A/N: I love it when my writing drives people crazy. It means that something good is coming up and people are following my story. Thank you to everyone for the adds and reviews. Told you the story was going to start picking up…who knows, I might add the little tiff between McCoy and Kirk into this one.

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There was very little noise inside the shuttle as it streaked through space toward its destination. Admiral Pike glanced up from the case file he was reading. Two armed security guards had been tasked to accompany the Admiral and detain Lieutenant Kane. He had told Vice Admiral Savage that there was no need, but the JAG had been adamant in sending the men. Pike sighed. It would be hours before they reached the Enterprise. That meant hours for him to keep reviewing the case against Kane. It wasn't looking good for her.

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It was an early morning for Adorae. Before reveille had even been rung, she was up and in the gym. Dressed in a simple jogging suit she had begun her stretches, not paying much attention to anyone else that was in there. Kane used this time to focus her mind, having arrived early just to do so. Kirk had earned himself a sparring session after impressing the engineer at lunch the previous day. After her brief conversation with McCoy, Adorae needed to vent off some steam.

Finished with stretching her legs, Kane began on her arms. Closing her eyes, she started a breathing exercise and slowly counted in her head. In doing so her other senses became more attuned to her surroundings, especially hearing. That's why when the doors to the gym opened and another person entered the room, Adorae was well aware of it. However, she was also slightly mistaken as to the identity of that person.

"Glad to see you made it on time, Jim." Kane smirked a little, remembering a statement the Captain had made the previous day about punctuality.

"Good Morning, Adorae." McCoy tossed the towel he was holding over his shoulder and looked at her. She instantly opened her eyes and dropped the arm that she was stretching.

Her initial look of shock quickly melted into one of passiveness, "Doctor." Was the only greeting she gave to him.

Bones nodded, "Alright. I deserve that." He walked over to a bench and sat down.

"Only that?" she questioned in a sarcastic tone. McCoy just shook his head and sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry for the way I acted yesterday. You didn't deserve it." he looked at her, hoping for forgiveness but not entirely sure if he was going to get it.

"You don't need to apologize, I expected it."

"Expected it? When did I ever treat you with anything other than respect?" Bones fought to keep his cool.

"You tell me. It's something I've tried to block out but could never seem to do so." Her voice had lowered a bit.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. After all these years she was still angry with him. "If I recall," McCoy stood from the bench, "you were the one nitpicking at every little thing I did. Always complaining when I had to work late at the hospital…"

"So it was a crime for wanting to spend time with you? Try to make you more of a gentleman than a grease-eating bachelor."

"You criticized everything, Addie!" Bones whipped the towel onto the floor as his temper started to flair.

"I was trying to help!"

"Help with what? Change me into the man you rather would have been with?"

"It was better than the one I had." Her words were cool.

"Then why didn't you leave, huh? Why didn't you just walk out the door and find somebody else?" Bones took a step closer to her as he spoke, coming face to face.

"Because you left me!" Kane herself was taken aback by the force of her words. Much quieter, "You walked out the door and I never saw you again. For seven years, Leonard…" her words became strained as she fought back a growing lump in her throat.

"You did what? Sure as hell didn't try to find me." Bones' anger had grown too much. It was blinding him now to the pain he was causing Adorae.

"What was the point, you obviously didn't want to be there anymore." she grabbed the small duffle she had brought and slung it over her shoulder. Not wanting to continue this conversation any longer, Kane started for the door but was stopped when McCoy grabbed her arm.

"Let go of me!" she spun around to face him, her teeth gritted together. McCoy opened his mouth to talk but was interrupted.

"Is something wrong?" Kirk stepped into the gym; his arms crossed staring at the two of them.

"Nothing," Adorae used the distraction to free her arm, "Everything's fine." She glared at McCoy.

"Fine?" Bones just let out a huff of air and stormed toward the door. Kirk was there to stop him.

"Whoa, slow down." He held up his hand to stop the Doctor, and in his forward movement McCoy ran right into it. He shot the Captain a dangerous look.

"Why don't we just take a moment and talk this through."

"There's nothing to talk about." Again, McCoy tried to make his way through.

"Come on, Bones…"

"I said I don't want to talk!" And in that moment McCoy did something that he had never done before in all the years he had been friends with Jim. He shoved him. Hard. Kirk stumbled back, barely catching himself before hitting the bulkhead. He looked up at McCoy in shock.

"Just stay out of it this time, will ya? It's bad enough you're all over her like a love-sick school boy." His words were becoming harsher by the second.

"Love-sick…you said you were over her!" the naturally hot-headed Kirk had already closed the gap between them and was now standing toe to toe with the Doctor.

"Guys, please!" Kane tried to intercede between the two but they were too caught up in the argument to even remember that she was there.

"That doesn't give you the right to run in and play Prince Charming. She's not like the other women you go after." McCoy too had stepped closer.

"Oh really? What kind of women are those?"

"Unintelligent, single-minded, and fake." Bones smirked slightly, "It's proven that the males of some species tend to look for characteristics they share in a mate."

If it wasn't the remark about him being any of those three, it was the look on McCoy's face that sent Kirk over the edge. With a primal yell he jumped at the Doctor knocking him to the ground. Adorae barely managed to get out of the way as the two men began rolling around on the deck. Punches were thrown and wrestling ensued. She watched in horror at the events that unfolded.

It had come to blows, and right before her very eyes. Adorae couldn't speak, she had trouble breathing as these two men pushed and shoved one another. What had just happened here? Were they really fighting over her?

No. No, that wasn't it at all. Leonard felt threatened by Kirk, with good reason. The Captain of the Enterprise had made numerous advances toward Adorae since the first day she stepped on board. Each time she had turned him down and yet he persisted. It seemed like nothing could deter James T. Kirk once he had his mind set. McCoy knew this fact all too well, and usually did nothing more than make chide remarks.

Everything had changed, though. Jim wasn't going after just any other woman. This was his woman. Or rather, she had been his woman. That was a lifetime ago. He was a doctor in Starfleet now and his life had very much changed. Until she stepped off that transport and turned his world upside down. Now here he was going punch for punch with a man who he considered his brother.

The world turned black for a moment as a fist connected with McCoy's jaw. He stumbled a bit to the left, but didn't have time to fully recover before Kirk had him in a bear hug. The two went hurtling toward the bulkhead at break neck speed. There was a sickening crunch that echoed throughout the room. Adorae held her breath in shock, even as the two continued to struggle.

"Will you two just stop!" another punch thrown, this time landing square in Kirk's midsection. "I said stop it!" Adorae took a few steps closer as she raised her voice above the noise of the fighting. Both men halted their actions and looked at her.

"Look at you, your grown adults and Starfleet officers!" her voice broke slightly on the last word. The tears were burning her eyes, threatening to fall. Her vision became blurry and a lump rose in her throat. Her next words were nothing but a hoarse whisper.

"You're best friends…" Kane took in a slow, shaky breath, "If nothing else that should matter most."

Silence filled the air for the next few moments. The only sounds were that of exerted breathing coming from the two senior officers. As Adorae's words sunk in, so did the severity of the fight. In a moment of weakness, McCoy's breath hitched and his legs gave out. In a wave of pain he slid down the length of the bulkhead and landed on the deck.

"Leonard!" Adorae closed the distance between them quickly and knelt down by his side. She could smell the sweat and blood, but most of all she could see the pain in his eyes. He was hurting both physically and emotionally.

Jim stared down at Bones and Adorae, almost in a daze. Slowly he became aware of the pain in his stomach and also in his hands. Looking down he noticed the streaks of blood across his knuckles. Not his blood. It was McCoy's. They had finally reached a point where not even the bonds of friendship could stop either from making complete fools of themselves.

"Hey, look at me." Adorae's quiet voice broke through the din and Kirk again looked down. She had the doctor's face in her hands and was speaking to him gently. Soothing his nerves and assessing his injuries at the same time. Her mind was completely focused on McCoy, and nowhere else. Jim saw it more clearly now than ever before. Adorae Kane still held feelings for McCoy; there wasn't any doubt in his mind. Suddenly everything he had done, the advances, the dinner proposals, they all seemed trivial in that one moment of clarity.

"I…I'm…" Kirk stammered, trying to find the words he wanted to say, "Bones...I…"

"Jim…" McCoy started.

"I have to go." The words were quick and so was Kirk. He left the room without looking back and with no destination in mind.

Adorae was sitting by now and was gently cradling McCoy's upper body in her arms. His breathing was shallow and steady, but with a hitch here and there. A clear sign of a broken rib or two. Taking in a deep breath and closing her eyes, Adorae rested her cheek against the top of his head. They sat like that for a moment, just taking each other in.

That moment faded when the door opened again and one of the other doctors came through, followed by a handful of corpsmen with a stretcher in tow. Apparently the fight had caught someone's attention and they had reported it. Kane sat up a bit more, though still providing support for Bones. She spoke as the other doctor kneeled down.

"A few cuts and bruises, and I think his ribs are broken." The doctor nodded and motioned for the stretcher to be brought over. Adorae helped them maneuver McCoy onto the board. As they lifted him up she felt a hand grab her own.

There were no words, just emotions. Bones squeezed her hand gently, looking into those emerald green eyes. They were filled with tears, and anger, and fear…and love. It was only an instant, but he saw it. McCoy wanted to stay in that moment forever, but his body protested. She had been right, his ribs were broken. Kirk, always having been the better fighter, had done a number on him. Never before had the two of them fought like this. Then again, he had never felt such passion for something, or someone.

Bones held on until the stretcher moved out of reach of where Adorae stood. He kept her in his sights for as long as he could, until the door slid shut and all he saw was the dull grey of the corridor. His lids became heavy and slowly closed. Against the black he focused on her face and those eyes. That was all McCoy wanted to think about right now. Not the fight with Kirk, just the aftermath when Adorae had held him in her arms for the first time in years. He'd forgotten what that felt like. The question now was would it ever happen again?