"No look, I'm telling you, you can do it."
"You're having a laugh!" Lorna dismissed the Nurse with a wave of her hand.
"I'm serious, go on, try it!" Giving Nurse Vallo a wry grin she prepared to do a handstand against the medical bay wall.
"I haven't done one of these since I was teenager!" Lorna looked at her in horror as she held her hands out.
"So what? Like twenty years ago?" Nurse Vallo asked sarcastically to which Lorna scowled at her and launched herself at the wall.
"Look at me!" Lorna shouted, managing to actually, surprisingly to everybody involved, do a pretty good handstand against the wall.
"Look at you!" Vallo replied clapping.
"How do I look?" Lorna asked.
"You look good!" Vallo stood smiling.
"Doctor Heiland?" Vallo turned to see McCoy stood in the doorframe of his office, taking a step to one side so that she was no longer blocking his view the Nurse watched as McCoy's eyes landed on an upside down Lorna.
"Yes Doctor McCoy?" Lorna shouted, the blood rushing to her head making her turn a vivid pink colour. Without missing a beat or looking at her strangely McCoy continued.
"Did you finish that report on the crew physicals?"
"It's on your desk Sir." Lorna answered, still upside down, and with that McCoy nodded and returned to his desk. "Help me down." Vallo turned back to her and grabbed her shins, helping her slowly bring her feet back to the floor. "Your turn." Lorna said to Vallo who immediately started shaking her head.
"Oh no way, not a chance. Plus for some reason Doctor McCoy just accepts your craziness as if it's par for the course, I can guarantee if he found me doing a handstand he'd throw me in the brig!" Lorna laughed.
"I bribe him with chocolate."
"No you don't and don't pretend that you do." Vallo laughed.
"Then what do you think it is?" Lorna was intrigued.
"You know what it is, Doctor Heiland, you and Doctor McCoy are crazy cute together!" The Nurse made a soppy face as she fluttered her eyelashes.
"We are?" Lorna knew she was blushing, she was just thankful she was probably still red from all the blood in her head!
"Crazy cute! You know, for people your age…" Lorna scowled at the young woman again, she knew she was joking but it still wasn't lost on her that in comparison to a lot of the crew she and McCoy were older. Only slightly! Geez!
"Thanks Vallo." Waving her off Lorna went back to her work.
About an hour later and Vallo finished her shift, leaving Lorna in the bay and McCoy in his office. She didn't disturb him, knowing that after the recent away mission the bridge crew had been on he had his hands full finishing his reports.
Balancing a cranial regenerator on your forehead was actually pretty difficult!
She still couldn't get past more than three beds on the stool with wheels.
She did in fact remember all the words from the song they all couldn't stop singing that summer when she went camping with the girl's from university.
"Row row row your boat, gently down the stream…" Doing it in the round on your own just made you sound nuts though.
Her left leg was slightly shorter than the right.
"McCoy!" She shouted from the bed she was sat on. "McCoy!" She shouted again when she didn't get a response. "Can I use the skeletal graft?" That got his attention, a second later he was at the door.
"What?" He asked sternly, looking extremely confused.
"I need to make my left leg longer." She told him as if she was asking what he wanted on his pizza but when he pointed his finger at her as if she was a puppy she already knew the answer.
"Don't. You. Dare." And with that he disappeared. "By how much?" His head popping back round the door made her laugh.
"A sixth of a millimetre." She answered.
"Damnit Heiland!" He was gone again. Lorna sat and sulked for a while and then got up off the bed, moping around she finally settled on running through the equipment list.
'All hands brace for impact!'
"Shit!" Lorna wasn't sure how she managed it but she was pretty much thrown clear of all the surrounding apparatus as the ship pitched forwards. Patting herself down and pulling herself up she went straight to one of the main consoles, ensuring all their medical equipment was functioning, with a move like that crew would be turning up in a matter of minutes. Calling for all medical staff to go to their stations she took a second to look around. Then her eyes went to McCoy's office door and the fact that he wasn't already standing there shouting orders sent a shiver down her spine.
Skidding over she ran in and balked when she saw him lying on the floor unconscious, his desk on top of him.
"Leonard?!" Yanking a med kit from the wall she knelt beside him. "Leonard? You alive?" Running a scan over him she could see that he'd just been knocked out, there was no internal bleeding or broken bones, just a nasty bump to the head. Reducing the swelling and healing the cut on his forehead Lorna gave him a cocktail of hyposprays and as he came round smiled widely at him. "Hey there big fella, what you doing on the floor huh?" As McCoy groggily came round he tried sitting up, seeing Lorna's face went a long way in calming his nerves.
"What in the hell happened?" He asked, seeing that he was pinned under his own desk.
"Ship…" She had no idea what had happened?! "Did something?" She finished as she stood and prepared to lift the desk.
"I don't think you're gonna…" McCoy started.
"I'm going to try." Lorna interrupted him.
"But I really don't think…"
"Leonard! Let me try." Giving him a pointed look Lorna straightened her back and bent her knees and with an almighty oomph didn't move the desk an inch.
"Lorna." McCoy tried again but Lorna ignored him again and started to try and lift the desk, this time though, astonishingly to the both of them Lorna managed to lift it enough so that McCoy could slide out.
"Wow." McCoy stood and brushed himself off.
"Right?" Lorna agreed looking equally amazed, "I wonder what else I can lift? Maybe this is my thing, you know? 'Do you know Lorna Heiland?' 'Yeah, isn't she the one who can lift things?'" Lorna looked to McCoy excitedly.
"Shall we see what the hell is going on?" McCoy asked, refocussing on the task at hand and Lorna nodded.
"Sure, are you okay?" She asked concerned.
"Yes, thank you." With a quick squeeze of her hand McCoy went off to the crowd of medical staff that had gathered and were awaiting his instructions.
"I mean sure, we can carry on as nothing happened and ignore the fact that I have super human strength…" Lorna was at his side in a second.
"I can't feel my feet." Lorna lay on the couch in McCoy's office, her head and torso on the seats and her legs hanging over the arm rest. Her boots had been kicked off as soon as their shift had ended. McCoy sat on his chair, his desk still toppled over by his side, watching Lorna's polished electric blue toes wiggle around.
"I can feel a headache coming on." McCoy replied.
"How many patients did we treat?!"
"A hundred?"
"More!" The pair just stared off into the distance and the ceiling respectively. Throughout the course of day Lorna and McCoy had gone their separate ways, managing and treating a myriad of patients, every so often they would pass one another, McCoy giving her a sly wink and her whispering about her herculean strength.
"Good work today Heiland." Lorna smiled sleepily.
"You too." She answered.
"Lorna?" McCoy shouted out at her a moment later.
"Whaaa?"
"Don't fall asleep on my couch!" McCoy grunted as he slowly got to his feet.
"It's a comfy couch."
"I don't give a damn, come on, sit up." With an almighty groan Lorna pulled herself up, looking to McCoy who handed her his Whiskey.
"I shouldn't drink this." She told him as she drunk the Whiskey.
"And why not?" McCoy had already poured another one for himself and was topping up Lorna's outstretched empty glass.
"Because I'm a cheap date." Lorna toasted her glass and took another swig.
"I won't give you another." McCoy answered seriously.
"Much obliged. You know?!" Lorna blurted out as she resumed her original position on the couch but now balancing a glass on her stomach. "I wonder what you would have been if not a Doctor." She craned her neck to see if he was listening. "Do you think about things like that?"
"I try not to." McCoy replied solemnly.
"I think you would have been a… Teacher." She finally decided on. McCoy scoffed and shook his head.
"Most definitely not a Teacher." He responded.
"Then what?"
"A car mechanic."
"A what?"
"A mechanic, my Father had an old combustible engine automobile when I was a kid, he would tinker with that heap of rust for hours and I would watch him for hours. Not a bad way to while away the days." He'd never told anybody that in his life, Lorna considered his answer for a minute.
"Would you have worn those overalls? The ones with the buckles and the bib?" She asked.
"I guess so?" McCoy answered, confused by her bizarre and very specific question.
"Then yes, I can also see you doing that." She agreed with him. The Whiskey had gone from her glass but McCoy had left the bottle by her side, pouring herself another McCoy did the same.
"What about you?" He asked her.
"Me? I'm not sure, all I've ever wanted to do was look after people." Lorna waved her hands about as she spoke, deliberating her options. "Although I always wanted to try my hand at being a Musician, you know, playing in a jazz band or something? Those pokey little clubs filled with smoke?"
"Why didn't you?"
"Because I couldn't play an instrument." McCoy laughed despite himself. "What do you think I should have done?"
"That question could get me in trouble." McCoy slowly made his way over and lifting her legs off the side, sat down and placed her legs back. Turning to look at her Lorna stared back, searching his face for something.
"Go on, have a think." She urged him on. Taking a dramatic breath and scrunching his mouth to one side McCoy contemplated his answer, comically looking at her as if deep in thought. When Lorna started laughing McCoy took one of her hands that was resting in her lap and turned it over as if reading her palm.
"I see a stranger." He told her mysteriously.
"Ooh, is he tall, dark and handsome?" McCoy traced his finger across her palm and narrowed his eyes.
"No." He answered simply and Lorna stuck out her bottom lip in disappointment. "He's short, pale and ugly."
"Just my luck." Lorna tutted, letting her hand fall back to her lap McCoy took a swig of his drink and let his head loll back.
"I think you'd have been great at whatever you ended up doing Lorna." He said whilst his head was still back and his eyes closed. Lorna was taken aback at the sincerity of his words and it might have been the Whiskey, but well she felt her throat tighten with the threat of tears. Clearing her throat she caught his attention. "What is it? What's wrong?" McCoy asked worried. Lorna was waving her hands in front of her face but she couldn't stop the tears from filling up.
"Nothing, it's nothing, it's just. Well, that's a really nice thing to say and I guess well. Oh God! Sorry! I don't know why I'm so emotional?! Well I do know, we've been busy and I've been on my feet all day and they hurt and when my feet hurt I cry…"
"Lorna?"
"What?"
"Stop talking."
"Okay. I'm okay." The pair sat in silence for a while, just enjoying the quiet and each other's company. When McCoy's comm badge beeped and he was asked to go to the bridge he swore under his breath.
"Don't fall asleep on my couch Heiland." McCoy warned as he slid out from under her legs.
"I won't." Lorna answered as she turned onto her side and rested her head in her hands.
"I'm serious Heiland, don't fall asleep on my couch."
"Yeah, I heard you. No falling asleep on the couch. Got it, loud and clear." Her eyes were closed and she was snoring lightly before McCoy had even left.
"Doctor Heiland? Is everything alright?" Kirk looked up from his chair at Lorna who was hovering by his side, watching as she kept her arms crossed in front of her and standing nowhere near anything he tried to hide the smirk appearing on his lips.
"Me Captain? I'm okay. Thanks for asking, you?" Lorna gave Kirk a quick, borderline frantic grin.
"I'm fine." He answered reluctantly before requesting Uhura to open the communication to the planet below. "Commodore Drake, it's good to see you in one piece." Kirk greeted the elder man.
"Captain Kirk, boy are we glad to see you." Drake replied relieved.
"I take it we could be of some help to you down there?" Kirk shifted his weight, leaning against the arm of his chair as he spoke.
"We'd be grateful."
"Not at all, Doctor Heiland here…"
"Hi!" Lorna greeted the Commodore with a small wave, interrupting Kirk and gaining an amused look from both men.
"Doctor Heiland will beam down with a number of her team to help out with the outbreak, she's one of Starfleet's best." Blushing at Kirk's compliment she whispered a 'thank you' in his direction.
"That's good to hear." Commodore Drake nodded respectively at both Kirk and Lorna before the communication ended.
"Well Doc, you're up." Kirk said with a slap of his hand on his thigh.
"Okay, well, I'll be off then, thanks Captain." Tripping up the step towards the turbolift Lorna gave everybody a lopsided grin. "Behave yourselves while I'm gone!" She joked, pointing her finger at Kirk but immediately regretted it. It had sounded funny in her head but the reality of telling the Captain of the Enterprise to 'behave themselves' hadn't translated as well as she'd hoped. Grimacing Lorna pressed the button for the turbolift repeatedly and all but fell in before disappearing.
"What is that?" One week later and McCoy looked up from his desk to see Lorna walk in, looking dead on her feet and holding a bowl of something.
"Hummus." Lorna answered, planting herself on his couch and spooning the physical chickpea manifestation of heaven into her mouth.
"You're just going to eat it like that? Not with some pitta, or crackers?" He asked as he watched her spoon another life altering, chickpea is the beginning, the middle and the end mouthful in to her gob.
"Why would I contaminate the magnificence of the hummus with a cracker Leonard? There's something seriously wrong with you?!" Shaking her head she scraped the spoon round the edge of the bowl, she was contemplating whether or not she'd get away with licking the bowl clean as McCoy came to sit beside her.
"How'd it go?"
"Good, contained the infection and vaccinated the remaining people." She didn't look up from her one true love and best friend as she answered but made a tick sound with her tongue against the roof of her mouth as she held her spoon above her head in triumph.
"Jim said Drake was happy, praised you in particular. Mentioned something about a born leader, rallying the troops, took her job very seriously…" Lorna scoffed and snorted at the same time. "Yeah, I pretty much had the same reaction!" McCoy agreed, knowing enough of Lorna to know that part of her 'charade' was to make light of her accomplishments and talents. "Good job." He finally said.
"Ta." Lorna answered quickly. "Well, just thought I'd bob in and say hello. Hello." Punctuating her greeting with a wave of her hand she stood up. "I'm going to take a nice long shower and go to bed." Silently offering McCoy a spoonful of astonishing, beautiful hummus and pulling a face when he shook his head no she gave him another wave of her hand as she left his office.
"I'm more of a Tzatziki guy myself." He shouted after her and without turning round she raised her free hand in the air in protestation.
"Blasphemy McCoy! Blasphemy! I will not tolerate a bad word spoken in relation to the almighty chickpea!" And with that she was gone, leaving McCoy coming to the realisation that he'd missed her more than he ought.
Enough was enough.
"For the love of God Kostas!" Holding onto her chest Lorna glared at the Doctor angrily, it was a well-known fact amongst the medical staff that Lorna Heiland was easily scared. Nurses would hide in the stock cupboard, Doctors would hide behind doors and no matter how many times they did it Lorna always screamed and fell for their pranks.
"I hid in the exact same spot last week, how could you not know that's what I was doing?!" Kostas asked as the pair made their way through the bay.
"Because I trust my colleagues Kostas and wouldn't expect them to take advantage of my nervous disposition." Kostas frowned at her.
"Now I feel bad."
"Good, you should. It's not big and it's not clever." Giving them a wink Lorna continued on her way, checking in with her patients and signing off treatments.
"Kostas scare you again?" Not looking up from her PADD Lorna smiled at McCoy's words as he stood behind her.
"You heard?" She asked, still looking at her PADD.
"I think Crew in Engineering heard you." McCoy commented, chuckling to himself.
"Ha. Ha." Lorna turned to peer up at him. "You busy?" She asked and McCoy shook his head. "You want to go get a coffee?" McCoy nodded his head. "My word Doctor McCoy, you're chatty today!"
"I have a lot on my mind." He answered as they made their way out and towards the mess hall.
"Care to share with the class?" Lorna picked some lint off his uniform as they rode in the turbolift.
"I've been pondering…"
"Pondering?" Lorna repeated looking good humouredly at him.
"Yes, pondering. I've been pondering where to take you on a date." Lorna pressed her lips together to stop from beaming.
"You have?" McCoy nodded.
"I never did get that kiss Lorna." He took a step towards her and Lorna blushed.
Their plan hadn't worked out the way they had expected after he'd left her in the bathroom to brush her teeth that night. When she'd finally come back out she saw that McCoy had curled up on the other side of the bed, eyes closed and breathing steady. He'd been taking care of her all night and it had finally caught up with him, Lorna didn't disturb him though, knowing that there would be a knock on the door soon enough. Instead, she scooted back under the covers on her side and watched him for a while. Eventually she started whispering shocking and vulgar confessions to him to see if he was faking and when he couldn't help but smirk, they found themselves talking. Just talking. Until finally she fell asleep herself, the two lovebirds snoring lightly.
After that, well life got in the way, work, shifts, patients, dinner, spraining an ankle, getting stuck in a torpedo, contracting a deadly virus. You know, the usual stuff!
"You didn't?!" Lorna pretended to be shocked.
"No Darlin', I didn't." McCoy's hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her towards him.
"With my brains and your looks, we could go places." Lorna looked at him through her lashes, mimicking her best 1930's film noir vixen. She'd never heard the sound that McCoy made right then and there but boy if she didn't take it as a personal challenge to get him to make it again! With two fingers he tilted her head up towards him.
"You're crazy." His eyes wondered over her face, taking in every little detail.
"Perhaps you should just take the bull by the horns? Stop messing around?" McCoy's eyebrows raised in astonishment.
"I ain't been resting on my laurels Lorna." He defended himself.
"Could of fooled me, to my mind we should be kissing right now." And that was enough, McCoy closed the gap between them and they fit together like the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle. It was sweet, tender and passionate. It was everything she'd hoped it would be and everything he knew it would be. It felt old hat, like they'd been together forever. At one point they smiled against one another, teeth knocking into teeth and at another point Lorna started talking which McCoy quickly nipped in the bud by deepening their kiss. Finally, reluctantly they pulled apart.
"That was nice." Lorna muttered, her cheek resting against his.
"Yeah?" He was planting small kisses along her jawbone.
"Yeah." She answered. "You still want to take me out on that date?" His hand was trailing down her back and he knew they'd both be in trouble if they didn't stop sharpish.
"Don't see why not?" Lorna laughed and pulled away, as the door opened she turned to give him a sultry wink as she walked out.
Oomph!
McCoy couldn't be sure, but he was pretty certain Lorna had actually physically bounced off of Kirk and as the two men stood over her, one creasing their brow in confusion and the other folding their arms in despair Lorna held on to her head and smiled.
"I'm okay!"
The End