I hope everybody is safe and well XOXO LLAP ;-)
Wilhelmina Hall was halfway across sickbay when she realised she had no idea where she was going. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Doctor Celar, her Vulcan colleague, watching her from her office. Hall could feel an embarrassed blush climbing up her neck and into her face.
"Think, Billie, think. You were late for…" suddenly, she snapped her fingers and started walking again. On the way, she glanced at Celar. The Vulcan was still watching her. Hall smiled. Being Vulcan, Celar didn't smile back. She just returned her attention to her desk monitor.
Breezing into the examination area, Hall saw that Langdale was already waiting for her. She nodded by way of a greeting.
"How's it going?" he asked her.
"Not bad," she told him. "Care to lie down for a minute?" sitting down on the biobed, the security officer swung his legs up and leaned back until he was directly under the overhead sensor bank. As Hall consulted the readings that were displayed at eye level, she found herself remembering again.
"Doctor Hall?" snapping out of her reverie, she looked at Langdale.
"Mm?"
"I don't want to rush you, but I'm due to start a shift in ten minutes?" how long had she been staring at the bio-readings? She didn't dare ask. The security officer smiled. "Listen, it's all right. I don't blame you for being a little distracted. Hell, even I'm excited about all those Enterprise people coming on board and I don't even know any of them." As Langdale swivelled into a sitting position, he looked at her. "Do you know anybody?" Hall looked at him blankly. Yes, she did.
"No, I don't think I do, still, it's all very exciting." Giving him a tight smile Hall looked at him blankly.
"Right. Well, thanks. I'll see you in a few months."
"In a few months," she echoed, as he walked off. Leaning against the overhead sensor bank, she buried her face in the crook of her arm. Damn, she thought. Why did they have to pick this ship?
"I have the Enterprise on long-range sensor scan." reported Lieutenant Mara.
"Excellent Lieutenant, give them our position." the Captain answered.
"Aye Sir," a moment later and Mara spun round again. "Captain?"
"Lieutenant?"
"I have a response from the Enterprise. It seems that Captain Kirk would prefer to beam over without any preliminaries," the Captain smiled tautly, nodding to herself.
"That sounds like Captain Kirk," she said. "Inform him that I will attend his arrival," Mara took a moment to send the return message.
"Done, Sir," he said finally.
"Thank you, Lieutenant Mara." Rising, the Captain made for the turbolift.
The Transporter Chief made a final adjustment to his controls and completed the process. Kirk's piercing blue eyes came alive at the sight of Jeanna Geronimo.
"Captain," he said.
"Captain Kirk," in that moment Geronimo realised that nothing had changed about Kirk, nothing significant anyway. It was like old times again. True, neither of them were Cadets anymore but he was still Kirk, Captain or no.
Stepping down off the platform Kirk extended his hand and Geronimo grasped it.
"It's good to see you Kirk," Kirk looked around.
"And where is the full dress review appropriate for a guest of my stature?" he asked as his eyes sparkled with mischief.
"Indeed," said Geronimo. "I have assembled my officers though not here, and not in full dress. Rather, they await you in the lounge, an environment I thought better suited your… informal demeanour." Kirk looked at her suspiciously.
"Do I detect a note of sarcasm, Captain?" Geronimo shrugged.
"In all our years together at the Academy, did you ever once know me to be sarcastic?" she asked.
"Come to think of it, no." She straightened her uniform and gestured towards the exit.
"Come, there are some people who are eager to meet you." Any reservations she may have had about seeing Kirk again had vanished, she was even starting to look forward to the remainder of his visit.
McCoy had beamed over with the rest of the senior officers, declining to attend the reception being held in their honour he found himself waiting in the corridor outside the door of Doctor Billie Hall's quarters. Inside, he knew, his presence was being announced by a beeping sound. He knew also that Hall could not fail to hear the signal, it was audible in every part of her quarters, and the computer had confirmed that she was home.
Of course, the Doctor could ignore his beeping, indicating that she didn't want to be disturbed. Or she could simply say so via the ship's intercom. McCoy was beginning to suspect the first possibility when the intercom suddenly barked out a single word; 'Enter'.
He gathered himself as the doors opened and he walked in, there was no sign of Hall.
"Doctor Hall?" he called out politely. "Billie?"
"Be right with you," came the answer from somewhere deeper in the quarters. McCoy nodded, mostly to himself and took a seat on the blue settee. Above it was a painting, a replica of some famous piece.
"Leonard," said Hall, bringing him out of his artistic contemplations. "It's good to see you again," her voice was tight and her smile taught. Standing in the doorway that led back to her sleeping quarters she stepped towards him but then hesitated. Wearing a tight-fitting black jump suit of Starfleet issue; her hair still wet from the shower combed straight back, Hall found herself feeling more nervous than she imagined. McCoy began to stand but Hall motioned for him not to bother.
"Can I get you anything?" asked the blond woman, McCoy shook his head.
"No, thank you." Hall went over to the replicator.
"I hope you don't mind," Hall said. "If I have something myself?"
"Not at all." McCoy replied, watching her movements carefully. With practiced skill Hall punched in a series of instructions, a moment later a glass appeared filled with a green liquid. As Hall came over and sat on a graceful high-backed chair, McCoy got a better look.
"Apple juice?" he said and Hall nodded, tucking a lock of wet hair behind her ear. McCoy allowed himself the smallest of smiles.
"It's good to see you Billie." he said, noting the faintest hint of recognition in her blue eyes at the use of her nickname.
"It's good to see you too Leonard." Hall replied, hastily taking a sip of her drink.
"You haven't changed a bit." McCoy laughed more out of relief than anything else.
"Haven't I?" Hall asked.
"No, you haven't." McCoy took in her quarters again, they were modestly decorated not because he thought that it was her taste, more so to simply not offend anybody. "You seem settled here." he commented.
"I am, and you Leonard? How's life on the Enterprise?" Hall asked, McCoy settled back on the settee, crossing one leg over the other.
"A damned disaster!" said McCoy as he threw his hands in the air, Hall smiled at him as if he was tired child.
"Come now Leonard, in your last letter you said you'd settled in well?" McCoy had forgotten that Hall had never tolerated his penchant for the melodramatic so he found himself clearing his throat and answering her question again.
"It's good Billie, it's a good ship with a good crew."
"And the Captain? Kirk you said?"
"He's a good kid… a good friend." He said earnestly.
"I'm glad to hear it." Hall put her glass down on the small table and a silence fell between them. To McCoy she looked the same as when they were at the Academy together. Blond hair, blue eyes, your typical raised on the coast, surfing every day woman but behind that exterior was a very serious, genuinely kind person and McCoy had very quickly fallen in love with her. It hadn't been a romantic love as such, he being too raw from his disastrous foray into marriage at the time to even entertain the thought of another woman. No, it was more a shared compassion between the pair of them, for their respective careers, friendship and personal endeavours. At least that's what they had told themselves over and over again, spending an inordinate amount of time together left hardly any secrets between them.
"What about you Billie? CMO of the U.S.S. Acros no less! Any tips?" he said, Hall watched his eyes dance with mischief. She had always secretly enjoyed his mischievous streak.
"Trust your Nurses Leonard," she answered which was too on the nose for McCoy's liking and when he arched his eyebrow at her she shook her head at him. "Don't look at me like that, you asked." He waved his hand in front of himself by way of an answer. "So, do you want to see the sick bay?" she said, knowing it was what he'd been waiting for her to suggest.
"I thought you'd never ask."
"And here I thought you'd come to see me." Hall's tone and inflection was light and carefree but McCoy didn't fail to pick up on the faintest hint of disappointment in her words, she didn't give him chance to respond however telling him she would change before they went. Watching her disappear into the bedroom McCoy felt long forgotten feelings grating at his long ago purpose built walls.
Geronimo had introduced Kirk to her entire senior officer team, save Doctor Hall who wasn't present, a matter she would deal with at a later date.
"You have an excellent crew Captain, care to swop?" Kirk both complimented and joshed.
"Thank you Captain Kirk, and no, I'm very proud of my crew and what we accomplish together." Her dark eyes danced with his, their mutual deference for one another appearing to others as indifference. In truth Geronimo was glad to see her old friend, him being very much alive the first pleasant surprise of many.
To Kirk, Geronimo had always been a mentor. Her keen eyes, faded green in colour and more unnerving than pretty had set upon him his first week at the Academy. He'd found himself staring at her on more than one occasion, the aforementioned eyes had warned him not to approach, especially when he was dutifully fulfilling the role of the Academy Lothario. He had been captivated by her warm beige skin, her dark spiral curled hair and her lips that he later learnt she'd inherited from her Mother's Polish/Irish heritage and her Father's African. A feature that were perpetually pursed in quiet indignation at his continual efforts to draw her into some kind of flirtation or argument.
It was within their second week of knowing one another, after a particularly difficult simulation that Kirk had brought to an end the tomfoolery and come to realise that if he were to have any chance of completing his training, he needed people like Geronimo on his side.
"Any chance we can go get a drink?" Kirk asked. Geronimo didn't respond, instead nodding silently to her First Officer before walking towards the exit, Kirk hot on her heels.
"Well, isn't that just damned typical!" McCoy muttered as he took in the state of the art quarantine partition lining one corner of the bay.
"Impressed?" Hall asked, McCoy simply returned her gaze with his steely one. "Come, I'll introduce you to some of the other Doctors." McCoy walked alongside her, taking in the differing equipment and layout. He observed soundlessly how each and every Nurse and Doctor that they passed nodded their head towards Hall courteously. Billie Hall had always commanded the respect of her peers and subordinates, McCoy had envied her easy way with which she lead from the front in any situation. They came to a standstill in front of Doctor Celar's desk and McCoy had to fight against the audible groan boiling in his gut. A Vulcan!
"Doctor Celar." Hall said, catching the woman's attention. "I'd like to introduce you to Doctor McCoy." Doctor Celar looked up at them both, and then coming to stand inclined her head solemnly.
"Doctor McCoy," she said.
"Doctor Celar," he replied, somewhat sternly.
"I'm aware that Commander Spock is the First Officer on board the Enterprise." Doctor Celar commented, earning her a raised brow from the Southern Doctor.
"Ain't we lucky?!" he commented dryly. Hall inwardly winced at the direction the conversation was going between the pair and was coming to regret the introduction, smiling Hall brought the exchange to a close and ushered McCoy away. Once inside her office the two Doctors watched one another carefully. "It's good to see you again Billie." McCoy said, more from not having anything else to say than feeling the need to let the woman standing in front of him know how he felt. Hall knew enough of McCoy's manner to know not to respond.
"I was thinking…" she started.
"That's always dangerous," Billie looked at him in a way that made him not dare to speak again.
"I was thinking perhaps we could have dinner?" McCoy smiled.
"I'd like that."
Kirk sat comfortably in the chair opposite Geronimo, only her desk separating them. Her ready room was filled with artefacts and antiques, decorated boldly with the conquests of her adventures.
"You're still as beautiful as ever Jeanna," Kirk whispered her way.
"You're still as predictable as ever James," she answered taking a sip of her drink and never taking her eyes off of him.
"I'm proud of you."
"Thank you, and I you."
"Do you regret any of it?" his question was purposely vague, a technique he'd picked up from her as a way to find out what people were really thinking. Geronimo smiled in response, knowing full well what Kirk was trying to do.
"No," she answered simply, to Kirk she had decided against speaking her truth. "Perhaps though…"
"Go on, what?" he urged.
"Perhaps I should have agreed to that drink with you when we first met?" her eyes danced with mischief, Kirk looked at her incredulously.
"Jeanna! Don't toy with me!" Kirk looked up at her through his lashes severely, he had rarely succeeded in experiencing this side of her character, the years seemingly softening her stern exterior.
"Do you find it lonely?" she asked, changing the subject.
"Yes, sometimes." He said. "You?" Geronimo nodded.
"You have a good First Officer?"
"The best."
"Good, that's important." Kirk shifted in his seat.
"Don't ever let them take you out of that chair Jeanna, it's where we belong, nowhere else." He said firmly.
"You don't have designs on being an Admiral?" she asked, knowing that to be something they had once discussed long ago.
"Not now, and I'm serious Jeanna, let me tell you something! Don't. Don't let them promote you. Don't let them transfer you. Don't let them do anything that takes you off the bridge of this ship, because while you're here... you can make a difference." Jeanna could have very easily mocked him for his passion but she knew not to, instead she bowed her head in reverence to his wisdom.
"To making a difference," Geronimo raised her glass, as Kirk joined her, the friends grinned at one another.
"To making a difference."
"I'd forgot how good a cook you are." McCoy commented as he watched Hall clear away the crockery.
"Hush, you never liked my cooking." Coming to sit back down, she found her hand playing with the stem of her glass as she watched McCoy shift in his chair. "Did I ever mention that Paul and I got divorced?" she said slowly, not being daring enough to watch for his reaction to her words. There was a silence and then McCoy offered his condolences. "Three years ago," she added.
"Just as you began on board here?" McCoy asked, choosing his words carefully.
"And you on the Enterprise," she replied. "He had always warned me," Hall remarked wistfully.
"I had always wondered but hell Billie, come on!" McCoy felt the anger begin to spill over in his words and then realisation struck him, she had chosen not to tell him until this moment. With all the letters and correspondence the pair had exchanged over the years she had never once mentioned it.
He had never thought well of Paul Cecchin, the Psychologist in him determining the man was borderline sociopathic. The two men had met once at the Academy shortly before Hall had become engaged and never again; McCoy didn't trust himself not to spark the man out if he ever set eyes on him and Hall knew it also. As McCoy watched Hall smile defiantly he knew it must have been difficult for her to go against him. He'd always been concerned that when push came to shove, she wouldn't take the leap or more worryingly he wouldn't let her, so in that regard he was immensely proud of her. Still the question remained.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he said voicing his internal musings, the question too big not to be asked. Hall knew he would be direct but she still found her spine stiffen in response to his words.
"I don't know?" she whispered, knowing he would know that wasn't the truth.
"Neither one of us could have…" he struggled for the right words as he covered his eyes with his hand. "It wasn't right Billie, it wouldn't have been right for anybody." Hall nodded her head ardently.
"I know," she said. "I agree, you're right. Still, I can't help but think," peering up at him Billie watched McCoy move his hand slowly across the table to grasp hers as she struggled for breath.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked again.
"When we were at the Academy, I thought I knew the reason why we couldn't be anything to one another was because I was married. At least that's what I told myself. I knew neither one of us would ever…" Billie stopped and closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath she looked back up at him, "when I wasn't, wasn't married that is. Leonard I was scared that I had been wrong? That if I told you there was no longer a reason why we couldn't but then we didn't…? If it didn't change anything, well that would have hurt too much. Do you understand?" Billie stared at their clasped hands, unable to look at anything other than McCoy's empathic eyes.
"I understand," he answered slowly. "The idea of it rather than the reality…?" Hall nodded.
"But also, also Leonard," she said quickly. "I knew you were happy, I knew you'd found your place in the universe and I was just about to find mine, perhaps even for the first time in my life. I needed time to…"
"Be you?" Hall smiled.
"You could have given me that choice too Billie, at the very least I could have been there for you. It can't have been easy?" McCoy whispered despite himself and she knew he was right. "We could have discussed it, we always talked about everything else."
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"Don't be, me too. Neither one of us would have done ourselves justice back then." Hall laughed.
"And now we're both so much better? Is that what you're saying?" McCoy couldn't help but laugh also.
"Now now, you may well laugh but I think we are, don't you?"
"Perhaps," she replied, eyeing him suspiciously. "I hope you haven't changed completely, I always enjoyed your sombre countenance."
"And I always enjoyed you propensity to put up with me." McCoy leant forward and gave Hall a caring kiss on the cheek. "I do love you Billie, I always have."
"I love you too Leonard."
"I knew this would be great!" Kirk laughed.
"You'd thought about this?" Jeanna asked seriously.
"Of course! You hadn't?" Kirk downed the rest of his ice cold water as if he'd been lost in the desert for the past month.
"I've got something for you," Kirk watched her walk across the room slowly and open a drawer, turning back to him she handed him the small box in her hand. Kirk looked at her quizzically, pulling the lid off his breath caught in his throat.
"Where the hell did you find this?" he looked at her incredulously.
"I didn't find it James, you gave it to me remember." Jeanna watched him turn the medal over in his hands, letting his thumb rub the metal over and over again.
"I don't remember giving it to you, I remember throwing it at you." Kirk blanched at the memory.
"Semantics," Jeanna shrugged her shoulders. "It was your Father's James, I thought perhaps one day that you may have come to regret throwing it away?"
"I did, I did regret it." Kirk answered, not trusting himself to look at her.
"Well then, now you have it back."
"Thank you Jeanna," placing a tender kiss on her lips Kirk squeezed his fist closed around the medal.
"I'm going to get dressed, you should go too. We have a busy day tomorrow." With that she walked passed him and into the bathroom, leaving Kirk reeling and marvelling at Captain Jeanna Geronimo.
"Well Captain Kirk, as always it's been a pleasure. I hope you found your time aboard the Acros satisfactory?" Kirk's jaw tightened as he stood in front of Jeanna and the rest of her senior crew. Beside him stood his own, including McCoy who crossed his arms impatiently.
"More than satisfactory Captain, more than satisfactory. On behalf of my crew I'd like to thank you for your hospitality." As the two shook hands Hall looked at McCoy who gave her the smallest of nods. Coming to stand on the transporter platform the two men looked at the two women, "Energise."
The End