighed and shook his head; what the fuck had he gotten himself into?

An hour later and McCoy had finally finished berating all the idiots who had joined in the fight and gotten themselves injured. Captain Pike had ordered all uninjured cadets to leave immediately and the treated ones to follow on. As McCoy had worked, he'd kept sneaking glances over to the elder man and the singer from earlier. They had had what looked to be an intense conversation before Pike had stood and walked out of the bar.

Leo pulled himself back to the present and told the last cadet that he could leave. Grabbing the last of his supplies, Leo walked over to the table where the kid was sitting.

The kid looked up and McCoy was surprised by how blue his eyes were; one was surrounded by a darkening bruise, but it didn't detract from the colour at all. Shaking himself mentally, Leo gestured to the seat next to him. ''Anyone sitting here?'' He asked, rhetorically.

He sat down and started lining up the items he'd need to clean the cuts and scrapes. ''Stupid jackass should be in jail, never mind joining Starfleet,'' Leo grumbled. ''Didn't even have the good sense to check there wasn't a senior officer around.'' He huffed and held his hand up towards the kids face, silently asking permission.

The blond nodded slowly, his face remaining impassive as Leo dabbed anti-septic on the worse of his injuries. He took his time cleaning the cuts, making sure not to press too hard. Jocelyn had always said he attracted trouble like a damn magnet; it was just his luck that he would end up in the middle of bum-fuck Iowa, and get pulled into a goddamn bar fight.

Leonard McCoy was a doctor, goddammit, not a fighter. The only reason he'd even thrown a punch in the first place, was because some no good bastard had hit the woman next to him. A lot of things pissed McCoy off, but hitting women and children was near the top. Goddamn moron hadn't expected Leo to jump in. He had to admit, he had felt a vindictive pleasure as the brute had stumbled backwards and fallen on his ass.

Once he'd finished cleaning the face in front of him, he signalled for the barman to bring two beers; bourbon was definitely off the menu now.

''You got a name, kid?'' He asked, sitting back.

The stranger hesitated, seemingly unsure about something, ''Jim Kirk.'' He finally answered.

McCoy held his hand out, ''McCoy. Leonard McCoy.''

''Nice to meet you, Leonard McCoy.'' Kirk said, shaking his hand.

Their drinks were placed on the table and they raised their glasses, ''To idiocy...'' Leo muttered.

Kirk smirked, ''You don't seem like an idiot.''

Leo snorted, ''I joined Starfleet - that makes me a huge goddamn idiot.'' At Kirk's confused frown, he continued. ''I'm not a huge fan of heights...or shuttles...and ya' know, space.''

Laughing, Kirk smiled at him, ''You do know that Starfleet operates in space?''

Rolling his eyes, McCoy shook his head, ''I'm trying to forget that part.'' He raised his glass and took a drink to prove his point.

''Why sign up if you hate space so much?'' Kirk asked, curiously.

''Ex-wife got the whole damn planet in the divorce,'' He swallowed a mouthful of beer. ''All I got left is my bones...''

Kirk just smiled at him and called for a re-fill.

4 Months Later

By the time he got out of surgery, his shift had been over for hours. A shuttle craft accident had left one dead, two critical, and another with a severe concussion. Leo was exhausted and daydreaming of a hot shower and his bed, when his comm chirped, startling him. He'd turned it off during his shift, so the message had only just come through; it was two hours old and from Jim - Bones! Come drink with me, I'm buying! JTK.

He had told Jim that he would meet him at their regular drink-hole as soon as his shift ended - obviously, he hadn't been able to. But in the rush to diagnose, treat, and save people, Leo had forgotten to send Jim a message telling him that Leo couldn't make it. Fuck.

With a sigh, he set off in the opposite direction, heading towards the bar. When he arrived, the place was in uproar; people were screaming, shouting, and jumping up and down. He shook his head, muttering to himself. He was too old for this shit, dammit.

After searching near their usual booth and not finding Jim, he made his way towards the bar; Mike, the barman, knew both he and Jim pretty well - he'd probably know where the infant had gone. Finally, once he managed to push past through the throng of people, Mike nodded his head towards the stage. Frowning slightly, he glanced over his shoulder to where the stage was located and raised a single eyebrow. Jim was sitting on a stool, crooning into the microphone - no wonder the place was going insane; Jim usually looked incredible in general, but under the stage lights, his hair glowed gold and his eyes shone a bright azure. Plus, his voice was nice to listen to too.

With a huff, Leo began to push through the crowd again, this time towards his best friend. By the time he reached the front, Jim had finished the song he had been singing and was reaching for the guitar at the side. His eyes met Leo's for a brief moment and the smile slipped from his face. Confusion swirled in his gut at Jim's reaction; what had he done to piss the young man off? He knew he should have sent a message telling Jim he would be late, but he thought that Jim knew that Leo wouldn't just not turn up without good reason.

Shaking himself, Leo's gaze shot back up to Jim as a familiar song started playing. Jim was singing the same song he had sung in Riverside, the night they met. The crowd had gone quiet, now that Jim was singing a song that they didn't know. His voice was soft, deep, and melodic; but truth be told, Leo enjoyed watching him play the guitar slightly more - he enjoyed the way Jim's hands caressed the instrument, his movements were sure and smooth. Leo was a surgeon, dammit, he could appreciate a talented pair of hands.

Fuck, he needed a drink.

Yea, I'll make up my mind,
And I'll lay down my fear.
Stop waitin' for the next bad thing to happen.
I'm ready for the rainbow to begin, I just got through a storm of tears,
I thought would never end...

Leo was staring at Jim just like everyone else in the joint, by this point, but it didn't matter because Jim was staring right on back at him. His eyes, usually warm and lively, always dancing with mischief, were flat and dull. Leo suppressed a shiver; he'd never seen Jim look like that before. He gestured to the exit with his thumb, letting Jim know to come with him, when the song was over. Something was obviously bothering him, and Leo was determined to find out what. Jim gave a slight nod, then dropped his gaze to the guitar.

I finally feel alive,
Throw my heart into overdrive.
Get up and get this life in motion.
I'll do everything I'm meant to do,
Cause I'm past the pain and sorrow that kept it all from comin' true...

Someday was a dream that always seemed to turn out wrong,
But now it's not so far away.
Putting off tomorrow is 24 hours too long,
I guess my someday came today...

Knowing the song was about the end and the crowd would be wanting more, Leo made for the exit to wait for Jim. He wasn't waiting long, before the door opened and Jim stepped out. They looked at each for a few moments before Leo sighed.

''Look Jim, I'm sorry. I should have sent word that I wasn't gonna make it tonight.'' He said.

Jim looked up at him, ''It's fine. I figured you must have gotten stuck at the hospital, I'm not mad.''

Leo frowned and shook his head, ''Then what's bothering you?''

Throwing Leo a fake smile, Jim shrugged, ''Nothing, I'm good.''

They both knew Jim was lying, but Leo wasn't going to call him out on it in public. They walked in silence back their shared dorm room. In the four months since they had met, they had never been uncomfortable around each other; their friendship was an easy one.

When they finally did reach the room, Jim made straight for the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Leo sighed and dropped into his desk chair. 20 minutes later, Jim came out, towel wrapped around his waist and his hair still dripping down his neck. Leo swallowed hard, and turned away to give his friend some privacy.

When he deemed it safe to look, Jim was sitting on his bed, fully clothed, staring at his hands in his lap.

''Jim?'' He said, softly.

Jim hummed in response, not looking up.

''What's going on in that head of yours?'' When he got no reply, he moved to sit opposite Jim on his own bed. ''Jim, come on. If something is bothering you, and something clearly is, you can tell me.''

Huffing out a quiet laugh, Jim finally looked at him. ''You have no idea who I am, do you?''

Frowning, Leo opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out.

Jim nodded to himself. ''It's been nice, you know? You being oblivious, I mean.'' He said, a bitter smirk on his face.

''Goddammit Jim, what in hell are you talking about?'' Leo replied, genuinely confused.

''My last name is Kirk. I've never spoken about my family, and almost everyone in our classes wants to be my friend.'' He shook his head, laughing sadly again. ''I can't believe you never put it together.''

Leo wasn't exactly sure if that was an insult or not, but he couldn't be bothered trying to figure it out, he was already trying to play connect the dots with what Jim was saying. He ran through what Jim had said again and again, and suddenly it seemed so obvious, he couldn't believe he hadn't realised before.

''Your Dad...he was George Kirk - you're the Kelvin Baby.'' He said, slowly.

Jim nodded, not taking his eyes off Leo. ''I knew you hadn't figured it out yet, but the anniversary is coming up next weekend; there's no way you wouldn't have found out then.'' He shrugged, like it didn't matter. ''Now you know.''

Realising what Jim was getting at, he stood up and poured them both a finger of bourbon, handing the glass to Jim, he resumed his seat on the bed. ''Jim, I hate to break it to you, but it really doesn't change anything.'' He said, calmly.

Blue eyes met hazel, as Jim stared at him with a bewildered expression on his face. ''What?''

Leo smirked at him, ''You're right - I had no idea who your father was. It doesn't make a difference to me what your last name is, Jim. You're my friend, that's all matters.'' He chuckled. ''Besides, I don't share my best bourbon with just anyone, you know? Regardless of where they came from.''

Jim was looking at him in pure astonishment, ''You really don't care, do you?''

Leo just shook his head and drained his glass. ''So that's where the song came from then?'' He asked, recalling a few lines from the song.

Nodding, Jim looked down at his glass. ''I wrote it the night before we met. I wanted out of Riverside, but I wanted it to be because of something I did, you know? I mean yeah, I got into Starfleet because of my Dad, but I'm still here because of me.'' He sighed, tossing his drink back and grimacing at the burn. ''I always thought that I was stuck in my fathers' shadow, but Pike helped me see that I don't have to be. I'm here to prove to everyone that I'm my own man, but I'm also here to prove it to myself.'' He finished.

Leo moved to sit next to Jim, topping their glasses up. ''Well, I guess it's a good thing you're just Jim to me then, ain't it?''

Jim smiled, ''Thanks Bones...''

''Anytime kid, anytime...''