The water dripped so that it was the only sound in the entire chamber. McCoy leaned back against the hard stone and shifted so he could find a better, more comfortable position.
"Damnit," he growled. "Where the hell are they?" He'd left Sarah and Olivia nearly twenty minutes ago. Now he couldn't tell which way was which. He'd been so busy focusing on Olivia that he'd gotten himself lost. Worse yet, they way they'd come in was blocked off from the cave in. The other way he found would take nearly a half-day travel. That would mean he'd have to screw both Olivia and Sarah. The thought wasn't exactly pleasing. A moment later he could almost hear Jim's voice nagging at him like the very devil was on his shoulder.
There's two girls more than willing to bang you and completely walk away from it. No complications. You're missing the golden opportunity here.
Meanwhile another voice in his mind added.
These women are not under control of their own bodies. Would you really have sex with Olivia while she's in her condition?
To save her life, how could McCoy say no? Truth was he still cared a great deal for the Lieutenant. On the way back, Olivia had told him everything about what happened the night he couldn't remember. Even though he knew it wasn't his fault, McCoy was still angry for falling for McKinley's tricks. She was the perfect example of why he hated women. Olivia, on the other hand, was different. She was compassionate but not afraid to back down from what she believed in.
"Gellar. McKinley."
"Doctor McCoy!" An echo reached his ears, coming from his direct right. His hand went to his tricorder when she heard Olivia's tone waver from pain. Tired, stumbling legs took off in a run around the corner.
The scene that awaited him made his breath catch in his chest. Sarah was lying on the ground, her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Her chest rose and fell with shallow breaths while her fingers twitched lightly. Olivia was leaning over Sarah's body, gently slapping the woman's face.
"McKinley. Wake up." Her gaze rose sharply. McCoy could see the tears forming. "She fell unconscious." Olivia's voice was small, uncharacteristic to its owner. She turned her sparkling gaze to McCoy, shadows from the flickering flames dancing over her face. He opened his mouth to throw some sort of sarcastic remark when his gaze took in the rest of her body. Her shirt was torn in several places, which showed off her lean stomach in the flickering light source. Strong arms covered in silky tanned skin emerged from cut off sleeves.
Donning his most professional face, McCoy reached for his medical tricorder and ran it along Sarah's body. He cursed heavily and placed two fingers to Sarah's neck.
"What are you doing," Olivia snapped.
"Feeling for her pulse."
"She's still breathing, dumbass."
"I know she has one," his tone edged on anger. "Are you the doctor here?"
"No."
"Then I suggest you get back." He said each word with careful precision like stabbing the air with his words. Surprise flashed in Olivia's eyes while her shoulders tensed. After a moment, she stood and turned to storm from the room. "Wait, I need your help with her."
She returned. "What am I supposed to do? I'm not the doctor here, remember?" Her hands had the same shake Sarah's did.
He ignored the viciousness in her tone. McCoy jerked his head to indicate the tricorder by his side. "Can you operate that?" When she nodded, he gathered Sarah's limp but living body in his arms. A twinge of jealousy sparked to life in Olivia's chest. With as much strength as she could muster, Olivia swallowed her feelings and grabbed the device. A series of beeps filled the silence as she ran the device over Sarah.
A few seconds later, they rounded the corner. McCoy set Sarah down near the fire, covering her body with a thin blanket. His hand shot out for the tricorder. The device was still beeping when his eyes wandered the screen. His scowl lightened and Olivia even thought she heard him sigh in relief.
"Is she going to be alright?"
He jabbed her neck with a hypospray. Immediately her features calmed along with the rest of her body. The rise and fall of Sarah's chest was more regular. Ignoring the pain in her ribs, Olivia straightened.
"Yeah, I think so." He placed a pack under her neck and pulled the blanket more tightly around her slightly shivering body. "Now. You wanna tell me what the hell happened?"
She shrugged nonchalantly. "We were talking and had a small disagreement." He raised an eyebrow. "Ok so it was a major disagreement. She was talking very inappropriate things about you. I couldn't shut her up, so I punched her."
"You punched her? You know, ever since we got down here you've not been yourself. Sarah and Doctor Hansen have given us the most plausible explanation. Plus," he added while indicating the tricorder, "The medical data backs up their story. Your hormone levels are way out of control, and they're getting worse."
Red anger flared in Olivia's face. "Ok so hypothetically if Sarah is right, then I should have already jumped you by now. You and I both know there's no way in hell that's happening." Underneath the surface, the Southern man in McCoy winced from the blow to his ego.
Olivia's head swam through a haze of dizziness until her wobbling legs could no longer support her weight. Thankfully she could use the wall behind her to stable herself. Unfortunately it was too little too late and she went collapsing to the ground. Through her limited hearing, she heard McCoy shout something. A rough hand grabbed her shoulder and shook it.
"Gellar. I need you to stay with me." His voice brought her eyes fluttering open. McCoy with his cold, distant, professional eyes glared at her. She wanted to smile, remembering the many times she swooned from the scowl. As time wore on, and her body began to lose the battle for self-control, she found herself quickly falling back into the trap that was Doctor Leonard McCoy.
"It's nothing." Her voice was a whisper.
"The hell it's not." She winced from the volume of his voice. The familiar beeping of the tricorder soon followed.
"How's Sarah?" She tried to change the conversation, but the look in McCoy's dark hazel eyes told her she'd failed.
"She's stabilized. How are you feeling?"
"Fine. Better than fine. Great actually." She tried pushing him away. Only her state left her weak and completely at the doctor's mercy, which, as Olivia had the thought, couldn't be such a bad thing, could it?
"Right, and I'm a ballerina with a pink tutu." She couldn't stop the smile forming on her face. His eyes went back to the tricorder. "Your adrenaline levels are dangerously high. This Barezden-A is affecting you more than Sarah told us it would."
"I don't care what that machine or liar tells you, I am fine." Anger filled her words as Olivia pushed McCoy aside. She had to get away from him before her willpower was lost. For the moment she could ignore him, but at any second her mind would lose all connection to her body. It would act on its own, reduced to a mere collection of hormones and desires. The thought scared Olivia. Ever since the incident at the academy, she'd done everything in her power to push him out of her mind. Now, being so close, Olivia couldn't help but remember his eyes when they lightened at one of her jokes, his hands when they moved fluidly over her skin, his mouth when they kissed. "Now, let me go."
"Lieutenant Gellar." What had been intended as a warning came out as part warning part plea. But it was too late; Olivia was already standing and running to the other end of the room.
"You have to stay away." Her arms curled to her sides as butterflies flitted through her stomach. Tingles began spreading across the surface of her skin. Eyes shutting, Olivia knew it wouldn't be long until the primal monster inside of her burst out. She could already feel the fire rising from her stomach and capturing her skin. Every little sensation she felt, including the way McCoy's gaze tried to stay away but just couldn't, put a strain on her breathing. Oh why did he have to stare?
Dear God. She wanted him, needed him. . .no, Olivia reminded herself that these feelings weren't hers. They were induced by this mineral and she would fight tooth and nail to keep a grip on her crumbling sanity for as long as she possibly could. No matter how much she wanted to, Olivia had to keep herself from thinking about him. Of course that was easier said than done, especially when all she could think about were the muscles hidden beneath his thin uniform. Flashes of memory from when they dated filled her vision with the thin line between fantasy and memory considerably blurred. She was pretty sure handcuffs had never been used, though she had to admit the idea brought a mischievous smile to her lips. Already she could imagine herself ripping his uniform to shreds with her teeth and hands.
Olivia's eyes flashed with horror as she felt the change beginning to pull away any civilization she still possessed. "Go now while I still have some control."
"You know I won't do that. You'll die if I. . .I mean if we don't. . ."
She bit down on her lip, leaning back into the wall. The deep ache in her stomach started as a small spark but soon started to grow. A raging fire heated the surface of her skin. A loud groan filled the chamber. "You…must…go away."
"No. I can help you, Lieutenant."
"You can help me from the next room by analyzing this substance and figuring out some sort of cure."
"Goddamnit, Li—Gellar, I'm not leaving you!"
"Fine! Then I'll leave." Her legs sprinted from the room, though she so desperately wanted to run to McCoy. For the moment she still had control and wanted to find a hiding place where McCoy couldn't possibly find her. Then neither him nor her heart would be in danger. Unfortunately she was too focused on getting away that she didn't pay attention to her footing. Her balance went off kilter, sending her crashing to the floor.
"Gellar." Olivia felt his hand brush her shoulder. He turned her over so that her gaze was filled with his concerned eyes.
"No." Her screams were shrill and more animal than human. "Please," she begged. "Please, you can't stay here. I'm not myself. I don't want to hurt you."
"You run and I can't help you. We'll fight this. We'll find some other cure."
"There's only one cure and you know it." McCoy waited for her to continue but she tucked in her lips so that she wouldn't be tempted to say anything. "Promise me something."
"What?"
"Promise me you won't. No matter how much I beg. No matter how much I scream and writhe. Promise me you won't give in."
"Are you saying you'd rather die than have sex with me?"
Leave it to Leo to be blunt. "You say there's another cure. Find it. But do it away from me, so I won't be tempted."
"Alright, Gellar. I promise" McCoy, leaning over her, pressed a hand to the side of her face. Sighing, she leaned into his hand. A moment later a bolt of lust shot through her. If she didn't get away from him now, then there would be trouble. She didn't think she could handle the awkward morning.
"McCoy. After the horrible way I treated yo—" The rest of her sentence was lost as his arms scooped up her body and brought her back to the room where Sarah continued to rest by the fire. He nestled her next to the warmth and went back for his tricorder.
"I'll need to observe you."
"Leo. Go find the cure. I'm fine, I just need to be alone." Olivia knew the attempt was pathetic. After all, how the hell could she hope to relax when the source of her desire was only a couple of feet away?
"That's bullshit and you know it. I leave you alone and you'll die."
"Maybe I—"
"Shut up."
Olivia opened her mouth to have McCoy place a finger to her lips and shushed her. McCoy noticed her pupils were slightly dilated and had a sparkle he'd never seen before. She shut her mouth and pushed herself to the wall. Fumbling hands gripped the stone in an attempt to keep herself from pouncing on him like a wild jungle cat.
The next couple of hours dragged by. McCoy analyzed the data and went in circles trying to figure out this whole mess. Olivia fought her inner urge to just knock the device from his hand and take him right there. Suddenly, a layer of sheen covered her body and her heart thundered in her chest.
"Doctor!" McCoy looked up and raced to Olivia's side. Her breathing had increased and her heartbeat was wildly out of control. Her back arched toward him. "My heart . . .it's going way too fast! My head is going to explode!" He grabbed a hypospray, prepared the solution and leaned over to inject her when Olivia tried to swat him away.
"What do you think you're doing?" She continued to struggle. Her eyes widened and locked with his, pleading for something. But for what McCoy didn't know.
"Please, stop this. Stop me. I'm losing control."
"Stop fighting me then, you damn woman."
"Oh, Leo. Please." More unintelligible pleas spilled from her lips. Her hands continued to swing in front of her, pushing him away. Frustration set in quickly for both of them.
"You need to stay still."
"No, I need . . ." She managed to get a grip on his wrist and jerked it to the side. Surprise crossed his features when his body went flying to the ground. Olivia, now far beyond any hope of reason, practically pounced onto McCoy's body. She knocked away the hypospray and pinned his arms to his sides.
"Lieutenant Gellar—"
"Call me Olivia." Olivia huffed. "Listen, I'm sorry about that night. I realize I had no right to be upset with you. I didn't have the facts." In between each sentence, she placed a small kiss along his jaw.
"Gellar—"
"Olivia," she corrected. He ignored her and tried to move but found Olivia to be far stronger. He might as well have been trying to break free of chain restraints. His struggling broke Olivia's concentration. A flash of fear came to her eyes. Backing away and pulling her hands into tight fists, Olivia's heart began to race.
McCoy used the distraction to push her off and go scrambling for the hypospray. His fingers stretched but fell short when a hand fell on his ankle and jerked him back. He turned over on his back just in time to see Olivia jump on him. As a mess of limbs, they went tumbling to the ground.
"Jesus Christ, Gellar!"
"I told you to call me Olivia." Before McCoy could say anything else, Olivia's mouth went crashing onto his. The kiss wasn't exactly rejected on McCoy's end. For a moment he allowed it to continue, slowly kissing her back. But slow was the furthest thing from what Olivia wanted, what she needed. Her hands slid up his arms, feeling the lines of the muscles underneath. She left his mouth to trail a line of kisses and nips down his jaw and neck. A few moments later Olivia emitted a low, resounding growl, which made McCoy swallow hard in his throat and feel the fire flare up between them. He felt Olivia smile into his neck.
"I've forgotten how much I enjoy this."
"Gellar, stop this now."
"Is that an order?" Her lips curled up into a half smirk. "Because I'd risk insubordination charges."
That was when he knew Olivia was slipping away and rapidly being replaced by a primal creature whose only interest was to fuck him senseless. This wasn't Olivia anymore. It couldn't be. "Gellar, listen to me. You're not yourself."
"Leo—"
"Doctor McCoy," he corrected her.
"Don't you want me?" Her fingers splayed in his hair, Olivia returned to his neck. He tried to struggle but once again, she proved to have this unknown source of strength.
"Yes. . ." he struggled to keep his breathing normal. A rapidly beating heartbeat was all he could hear above the small but painfully erotic moans Olivia was making. If he didn't stop this soon, there was going to be trouble. He was a doctor but damnit he was a man too! McCoy shook his head, trying to clear his mind of her intoxicating scent and aggressive hands. "I mean, no." His voice was a little higher in pitch, wavering like his pathetic attempt at self-control. "Not like this."
Her eyes widened when she felt how pleased his body was. The signs were all there. Pouted lips, red and slightly puffy, flushed skin. And if that wasn't enough, Olivia need only feel the hardness pressing against her leg to be convinced. She started giggling. "Your body says otherwise." She wiggled her hips, which sent a wave of heat between the two of them. Olivia deepened the kiss, fisting her hands in his hair and tugging him closer. His body writhed underneath her, clearly enjoying Olivia's newfound enthusiasm. Her kisses started going lower, lower, lower until her head hovered in the vicinity of his stomach.
Come on, focus. Z, Y, X, W… McCoy continued the exercise while trying to wedge her off of him. All his attempts were met with failure. She had him trapped and took delight in it. Still on top of him and very much in control, Olivia loved the feel of his body against hers. Only it wasn't nearly enough. She needed to feel his skin against hers. Her fingernails traced circles down his arms and across his stomach.
S, R, Q, P…
With a single, quick motion, she ripped open his shirt and pushed her hands to feel the muscles beneath.
O…Goddamnit!!…N…M…L…
Where the hell had she learned that? He'd heard only Orion slave girls knew that trick. McCoy closed his eyes and focused on the most disgusting surgery he'd ever witnessed. The tactic finally worked and he managed to clear his mind of Olivia and her mouth still working its magic against his neck. He knew the only way out of this was to go along until he could get close to the hypospray. Against his better judgment, McCoy managed to get an arm free and pulled Olivia so that their mouths connected once again. "You've no idea. . .how long. . ." Her gasps made it harder for McCoy to concentrate.
He slowly pushed himself up so he could get enough leverage to pick her up. Opening one eye, McCoy dragged Olivia to the corner where he'd last saw the hyposprays. The journey was hard, especially with Olivia's hands and tongue making stars spot his vision A part of him, the lonely part, wanted to just let go, to enjoy this, but the stronger, more sensible, part of him knew doing this would destroy any hope of rebuilding any sort of friendship between them. Sex induced by alien influence made for some awkward mornings, not that he had any experience in the area. He'd heard plenty of Kirk's stories, some of which he sure wish he hadn't been told. McCoy would never look at Vulcan spices, Fraulian enriched chocolate and mint bubble gum the same way again.
They crashed into the wall with Olivia's back to the rock. Suddenly she broke the kiss and looked at him with that fire still burning brightly behind her dark mahogany eyes.
From the corner of his eye, McCoy caught the sight of the hypospray. Luckily it was just in reach. All he had to do was keep Olivia distracted until he could grab it, which wasn't much of a challenge as she seemed pretty content ripping apart his shirt. Only pieces of his collar and sleeve were left in tact by the time his fingers reached one of the hyposprays. Olivia felt a pinch in her neck. Surprised, she opened her eyes to see McCoy holding that damn hypospray.
"Son of a—"
The rest of her words were slurred as the sedative began to take effect. Olivia slumped into McCoy's arms, mumbling something into his shoulder before finally dozing off. His head swimming with dizziness, McCoy managed to get Olivia next to the fire and put restraints on her wrists and ankles so she wouldn't be able to try that again. He pushed a hand back through his ruffled hair and grabbed his communicator. He flipped the device open but not even static rose from the device. McCoy cursed the technology but continued forward. He turned another corner when all of a sudden the device spring to life. Static filled the air with its familiar buzzing.
"This is Doctor McCoy of the USS Enterprise. Can anyone hear me? I repeat. This is Doctor McCoy of the USS Enterprise, can anyone hear me?"
Nothing.
McCoy refused to give up. After all if there was a hole where communication could get through, then maybe another such place existed for the transporter.
Doc…th…ck.
McCoy's eyes widened, his jaw dropping nearly to the floor. "I don't believe it. Can you hear me?"
…es…hear…wh…our…pos…n.
He started moving around, hoping to find a place where the signal was stronger.
Repeat. We can hear you. What is your position? The signal was badly broken, but McCoy could piece together what the person was saying with decent accuracy.
"Spock!" He'd never been so glad to hear the hobgoblin's voice. "We're still in the caves. The way we came in got blocked off. We're trapped. Repeat we're trapped."
That is unfortunate.
"Yeah, tell me something I don't know. Where's Jim?"
Captain Kirk and Doctor Kolshar were taken hostage by the natives.
"You're joking."
Vulcans do not joke, Doctor McCoy.
He groaned and massaged the ache between his eyes.
A rescue attempt is currently underway. Have you discovered an alternative escape route?
"Yes. It should take a half a day to get there."
You will have to move faster.
"Why?"
Has Lieutenant Gellar's behavior been provocative?
"You know about what's going on too?"
Before Doctor Kolshar was abducted, she and Commander Hallon discovered a mineral in the caves that will make a human female display blatant sexual behavior. Has she tried to mate with you?
"Yes, but I managed to knock her out. Her and the other researcher, Sarah McKinley, are out cold."
It is prudent that you get moving now, Doctor McCoy.
"Way to go, Commander Obvious. Listen. Since there's a weak point in these caves for communication, can Scotty find one for the transporter?"
We think we may have already found one. It is one hour from your current position. Transferring coordinates now. Be swift, Doctor McCoy. Captain Kirk does not have much time left.
"Understood. McCoy out."
He ran back to the chamber. Sarah and Olivia were wide-awake. The former was merely lying there while the latter struggled like a mad woman against her restraints.
"How are you awake?" The sedative was enough to easily keep them both under for a couple of hours. He hadn't been gone for five minutes. Olivia's brown eyes went straight to his torn shirt before rising to his face. The smile she tried to suppress spread easily across her face.
"First, you knock me out. Then, you tie me up." She held up her tied hands. "And here I thought Jim was the kinky one. Where was this side of you when we were together?" She laughed. "Not that I mind, of course. As long as I get to tie you up too. Nice shirt by the way. . .or rather lack of shirt."
He looked down and noticed the garment was ripped to shreds. He pulled the rest of it off to find small scratch marks on his arms. Turning, he searched into their gear for another shirt and cursed when he couldn't find one. Olivia sighed in delight. Ignoring the ravenous look she was giving him, McCoy began to gather their gear together. "Good news. Enterprise found us a way out of here. We should get there in an hour. Can you walk?"
Sara nodded but otherwise said nothing. All Olivia could muster was a groan and a muffled, "So. . .hungry."
"I'll take that as a maybe." He grabbed two rations from his pack and placed it by Olivia and Sarah's side. Olivia watched in silence, though she might as well have been shouting with the look she was giving the food. It was a mixture of disgust and frustration. Her gaze flickered up and lingered on his bare chest. McCoy turned but could feel her eyes burning a hole into his backside.
"You should eat. We've got quite the hike ahead. You don't want to be hungry." Olivia moaned and flopped back to the ground, closing her eyes. A slow, mischievous smile played at the corner of her lips. A fit of giggles filled the tense silence between them.
"Oh, Leo. . .I was not referring to food."
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Author's Note: Oh boy, I really hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I know it has almost no plot advancement in it (that's next chapter) but they needed to do SOMETHING!!!! And the idea of McCoy going through the alphabet backwards to keep his focus absolutely made me laugh.
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Anyway, I'd like to thank Canna, Vulcanvamp, CaffeineKid, fafinette, Lady Valadhiel and Yayyou for reviewing. A special thank you to Steff7 for PMing me. (As I said, I might give the graphic novel a try if it really does explain stuff the movie didn't cover.) A big round of applause to the ghosts hiding in the wings. Hope you guys are enjoying the story!!!
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Reviews make the world go round!!! It's been scientifically proven!!!! ^_^
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-Trekky18