Chapter 4- By Any Other Name

Disclaimer- If I had the time to go through a lawsuit, I would have updated sooner. I am plumb out of time these days, so I won't waste it in a lawsuit. I don't own Star Trek or any claim to the nautical mythos spawned by the imaginations of sailors and the enchantments of the sea.

Pairings: S/Mc, Sc/U (implied), K/R (implied), Ch/S (one-sided) and other m/f.

Rating: T

Review Replies: AllyP: That's me, real subtle. Yes, that was a reference to the five-year mission. I plan on telling you why Chekov keeps trying to salute in a few chapters. As for Uhura and the other ladies… well, read on! Milwaukee Meg: Unfortunately, when you have so many sick, they tend to stay where they fall. I'm glad you think I'm staying close to in-character. CheetahLiv: Well, someone had to try the TOS characters as pirates, I figured, why not me? I'm glad you're enjoying! Keep reading! RedSkyAtDawn: I'll update as fast as I'm able, but unfortunately, that isn't always as fast as folks would like. RaniLeto: This fish is always happy to fuel others addictions to fanfiction. Enjoy! IronAmerica: Thanks for lighting a fire under my proverbial ass. I really am sorry to everyone that it took me so long to get this out, but things have been rather hectic here in Real-Life Land. Hopefully this chapter is up to snuff with the others. Spock's statement… well, it's sort of an ongoing issue between the two of them. You'll learn more about it later. And no, it's not simply a sexual innuendo… even though it sounds like one.

((Author's Notes: Okay… On updates- I've said it before and I'll say it again: I am a busy person! I have a job, summer courses, dental work, family affairs, and events that I need to be engrossed in that occasionally get in the way of my writing. That being said, I really do owe y'all my apologies. Two months is pretty bad. I would blame T3 for not whipping me along, but she has her own events and such to deal with. Everyone's at fault, and no one's to blame. So without any more darting around the issue, I bring you the story.))

Leonard had tended to the sick on deck for most of the afternoon. His face was sunburnt, his clothes soaked with sweat, and his back and knees were aching from being bent over so many sick men. When he walked below decks, a part of him almost expected a reprieve from all his labors, but he had no such luck. The 'Sickbay,' as some of the deckhands called it, was crammed with men, some lying in hammocks, others sprawled on the floor like their comrades on the top deck. These men were worse off than the others. Leonard ran the back of his hand across his brow and walked over to the nearest lad. He had a bit of orange juice seeping out the corner of his mouth. Leonard raised an eyebrow.

"Riley?" He called over his shoulder. "Did you tend to these men down here?"

He heard Riley stomp in from the hallway. "No, Doc, I didn't, but I told Chris to."

"Chris?" The doctor asked, poking his head out to look at Riley. "Who's he?"

He heard a gentle cough behind him. What he saw startled him: a woman perhaps Kirk's age and dressed in a conservative blue dress was holding some rags and orange rinds in her hands. She had obviously been working at least as hard as he and Riley had; strands of her blonde hair were pulling out of her bun and giving her a frazzled look and she had blood, ale, and vomit on her sleeves, but her face was clean, her teeth were all present, and her posture upright. She didn't even remotely resemble what he had imagined a pirate woman would.

Leonard tried not to gape. "Are you Chris?"

"Christine Chapel, actually." She curtseyed and Leonard bowed politely in response. A woman with such manners surely must have been captured, just as he had! Leonard immediately cringed, suspecting she had been harmed in the way Kirk and the others had threatened to hurt Joanna. "Some of the boys call me Chris. I've developed a fondness for the name." She looked over at Riley and smiled. "You can go back on deck, Kevin. I'll help the doctor finish up down here."

Riley looked positively relieved as he turned and rushed back to the top deck. Leonard chuckled and bounced on his heels. That boy was certainly not cut out for medicine. Once he felt they were alone, McCoy seized the moment to be somewhat candid with Miss Chapel.

"I'm Dr. Leonard McCoy. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Chapel. May I be so bold as to ask if you are quite well?" He did not know how to ask if she had been ravished; such a question would never be asked of a lady.

"Oh, I don't have scurvy! I've been trying to tend to the sick for a while, but I've become overrun."

"No, I don't mean to ask if you're sick, I mean…" Leonard hesitated, "Have you been hurt in any way?"

Miss Chapel looked quite confused. "Why would anyone here hurt me?"

"You've come aboard willingly?"

The woman blushed and looked away. "I don't know what you may think of me, Doctor, but yes, I did. Now, I believe there are a few more patients this way, if you'll follow me. I have already tended to the men in Dr. Piper's office." She began walking toward the back, aft, of the ship.

Leonard didn't know what he thought of her either, but since she seemed to know where he was needed, he followed her. "I was told it was called the Sickbay," he commented, changing the subject.

"I suppose the old crew calls it that. When I came aboard, Dr. Piper had dropped some of the fancy terminology to make things easier for those of us who came later, but if you like, we can call it the Sickbay now. After all, Dr. Piper doesn't practice here anymore."

"That sounds fine. How many patients are there left?"

"Six." She opened a door for him. "Here they are."

Leonard walked in. These patients were lying in hammocks and no one was lying on the floor below them. On one hammock lie a sweet faced young Negress dressed in a thread-bare but otherwise well kept brown dress, her pink corset open to give her room to breathe. On another cot lie a lovely white woman whose heavy makeup, ornately piled blonde hair, and shockingly red dress clearly labeled her profession as different from the other two ladies. Her corset was also loosened, but McCoy suspected that was for aesthetic purposes originally. The other hammocks were occupied by men, one of whom was a solidly built Negro. Leonard balked and pulled Christine out of the room.

"Just how many women are on this ship, anyway?"

"Just the three of us. Please, Doctor, I know it may seem unseemly to you, but we have a good life here… or rather, I do and they shall once you save them."

"Why are these six people kept separate?" Leonard pressed.

"I wanted to keep Nyota and Janice clear from the boys. There's a fair few who'd try and take advantage of a lady's weakened state if it suited his fancy, and below decks the captain and Mr. Scott can't protect them." Christine shrugged. "The others are just some of the earliest spill-over from Sickbay- before I had to start laying boys on the ground."

Leonard nodded and went in to tend to the ill. Christine followed, handing rags and ale to him when he needed them. She was calmer than Riley was. Riley had stuttered out his fellows' names when asked, and pressed too gently at the wounds for fear of causing pain. Miss Chapel spoke clearly, even fondly of the six patients, and tended to the wounds without any hesitation, knowing that in order to get the infection out and save their lives she may have to hurt the patients just a little. He knew that when he went back on deck he would be telling Kirk that Christine made a far better aide than Riley… though he was uncertain whether or not the captain would care for his opinion on the matter. Despite doing a fair amount of good, Leonard felt bitter as he left the last six patients- not to mention seasick.

The last time he had been on a ship was over five years ago, and the conditions now were no better than they had been on the merchant vessel he, Joanna, and Missy had taken to Georgia. He knew most of the colonists in Savannah had ridden over on the HMS Anne, but he had not been part of Mr. Oglethorpe's lofty experiment, though he certainly admired the work he and the colonists had done on the mainland. No, Leonard had come from England to get away from a bitter divorce with his wife. They had never loved one another and for years she made a cuckold of him by sleeping with more men than Leonard had patients. He had turned a blind eye to it for Joanna's sake, but eventually the damage to his reputation was affecting how well people trusted him as a physician, so he gave her father back the dowry, made his case both to Parliament and to Joanna, and broke with Mary-Anne once and for all. Joanna was of marriageable age; he believed no matter which parent she chose to live with she would find a husband without much trouble, and he was honor bound to pay for her dowry. Joanna had no interest in competing with her mother for lovers, so she and Missy – a Negress whom Leonard employed first as Joanna's nursemaid then as a house keeper when Joanna was too old to nurse- moved to Georgia to start a new life. The trip over was no fun at all; Leonard had had to share a cramped cabin with four of the crewmen and Joanna and Missy had to stay in an even smaller cabin with a goat living in it. Leonard had been seasick for the first week, and about halfway through the trip a storm blew his nausea back into full force. If Missy or Joanna were likewise uncomfortable, they never said anything.

Well, healing others may have temporarily kept Leonard from feeling every bump and wave of the ocean, but now that all the patients were tended to, Leonard realized just how rocky the waves were and just how little material was between him and the expansive, crushing depths of the Atlantic Ocean. He felt isolated and alone, knowing the only thing protecting him from the briny deep was a ship full of pirates who would just as soon kill him if it suited their purposes.

Hoping perhaps futilely that fresh air would help to settle his stomach, Leonard went back on deck. Kirk was on the main deck overseeing some sail or other be raised. The roiling waves didn't seem to faze him in the least and the gusty breeze barely stirred his grandiose hat. Not even the sailors on the merchant ship so many years ago looked so natural on the deck of a ship. This was a man who had no home on land- whose life, heart and home was floating across the limitless blue that terrified Leonard so much.

"I'll be asking Miss Chapel to continue assisting me with the sick and wounded. We've finished our initial treatment of the crew; there's nothing more I can do for them until we have more oranges." Leonard crossed his arms.

"Good work, Bones." Kirk said, turning a brilliant smile on the physician. "Miss Chapel was a helpful aide to Dr. Piper when he was here. She'll make a fine nurse."

"Better than Mr. O'Riley, anyway. I'm sure he's a fine lad, but he's squeamish around blood and has a terrible bedside manner."

"He's a good sailor. I suppose I'll do you both the courtesy of keeping him on deck."

"Mr. Roanoke! Firm up that line!" Spock shouted from near by. "Captain, is there any need for Dr. McCoy on deck at this moment, if he has finished with the men?"

"You just manage the lads, Spock; let me handle the good doctor." Kirk chuckled. Spock nodded and walked off without a glance back. "Don't mind Spock. He likes to keep this ship running efficiently… I suppose that's what makes him such a good first mate." A shadow of something, perhaps sadness tinged at Kirk's hazel eyes, but as quick as a blink the look was gone. "Anyway, you'll be boarded up with Mr. Scott. He snores a bit, but he's been keeping a cabin alone for too long, and he's a jolly ol' sea dog."

"And you think he can keep a good eye on me."

"If I wanted someone to keep an eye on you, you'd be sharing quarters with six or seven men in one of the lower holds. I figure a man of your genteel nature would prefer somewhat more civil accommodations. Consider it an honor; if this were a ship of the line, you'd be boarded up with one of the highest ranking officers."

"But this isn't a ship of the line," Leonard stated bitterly, "and Mr. Scott is no officer."

Kirk scowled and turned a sharp glare on Leonard. "That maybe true, Bones, but I'd keep those thoughts of yours to yourself. I'll not have the man in charge of my crew's health laying siege to their morale. Your cabin is the first on the left from the aft hold. I'll send Mr. Scott down to help you set up your hammock."

Leonard was stunned by the severity of Kirk's words. He had never thought that pirates would like to think of themselves as officers. It seemed ludicrous that a group of brigands would want to think of themselves as enforcers of the law. "Kirk, I…"

"Get below. Spock's right. A surgeon has no place on deck if there are no wounded to tend."

Leonard scowled and rounded toward the aft. A few of the sailors paused and watched Leonard go, all of them silent as church-mice and just as quick to scurry back to their duties when he so much as glanced at them. He reached down to lift the grate to the aft hold open, but some blackguard stepped on it. Leonard looked up at the man, prepared to give whoever it was a rather loud piece of his mind, but stopped short when he recognized the dark and devilish face. "Good God, what do you want? I'm going below."

Spock knelt down to meet the older man's eyes. "I told you before that spirit without discipline would do you little good, especially on this vessel. You asked for an explanation. Jim's reaction to your words is one result of such unbridled emotionalism. So is that bruise on your back from our duel earlier. If you cannot restrain your passions, you will meet a far worse fate than a simple kidnapping. At present you have your life. If you cherish it, you will modify your behavior promptly."

Leonard stood to his full height and snarled down at Kirk's devil-faced first mate. "Perhaps my behavior wouldn't need modifying if you bastards hadn't kidnapped me in the first place! I appreciate acting civilly, but there are limits to what courtesy can endure! Therefore, Mr. Spock, I would greatly appreciate it if you would get off that damned grate and let me be before my passions lead me to do something we shall both regret!"

Leonard was damned if Spock didn't smirk at him as he stood and walked coolly back to the quarter deck.

((Author's Historical Notes: The Anne really was the name of the ship that James Oglethorpe and his group of settlers came over to Georgia in. Contrary to legend, the colony was not founded by debtors or convicts, but by regular settlers, though the idea of a utopia for the urban poor of Britain to live and work in was what got the charter for the colony signed. By the 1740's the colony was fairly well established and growing, and Leonard was one of the many who came over with the promise of a new life. It was not a common practice to get a divorce back then, and there was a bit of a stigma attached to the practice- Georgia was about as far away from his bad reputation as he could get.

Any offence made by the terms "Negro" and "Negress" was not intended- they are historically accurate terms, though they may chafe our modern sensibilities. In my profile I list a few other things that may offend modern sensibilities that may be mentioned in this story. I suggest you check it out, just to make sure so don't get upset by subsequent chapters.))