Remember the day
I set you free
I told you you could always count on me, darling
From that day on, I made a vow
I'll be there when you want me
Someway, somehow

Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

Leonard McCoy was used to experiencing guilt

He felt guilty for patients, throughout his career, that he had not managed to save. He felt guilty for how much he fought with his Pa, before he died. He felt guilty that he couldn't make his marriage work. He felt guilty that his job took him into space, beyond anything he would have ever thought he would have landed his ass in, and away from his daughter. He felt guilty that Joanna had parents who bitterly attempted to maintain a relationship for their daughter. He felt guilty that a majority of his talks with his daughter were over video calls.

He felt guilty that he had done to June exactly what the woman dreaded would happen.

He had waited outside of that room with Jim, in the Starfleet Headquarters that made him feel all types of damn uncomfortable. Jim had opened his mouth to Leonard before Leonard could even, finally, admit to Jim that he had grown far closer to June than protocol would ever allow. Not that he gave a damn. He had given more than enough to Starfleet. Still, he couldn't mask his surprise when Jim had turned to him when June, in all of her jittery, nervous glory, had slipped into the room where the Admirals awaited, and had considered Leonard with a quirked brow and a,

'I didn't think she was your type, Bones. You wanna stare at her more like she hung the freakin' moon in the sky, you old romantic, you-'

He was, firstly, annoyed that he had not been the one to tell Jim. He did not want James T. damn Kirk thinking Leonard was sneaking around with June in a way that he certainly was not. Secondly, he was annoyed that Jim had noticed. Not that Leonard had allowed himself to act upon what he felt for the curious, odd woman who he had more than willingly allowed into his personal space.

He had snapped and grunted at his, admittedly, best friend a good few times, arms crossed and glare only making Jim smile all the wider. His damn Captain had still reprimanded him, of course, reminding Leonard that he should never hide something like this from him, and that June was not someone to be spending too much time with; not when Starfleet had not even had their say in her trial yet.

That had pissed Leonard off. 'She's not a damn Photon Torpedo, Jim. She ain't gonna blow up. The woman was damn lonely and I spent time with her, don't - why in the hell are you lookin' at me like that, you damn idiot?'

Jim, Leonard remembers, had seemed almost proud. That pride had faded rather fucking fast when Jim had found out that Leonard was intending to tell him the fact that he and June had been sharing sleeping Quarters, but only because Spock, the pointy eared bastard, had said he would if Leonard did not. 'Spock knew? And sleeping together-?!'

Leonard was forced to shove a hand over Jim's mouth, because people were beginning to stare. He had assured Jim rather blandly that it started as comfort to June, whose obvious PTSD riddled her sleep with nightmares, and because Leonard...well, he wanted to say that he sometimes felt the itching of June at the back of his mind (like whatever the fuck that crazy Doctor had done to her made her wriggle her way into peoples minds, specifically his), but he does not. He instead informs Jim that he is a Doctor, dammit, and if he wants to help his patients, he damn will.

'Well,' Jim had replied, a grin sliding onto his features. 'Next time I'm a little shaken up from a mission, I do not give your permission to slide into my bed, Bones. Captain's orders-'

'Shut up, Jim'.

They had been called into the room, and he had nearly smiled at the sight of June, standing with her shoulders stiff and her chin high and her cheeks flushed in a way that told him she was very worked up. He had been on the receiving end of her anger enough times to know the tell-tale signs. Her hair, brushed but still curling wildly, had grown enough that it brushed behind her shoulders, and he could see from the style of it that she had been wiping her hand through the strands in frustration.

He thought of what they might have said to her, as the Admiral spoke and June continued to gulp in small breaths beside him. Had they said what she had dreaded, but what was so true? She was dangerous right now. He had witnessed her practising with her abilities, and it was only when he saw such a thing that he realised how much the idea...well, it damn worried him. June was powerful. More powerful than even she seemed to realise. He wondered if they had shared the fact that he had, of course, given them information on the Medical examinations he had preformed on her.

It was his damn job, but such a thing had felt...out of place.

Say aye, Admiral Lee had said.

Leonard had, and he knew it was the right thing to do, but he still hated himself for it.

He had followed June out of the room, wanting to scoff at the affronted faces of the Admiral's at June's biting remark, her name on his lips and her fiery red hair swinging as she stomped forward. The way she had walked, angry and frustrated...well, he would never tell her, but it reminded him of a reprimanded Joanna. Jim had been on his heels, equally as justified in his vote, but upset at the idea of upsetting someone who had, somehow, found her place aboard the Enterprise.

Leonard felt guilt. He felt guilt that he had not voted for what June had wanted. He felt guilt that she was betrayed by himself and Jim - Jim, the damn idiot, who had not warned Leonard or June of this vote. He felt guilt that he was, by voting aye, shutting her away from the world she so desperately wanted to see, even if for a week. June saw things, with those green eyes; she wanted to see things. She ate up this new world with a gaping mouth and wide eyes. He will never understand the way she looks at the looming disaster that is space, but that doesn't mean he isn't half in love with the wonder and amazement in her gaze when she does.

In love. Stupid damn thing to think. When had that ever worked out for him? June was young and beautiful and successful and bright and funny and a damn wild-fire that should never be tamed by his bitterness. He...he was going to be gone and soon; out to space for five damn years, and she was going to build a life for herself. June Adams, he knows, was built to show people that despite where she was from, she would never just be Edgar Bates' experiment.

She had been angry. No, perhaps that wasn't the right word. Disappointed. So much damn worse. He knows then that Jim realises his mistake; he should have told her what would happen. She would have been angry either way, but the fact that she had not been trusted with this information hurt her more than anything. Leonard stays quiet, in the lift, because he knows that is what she wants. Jim does not.

She proves him wrong, and uses her power in a way that is calm and purposeful, and he knows that she is getting stronger.

And then Maria Atwood, the woman he had heard so much about, is being hounded by the Security in the Headquarters, her shouts of whether June Adams was okay as she dragged away nearly overshadowing Leonard's own growls of, 'I need a damn Medical team - now, Goddammit!' He holds June in his arms, and he suddenly thinks of the last time this had happened, when she was cold and still and on the brink of being dead.

Now, she was just overwhelmed and alive. Later, he thinks, she would be mortified that she had fainted.

Medical comes and Leonard is brushed away by the Nurses, insisting that they can handle this and that Miss Adams would be fine. He follows the orders from a particularly stern Nurse, complying when Jim drags him away and launches into a tirade of theories and statements and, Jesus Christ, Maria Atwood was alive. Do you realise what this could do for the trial, Bones? Bates tried to kill all of the Doctors, but she's alive. She's the one who got June out of that place!

Leonard does not see June for the rest of the night. He is alerted by Jim when June is delivered back to her Quarters, because Jim had tried to knock on her door, only to be ignored. He knows June was probably sleeping (that, or she was punishing Jim in such a June way, but he does not tell Jim this), and he does not try and visit her. He had disappointed her in a way that he knew would feel like the ultimate betrayal to her right now.

Tomorrow was the Trial. She needed to sleep.

He and Jim gather for drinks with Scotty, Spock and Uhura. Chekov will be back tomorrow. He's needed for the Trial, having been in the Bunker and seen things that the Admirals need to know about. Sulu, on the other hand, was entirely wrapped up in his family, and Leonard could not blame him. The day after tomorrow he would see Joanna, and he could not damn wait. He sips at his bourbon, surrounded by so many people in the bar at the bottom of the Shore Leave complex, and he thinks of June, high above him and all alone.

It takes him a full hour to pluck up the courage, but he finally leans over to Scotty admist the smooth jazz music and the mindless chatter, and mutters, 'You fancy paying a visit to June after this, Mister Scott? I know she'd appreciate it, and Jim and I have kinda pissed her off-'

Scotty snorts, gives Leonard a wink, and informs him that the Captain had already asked him to do that. 'I'll go see the lassie, don't you worry. I'll even sneak a wee drink up for her. You two did what you had t' do, Doctor. She knows that. Lass is stubborn as hell, but she knows right from wrong. That's an Engineer for ya'.

Scotty leaves half an hour after that, and an hour later Leonard walks past June's room with Jim, having left Nyota and Spock to continue their discussion on the origins of various Vulcan dialects, and hears the snorting laugh that he knows belongs to June pass through the door. He manages a small smile, before smothering it before Jim can see.

'I wasn't joking, before,' Jim informs Leonard. His Captain follows him into his own Quarters and Leonard pours them both a night-cap. 'When I said I wouldn't mind her calling me Captain. I don't want to...force her, but-'

'I know Jim,' Leonard replies, settling onto the chair opposite the blonde-haired man. 'I know'.

Leonard hates his formal uniform. It is tight and stiff and the hat makes him feel like a damn idiot. He knows Jim feels the same way too, and he's lost count of the amount of times he's made the joke that Jim's head is far too big for the hat, anyway. They're standing in the long corridor outside the Starfleet Court where, soon, the doors will be opened and they will pile into the room.

He doesn't know why he's damn nervous. Every single person here knows how it's going to end: with Edgar Bates being found guilty. He's nervous, he knows, for June. 'June tried to ask me about that Atwood woman,' Scotty says, as they all gather in a group with their coffees balanced in their hands. Apart from Spock. The damn Vulcan doesn't believe in caffeine to fuel energy. 'Dunno much, anyway - she seemed pretty intent on ignoring the Quarantine thing and findin' Atwood herself-'

'She's calling it a Quarantine?' Jim nearly moans, back against the wall and a painfully guilty expression on his face. Scotty cocks a brow, Ensign Chekov leans over to eye a passing pretty looking Admiral, and Lieutenant Uhura sips her coffee, flips her hair, and replies,

'Is that not what it is, Captain?' in a tone that Leonard was familiar with. No one could quite beat Nyota Uhura on her passive aggressive comments. It was one of the many things he admired about the woman. That, and the fact she managed to shut down Spock's many tirades of logic and Doctor McCoy, think logically with a mere look.

The conversation flips to Spock informing Scotty that he most likely should not have allowed June alcohol the night before, to which the Scotsman shuts the Vulcan up with a glare and a, 'She's not a damn child, Mister Spock. Anyhow, I be rememberin' clearly that when Captain Kirk here introduced you to hazelnut chocolate, ya were damn near inebriated and had to have the sweet forcibly removed-'

Leonard snorts at the green hue that flushes Spock's cheeks, whilst Nyota places a reassuring hand on her boyfriend's shoulder and hides her own smile. Leonard sees Admiral Lee, then, and soon after Akachi striding through the few peoples gathered in the hallway. There were only a few; mostly Admirals and Science Officers who needed to be present. The Admirals talk to one another, before signalling the Security manning the doors of the Court to step aside.

He looks about as they walk into the room, and then he sees June.

She is wearing a dress. A black, knee length dress that shows her pale shoulders and collar bone and flares out at her waist. Her fingers, he sees, grasp tightly at the hem and roll the fabric between her fingers in a nervous manner. Her hair is loose; wild and red and thank God she hadn't tied it up, despite how much more professional such a thing would have been. She is wearing make-up, for the first time, and Leonard cannot quite believe how someone so obviously terrified manages to hold their head high like nothing is wrong.

She's beautiful.

Nyota sidles up beside him, before the others can see June's arrival, and whispers, 'I visited her this morning. Without Spock. I can see why you like her, Doctor McCoy'. He glares at the Comm's Officer, to which she smiles up at him with a closed mouth grin. 'She insisted on wearing a dress. She's quite stubborn'.

He grunts, and Nyota turns away with a hidden smile. June, flanked by two Security personnel, catches his gaze over the heads of the Admiral's as they lead her toward the open Court, and holds his gaze for a solid few seconds. She is angry, he can see, but she is there. He is about to move forward to reach her, but a booming voice says,

'Ladies and Gentleman, the Court session will soon begin. Make you way into the Court'.

They do, lined up at the front of the tall, white and windowless room where he had been many times in his days at the Academy. The Medical field held for many who needed to be found guilty or innocent, and it was part of his training to sit in on so many of these damn Court sessions. He stands between Spock and Jim, and Scotty is the one only one who sits amongst the watchers of the Court. There are only then of them; those who had been given permission and were trusted to keep this classified information of June's abilities quiet, as well as Starfleet's failure to keep a close eye on Bates.

The Admirals line up at the front, and June is taken to sit three rows in front of him. Her hands are shaking. Leonard glances around and takes a deep breath, wondering where Bates and Atwood were.

Once everyone is settled, the five Admirals wave toward someone at the back of the room, and it is at that moment that Edgar Bates is brought forward, his hands in handcuffs, his white stubble stark against his skin, and his clothes drooping against his form. Leonard stiffens and a murmur breaks out across the Court and Jim swears from next to him, because the man, even as he his led to stand on the opposing side of the Court to June, does not take his eyes away from the red-haired woman.

Leonard is not a violent man, but he would be more than happy to introduce Edgar Bates to the many strains of terrible diseases he has locked away in his Sick Bay.

Lee clears her throat before speaking, her voice amplified across the Court. 'We are gathered here today to judge the guilt of Edgar Bates, once an esteemed Science Officer in Starfleet. Edgar Bates is charged with murder of the first degree six times, kidnapping, illegal experiments, and the endangerment of Clion 2BA'.

Leonard watches June from behind. He watches her shoulders move with her deep breaths and the way her fists clench at her sides as she sits, alone, at the table. She should not be alone, he thinks. She has no damn idea how these things work. The Admirals continue to talk, listing the wrongdoings of Edgar Bates, before finally explaining the place of June Adams. The woman was yanked from her time, kept in confinement for weeks on end, experimented on, and finally rescued by the U.S.S Enterprise, Captained by James T. Kirk.

Then, it begins.

Jim stands before the Admirals first, relaying the experience of being beamed upon the Chronos; the day they rescued June. He speaks of the clues to her abilities, and how helpful she had been. He explains how he learnt of Edgar Bates, and the day on Clion 2BA when he and the ground party had been forced to leave June and Leonard behind. He explains, his eyes flitting toward June, what he had seen her do in the Bunker. Next is Spock. He explains more or less the same in a far more factual manner, before assuring June's experiences were true, after his mind-meld with her.

Leonard is next. He damn hates standing in front of all these Starfleet officials, his gruff voice echoing around the room and all eyes on him.

He says much the same as Spock and Jim. He retells the experience of going aboard the Chronos, just in case anyone needed Medical attention, namely the person they were rescuing, and first meeting June Adams. 'She threw a damn plate at my head. Woman was obviously in distress'. In his peripheral vision, June shifts in her seat. He talks of his experiences with her Medical, leaving out the sharing of beds, before pausing, thinking, and relaying something he should have said yesterday.

'June Adams didn't ask for anything of this,' he drawls, standing and facing the Admirals and trying his best not to look at June, who sits five feet to his left. 'She didn't ask to be yanked to this Universe, she didn't ask to be wrapped up in any of this, and she certainly did not ask to be judged for what that man did to her. I'd be dead without her - pretty damn sure a whole damn species would be dead without her'. He does look at her then, and sees green eyes and flushed cheeks and a face that says thanks, idiot. He sighs, purses his lips, and looks back up to Admiral Lee. 'You ask me, I'm pretty damn sure you should be beggin' for her forgiveness for even thinkin' this woman is anythin' but a damn hero. I sure know I will be'.

He is dismissed after that, ignores Jim's hard stare, and watches as June follows his steps with a small smile. Chekov is next, then Uhura, both relaying what they had seen in the bunker with wonder and the what knowledge they had before, finally, Edgar Bates is called to stand. The man stands with his head high and his white hair ruffled, and there is utter silence when he finally takes his stand before the Admirals. There is no shame, Leonard realises, in the way this guilty man holds himself.

He sees June's head turn toward the mad man, and prays to whatever the fuck there is up there for her to keep herself under control. The Admirals will be watching for even the smallest flicker of a light; any sign of loss of control.

Edgar Bates does not wait to be asked a question, and instead launches into a tirade of arrogance and explanation, none of which defend his actions. He speaks with pride that has Leonard's hands curling into fists as his side, and Jim dipping his head and shaking it beside him. Even Spock, Leonard notes, tilts his head in a way that, for the Vulcan, is basically a damn gape.

'-You mean to say, Admirals, that Two is not a weapon? With the threat of the Klingons, would such a being not be useful in this time? With the proper training, it is infinite what Two could do. I have seen it firsthand. I have seen the beauty of her abilities. My Portal is gone, yes, but I had plans when it began to grow. Plans to ensure she was not the only one'. He pauses and licks his lip, and takes a stumbling step towards the platform the Admirals sit upon. 'It is so lucky that a female came through second, of course-'

'Fucking Christ,' Jim mutters next to him, and the implications of Bates' words settle around the Court, and hurried murmurs spread like wildfire. Leonard hardly notices Nyota's hand flies to her mouth, for he is trying very damn hard not to throw the PADD in his pocket at Bates. Bastard meant to fucking breed her. Leonard feels sick. He thanks his lucky fucking stars that Maria damn Atwood decided to grow a damn pair and get June out of there when she did. God knows what could have happened to her.

June, he notices, does not move. Her back is stiff and what little he can see of the curve of her jaw is tight.

'That is enough, Bates,' Admiral Lee snaps, her hands clasped so tightly in front of her that her fingers are turning white. She swallows, and Leonard remembers that she had been the only one to vote for June to not be Quarantined. 'It was agreed that you would talk in this Court to perhaps further the understanding of why you did what you did, and if there was any ounce of regret toward your actions. You continue to fail to see June Adams as anything but a product of your own creation, and not a Human being. You are dismissed. Your guilt is clear, Edgar Bates. I call a break of session of fifteen minutes, and after we will truly see the horror of your ways from those who bore witness to it'. The woman waves a hand and the Security go forward to grab Bates. After he is dragged from the room without much hassle, the dozen people watching the Court stand and begin talking amongst themselves, including the Admirals.

Leonard and the others remain seated.

'He is sick,' Uhura snaps, her cheeks flushed with indignation. Ensign Chekov even looks mildly put-off. Jim, on the other hand, was chewing at his thumbnail, a tell-tale sign that he was royally pissed off.

'Quite,' agrees Spock, brow furrowed.

There is the bang of the doors opening, and a few people begin to stand and mill toward the hallway where they had waited before. Leonard is hardly paying attention to anyone else; he sees only how June stands, her fingers pressed against the table-top, and turns on her heel with quickly blinking eyes. Her face is pale, Leonard realises, and she does not glance their way as she surges past them all and heads for the doors. She walks like she has a damn yapping dog at her heels.

'God dammit,' Leonard curses, tripping over his own feet to push past his friends and go after June. They move aside easily, each taking a moment longer to realise what he was doing. Admiral Lee, he realises, was already standing as if to go after the woman who was under Starfleet's care, but nods easily when she sees the CMO of the Enterprise making his way after June.

Admiral would have a damn lot to say about it if she knew my concern went beyond darn patient care.

He passes Scotty at the door, who says a quick, 'She went tha' way, laddie,' and juts a thumb right. Leonard follows, his damn dress shoes slamming against the shiny white flooring as he does so. The hallway was quiet this way, away from the hubbub of the Court session. It was a restricted area today, anyway. Top secret, he thinks drily.

He rounds one corner, and finds her standing in front of a large window where the late afternoon sunlight filters through. She is pressed against the white wall and facing the window, her hands wringing in front of her and her hair pushed behind both ears. She is flushed, he sees, with her black shoes wiggling as if her toes were twitching with agitation within them. He knows from sharing a bed with her that this was something that she did, but he knows full well that he kicks his legs out in his sleep.

She turns, hearing him, and her hands fall to her sides and her shoulders sag.

There is a long pause, in which he feels far too big for the damn uniform that was stiff and crisp. He much preferred his airy Medical uniform and the freedom he had within his Sick Bay. For so many years, that was his safe place. That, or his Office. No one to annoy him. No one to ask him stupid questions. He wasn't sure when his safe place started to become a red-haired woman curled around him in her sleep, her light snores and crinkled nose possibly one of the greatest sights to wake up to.

Dammit, he thinks, swallowing tightly as he stares at her. I'm darn in love with her.

'They're going to bring Maria Atwood out,' she tells him, her voice far higher than it usually is. She stays where she is, and he stays where he is. June shakes her head, her eyes rolling and her fists clenching and unclenching. She groans. 'The first thing I thought when he said...when he said that he would have fucking resorted to rape,' the word is harsh on her tongue, and she spits it like it is the filthiest word on the planet. 'I just thought that must have been what set her over the edge. I remember her being softer to me as time went on...she couldn't let him do that. That's where she drew the line, apparently'. She looks away from him, and then to the floor. 'I want to do to him what I did to those men in the Bunker'. Green eyes find his, and she looks years older than she is in that moment. 'Does that make me dangerous?' She says the word with an air of sarcasm, and he knows that she is referring to yesterday.

He walks toward her, then. She lets him. She doesn't glare or turn away as he would have expected her to. She stares him down, unblinking and strong, until he stands a mere foot in front of her. 'No,' he replies, and he believes it entirely. 'It makes you human, sweetheart. 'Cause you damn well are'.

She grins, eyes crinkling and cheeks rounding and she snorts in a way that Joce would never, because whereas Joce laughed with her hand against her mouth and her eyes watering in a way that Leonard still remembers fondly, June laughed like she wasn't afraid to sound like a damn idiot. She loosens her fists in front of her, and Leonard sees the half-moon indents that her nails had made in her palm. One, he sees, had drawn blood 'I really thought I wouldn't be able to control myself when he started talking,' she mutters, flexing her fingers. 'But I fucking did'. She grins up at him again, and his stomach drops to his damn feet.

Jesus. He was damn mooning over her like he was seventeen again.

'You still wanna meet Jo tomorrow?' he inquires, swallowing tightly and not trusting himself to not push her up against that wall and kiss her until he couldn't breathe anymore. He hopes she says yes. He'd already informed Joce that he has a friend he would like Jo to meet. It's his little girls first time on a Shuttle alone, and she was damn near gleeful at the idea of doing something so independent.

June wrinkles her nose and throws him a look. 'Idiot. Of course I do. Whilst I well and truly wanted to yank those overly expressive eyebrows off your pretty face yesterday - and I still do, to be honest - that doesn't mean I'm done with you, McCoy. Or Jim. Although, I am far more annoyed with him'.

He grimaces. 'Dammit'.

She snorts, slaps his arm, and then sighs. 'I suppose we had better head back. It's mine turn to talk soon'. She winces, and he slips down to hold her hand and pull her closer to him. One night away from her and he felt like he needed to touch her just to make up for it...what the hell would he do for five God damn years? He watches the way her eyes widen and her cheeks flush and her pupils dilate as she looks up at him, and he truly wonders how soft that pretty mouth would be under his own.

'Ya gonna be fine, sweetheart'.

She smiles, leans up, and presses a kiss to the line of his jaw; an action that has heat swirling in his stomach and his eyebrow shooting up. She shrugs, steps away from him and nods. 'Yeah,' June agrees, before nodding for him to follow her. 'You know, Scotty got me really fucking drunk last night. Do you think you'll all want to drink tonight? I was so annoyed I couldn't join you all because I was too busy being bitter and angry-'

He follows her and side-eyes. 'God forbid you don't make your point'.

'Exactly,' she agrees, and shoots him one last smile before her expression falls into that of worry. 'Fucking hell,' she swears, before sighing and moving into the Court and leaving his side, already weaving her way toward her place at the front. He watches her go, before nodding to Scotty who sits at the back, and once again finding his place beside Jim and Spock.

Jim leans over to him, standing in respect as the Admirals take their places, and mutters, 'You're too cute, Bones-'

'I'll skin you alive, Jim. I'm a Doctor. I know how'.

Jim scoffs, and June's name is called by Admiral Lee and Leonard watches her walk to the front, her hands in fists and her feet squeaking against the floor. He sits with everyone else, and watches the back of her head as she clears her throat and looks up to the five Admirals she had faced yesterday. There is a pause, and then the tell-tale signs of the Court doors opening again show Bates, held by Security, and swiftly followed by the dark haired and bruised form of Maria Atwood.

The woman, Leonard can see, is entirely resigned to her fate.

'Miss Adams,' Admiral Lee smiles. 'If you would start at the beginning'.

Yooooo. I am so happy I am reaching these chapter. We are SO close to the ending of this story-line. I'm probably not being accurate at all with all of this Law talk, but oh well. It's all fiction. Anyway, I hope you guys like this whole thing from Bones POV, and seeing June from his POV and all that. The next chapter will be back to June, and her in the Trial. Thank you all so much for the support! I can't believe we're nearly at 200 reviews!

Also, I have had a few people ask whether I named June 'June' because it is so close to 'Jane', eleven's real name in Stranger Things. This is a really good fucking idea, so of course the answer is no. I actually named her June because I love the character from the book/TV show The Handmaid's Tale! Good shout though, guys. I sincerely wish I had thought of that, haha.