When Leonard woke up, Nora was curled on her side, facing away from him. He glanced to the other bed. Jim wasn't there. Leonard smelled coffee, so he figured Jim was in the kitchen. That gave him and Nora a little privacy to wake up.

He pressed into Nora from behind, molding his body to hers and putting an arm over her, pulling her close. He felt her breathe in deeply, and a contented sound followed with her exhale. Leonard ran his hand down over her hip until he reached her thigh. He lowered his lips to her neck and gently kissed his way up to her earlobe before pulling the flesh between his teeth.

"Mmmmm... Leonard..."

Nora was still asleep, and whispering his name. That fact sent a rush of heat straight to Leonard's groin, but he knew they couldn't do anything about it. Not with Jim in the apartment. So, Leonard finally began to wake Nora. He squeezed her arm and gave her a light shake.

"Nora, sweetheart."

"Hmmm?"

"Time to get up, darlin'."

"Do I have to? Can't I just stay in bed with you all day?"

"We could if Jim weren't home."

Nora sat up and rubbed at her eyes. "I forgot Jim is back." She looked at his empty bed. "Where is he?"

"I think he's in the kitchen."

"Well, why don't you go join him and I'll be out in a minute. I'll make breakfast."

"I'll get it started," Leonard said.

He leaned in for what was meant to be a quick kiss, but when his lips touched Nora's it became heated. She put her hand to his face, her fingertips just lightly brushed along his jaw. He lay her back as he moved to lie on top of her. He leaned on one elbow as his other hand found Nora's and laced their fingers together, pressing her hand into the mattress. Nora lifted her leg and ran her foot along the back of Leonard's thigh.

"Aw, shit!" Jim said from the doorway. "Man, that's my sister!"

Leonard immediately moved away and sat up. "You weren't in the room, Jim."

"It's bad enough I had to wake up and find you two in the same bed. Why didn't you tell me last night that she was here?"

"I tried."

"Hello," Nora said, "'she' is in the room."

Jim rolled his eyes and left the bedroom. Nora sighed and looked at Leonard. He was shaking his head.

"I know," Nora said, "you told me so."

"Not what I was thinking, but, yeah... I did."

They both dressed and went into the kitchen. They cooked breakfast while Jim told them about his vacation. When they finally all sat to eat, Jim cleared his throat.

"I think we need to set some ground rules now that you two are... together."

"Look, Jim, Nora was already here last night. We were already asleep-"

"I know. I get that, but going forward..."

Leonard nodded. "Okay."

"No more sleep overs," Jim said.

Nora opened her mouth to protest, but Leonard put his hand over hers.

"Done," Leonard said.

"What do you mean, 'done?'" Nora stared at Leonard with wide eyes.

"I mean, done. Jim doesn't keep his women over, and I have to agree to those same terms."

"Are you actually comparing our relationship to Jim's one night stands?"

"No, darlin', but I wouldn't be comfortable with Jim having a woman in the next bed. Even if she wasn't a one night stand. I have to consider that."

"But I like waking up in your arms," she said softly as she ran the back of a finger up the side of his neck.

Jim made a face. "Okay, you'll have to watch the PDA, too."

Leonard stared at him for a moment. "All right, Jim. I get she's your sister. I get that it weirds you out that she's dating your friend... but there's a line. I love this woman, and I will show her affection."

Nora smiled and looked at Jim. "Ditto."

"Fine," Jim huffed, "but can you try to keep it to a minimum?"

"We can try," Nora said. "At least when you're around."

"Thank you," Jim said.

"You know," Leonard said, "Nora does raise a good point as far as the sleeping over goes. We will need time alone. If she's not spending the night, you'll have to make yourself scarce at least one night a week."

"Our midnight deal?"

Leonard looked to Nora and she nodded her approval.

"Deal," Leonard said. "Once I get my hospital schedule for the term we'll let you know which night is best."

Jim looked at Nora, but shook his head and looked away. She almost felt bad for him. Almost. She was too happy with Leonard to let Jim's hang up get her down, but she understood.

"Jim," she said, "why don't we spend the day together? Just the two of us. I think we need that."

"Yeah," Jim said. "I'd like that. You don't mind, do you, Bones?"

"Not at all."

They finished breakfast and Jim and Nora were ready to leave. As the were walking out of the door, Jim turned back to Leonard.

"Hey, Bones, I'll call you later to meet up with us, okay?"

"Sounds good."

Nora smiled at Leonard, and butterflies fluttered through her stomach when he winked. She wondered if that feeling would ever fade when she was with him. She hoped it wouldn't.

Jim and Nora walked though the city and talked. Every time she brought up her relationship with Leonard, he would change the subject. It wasn't until they stopped for lunch that he finally gave in.

"You're determined to talk about this, aren't you," Jim asked.

"Yes, I am. I know it's weird for you, and I'm sorry, but it's not like we planned it."

"Yeah, Bones gave me that speech."

"Well, it's true. I never expected to fall for him. We were honestly friends. Just friends. I don't know exactly when I saw him as more, but it happened."

"So, when did he hit on you, finally?"

"He never hit on me."

"Oh, man, don't tell me you hit on him," Jim said with a look of disgust.

"No! No one hit on anyone. Do you remember that day I came looking for him after a test I passed that he helped me study for?"

"Not really, no."

"Come on, Jim. I was super excited and he wasn't there. You answered the door."

"Okay... yeah, yeah, I do remember that... kinda."

"Well, I went back to tell him later. I hugged him to thank him for helping me so much, and... We both just felt it. That was our first kiss."

Nora had been staring off into the distance as she remembered that night. When she finally looked back to Jim, he was staring at her with a grimace.

"He tried to tell you that night," she continued, "but you went and told him I had a crush on him."

"Well, I was right, wasn't I?"

"And you told him you didn't want me falling in love with a grumpy old man."

Jim cringed. "I did say that. I had no idea you already had."

"He's not a grumpy old man."

"He certainly acts that way a lot."

"Around you! I don't know what it is, but you seem to really bring it out in him. He's different with me. He's spontaneous... sort of. He's romantic, calm, relaxed... I love him so much."

"All right, all right. I get it."

"And you punched him."

"Hey," Jim said, suddenly sitting straight up, "my best friend comes in and tells me that he's been secretly seeing my sister, and that he decided after they woke up together that morning to come talk to me about it-"

"We were just sleeping, Jim."

"Yeah, but I didn't know that. I mean, really, Nora. What guy do you know sleeps with a girl he's dating without actually having sex?"

"Leonard McCoy."

Jim slouched back into his chair, and Nora put her hand over his.

"Jim, I'm so glad I have you to protect me. You've done it my whole life, and I can't ever thank you enough. Maybe this is your chance to look out for yourself now."

"I always look out for myself."

"If that were true, you would have left home a long time ago. No way would you have stayed in Riverside if it weren't for me. I know that, Jim. Joining Starfleet was the first thing you ever truly did for yourself... and you knew I would follow you. Now, I have Leonard to look after me, too. You can focus on taking care of you."

Jim covered Nora's hand with his own and smiled. "It's hard not to see you as that kid following me around and trying to be just like me. You don't need anyone taking care of you. You're an amazing woman."

"I'll always need my big brother," she said with a smile. "I love you."

"Love you, too, Bitsy."