McCoy and Pike
by Starsinger
Quick word about cannon. Paramount, you know, the company that actually owns Star Trek, twenty some odd years ago took a hard line on what is and isn't cannon. Unlike Star Wars, which pretty much lets anything authorized (like books and comics) be cannon, the only thing that is cannon in Star Trek is on-screen. That means it's only cannon if it came from Enterprise, TOS, The Animated Series (yes, there was one), TNG, DS9, Voyager, or the twelve movies, yes, twelve. They stopped numbering them after the Undiscovered Country. This also includes a Mirror Universe, btw. I have favorite books, "Imzadi" and "The Romulan Way" among them. They're wonderful and full of life and highly interesting characters, but they're not cannon. This does make sense since a lot of the novels often contradict each other (Rihannsu series and Vulcan's Soul series being among them). Fanfiction, on the other hand, often contradicts everything, and as long as it's entertaining and well written, well, nobody cares. Okay, back to my probably non-cannon story! lol This is how Pike finds and recruits McCoy. Don't own them.
Dr. Boyce sent Pike to Georgia of all places. They needed more doctors, anyone with half a brain could have told them that, but in a desperate bid to find some who would just need the extra Starfleet education, they sent the Dean of Cadets, Christopher Pike, Captain thank-you-very-much. Many of these students were poor, and would spend at least the next twenty years paying off their student debts. Pike's line that Starfleet would pay off those debts and give them a further, possibly more lucrative education seemed to fall on deaf ears.
Pike had been to four universities in the south, and came up with two recruits. This did not bode well at all. Both of them had both just started Med School. He decided to clear his mind by driving around the city he was currently in. He drove by a house where a wary looking man sat on the curb on top of his luggage. He looked so very lost that Pike had his on-board computer call up his name and any information it might have on him. "McCoy, Dr. Leonard H MD, recent graduate of Mississippi State. Marital Status: Divorced. Children: one, six month old girl, Joanna."
Chris did the only thing he could think of, he made a u-turn in the middle of the road causing several cars to squeal to a halt and apply the horns. He didn't care. That man looked like he needed a friend, and Starfleet needed him. Pike stopped the car and exited it, looking down at the man. He had a scruffy, three day old beard, and looked like he had been sitting there awhile. "So, you know where I can find a good place to eat?" Pike asked.
McCoy looked up at Pike, "What do you want?"
"So much for southern hospitality. You're Dr. McCoy?" the man nodded, startled by his knowledge. "Computer did a facial recognition scan. What happened?"
"Ex-wife, she took everything, even my daughter and the house that's been in my family for generations," I'm sitting on all I've got left," he said patting the luggage under his bum. "So, what's a Starfleet Captain doing here? Looking for more recruits?"
"Recruits we have plenty of, we need experienced doctors to come to the Academy and join our team. You could complete the more extensive training we have in four years and go on a starship, or space station…" he trailed off at the wild look in McCoy's eyes.
"I'm afraid of flying, space, dying in space, things like that. You don't want me," McCoy said.
"Come on, I'm heading for Riverside Iowa tonight. Come with me, if you don't like it, I'll put you back on the first shuttle back here, and your ex-wife."
That did it, McCoy was in that car faster than Pike could actually stand up. Pike chuckled. "What do you want me to do?" McCoy asked.
"Well, you won't have to take any of the medical stuff, you already know it. You'll be assigned to the hospital there in San Francisco. Your classes, from what I understand, would consist of Xenobiology, and other courses not normally covered in planet-bound universities," Pike picked up a pamphlet. "Dr. Boyce sent me with this so you can get an idea what you'll be taking."
Pike was happy, he had scored with an actual practicing physician. McCoy would take him up on the offer, he had nowhere else to go. He just didn't realize how afraid of space McCoy actually was until he heard the man arguing with Shore Patrol on the shuttle about his seat in the bathroom. Then, he heard him talking to another familiar voice, Jim Kirk. That boy didn't know what was about to hit him.