A/N: I know this story was marked as complete, but I came

up with another quick one-shot for Bones and decided to sort of make it a sequel to Life's Too Short. I may do that from time to time here. So, this will stay marked as complete, but additional one-shots could be added. Please follow to stay informed.

Once a month. It happened once a month that me, Leonard, Jim, and Scotty had the same day off. The whole day. Leonard, of course, had worked our schedules so that we had a lot of time together, but this was group time. For two years, since we set off on our five-year mission, the four of us got together on our day off to play poker for a few hours. Friendly games. No money ever exchanged hands. This was about pride and bragging rights.

I have to admit, I wasn't that great of a player when we started. I only played because they needed a fourth, and I was still better than most of the crew. Having grown up with two brothers who spent their weekends playing cards and pool to hustle money, I learned a little about both. I could hold my own, but I got better playing with these guys. I knew how to read them, and that helped.

Jim dealt the new hand and everyone put in their ante. I watched them closely, seeing their tells, and soon bluffed my way to a winning hand.

I tossed my hand face down and started collecting my chips. Leonard, who was having the opposite of my lucky streak, reached for them.

"Hey," I said. "You didn't ask to see those."

He looked at the cards and held them up for me to see. "A pair of twos? That's all you had?" He tossed them back down. "My hand was better. You bluffed."

"Somethin' tells me that's not the first time she bluffed tonight," Scotty said with a laugh.

"It's poker, gentlemen," I said. "I believe bluffing is allowed."

"Yeah," Jim said, "but a low pair like that? That takes guts."

"Well, I can tell you," Leonard said, "she has guts."

I smiled at him, but made myself look away. We still hadn't come forward with our relationship. He hadn't even told Jim. If we hadn't spent a lot of time alone before we hooked up, people might be more suspicious, but having been friends with him at the Academy helped our secret.

"My turn to deal," I said.

The game eventually died down and turned into catching up, which never took long. The Enterprise was a large ship, but we really had few secrets from each other. Leonard and I were surprised we had been able to keep our relationship quiet. News traveled fast on board.

I checked the time and saw that it was getting late. The rec room was almost empty. I caught Leonard's eye and smiled. He knew I wanted us to have some time alone.

"Gentlemen," I said as I stood, "I think I'll head to my room."

Leonard stood. "I'll walk with you."

"Aw, come on, Bones," Jim said. "It's our night off."

"Yes, but I have the early shift tomorrow. Goodnight."

Jim waved him off, and Leonard walked at my side with his hands folded behind his back.

Most of the medical staff rooms were in the same corridor, so Leonard was able to walk me right to my door. When we were sure no one was around, he came inside. His lips were on mine as soon as the door closed. He groaned as his hands traveled over my hips, and a whimper escaped me.

"I've been wanting to do this all day," he said with his lips still pressed to mine.

"Even when I was beating you at poker," I asked with a smile.

"Watch it. Low blow."

"I'm sorry... but I did beat you."

"Only because Jim kept getting all the cards I needed, and it threw me off my game."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really."

I walked over to one of my drawers and pulled out a deck of cards. "Care to prove that?"

He smiled at me. It was a smile that I had only ever seen when we were alone together.

"Only if we make this more interesting," he said.

"What do you suggest?"

"You lose a hand... you take of a piece of clothing."

"Strip poker, Doctor McCoy?"

He shrugged with his hands behind his back, and bounced lightly on the balls of his feet. "That's an outdated term, but if you like."

"I think it could be interesting," I said, "if the winner of the hand gets to remove the loser's clothing item."

"I like the way you think," he said.

He grabbed me by the waist and pulled me into another kiss. It took everything in me to pull away and sit at the small table in the corner. I felt his eyes on me the entire time.

I shuffled the deck of cards as Leonard took a seat across the table from me. He easily won the first game. I held out my leg and he slowly slipped one of my shoes off. He let his hand glide down my calf as he lowered my foot back to the floor.

The second game ended, and my other shoe was removed. I managed to make myself focus and won the next three games. I stood over him and tugged the hem of his shirt up until he lifted his arms, then I pulled it off over his head. I ran my hands over his shoulders, and he tugged at the bottom of my dress before I walked away.

"That's coming off next," he said. "This just turned into a high-stakes game."

He bluffed his way into my dress coming off. He told me to stand, as he stood in front of me. He reached his hands around me and slowly lowered the zipper, then pulled the material down. I wiggled a bit as the dress passed my hips, to help it come off easily, and I heard him moan. His lips were on my neck as the dress hit the floor, and I stepped out of it. My hand found the short hairs at the nape of his neck, and I smiled.

"The game's not over, Doctor."

He unfastened my bra and slid the straps down my arms. "Yes, it is."

He picked me up and carried me to the bed. He hovered over me as I scooted back toward the pillows, then his body lay flush against mine. A sigh escaped my throat and he smiled as he looked into my eyes. My hands traveled over his bare chest, and he captured my lips again. His hand slid from my face, down my side to my hip. He started to remove my underwear, but I grabbed his hands.

"Not fair... your pants are still on."

He pulled back with a grin and moved to my side, quickly removing the rest of his clothes, then he was back on top of me. He kissed my neck as he worked my panties down, then he sat back to pull them off. He gripped my hips firmly and tilted them up. I closed my eyes and smiled, knowing what I was in for. He did that when he wanted to go slow, and deep. His lips brushed over my skin, just below my navel, before he kissed a trail up to my neck and settled between my legs. He pushed into me slowly, inch by inch, looking into my eyes the entire time. Once he was buried inside, his eyes fluttered shut, and he whispered my name. I nearly came undone at the sound of the low growl in his voice.

Our hips met with each gentle thrust, and our bodies moved together. He buried his face in my neck. My hands roamed over his back and shoulders. Each time I got close to breaking, he would slow even more, causing me to come back down from that high.

"Do you have any idea how much you frustrate me," I asked.

He lifted his head and smiled before plunging into me. My mouth fell open as he hit home and quickened his pace. One hand gripped the sheet beneath me as the other squeezed his shoulder, until I was finally trembling with the release he had playfully kept from me.

He lay next to me, on his back, and pulled me close. I draped my leg over his, and he buried his hand in my hair as he kissed me. Our breathing steadied and I settled into the crook of his arm.

"Len..."

"Yeah, sweetheart?"

"I love you."

"I love you, too."