"Do you mind checking over a bunch of drunk guys who got into a fight over at the casino?" Gaila asked him after his finished up with a patient.
"Do I have to?" Leonard asked the redhead.
"No but it's the nice thing to do," she told him. "The sheriff doesn't want to drag them all to the ER. It's more paperwork."
"I guess I can take a look. Casino's up the street, right?" he sighed.
"Yep. Make a right on twenty-two and go straight. There will be a sign when you have to make a left. It's the only thing over there and it only takes a few minutes," Gaila smiled, handing him his medical bag and his jacket.
"How'd you know I would say yes?"
"You're a surgeon from a big town, you've been itching to do something -anything- other than treat snotty kids and old people since you got here."
"Fair enough," Leonard chuckled as he pulled on his jacket. "I'll be back in a little bit."
He got in his car and followed the directions he was given. Doctor Boyce warned him that with such a small town, he was bound to make a house call or two but he didn't mention doing runs to the casino. Leonard figured a place like that would at least have someone with medical training on hand.
Leonard pulled up next to a marked Ford Expedition and chanced a glance at the other Sheriff's Department cars; a pair of Dodge Chargers, one black like the Expedition and one in a brushed silver with black markings. He shook the car envy out of his head, grabbed his bag and got out of the car.
"Doctor McCoy," a man in his late forties to mid-fifties said as Leonard walked over. The doctor just gave him a nod as the man held out his hand. "I'm Sheriff Chris Pike."
"Nice to meet ya," Leonard smiled and shook hands with the Washington County Sheriff. "Heard I could be of some help."
"Some idiots from the college came down here, got drunk off their asses and started a fight with each other and some of our less than productive locals. Nothing's life threatening but we got one with a gash in his head and I don't want him bleeding all over my jail… or my vehicles."
"Can't blame you, those are some nice rides," Leonard chuckled as Pike led him through the casino.
"They're new-ish. The Chargers are hand-me-downs from state police and the Expedition is six months old," the sheriff said with a shrug as he pushed open a door. There were three guys sitting in chairs with a big deputy standing over them. "Hendorff, where's the other one?"
"In the bathroom, he was bleeding all over the place," the big guy, Deputy Hendorff, said. Leonard made a mental note not to mess with him.
"Alone?" Leonard asked.
"Not alone," a slightly familiar voice said from behind him. Leonard turned to find Jim Kirk standing there, in jeans and a leather jacket with a badge and gun on her hip, her hand wrapped around some kid's arm. The guy was holding gauze to his head, wincing as he did. "I'm pretty sure there's glass in his wound. Idiot."
"That's usually my line, Miss Kirk," Leonard chuckled. "He's probably gonna need a trip to the ER, just let me check him over real quick before you take him. I never would've guessed that you worked for the sheriff."
"Most people don't. I use it to my advantage," she smiled and forced the kid to take a seat. "We appreciate the help, Doc."
"It's what I'm here for. What's your name, kid?" Leonard asked the guy, who just glared at him.
"You're not gonna like me very much if the good doctor has to repeat himself. He asked you a question," Jim said, crossing her arms and staring down at the kid. Leonard had a feeling that she was probably tougher than she was beautiful, and she's really beautiful.
"Lee Kelso," the guy muttered.
"Were you drinking, Lee?" Leonard asked as he checked the two-inch gash on the side of Lee's head. Granted, it wasn't even lunch time yet but time disappears in a casino. The question Leonard stopped himself from asking was why this kid and his buddies were drinking and gambling when they probably should've been in class.
"I had a few," Lee admitted.
"Can you follow the light with your eyes?" the doctor slowly waved the penlight in front of Lee's face, who followed along. Leonard checked a few other things and asked him some more questions before he looked up at Jim. "Doesn't look like he has any brain damage but I recommend he gets a CT and that wound has to be sutured before you take him to the jail."
"Oh joy," she sighed as Leonard quickly moved through the other three men.
The doctor looked at the sheriff, "Other than being drunk and dumb, they're okay."
"Alright," Pike said. "Lieutenant Kirk, take Lee to county and stay with him until they release him."
"Yea, because I have nothing better to do with my time. I've been on my way home since oh-six hundred," Jim said with an impressive eye roll.
"And yet, here you are," Pike said with a smile.
"You're the one who dragged me into this. I'm never having breakfast with you again," she said as she pulled Lee to his feet. "You gonna do my paperwork?"
"I'll think about it," the sheriff told her with a playful smirk.
"And here I thought I was your favorite," Jim smiled. From the sounds of it, this was a common conversation between the sheriff and the lieutenant, Leonard suddenly found himself wondering just what their relationship was, not that it was any of his business.
"You are my favorite, which is why I don't have to keep an eye on you and why I don't mind approving your overtime. We'll take care of the rest of these idiots and I will start Lee's paperwork for you," Pike said.
"You do love me," she chuckled.
"Get outta here, Jimmy, before I change my mind," Pike ordered.
"I'm going," Jim smiled. "See ya around, Doc."
"Lieutenant Kirk," Leonard smiled back.
"Thank you, Doctor McCoy for checking them over," Pike said as he and Hendorff grabbed the other three guys.
"It's what I do," Leonard said with a shrug.
"You mind?" Jim asked quietly as he sat in the back pew of the church.
Leonard wouldn't say he was religious -though he wore his Saint Christopher and Saint Luke pendants faithfully- but his mama ingrained the habit of going to Sunday morning service into him a long time ago. If he was being honest, he had a 'what would Jesus do' moment when he found his wife in bed with another man. He was sure that it was the only reason he didn't completely lose his shit and beat the hell out of the guy. Leonard shook the thought out of his head and smiled at Jim, Joanna had run off to Sunday school with the other kids, so he had plenty of room.
"Not at all," he said as he moved over for her to take the spot closest to the aisle. Leonard watched as she sat down. "Working?"
"What gave me away?" she whispered with a smile.
"The gun," Leonard whispered back. "The uniform doesn't hurt, either." It was the same uniform he saw on the sheriff and Deputy Hendorff, except it was obviously cut for a woman and Jim had lieutenant bars on her collar. The only thing she was missing was the bulletproof vest that the others wore when he met them. Leonard didn't know if it was a regulation thing or a comfort thing. What he did know was that Jim looked damn good in uniform.
"I'm the supervisor on duty today," Jim whispered.
"Are you one of the overly religious types?" he asked quietly. He found it a little odd that she was working but still showed up for service. Then again, most of the town was in one church or the other at the moment.
"There's a saying, 'there are no atheists in foxholes'," she whispered. "I have to believe that someone out there is keeping an eye on me and my guys."
"That's a very true. Maybe you need my Saint Christopher more than I do."
"I got a Saint Michael in the cruiser," Jim smiled before turning her attention to Pastor Martin.
Leonard listened to the -very appropriate- message about rebirth and renewal but his gaze kept drifting to the woman next to him. If she noticed that he was looking at her, she didn't act like it. He watched her as she payed attention to the sermon, while observing the people, a small smile on her face. The service was nearing its end when Jim looked at the smartwatch on her arm and let out a quiet groan.
"Duty calls?" he asked quietly.
"Yep," she smiled as she got up. "See you around, Bones."
Bones?
"How much do you know about Jim Kirk?" Leonard asked Gaila first thing Monday morning.
"Plenty. We're sorta sisters," the redhead told him. He gave her a look. "Her brother, George, and my sister, Arlene, are married to each other… high school sweethearts. Me and Jim have known each other since we were babies but now we're kinda related. Why do you ask?"
"Nothing, I just… I saw her yesterday at church. She called me Bones," he said.
"Oh, you got a nickname," Gaila chuckled. "She gives them most people. She's been calling me 'Red' since she could talk. I wonder why she picked that one for you."
"I have no idea."
"You could always ask her."
"I've only run in to her a few times," Leonard said with a shrug. "We barely know anything about each other."
"You really believe that, that's cute," Gaila chuckled. "She's Sheriff Pike's right hand person and the senior investigator at the department, she knows everything about everyone in the county and then some. It's her job."
"What's the deal with the two of them anyway, her and Pike?" he asked before he could think better of it. Gaila smiled. "I didn't… don't… answer…"
"He and her dad were rookie cops together in Iowa City," she paused. "I think the rest should come from her. Most people around here know pieces of the story but Jim, her family and the sheriff are the only ones who know the whole thing."
"That bad?"
"Parts of it. If you want to know, ask her. Jim may be a bit of a loner but she's not shy," Gaila told him.
"How could someone like that be a loner?" Leonard asked. If anything, he's the loner.
"She's smart, she's pretty, she doesn't take shit from anyone and she's an expert marksman. People who don't know her well are usually intimidated by her, so she keeps to herself," the redhead smiled. "If you want to know anything other than that, you gotta talk to her. That is, if you remember how to talk to pretty girls."
"I do just fine, thank you very much."
"We'll see."