'This is the USS Troubadour hailing unidentified Romulan vessel, please respond.
Repeat, this is the Federation research vessel Troubadour. We come in peace.'
Spock glances up as Uhura enters his ready room.
"I can't believe you got your white whale," she says sitting down across from Spock with an impressed look on her face. "No one's been able to convince McCoy to take a posting for any amount of time except Captain Pike and that was only for a month. You managed a five year commitment. How?"
"We are still negotiating," replies Spock. He may yet still be in the group of people unable to obtain the doctor's services.
"Negotiating?" asks Uhura. "That's new."
"Dr McCoy requires special consideration if he is going to accept the position. Among other considerations we have agreed to a temporary assignment and re-evaluation of the situation after eight months time," explains Spock. He hands her a PADD.
She reads over the list of requirements. There's nothing completely outrageous on the list but it is rather specific in a way that can be accommodated with enough time but since the Enterprise is due to depart in two weeks, makes implementing rather tricky.
"I was hoping to use your connections to meet these requirements," says Spock.
"You want me to sweet talk already busy and settled members of the crew into making these happen?" surmised Uhura.
"It is my hope," agrees Spock.
"Alright, but you owe me one," warns Uhura with a smile that promises she will collect. She takes the PADD and leaves the ready room, smiling at First Officer Roberts and helmsmen Sulu as she crosses the bridge to the turbo lift. She has a lot of work to do; first trying to convince two crewmembers to give up their quarters and Engineer Scott to retrofit the quarters into one that meets McCoy's specs.
Uhura taps her foot as she listens to Scotty rant about all the work he still has to do and the time it will take to modify the rooms to accommodate the doctor's requests. He never pauses in his welding as he complains. She waits until he finally lifts the visor on his welding mask to ask, "So can you do it?"
"I'm not a miracle worker, lassie."
"We both know you are, Scotty."
He lets out a long sigh. They're still in space dock so configurations like this are easier but not something that's done this late in the game; and for all things, creating a bigger living unit for a doctor so he has one of the best views on the ship. Quarters have already been assigned, but if the Captain wants to go to all this trouble, Scotty will rise to the challenge. Even if he doesn't agree with it. "Aye lassie, I'll see that it's done."
"Thank you, Scotty."
"This is a lot of trouble to go to over some doctor, isn't?" he asks, scratching his head. Diplomats and special delegates are usually the ones that are a pain in the ass.
"Dr McCoy was one of the best in the field and the research papers and breakthroughs he made for Starfleet are at the top of medical advancement. He's the best and Captain Spock wants the best. This is what he needs to serve aboard a starship."
"I don't see what a double large family size room with extra large viewports has to do with being the best doctor," states Scotty casually.
Uhura isn't sure of some of the requests either. In fact, what she can recall of Leonard from their friendship at the academy, he absolutely hated being in space and certainly had no use for seeing it out a window. "It's what he asked for. Perhaps it has something to do with his daughter coming aboard." She looked at Leonard's crew file: Dr Leonard H McCoy and dependant J McCoy assigned to USS Enterprise for eight months. Leonard's daughter has to be almost an adult by now, maybe this is just old fashioned nepotism to try and get her ahead in Starfleet?
"Since when does Starfleet allow families on board a flag ship?"
"It's not ours to ask questions, Scotty. But McCoy is the best. I hear he was the one called in to help save Captain Pike after the battle with Nero. It was one of the first things he did after being rescued from the Narada."
Scotty goes a little pale. "He was one of the poor bastards taken hostage by Nero from the USS Troubadour?" He may have been stuck on a frozen rock while Vulcan was destroyed but the heroics of the crew of the Troubadour spread throughout the Federation. Not only were they the first Federation ship Nero encountered after destroying a fleet of Klingon ships, but the crew managed to warn the Federation they were heading into a trap at Vulcan at great personal cost.
Uhura nods.
"I'll make this my top priority," assures Scotty before going off to yell at some crewmen.
McCoy isn't on board when the Enterprise departs. In fact he doesn't board the ship until a week later and in the middle of the night via shuttle craft. The crew is mostly unaware of his arrival until the next morning when he's in medbay to start the crew's annual physicals and make sure their medical files are up to date.
It takes one hour after the first round of physicals are done for word to spread like wildfire that their new CMO has finally arrived.
Leonard takes lunch in the crew mess hall to escape sickbay for a moment but eats all other meals in his cabin. He makes no efforts to socialize with the crew or other officers at meals or after shift and sticks straight to the point during staff meetings before leaving as soon as they're concluded. It only serves to turn the rumor mill even more.
"He never comes sit with us," laments Chekov, about three weeks in. He looks dejectedly at McCoy's turned back a few tables over like he personally has been forced to sit in the corner.
"He's probably busy and wants to eat quickly so he can spend time with his daughter," surmises Uhura, tired of the McCoy gossip game. The rest of the senior staff get along like a house on fire; if McCoy doesn't or won't be a part of that, it's on him.
"I heard they had the corridors cleared when they came aboard, and it wasn't his daughter with him," says Sulu salaciously.
That piques Uhura's attention. She's pretty sure the daughter McCoy used to talk about started with a J. Joan or Jolene perhaps? It certainly couldn't be his ex wife. It would be a cold day in hell before those two could be civil in the same room together from what she can remember. Did Leonard have another child since the academy? "Are you sure?"
"I heard they were wearing a hoodie with it pulled over their face but it was diffidently an adult male. Nobody's seen him since," says Sulu with flourish, like he's telling a ghost story to green cadets.
"Nobody stays in their quarters for three weeks," adds Scotty in disbelief.
"Maybe the doc has a boy toy and we should see if he needs rescuing," chuckles Sulu, stabbing at a potato.
"Rescue your damn self," mutters McCoy as he walks past to take his tray back to reclamation before returning to sickbay for the rest of his shift. The table goes silent and stays in contemplative silence for the rest of lunch.
It's an adjustment, Leonard reminds himself. There's no molecular difference between recycled ship air and planet air and yet they're different. This is a new routine in a new place with new people but home was once like that too; it's the same, yet different. Though back on the farm there were nice wide fields to put between Jim and the idiots. He can't help but feel like maybe this was a mistake.
"Damn it Jim!" cries Leonard, stubbing his toes on a foot stool that has no business being at the door, especially if Jim's going to sit in the dark. This isn't how he wanted to return to his quarters. "Computer, lights," he orders
The furniture has been rearranged around the living room, mostly in a jumble to clear out the center of room. Today's already been tedious, he's not sure he has the patience for whatever this is. Honestly, if Jim's having a meltdown right now, it's all the sign Leonard needs to pull the plug on this half baked idea of serving on a ship.
"Oh you're home," says Jim, sauntering out of the kitchen with a picnic basket in hand and a bottle of wine tucked under his arm. He walks to the center of the room where he has a red and white checkered blanket laid out in front of the giant window.
"What's going on here?" asks Leonard more curious now than irritated.
"I thought we could have a picnic to celebrate your position as CMO of the Enterprise. You've been so busy getting things sorted in medical and us settling in lately, that we haven't actually taken a moment for this. I thought it would be nice," says Jim. There's hope in Jim's eyes like he's not sure if he's brought it up at the right time or not. He's familiar with each one of Leonard's scowls and he's not sure if this one is directed at him or just the after effect of some poor bastard that landed in sick bay for something preventable.
Jim starts to second guess himself. He sways slightly on his feet not sure if he should take the basket back to the kitchen or soldier on. "You look like you've had a rough day," he concludes, leaning more towards the kitchen. Today's not the day for this.
Leonard walks over and grabs Jim by the wrist, stopping him from retreating. "I was, until now." It's moments like this that Leonard lives to get lost in: the feel of Jim in his arms, the smell of his hair, the slow rhythm of his breathing as he nestles his head against Leonard's chest.
"Let's sit down," says Jim, the words muffled in Leonard's tunic. Leonard takes the basket and bottle of wine so Jim doesn't have to struggle with them as he lowers himself down. His limp isn't as horrible as it was. Being stuck on a shuttle for seven hours caused the muscles to cramp up for days limiting Jim's mobility even more than usual.
Once settled, he hands the basket back to Jim who begins pulling out and arranging its contents. Leonard turns the wine bottle over in his hands as he sits down next to Jim.
"It's synthehol," assures Jim as though he can read Leonard's mind. Leonard smiles, handing the bottle over like he never had any doubt. It kills Jim a little that there will always be that flicker of suspicion and worry that things will spiral down that path again.
Leonard curls up behind Jim as he takes out the glasses from the basket and pops the cork. He's not a wine person by nature, preferring the harder, well aged stuff, but drinking whisky out of a champagne glass isn't all that sexy. Whatever Jim's found to drink, it's blue like cotton candy and just as sweet.
"I made your favorite, peach cobbler. Just like mom used to make," hums Jim leaning back into Leonard so he can take in the expanse of stars.
"Your mom or my mom?" asks Leonard, cautiously. Jim looks like some play-doh mash up of amusement and irritation. Leonard loves that look. "Your mom was a nice lady and all," he concedes, "but a horrible cook."
Jim slaps him lightly on the shoulder, but doesn't argue. He's only got a handful of recipes that he can make from scratch and most of those were, easy to make when hung-over, comfort foods. Kirks aren't known for shining in the kitchen. Leonard not only has the wherewithal to make a three course meal by hand but the talent to make breads and pastries if he's feeling domestic. His father contributed to cutting edge medicine but Mrs McCoy was a surgeon in the kitchen.
They fall asleep there, on floor after desert. Leonard's not surprised. Jim sleeps better on a ship if he can see the stars.
They couldn't see the stars in the hold of Nero's ship.
"Did McCoy bring his daughter aboard?" asks Uhura, casually at dinner one night. Spock broke things off between them to honor his duty to the Vulcan race and take a Vulcan wife since there are so few Vulcan left. While she was angry about the decision for a long time, once the hurt melted away, she could see Spock's reasoning behind the decision, even if she still didn't agree with it. They fell into a platonic relationship, her feelings never completely going away and based on the loneliness in Spock, she suspects if logic wasn't a factor, he would have changed his mind. It doesn't hurt in getting favoritism and special privileges when you're close friends with the Captain.
"No," is all Spock says. Uhura doesn't miss this part of the relationship- the pulling teeth to get information.
"Then who did he bring with him?" she presses.
"I believe it is his brother."
"Leonard doesn't have a brother," she counters. He doesn't have living parents, any siblings or any other children than Joanna- she checked.
Spock looks thoughtful for a moment. "He agreed he was Dr McCoy's brother. I saw no reason to doubt him. Has he done something wrong?" asks Spock, concerned.
"No. The crew is talking, that's all. It happens when someone is smuggled on board and then never seen."
"The doctor said Jim would most likely stay in their quarters."
Uhura's fork clangs against her plate. "Jim?" she asks. It's not a name she's heard in a long time.
"Do you know Jim McCoy?" asks Spock, unsure if the look of surprise on Uhura's face is positive or not.
"I might have once," she says, then changes the subject to Spock's day. Clearly she has to do some more digging but she's not going to compromise Spock's position to do it. She has other sources.