First: thank you all for the reviews, favorites, and follows! I got a surprising amount of positive feedback from the first chapter of this. I really do love this AU, so I think I'm going to mark this as ongoing, and try to write more. However, I find myself without ideas for more chapters. If anyone has any ideas for situations they'd like to see in this universe, let me know! I'm not planning on having an actual overarching plot or anything, just a series of one-shots of varying length that take place in the same universe.
Another thing: I labeled the first one-shot as gen, and this is pretty gen as well, but now that I think I'm going to write more, I'm tempted to add in slash in the future, specifically Sulu/Chekov. Would people be against this? I mean, I know it's my story and I can do what I want with it, but I don't want to accidentally alienate people that liked the first chapter but maybe don't like slash...
I'd love to hear people's thoughts. Anyway, I'm having issues editing the chapter title, but this one's called The Bones Fund. Enjoy!
Leonard McCoy tends not to be a very happy camper. All the regulars of the Enterprise know this. He's grumpy and tired all the time, but he's a doctor after all, and has to put up with a lot of shit on a daily basis. And clearly he doesn't hate Jim as much as he says he does, because he keeps coming back to the cafe day after day. In fact, anyone who really knows him knows that McCoy treasures both his friendship with Jim and his time spent at the cafe. But on one particular afternoon, he walks into the cafe looking awful, far more upset than usual, and everyone can tell something's wrong. He doesn't start bantering with Jim or Spock, for one, just slumps down at his usual table near the counter and asks for a drink. Somehow, Jim knows he's talking about something stronger than his usual coffee. "Bones, this is a cafe. You know I can't-"
"I'm asking you as a friend, not a customer. Just a beer or something. Please." His voice sounds so broken that Jim puts down the dish he's washing and nods, with no further protest.
"Okay, yeah, sure." He quickly scans the cafe, and finds the person he's looking for. He calls out, "Hey Sulu, can you take over?" Sulu looks up from his book, nods, and gets up to take Jim's spot behind the counter. Jim's trained some of his regulars in the art of working the register and taking orders. He's at the cafe almost all the time, but when he does have to leave for some reason, he's made sure that there's usually someone around who can step in and take over. Spock and Sulu are the usual candidates; Bones doesn't have the right attitude for it, Scott and Uhura tend to be too busy with university work, and Chekov...well, Chekov's great at selling to customers, but they're a little sketchy on whether it's actually okay for a 16-year-old to work in food service. Even though Janice does most of the actual preparation. (They're pretty sure it's fine as long as Chekov sticks to the front counter, but he's overenthusiastic and has a tendency to jump at the chance to do whatever he feels needs doing. His loud "I can do zat!" has led to disaster enough times to convince Jim that the Russian is much better at attracting customers from the other side of the counter.)
After handing his work apron off to Sulu, Jim retrieves two cans of beer from the back room. He sets one down in front of Bones, and keeps the other with him as he sits down with his best friend. "What's wrong?"
Bones pops open his can, and takes a long drink. After setting the beer back down, he begins to explain. "It's Joanna's birthday today." Jim knows this already, because Bones has been talking about it for a week. He can't get back to Georgia to celebrate with his daughter in person, but he has sent a gift. It should have arrived by now, but he's heard nothing from either his daughter or his ex-wife. He's asked for the afternoon off so he can spend time with her through video chat. But clearly, something has gone wrong. "Jocelyn wouldn't let me talk to her."
"Are you kidding me?" Jim can't believe it. Bones is Joanna's father, for god's sake. He knows Bones and Jocelyn had an awful divorce, but to deny a call from the young girl's dad is unbelievable. Especially when he lives all the way across the country, far outside easy visiting range. "She can't do that. You're her father, don't you have rights?"
"Who the hell knows? I'd probably have to go through some legal bullshit, and by then it'd be too late. I just wanted to wish her a happy birthday, dammit." He downs the rest of his beer, and pulls the other one out of Jim's hand. Jim lets him take it. Bones needs this way more than he does right now.
"God, Bones, I'm so sorry." Jim grabs Bones's hand and squeezes it tightly. "I know how much she means to you."
Bones snorts. "Good thing you do, cause it seems like no one else in this damn world does."
"You have visitation rights, don't you? Isn't she supposed to spend some time with you?"
"She's too young to fly out here by herself, and like hell Jocelyn's gonna bring her here. I'd have to get my ass back to Georgia to see her, but I don't have the time or money."
Bones keeps talking, but the wheels in the back of Jim's head are already turning. By the time he leaves the cafe to drive Bones home for the night, he has a plan.
The next morning, Bones is one of his first customers, as always. He grabs his usual newspaper, and they talk as Janice prepares his coffee. Bones still looks awful, broken up over the events of the day before. The bags under his eyes are more pronounced, and Jim thinks he can see some red in his eyes from crying. Not that Jim would ever bring it up. It's not like Bones would ever admit it, anyway.
"Don't worry." He tries reassuring Bones. "It'll work out. I promise."
His voice is too confident, and Bones's weary gaze suddenly turns suspicious. "You're up to something." Jim starts to deny it, but Bones insists. "I know you, Jim, and you're up to something." He searches Jim's face, looking for any kind of hint as to what exactly he's up to. Finding nothing, he scowls, masking concern. For as long as he's known the owner of the Enterprise Cafe, Jim's plans have been reckless and stupid. Sure, they always succeed, but he's sure one of these days Jim's going to get himself arrested. "Just don't do anything stupid, okay?"
"I won't!" Jim gives Bones his best innocent look, pretty blue eyes wide. Bones never falls for it, but it's worth a shot anyway. The older man rolls his eyes, takes his coffee from Janice, and leaves, knowing that nothing he can say will change Jim's mind once it's already made up.
When Nyota Uhura enters the cafe around noon, she immediately notices that Jim's usual spot at the counter is empty. As she waits for someone to show up and take her order, she hears movement from the floor behind the counter. She starts to lean over the counter to see what's going on, when Jim suddenly pops up in front of her. She jumps back in surprise.
"Hi Uhura! Hold on a sec." He's holding a microphone, and presses a few buttons. "Scotty, are we ready?" He calls out, and the Scottish engineer sticks his head out from the back room.
"Ready!" Scotty enthusiastically gives him a thumbs-up.
Jim grins. "Attention Enterprise!" His voice echoes through the room, and Uhura rolls her eyes. The cafe's small enough that everyone would hear him without a microphone; she knows Jim just likes the extra attention. "This is your captain speaking. As you may have heard, we have a crisis on our hands. Our good friend Doctor McCoy is in trouble, and we need to get him home to Georgia so he can see his adorable little daughter. A round trip plane ticket is - Spock, how much?"
"I've researched various airlines and pricing options, and it appears that the cheapest plane ticket available is $403." Spock informs Jim, looking up from his laptop.
"$403, and if we add in money for an overnight at a hotel, let's call it, what, $500? We'll be collecting donations at the counter. And! Until we've reached our goal, half the price of all purchases will go directly to the Bones fund. So buy up!" He switches the microphone off, and smiles at Uhura as if nothing's happened. "The usual?"
Uhura stares, her usual latte forgotten, mouth open in surprise. "You're kidding me."
"What, about Bones? You heard the man last night. He needs our help."
"Does he know you're doing this?"
"Of course not, you think he'd let me do this if he knew about it?"
"He's going to kill you." There are quite a few things Bones hates. Pity is one. Public attention is another. Even if it's from his best friend, Uhura thinks this might be taking it a bit too far.
"That's why he's not going to find out until after I raise the money." Jim winks, and writes her usual order on a red cup.
Uhura looks around the room, and sighs in defeat. It's a stupid plan, true, but she really does feel awful for the doctor. And even Jim's stupid plans usually succeed. "Okay, sure." She pays with a twenty, and drops the change in the tip jar, now labeled 'The Bones Fund'. As she does so, she notices the pictures of Bones and Joanna freshly taped to the counter, covered in tacky stickers and labels saying 'Help Bones see Joanna!'. "You are unbelievable."
"Hey, that was Pavel's idea." Jim nods to Chekov, who's sitting next to the door with Sulu. They're both staring out the window in opposite directions, watching carefully for the doctor. He keeps a pretty regular schedule, and he's not due at the cafe for another hour or so, but they have to be extra careful - for Jim's plan to succeed, he needs to keep Bones in the dark as long as possible.
Chekov gets bored pretty quickly, and within the hour he's standing outside instead, attempting to lure more customers in. He's pretty good at it, too, his enthusiasm easily spreading to those around him. Sulu pretends to be working on a problem set, leaving the lookout to Chekov, but Jim can see he's spending more time fondly watching the young Russian boy bounce around the sidewalk than he is actually thinking about physics.
Right on schedule, Chekov spots McCoy walking down the sidewalk, and dashes inside. "He's coming!" They have just enough time to hide the sign and pictures behind the counter before Bones enters the cafe. As he opens the door, Jim quickly spins the tip jar around to hide the new label. Nothing's out of place, including Jim himself - he's leaning against the counter casually, as usual.
As Jim makes the usual smalltalk, out of the corner of his eye he sees Chekov shifting in his seat and trying to hold back laughter. Sulu whacks him in the head lightly with his notebook, and shushes him. Bones doesn't notice anything.
Until he goes to drop coins in the tip jar. He frowns. "There are twenties in here."
"Really? Wow, that's weird." Jim fakes surprise. It's not very convincing. Sulu facepalms.
"Who the hell tips in twenties?"
Jim shrugs. "Must just be my lucky day." Damn, he wasn't expecting Bones to notice that. He'll have to switch out the tips next time. He makes a mental note to use a separate jar for the Bones Fund.
Bones rolls his eyes, not buying it. "Okay Jim, what did you break?"
"Break?" Now Jim's actually confused. He's not sure how Bones made the leap from $20 bills in the tip jar to Jim breaking anything, but hey, he's willing to go with it if it'll keep Bones from realizing the true purpose.
"Your bike, your TV, what? You're obviously collecting money for something." He's already fishing around in his wallet for cash, and Jim instinctively reaches out and takes the jar away out of his reach. He can't have Bones donate to his own damn cause.
He makes a point of looking into it and counting the bills. "Okay, yeah, I dropped my phone earlier. Totally smashed the screen. Asked a few people who looked like they had some cash if they could spare a few dollars towards the cause; guess my charm won them over." He grins at Bones. "This should cover it though, don't worry about it." Thankfully, the doctor accepts the lie.
"People aren't always gonna be nice and bail you out, you know." He huffs and puts his wallet back in his pocket. "Even if it's you." Before he can say anything more, Janice calls his name from the other end of the counter.
Once he leaves, it seems the entire cafe lets out a sigh of relief. Safe.
It takes a lot of pleading with the regulars, and quite a bit of money out of Jim's own pocket, but sooner or later he's collected $500. He's sitting at a table with Spock, counting out the day's change from the tip jar as Spock once again looks up flights.
"It appears that flights to Georgia have stayed in the same price range, though of course it depends on the arrival and departure dates. However, I cannot advise buying a ticket for the doctor, as we do not know his schedule and personal preference as to when he would like to visit his family."
"Yeah, I know." He wishes he could buy Bones a ticket, but he's not stupid. First Bones has to talk with Jocelyn, then he has to get time off of work - both things Jim can't predict the success of. There's no use buying plane tickets for dates Bones can't make.
"It would also be prudent to check with Doctor McCoy's ex-wife in order to receive her approval. In fact, it would have been more logical to ask before collecting the money in the first place." Spock raises an eyebrow at him. Jim ignores his disapproving look.
"Yeah, well, if she has a problem she can talk to me about it. I'll do whatever it takes to convince her."
The corners of Spock's mouth quirk up in a small smile, or at least what passes for one on Spock's face. "Your diplomacy skills are unparalleled."
Jim laughs. Man, Spock's weird, he thinks, not for the first time. But it's a good kind of weird, one he's come to appreciate since Spock started frequenting the cafe. He's logical, able to consider all possibilities and think through every solution without letting his emotions get in the way. Not many people can do that. And despite his cold logic constantly clashing with McCoy's heated emotions, his willingness to help Jim help Bones just confirms Jim's suspicion that he truly does care about the doctor.
This is good, because after spending time with Spock and McCoy, Jim doesn't think he'd last a week without both of them by his side.
Jim calls Bones to the cafe on a Sunday evening. Most of the regulars want to be there when Jim gives Bones the check, so he chooses a time none of them are at work or classes. Sulu and Chekov have to skip study sessions, but he gets the feeling seeing the doctor's face will be worth it.
Bones enters the cafe to see Jim standing on the customer side of the counter. "What's up?"
"I have something for you. Well, actually, we all worked together to get it for you."
Bones looks around, giving the rest of the cafe a wary look. "It ain't my birthday." His southern accent is stronger than usual. Jim recognizes it as a sign of uneasiness. The more he's out of his comfort zone, the more apparent his accent is.
"No, but it was Joanna's, and she deserves the best present in the world. Consider this a gift from the Enterprise Cafe to you and your daughter. We're sending you to Georgia to see her." Jim holds out a check. Bones stares at him, frozen in shock.
"Remember when I was collecting money in the tip jar? Yeah, that was for this. Everyone chipped in. There's enough money here for a round-trip ticket and accommodations for a night. I wanted to buy the tickets myself, but Spock and I figured you should choose the dates."
Bones looks down at the check, then back to him, eyes wide. He slowly turns around, looking at all of the regulars, all wearing encouraging smiles. "Shit, Jim...I don't know what to say." His voice cracks, and he furiously wipes at his eyes with a sleeve, determined not to break down.
"You don't have to say anything. Just take it, and go see Joanna." Jim says softly.
Bones takes the check. $500 from the Enterprise Cafe. They're too good to him. He doesn't deserve this. He's just an old country doctor who fucked up his life so badly he had to move across the country to start over. It's overwhelming, the kindness and love he can feel radiating from everyone around him. It's something he hasn't felt in - well, in so long that he doesn't know how to deal with it anymore. Jim pulls him into a hug, and before he realizes it he's sobbing into the younger man's shoulder. Jim rubs his back soothingly.
When the moment drags on too long, Chekov decides to break it by pouncing on the two, enveloping them in as big of a hug as he can muster with his small size. The others laugh, and at Chekov's insistence first Sulu, then everyone joins in the group hug.
Well, not quite everyone. But even Spock places a hand on McCoy's shoulder, giving it an unsure squeeze. It's the most affection he's ever expressed for McCoy. Jim smiles and lets them be...
...until he gets bored. Then he pulls at Spock's arm, sending him crashing right into the group. It only adds to the laughter spreading infectiously through the cafe, so loud that when Bones finally murmurs a "thank you" into Jim's ear, he's the only one who can hear it.
It takes a while to get everything sorted out with the hospital and with Jocelyn, but Bones finally gets time off and flies out to Georgia. Two days later, he walks into the cafe for lunch, and the other regulars crowd him asking how his visit went. He's still wearing his usual grumpy expression, and he complains when Chekov invades his personal space too much like usual, but immediately launches into a story about his wonderful daughter and how happy she was to see him. He pulls out his phone to show pictures, and Jim watches as the scowl melts away. He's not sure Bones is aware of it, but talking about Joanna brings a warm smile to his face, one that Jim hasn't seen in weeks. Jim's own expression turns into a matching smile as he watches his best friend from behind the counter.
Mission accomplished.