A/N: This Chapter is a bit longer than the last, and I had the wonderful Robyn proofread it! Check out her artistic awesomeness on Deviantart: Dawn-of-Serenity
*Liberties taken with McCoy's past, since, well, alternate time-line *author's ignorance* and all, y'know… so yea.
And as all ways, ST-related content corrections welcome!
CHAPTER 2: Cantankerous
Though she still felt unsettled by the end of her two-day "weekend" leave, she had decided not to report the incident with Dr. McCoy to higher. While his method had been inexcusable, first-hand medical inspection was the most accurate when presented with a medical anomaly-- even if that anomaly culminated into a single sentient being who would never have given permission for such an intrusive test, denying him the knowledge he thought would be necessary for him to obtain to predict any future emergencies concerning her. At least that was the conclusion further reflection of the incident led her to. Besides, she wasn't one to hold grudges.
However, she gritted her teeth while exiting the turbo lift, if he were to pull another stunt like that, she would have his medical license revoked and punch out a few of his teeth! She nodded to a few of her co-workers as she entered the scheduling room. She stepped gracefully over to the left wall and pulled the folder marked with her name out of a numbered slot. She opened it to reveal a single assignment sheet, and almost as soon as her eyes recognized the crisply typed letters, the folder slipped from her hands.
"Whoa!" a slender hand darted to catch the folder, and she recognized the voice of the blonde girl who, three days prior, had given her the reassignment that led to that embarrassing scenario. "That's not like you Ms. Q'eil… I don't think I've ever seen you drop anything."
"What is this?" Chakra squeaked, unable to comprehend the order she'd just read.
The blonde took the sheet of paper from Chakra and her eyes skimmed over the order. "It's a week-long assignment in Medical. Wow! What are the odds of that?"
What were the odds indeed.
"Stacey," her eyes fluttered shut as her brain tried to grasp this awkward turn of events. "Aside from the fact that I have requested at least a hundred times since we graduated that you either refer to me as lieutenant or be completely informal and call me Chakra, as opposed to the formal address of 'Ms. Q'eil'- because we are in fact the same age… What do you know about this… this…. I can't even think of a word for this abominable situation."
Stacey raised both of her eyebrows. "I don't know anything about this, besides what's here." Her green eyes widened as a thought passed behind them. "Is Dr. McCoy really that bad? Y'know… I've heard stories-"
"Stories?"
"Well, yes, from other staff who've had to work shifts in Medical. They say he's really cranky and moody; He lost his temper at the engineer sent to fix one of the bio beds and Dr. McCoy threw the screen at him! True story! Then I overheard one of the nurses talking about requesting for a transfer, 'cause he's a slave driver…. Perfectionist through and through-"
Chakra had to laugh. "Perfectionist? I don't believe that for a minute after what I saw." She placed the folder back into the slot, scrunching her nose in disgust.
"What?" Stacey gasped, "What was it?"
"Data pads and paperwork," Chakra lowered her hand down to thigh level, "this high."
"No!" Stacey exclaimed, appalled.
"Oh, yes. The office is buried." Chakra gave her a wink. "True story."
"I guess you'll need a full week, then, to get through it all." Stacey giggled. "Oh, I gotta go- catch you at lunch?"
"If I last that long," Chakra mumbled in reply as she headed toward the door and turned headed for the turbo lift. The door slid open and she was unnerved by the sight of the person within.
"Good morning, Lt. Q'eil."
"First Officer Spock, good morning." She nodded and stepped inside next to the tall Vulcan, pressing the button for Deck 6.
"To which departments are you reporting this week," he asked mildly, hands clasped behind him at the small of his back.
"I'm in Medical Bay all week."
"I would venture to make a speculation."
"Of course, sir."
"I believe Dr. McCoy could not be more fortuitous in the chance that you would be his Operations Assistant during the first run of Ship-wide physical examinations," he responded, quirking an eyebrow. "Especially with the currently diminished number of medical staff."
Chakra's eyes narrowed, "Chance, Mr. Spock?"
He matched her defiant, quizzical gaze with his stoic dark eyes until the turbo lift stopped and the door slid open. "I do believe this is your floor Lieutenant."
She knew that meant her dismissal, question lingering, and she stepped out of the turbo lift; but if he thought for a moment this topic was closed, he was sorely mistaken. While she knew her cadet-based acquaintance with him was little leverage, it may be just enough get him to help her to figure out why exactly she'd been assigned to what she was sure was going to be a week from Hell….
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She spent the entire first day running errands; Dr. McCoy wouldn't even let her into the office to start on the paperwork or filing. She ran to the lab collecting or dropping off samples more times than she could count, not to mention the 42 trips to the Mess Hall to collect various snacks and a specific peach-flavored tea that Dr. McCoy claimed reminded him of home. That sparse sentimentality aside, he was a wretched man who spent every available moment ignoring her existence or barking orders for her to get out of the way, run and get him tea, go find Ensign Ricky because he was about to miss his appointment, or to go back to the lab because he needed the second vial a nurse accidently sent instead of the fifth vial; or any other errand he could make up.
The second day didn't seem to be going any better than the first, except that after lunch Dr. McCoy had an Officer meeting he had to attend, so Chakra settled into the office and began the arduous task of sorting out the paperwork and logging the data pads. She was nearly finished with sorting when Dr. McCoy strolled into the office, demolished a large stack of papers while complaining he couldn't find anything with the way she had things, and then knocked another stack down while attempting to pull out the slip he was looking for. He left her fuming in a mess larger than it had been originally, seriously contemplating that if she were inclined to believe in supernatural superstitions, she may believe Dr. Leonard McCoy to be the devil.
By the end of the third day she had all the data pads logged, all the paperwork sorted and had only been to the cafeteria 18 times, a vast improvement from day one. Sighing, she took a moment to stretch; and when she turned to grab the stack of data pads she had laid on the desk to take back to the Server Unit, she was startled to see Dr. McCoy watching her, leaning against the door frame with his arms folded.
"Before you go," he said sullenly, "I need to confirm your internal scan appointment."
"Doctor," she replied as calmly as she could, "it's not really the time to discuss that." Plus, I really, really want to hurt you right now… and the week's only half over.
"Look, you can pick a time, or I can order a time: your choice."
"Order away, doctor," she picked up the data pads. "My shift is over, I'm dropping off these data pads, and then I'm going to try to get some rest before tomorrow." She headed toward the doorway. "Now if you'll excuse me!" She stepped past him and walked as briskly as she could to the turbo lift.
Most of the fourth day was spent with Dr. McCoy ignoring her; which suited Chakra just fine since it allowed her to get through most of the paperwork. Aside from a few papers she came across that needed his signature, she did her best to avoid him in turn. At about 0300 hours, however, the quiet but busy rhythm of the Medical Bay was interrupted by an emergency alarm. Chakra looked up surprised from some papers she was reviewing as Nurse Chapel rushed into the office, "Lieutenant, come quick! We need an extra set of hands!"
She saw as soon as she cleared the partition that several members of the engineering staff were being ushered into Medical Bay with injuries ranging from mild to severe, mostly burns and cuts, a few were in really bad shape.
"What happened?' she gasped as Nurse Chapel handed her a first aid kit.
"Some sort of explosion in the engine room; We're short on the details, but here, dear- treat the minor injuries, the nurses and I will see to the more severe, and the doctors are working on the critical."
The next hour was spent on bandaging up hands, arms, and faces, applying burn salve for those that needed it, and documenting each injury and treatment on the data pad assigned to each patient. She looked up from her last finger-splint to see Dr. McCoy glancing her way from the doorway of medical bay where he was talking to Captain Kirk, First Officer Spock, and Nurse Chapel, who waved her over. She joined the group, saluting the senior officers.
"Nurse Chapel was just bragging on your performance today, Lieutenant," Captain Kirk extended a hand to her, and Chakra shook it.
"Thank you, sir. I was properly trained in medical first aid at the academy."
"So I've heard," he grinned, blue eyes sparkling with amusement. "Even Bones has been impressed by your tenacious bandaging skills, Right Bones?"
Dr. McCoy lifted an eyebrow, and after a pause replied, "It was standard, at least."
An awkward moment passed, and all though she saw the glance between Captain and First officer, she couldn't read into what was behind it.
"Excuse me Captain," she turned to return to the office to resume her paperwork, but she still managed to overhear him demand, "Damnit Bones, what is wrong with you?"
She couldn't help but to smirk.
At the start of the fifth day she entered the medical bay with a single joyous thought parading through her mind: This is my last day in Hell. It only took a few hours to finish up the paperwork leftover from the day before, during which she neither heard nor saw any of the glowering doctor. The oddity of his absence didn't occur to her until Nurse Chapel strolled into the office and looked surprised to see her.
"Dear, what are you doing here?"
"Just finishing up my assignment," Chakra smiled. "There are a few forms here that need Dr. McCoy's signature… but I haven't seen him yet."
"Oh well, you know… he's been feeling under the weather since all the stress yesterday. The Captain said he could delay the last of the physicals and get some rest."
Chakra couldn't help the exasperated sigh that came. She looked down at the folder she had compiled, and then set it down on the desk. "Well, that's the last of it, then."
Nurse Chapel tapped her chin with her index and middle finger. "Now wait a moment dear," she said as Chakra walked around the table. "I was going to take some vitamin powder to Dr. McCoy after checking on the patients, but- well, if you need him to sign some papers I don't see why you can't get it to him quicker and save me a trip."
Chakra took a moment to process the request. "You want me to go to Dr. McCoy's quarters to deliver these papers and administer medicine to him?"
"Well, I will call him and let him know you're coming, of course."
"…. Of course…."
"Excellent! Then you'll do it for me, oh thank you so much! Let me grab-"
"Wai-"she had responded too slowly; the friendly head nurse was all ready chatting away with another nurse about the contents of the cabinet behind the right partition.
Damn, Damn, Damn. I'd rather not have to see him at all today. That short-tempered, overbearing, irksome -
"Now, here you are dear I wrote down his room number. I'll go ahead and give him a buzz. Now shoo! Shoo! The sooner you're done with this the sooner you start your weekend, right?" She practically shoved Chakra into the hallway.
Folder and small white packet in hand, Chakra could barely keep herself from stomping down the residential corridor towards Dr. McCoy's quarters.
Fuming, she could only wonder about the kind of mood the doctor would be in, or whether or not she should pick up a religion in order to collect insurance against what, she was sure her foster mother would call, extremely bad luck. Bad luck that she met the man during physical exams, bad luck that some unknown force had put her under his thumb for an entire week and now- Now she was taking him medicine in bed! In the mist of her tempestuous thinking, it struck her that she had all most missed the door on her left that matched the number Nurse Chapel had scribbled down.
Taking one step back, she double-checked the number on the door against the one on paper, steeling herself with a calming breath. She rapped lightly on the door. A few moments passed without a response. She tapped the door with her knuckles twice.
"Whattaya want?" a muffled groan came from the other side of the door.
She took another deep breath before responding, "Dr. McCoy, It's Lt. Q'eil. Nurse Chapel sent me."
A few moments passed, but before she opened her mouth to try again the door slid open, revealing a very frazzled Dr. McCoy with disheveled hair, clutching a standard Starfleet coverlet around himself. "Damnit," he mumbled, turning away from her. "Come in. What did she send you for?"
Chakra obediently stepped inside the room. "Excuse me, sir, but Nurse Chapel said she would let you know of my arrival."
"Yea," he replied gruffly, slumping onto his bed. "But she wasn't so kind as to explain why."
"There are a few papers that nee-"
"Just plop 'em on my desk then," he growled and curled up into his blanket on the bed, turning his back on her. "You don't need to bug me over something like that. Jesus."
Chakra cleared her throat, trying to control her frustration. "And she wanted me to bring you some vitamin powder to keep you from falling ill after the large amount of stress you've been under."
A grunt was the only reply he afforded, and after a few moments she decided that a retreat was in order. With an aggravated sigh she dropped the papers and packet on the desk opposite of the bed and turned to leave.
"Put it in some tea."
She paused in front of the door. "I'm sorry, what was that?"
He shuffled under the coverlet but didn't turn over to face her. "I said if you put it in some peach tea, I'll take the damn poison."
She sauntered back to the desk and picked up the packet, "Very well, Doctor, I'll be back from the cafeteria momentarily."
"The door will be open," was the muffled reply.
The trip to the cafeteria a floor down and back probably totaled six minutes, but when she reentered the room, Dr. McCoy began to berate her about how even the simplest of tasks taking her too long to complete, and she was half-tempted to dump the tea on his head. Instead, she handed it to him, and took a step back so she was at least arm's length, In case he further tempted her to cause him bodily harm. Sniffing at the cup, he scrunched his nose.
"It is poison, isn't it?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Doctor." She replied as he narrowed his eyes and took a sip.
"Jesus! It tastes disgusting! It's got to be poison!" he pushed the cup away snarling.
The last of her patience crackled through her nerves. "For crying out loud!" she grabbed the cup from his hand; "you are acting less than half your age! It is a supplement that is meant to keep you from getting ill, that's all!"
She took a swallow of the cup's contents, and while the taste was slightly metallic from the medicine, it wasn't at all as bad as the doctor let on. She thrust the cup back at him.
"There, it is safe to drink, as you can see. Now I don't want to hear another word about it. Drink."
He sat with the cup loosely in his hand, staring between her and it with his mouth slightly agape.
"You just-"
"Doctor, if you do not take that tonic this moment, I will not be responsible for the consequences."
His face flushed, he quickly downed the contents of the cup and then glared at her.
"Thank you," she said curtly, and removed the offending cup from him to place in the recycling unit by the desk.
"Threatening a senior officer is a fire-able offense, you know!"
"I'd hardly call that a threat, Doctor." she replied; "Now I believe you need rest, and I will leave you to it." She started to move towards the door. "I wish you well."
"Wait, Lt. Q'eil."
The soft tone of his voice caused her to pause, and she turned.
"There was something I wanted to say to you before you go, and no doubt Nurse Chapel added a sedative to that powder to help me sleep, so I need to say it before I get groggy."
She glanced between him and the door, certain an exit was still the best course.
"Please," he said, looking earnestly at her from the bed. "Pull up a chair."
She stifled a groan and grabbed the chair from the desk, placing it beside the bed. Sitting, she cleared her throat, and placed her hands in her lap. "Yes, Doctor?"
He seemed to be rolling thoughts around in his head, planning the next thing he would say very, very carefully. "I know what you must think of me…. That I'm just some cantankerous fool who can't look at the glass half-full."
"Doctor, please-"
"You can just call me McCoy, or something a little less formal. It's okay."
"I really don't-"
"Listen. About yesterday—no--" he shook his head. "This whole week…"
He extended his right hand out from under the coverlet to her. "Good work."
She took his hand tentatively, and then shook it, "Um, thank you….. McCoy"
She realized it must have taken all his effort to put forth such a sign of gratitude, and she forced herself to smile at him. Then, to her infinite surprise, the smile was actually returned, and then his eyelids began to close. It took her a moment to realize her hand was still in his. She'd hate to have this one moment of peace between them ruined by the consequences of the invasion of his privacy. She had to break the physical contact before he lost consciousness, or his mind would open up from as an effect of the induced sleep, and she'd be sucked into his free-flowing drugged consciousness. She tried to slip her hand out of his but his grip tightened. Startled, she looked up at his face, but the lines in his features had softened from sleep overtaking him.
No! No! No! Let go, I don't want to do this!
She tried harder to squeeze her hand from his vice of a grip, but found she was being overcome with the feeling of drowsiness. Whether it was her own state of mind or the sedative's effect on his, she couldn't quite tell. As reality quickly and quietly faded, the last thought that she could be sure was her own was: it's going to be really awkward when we wake up. Then her mind succumbed to sleep and the barrage of imagery and feelings that formed the memories that made up the entity known as Leonard H. McCoy
A small yellow house with a wraparound porch nestled in tall weepy trees
How many times had he scraped up his knees as a child his mother oh god his mother
A woman in a dress with long dark hair
He missed her so much so much what had he ever done wrong that she would that she would no no don't think that
A school yard, he sits alone on the swing
Kids didn't understand him he didn't understand them why can't I have friends
An injured puppy, brown and white with sad eyes
He did his best his best with sticks and strings seeing him run again so happy so happy
A man's stern face
why can't we keep him I saved him he's happy happy don't make him leave too
Three teenage boys and him riding around in a truck with big wheels
We used to run pranks up and down the county I had friends friends we would cause a ruckus we were troublemakers
A juvenile detention cell
It was only for two days but his dad yelled and yelled and yelled I need to decide what to do with my life what to do life going nowhere
A girl with curly dirty-blonde hair and large brown eyes
She's the prettiest thing in the world the prettiest what can I do to have her what would make her love me
An old brick building, looks like a college, surrounded by students
Doctor I will become a doctor always be able to help I can help people will she love me if I have money doctors make good money saving lives I want to be loved do what's right
Graduation day, his father is beaming at him, she has the ring he gave her on her finger
I made it I did it my father is proud she loves me he loves me would my mother be proud he respects me now I am a doctor I will help people I will go into internal medicine yes we'll settle down yes
The girl has blossomed into a young woman, stomach swollen with child
I am going to be a father a father oh wow am I ready what will it be like will it like me oh I love her she loves me Dr. and Mrs. McCoy and baby make three
He is holding the pink-clad baby in his arms, and she is sleeping
She is the most beautiful beautiful thing name her Joanna yes Joanna will be lovely loved I have a family I'm a dad a father my life is wonderful
His wife is crying, but her face is angry, brown eyes glaring at him
Where did it go wrong why is it wrong what did I do how how could you do this only two short years why wasn't I enough what about Joanna oh god oh god make it stop please I love you I don't understand why there was supposed to be love I love you why oh god why do you hate me not my baby please judge I will take care do what's right care for Joanna no no no no
A bar, he's slumped over a table
She has everything I have nothing nothing left how long have I been here more whiskey whiskey fixes everything nowhere to go I have nothing nothing that bitch I have nothing she never loved me god I love you why no more no more I have to run nowhere to run I need to run this is too much god this is too much
A young, blonde male cadet teases him as they walk across the quad at the academy
I don't have to take that from you ever since I met you we met when I was so lost you helped me I love you like a brother you're such an assholewe have so much fun Starfleet was the right choice for god's sake Jim another girl how do you do it how can you do it don't you care about anything no you care too much I will always watch out for you kid thank god shit I'm late for the exam you're an asshole Jim
A face, blurry, oval and pale… The images focuses clearly, soft eyelashes under arched brows fall on high cheekbones, following down the straight-edge nose to soft, subtle lips parted as she sleeps
"What are you doing?"
Her eyes snapped open as she was jerked awake from the volume of the combined mental and spoken question. Had she fallen asleep? Where was she, she was…. Her eyes met the blue ones staring intently at her.
Oh, god.
She jumped back in horror from the doctor and rushed to the door. She couldn't stop the flushing in her face or the tears brimming in her eyes. She thought she heard him call her name, her first name, but she couldn't stop. Her feet moved on their own, and they wanted far, far away from this man, and what just happened. She couldn't face this, it was too much. It was just all too much; she should've left before, when she had the chance! She broke into a run down the corridor as sobs threatened to shake her normally composed frame.
