Amelia stood at the bar looking back over her shoulder. Her hand went to the base of her neck where a low bun sat. Pulling the pin out from its center, her shoulder length black hair fell. In an instant, Hikaru Sulu was at her side at the bar, causing Amelia to jump.
"My goodness! You gave me a heart attack!"
"I think that would be beneficial to your romantic feat, Lt. Takashi," he replied smoothly, in the regular off-duty Sulu tone.
Amelia sighed. "I'm off. No more playing Lieutenant for tonight."
"So you'd rather play patient?" Sulu teased, looking back over his shoulder in the direction of McCoy who sat at a table with Scotty, Chekov, Jim, Skylar, and an awkward Spock. All of them were laughing and waving about their drinks while Spock sat with his arms across his chest, his eyebrow raised high as the young doctor pointed his drink in the direction of Spock and was talking firmly at him. McCoy lost some of his drink here and there as the passion of his speech caused his hand to falter with every other unintelligible syllable. Sulu took a sip of his own drink. "You know, he is quite a looker."
Amelia eyed him, a smirk emerging on her face. "I'm glad I've got your approval."
"So why are standing here with me?"
"I'm …" Amelia turned toward the bar. "I'm getting a drink." She leaned over the bar, searching for the bartender.
"Why not have McCoy get you your drink?"
"I have to have a drink, Sulu!" Amelia snapped.
Sulu laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "There's the old cadet attitude. I knew it would ear its ugly head sometime soon. Getting through exams with you was a nightmare. I suppose I'm gonna have to relive it."
Amelia called to the bartender, "Astro Tongue Biter – blended!" She turned, sighed and leaned against Sulu. "I'm sorry, Su. I guess that's what you get for being the gay best friend."
Sulu took a sip of his drink. "I just get to relish in the fact that one day – you owe me." He gave her a pat on the back and took a step forward. "So, table?"
Amelia took a deep breath. "After I down my drink."
Sulu cocked an eyebrow. "Down a Tongue Biter?" He glanced back towards McCoy while Amelia took her drink from the bartender and began to chug it. "She definitely won't have any tongue to bite," he murmured.
Sulu approached the table with his off duty, almost pirate swagger. Everyone was immersed in their incoherent conversation while Spock sat with a virtual version of 3-D chess on a game stool he had found and placed next to him. "Hey guys," Sulu greeted. Everyone looked up, minus Spock, and gave their unison hellos. Spock promptly pushed the game stool aside, making from for a chair in which he intended to go to Sulu. "Thanks, Spock. We're gonna need one more."
"For who?" Jim inquired, looking beyond Sulu.
Sulu smirked, eying McCoy. "Oh, well, one of my closest friends from the Academy was transferred onto our ship at our last stop, and she finally got some time off. I wanted to introduce her."
"Is she of a vaporous nature?" Spock inquired honestly.
Sulu laughed. "She is quite a piece of matter," he said, eying McCoy again.
"Okay, so vhere is she?" Chekov questioned, twirling the straw in his drink.
"She's right –" Sulu turned to introduce Amelia, but Amelia was not present at his side.
"If you're referring to one of my chief computer programmers, that's her there, at the bar," Scotty chimed, nodding toward the bar. Everyone, including a confused Sulu, turned to see Amelia slumped over the bar. Her glass was laying beside her outstretched arm.
"Um, Sulu, I think your friend may be passed out," Skylar stated.
"Shit! Amelia!" Sulu called, rushing towards the bar. McCoy took a gulp of his beer, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, stood up and puffed out his chest and followed after Sulu. Sulu had pulled Amelia up, but her head lolled to the side like that of a dummy's. "Amelia?" Sulu whispered to her. She quietly grunted in response.
"It's okay, Mr. Sulu," McCoy stated, "I'm a doctor, and this young lady appears to be passed out." He paused, noting the glass. "Due to excessive alcohol consumption."
"No offense, Doctor, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't take a Ph.D for anyone to diagnose such a short night of drinking."
McCoy crossed his arms over his chest, his savvy grounded. He cleared his throat. "Well, Sulu, let me at least take her to Sick Bay for a blood thinner. We may yet be able to save her from a horrible migraine in the morning." He began to take Amelia from Sulu. As he did so, a smirk crossed Sulu's mouth.
"You know, Leonard, I may have consumed a bit too much alcohol to make it that far," Sulu lied. "Do you think you could make it – just you and her?"
Amelia was now in McCoy's arms, her head against his chest, her breathing rhythmic as though she were merely asleep. "Oh, well …" McCoy looked down at her. "Yeah, I think I can manage. I may be able to make her coherent enough to tell me where she dorms, that way I can send her on her way."
"Or you may just have to let her sleep in Sick Bay tonight. Next to your quarters," Sulu suggested as he took another sip of his drink and casually strutted off to the table, leaving McCoy to watch him with a look of confusion.
:::::
"Where the hell is McCoy going?" Jim grunted over his glass as Sulu took Bones' seat.
"Judging by the demeanor of Lt. Takashi and the direction in which Dr. McCoy is heading as he passes through the establishment's doors, I'd assume her inebriated condition requires further medical examination, Captain," Spock answered as he moved his pawn accordingly.
"Is that what these kids are calling it these days?" Skylar chimed in. Sulu, Chekov and Uhura laughed.
Jim sat up, his eyes droopy. He stared across the table incredulously. "In English?"
Before Spock could reply, Sulu said, "He's taking Amelia to Sick Bay for a simple hypo. Scotty won't want to deal with a hung over computer technician in the morning."
"Aye," Scotty replied with his eyes barely open. He slid his fourth glass of Scotch away from him and proceeded to rest his head on his arms on the table. Chekov patted his back.
"You see, if you vere drinking Vodka, you vouldn't be feelin' so."
Scotty picked his head up and narrowed his eyes at Chekov. "You and your Russian milk," he muttered.
:::::
Amelia let out a long moan and her eyelids slowly parted. The room – and the figure – was hazy before her eyesight. It was almost surreal: a splash of flesh color, some brown and a blob of blue. A bright white light erupted from behind the being like the pictures she remembered of the Virgin Mary. She was considerably sure she hadn't died. Besides, would heaven smell remotely like booze? Once the blob talked to her, she was fully aware she was not in heaven – it was better than heaven.
"Amelia?" That deep voice, rugged and powerful; a hint of a Southern accent and slight intoxication. She knew exactly who was standing over her … in her recovered state.
Amelia's heart began to pound. The monitor above her head somewhere began to echo the booming rhythm.
"Amelia, are you alright?" Dr. Leonard McCoy began to come into focus. He went from tiredly calm to alert as he looked up at her monitor. "Your pulse has increased drastically."
There had only been one other time she'd felt her heart beat savagely against her rib cage, and that was in the middle of finals for her qualification. She had been sweating as her Asian-esque eyes searched her exam screen for answers she second guessed herself on. She had studied wildly, had two determinedly demanding parents counting on her achieving the rank of Lieutenant in Computer Programming, and the utmost desire to leave her acutely conservative lifestyle on the planet Tavaan. Contrary to popular belief, relocating from Japan, Earth to a planet of natural beauty and Mediterranean climate, beaches and a quieter, more serene Starfleet Academy outpost did not unwind the rubber band ball that were her parents. The first sight of Dr. Leonard McCoy had been the last straw: she had to pass, become a Lieutenant on the USS Enterprise and leave Tavaan and her ridiculous parents behind. His brief shore-leave had become Amelia's last bit of motivation. Passing meant breaking free from her chains on Tavaan, reuniting with Hikaru Sulu from her short (yet significant) term at the Starfleet Academy in San Francisco on Earth, and the chance to end up in Sick Bay at the care of her school girl crush, Leonard; the decade wide age gap did not matter at all.
And so here she laid living her fanasty – in a slightly different form – feeling disgusted and embarrassed from her moment-long alcohol binge while the doctor she loved doctored her up.
"Leonard?" she managed to squeak. Immediately she wanted to die. "Uh, I mean, Doctor McCoy," Amelia corrected, clearing her throat.
A smile crossed McCoy's rugged chin. "Oh, so you are alive."
Amelia attempted to prop herself up, but a wave of dizziness overcame her, as did the strong hands of McCoy as they wrapped around her forearms and forced to her lay back onto the bed. "I should probably head back," she cringed.
"You are in no condition to go back to the pub," McCoy told her firmly. "You are too intoxicated to make it back. I'm trying to make sure you don't too horrible of a splitting headache tomorrow, so I suggest you lay here and relax and let my hypo do its work."
Amelia could feel the heat rising even more so than the already alcohol induced warmth in her cheeks. They stared at each other for a moment. This wasn't the way Amelia had wanted to meet Leonard. Astro Tongue Biters would be a non-no from now on.
"I don't think we've been properly introduced," McCoy said after a moment. "Well, at least not personally."
"I'm Amelia. Lt. Amelia Takashi." Amelia tried to sound as sober as possible. "I was stationed in San Francisco for a little bit before transferring and completing my term on Tarvaan."
"And I, ma'am, am Dr. Leonard McCoy," McCoy said, placing his hands behind his back. "Earth is probably where you know Mr. Sulu from?"
Amelia nodded. "Yeah, I was more than happy to find out I'd see him again after all of this time."
"And you've only been on this ship for forty-eight hours and you're already here in Sick Bay," McCoy teased. "And you haven't even allotted me time to set up your routine physical." He gave her a wink. Amelia smiled. "Well, you rest here tonight. Should you need anything, I'll be in my quarters across the hall. Just hit the button on the table next to you."
"Dr. McCoy?" Amelia said as the doctor turned to leave.
His eyebrow arched up as he faced her. "Yes, Lt.?"
Amelia's heart fluttered in a bitter-sweet spasm. "It was really nice to meet you. And thank you. I'm usually not like this."
McCoy nodded. "I think we're allowed our moments to be totally human." He gave her a wink and headed out of the room, leaving Amelia with a smile plastered to her face.