Hello all! I know I said that progress might be slow, but inspiration has just been hitting me left and right! So hopefully I can keep up this momentum AND continue to do well on my school work! Anyway, enjoy!
"Darlin', relax. Don't you think you're bein' just a little silly?" Leonard asks as he takes my hands away from his shirt collar. "Just two weeks ago you nearly passed out when you saw him."
"The man I love is meeting one of the only family members who ever loved and accepted me for who I was." I look him in the eye. "It's a big deal."
"Well, when you put it like that." He says as he fixes his own collar. "I just don't like it when you get all worked up."
"Everything has just been so great, I guess I'm kind of just worried that you guys won't like each other." I say and he takes my hands and kisses them.
"Even if we didn't, I can assure you that I wouldn't make it a problem." He says and then he kisses them again. "Relax. I'm sure that he and I both want the same thing for you. For you to be happy and follow your dreams." The lift reaches the bottom of our residence hall where Jim and Tro meet us. The five of us are going out for dinner to one of our favorite restaurants not too far off of campus. When we step outside, Josh is jogging up. "Leonard McCoy, it's nice to finally meet you." He steps up to meet him with a handshake.
"Josh." My brother says as he shakes his hand. "I've heard a lot about you. It's nice to put a name to a face."
"Likewise." Leonard says with a nod. I don't know what I was expecting this exact moment to be. "Well shall we?"
"Yup, let's get going." Tro says, picking up on my anxiety and taking the lead. I mouth 'totally a top' to Josh who tries to hide his laugh with a cough. "So I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready for this long weekend."
"Yeah, maybe we can convince Ollie to actually take a day to relax." Jim says and I laugh haughtily.
"Silly Jim, a day off from classes means that I take another whole day to lay around in my pajamas and study. You know these to be my habits, I don't know why you try." I say and he throws an arm around my shoulders.
"I know what your habits are and as your friend, it's my duty to help you live a little. I didn't take a month off to find the dance club for you for no good reason." He says and I pat his hand.
"You do a fine job, Jimmy." I say to placate him, but I know this isn't the end of it. Jim Kirk is nothing if not persistent. "You and Juarez are determined to take me outside of my comfort zone, aren't you?"
"Outside of your comfort zone is where your life begins, Olivia!" He says dramatically and I laugh.
"I have a life. If you hadn't noticed, I have two whole other friends. That's a lot for me." I say and then I look to Josh. "I never liked talking to the other kids, did I?"
"Not really, well no, there was that one girl. What was her name?" He asks, thinking hard. "Susannah something or other?"
"Susie Taylor." I say with a smile. "She and I were pretty good friends for the most part until she fell into the small-town trap of barefoot and pregnant. A snare they set so carefully."
"That we avoided." Josh says as he high fives me. "We're lucky that we were spiteful." I hum my agreement. We reach the restaurant and are seated pretty quickly. Our orders go in and breadsticks come out. "So Leonard, I'd love to get to know you a little better. How did you and Ollie meet?"
"We ended up sittin' next to each other on the shuttle over here from Iowa and then the four of us just kinda stuck together." He says and then he gives me one of his famous looks. "Doesn't help that we're neighbors."
"Oh you love it." I say as I bump his shoulder with mine. "Those two are late for everything and so one thing led to another, I spent Christmas in Georgia and boom here we are."
"That fateful Georgian New Years Eve, Bones you sly dog." Jim says with a shake of his head. "I'm kidding, Bones is nothing but a gentleman with Ollie."
"Bones? Where's that nickname come from?" Josh asks with a raise of his eyebrow. Leonard rolls his eyes at Jim.
"Somethin' I said once and it apparently stuck with him." He says and Josh nods. "My ex-wife took everythin' in the divorce, all I had left was my bones."
"Is that not iconic enough to warrant a nickname? He's clever. I like it." Jim says and Josh looks apprehensive. "And isn't it sweet, all he had left as opposed to has left? He's an old softie now."
"I think you're more obsessed with our relationship than is healthy, Jim." I say dubiously. "You and Juarez." I roll my eyes.
"I like Juarez." Tro says with a slight laugh. "He's kind of like a whirlwind and you get swept up in it easily. Specifically you, Ollie. Not in the general sense."
"Just because he spins me almost literally any time he sees me does not mean that he is actually a whirlwind." I roll my eyes again. She laughs.
"I haven't decided if he's a good or a bad influence yet." She says and I chuckle as I take a drink of water.
"Jury's out. He is supposedly trying to corrupt me. I only say supposedly because said corruption is me 'having fun'." I use air quotes. "Which the other day was trying to get me to pose with the skeleton in the anatomy lab during demonstration."
"But I know for a fact there was tomfoolery after the demonstration at least." Leonard says amused. "He sent me those pictures. It was cute."
"That toad." I laugh. "I'll admit, he brings out too much caffeine Ollie when there's been normal amounts of caffeine."
"If you're anything like me, that's enough to kill a horse." Josh says and I shrug. "We should really stop that, can't be good for our hearts."
"Eh, I date a doctor. It's fine." I say, waving off the concern. I'm starting to relax more. "Juarez thinks I'm an android anyway, so we could just replace the parts of me that stop working with robotic parts."
"It's not as easy as you're assuming it is quite yet, but it is possible." Leonard allows after weighing it for a moment. "In the meantime, why don't you try to at least have some sense of self-preservation."
"That's what all the PT is for." I say as I pat his cheek. "You know for a fact I'm probably one of your healthiest patients."
"Top five." He agrees. "But you're number four and slippin', you better watch it, Darlin'. I swear, any other time she eats enough for three men, but when she's stressed she doesn't eat anything. So for the past several months it's been up and down on the scale."
"Ah yes, I can't yell at her because I'm the same way." Josh says as he rubs the back of his neck. "I'm probably where you get that from. High school, man. It was not great being the only gay guy in one of those towns."
"Honestly. Humans can be the worst." I shake my head. "That's why I like studying other languages and cultures better. Typically, way more tolerant than humans." He waves it away.
"You guys are like the perfect example of nature versus nurture." Jim says as he looks between us.
"Well, Jimmy, Josh was very nurturing to me. He was eight when I was born and instantly enamored with his darling little sister." I say with a toss of my hair.
"You were the best. The cutest little chunky cheeks." He says, teasing me now. "And you always were adorable with your freckles. Low key, that's how I knew for sure it was you."
"Oh shut up." I say with a roll of my eyes. "It's literally just a small part of my face." He laughs and then he looks to Leonard again.
"So Christmas in Georgia, I take it that means you're from there." He says and I don't know how I feel about his tone.
"Indeed I am. We stayed with my parents where she had the pleasure of meetin' my parents and then the displeasure of my younger brother, Andrew." He says and I nudge him with my shoulder again.
"Andrew is harmless. But Thomas and Lucille are great. They're coming to visit in a few weeks and I'm sure they would love to meet you." I say and he smiles and it's genuine, but there's something there that makes me not so sure he likes Leonard. Which I know he can be not the greatest people person, but I didn't think that he'd said anything bad since we got here.
"Darlin'?" Leonard touches my elbow and I raise my eyebrows in question as I look at him. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, just spacing out, I guess." I say with a smile as I look between them. "Excuse me for a moment." Leonard moves his arm from the back of my chair and I get up. Tro smiles in excuse for herself.
"You know us ladies, we need to powder our noses." She says and that makes me laugh a little bit. We head to the women's restroom. "What's wrong?"
"Josh doesn't like Leonard. And I think it might be because he was married before." I say and she nods. "I mean…it doesn't matter to me, but I was just kind of hoping that everything would blend together smoothly."
"I was wishing that for you too, Honey, but no matter what, you know that Jim and I have got your back. I'm actually pretty proud of McCoy, he's being incredibly civil." She says and I smile. "Don't worry about a thing. If anything, Josh might just be concerned about how messy the whole blended thing can be sometimes. But you can diffuse literally any situation and so even if his ex-wife did have a problem with you, I'm confident that it would be a non-problem before anything bad could happen."
"You're right." I say as I lean against the sink and take in my reflection. "Am I trying too hard?"
"Not at all." She reassures me. "And even if those two aren't friends, I'm sure they both want the same things for you."
"That's what Leonard said on the lift." I say with a small smile. "I'm overthinking things." I close my eyes and take a centering breath. "Alright." I head towards the door and she smacks my ass. I shake my head but keep walking. I smile brightly as we return to the table. Leonard stands and pulls out my chair for me again. "Thank you." I smooth my dress as I take my seat. "So what did we miss?"
"An updated picture of Joanna." Jim says with a hand over his heart. "Spring pictures. My goodness, those curls."
"Her curls are the best. Let me see." I say and Leonard shows me the picture. "Oh my gosh. I think I miss her the most."
"Yeah and I think she misses you more than she misses me." He says and I smile. "No, but she's eight. Her favorite color is purple and the second grade is too easy."
"She's absolutely correct." I say as I sip my water. "Now that private school your mom was telling me about? That sounds like something else."
"I know but doesn't private school just sound sort of... pretentious?" He asks and I weigh it in my mind for a moment.
"Leonard, if your eight-year-old is telling you that she's not being challenged, I think you guys should really consider it strongly. Imagine where I could be if I had that sort of opportunity at that age." I say and Josh sits up a little straighter.
"It might not be my place to say, but I agree with Ollie." He says and I smile. "And you said she wants to be a doctor too?"
"I'll maul it over a bit more." Leonard agrees and I smile. "I just don't want some snot nosed little brat makin' my girl feel like she's not any better than they are."
"And if they do, I'll personally fly to Georgia and kick their butts." I say and he laughs. "But if she's anything like you, and she is, she'll be just fine."
"Boy is she." He says as he takes a drink of his tea. I chuckle. "The real McCoy, as you said."
"Oh, Ollie, come on." Josh says as he makes a face. "Such low hanging fruit? Surely you can do better than that." I shoot finger guns at him.
"You should've seen the look on her face when she was able to lay that one down. I just know she'd been sittin' on it since she found out I had a daughter." He says and I laugh.
"Maybe not that long, but I did think of it on the shuttle to Georgia." I say and he shakes his head. "And if everyone avoids the low hanging fruit, that should make it even more funny because everyone else is up in the high branches picking all of the other jokes."
"I think that's just lazy joking, Ollie." Jim says and I shoot him a look. He holds up his hands in surrender.
"Here you go, Darlin'." Leonard says as he drapes his jacket around my shoulders. I smile at him before I make eye contact with Tro. She drags those two ahead and I nod to Josh and we start walking, slower and behind them.
"You don't like him." I say gently. "And that's okay, but I just want you to know that doesn't mean I'm going to stop seeing him."
"It's not that I don't like him." He says and I wait for him to explain. "I'm just nervous for you because I know guys my age and he's divorced and…"
"And what, Josh?" I ask gently. "Look, before we even had these feelings for each other, he still encouraged me when I did that thing where I let other people tell me what I was and wasn't capable of. He doesn't just think I'm a hot accessory to have on his arm, he legitimately cares about me and I care about him too. So while I appreciate your concern, it's not necessary and it isn't going to change my mind." He looks thoughtful.
"Alright…then I'll push aside my concern as your brother and I'll follow my gut and like him as a person." He says and I smile.
"Now that is the reaction I wanted from tonight." I say and then I slide my arms into the sleeves of his jacket. "His jacket, Joshua. And I didn't even say I was cold. He does this often."
"Oh, he's not just showing off because he's meeting your brother?" He asks and I laugh. "Come on, they probably know we're talking about them. Troian isn't exactly subtle, is she?"
"Nah, but we operate that way. It's fine." I say and we quicken our pace. I jog up and jump so I can put my hands over Leonard's eyes. "Guess who." I have to keep jumping.
"Quit jumpin' around like that, with your luck, you'll fall and break somethin' else." He says as he turns and catches my hands. He makes eye contact with Josh. I look between them and it seems civil enough. "Do I pass?" Oh boy, the sass.
"For now." He says and I roll my eyes. "What? He asked, I'm just being honest. Besides, you'll probably be happy to know where she told me to stuff my reservations."
"Probably the same place she told Forbey she'd shove his creepy hands." Jim says and Josh makes a face.
"That guy makes a pass at me at least once a month." Josh says and I gape at him. "But he's made passes at you too?"
"Yes. And he was automatically assigned as my attending physician, which thankfully Leonard all but walked up to me with the documents to get me switched promptly." I shudder. "That guy has no business being a doctor."
"He really doesn't. Morally and with his skill, or there lack of. He's gotta know someone higher up, otherwise I have no clue how he even got in." Leonard says with a shake of his head. "I don't have to worry about her so much, but I do worry about other patients."
"Dr. Hendricks said that his patient list is almost entirely male now." Josh says with a shake of his head.
"Interesting…" I say thoughtfully. "Hey, Dr. McCoy, any way we could possibly find out who his female patients were before they switched?"
"Possibly. If not all, maybe at least a partial. Bring that famous smile by the clinic and we might be able to sweet talk Dr. Lee." He says and I smile my obnoxious, fake sweet smile, where I show all of my teeth. "Darlin', I still don't know how you do that."
"Eh…Tro's slapped me enough today." Jim says and after a moment, she slaps him on the back of the head for good measure. "You are going to give me a concussion!"
"Stop being an idiot." She says with a shrug. "Though I'm curious how she would react." I look between the two of them who are walking slightly in front of us like we're not even there. I feel eyes on me then and I turn around and scan the area.
"Darlin'?" Leonard asks as he reaches out and takes my hand. "Is everything alright?" I do one last scan before I turn and nod.
"I just felt like someone was staring at me." I say and he tucks my hand in the crook of his arm.
"It's not that much further." Josh says and he's walking a little behind me. "I'll bet it's that asshole."
"Probably." Tro says as she looks around. I sigh ever so slightly. Of course, I get jumpy and they turn into a security detail.
"Guys. I'm not some fancy ambassador. We can cut the secret service act." I say as I reach back and pull Josh up to walk on my other side. "I've got my guys and my lady."
"I feel left out now." Jim says over his shoulder. He's directly in front of me. I brace myself and point my toes as I swing my legs forward to kick him in the butt twice before I go back to walking smoothly.
"Do you still feel left out, Jimmy?" I ask sarcastically and he turns his head and grins at me. "I can kick you harder if you want me to."
"I'm good, thanks." He says and I smile. If not for this sinking feeling I have, this would be a pretty great moment. Almost all of the people I care about with me and having a good time.
"So, you were 'sparring'," Juarez puts air quotes around the word dubiously. I continue to pack up my things seeing as though it's the end of class. "And he 'punched you in the face' and split your lip?"
"I was helping Leonard with his hand-to-hand combat. We were sparring. And this happened, yes. No air quotes." I say as I give him a look. He gives me a look in return that reminds me too much of Jim. "You're awful."
"Is that any way to talk to your mad scramble buddy?" He asks, putting his hand over his heart as if he's offended. "I'm just saying it sounds a bit too much like you guys were goin' at it just a little too rough and…"
"That's enough of that." I give him a look of warning. "I'm telling the truth. He can barely look me in the eye right now, he feels so bad."
"So that's why you dolled yourself up today." He says and I open my mouth to deny it. "Honey, you are an artist when it comes to making those pretty eyes of yours pop. And accentuating those cute little freckles? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trained in obtaining favorable outcomes."
"Well what are these skills if not practiced?" I ask with a neutral tone. "He's being an idiot about it. Getting punched in the face is nothing. Last semester a guy literally made me break a bone. A small bone, but still." I stand up and shoulder my bag. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go and convince my boyfriend that he's not a monster."
"Good luck, sweetie." He says and I smile before I head out of class. Normally after our last classes on Fridays, Leonard and I meet up to work out together, but I've got other plans today. I walk across campus to the medical building and take the lift up to the floor where his last class is. It gets out twenty minutes later than mine. I seat myself on the bench across the hall, cross my legs and open up my Federation Cultures notes and begin going over them, but I can't really focus. Was it unfair of me to do this? I typically don't put a whole lot of effort into my appearance. I always present myself as a professional, and today I still am, but more. I put a little more effort into how my curls lay. Like Juarez pointed out, I put on more makeup than just my usual mascara. I don't exactly have time to turn back now. Cadets are coming out of the class now I look up and my eyes meet Leonard's and I smile. He raises his eyebrows but he smiles.
"Olivia, these are my colleagues." He says as he and the two doctors I typically see him around outside of Dr. Lee approach.
"Nice to meet you. Brandon Fairchild." The taller of the two says as he shakes my hand. "Yikes, what are you majoring in?" Of course he means my lip.
"Olivia Gray, mediation." I say with a laugh. "A split lip is absolutely nothing." It's more of a reminder for Leonard.
"Alastair Grace." The other man says and I shake his hand as well. "And don't listen to Fairchild. It doesn't look that bad."
"I know, but I appreciate that." I smile. "It's great to meet some more of McCoy's colleagues. I know Dr. Lee pretty well, but typically I'm running around too much like a crazy person to get to know anyone else around here."
"She's also doing nursing." Leonard supplies the information. "Along with a cadet by the name as Juarez. They run back and forth between here and linguistics most days."
"At least four times a day." I sigh and he chortles. "But it makes up for the less time I have for actual PT, so I can't complain too much."
"You must be his favorite patient." Grace says with a certain quirk in his lip. I catch the look Leonard gives him.
"Top five, but I'm fourth and slipping right now. Or so he says." I say and Fairchild laughs. "I'm a troublemaker between stress fractures and yoyo weight."
"So you must be the mysterious case of technically still fit for duty." He says and I guess I can't blame him for consulting with other doctors.
"I still think she has some sort of tapeworm." Leonard says and I gently elbow him in the ribs. "Well, gentlemen, if you'll excuse us."
"Of course. It was nice to meet you, Olivia." Grace says and they depart. I look up at Leonard with an amused expression.
"Some of McCoy's colleagues? Since when do you call me McCoy again?" He asks as we start walking the opposite direction.
"I don't know. It seemed weird to call you Leonard then." I say with a shrug. "But anyway, I know you were looking forward to our work out, but what if we did something else?"
"Like what?" He asks and I can tell that he's putting distance in between us again. He reaches the landing before me, so I stop a few steps up so that I'm the same height as him. "Darlin'?" He turns.
"Leonard, look at me." I say as I reach out and take his hand and pull him closer. After a moment his dark eyes meet mine. "Stop beating yourself up. It was an accident. They happen. Get over it." He opens his mouth to say something and I put my finger over his lips. "What scares me more is when you distance yourself from me. You've always been oddly emotionally available with me and so the past few days have been weird." He sighs.
"I'm sorry, Darlin'." He says and I pull the hand that I'm holding around and he chuckles as he hugs me. I wrap my arms around him and sigh. "It's kinda funny that you've gotta be two steps up to be eye level with me."
"Listen, I can make you shorter if you want me to." I say and he laughs and picks me up and spins me around to set me down. "Okay, Juarez."
"I'm your boyfriend, damn it. It's cute when I do it." He says as he takes my hand and begins leading the way down the stairs again. "I still feel like a damn monster."
"What did I say? Get over it." I say and he shoots me a look. "It wasn't even that great of a punch. I know you can do better than that."
"Oh, so you're critiquing how I punch you in the face now?" He asks sarcastically. "Real cute."
"Didn't even make me dizzy." I note. "I hope you try harder in your actual class." I get another look. "I think my tactic worked."
"And what tactic could you possibly mean?" He asks as he pushes open the door and holds it for me, I see him tuck away his communicator. I smile as I walk through.
"You wouldn't look me in the eye for two days. So this morning I decided to employ tactics to draw your eyes to mine. I was fine with it, but then I started to feel kind of bad for using my powers for selfish reasons." I say and he looks amused.
"Your powers?" He asks and I shrug. "You do look very nice, Darlin', but don't feel like you've got to entice me to look in those beautiful eyes. I'm the monster, remember?"
"Except you're not a monster." I roll my eyes. "Would it make you feel better if I punched you in the face?"
"Maybe." He says and I scoff. "I'm kidding. So you said let's do something other than workout. I'm gonna take advantage of this opportunity."
"So you have something in mind then?" I ask and he hums, still leading me across campus. It's a beautiful spring afternoon. "Are you going to tell me?"
"Isn't it more…romantic if I don't?" He asks and I think about it. "Look, I haven't been properly sweepin' you off your feet lately."
"Leonard, you don't have to sweep me off of my feet." I laugh. "I like how we are." I take back my hand and take his arm. "Has Spring gotten to you?"
"Well call me a sweetheart, but every once in a while, I think it's alright to try somethin' new." He says and I smile.
"Now this Leonard McCoy is very different from the one I met." My tone is pleasantly surprised.
"There's somethin' about you." He says and I shrug, like it's not a big deal. "What's that look?"
"L'amour est aveugle." I say wistfully. "Love is blind. While I do have some pretty great qualities, I'm just as special as anyone else."
"Call me blind all ya want, but I'm still right." He mutters and I chuckle. I hear someone approaching us from behind and Jim hands Leonard a bag. "Thanks, Jim."
"My pleasure." He says as he offers me a wave. "Enjoy." Then he's gone. I raise an eyebrow.
"I smell a conspiracy." I say and he shrugs. We reach the quad that has the most trees and he leads me out onto the grass, picks a spot and then stops. He opens the bag and pulls out a blanket before he lays it down. I glance inside. Food. "A picnic? That is incredibly romantic, Leonard." We take a seat.
"That's Dr. Romantic." He says and then I crack up. "I don't like how you conditioned me to have that thought process."
"What do you mean, Dr. Sunshine?" I ask and he glowers at me. "It's cute when I do it, but it's hilarious when you do it and you know how much I love to laugh." I shake my head. "I conditioned you." I laugh again. He hands me a plate with good picnic foods. "Nobody has ever surprised me with a picnic before, it's very nice."
"I'm glad you like it." He says and I take in the moment. I'm glad that there are more good ones like this than there are bad ones. It makes me feel like maybe that will be the trend, but then that makes me nervous that I'll get too comfortable.
"I will reiterate for emphasis that this simulation will take place in a time where you do not expect it and it is meant to simulate a true hostage situation. The point in this exposure is to provide experience in a somewhat controlled environment so that should this occur while in the line of duty, there are few surprises coming from yourself." Commander Martin says as he goes to stand behind the lectern again. "Cadet Gray, I would like to speak with you for a moment. The rest of you are dismissed." I pack up my bag and head to the front of the smaller lecture hall. Once everyone has cleared out, he turns to me. "I'll bet you know why I asked you to stay behind."
"I have an inkling, sir." I say respectfully. "I'm betting it is in regard to certain flags in my file."
"Yes. You're not required to share your personal details, but I wanted to offer an opportunity to discuss more in detail what the simulation will in entail." He says as he gathers the materials he had brought with him. "Also, there is a release that you will need to have signed by your attending physician or their superior in the instance that they are not trained yet in those psychological aspects."
"Yes, sir." I say with a nod. "I will do that. Also, if you don't mind, I want to give more thought into whether or not I want to have more preparation."
"At your leisure, but this simulation is happening next week." He reminds me and I nod. "Very well, you are dismissed."
"Sir." I salute before I turn and head out of class. This conversation has me more than a little nervous. Captain Pike said that this was something that might come up. I'm not diagnosed with post-traumatic stress, but only just so. There are things that bother me. I glance at my watch. I'm supposed to meet Uhura and Juarez…but I think I need to talk to Leonard about this. I shoot them each a message before I head to the clinic. Dr. Lee looks up and smiles at me as I enter.
"Dr. McCoy is with a patient right now, but you're welcome to wait. It shouldn't be too much longer." He says as he gestures to the chair that Leonard normally sits in. I go over and sit down. "Are your classes going well?"
"They are. I'm taking to nursing like a fish to water. If the whole mediator thing doesn't work out, I might go onto be a nurse practitioner." I say and that broadens his smile. "How are your classes?"
"They're going well. As it turns out, I'm thoroughly enjoying psychology. I've heard that you have a degree in it?" He asks and I hum.
"Yes, my original goal was to go on to get a doctorate in counseling psych. I'm not big on research, but I love helping people." I say and he nods. "My favorite class I ever took was probably the one where we learned about why serial killers are the way they are. So we took a look at the really big ones throughout. Like H. H. Holmes, Jack the Ripper, and Ted Bundy. They were sick bastards."
"I think I've heard of Bundy before." He says with a nod. "The victimology is interesting to think about. Why that type?"
"Bundy specifically victimized women who reminded him of the woman who rejected him." I say and then a thought occurs to me, but I keep it to myself. "But she's not the reason he became a killer. People like him…they're born sick. They can have the best life and then at some point, something just snaps in them and they can't contain those destructive feelings anymore." I shake my head. "That went to a weird place, sorry about that."
"No, it's truly fascinating. Don't apologize." He says and then the door to the examination room opens and Leonard leads the way out with a cadet in a sling.
"Try to baby it for the rest of the day, but by tomorrow you should be good. I'm gonna go ahead and excuse you from your PT, just to give it some extra time to set up." He says as he types the information into his tablet.
"Thanks, Dr. McCoy." He says and then he slings his bag on his other shoulder and leaves the clinic. Leonard doesn't look up from his tablet as he comes over to the chair. He turns to sit and I poke him in the butt. He jumps and turns around and I laugh.
"Hey, I've got some official business and some boyfriend business to talk to you about. They coincide." I say as I stand up and go over to pull up one of the chairs from the waiting area.
"Alright, let's get the official business out of the way." He says and I smile as I take out my tablet and send him the release form. He reads it over. "I'll bet I can guess why it also coincides with the boyfriend business."
"Also friend business, I welcome outside opinions, Dr. Lee, if you don't mind." I say and he shakes his head. "So…the release is for a simulation being done to simulate a hostage situation. I won't know when it's coming and it's going to be hyper realistic." I'm explaining for Dr. Lee. "Due to my history, Commander Martin has offered me the opportunity to have more information going into the situation. I don't know if I should do it. Borderline PTSD and all. But I do not have post-traumatic stress."
"But you're on that borderline, Darlin'." Leonard says and then he mauls over the idea in his head. "I'm inclined to tell you to take the opportunity. You already had a near incident this semester."
"Why wouldn't you want to take the opportunity though?" Dr. Lee asks and I sit back and rest my tablet on my lap.
"Because I don't want to let my past define my future. I mean…this simulation is designed to help me experience this situation so that in future situations I won't react adversely." I say and then a message from Uhura pops up. She's concerned. I send back a reassurance with a small smile.
"My next question is in regards to what your greatest fear would be in this situation, if that isn't too personal." He asks and I shake my head.
"It's dumb, but being pulled by the hair." I say and ball my hands into fists. "It's an abusive past relationship why I'm flagged. But just…the thought of going about my normal day and then…" I feel my throat tightening up and I take a breath. "Hits a little close. I put a guy in here for sneaking up behind me once. I broke his nose with my elbow."
"It was a nasty break too." Leonard says and I put my face in my hands. "Darlin', it's not every day you see a break like that. Hell, I'm proud of ya."
"Shut up." I say and look at him, he's wearing a grin. "I don't want to take the opportunity because I'm not the girl who has her day interrupted like that anymore. But at the same time I want to take it because I'm afraid of falling into that mentality."
"There's also the chance that even if you do go in with more information you could fall into that line of thinking." Dr. Lee says and I close my eyes and nod. "I just want you to be prepared."
"No, you're right. I appreciate your honesty." I say and then I sigh. "I'm frustrated with myself because this shouldn't be such a big deal."
"Be patient." Leonard says and I open my eyes and look at him. "Isn't that what you're always tellin' me with the flyin' and space stuff?"
"Staying on subject but remind me later I had an idea." I say and he nods. "But you're not supposed to turn my wisdom back on me."
"Not my fault it's good advice." He grumbles and I laugh. "So are you any closer to a decision?"
"Is there a reason you haven't signed the waiver yet?" I ask as I rest my cheek in my hand. "Because if you're determining whether or not I'm capable by something I'm asking you as my boyfriend, I think that means I need to go to your superior." He gives me a look and he grumbles again before he signs it. "I'm leaning towards no. Because you make a great point." I look to Dr. Lee again. "Maybe preparing for it won't help regardless."
"That's what I would do." He says and I nod. "And to combat your fear and to prepare in a way, maybe the week of the simulation you can style your hair in a way that makes it less likely to be pulled."
"That's a great idea." I nod and then I take a calming breath. "And I won't be in any real danger."
"No matter what, I'm here to support you." Leonard says and I smile. He looks over my shoulder and he shakes his head. "Juarez came to check on you."
"He thinks we do weird stuff because you're also my doctor." I say and Dr. Lee shakes his head before he goes back to reading. "Is Uhura with him?" Leonard nods. "She calls these Dr. Boyfriend moments."
"Accurate, I guess." He says after he thinks it over for a moment. "But just remember," He starts and then he shakes his head. "Your conditioning has got to stop."
"I have literally never conditioned you to do anything. Have I been running secret experiments on Jim? Maybe." I say and he shakes his head. "But that doesn't leave this room because that is highly unethical."
"But it's Jim." He says and I nod. I put my tablet back in my bag before I stand up and lean across the desk to place a kiss on his cheek. "I'll see you for dinner."
"I'm looking forward to it." I say as I put the chair back and then I go and catch up to a retreating Juarez. "Nosey."
"Concerned." He points to himself. "Dr. Boyfriend moments are kind of serious from my past experience with them."
"Eh, it's not that bad this time. Mediator training stuff. The doctor part was having him sign a waiver, the boyfriend part was discussing an opportunity I could take. It was a good conversation." I say and really it was. "Dr. Lee is a good guy."
"He's a cutie too." He says and I shake my head. "But real talk, I'm glad you're okay. We're glad you're okay."
"I brought you a snack." Uhura says as she holds up the small bag. "It's not responsible to go into a test on an empty stomach."
"Thank you." I say with a smile. I glance at the time. "We've still got some time to review things on the way if you guys want." I reach into the bag and grab the apple and take a bite.
"Sounds good to me." Juarez says and then he throws his arm around my shoulders and starts strutting the direction we need to go. I feel the force of Uhura's eye roll, but she follows.
"I do not have the authority to guarantee your terms, but if you release our injured, we may be able to negotiate further to reach an agreeable result for both sides." I say and the leader of the group that has taken these cadets hostage looks up from me and then the captor behind me grabs a fistful of my hair and hails me into a standing position. My shoulders tense and I close my eyes for a moment. Tears threaten to spill out of them.
"If you don't have authority, then why am I talking to you?" The leader asks, he's right in my face. I open my eyes and maintain a neutral expression.
"Because without talking to me, you will receive nothing. I will reiterate our conditions. Release the injured and we will talk more." I say firmly.
"Fine." He finally says and the man who had lifted me up shoves me down to my kneeling position again. The three cadets who had been labeled as injured are taken out of the room we're being held hostage in. That leaves three captors to four cadets. Two of which are in my combat classes and I know what they're capable of, Simmons especially. Jim happens to be another one and then there is a girl who I've seen in the medical building. When I was able to get a cadet labeled as deceased out of here. It took the captors ten minutes to return. That should be enough time to break the three of us out of our restraints, which are old school zip ties, and take down the three to mount a counter attack on the two captors returning from releasing our injured. I look over my shoulder at Jim and make eye contact with him. I disguise it as scratching my nose on my shoulder. He understands. I trust him to inform Daniels of the plan. I push off of my calves a little bit as if I'm adjusting and I get shoved down again, exactly as I had hoped. As I'm allowing myself to fall back, I bring my hands that are bound in front of me back sharply and break the zip ties. Simmons does the same and he stands up and decks the guy who's been picking on me. I lunge forward and shove the leader off balance. He grabs me by the top of my arm and I use him as leverage to kick him in the head. He falls like a sack of potatoes. I look over and see the female cadet off to the side, out of harms way, and the boys finishing up subduing their targets.
"We've got five minutes before they come back." I say as I take the knife from the leader's boot and go over and cut her zip ties. "Simmons and Daniels to the left of the door. Kirk, we'll take right. Do you have combat experience?"
"No I do not." She says and I nod and guide her to the corner where she'll be safe from the scuffle.
"To position." I order and we prepare. The captors come back and they don't notice the change in tide soon enough to deflect our attack. We take them down easily before I lead the rest of the hostages to safety.
"Time." Commander Martin says as he taps the button. "One hour, fifteen minutes." I let out a breath. "You are all dismissed to the recovery room."
"Sir." I say and we head that way. Jim rubs my back comfortingly, but his arm around me also feels kind of protective. "How'd I do?"
"You were great, Ollie. Seriously. I never felt like you didn't have a handle on the situation." He says and I smile. "That guy could have been less of an asshole."
"It felt good to punch him in the face." Simmons says and I laugh. "Great work, Gray." We enter the recovery room, which is basically just so we can decompress from the high stress situation before returning to our regular day. I know Jim still has a class to go to, but I'm done for the day and I'm thankful. I'm incredibly amused as I see the doctor on duty.
"You didn't hit that guy hard enough, Simmons." Leonard says as he looks up from the screen he had apparently been watching on. "They're peelin' him off the floor now." He's grumpy.
"What favors did you have to pull to land this gig?" I ask as I grab a bottle of water. He shakes his head.
"None. They asked for a couple of volunteers." He says and I shake my head. "I don't like it, but I'm proud of ya."
"I wasn't overly fond either." I say as I go over and sit at the table next to him. Jim sits across from us. I take my hair down and brush my fingers through it. "I'm glad I'm not used to that anymore, but damn."
"Can we talk about why I've never seen Spider Monkey Olivia before?" Jim asks and I hear Simmons laugh. He comes over.
"Gray is insane. Definitely the most improved among the people in our class specifically. I think that's why Commander Groff picks on you." He says and I shrug.
"It paid off apparently." Leonard says and I look at him. "You got the best time, Darlin'. No casualties as a result of your negotiations and all bodies returned."
"Would have been all bodies no casualties at all had the bad guys been a little more careful." I say and he shakes his head. "It wasn't just me though. Yeah, I took command, but if I didn't have the Brawn Brothers and Jim, I would have had to have been more creative. I was lucky."
"That was once. You're really not going to let us live it down?" Simmons asks and I shrug and smile sweetly. "But anyway, if it were my choice, I'd rather be on the talky end of your job than the punchy one."
"I don't like the punchy one." I say as I make a face. He laughs and fist bumps me before he goes back over to where he was before. Oh, I see. He's sweet on our other cadet. She's into it though. I chuckle and shake my head. "I need a nap."
"Why don't you take Dr. Cranky with you when you go, he's still scowling." Jim says and I look at Leonard who is now scowling at him.
"Dr. McCoy has a job to do." I say and then I see Dr. Fairchild walk in and Leonard pats my knee as he stands up and goes over. "Or maybe his shift is up." They have a brief conversation and I read Fairchild's lips. Something about what's happened today? I sit back and run a hand through my hair as Leonard turns around. He comes over and picks up his bag.
"Let's go get you somethin' to eat. And don't you have class?" He asks and Jim looks at the time before he bolts. I chuckle. "If looks would kill, that guy'd be dead."
"No one disrespects his Ollie-pop, didn't you know that?" I ask with faux seriousness. Dr. Fairchild takes one look at me and shakes his head.
"Will there be a time when I see you and you don't have some manner of injury?" He asks and I laugh.
"You missed it by a little over an hour and fifteen minutes." I say as I touch the small goose egg on my temple. I resisted at first and basically injured myself.
"Let's go, you're already down to one-ten." Leonard says and I raise an eyebrow at him. "Miss Stress Not Eater."
"Is that what you're doing when you randomly pick me up? Weighing me by hand like I'm a piglet or something?" I ask and Fairchild laughs. "And I'm one-fifteen, jerk."
"That's Dr. Jerk, now get movin'." He says and I roll my eyes before I smile and wave to Fairchild before we leave. "Are you okay?" He asks once we're outside. I appreciate the professional distance he kept in there.
"I'm good." I say as I take his arm. I give his bicep a playful squeeze. "You're extra hot when you wear scrubs." He laughs at that.
"I think you hit your head a little harder than you think you did." He says and I roll my eyes. "Are you really okay?"
"That really bothered you." I assess and it makes sense why he didn't get up when I walked in. Normally he does. "I appreciate your professionalism." He kisses the top of my head. "Hey, I'm not hungry. Let's just head back so I can decompress."
"You will be eating within the next three hours." He says and I nod slowly. "Alright." We head towards our residence hall. "I'll change and be right over?"
"I'm going to grab a shower. So just let yourself in." I say as I stand on my toes to kiss his cheek. We head into our separate dorms and I grab some clothes before I get into the shower. I try to let the water work out the tension in my shoulders, but give up after a few minutes with no results. After I determine myself clean, I shut the water off and dry my body before I dress in my favorite shorts and oversized tee shirt. I scrub my hair dry with the towel before I comb it and apply the two products I normally use. I pitch my towel and head back out to the main part of the room where Leonard stands up from the couch. He comes over and gives me a proper hug. "Your butt looks cuter in the scrubs."
"I'll show you cute." He says as he grabs one of my sides. I jump away with a laugh. "So you said you wanted to take a nap?"
"I don't know. I'm trying to put on a tough guy act but that was pretty intense." I say and he holds me close again. "I'm glad you were there."
"I thought it'd be a nice surprise." He says and I smile. "I've known all week when you were gonna go and so it was rough watchin' you stress out like that."
"Again with that professionalism." I say as I give him a squeeze. "I wonder if you'll be able to keep it up when we're working together. I look pretty good in scrubs too. Troian smacked my ass and asked me for a checkup."
"Of course she did." He says with a roll of his eyes. "If anyone else did that, they'd be on the floor." We sit down and I against him. He rubs my shoulder and kisses the top of my head.
"It's not actually sexual with Tro." I say and then I squint at the light. "Computer, dim lights."
"Did you give yourself a concussion?" He asks as he makes me sit up and produces a little flashlight from basically nowhere.
"I just turned down lights and now you're going to shine that thing in my eyes?" I ask as I swat his hand away. "I'm not concussed. I know what that feels like." I try to get comfortable again. "Where did you even have that?"
"I'm a man of mystery." He says and I laugh. "I knew you wouldn't let me check ya out there, so I waited until now."
"So he's cute and smart." I sound pleasantly surprised. He tilts my chin up and he kisses me. "And an adequate kisser."
"Adequate?" He asks with a raise of his eyebrows. He kisses me again, just a little deeper. "Better?" I pretend to think about it. "You're tough to impress."
"Okay, that wasn't nearly the best you can do." I say with a laugh. "This is going to come out weird, but you're incredibly apprehensive with what I'll call advanced intimacy."
"Advanced intimacy?" He asks with a raise of his eyebrow. "Darlin' with you I'm more worried about makin' sure you feel safe. It's also the sorta thing where I'm gauging how adventurous you are."
"Adventurous?" I ask with a raise of my eyebrows. "So it's not that you aren't attracted to me?"
"Can I tell ya somethin' and you not get mad at me?" He asks and I regard him dubiously before I nod once. "The first time I noticed ya wasn't your black eye."
"You were checking me out." I say and he shrugs. "I guess I just have one of those asses that people like to stare at."
"You have an incredible ass." He says and that makes me giggle and hide my face. "But the rest of you is even better. Well, aside from your tendency to intentionally be a pain in the ass." I laugh again. "I feel like I should say I stopped checkin' you out once we became friends."
"And then started checking me out again when you realized you had stirrings of feelings for me." I say and he looks innocent. "I caught you several times. You're just lucky I don't take offense to it at this point."
"You said puberty hit you like a truck at fourteen." He says and I laugh. That was a conversation our group was having over dinner one night pretty early on.
"These looks cause nothing but trouble." I shake my head. "And I had to wear a full face of makeup every day." Contempt for Niki Gray creeps up. "All in my pearls and my diamonds. Plastering on a smile. Everyone thought I was the perfect girl."
"Well no one is perfect." He tucks my hair behind my ear. "But you're pretty damn close in my opinion. Again, when you're not tryin' to be a pain in the ass."
"And you'll never let me forget it." I say affectionately. "Sorry…she's been coming up in my thoughts a lot lately." He kisses me again.
"I'm qualified, but not necessarily a professional, but I don't think it's healthy to refer to past you as a separate person." He says and I raise an eyebrow in question. "Obviously I don't know every detail, but I do know that you never stopped fightin' for your dreams. You graduated college, two majors and three minors, with a drinking problem and virtually no support system. The way I see it you took yourself back from that situation and started makin' decisions for yourself. So don't have so much contempt for yourself. You did the best you could and I admire you for it."
"I think that's the best thing anyone has ever said to me." I say and I look up towards the ceiling as I feel tears starting to well up. "I hate crying."
"It's just me." He says with a roll of his eyes. "I don't think you're any less of a tough guy."
"It's not about being a tough guy. I'm just tired of crying." I say as I wipe the tears that have fallen away. "If my eyeballs wouldn't shrivel up and fall out, I'd ask you to remove my tear ducts." He laughs at that.
"I don't know if I can help you stop cryin', but I do promise that I'm gonna do my best to make you smile." He says and I close my eyes and shake my head.
"I still don't know where you came from." I say and then I put my finger to his lips. "Figuratively, smart ass." Silent laughter.
"Yeah, well I wasn't always a dreamboat." He says and I look at him. "Darlin', I know you don't forget it, but I got divorced for a reason. Well, a number of reasons. A big one was that I probably never would've married her if I had taken the time to be emotionally available. We got married because it was the next step and then a couple of years down the road Joanna was born. I don't regret that for a minute. She's the best thing to ever happen to me. But once the dust settled, I realized that I really didn't have anything. I drank too much, I wasn't bein' a good example to my daughter of what a man should be. I was lost."
"Accountability looks really good on you." I say and he smiles. "I guess I didn't realize that Rachel was the small-town trap you fell into. I feel kind of insensitive now."
"No, that's absolutely what it was. I didn't get her pregnant first, but I married her for the wrong reasons." He looks at me. "Now don't go thinkin' I'm suggesting anything by sayin' this, but the mistakes I made with her are the reasons why I am the way I am with you."
"I get it." I nod. "Well, you've grown into a great man, Leonard. Even if you secretly check women out."
"I'm tellin' ya, no one else has caught my eye. You're somethin' special." He says and then he holds me a little closer. "I do love you, Olivia Gray."
"And I love you too." I smile before I yawn. "I think a nap is in order. Shall we watch a movie?"
"Sure." He says and I pull the blanket off of the back of the couch and cover myself up while he brings up the screen. "Any requests?"
"Surprise me." I say and his arm comes around me as I use him as a pillow. I lace my fingers with his and settle in.
"So, Dr. Lee," I say as we look over the x-ray of my ankle. "How brave are you feeling today? I know what our agreement is, but Leonard is currently taking an exam."
"He's not going to be thrilled with either of us." He says and I weigh my options. "While worse than the last break I saw you for, it's still technically not that bad. It's a very simple procedure, I've done it over a hundred times. You probably won't even have a scar for that long at all."
"I still hear about last time every now and then." I say with a sigh. "I trust you, but it's a matter of how long do we want to listen to him complain about it? You're only stuck in here with him a few days of the week, I choose to spend more time with him." He laughs then.
"It's ridiculous that we're even having this conversation right now." He shakes his head. "He's pretty quick on his exams usually."
"Good point." I say and then I take out my tablet and send him a message. "If he had control issues in any other aspect of our relationship, I might consider it a problem."
"He certainly cares for you quite a bit. How bad is your discomfort right now?" He asks and I gauge it.
"I'm at about a seven." I say and he nods before he prepares an injection. "I hate those things." I look away as he comes over and injects me with the pain medication. "And I call that stuff truth serum." My tablet pings and I look. "Looks like we've lucked out. I'll let you officially call him, so he feels extra special."
"Alright." He says with a shake of his head before he goes to do just that. I lay back and close my eyes, becoming less tense as the medication begins to do its job. He returns rather quickly. "He's on his way. How's your pain now?"
"Five." I say, not opening my eyes. "Five and getting better." I open my eyes then and narrow them at my ankle. "I'm not so unsure that Hall didn't do this on purpose." Leonard sighs as he enters the room, dressed in scrubs. Dr. Lee must have filled him in.
"That's a pretty serious allegation." Dr. Lee says and then it looks like he's trying to gauge my reaction to the pain medication.
"I get honest, not crazy." I say and his look says 'fair enough'. "I suppose you guys would rather dig deeper into said allegations later?"
"Better safe than sorry." Leonard says as he comes over and begins looking over the x-ray. "What the hell did you do?"
"Events lead up to it and then my foot was firmly planted and the rest of me was twisted another way and I fell." I say and he sighs again. "We almost didn't call you, so don't be so grumpy. We actually saved you the extra grump today."
"What a sweetheart." He says and then he looks to me. "It's gonna be pretty cool, you wanna watch?"
"It'll be good experience." I say and he chuckles and we go about preparing me for the procedure. "You know? Maybe I shouldn't watch. My filter gets pretty nonexistent when I'm on drugs. I got smacked a lot for it."
"Well I can promise you won't get smacked here." Leonard says and I can tell that he wants to be Dr. Boyfriend, but he refrains from it.
"Okay, but when I start flirting with you because of those scrubs and I want to recede into nothing later because of embarrassment, it's your fault." I say and he shakes his head with a quiet laugh.
"There's nothing you can say that we haven't heard before." Dr. Lee says, trying to reassure me.
"And at least since we are involved, it's technically not sexual harassment." Leonard says and I laugh. "Alright, Darlin', you might feel some pressure."
"Child's play." I say and then the procedure begins. "So how long am I looking at for down time?"
"It should only be about three days." Dr. Lee says as he monitors me. "Are you still doing alright?"
"Is pinching normal?" I ask and he adjusts some levels. "So that's a no." I watch Leonard's face. Obviously he's super focused on what he's doing and he looks incredibly handsome. "I think that face is the one I fell in love with." There's a slight quirk in his lip now. "God damn it." I put my hand over my face. "I hate pain medication."
"I don't know, I kinda like it." He notes, his eyes moving to mine briefly. "And that's tame to what Mrs. Jenkins would say to me."
"Pretty nonexistent filter, not completely nonexistent." I say and the quirk is back. "Quit smirking."
"Quit thinkin' dirty things about me." He says and I glare at him. "We're just about done in here."
"Good." I say and I can tell he's amused, but since he is a good doctor, it doesn't distract him. He finishes the repair and closes the incision. Dr. Lee does the dressing as Leonard cleans up. I lay my head back and close my eyes.
"Olivia?" Leonard asks and I look at him. "You good?" I hum and close my eyes again. "You'll have to stay here for probably half an hour, then I'll help ya back to your room."
"Sounds good." I say and I hear as they leave the room. After a little while I hear the door open again, I crack an eye open to see Leonard and I smile. He pulls up a chair beside me, sits down and takes my hand. He places a kiss on it.
"You are capable of being a good patient." He says and I open my eyes again and give him a look. "Lucky you, I'm done for the day, so you have my full attention."
"I'm overjoyed." I say dryly and he chuckles. "I wasn't thinking dirty things about you. That was mean."
"I'm sorry." He says and then he brushes my hair back. "What were you thinkin' then that you thought you should filter out?"
"Things that I wouldn't tell you even in private. Too soon." I say and he raises an eyebrow. "Don't press. I'm in a vulnerable state."
"Don't you remember me sayin' there was nothing you could say that would freak me out?" He asks and I shrug and close my eyes. "I meant it."
"I know you meant it, but that doesn't mean that there couldn't be something. Nobody is capable of fathoming every single possible thing that could bother them. I mean, I thought Jim would run out of things to bug me about two months ago." I say and then I sigh. "It all boils down to, I like spending time with you."
"The feeling is mutual." He says and I smile. "So you really think Hall did this on purpose?"
"Nobody should have been using force enough to break anything that badly." I open my eyes and look at my bandaged ankle. "Motive? Last class, he was being incredibly sexist. He said there was no way a woman could beat him. I wasn't even going to pay any attention to it, but a couple of the other women in my class tried and they lost. He got louder about it, so I walked up and took him down in about three moves."
"We'll definitely pursue this one then." He says and I smile. "Commander Groff should already be raising questions about the amount of force used. Did Simmons bring you in here?"
"Actually, Daniels did. He said something about Simmons wanting to beat the crud out of Hall." I shake my head. "Has it been half an hour yet? It's cold in here."
"Do you feel like you could walk?" He asks and I think for a moment before I nod. "Alright." I guess I hadn't noticed that he'd brought in the crutches. He helps me off of the bed and I keep my bad foot off of the floor as I take the crutches and take an experimental step. I'm good. I start heading for the door.
"I hope it doesn't surprise you that I'm an expert at this." I say and he shakes his head as he grabs my bag for me. I smile to Dr. Lee on the way out and once we're outside, I'm immediately warm. "That's a lot better."
"Would you slow down? I realize you might be an expert, but you are still injured." He says and I look over my shoulder at him. "I'm a doctor, damn it, you should listen to me about these things at least."
"Dr. Hunky, this is hardly the worst injury I've had in my life." I say and then I turn my attention ahead of me as I crutch down the stairs, a little slower than I would have otherwise. "We should stop for food first."
"That's a good idea. I know you had a light lunch." He says and I look over my shoulder at him again. "I'm not the one stalkin' you. Fairchild noticed and decided to let me know. As if you listen to me."
"So your friend is stalking me. Joy." I say and he chuckles. We make it to the mess hall and Leonard makes me sit down before he goes and gets us food.
"Ollie?" Josh asks as he's walking by with his own tray. "What happened to you? Please tell me you're not here alone."
"Relax." I say gently. "I'm not alone, Leonard went to get me something to eat. I broke my ankle, but it's fixed. I'm just going to be gimpy for a couple of days."
"Three days." Leonard says as he sets the tray down in front of me. "And I'll follow ya around to make sure of it if I have to."
"I don't know why I didn't like you more to begin with." Josh says as he sets his tray down across from me. Leonard has a seat as well. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. A little honest from pain meds, but I'm fine. I'm like a cheetah on crutches, so it's barely like anything is wrong." I say and I see Leonard roll his eyes in my peripheral vision. "I have places to be, Leonard."
"Well, if you need help getting to the places you need to be for the next three days, all you have to do is ask." Josh says and I smile at him. "At least it's Thursday."
"Yeah and Juarez and I are in classes together all day tomorrow. So it'll work out." I shrug. "I'm not really worried about it." I begin to pick at my food.
"I got that for you to eat, not to pick at like a damn bird." Leonard says and I shoot him a look.
"Look, I said I should eat. My body just literally has no desire to consume anything." I say and he looks concerned.
"This might have been a more serious injury than I first thought." He says and then he looks to Josh. "Did she try to consume everything in sight as a kid?"
"Nope, she just had a deep appreciation for food." He says and I shake my head. He takes a bowl off of his tray and puts it on mine. "Try that out." It's applesauce. I take a bite.
"Huh. That didn't make me feel like I was going to hurl." I say and I go in for another bite. "Why does my appetite become that of a toddler's when I'm on this shit."
"Really though, that used to be all Mom and I could get you to eat when you were sick. At least until you turned five, then you decided that you absolutely hated applesauce." He says and I laugh.
"I remember that." I smile. We have some good memories with our mother…she just never fought back or tried to keep us safe. She just gave in to it. I attempt to eat some more, but my body really just won't have it. At least I've got something in my system. A little more than half of what he brought me and then all of the applesauce.
"Alright, we'll get ya back to your room so that you can rest up." Leonard says as he stacks our trays.
"And I'll let you know if I need any help." I say to Josh with a smile. "Thanks for the applesauce."
"No worries." He says and I grab the crutches and haul myself up. Leonard gives me a long look.
"I am a strong, independent woman and I can hobble around by myself." I say, channeling most of my sass. "Bye Josh." That part was sweet.
"It was good seein' ya again." Leonard says to my brother who waves and we leave. "You need to take it easy."
"I'm using the crutches, aren't I?" I ask and then I smile. We make it to our residence hall and arrive at my room. I hobble over to my bedroom and pause briefly to check him out as he sets my bag down. I go to my dresser and pull out some shorts and a tee shirt. Basically, my uniform for hanging out around my room. I lean the crutches against the wall and I pull my tank top and sports bra off before I put the tee shirt on. I pull my leggings down over my butt before I sit down on the bed. I take off my remaining tennis shoe and sock and then pull them off the rest of the way. Then I pull the shorts most of the way up and finish by standing. I've got this. I take the crutches and head back out to the living room. He's set up a pretty great nest for me.
"Do you want me to stick around?" He asks and I appraise him as I crutch over. "Darlin'?" I stand up on my toes, still holding my bad foot off of the ground and I kiss him.
"There may have been some dirty thoughts." I say and he smirks. "Those biceps…Makes me want to study anatomy again."
"Alright, Darlin'." He helps me sit down before he props up my ankle and puts an ice pack on it. "I'm gonna change before you hurt yourself, since I'm so hard to resist." I roll my eyes. "I'll be back." He leans over and kisses the top of my head before he leaves. I lay my head back and close my eyes.
