She woke up eight hours later when he was in the middle of his usual evening run. Being a CMO, he was obliged to be reachable at any time of the day in case of an emergency. So when his comm buzzed, he thought about his only current patient and the probable worsening of her condition. Like there weren't other possibilities of other people being in trouble, the initial thought had to be of her, damnit. But this wasn't the right time to reflect on it.

"McCoy here," he snapped, interrupting his exercise.

"Doctor," M'Benga's voice sounded strained, "the young woman, Lee, she's awake, sir."

"Good for her. And what do I have to do with that? Did her condition worsen?"

"No," in the same strange tone the other Doctor said, "but we tried to give her the medications you've prescribed and she didn't allow us."

"What do you mean she didn't allow you?"

"Doctor, you'd better come and see her yourself."

What the fuck?

"Fine," he barked to his subordinate and ended the connection.

When five minutes later he entered his domain, the first thing he saw was an empty bed of his patient.

"Where is she?" he demanded, looking around and noting M'Benga's and two nurses' wary looks.

"Oh hey, you came," McCoy heard the girl's voice.

M'Benga gestured somewhere at the ceiling and he looked at the given direction.

There was a big cupboard in the corner of sickbay, and at the top of this cupboard, he spotted a small figure in a white patient robe, sitting cross-legged and smiling merrily at him.

"What the hell are you doing up there?" McCoy bellowed, "Get down now!"

"I can't," she replied cheerfully, ignoring his anger, "It's too high to get down."

"And how did you get on this thing?" he asked, feeling a headache forming deep inside his skull.

"She jumped from that desk," M'Benga put in.

It was about five feet between the cupboard and the desk. So she was a monkey now. Wonderful.

He approached the cupboard and looked up, meeting her amused expression.

And then she just let herself fall.

Thankfully, he stood close enough to catch her, so she landed safely into his arms. Damn, she was a grown woman. How the hell had she been so weightless?

"What the fuck are you doing?" he yelled at her, automatically holding her closer, "You almost fell on the damn floor!"

"You wouldn't let me," she simply said, "You promised."

Her words made him shudder. So she did remember everything. Including this stupid promise that implied more than he cared to admit. McCoy sighed, his anger slowly vanishing. He carried her to her biobed and gave her all the necessary hypos that she accepted without a question. She was smiling at him all the time while he was trying his best to avoid her happy beautiful face.

When he finished, he nodded to M'Benga and they walked to the CMO's office.

"Okay, fill me in."

"Well, she awoke," M'Benga reported, "saw us and didn't see you. She asked about you and I said that your shift is over and that I am her attending physician now. Chapel tried to give her that analgetic you've prescribed, but she started to scream."

"She started to do what?!"

"Scream. Not right away. She told us not to touch her or do anything to her, but when we insisted, she started to scream. I intended to sedate her, but she just hopped out of her bed, stormed to that desk and then jumped at the cupboard. That's when I commed you."

"Sweet Jesus," McCoy exhaled, rubbing his eyes and feeling once again a growing headache, "Alright, I'll talk to her. In the meantime... Just don't do anything to her. I'll treat her myself."

"Yes, sir."

He dismissed M'Benga and slumped in his chair. She was awake for less than an hour and already was causing trouble. He should have expected that. He was the first who experienced her temper, after all. And he should have known better to think everything will go smoothly with such a character. Okay, he needed to talk to her. And the approach should be gentle and accurate.

"What the fuck was that, girl?" he growled at her, trying desperately to ignore how her bright smile made her utterly stunning.

"They were trying to touch me," she announced like it explained everything, "I didn't want that, and I told them. They should have listened."

"Lee," he said, using his best authoritative tone, "They were trying to do it because I told them to. You need your medications to heal, which means you have to allow my personnel to give it to you."

"But you can do it as well," she protested, "I don't want anyone else touching me."

Oh, damn her. The thought of him and only him touching her was ridiculously tempting, but he was her doctor now, damnit. He had to stay professional.

"I can't be there all the time, girl. This is why I have additional staff - they do things when I'm not here."

"I don't trust any of them."

"But I trust them, Lee. So should you."

She shook her head, all the mirth in her gone. He missed this spark in her eyes instantly.

"No. I don't care what you think. I won't allow them anywhere near me."

Okay, that was a dead end. He made himself keep his temper in check.

"Haven't you heard what I'd already told you? You have to let them give you meds, otherwise, you miss the necessary portion and stay here longer."

"I'm fine with that."

Of course, she was.

"Look, Leo," she said, all serious now, "I see your point. But I just can't let strangers near me, it's kinda psychological thing. Do you understand?"

McCoy looked at her grass-green, astonishingly bright eyes and saw anxiety in them. He recalled the first emotions in them when she came back to reality - panic and raw fear. His gaze found the gray strand of her hair, lying loosely on her shoulder. The girl had obviously been through a lot of hardships. And besides, she did give him one of the best kisses he'd had in years. He could do this for her.

"Yes, I understand," he assured her and her face lit up. Seriously, was that even possible for the eyes to be that damn radiant? "I'll give you all meds myself. Is it fine with you?" he added, hiding the fact that he was admiring her under his usual scowl.

"Yes, thank you," she beamed at him.

He shook his head.

"Alright. As I'm already here... how do you feel?"

Her condition was okay. These earlier exercises were, of course, not very good for her current state of health, but nothing serious happened, so he just scolded her for being careless and let it go. The virus had gone completely, although the overall exhaustion was still there. It was strange, given the fact she spent almost six days in sickbay without any tiring activities. Apparently, it wasn't enough and she needed more rest. He told her that, saying once again how stupid it was to play catch-up with his staff.

She took all his bitching without a single complaint, wearing an expression of pure bliss on her face. She even allowed him to check her newly-regenerated skin, which involved taking her robe off. Surprisingly, she didn't comment on him inspecting her absolutely naked body, lying still in the private ward made for exactly such occasions.

For him, it was a serious test for his professionalism. She could be his patient now, but it didn't mean he forgot how nicely her body felt. When the horrors of the burned skin became nothing but a memory, it was easier to see how toned and fine she was. Years of practicing medicine helped him not to blush, even though it wasn't as easy with her as with his other patients.

Her skin was healing nicely, and when he finally ordered her to dress, she didn't blush either which was pretty unusual. Almost all his female patients were bright red after such an inspection, but this girl simply thanked him and slipped into her robe like nothing happened. Or maybe she just didn't care about his reaction at all? He fought these thoughts back and guided her to the general ward where he waited until she fell asleep with a happy smile on her face and finally left sickbay.

He still had some time before his actual shift started, so he came back to his quarters and tried to have some sleep.

Vain attempts. All he could think of was her. He remembered her new skin, created almost completely by the regenerator and felt hatred and anger at the mere thought of someone pressing white-hot metal on her body. Or maybe it was some chemical stuff? Damn, how painful it should have been to endure this torture. And he forgot about her nails. This had to be a hell of a torment too.

He tossed his blanket aside and stood. There was no way he was going to sleep now, so he might as well do something useful, like writing a report for Jim about Lee's trust issues.

This is why he stomped to his department once again, exasperated to an end by the fact that the girl, even fast asleep, caused him troubles.