Leonard was muttering under his breath as he sprinted down the courtyard in route to the teaching hospital. He had received an urgent comm from Jim, the man's voice frantically demanding Leonard to meet him at the emergency room. He slowed as he reached the hospital, catching sight of Jim pacing back and forth at the entrance.

"What the hell was so urgent for you to call me here?" Leonard asked in annoyance, "I was gettin' ready for my-"

"It's my sister, damn it." Jim was definitely frantic when he interrupted him, his blue eyes wild, his hair tousled from pulling at it with his fingers, which he was currently doing. Jim Kirk was many things, but when it came to his sister, the man would jump off a cliff if it meant saving her.

The words registered in Leonard like a snap of fingers, and switched his mind to doctor mode. "What happened?"

"I'm her emergency contact and got a call," Jim said, "Jordan got hurt in her biochemistry lab today."

Leonard's thoughts raced rapidly, his heart beating fast at the sudden dread that ran through him. It was sheer panic, all the sounds around him drowning out as he entered the emergency room in swift steps with Jim in tow, heading straight to the reception area where a nurse stood with a PADD in hand.

"Nurse, where is Jordan Kirk?" he asked firmly, his voice almost authoritative. The nurse eyed his medical badge dubiously and checked her PADD.

"You're not family, Doctor McCoy."

"I'm gonna ask you again-"

"I'm James Kirk, her brother," Jim stated, a frown on his boyish features. "Doctor McCoy is with me."

"She's in exam room five, but Doctor Mendez is in with her already."

Leonard pursed his lips as he let out a deep and low grumble. "Come on Jim."

Entering the main triage area, the two men hurriedly walked until they located the room in question, and Leonard could hear Jordan's annoyed and exasperated voice spewing colorful words to the doctor in the room. Pulling the curtain open with brute force, Leonard entered with a peremptory stance, his eyes landing on Jordan sitting on the biobed, her face beet red from yelling, cheeks stained from the constant tears spilling over, one hand nursing her other arm which was blistery and puffy from elbow to wrist.

"Doctor Mendez, my name is Doctor McCoy," Leonard announced with a stern voice and held out his hand to the exit. "I'll take over from here."

The doctor sighed in relief, pushing the medical PADD into Leonard's hands. "Good luck with her."

The doctor out of sight, Leonard took a deep breath, the panic in him subsiding slightly as he pulled on a stool that was off to the side, bringing it closer to Jordan and sitting down. Jim was instantly at her other side, fussing like a mother hen as he pushed her auburn hair out of her face and inspected her for any other injuries.

Jordan gritted her teeth, irritation visibly coursing through her and slapped Jim's hands away. "You had to call Len, Jim. Really?"

"Damn it Jojo, of course I called him. I was thinking the worst."

"I was going to take care of this myself if it weren't for my instructor threatening to withdraw me from the course. I don't need a doctor, Jim. I am a doctor."

"Jojo, come on-"

"Listen darlin'," Leonard said softly, placing a hand on her exposed knee and squeezing. "He's your brother and he cares about you. Let me take a look."

Jordan's tears were flowing much quicker now as she shook her head in a frenetic motion. She cradled her injured arm closer to her body, her eyes pleading and watery. "No."

Leonard's heart clenched in his chest, the urge to shelter her in his arms and never let go was prominent and urging, to hold her petite face in his hands and kiss the pain away. His thoughts surprised him, clearing his throat and averted his eyes, looking at Jim who was rubbing soothing circles on Jordan's back.

"Jojo please," Jim said with worry, "that burn looks real nasty."

"I told you that I can take care of this."

"Let Bones look at it."

A methodical sigh escaping his lips, Leonard glanced Jordan, who was still as skittish as a caged animal, and brought eyes back to Jim in resolve. "Can you wait outside while I talk to her?"

Jim nodded, disappearing beyond the curtain and out of sight, leaving Jordan and Leonard in palpable silence, the heart rate sensors above Jordan's head starting to beep faster. He was sure she was just as nervous as he was, especially since his hand was still resting on her knee, and he cleared his throat softly.

"I don't like to see you hurtin' sweetheart," Leonard said slowly, "I was in a panic when Jim told me that you were in here, and all I want to do is get you back to normal and you showin' me that pretty smile of yours. Let me take care of you."

He brought his hand up cautiously, extending it to her injured arm, stopping just inches from touching her with his fingers, waiting for her response. Her tears stopped and she sniffled, giving him a small nod as she brought her blistery arm over his hand. She was hot to the touch, a clear indication of a second degree burn.

"What happened Jo?"

"We were in a simulation, and some idiot knocked over some chemicals. I pushed my lab partner away, but it got me."

"You're soundin' a little like your brother there, jumpin' in at the first sign of trouble."

"I think I need dermaline gel," she whispered, her voice slightly shaky, and Leonard nodded as he continued to survey the damage.

"I agree darlin'."

"You were worried about me?"

Leonard paused his inspection when she reached out and covered his hand with her own small one, her fingers intertwining in a relaxed hold. She was watching him with curious eyes, the redness of her face seeping away, her lips parting in a mild sigh. He couldn't tear his eyes away from those lips of hers, how he suddenly craved to touch them with his thumb, feel them against his mouth. It was a leaden feeling that weighed down on his chest, which caused him to inhale a sharp deep breath.

"Of course I was worried about you," he reassured her, squeezing her hand as he stood up from the stool. "We've already established that we're friends, and friends take care of each other."

You damn fool.

He slipped his hands from hers and turned around to rummage through the medicine cabinet, grimacing at his own words. The thoughts that ran through his mind were anything but friendly, and the impulse to act upon them was getting harder to hold back.

Since that night they spent together in deep conversation at that cozy little lounge, all he wanted was to have her with him at all time, every waking hour, within arm's reach.

And when she intertwined her fingers with his just moments before, he was about to give in to his treacherous thoughts and just let go and to hell with the repercussions.

Finding the dermaline gel along with a roll of pseudocutan dressing and a pair of sterile gloves, and some common sense to push back his thoughts, he turned back to Jordan, who was still staring at him with those inquisitive blue eyes, her bottom lip now between her teeth. Even with her bedraggled appearance, she was beautiful.

"I'm gonna lather your arm with the gel and cover it with the dressing," he explained softly as he got to work, focusing his eyes on her arm. "You'll have a deep scar once it all heals, but I can get you to have a couple of rounds with the dermal regenerator afterwards, and it'll be like you never got your pretty skin burned."

They sat in silence as Leonard bandaged her up carefully, but he could feel her eyes on him like a blazing star warming his skin.

"I have a slight case of latrophobia," she said in a soft tone. "It was part of the reason why I became a doctor myself. It was mostly because of taking care of Jim, but I have an innate fear of someone medically taking care of me. Strangers for the most part."

"Well darlin', we're not strangers, not for a long time now," Leonard countered as he finished the last dressing. "You trusted me enough to take care of you as a doctor. I'd say that's a step in the right direction."

"Yes, you're right."

"I'll let you in on a little secret of mine," he mused, "I have aviophobia."

"A doctor that's afraid of flying but training to fly in space, and a doctor afraid of other doctors." Jordan let out a watery giggle. "Well, aren't we a phobic pair?"

——

Inhaling the smell of the dewy night, Leonard strolled down the sidewalk, his eyes crestfallen and a scowl on his face. It was close to 23:00 and he should've been at his dorm getting ready for bed, but the unsettled nerves in the pit of his stomach were too much. Jim had watched him carefully when he had paced back and forth in the small room, but Leonard didn't give him the chance to ask him what was going on when he grabbed his jacket and left without a second glance.

It had been a few days since he last saw Jordan's smiling face, which was his choice to do so, and he was regretting it deeply. She had completed the last round of the dermal regenerator to clear up her arm of the heavy scarring from the burn she had weeks ago, and they were sharing a lot of time together. Leonard had scrounged up the courage to ask her to join him for dinner, but before he could even say a word, she told him she was going out on a date, a damn fucking date, and all he could do was swallow the large lump in his throat and take it like a champ.

He understood why Jim told him he was running out of time, and he let her slip through his fingers because of his own damn insecurities. He felt like he was kicked hard in his nether regions.

After what seemed like hours of walking, he reached the small bar he frequented when he felt troubled and walked in, inhaling the smell of liquor and old wooden furniture.

But he stopped in his tracks.

She was sitting by the bar, nursing a glass of whiskey in her hand as her elbow rested on the bar top, looking like an angel that had fallen from heaven. The dress she wore was a flowery little thing, coming to rest just above her knees, and her wild auburn hair was braided loosely, some of the tendrils coming undone to fall on her shoulders. Her eyes were on the drink in hand, slowly swirling the liquid inside, a small pout on her lips.

Leonard sat down next to her and crossed his arms over the bar top as Jordan took a swig of her whiskey. "What are you doin' here? I thought you had a date."

Jordan shook her head, stifling a smile that was creeping on her lips. "Well, I wasn't alone for a while until my date decided that for a female I was just too boring to him and ghosted me, so I came across this little place and said why not. Don't tell Jim though. He might hunt the guy down."

Leonard was partially aggravated that someone would walk away from her like that, and at the same time, he was relieved with that fact that maybe, just maybe, he might still have a small window of opportunity. "What an idiot."

Jordan giggled and let out a snort, a clear indication that she had already drank quite a few rounds of liquor. "I'm sorry?"

Leonard laughed as the bartender came over with his usual. "Your date. What an idiot."

"I was the idiot." Jordan snorted once again. "No harm no foul, I guess. I shouldn't have agreed to go out with him in the first place. We literally have nothing in common."

She held out her glass to him. "To the joys and curses of being a doctor."

"I can definitely toast to that." He clinked his glass against hers and the two downed their drinks.

Jordan watched him as she turned in her seat toward him, crossing one leg over the other. "What are you doing here anyways?"

"I come here to think." He was right, for the most part, but given that she was sitting right next to him, her blue eyes on him with full attention and that flowery dress of hers riding up to mid-thigh to expose the creaminess of her skin, he couldn't really have a coherent thought.

"At this dingy bar?"

"Reminds me of home." And now the thoughts of this place will revolve around her.

"Hmm, you come here often?" she asked coyly, her lips quirking into a smirk.

Leonard chuckled, seeing her poor attempt at the horrible pick-up line. "Something like that."

"I see. Well, you're not bad company right now. Would you like to have a few drinks with me? We can buy each other a couple of rounds."

There was a flash of playfulness in her eyes as she motioned the bartender for another round, and the thought of spending a little more time with her was irresistible.

Too irresistible.

Irresistible enough to lean closer to her and reward her with his dimpled smile that he secretly knew got her blushing a deep red. "Sure. Why not?"

——

This was not how he expected his evening to go, walking into the Academy grounds in the middle of the night, still sober from his high tolerance to alcohol, his arm around Jordan's petite waist just so that she would stand straight. Granted, the feeling of her pliable little body against his own was something of a dream, but she was beyond drunk at this point, spewing nonsense and giggling like a child at play. He was sure that it was close to 02:00, the main courtyard dark and deserted, only the sounds of an ocasional rustle of leaves from a slow wind were heard, along with the occasional outburst of snickers from the woman in his arms.

Jordan stumbled slightly and his arms wrapped tighter around her, bringing her flat on his chest, her hands gripping the lapels of his leather jacket. Her inebriated smile was wide, her eyes closed as she leaned her head back, exposing the length of her bare neck to Leonard. It took every ounce of effort not to sink his tongue into the hollow of her collarbone, to savor the taste of her skin in his mouth. Oh and her smell was intoxicating, a mixture between her lavender shampoo and whiskey that seeped through her pores.

It was when he realized that his hands were pressed flat on her lower back, pushing her to him even closer than before, feeling the heavy heat radiating from her body, and lord, it was the most delicious feeling in the galaxy, better than a lazy afternoon under the hot Georgia sun.

Jordan brought her head back up, her blue eyes visibly twinkling in the moonlight as she stared up at him. "You're handsome."

Leonard laughed at her bluntness. "You're drunk, darlin'."

"I'm not completely drunk Len, just a little tipsy."

"That's essentially one and the same."

Jordan hummed and leaned her head against his chest, her nose digging into his skin just above the neckline of his shirt. His hands were roaming her back, one drawing circles on her waist while the other traveled up and settled on the base of her neck, his fingers toying with the loose tendrils of her auburn hair. Giving in to a small temptation, he buried his nose into the top of her head, his lips grazing her hairline with a ghostly kiss, the touch almost intimate, and his heart soared when she inhaled deeply and moaned. "You smell good too."

Leonard cleared his throat as she continued rubbing her nose on him, the sensation prickling his entire body. "I smell like whiskey."

"And coffee. Perfect combination. I like it better than the smell of bourbon. Did you know that was the first smell I smelled on you?"

She giggled loud against his chest, the sound vibrating on his skin as she repeated her last words in a garbled voice, clearly entertained with what she said.

"Let's get you to your dorm. You need to sleep."

She squealed when he reached down, his arms circling under her knees and her back, picking her up bridal-style and held her against him as he started his trek to the dorm building. An arm secured around his shoulders, she leaned her head in the bend of his neck and sighed. "No, I'm perfectly happy here with you. I'm always happy with you. You make me happy. Happy happy happy."

Leonard couldn't resist and pressed his cheek on her forehead. "Yeah? And how's that?"

"Len, you're smarter than this. You're one of the brightest doctors I know," she mumbled, her voice now sounding droopy and sleepy, "You haven't figured it out?"

"Sometimes I need a little hint."

Leonard hummed, finally reaching the building and pushed the door open with the leather welt of his boot. Reaching the third door on the first floor, he slowly brought her down to her feet and leaned her on the doorframe while he entered the code she mumbled to open her door. His hands on her bare shoulders, he guided her inside the room, ordering the lights to ten percent.

Jordan stopped and whirled around to him, almost losing her balance. She gripped his biceps tightly while closing her eyes momentarily. She opened them, and though they were still hazy, there was a flash of seriousness in them. "I like you, I really like you. I've been waiting for you to say something to me for the longest time. I went out with that guy to try and push these feelings away, but it didn't work. I didn't want it to work."

Leonard wondered if he was really sober as he listened to her drunk confession. God, his heart was racing fast, enough to signal a mild cardiac infarction, and his throat ran dry. She really liked him?

"Alright darlin', you're definitely talkin' like a drunk now," he cooed and guided her to her bed. He pulled the covers down and helped her to sit on the edge. Kneeling down in front of her, he grabbed one leg softly, pulling off her strapped sandal, followed by her other foot. She stopped him by placing her hands on his shoulders, and he lifted his head to her. Those beautiful blue eyes were hazy from her drunken fogginess, but there was no denying the way she was watching him with unmistakable affection.

He sighed and took her hands in his. He shushed her when she opened her mouth to speak. "Don't say anythin' you'll regret later."

"I hear that the truth comes out when people are slightly inebriated. Slip of the tongue," she murmured, laying down on her side while she kept her eyes on him. "I needed to tell you the truth. I like you Leonard McCoy."

"Let's make a deal," he said, bringing his hand to the nape of her neck, his thumb inches from her lips. "If you still feel the same way when you wake up tomorrow, come find me and we'll talk about this unspoken thing we got goin' on."

He moved his hand and pushed the loose hairs out of her face, and cupped her cheek softly. She moved her body to the center of the bed and patted the space next to her. "Stay with me? At least until I fall asleep."

Leonard couldn't resist her pleading eyes as he slid his jacket off and toed off his boots, and he laid down carefully next to her. She was immediately at his side, snuggling into his chest as she swung her arm around his middle, her small legs entangling with his larger ones. He swung his arm around her shoulder, his fingers diving into her hair, and he rested his other hand over her arm, his fingers drawing circles on her bare skin. Jordan sighed, and to Leonard's ears, it sounded like a sigh of deep satisfaction.

It only took five minutes for her to fall into a deep slumber, her light snores echoing in the small room, and Leonard should've disentangled himself from her. He should've gone to his dorm and slept the few hours left in the night, but he stayed a little longer, savoring the wild sensation that coursed through his body.

If she remembered this conversation the next day, he was going to try his damned hardest to tell her how he felt too.