Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek.
Here's the next chapter! It was really fun to write and the first draft had a lot of mistakes but I think the end result is something I can be proud of!
I was actually trying to update this all day Saturday but for some reason I was having issues logging in. It seems it's been fixed though so I'm happy I can finally get it out!
I'm currently writing a few 'HP' stories along side this one so it can get a little confusing about what the plot is but I think I have it down. I'm always watching the tv show '24' which makes me want to put explosions into everything haha. And I have been lead towards this cool livejournal dedicated to star trek kinks and I must say….I can spend hours reading the awesome stuff people come up with!
Enough about me, I hope you guys like this next chapter!
Enjoy!
OOO
Chapter Two: Rules
OOO
Scotty smiled happily as he followed McCoy off the bus that stopped in a rather small looking town. Scotty could honestly say he had never seen a town so small but as he glanced at the store names; it seemed that the place was still able to cover its needs from two bars, one grocery store and even a parts shop.
McCoy had stopped talking to him pretty much after he set the house rules but Scotty wasn't going to push his luck by starting a conversation now. He had honestly been surprised that the doctor didn't put up much of a fight when Scotty basically invited himself into the man's home but the engineer just figured that no one really wanted to be alone on their vacation.
He normally wasn't one to assume that the doctor had no one waiting for him at home but he had guessed that if the doctor did have a family, it was a distant one. Scotty had managed to learn some things in his last efforts to fix what he could on the Enterprise by catching up on all the gossip about his temporary crewmates and what he had learned had been, if anything, interesting.
Jim Kirk, had only been at Star Fleet for three years and had excelled in many subjects, become an assistant instructor in advanced hand to hand combat, and had gained the reputation as an avid ladies man. Not only that but the crazy lad had taken the Kobayashi Maru test three times but had apparently beaten it the last time. Sure Scotty heard about the whole "cheating" issue but it still had to say a lot about his new friend since the kid could hack into the Star Fleet system to begin with.
Scotty had been able to find out almost anything he wanted to about Kirk, which hadn't been that much but some people just loved sharing information. Keenser had added his own two cents on his judgment of Kirk when Scotty's green friend had managed to get back to earth to help the engineer with the Enterprise.
All in all, Scotty decided he liked Kirk. Sure the lad was young but Scotty could see that the kid was brilliant in his own reckless way.
Everything anyone had to say about Spock had really just been a matter of opinion for the most part and Scotty decided to remain 'mum' about seeing the Vulcan and that Uhura lass kissing on the transporter pad since it seemed most people believed Spock was incapable of any sort of kind feeling and Scotty just assumed the Vulcan wanted it that way.
Scotty hadn't really received much information about the other people he had run into on the ship aside from Chekov, who really seemed to redefine the term 'prodigy' for Scotty. Assigned to be the navigator of the Enterprise by the time he was seventeen, and it wasn't because someone had been sick or some other weird occurrence. The kid had actually been assigned!
All this information had been rather easy to find out, just ask the right questions and make a few jokes and suddenly the guy next to you was willing to spill anything he knew of the subject. The problem was that the ship had been filled with maintenance crew and other engineers once the rest of the crew had been knocked off and so when Scotty had asked some questions about the good doctor, he had been met with shrugs. The more shrugs Scotty got, the more interesting he thought the man was because only someone as intimidating as McCoy could be best friends Jim Kirk ;who at the moment was having a permanent affair with the spot light, and still manage to keep is life secret.
And so when Scotty finally passed out at the end of the week, he had actually passed out on the Enterprise so he was a little unsure as to how he had managed to get to a ground shuttle on its way to Georgia, when he had woken up next to the good doctor the engineer figured this was fate giving him a chance to get to know the grumpy man.
Who was he to not take the chance?
Scotty paused as both men passed by a small diner and he was able to look at both their reflections in the glass. He laughed and didn't bother fighting the grin as he realized that they looked like two men who had traveled all night, especially with the rather sad looking bags they were carrying. McCoy seemed to have noticed Scotty's stop because the other man turned to glare at the Scott before glancing into the diner himself.
"Hungry?" Bones wondered if that was why the engineer was staring into the diner before he felt his stomach give off a growl. He blushed slightly as his own embarrassment before he glanced at his watch which had thankfully automated the time change in their journey informing him it was barely past 8am now. "Let's grab something to eat, the office doesn't open till nine."
Scotty nodded in agreement as he followed the doctor in the small diner which seemed to have a very retro feel to it as if it hadn't been upgraded for at least a century. It was pretty empty minus some rather rough looking men at the bar, Scotty realized that he and the doctor probably looked just as rough. McCoy slid into a booth by the window and Scotty followed suit on the other side, their waitress, a really skinny redhead with a vertically striped dress that just made her seem thinner set two coffee mugs down before she filled them and gave them both a rather bored once over.
"What can I do ya'll for?"
"I want the number three with grits." McCoy looked over at Scotty and the engineer quickly glanced at the written menu on the bar, he couldn't really make out the handwriting so he just smiled at the woman.
"Ah'll 'ave the same thing, lass." Scotty beamed at her as she blinked at him a few times as if she hadn't heard him right. He paused a bit before he glanced at the doctor who was actually smirking at the exchange before Scotty turned to her again. "Yeh alright lass? Ah havun't been on planet for months so Ah cannae tell if Ah've offended yeh or not."
She turned to McCoy at that. "Is he speaking English or have my ears gone dum?"
"Just get him the number three too." McCoy took a drink from his coffee. The waitress wrote it down before sauntered off, the men at the bar laughing slightly as some inside joke between them before Scotty frowned.
"Ah speak bloody perfect English." He rubbed his eyes before he took a sip of the coffee, blanching at the taste causing the doctor to chuckle at him.
"Welcome to Douglas, Georgia. The closest thing to alien in these parts is probably you." McCoy ran a hand through his hair before he glared at the building across the street.
Scotty followed his gaze and found himself staring at a rather small looking law firm. He turned his attention back over to the doctor before he remembered what the doctor said before they had walked in the diner. "Whut office opens at nine?"
"My lawyer's, he has the key to my dad's house." McCoy stated as if Scotty should have known before the other man seemed to realize who he was talking to and narrowed his eyes slightly at the engineer. "Remember my rules."
"Ah will." Scotty sighed as he sat back, it was hard to make conversation with so many rules. "Rule one, mind meh own business."
McCoy sat back too in agreement and Scotty figured he would have to make up something to talk about before suddenly McCoy seemed to tense. Scotty followed the doctor's line of sight outside to see a rather big looking man pointing towards the diner, while a smaller man looked over with interest. It appeared they were supposed to be loading up the back of one man's cargo truck before they started arguing over something and then suddenly the bigger man was marching towards and into the diner, Scotty could hear McCoy curse softly.
"Hey you! Your Dave's boy right?" Scotty glanced around the diner to see that the three rough looking men at the bar had turned their attention to him so he turned over to McCoy who was glaring at the large man. "You have to be with such a look on that face, why I never met someone more miserable than Leonard McCoy."
"Well I have plenty to be miserable about." McCoy defended as the large man laughed before grabbing a chair and sliding it by their booth.
"Last I heard about you, you were up in space saving the planet. But we know it can't be true because no hero would return to this small town, right boys?" The large man laughed again and Scotty just smiled when the guy turned his attention to the engineer. "Who's this guy?"
"Ah'm Scotty." Scotty would have offered his hand but the large man just turned his attention back to McCoy.
"So you getting back with that wife of yours?" The older man leaned towards McCoy as he smiled in a way that showed he was clearly just trying to get a response from the doctor.
"Don't pretend this town doesn't already know she left a month ago. It's too small not to know." McCoy glared at the man. "Now is there anything I can help you with Frank or are you so desperate for something to talk about at your AA meeting tonight you need to bother me?"
Frank blinked at McCoy as if he had been slapped and Scotty got ready to reach for the bigger man if the guy decided to hit the doctor but the big man just shook his head before he laughed loudly. "You never change Leonard, me and Duke are going to be loading the truck for a good bit. If you don't mind sitting on the tail then I'll give you a ride back to Dave's house, least I can do for his son."
"Thanks." McCoy stated with a nod and then the big man put the chair back before he went over to the bar to make small talk with the other men up there. Scotty turned his attention back over to the doctor and wanted to ask, he really wanted to ask, McCoy just smiled at him as the waitress brought there food over.
"Doct'r…." Scotty tried.
"Rule number one, Scotty." McCoy smirked as he took a sip of his coffee and then took a scoop his real food; not that replicated crap he got at Star Fleet.
"Well Ah'll follow yeh'r rules if yeh tell meh what this is." Scotty proceeded to take a spoonful of his grits and held it out for McCoy.
"Those are grits Scotty." McCoy smiled as he shook his head. "Welcome to the south."
OOO
McCoy's lawyer was actually out of office for the rest of the week but luckily McCoy had managed to get his key from the secretary who had seen his picture on the local news. Scotty enjoyed riding on the back of the hover cargo truck because it was already a few decades behind the last model he had gotten to work with and he was slightly wondering if this Frank guy would let him look at the engine.
He never got the chance to ask because suddenly they were dropped off at a rather neglected looking dirt drive way that lead up to a rather neglected looking house. Scotty had never really been into architecture but he had to admit the house had a very classic feel to it, almost like one of those houses he had seen in an old movie about the American civil war. The trees were huge and Scotty noted that the house was actually made of wood which dated back farther than he thought it would have been. He was too busy taking in the surroundings he hadn't noticed the doctor stomp onto the wrap around porch, put the electronic key in and the front door slide open.
McCoy didn't know whether or not he really wanted to see what was left of his father's home but as he walked in he realized he didn't really have a choice. Not after coming this far. The wooden floors creaked beneath his boots as he made his way past the entrance, past the stairs to the next floor and into the living room. There were five boxes sitting in the middle of the room with a letter addressed to McCoy tape to the side of one of them. He ignored it for now as he took in the bare appearance of everything.
He was beginning to think he should be happy that she at least left the windows.
"Doct'r!" McCoy heard Scotty enter the house and just moved on into the kitchen to see that she had left the out of date appliances.
There was another den connected to the living room and attached to that was McCoy's old office. Every room was bare, and McCoy finally set his bag down in his office before he turned around and made his way back. He found Scotty in the kitchen with tools already out as the engineer tinkered with McCoy's replicater. He was about to say something but Scotty beat him to the punch.
"Rule number two, donnae break anything. Cannae break something already broken, Ah'm just fixin' her." Scotty smiled at the doctor.
"I'm going up stairs." McCoy cleared his throat before he left the now whistling engineer. The stairs didn't creak as bad as they used to which informed McCoy that Janet had gotten someone to work on that when she lived here. The first room was Janet's old office, the second was Joanne's old bedroom, it still had stickers on the walls, and the third room was the guest room McCoy had spent the last part of his marriage sleeping in. It had a mattress in it and a few boxes in the corner. The hall closet and bathroom were about as bare as any other room and McCoy paused as he realized she had installed a new shower system.
It had too many buttons to actually just be a shower, McCoy glared at it for a second as if waiting for it to transform into robot. When it didn't he just shut the door to the bathroom and made his way to the last room on the top floor, the master bedroom. It was just as bare as the other rooms, minus a metal framed bed in the center of the room with its bare mattresses. The shower in the master bedroom was new too but it didn't look like an amusement park attraction like the other one did. McCoy sighed as he made his way back out into the room.
"Ev'rything in this house looks old." Scotty whistled as he walked in behind McCoy in the master bedroom as he eyed the bed. "Most of the appliances are pretty new but this house is actually made of wood. Like real wood."
"Thank you Scotty, I would have never known." McCoy gave Scotty an amused look before he waved his hand around the room. "You can sleep in here. There's a bathroom behind that door and we probably need to get back to town to grab food and other survival essential for the week."
"Yeh sure?" Scotty eyed the master bedroom one more time before turning his attention back to McCoy who was already walking out of the room. "Where are yeh sleeping, if Ah can ask?"
"I'll sleep in the guest room." McCoy stifled a small yawn as he eyed the guest bed. A small nap wouldn't hurt. He turned to Scotty who was still eyeing the house with amusement before he cleared his throat to get the engineers attention. "I'm going to get some sleep; you're allowed to wonder just stay out of the shed."
"Ah..Aye." Scotty nodded before he threw his small sack into the master bedroom with little finesse and then proceeded to go past McCoy and down the stairs. The doctor for one was glad that he had brought Scotty along instead of Kirk, even though he really hadn't had the option, because he felt he didn't have to watch Scotty as much as he would have had to watch his friend. Kirk was naturally curious, and that tended to do more damage than good towards whatever Kirk was interested in at the moment and McCoy really didn't need to worry about what damage would have done to his house.
He fell on the mattress with about as much grace as a tribble.
McCoy woke up several hours later feeling as if he had actually managed to get some rest. So rested in fact that when he woke up in the bare room he almost forgot where he was and didn't care. He groaned as his mind was finally able to catch up to his wakeful state and he forced himself to sit up.
His watch informed him that it was well past lunch time and his stomach argued the fact as he grumbled and made his way off the bed and down the stairs. He held back a yawn as he turned into the living room to see that Mr. Scott wasn't there. He paused slightly as he stared at the boxes before he finally lifted the note addressed to him and gave it a quick read.
Leonard,
Everything in the boxes is either yours or stuff from our failed marriage that I no longer found a use for. If there is anything you don't want then I suggest you donate it to the antique store like I did with almost everything else. Joanne sends her love and informs me she will try to reach you soon but her school is very strict so I will let them know the holidays that I have approved. You should also know that since I am remarried you are no longer required to send alimony but child support is still due at the first of the month.
Other than that I wish you well.
You seem to be doing good in Star Fleet.
Janet
McCoy just stared at the letter for a few seconds before he crinkled it up and threw it to floor and then proceeded to kick one of the boxes hard enough that whatever was in it had to of broken. Either that or his foot had just made that snapping sound but since McCoy wasn't in any sort of pain he figured he probably just broke some family relic he was going to be regretting about later.
He should be pissed at her, he should hate her but in all honesty he was more mad at himself for marrying her. She hadn't changed at all since the day he met her, only now her powers of being a heinous bitch were directed at him and not some other poor sap. McCoy used to love that about her but now he was just getting tired of her treating him like their ten years of marriage had meant nothing. They were like strangers now.
Then again, when had McCoy been anything but a stranger to his wife?
He sighed before he started his search for Scotty again. He didn't find the engineer inside the house and so the doctor found himself walking towards the shed, which he remembered forbidding, but found it still locked. He sighed as he ran his hands through his hair and swore as he glanced around the neglected yard for the other man.
Jim would be mad if he lost the engineer in his own back yard.
"Scotty!" McCoy yelled out not bothering to be quiet for the neighbors across the way. If his voice carried then it carried, if not then that suited him as well. He sighed as he made his way to the front of the house again and took a quick glance at his two neighbors yards and then over the fields that surrounded his house. "Scotty?"
"How can Ah be of service to yeh?" Scotty's accent almost sounded like music for a few seconds before McCoy glanced towards the roof of his house to the now shirtless engineer, with a tool belt, standing by the ledge smiling at him.
"What the hell are you doing?" McCoy didn't see any ladders around his house which meant the idiot probably used a tree or the roof of the porch. "And get down before you cause the ceiling the cave in!"
"Ah was figuring out how yeh'r dang power unit works only to find out this house of yehr's still uses electricity." Scotty started to walk up the roof towards the other side of the house. "Well, as close to electricity as you can get now a days so Ah found yeh'r power converter…"
McCoy found himself walking quickly back towards the back yard as he heard the other man speak rather loudly on his roof.
"And then Ah find this mess of machinery, damn shame too, but here Ah was with meh tools and nothing to do till yeh woke up so Ah started fixing her. Why pay for some hoity 'professional' when yeh have a engineering genius at yeh'r finger tips right?" Scotty smiled at McCoy again once the doctor was in the back yard and McCoy spotted the power unit Scotty had been talking about, why hadn't he noticed the man their earlier?
"Scotty, are you sure you should be messing with that? I have no idea how old it is." McCoy placed his hands on his hips as he started debating whether or not he should run inside to grab his medkit or not.
"No worries Doct'r. She's older than a smart Russian weh both know so she doesn't carry much of a punch."
"Everything I own is older than that Russian and some of those tools can split you in half." McCoy argued back. Scotty just rolled his eyes at the doctor and as if to prove his point that the old power unit was harmless he hit her rather hard with his wrench. What Scotty had expected to happen was a few sparks and then everything shutting off before he fixed it again, what he hadn't expect to happen was to suddenly feel his arm get shocked so hard he couldn't even manage a curse before he was blown back.
And off the roof into the front yard.
"Damn it!" McCoy swore loudly as he ran into the house through the back door, managed to find his medkit on the floor in his old office, and the proceeded to sprint out into the front lawn to find a slightly smoking engineer groaning on the ground. "That's why you should listen to me!"
"A-aye…" Scotty groaned as he tried to push himself up only to be shoved back down by the swearing doctor. "Ah'm fine, just need to walk it off."
"Shut the hell up before I sedate you." McCoy started scanning the idiot as he eyed the burns on the engineer's arm and chest. "Those burns don't look to bad, but this right here is telling me you dislocated your shoulder in the fall and bruised two ribs."
"That all? Ah could've swore that was meh back braking when Ah fell." Scotty gave off a pained laugh as McCoy rolled his eyes.
"And you still wanted to sit up?" McCoy pulled out a hypo from his medkit and placed in the proper drug before he jabbed it rather harshly into the other man's neck earning a surprised yelp.
"Looney Arcturian dogbird!" Scotty grabbed his neck as he stared at the doctor in surprise. Hypos weren't supposed to hurt like that. "What was that?"
"Something for the pain, now sit up and let me look at that shoulder." McCoy helped the engineer up before he took a firm hold on the man's arm. Over centuries of medical break-thrus and there was still only one way to help a dislocated shoulder. "This will hurt."
"Ah've enjoyed a dislocated joint before Doct'r, it'll only be b-AH!-d, god damn it…." Scotty held his eyes together tightly as he experimentally moved his arm bit. "Not sure the drugs are working yet."
"Okay I lied, that shot earlier was for the burns." McCoy filled up his hypo with a dangerously red looking fluid before he flicked it a few times. "Had to make sure you felt the shoulder get into place, now this one is for the pain."
"Maybe Ah should hold off on the drugs-AH!." Scotty grabbed the side of his neck as he glared at the doctor. "Dinnae not hear me Doct'r?"
"I heard you perfectly Mister Scott." McCoy helped the engineer up to his feet. "And until you finish your medical degree I believe I will refrain from listening to your advice. Now get inside, I need to find the burnt ointment so these things don't scar."
Scotty grumbled as he made his way into the house, never mind the fact that he couldn't feel the pain anymore, he still felt like he had just made a fool of himself in front of the good doctor. McCoy just sighed as he patted himself off as he got off the ground and glanced over to his neighbor's houses to see Ms. James sitting on her porch. She was a widow that used to watch Joanne when she was a baby. McCoy gave the woman a wave only to get a hesitant one in return before he made his way back into the house to take care of his patient.
"Ah'm tired." Scotty mumbled as he lay on the floor in the living next to the kicked boxes. "It's the drugs."
"It's not the drugs, it's your bad sleeping habits and the fact that you just had a huge amount of energy jolt through your body in an attempt to light up my house." McCoy opened up the top box and was happy to see Janet had indeed packed his old medical supplies in there, he hadn't seen this stuff since med school.
"Ah can see why Kirk likes yeh, with a bedside manner like that." Scotty scoffed on the ground before he received a nudge with the toe of one of McCoy's boots for a response as the doctor fount the ointment he was looking for.
"Let this sit on your skin for a few minutes then you should take a shower. After that we can head into town and grab some blankets and food." McCoy handed Scotty the tube of ointment.
"Sounds like heaven, just let meh turn on the power before meh shower so Ah can'ave hot water." Scotty placed a good bit of ointment in his hand before he started rubbing it on his chest.
"I don't think so, you can take a cold shower as punishment and I'll have a professional come and fix whatever you destroyed." McCoy started moving the boxes around before he opened another one and rummaged through the old stuff.
"Ah'll have yeh know Ah'm the epitome of professionalism." Scotty tried to look offended at the doctor but it was hard to make a point when he was covered in a blue ointment on half his body.
McCoy just rolled his eyes as before he stopped going through the boxes. He could probably just leave them there for now, wasn't like he had spaced for whatever was inside at the residence in Star Fleet. McCoy closed the box before he turned to his patient only to see that the engineer was gone. The doctor wished he could just have believed the other man had gone up to test the shower but McCoy knew better than to just assume people would listen to him.
Even if it was for their own health.
McCoy marched into the back yard before glaring up at his roof. Scotty who had apparently crawled out of a window was now dangling on the side of the house as he tried to kick one of his feet up onto the roof so he could lift his body up there. McCoy felt a headache coming on as he started rubbing his temples. He sighed as he marched into the house, deciding he probably shouldn't startle the engineer by yelling at him because there was good chance Scotty would somehow fall off the roof…again.
He stomped his way up the stairs as the lights in the house suddenly came to life informing him that the main power unit was now officially turned on. He scowled as he made his way into the master bedroom and spotted the open window, pausing for a moment before he marched over and slammed it shut.
If Scotty was so determined to be on the roof then he could just stay out there.
McCoy wiped his hands on his pants before he turned from the room and made his way out. He sighed as he went into his room and grabbed a change of cloths. He should probably shower before he went into town, there was a scraping noise on the roof that got McCoy's attention as he glared up. He heard several loud thumps and a muffled shout before the doctor grumbled and went to the window in his room. Sliding it open with a little more force than needed he stuck his head out the window and shouted at the idiot.
"Shut up!"
Okay…so maybe he was just too tired to come up a fitting insult at the moment.
"Yeh closed meh window!" Scotty poked his head over the ledge as he glared down at the doctor. "Ah was just doin' yeh a favor-"
"And I told you to stay off my roof!" McCoy shouted back as both men frowned at each other. Scotty swore, stomped a few times before McCoy heard the engineer grumble but he couldn't make out what the other man had actually said. "What?"
"Ah said that Ah cannae win with yeh!" Scotty yelled down before the engineer leaned over the edge so he could get a better look at the doctor. "Ah'm going to get meh tools and then Ah promise to leave yeh'r roof alone."
"Damn right." McCoy shut his window and made his way back over to the master bedroom so that Scotty could get back in the way he came. He opened in the window and enjoyed the warm summer breeze for a few seconds before suddenly some sort of wrench fell off the roof and onto the roof above the back porch before it slid off that too. McCoy stuck out his head just about the same time he heard a large thud and suddenly more tools were trying to maim him. "Scotty?"
"Sorry!" Scotty slid down the roof a bit before he did the small jump so that he was in front of McCoy with a sheepish smile. "Ah tripped and then meh tool belt broke…"
"Just take a shower and get that ointment off you, I'm sure it's passed the required amount of time. I'll go get your tools and then we have to head to town before everything closes." McCoy helped the other man into the house before he shut the window and then made his way out of the room.
The tools were easy to find and he just placed them on the floor inside the house before he made his way over to his shed. The house was old and meant to look like an antique historical Georgia farm house but the shed was anything but. The building itself was probably older than McCoy but it was made to look like a red and white barn from back then but McCoy could feel the synthetic texture as he opened the door. Most things now a days were made out of the same material before they were painted to look like something completely different.
He glared into the dark room before ordering the lights to turn on. McCoy swore as he was suddenly blinded by the onset of light before he curse technology and corrected his order. "Lights at eighty percent."
The lights dimmed and he eyed the organized mess, taking a mental note that it looked like his ex wife hadn't bother to step into the shed since he left. He made his way past the tools and old farm equipment leftover from his grandfather before he found what he was looking for covered in the same dirty tarp he had covered it with last time he had driven it.
He uncovered the truck and coughed at the dust before he threw the tarp the rest of the way off. He opened the door gently, half expecting it to fall off before he slid into the cushioned seat. Reaching over to the glove box he felt around a bit until he heard the familiar jingle of keys and smiled at himself as he pulled out the small set of copper keys before he found the right one, inserted it the ignition, twisted and…
Nothing.
McCoy sighed as he thought about the several mile walk into town before he tried again wincing at the choking noise the engine made before there was a loud grumbling and suddenly his truck was lurching forward. McCoy hit the break with both his feet but it seemed that the old things had forgotten their job as he drove into the shed doors. McCoy coughed as he was surrounded by dirt before he started the engine again, flinching as the doors fell to the ground before he drove the car from the back yard to the front. It groaned when it stopped, he used the emergency break this time and McCoy patted her nicely on her steering wheel before he got out.
There was a high pitch noise behind him and before McCoy could even turn around suddenly Scotty was standing in front of his truck, wet from his shower but at least in pants as he stared disbelieving at the truck.
"Ah was wonderin' how weh'd get to town but look at her." Scotty made an almost guttural sound in the back of his throat as he said 'her' and McCoy didn't know why he almost felt it sounded inappropriate. Scotty touched the hood delicately before his eyes widened as he stared at the ground. "Bless my pap she's got wheels!"
"You need to put a shirt on before we head to town." McCoy rolled his eyes as Scotty started touching the wheels. He was about to just head inside to grab his jacket before he paused and glared at the engineer. "You're not allowed to touch her engine."
Scotty looked like McCoy had just told him the Enterprise had exploded. The other man stared at the truck longingly before he let out a defeated sigh and made his way back into the house to grab the rest of his clothes before they went to town.
The truck took a few times to start and Scotty looked like he was about to explode if he didn't check the engine but McCoy got it moving and soon they were on their way back to town. The air didn't work so they had to roll down their windows and the radio was too old of a model to actually pick up any music so McCoy settled for silence as he rolled along the rode, several other cars passing them in interest.
Scotty however, could only take so much silence.
"So yeh'r family were farmers?" Scotty smiled at the doctor who in return gave the engineer an annoyed glance. "Ah'm not pryin' Ah just thought it was interestin'. Meh father was a barman and meh mum stayed home with meh and mah sister."
McCoy didn't say anything to that so Scotty just took it as permission to keep talking, after all he didn't really mind sharing about his childhood.
"Meh pap was always gone, worked all day at de bar cause the pubs back home stayed opened from mornin' to night. Meh mum used to say it was because the city ran on liquor but Ah suppose it was because there wasn't much else to do." Scotty closed his eyes as enjoyed the wind from the window. "Parents died before Ah got accepted to Star Fleet, some idiot forgot to hook up the right valve in their transport shuttle."
Scotty paused at that realizing he was getting on a rather depressing topic before he turned towards McCoy with a grin and noticed the doctor giving sideways glance. "Meh sister still lives in Scotland with her family. A son and daughter that one has. She's always nagging meh about starting meh own family but it's hard to settle down with opportunities like the Enterprise in meh face."
There was silence again and Scotty just sighed as he glanced at the farms they were passing. He didn't mean to bring up the Enterprise because now he was feeling slightly depressed about the whole ordeal. They should have had his trial before he went on leave so he would at least know whether or not he had a chance.
"My grandfather was a farmer." McCoy stated suddenly causing the engineer to give the doctor his complete attention. The good doctor looked grumpy and embarrassed at the same time as he kept his eyes on the rode as they finally made it into the town. McCoy didn't look like he was going to add anymore to that but Scotty still consider it a win for him as the truck found its into a park spot, McCoy pulling hard on the emergency break before it came to a stop.
"Ah really could fix those breaks-"
"Just get enough food and whatever else you might need to last a week so I can park it in the shed again." McCoy gave Scotty a pointed looked before the engineer sighed and they made their way into the first shop. Scotty was pointedly glancing at the parts shop across the way and McCoy just rolled his eyes at the engineer before glancing at his watch. "How about we meet up at the truck in thirty minutes, get what you need and then be there or else I'll leave your ass."
"Aye!" Scotty gave off a mock salute before he ran across the street and into the small shop. McCoy found himself smirking at the other man's back before he shook his head and made his way into the shop.
He needed blankets, a pillow, food, something to drink, a cup would be a good idea too and maybe he could find a used computer so he could call Jim later to let his friend know he had made it to the house, grant it with a forced travel partner, but he figured while Jim was more than likely not worried about McCoy making it safely to Georgia it would be a decent excuse to call his friend.
Scotty smiled at the men in the parts shop before he turned his attention to the selection at hand. He was surprised with selection the small town had before he noticed something shining in the corner. He walked over and moved the parts on top of it gently before he lifted the disc like object with a gleam in his eyes.
"Bless my sister…" Scotty fit the disc underneath one arm as he started going through the rest of the parts. He had an idea, a very brilliant idea.
If it worked that was.
"I've never seen you in town before." A large man that had walked over to the engineer frowned slightly at the man.
"Ah'm visiting with a…" Could he really call the doctor a friend? Scotty weighed it in his mind for a few seconds before shrugging as he smiled at the other man, after all everyone was a friend to Scotty. "A friend, Doct'r McCoy."
"Oh Leonard's back?" The big man shook his head. "Never thought that boy would return after his divorce…"
Scotty remained quiet either to see if the man would say more or to respect McCoy's privacy and not pry; he didn't really know which at the moment as he noticed a few boxes on the floor that looked neglected and very promising. The man watched Scotty kneel down before he started laughing, the other men in the shop coming over to see what was so funny.
"Why you messing with those parts? They're only good for building things like-"
"Ah know." Scotty gave off a grin. "And Ah plan to build one."
The three men were silent for a second before suddenly asking Scotty all sorts of questions about what he was planning on building. The bigger man even went into the back of the story and pulled out a few more boxes that he thought might be helpful for the engineer's project. They were impressed with Scotty's experience in space, he had left out his punishment on Delta Vega, and soon they were all friends comparing old war stories of engine accidents before Scotty managed to carry out six boxes to the truck, after a few trips and then the men were happy to give Scotty the direction to his next stop.
Scotty thought he could get used to a town like this.
McCoy sighed as he found a cart to throw stuff into as he walked the story and proceeded to grab things he thought he might need as he passed them. The girl running the shop smacked her gum as she rang everything into her computer before he bagged it and took it to his truck, which now had some closed boxes in its back. McCoy glared at the boxes before he threw his bags in and then proceeded to walk over the grocer, unfortunately he didn't have a working stove in the house anymore so he had to grab either replicator cards or food that didn't need to be cooked.
He made it to his truck with the food with only a minute left to spare as the put the groceries in the back too, noticing some more boxes had found their way in. He glared at them again before he proceeded to check his watch. He would just have to live off the bottle he had packed for the week, he mentally sighed before he got into his seat and started the truck.
He was about to pull out of the space before noticed Scotty sprinting towards the truck from down the street, the engineer was carrying a rather full duffle back and another bag in his other arm as he made his way over. He threw the duffle in the back before jumping into the passenger seat, panting as he smiled over at McCoy.
"Thirty minutes went by faster than Ah thought they would." He lifted the bag he was still holding up to McCoy so the doctor could hear the familiar clinking of glass bottles. "But Ah couldn't leave without getting the essentials."
"You know what Scotty?" McCoy smiled as he opened the bag and noticed a bottle of Tennessee Whiskey, along with several different types of Scotch. "I think we might become friends after all."
Scotty just laughed as he hit the side of the truck, McCoy finished pulling out of the parking spot and they made their way back to the house. Scotty opened a bottle of Scotch and took a swig before passing it to the doctor who made a comment about drinking and driving before he took a swig himself.
Hell, McCoy was almost willing to let Scotty mess with the truck's breaks just for grabbing alcohol, not that he was going to inform the engineer of that mental decision.
The ride back to the house seemed to pass by a lot quicker than the initial drive to the city; McCoy actually taking part in the small talk about drinks and favorite bars to visit in San Francisco. Scotty, for someone who had been off planet for an extended amount of time could actually name more bars than McCoy, not that the doctor was one for social drinking but he didn't frequent a few of them in his time of gallivanting with Jim.
And that had been pretty educational in and of itself.
It was actually nice having Scotty around for a few moments as McCoy pulled into his driveway and drove the truck back into the shed, making a mental note to see if he could fix the doors before he parked and remembered the suspicious cardboard boxes in the back. He eyed them again as Scotty lifted one with great effort informing the doctor that he really probably didn't want to know what was in there.
"What's in there?" And sometimes McCoy's mouth didn't really listen to his head.
"Ah've got myself a lil' project to work on." Scotty stopped as he glanced around the shed with interest. He paused as he gave McCoy a slightly pleading glance as he placed the box he was carrying on the ground, just inside the shed.
"If you promise to not mess with any of my things then you can use the shed." McCoy sighed as he grabbed his stuff and then hauled it towards the house. Scotty smiled brightly at him making the doctor blush as he grumbled to himself about going soft.
The rest of the afternoon was actually rather peaceful.
Scotty fixed the replicator so that it was able to produce the food from the newer cards McCoy had bought. He fixed the cooler so both men had a place to store their drinks and get ice, if they needed it. Scotty also fixed McCoy's lawn mower as the doctor had wanted to cut the grass, the engineer was more than happy to work on the antique grass cutter.
Everything in the shed seemed antique to Scotty, things dated back at least twenty years but some parts Scotty only remembered seeing in engineering catalogues. McCoy informed the engineer it was because his family didn't throw anything away until it couldn't be fixed anymore, and even then, sometimes they held onto it for sentimental reasons.
Scotty helped McCoy pick up the yard, often finding forgotten toys or equipment hidden in the long grass before he started working on clearing himself a small space in the shed as the doctor mowed the lawn. It was hot outside, the warm air now working against the engineer as he tried to organize everything he had gotten at the parts shop, actually looking forward to his small little project before he started working on fixing the shed doors that had fallen off.
McCoy wiped his forehead as he stopped the mower and parked it outside of the shed, not bother to put it in since it seemed Scotty was working on the doors. He was actually thankful that the other man had forced himself along for the trip, while McCoy was sure he would have been able to survive on his own, it was still nice to see little parts of his father's home get fixed. The doctor made his way into the house, kicking his dirty boots off by the back door before he made his way up stairs. It was finally near evening and McCoy was actually getting pretty hungry but he was sweaty and smelly at the moment.
McCoy held onto his change of clothes and towel as he glared at complex looking shower. He was down to a tee shirt and boxers before he opened the casing so that he could get a good look at the buttons. It seemed pretty simple enough; there was an 'H' and a 'C' and then some lever…and about fifty other buttons and knobs that just made the thing look more like space ship that just a shower.
"Damn advances in technology…" McCoy paused for a second as he considered the option of going to ask Scotty if he knew how to work it since it seemed the engineer was capable with almost all forms of machinery before he shook his head.
He could take a damn shower on his own, he was a grown man.
And a doctor at that, how hard could it really be?
McCoy stripped out of the remainder of his clothes before he finally got into the shower, deciding he probably really did need to bathe after mowing the lawn. He sighed as he glanced around the shower one more time, noticed that there didn't actually seem to be any sort of nozzle for the spray and just grumbled as he stared at the buttons.
Star Fleet didn't even have showers this complicated looking, it was usually just the bare essentials, and McCoy really didn't want to know what special things this shower did. He briefly wondered if this is where most of his alimony went before he sighed and pressed the 'H' button.
Nothing happened.
McCoy hit it again a little firmer this time but still got the same response. He took glanced around the console of buttons and didn't see anything that looked like a power button so he took a step back hoping that would help the situation.
It was apparently what he was supposed to do, the shower seemed to have senses him suddenly and then there was a scolding hot water filling the bottom of the shower and getting onto the floor of the bathroom. McCoy swore as he hit the 'C' button to try and cool it down, only to have a cold mist hit his back causing him to slide against the panel of buttons, his hand hitting and clicking every button in its path.
The next few minutes were hell.
A long tube lowered from the ceiling with a nozzle at the end of it, hitting McCoy in the head. The doctor glared at it for a few seconds wondering if he was supposed to grab it as he tried to hit a few more buttons and finally got the scolding water at his feet to cool down. Apparently he was supposed to grab it because the next thing he knew, it was filled with water and the pressure cause the tube to fling into the air, hitting him square on the face before it shot off water everywhere.
A small wall started rising from the ground, trapping him in the shower and the shields that were supposed to keep the water in vanished letting the rest of the bathroom get soaked. McCoy noticed a blinking light at the edge of the wall and hit it as hard as he could, praying it was some sort of power device before loud music assaulted his ears.
"Who the hell needs a radio in their shower?" McCoy yelled as he hit some more buttons, effectively getting sprayed down with an obscene amount of soap, the bottom half of the shower filling with hot water, not as scolding this time, the lights turned off and candles suddenly appeared; the tube still hitting McCoy every few seconds as it sprayed it's high pressured water everywhere but on the soap covered man, some multi color light showed stared occurring on shower floor and before McCoy scream in frustration the tube came back swiping under his legs and sending him harshly to the water and bottom of the shower.
"AAAAAgh!" McCoy shouted as he came back over the water, the music seemed to have gotten louder, the water higher, and the soap was now spraying everywhere as he just started kicking the console praying it would just stop.
Scotty for one was confused as to what was going on upstairs.
He had come inside after he fixed the doors to the shed and had decided to grab himself a drink before he went upstairs to get a shower before dinner. He heard loud music getting muffled through the floor and several loud bangs and briefly wondered if he should stay downstairs a little while longer. It was when he heard the doctor yell that he ran up the stairs, slid on the water that was now in the hallway before he knocked on the door.
"Doct'r?"
"Damn it Scotty!" Was all he heard before the distinctive noises of splashing and something metal hitting wood. He heard the doctor swear before McCoy yelled again. "Turn this damn thing off before it kills me!"
Scotty didn't need to be told twice as he wiggled the door knob to see that it was locked. He grabbed his screw driver from his tool belt that he was glad he was still wearing before shoving it between the door and the frame and popping the door open, glad that the house didn't have electric doors at the moment.
The sight that met him was anything if surprising. There was soap dripping from the ceiling just before water was sprayed at Scotty making the engineer soaked. Scotty swore as he saw McCoy trying to wrestle with the tube thing before he ran over to the console and looked at the buttons. It would be a lot easier to see if they weren't covered in soap.
He hit a few buttons before his face was assaulted with bath salts causing the Scot to swear before as he tried to wipe it off. He heard McCoy go under the water again before his back was hit by something hard sending him into the shower contraption. Scotty wiped the salt off his eyes before he grabbed some tools, took a deep breath and went under the water to take apart the controls.
The doctor's shouts and the loud music was muffled in the water to sound more like a heavy base before Scotty managed to take the lid to the control wires off. He forced himself up to get some fresh air, barely making it out of the water before some tray flew out of the wall hitting him on the head and sending him back under. He felt two hands grab his shirt before he was pulled out again the doctor yelling at him. "It won't stop! I'm not even pressing buttons anymore!"
"It's confused doct'r!" Scotty shouted back before bubbles were squirted at his face. "Ah can turn it off Ah think!"
"Don't tell me, just do it!" McCoy shoved the engineer out of the way of the tube as it swung towards them.
Scotty took another breath before he went under again, finding the blinking lights at the bottom of the shower annoying before he reached into the console. He couldn't find a override switch which meant the shower itself was probably imported, so he did the next best thing and grabbed a handful of wires and just yanked.
McCoy let out a sigh of relief as the tube retracted back to the hellhole it came from. The water started draining and everything seemed to start shutting down. Scotty coughed as he came out of the water before he smiled over at the doctor, blushing at the state of undress of the other man before turning away. McCoy paid the other man no mind as he tried to catch his breath. Scotty managed to step over the lowering wall before suddenly there was a loud guttural noise from the machine. Scotty taking a step back before the bathroom and the two men were covered in pink bubbles from the apparent soap explosion.
Scotty tried to hold back but the sight of the miserable doctor covered in pink soap was too much. He let out a loud laugh before chuckling, reaching down and grabbing the other man's soap covered soaking towel before handing it out to the doctor. McCoy in returned let out an almost disbelieving laugh before he gave the laughing engineer a pointed glare, grabbed the towel from the laughing man, wrapped it around himself and proceeded to stomp out of the messed bathroom.
"I'm going to use the hose outside." He grumbled loudly as he stepped through the puddles in the hallway, down the steps and towards the back yard. He could still hear Scotty laughing, a bit died down now, as he made his way outside and found the hose by the dried up weeds where a garden used to be.
"Who needs a shower that does all that crap?" McCoy yanked at the hose roughly before turning it on, the water was chilly but it would do, before he lifted it over his head and proceeded to get all of the soap off him. All of the soap that smelled strangely feminine, like fruit…McCoy scrubbed harder.
McCoy sighed as he finally got the soap off, surprised that he actually felt clean after that whole mess before he stomped back in the house. He would need to put clothes on before he cleaned up the dripping mess upstairs. The doctor paused as he made his way up the steps realizing that it looked like Scotty had mopped up the water. He jumped into this room and slipped on a pair of sweat pants and grabbed a shirt as he made his way to the bathroom. Holding his towel up to use as a shield just in case the machine decided to attack again, McCoy opened the door.
"Nothin' like a nice bath to relax the workin' man, right doct'r?" Scotty was sitting in the shower, that now looked more like a bathtub, enjoying what McCoy could only recognize as a bubble bath. "Ah threw all the wet clothes in the sink and started hankering with yeh shower, Ah think ah get how she works now. Pretty simple too once yeh learn what the buttons do."
McCoy just shook his head. "Well I'm glad someone gets to enjoy that thing."
"Oh!" Scotty was positively beaming at the doctor, despite how awkward the engineer probably should have been feeling given that he was naked and in a bubble bath. "Look at this nifty trick!"
Scotty scooted forward to hit the buttons on the console before an opening appeared on the wall to the shower. McCoy leaned forward so that he could see what was inside and was greeted with the sight of a cup of tea and a sandwich.
"Who needs tea and food while they bathe?" McCoy looked over at the Scotsman only to be greeted with a knowing grin.
"Who doesn't?" Scotty grabbed the sandwich and lifted in the air as if he was toasting McCoy before he took a bite. "Ah think it's brilliant."
"Well after your done eating and bathing you can show me how to work it, and by work it I mean I only want a normal shower." McCoy wrapped the towel around his neck before he made his way out of the bathroom.
"It can also make snow, show videos, wash and dry clothes, and!" McCoy turned as he opened the door to see whatever trick Scotty was really excited about before he left. The engineer smiled as he pressed a button and then suddenly a small round object floated down from the ceiling before it started spinning slowly creating different light patterns against the wall. "Disco ball!"
They stared at each other for a few seconds, Scotty smiling as the doctor frowned at him.
"I need a drink." And with that the good doctor left the engineer to his own devices as he made his way down the stairs, mulling over the thought of calling his ex wife and demanding she take the shower with her to her new home before he just sighed found a bottle of whiskey.
It had been a terribly long day.
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