Chapter 5- Sweet Home Chicago
Just as he had promised, McCoy slept almost the entire way on the transport shuttle. Occasionally I had to lightly jab him in the ribs when he snored loud enough to disturb the other passengers, but most of the time I just talked with Pavel. I listened with quiet interest as he told me about growing up in Russia without his father and how he had always felt different from other kids because of his advanced intellect. He wasn't in the least resentful about these things, it was just a fact of life for him just as his eyes were blue.
I was surprised to learn that most cities had climate control barriers, so although it was March, it should be temperate which is why no one had on winter gear. The level of technology in use never ceased to amaze me. Normally March would feel something like Siberia and I thought back to all the brutal winters I had endured where it was so cold it literally hurt to go outside. I couldn't say I missed that part and I wished they had something like that back then.
The shuttle operator announced that Chicago was the next stop and I found myself leaning across McCoy's lap to look out the window in anticipation. My smile grew as I spotted the skyline lit brightly against the darkness, but faded somewhat when I didn't recognize any of the buildings. Of course I knew that the city would have changed over all those years, but some part of me hoped that at least a few things would stay the same and the city I had loved would still retain the familiar charm that made it feel like home. Maybe in the daylight I could see better I told myself.
"So many wery big buildings." Pavel noted with a smile. "I have not seen so many in one place."
"Beautiful, isn't it?" I asked as though I had built it all myself. He politely nodded in agreement.
I awakened McCoy when it was time to exit at the stop which used to be the train station downtown. Thankfully the original structure was still intact with the grand reception hall and white marble interior in an opulent, stately architectural design. I looked around and smiled. It was exactly as I remembered it, vast and beautiful.
"Say the cheese!" Pavel exclaimed pulling McCoy in close while taking a picture of the three of us with his arm extended.
"Fuck!" McCoy said a bit too loudly as he covered his eyes after the bright flash blinded him. His voice echoed under the huge vaulted ceiling and a few people turned to look at him, but thankfully it was late and the gallery was mostly empty. "Goddamn it, man! Are you purposely trying to give me an aneurysm?" He moaned somewhat quieter.
"I'm sorry, Dr. McCoy. I forget about your headache." He said, although it seemed as though he didn't really mean it. I wondered what McCoy had done to incur the Russian's wrath. Was the last physical a little too rough?
"Whatever," He replied with a small wave, "let's just get to our quarters. I want to lay down and die until tomorrow."
We took a taxi to a hotel on the north side just past downtown, or the Loop as it used to be called, and I laughed like a maniac when I realized that the drivers were every bit as reckless as they ever were. McCoy was gripping the door handle, eyes wide most of the way as the driver weaved in and out of traffic and cut off other drivers by a whisker. "Jesus! Are they related to Jim?" He wondered aloud.
We checked in under McCoy's name and went our separate ways. My room was clean and efficient, but nothing fancy. I opened the curtain and was not in the least surprised to have a stunning view of the wall of the neighboring building. Views were at a premium even in my time. I took a nice and long hot shower before going to bed.
For the first time in a long time, I felt truly comfortable and at happy. I was happy to be home again even though so much had changed. But as I drifted off to sleep, I couldn't help but also feel a little sadness. Here I was so close to my old life, only about 3 miles from where I used to live and work, yet it was like seeing a ghost world parallel to your own. In the other reality, I could go to work and then home to kiss my husband goodnight. It didn't seem right that I be so close yet separated so much by time. But, that was why I was here; I had to kiss it all goodbye if I was ever going to truly get on with my life.
I woke fairly early the next morning, before the sun even came up. I used the room's replicator to make clothing and cringed at how much that must have cost, hotels were notorious for jacking up the price of services. I went downstairs and ordered a coffee from the snack shop and was surprised to see McCoy sitting at a table reading a paper.
"I thought you would be asleep." I smiled as I approached.
He looked up from his paper and I couldn't help but laugh when I saw it was the Chicago Tribune. Christ, I couldn't believe they were still in business. One of the most corrupt, biased news outlets in the city had somehow managed to survive like a cockroach. "I slept most of yesterday, couldn't sleep anymore." He grumbled.
"Feeling better?" I asked taking a sip of coffee.
"More or less." He answered with a shrug. "Maybe I should have one of those too." He gestured to my cup. He ordered a large black coffee and winced when he took a drink. "Where were you off to?"
I raised my eyebrows and replied, "I was actually going to go down to the beach to watch the sun rise over the lake."
"Sounds nice." He said with a sniff. "I haven't seen a sunrise in I can't remember when. Hell, I don't even get to see stars when we fly by them down in sick bay. The place has no windows. It's kinda like a casino all except the fun."
"Then why don't you come with me? It would be a shame to miss the opportunity." I invited. He seemed ambivalent as he stared intensely into the depths of his coffee. "Really, McCoy, it's ok for you to like walks on the beach and sunrises. I won't think any less of you."
He smirked and relented. "Fine, but not a word of this to anyone. Especially not the nurses! Christ, they would cackle like hens and I would never hear the end of it."
"I am the keeper of secrets." I sighed.
We walked the few short blocks to the beach and had a seat on a stone wall facing the lake. It was still dark, but there were a few people out jogging and walking. I kicked off my shoes and dug my toes into the cool sand while I listened to the sound of waves gently washing ashore and retreating again. "I didn't realize how much I really missed all of this." I admitted.
"What do you mean?" McCoy asked. His voice was refreshingly free of sarcasm or irritation. It was a conversational tone that I had hardly heard before. In fact, I thought I detected a southern accent.
"All of this." I answered gesturing around me. "The green trees, large moving bodies of water, sunrises and sunsets, seasonal cycles, all of the things you miss when you are in space."
"I guess I just never thought about it." He said quietly. "So why not stay?"
I almost laughed, but his face was serious. "Because I have nothing left here. There used to be a saying that went 'loving Chicago is like loving a woman with a broken nose.' I will always feel at home here, but sometimes love just isn't enough to make you stay."
"Charming." He snorted as he finished his coffee.
"So why don't you stay?" I countered.
He was silent as he rotated the empty cup in his hands. He stared out at the dark water for some time before he finally said, "Same as you, I guess. Love wasn't enough."
I could tell by the tone of his voice that he wasn't ready to be pushed any further, so I just nodded. We sat there in a comfortable silence until the sun broke the horizon first in a brilliant red, then oranges, yellows and blues. It was as though we were seeing it for the first time and we were humbled by the power and beauty of nature at work. The only thing that was more beautiful to me in that moment was the knowledge that I would have the opportunity to see others like it on far away worlds.
When the sun had completely cleared the horizon, McCoy said, "We should go back and get Chekov." I agreed and we got a few feet away before he stopped. "Hold on a sec." He instructed as he jogged back and ducked behind the wall. He quickly emerged and jogged toward me and we resumed our walk without saying a word.
We met up with Chekov and spent most of the day doing the typical touristy things such as walking the Mag Mile lined with high end shops. The only store that had remained from my time surprisingly was Burberry. I pointed out both things that remained and locations of landmarks that had since been torn down and replaced. Pavel took many pictures, or rather McCoy did just to avoid being in them. Most of the city had been modified from the old brick and mortar construction to ultra modern steel and glass, but enough of the old city remained to keep a perpetual smile on my face until dinner.
"Since we are here in Chicago, we have to have traditional grub." I announced. "We have to find a deep dish pizza immediately." Sadly, all of the places I would have patronized had long since gone out of business, but we got a recommendation from a police officer who was patrolling. The police uniforms had changed substantially to a more militaristic style that I found frightening, but it seemed a logical progression since even then some neighborhoods were like urban combat zones.
The waiter brought the pizza and as was apparently still custom, served each person a slice of the monstrous 4 inch thick pie. Pavel took a picture of it while McCoy stared it down. "Christ! There must be 10,000 calories with all that cheese and shit. That is a coronary on a plate. I can feel my arteries hardening already." He complained.
"But what a delicious way to die." I mused as I took a bite.
"I vonder if we can get the replicators to make this." Pavel asked. He had somehow managed to devour half of his serving already. "I vould like to have this again! Everything is so big in America, even the food!"
"Slow down, Ensign." McCoy warned. "You will make yourself sick and I will be damned if I am going to spend the night holding your head out of the toilet." Pavel did slow down the speed with which he was packing it in, but he didn't hesitate to go for a second helping. "So what's on tap for tomorrow?"
"I think there is really only one more place I would like to go and then maybe we can spend the rest of our time doing something you guys are interested in." I suggested.
McCoy took a long drink of his beer and knowingly asked, "The hospital?" I just smiled.
"So you are a mind reader!" Pavel laughed. "You always say to Captain 'damn it I'm a doctor, not a mind reader' but you just did read Dr. Morgan's mind!" I laughed so hard my side hurt at his impression of McCoy in a thick Russian accent.
McCoy didn't find it so funny. "I can also project thoughts," He growled, "concentrate really hard. What am I thinking?"
Pavel's eyes fell to the table and he meekly said, "You vant that I shut up or you vill get even."
"You are a smart kid after all." He complimented finishing off his beer.