Chapter Three
With the ship officially launched, McCoy headed back to Sickbay to meet their newest nurse in the medical staff.
He entered Sickbay and quickly found Chapel. "Well, where's our last-minute addition?" he asked.
"Behind curtain number two, getting her final medical exam," she answered. "Apparently, several traffic hiccups kept her from arriving in time to complete it yesterday."
McCoy hummed non-committally. Grabbing his PADD, he headed to his office, leaving the door open, and began reorganizing the new personnel files into alphabetical order within each department. Ten minutes later, he heard the curtain in the exam area retract. There was a knock on his doorframe. "Doctor McCoy, this is Nurse Kingfisher," he heard Chapel say. Setting down the PADD, he looked up.
His world jerked to a very sudden halt.
Peeking around his office doorframe were the beautiful bronze face and sapphire eyes he had not seen in person in four years.
He froze, finding himself unable to speak. A small, shy smile appeared on her face as she fully entered the office. "Hi. Long time, no see," she said softly.
"Len, do you know Miss Kingfisher? You look like you've seen a ghost," Chapel said with concern.
"You...You...Y-you're..." All he could do sputter. "I mean...uh...yeah...um..."
"I take it is been awhile," Chapel replied wryly. "I just leave you two to it then." She turned and left the office, closing the door behind her.
McCoy just stared at the woman hovering by door. "Y-you're..."
"A nurse? I've always been a nurse," she answered in amusement.
"You're here," he finally got out. "How are you here?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Um, you asked for me. Trauma and field medicine speciality, remember?"
"Wait, you're..." He grabbed his PADD and brought the personnel file which was conspicuously missing a picture. "You're Ahyoka Kingfisher?"
"Yes."
"You're name is seriously Ahyoka?" He squinted at his screen. "Am I even saying that right?"
She laughed with a bemused smile. "Yes, it's pronounced like it's spelled. And don't knock it; it's an old Cherokee name."
"Oh, really?" he answered sarcastically. "I would never have guessed."
"Look, it's been four years. Do I get a hug or not, cowboy?" she huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.
He set his PADD down and rounded his desk, leaning back against it with his own arms crossed. "I don't know," he said teasingly. "You did kinda stop all communications with me. For the last two years."
"Uh, no," she retorted. "I never stopped writing you. It was you who stopped writing."
"Hon, I haven't gotten a single message from you since the destruction of Vulcan."
"That's impossible! I've written you once or twice a week without fail since I left San Francisco."
"Same here."
Silence reigned.
"Are you telling me someone has been intercepting our messages?" he finally asked.
She buried her face in her hand. "Grandfather."
"What?"
"Grandfather Kingfisher," she said heavily. "When we heard about Vulcan and the Academy fleet, I searched for you. You have no idea how scared for you I was when heard that so many cadets were gone..."
"I was on the Enterprise," he said.
"Yeah, I was so relieved when they finally told me," she nodded. "That's when my family found out you were Starfleet. They weren't happy."
"What's wrong with Starfleet?"
"Jason was cadet at the Academy when...we met. He was visiting Texas as part of his summer break at the time."
"Oh."
"Yeah," she winced. "Dad was willing to at least hear me out regarding you. Grandfather, on the other, doesn't trust young Starfleet officers anymore."
"You think he's found a way to block our messages?" McCoy asked.
"He hates technology; he doesn't have a PADD. However, I wouldn't put it past him to find someone to do it for him," she sighed, looking up at him almost wearily. "Grandfather is definitely the patriarch of the family, if you know what I mean."
"I'm starting to," he chuckled. Straightening up, he opened his arms with smile. "Come 'ere, Hon." She practically flew into his arms, rising up on her tip-toes to get her arms around his neck. If he had not been standing in front of his desk to brace himself, he probably would have fallen flat on his back with the force she slammed into him with. With a laugh, he bent down slightly to slip his arms around her tiny waist and, straightening, he spun around, hold her tightly.
A giggle escaped Ahyoka's lips. "I missed my knight so much," she whispered in his ear as he eased her back to the ground. "I had to fend off all the bad guys by myself."
"Well, I'm at the Princess' service. Anybody messes with you, they answer to me." Without thinking, he dropped a kiss on her shoulder as he hugged her.
She giggled again. "That's sweet of you...Nerfherder."
"I'm serious, though." He pulled back enough to look her in the eye. "I'm your friend and your commanding officer." He raised a hand and lightly brushed his fingers against her cheek. "I'm responsible for you, and that's not something I take lightly, Hon."
"I know, Leo," she sighed with soft smile. "but I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. I've been doing it for a long time now."
"I know you can, but that doesn't mean you should have to," he replied.
"Compromise, then," she said. "I look after myself, but I let you step in if the jerk doesn't understand the word no."
"Fair enough," he grinned. This was a reason why he cared for her so much. She was independent, but she knew when to let a gentleman be a gentleman.
"Now, we'd better get out there before rumors start," she nodded toward the door.
McCoy's grin grew wry. "Hon, they started as soon as Miss Chapel left the room."
"Oh, joys,"Ahyoka deadpanned.
Sure enough, when McCoy and Ahyoka came out of the office, Chapel and and the three other nurses on duty grew sudden quiet, and Chapel sent the pair a conspiratorial smile.
