Begrudgingly and with much complaint to a nonexistent Jim, McCoy got ready for his blind date. It was far from the first time, and he, quite frankly, stopped putting in the effort. All he really did now was shave and throw on jeans and a t-shirt. Kirk would get on him about it, of course, but Bones had stopped listening to him after date two back at the Academy.

As he walked through the halls of the Enterprise he couldn't help but think letting Jim set him up again was a bad idea. Unfortunately, it was too late for second thoughts. The poor girl was probably already there, waiting for her date to come sweep her off her feet.

Well, to the very least she'd be surprised.

So, without even passing Jim (thank God), he went into the observation deck. He may as well get it over with.

All he saw when he walked in was her head. She was sitting down on the couch, facing the giant window that faced out into the cold blackness of space. Her head tilted to one side, a contented sigh filling the silent room. She must have loved her job, being able to see that every day.

"I assume you're who Jim set me up with." Not exactly elegant, but there was no point covering his personality. She was going to find out anyway.

"Doctor?" Said the Scottish girl sitting on the couch, turning around to face him. "Doctor! Good ta see ya! So you're the friend Jim set me up with." McCoy blinked.

"Scotty?" He asked, surprised. "That Scotty? You have a minor in xeno-physiology?" She shrugged from her seat.

"Ah though' it would be best to be well rounded, ye know?" A pause. "Ye have a minor in Astro-physics?"

"That it a dead lie that Jim said to get you to go out with me." He said bluntly. She nodded, standing up.

There was a slight pause in the conversation as the two looked each other over; like they were sizing up an opponent. Scotty apparently got what she wanted, because she quickly sat down again.

"So," she said, pursing her lips slightly. "Wanna go back ta my room, have a few drinks and tell Jim tomorrow that we despised each other?" McCoy waved off the idea.

"He'll just get more determined. We could fake it." He suggested.

Scotty just laughed. "No way in bloody hell he'll believe tha'!"

"Get to know each other better but not dating?"

"Sounds good. Ta my room then?"

"What kind of drinks?"

"Scotch whisky, bourbon, Saurian Brandy an'… something' that's green, Ah'm no' quite sure what it is."

"Sounds good.

{][][}

McCoy shouldn't have agreed to the drinks. Scotty could hold her liquor, but because of her near-unhealthy weight she got drunk much quicker than most.

Two shot of scotch, half a shot of Saurian Brandy, and one of the green stuff, to be precise.

And she kept going.

Bones knew his limits for drinking. One shot of Saurian Brandy or a bit of bourbon for tipsy, around three or four shots mixed of both for moderate drunk, and around six or more for full on. He had yet to reach passing out drunk, mostly because he respected his bodies limits for alcohol. Even after the divorce, he had only had about half a bottle of whisky. Scotty, however, didn't seem to know where to quit. She enjoyed her drinks and simply chose not to stop.

She was really starting to ramble by the time she had another shot of the green stuff and tried it out combined with the bourbon. At that point McCoy just took the stuff away.

Unlike a good portion of the people McCoy had met, Scotty was a fun drunk. Jim was fun tipsy, true, but once her got drunk - well, that was some seriously deep water that most should not tread. Scotty just talked, and flirted and tried to drink some more.

"Doc, Ah think Ah migh' a wee bi' drunk. Agree?" She questioned, using the doctor for stability even though she was sitting down.

"Agree. You need to go down to Sickbay?' She laughed, pushing off of him (though in her mind she was pushing him off) and thumping on the bed.

"Ah've been much more dunk than this. Ye should 'ave seen me at ma older brother's reception." McCoy glared mildly.

"That's not what I asked." He said, already throwing the younger woman's arm over his shoulder. She was light, which didn't at all surprise McCoy. Probably just over a hundred pounds. He'd have to talk about that with her later.

She protested loudly, trying and failing to get out of the doctor's grasp. "I though' Ah said I dinnae need ta go ta Sickbay!" She whined, though did nothing as she was dragged through the halls. No one even gave them a second glance.

{][][}

Jim was there.

It didn't surprise McCoy at all. Jim was usually waiting in Sickbay -commonly in McCoy's office- after a date. He even had the courtesy to have the Kentucky bourbon out this time.

McCoy gave him a mock salute as he entered, sitting behind the desk. "Before you ask, it went well, but we have no plans of dating. Oh, and she's passed out on a biobed right now." Kirk raised an eyebrow, his expression almost comical. Well, not almost, McCoy was just in a bad mood.

"She got drunk, didn't she?" The older man nodded. "The green stuff or the Romulan ale?"

"What?"

Jim sighed. "Which did she have first, the green stuff or the Romulan ale?"

"The green stuff… How the hell did she get Romulan ale?" Silence filled the air, and suddenly Bones wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Her brother. All I'm gonna say."

Bones really didn't want to know.

{][][}

Scotty had had hangovers before. More times than she could count, really, but Saurian Brandy hangovers really were the worst of all time. Her head ached and thrummed to the rhythm of her heart. And God did it freaking hurt.

She tried to get her barring, really she did, but her brain and body didn't seem to want to function together. D'Arvit to that! She thought rebelliously, and opened her eyes. Which, as it turned out, wasn't a good idea because she threw up on the pristine white sheets she was lying on. At least that gave her a location. If the sheets were white and not at all stained, she must have been in Sickbay. Again. Double D'Arvit.

If the universe took mercy on her Doctor M'Benga would be on shift.

Unfortunately, she had to get bad karma sometimes, which often outweighed her large amount of good.

"Glad to see your amongst the living again." Came McCoy's snaky hello. The Scottish woman groaned.

"No' so loud…" She complained, flipping over the pillow on the non-puke side and placing it over her head.

"I told you not to have any more after the saurian Brandy. Hell, I took the stuff away. But no, you just chugged that green stuff instead." He paused for a moment, stealing the pillow. "If the results hadn't been so bad I would be impressed right now. Especially given your weight." She glared, and Bones just smirked in reply. Yes, he knew it was mildly offensive to comment on a woman's weight, but to the very least Scotty was on the lesser side of the scale. Not as much to worry about health-wise.

"Ah have a perfectly healthy weight, thank ye." She said, pouting.

"Yeah, you were. When you first got on the ship, and even then you were low. Your almost twenty pounds below the target weight of someone your height."

"But not to an incredibly-" She cut herself off, putting her head in her hands. "Too loud."

The doctor rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I bet." He grabbed a hypo, jabbing it into her neck. Not nearly as hard as he would with, say, Jim, but hard enough for most to complain. She just sighed.

"Did ye aim fer the pressure point?" She asked with a sigh. "'Cause tha' felt good."

"Shut up Scotty, and no drinking tonight."

The auburn haired woman gave a weak thumbs up. "Go' it." She glanced up at him, her cheeks going crimson. "Umm… I was jus' wonderin' if maybe ye wanted to… Ye know."

McCoy quirked an eyebrow in a manner that would have rivaled Spock. "No, I don't know."

"Ye play poker?"

{][][}

A/N: Well... That was fun. Not much to add but another thanks to Moonrose for her help as a beta.

~Piki :B