As soon as Leonard got the food he ordered, he scarfed it down, leaving only a few fries and some olives left on the plate. He glanced up at Pavel and saw the poor kid who was hungry and shaking. He had refused to order food and refused to let Leonard order another plate of food. He had been able to successfully hide from his crazy ex-boyfriend for now.

"Hey, you want the rest of this." He pushed the plate towards Pavel, taking a drink from his glass.

"Da, zank you Leonard." He smiled and popped the olives into his mouth.

"Are you sure that you don't want me to go up and order something else?" Leonard asked, slightly worried about the shaking boy.

"No, I am fine. Ah! Leonard hide me...too late." Pavel jumped, nearly falling out of his chair. Hikaru Sulu had emerged out from behind the register and had walked up to their table.

"Pavel? Is that you?" Sulu smiled widely, looking at the boy with scarily intense eyes.

"Uh...d-da. Yes. How are you Hikaru?" Pavel forced a smile and nodded.

"I'm great! It's been forever since I've seen you. Just last week I saw you at that dance studio." Sulu responded. Leonard looked at Sulu with a confused, but frightened look on his face.

"O-oh! You did? I zought zat ze last time was-"

"Two months ago in your Physics college class?" Sulu responded. Pavel's eyes widened with fear and Leonard had seen that look before. He'd seen it in the hospital when patients were told that they weren't going to make it.

"Pavel, I should really be taking you home now." Leonard stood up and took Pavel's arm, standing him up. Sulu looked at Leonard with distaste and glared at him.

"Who's he Pavel?" Sulu asked quickly.

"He's my dancing partner. I'm his instructor." Pavel responded weakly.

"Come on Pavel. We're going now." Leonard tugged Pavel out of the way and ushered him towards the door. Sulu followed the two of them until they reached the door.

"I hope to see you again Pavel!" He yelled after the two of them. Leonard hurried out the door with Pavel and let go of the boy once they were outside.

"God damn..." Leonard groaned.

"Now you see. Except zat vas only...twelve percent of it. It vas much vorse alone vith him." Pavel sighed. "Get me out of here."

"Alright. Get in the truck." Leonard guided Pavel back to the truck, looking behind his shoulder to see if that Sulu man was still watching them. He wasn't.

When the reached the truck, Leonard opened the passenger side door for Pavel nearly automatically. Pavel smiled bashfully and slid into the seat. Leonard kept a straight face and walked around to the other side, getting in and starting the truck.

"Zank you Leonard." Pavel murmured.

"It was nothin'. The guy was freaking me out too. Alright, where do you live?" Leonard responded, pulling out of the lot.

"Go down ze street, take a left and make your way towards ze center of downtown. I live in one of ze apartment buildings." Pavel instructed.

"You live downtown? Isn't a little...dangerous down there?" Leonard raised an eyebrow.

"I can handle myself. I know I'm safe tonight because I have got a big, strong man vith me." Pavel batted his eyelashes. Leonard shifted in his seat

"Pavel, I'm married." He responded in a stiff voice.

"I know. I saw your ring on ze first day of practice." He smirked and snorted a small laugh. "Zen I didn't see it today. Vhere could it be?"

"I had it cleaned today." Leonard responded stiffly.

"I doubt it. Zat zing was clean yesterday. You vouldn't need to clean it again, now vould you?" Pavel purred.

Leonard stopped the car on the side of the city road and looked at Pavel. "Pavel, I am married and I have a daughter. I do not need to be harrassed by a kid everytime I come to dance class to learn how to dance. I can see why you attract just anyone. You throw yourself around." Leonard hissed. "Now, you can get out of the car, or you can stop being pitiful and get your life together."

Pavel looked at Leonard with large grey eyes, gleaming with tears. "I-I...I don't mean to zrow myself around. I vas just...it has to deal vith my fazzer issues." His voice squeaked and cracked as he talked. Suddenly Leonard felt guilty for yelling at Pavel.

"Kid, I'm sorry. I just thought-"

"Thought vhat? Zat I vas a natural born whore? And I am not a KID!" Pavel yelled, he was beginning to cry heavily.

"Pavel, I'm sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean to call you kid. And you're not a whore. Listen...I have to go pick up my daughter tonight. I'm a pretty good listener, even my wife agrees. So I'll...uh, come by tomorrow and you can tell me how you came to be like this." He forced a smile and patted Pavel's shoulder.

Pavel looked up at Leonard and was able to give a happy, genuine smile, wiping the tears from his face. "Zank you Leonard. It means a lot. I'll get out now. Sorry for everyzing... Here, take my number." He grinned shakily and took Leonard's hand, grabbing a pen from the console and scribbled his number down. "See you tomorrow." Pavel grinned and and hiccuped, leaning over, giving Leonard a kiss on his cheek. Leonard's face flushed a deep red.

"Yeah. Bye. I'll...I'll see you later." Leonard nodded and watched Pavel get out of the truck and leave down the street. He took a deep breath and drove out of the city, on his way back home. As he drove home, he glanced down at his palm at the number written there. He smiled slightly and picked up his cell, dialing Jim's number. There were only three rings before someone picked up.

"Bones! Hey! Why are you calling? Everything okay?" Jim asked. He was slightly breathless and panting into the phone.

"Yeah. Actually, I'm calling Pavel tomorrow and I'm going over to his place before class. You okay Jim?" Leonard laughed. His spirits seemed unusually high tonight and despite everything that Leonard stood for, he figured that Pavel was the cause of it.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine! Just a little busy. That's great though! You go get some." Jim laughed and there was a gentle call from the other line.

"Jim, are you...with someone right now?" Leonard asked, turning down his mother's street.

"Yeah, i actually am. Can I call you back later. I want to hear about it! Oh, and I'm still waiting for that divorce to pop it's head up. I swear Bones, it would be the best thing that could ever happen to you." Jim told him.

"I'm not getting a divorce yet. Okay? Now go back to whatever you're doing." Leonard grumbled and hung up the phone and got out of the car, heading to the door. Before he was even able to reach the door, Joanna came sprinting out with a large smile on her face.

"Daddy!" She grinned and jumped into his arms. Leonard grinned and picked up his little daughter, holding her close.

"Jo! I missed you. Were you good for Grandma McCoy?" He asked.

"Yes! I was. She gave me cookies." Joanna giggled and wrapped her arms around her father's neck. "I'm tired." She yawned.

"Alright. I'm going to put you in the truck and then I'm going to go inside and get your backpack and talk to Grandma real quick." He smiled and walked back to the truck, placing Joanna in the passenger side, buckling her in. Then he went to the door and entered, peeking inside to see his mother sitting on the couch.

"Mom." He smiled and went over to get Joanna's bag from the corner.

"Leo! It's good to see that you're better. I was worried about you last night." She sighed and smiled up at him.

"Well Jocelyn and I got in another fight. Doesn't look too good at the moment. I'm contemplating getting a divorce. But I really don't want to put Jo through all of that." He groaned and shook his head, picking up the bag.

"Well no matter what, you're a wonderful father. Remember that. Now go get Joanna home. She was up all night last night." His mother laughed and stood up to hug her son goodbye.

"Are you going to be at the hospital tomorrow with Dad?" Leonard asked as he left the house.

"Only for a little while. Other than that I'm going to be working downtown. You say hi to your father for me if traffic does hold me up." Her voice was weak, but she was holding strong for her son and her granddaughter.

"Alright. I love you mom." He smiled and gave her a hug before going back to the truck. The night was chilly and it gave Leonard a slight shiver, but was instantly warmed by the thought of calling and seeing Pavel tomorrow. It shouldn't have been a good warming feeling, but Leonard just accepted it as it was for now.

He got into the car and drove back home with a sleeping Joanna beside him. He glanced at her quickly, making sure that she was okay and was still sleeping. He smiled when he saw her still snoring lightly away.

When they got back home, Leonard took her out of the car and entered the house, promptly closing the door shut with his foot. Joanna stirred slightly but still kept asleep. Dropping her bag in the den, he made his way to her room.

"Night night Joanna." Leonard murmured as he set her down in her bed, pulling the white and pink flowered blankets up to her shoulders and kissed her forehead.

"Night daddy." She mumbled, turning over on her stomach. Leonard smiled and left the room, shutting off the lights. He sighed and leaned against his doorframe, sliding down to sit on the floor, head in his hands.

"I'm a terrible father. Terrible." He murmured into his hands, shaking his head. He wanted to talk to someone desperately but didn't want to bother any of his sleeping friends. It was far too late to call anyone. The only person who would pick up their phone this late at night was Jim and Jim was actually busy tonight.

Leonard sat there for a long ten minutes, bashing himself for what he had done and that he couldn't be a better father, or person for that matter. He eventually got up, shaking his head, trying to tell himself to stop pitying. He had work tomorrow and couldn't wake up late or in a bad mood. He got himself to his bedroom before collapsing onto the bed, conking out quickly, dreaming of dancing with the young college Russian boy. In his dream, he didn't feel like a horrible person. All he felt was warmth and happiness. It was like the feeling of seeing Joanna for the first time, seeing her first day of school and marrying Jocelyn when they were actually in love. He didn't want it to end. It was amazing. He felt amazing and he was dancing, fluidly and smoothly with Pavel in an empty ballroom. There were other dreams among that one, but that event was the only one he remembered out of them all.

As morning came, Leonard woke up to his alarm beeping loudly. He groaned and pounded the alarm on snooze and sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes and stretching his arms. His dream came back to him in pieces and when it all formed together, Leonard could feel his cheeks heating up. Shaking his head to rid himself of the dreams, he stood up and lumbered over to the closet, grabbing his Doctor's scrubs. He undressed as fast as he could, but wasn't fast enough. There was a knock on the door and someone entered.
"Hey there good lookin'." Jim smirked, entering the room gracefully with a huge grin on his face. Leonard glared at Jim and quickly pulled on the shirt and pants.

"How the hell...you know what, I'm not even going to ask how you got in." Leonard muttered. Jim just smiled and sat on the bed.

"Joanna let me in." He told Leonard, kicking off his shoes. "I saw you last night while dancing. Did you two just agree to be little shit heads towards each other."

"No. I was having a bad day and Pavel has a crazy ex-boyfriend still lusting after him. So we were both on edge. But ya know what Jim?" Leonard smiled.

"What?"

"After dancing, I took him out to eat. Then, I got this." He knew that he shouldn't be proud of his achievement, but somehow he felt that he had done his job. He showed Jim his hand.

"His number? Damn Bones. This kid must really like you. Now here's the big question...do you like him back?" Jim grinned widely like a schoolgirl gossiping about some boy.

"That's the problem. I don't know. It feels...fine. But I'm still married and I'm not going to get a divorce just because I want to hook up with a kid who's at least 20 years younger than me." Leonard shrugged. Was that his way of coming out? He would let Jim decide on that.

"So you like him? You like guys?" Jim hopped off the bed and scurried over to Leonard, grinning brighter than the sun. Leonard smiled and plastered his hand on Jim's face, pushing him away.

"Jim, son of a bitch, that is ridiculous. People just don't...turn gay." He sighed, trying to hid his smile.

"Not unless they've been hiding it for years." Jim egged on.

"Well then I'm still "hiding". Jim, he's a cute kid, I'll give you that much. But I don't think I would ever...go farther with him. It's just ridiculous." Leonard shook his head.

"Bones, I swear to god...I'm going to laugh the day you come running to me telling me the kid kissed you and you're freaking out because you enjoyed it." Jim laughed out loud. "Then I'm going to say I told you so."

"Dammit Jim, would you just leave me alone. I know what I'm doing and right now, I'm still married. I'm starting to think that you want me to be gay so you can cheat on Spock with me." Leonard grinned, putting new shoes on.

"Well maybe that's part of it." Jim waggled his eyebrows and smiled. "But really, Spock and I aren't even "attached" yet, so I'm a free man."

Leonard stood up and sighed. "I still need to call him, but I've got to get to work." He groaned and looked at the clock before reaching over on his dresser to grab his cheap analog watch, snapping it on his wrist. "Can you watch Jo for me? Please?"

"Yeah! I love watching her. You won't mind if I drive her around, right?" Jim asked, watching Leonard rush around. A frantic Bones was usually a cute Bones.

"Thanks. I owe you one." Leonard nodded and hurried out of the room.

Jim followed after, rolling his eyes. "You say that a lot, but you really don't ever act on it." He called after Leonard.

"I will eventually! What could I possibly give you." Leonard stopped and turned, smirking before turning back to go in the kitchen.

"You know exactly what you can give meee.." Jim whined.

"Jim, hush please. Joanna, Jim will be watching you for a little while today." Leonard smiled and sat next to Joanna.

"Jim!" Joanna squealed and scrambled out of her seat, running to hug Jim's legs. "I saw you at the door!"

"Uh-huh. Today we're going to have fun. I'm gonna drive you to McDonalds." Jim grinned. Leonard glared.

"Jim, you know that I don't allow Joanna to eat McDonalds." He groaned.

"Okay, whatever." Jim shook him off and looked down to wink at Joanna. Leonard sighed and grabbed his backpack that he brought to work.

"You watch her. I swear if anything happens to her, I'm going to kill you." He muttered.

"I'll watch her. C'mere Joanna." Jim smiled and picked up the little girl in his arms. "Let's walk daddy out to the car." He ushered Leonard to the door and stood in the doorway. "See ya Bones."

"Bye Jim. Watch her." Leonard muttered sternly.

"I will. Have a good day at work." Jim smiled brightly and leaned over, kissing Leonard's cheek and nose. Leonard blushed red and tried to stay serious, but it was difficult.
"Goodbye. Jim." Leonard gritted his teeth and waved, heading to his truck.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Leonard reached the hospital, he was in a slightly better mood. Jim's parting "gift" had actually set him into this decent mood. But maybe it was because he had known Jim since he was in college and he had grown into more than a best friend. He chose to ignore that feeling though and pushed his way through the crowded entry to the hospital. He made it to the elevator and pressed his level, waiting patiently.

When he got off the elevator, he was quick to get to work. He visited all the patients. He checked up on the more severe and terminally sick before the others. He went around giving rounds of medicine and IV's and had one of his patients go into surgery. That was stressful and messy, but the person who came out of it, came out of it safely. By lunchtime, Leonard was tired and tuckered out. He still had to go over to Pavel's and talk to him about his personal problems. As he entered the hospital lunchroom, he found a table near the window, sitting down and resting his eyes.

There was a loud chair scraped across from him and someone plopped down in the seat. Leonard opened an eye and peered at the table, spotting the most unexpected person there. He sat up and opened both eyes.

"Pavel? What the hell are you doing here?" Leonard asked.

"You didn't show up so I found out vhere you vorked!" Pavel grinned brightly. Leonard raised an eyebrow, slightly worried about the kid.

"That's not scary or creepy at all..." He muttered.

"Do not vorry." Pavel grinned and rolled his eyes, leaning forward on the table. "I am not Hikaru Sulu."

Leonard leaned back in response, looking around the room then at Pavel. "I don't want you to end up like him. Well my break is thirty minutes long. Lay it on me. Why are you...like this?"

Pavel sighed and closed his eyes for a second before looking up at Leonard. "I act like...how you put it..a whore because of everything and anything inbetween."

"Tell me about it."

"My fazzer vas never...supportive. He vanted a son and he got a son." Pavel smiled, thinking back. "But...I vas his..."gay" son. I vas ze weak child. He forced me to go into military school vhere I got bullied. Zen I came back and went to college early vhere I met Hikaru. I rebelled against my fazzer by instantly getting in a relationship vith him. I vanted to be right, but of course, my glory didn't last long. Hikaru became abusive, verbally and physically. I was forced to break up with him and live with my father for a month, who mocked me. Zen I got my own place and filed a restraining order." Pavel let out a breath and slumped in his chair.

Leonard sat in the chair, wide eyed. "Wow...wow. Pavel, you really...you're really messed up." He muttered bluntly.

"I know zat." He smiled. "It is vhy I took up dancing. It clears my mind. I vork fast paced and no one was ever able to keep up vith me. Except you..." Pavel eyed Leonard.

"What? I live a fast paced life. I'm used to keeping up." Leonard shrugged.

"No, no, zat is fine. I'm not judging you." Pavel shook his head and "But anyways, zat is ze story of how i came to be an asshole."

"Well it makes sense now. Now, go out and find someone more suitable for you. I'll see you at dance." Leonard stood up and walked over to Pavel, showing him the way to the door. He needed this kid out of here before Leonard accidentally did something he would come to regret. Pavel was so sweet and abused. Leonard couldn't help but feel the fatherly need to protect him. But Pavel stopped and turned around, standing in the entryway of the lunchroom.

"Vait! Leonard, I vas vondering...if later, you could come over and ve could practice? Zere is a class competition coming up and I zink zat you need help." Pavel smiled and batted his lashes. Leonard couldn't help but warm up a little to the boy.

"Yeah sure. I'll call you." He nodded and pushed Pavel out of the lunchroom, and towards the elevator. "See you later Pavel. Drive safe."

"I vill! It vas good seeing you again..." Pavel trailed off and stood on his tip toes, planting a kiss on Leonard's forehead. Both Pavel and Leonard blushed, Leonard harder then Pavel. "Bye."

"See ya kid." Leonard nodded, slightly dizzy, waving goodbye to Pavel as he disappeared in the elevator. He let out a breath and looked towards the Hospital wing. Whatever Jim had said was wrong. Jim was wrong. Wrong. Leonard was just the type of person that enjoyed a physical connection? He was stumped and confused. But he did find himself eagerly awaiting tonight after his shift. He would have to call Jim and let him know that he was going to have to watch Joanna a little longer.

Leonard checked his watch and decided he was going to go down the hall and visit his father. It had been a while since he actually got time to see his own dad. Usually his thirty minutes breaks were filled with filling out paper work and signing documents. He never had enough time to sit down and just talk to his father. He'd felt like a bad son for not being able to make time for him. He walked down the hallway and quietly checked the rooms before coming up to his father's room. He smiled slightly and pushed the door open to see his father.

His father was possibly withering away each day. Soon, Leonard figured, all that would be left of his father would be bones, ironically enough. David McCoy lay in a hospital bed, the top half of the bed elevate so he could see whatever was on TV. There was a tray of uneaten food pushed carelessly to the side of the table attached to the bed. The older man's skin was wrinkled and pale with many bruises forming. His white thin hair had been falling out slowly, now leaving him nearly bald. Cannula tubes sat delicately in his nose, letting oxygen flow freely.

"Dr. McCoy's here to see you." Leonard joked briefly as he entered the room. His father turned his head and smiled.

"Leonard!" David's voice was soft and croaky as he called out for his son. Leonard set down his clipboard and rushed over to his father.

"Dad, how've you been. I'm sorry I haven't been able to get out lately. I've just been so busy here." Leonard apologized profusely, sitting on a chair next to the bed.

David just laughed and shook his head gently. "Don't worry son. I've had company."

"Still, I feel horrible for not being able to get to you all the time that you've been here." Leonard sighed.

"Leonard. Don't feel guilty for yourself. You made it over here now stop your whining. Tell me what's going on in life." David was always that good ole' american father, making sure his sons weren't wallowing in self pity.

"Well...Jocelyn and I got in another fight and she's gone for the week. I'm starting to take Ballroom Dancing classes..." Leonard shrugged. He chose not to mention that brutal verbal fight he had with Joce in the car, or that Joanna had to stay away a day more, or that some college boy was nearly tripping over him with big blue baby eyes.

"Alright, I figured that you and Jocelyn would...never last long. Ballroom Dance classes, why the hell would you do that?" David laughed.

"Because Jocelyn wanted me to." Leonard mumbled.

"Ah, because Jocelyn wanted you to." David shook his head. "You've got to do better son. How's that gay friend of yours, Jim? How's he doing?"

"Jim? Jim is fine." Leonard shrugged. "The poor guy is just so lonely. He's usually over at my house, crashing for the night, eating my food. But he watches Joanna. And she loves him."

"Sounds like you've got a live in wife." David chuckled.

"Dad, no. That's just ridiculous. He's my friend. He's been my friend since college." Leonard muttered. Even his dad thought that Jim was more than just his college buddy.

"I was just kidding son." David smiled weakly. "You need to loosen up."

"I am loose! I'm just all over the place right now...hey dad, what do you do if you've been living a certain way for a long time, but then something comes along and changes that way of living. Should you jump into?" Leonard poured out everything that had been in his mind since this morning. Ever since his little lunchroom meeting with Pavel and even last night, he was starting to seriously doubting his heterosexuality. Maybe Jim was right, like he usually was. And once Leonard told him, Jim would be making fun of him, telling him that he was right.

"Len, is something botherin' you?" David sat up in the bed.

"No. I just need some fatherly advice." He shrugged. David sighed and crossed his frail, thin arms.

"I know when something is wrong with my only son. Len, what's the matter. You can't hide everything from your father on his deathbed." He cracked a smile.

"Dad, this isn't your deathbed! We've been through this. You're going to come out of this alive." Leonard snapped, standing up. His father strongly believed that he wasn't going to make through the month. Leonard believed the opposite.

"Don't...just don't. Leonard, please. I'm old, I'm dying. Just tell me what's bothering you. I'm your father. I won't judge."

Leonard sighed and looked down at his hands, picking the clipboard back up. "I'm just having an identity crisis. I've got this kid who keeps on coming onto me and he's cute, I'll tell you that much. Such a sweetheart with a troubled past and I kind of want to protect him, but there's just something more. He wants to be close to me and I don't know how to react. I'm still married!"

"Len, calm down. I know you're a very smart man and whatever you do usually ends up in something positive. And whatever you do, you'll still be my son. I never like Jocelyn that much anyways." He chuckled and then coughed heavily. Leonard creased his brows with worry and glance at the clock.

"Thanks dad. I've gotta go. Call your doctor if you start feeling sick." Leonard smiled and waved goodbye to his father, closing the door quietly behind him. His father's advice had always been pretty spot on and very helpful and Leonard was willing to follow it, but the thought of acting out what he planned to made him nervous. Stepping out of the hall and into a smaller corridor, he pulled out his phone and dialed Jim's number.

"Bones! Hey, how's my favorite man?" His voice swooned over the phone.

"Hey. Don't think that you're off the hook for what you did. I'm going to give you serious payback." Leonard muttered. "But that's not why I called. Can you watch Joanna for a little longer. I'm going over to Pavel's after my shift is done. We don't have class today and he decided to practice at his place instead."

"Woah there Bones...I've got Spock heading over to my place soon. I thought you would be back in time to pick up Joanna."

"Jim, please. If you do this for me, I'll love you forever. Don't get the wrong idea though. Just please do this. Bring her with you just don't do anything freaky." Leonard pleaded. If Jim didn't oblige to this, then he might have to start bargaining and lord knows what Jim would bargain for.

"Fine. I'll do it. But I better hear a good story when you walk out of his place, okay?" Jim sighed and sounded pretty let down actually.

"I will! I swear. Thank you again Jim." Leonard nodded and hung up the phone, letting out a relieved sigh as he stepped back into the hallway, holding his head a little higher. He had a couple more hours to go before he would leave and call Pavel. All of this made him feel like a teenage boy again, minus the daughter and bitchy wife and the double working shifts. He loved his daughter, but sometimes it was a bit hard running around with two shifts and Joanna.

He left the empty corridor and went to the central office of the hospital, looking at files and records of recent patients and how their outlook for recovery was. Some of them were slim and that just made a damn knot in Leonard's stomach.

"Was that your son?" A voice asked. Leonard looked up at a young receptionist. She was petite and had a blonde bob and lazer blue eyes with a charming smile. She had moved here from England to study American medicine. Her name was Carol Marcus.

"What? The boy I was with? No." Leonard smiled and shook his head.

"I figured. He didn't look too much like you. Who was he then?" She asked, intrigued by the visitor whom she had never seen here before, let alone around Dr. McCoy.

"Just a friend." Leonard nodded and went along reading the papers.

"So...he's just a friend. No attachment to him?" She pushed the boundaries even farther, to which made Leonard look up from his work and peer at her with a confused look.

"I'm sorry, what? What do you mean by attachment?" Leonard asked.

"Attached...like you wouldn't be...I don't know Dr., dating him?" She spat out quickly.

"Miss Marcus, I would like you to know that I don't approve of anyone looking into my love life. That is my business and I intend to keep it like that." He raised his tone of voice, his Georgian drawl slipping out.

"I am sorry Doctor. I did not mean to intrude." She frowned and looked back down at the phone and computer in front of her. "He just seemed to-"

"To what? Now if I'm correct, you're not the Hospital's therapist, psychologist or whatever the hell those shrinks do. You're a receptionist and you do not pry into other people's lives and make assumptions." Leonard was starting to become edgy. No food and barely any rest the night before had led him to be a grumpy man.

"I am sorry Dr. McCoy." Carol stood up and retreated to behind the nurses station, giving up on Leonard. He sighed and put the papers back, heading down the hall to check up on one of the children in a coma. Like usual, the child's parents were still sitting in the room, waiting for their baby girl to wake up. He spoke to them and then checked up on the girl. Her vitals were getting better which was a good sign. He left the room, leaving the parents on a high note.

Leonard spent the next hour or so wandering around the hospital. Today was an unusually slow day. No one had come in, there were no surgeries to be attended to. Nothing big. Now he was just waiting until he was able to leave and go to Pavel's apartment to practice dancing. It seemed that time was passing slower than it ever had. Every time he looked at his watch, only a minute had passed.

As soon as it turned to 6 O'clock, Leonard ran out to his truck, saying goodbye to the staff as he left. He had to hurry home to get his dancing clothes then he would have to leave. He pulled up to his driveway and scrambled out of the truck, going right through the door, announcing himself.

"I'm home but only for a few minutes! I need to get my dancing clothes!" He called out.

"Alright! Jo and I are watching TV in the basement!" Jim called up from their lavish basement. Leonard nodded and ran to his bedroom, grabbing his white t-shirt and jogging pants. He didn't think he'd need anything else, so he turned around and ran into someone. Probably Jim.

"Dammit Jim!" Leonard hissed.

"What, I was just coming up to say goodbye and...here." Jim smirked as he held out two...condom packets?!

"Jim! You can keep those. I don't need those." Leonard snapped, pushing Jim's hand down. "I've gotta go. I can't be late." He muttered and pulled out his phone, calling Pavel. "Bye Jim."

"Bye Bones." Jim smiled and leaned in for another little kiss, but Leonard pushed him away. "I love ya Jim. But not like that." He smiled and hugged his best friend, waiting for Pavel to pick up the phone. Jim sulked and walked back to the basement with Joanna.

"Hello?" Someone answered on the other side of the phone.

"Pavel? It's Leonard. I'm on my way." Leonard said as he rushed out of the house.

"Ah! Leonard. I vas vaiting for your call. I am waiting here. My apartment is on Nibiru Ave. Apartment number 1701." Pavel told Leonard. "See you soon!" And the phone clicked to hang up.

Leonard rushed into his car and started it clumsily, backing out of the driveway and driving out of the subdivision and into the city. He sat in complete silence on the car ride there. He felt like he had blown off Jim, but he would understand, right? Leonard could feel himself getting nervous as he drove closer. When he arrived on Nibiru Avenue, he parked and found the apartment building. It was a very nice building in the nice center of town. White stone washed brick and an arc through the entry way. It reminded him of a hotel, but it was surely an apartment. He parked and got out, nervously walking past the small garden of rose bushes. There was a moment of hesitation as he clutched his clothes close to his chest and strode inside, making a bee line for the elevators. He felt like a teenage girl. But all he was doing was going up into Pavel's apartment to practice dancing. At least that's what he hoped to do.