Chapter Two

When Leonard McCoy got home after a week in Chicago, he was exhausted and in desperate need of something to drink. It was about four or five in the afternoon, it was an absolutely beautiful day, his flights had actually gotten in early, but he just couldn't enjoy being home. As he got his stuff out of his car, he looked over and noticed that the house to his right was occupied. Had somebody moved in while he was out of town? Figured it would be while he was gone. Shaking his head, he went inside and dumped his stuff. Opening the back door, he rummaged for that drink. A hedgerow separated his yard from his neighbor's and through this barrier he heard the sound of chatter, music, and children shrieking and laughing. Oh, great. Fully intending to tell whoever was making that noise to pipe down, please, Leonard headed for the hedgerow. There was a gap big enough to step through and he peeked through this. What he saw stunned him. It looked like a neighborhood soiree was in full swing, the kids were in the pool, the adults were thoroughly enjoying themselves with drinks in hand. Some of them were dancing. Leonard wanted to feel bitter, he just felt lonely. He heard a dog barking and watched, startled and amused, as a Red and White Setter went flying into the pool to join the kids. So his new neighbor had a dog? Hmm. Did his new neighbor have a family, too, or was this just their mutual neighbors making the best of someone's willing hospitality? He could smell hotdogs and hamburgers and his stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten in a few hours. Leonard watched unseen for several minutes before making up his mind. Going inside, he changed into blue-jeans and a tee-shirt. Slipping through the gap in the hedgerow, he let himself breathe at last.

"Hey! Leo, there you are!"

"Oh, hey, David." He greeted one of his neighbors with a tired smile, "I heard the ruckus and came over to see what the big to-do was about. What's the party for?"

"Oh this? This is nothin' special."

"Really?"

"Sure! Esmeralda loves the kids and let's 'em come over while she's at work. And her dog's a sweetheart."

"What's her name?"

"Esmeralda Shirin. She's a transplant from Manhattan." David apparently approved, which was saying something for a man married sixteen years with four kids between the ages of four months and ten years.

"Which one is she?"

"Hard to miss her, bro." David pointed across the pool, "There she is." Leonard wasn't sure what he'd been expecting from a girl with a name like Esmeralda Shirin, it sure wasn't what he got. The girl coming out of the house with a tray wore a navy blue halter bikini with white polka-dots and a multicolor tye-dyed sarong. Her skin was the color of rich caramel, her hair fell to the small of her back in a long, black snaking braid. Leonard imagined it was longer unbound, and wavy. She didn't look at him, but he could see her eyes. They were a deep, beautiful amber full of light and laughter. Leonard watched, utterly enthralled, as David's wife Mariah intercepted his new neighbor and took the tray from her.

"David!" Mariah called across the yard, "Go help Kyle!"

"Duty calls."

"Go on, David." Leonard smiled, "I can handle myself."

"How was Chicago, by the way?"

"I'm glad to be home, leave it at that."

"Was it that bad?" David looked sympathetic. Leonard just frowned. Yeah, it had been that bad. David clapped him on the shoulder and moved off to help Kyle Darbin man the grill. Leonard mingled with his neighbors, all the time watching their hostess, and concerning himself with the practical problem of getting his next drink. Leslie Groves, Kyle's wife, hooked him up with a smile and a wink. He forced himself to be civil.

"Fancy seein' you around these parts, Leo. Where've you been hidin'?"

"I've been busy, Les." He just rolled his eyes, "Now, what can you tell me about Esmeralda?"

"Well, she's a city-girl from Manhattan. She's been all over the country, there's even rumor she worked Alpha Centauri and the Embassies in San Francisco."

"She's Starfleet?" Most civilians didn't work those places without handsome pay for their services. Esmeralda looked like the kind of person who would do it just because she wanted to, not because it would pay her well. Where had she gone to school in San Francisco anyway? Hmm.

"She's a doctor, Leo." Leslie's smile was wickedly calculating. Leonard shook his head.

"Forget it." He muttered, looking for an escape from Leslie. It wasn't that she was a bad person, she just happened to be his ex sister-in-law and he really didn't need to be around her just right now.

"Aw, Leo. You're no fun!" Leslie pouted.

"Leslie! Leave the poor man alone, for god's sake!" Leonard was rescued by his neighbor and hostess, who shooed Leslie away to go pester her husband.

"Leslie's had a bit more to drink tonight." He watched her go off, hips swaying to the music, "Huh."

"So, what brings you?"

"I heard the party and invited myself. Hope you don't mind?"

"Not at all. How was Chicago?"

"Nothing I regret leaving behind." He grimaced, "Makes me question why I thought psychology was a good idea in the first place."

"Because it reassures you that you are in fact sane and the rest of the world is , with few exceptions, stark raving mad." Esmeralda smiled, "Am I right?"

"Dead on, sweetheart."

"I generally reserve that opinion for the opposite sex."

"Oh?"

"I tend to attract the less refined gentlemen of society." She gave him a sidelong look, "And most of them have the misfortune to make small fortunes saving lives." If it hadn't been true for half of the people Leonard worked with on a daily basis, he would have been insulted. But he didn't think Esmeralda meant to include him in her broad generalization, or any of their neighbors. He snickered and nursed his drink. After the long, excruciating flights and the torture in Chicago, it was actually kind of nice to come home to a backyard get-together with his neighbors and associates. They made an unspoken agreement to not speak of their professional lives, and Leonard was perfectly okay with that. There were other things to talk about. Like how she thought Savannah compared to Manhattan, and which one did she like more? A Manhattanite by birth, a girl of high society, gone to school in San Francisco, graduated top of her class, she absolutely loved Savannah. It was an entirely new experience for her, and she was thriving.

David Crossley kept an eye on his reclusive neighbor and had a moment of panic when Leslie Darbin waylaid him. Married twelve years and she still chased after Leonard McCoy, like it didn't matter that she was married to Kyle. David wasn't the only one who was bothered by it, and they were all relieved that Leonard had a firm way of saying no thank you to Leslie's advances. He was single and, apparently, quite happy that way. Or, had been happy that way before laying eyes on Esmeralda Shirin. David had noticed it right away and wondered how long it would take everyone else. He might never admit it, likely wouldn't under duress, but Leonard McCoy was a goner. When Leonard and Esmeralda hooked up by themselves, Esmeralda chasing off Leslie, David crossed his fingers. It was obvious they got along well, and it was probably the first time in ten months David had seen Leonard laugh or smile. Jocelyn Fredericks had really fucked him up, it had taken six months just to put the pieces back together, six months before he could work a full day-shift without spending half of it hiding in a dark room and sobbing like a child.

"He looks happy, David." Mariah came up beside him, "Look at him."

"As much as he hated it, I think Chicago was good for him. It got him away from Josie."

"And Lord knows he needed it. I keep expecting her to come back and do something awful to him."

"Hope she doesn't. Not now." David watched Leonard and Esmeralda together. They spent the evening together, sitting together when everyone congregated to eat, dancing when someone turned the music up, chatting on such a broad range of subjects David couldn't keep track of them. He and Mariah were two of the last people to leave the party, having stayed behind to help Esmeralda clean up and do dishes. Once the last load of dishes had been put through the recycler, they said goodnight and went home. Esmeralda waved from the front door, and David looked over his shoulder and smiled. Leonard stood behind Esmeralda, waiting for her to come back inside. He would pray for Leonard and Esmeralda, he decided.