A/N: Just wanted to say thanks to all who have followed so far. If you want a laugh, check out "Friends: A Kirk and Bones fanvid" on Youtube. It is a great analysis on the relationship between the two. As always, I love hearing from you. Cheers!

Chapter 15- Rain Check

I knew it was selfish indulgence, but I was so darn comfortable laying there and listening to the rain that I didn't leave. The rain continued at a downpour the entire day and I kept falling asleep, even when flashes of green lightning lit the sky. I remembered Earth's lightning to be white, blue, or sometimes even purple but never green. I watched it with fascination until I dozed off again despite the low, rolling rumbling of thunder. When I woke up between naps, sometimes McCoy was there and sometimes he was nowhere to be seen, but foot shaped puddles of water on the floor told me he had been in and out quiet as a cat. Only once did he purposely wake me to give me more of that awful Quinine 'just to be safe' since my temperature was just a bit above normal, but still too high for his liking.

It was approaching evening when I finally woke up feeling something like human again. I stretched luxuriously in his soft bed that now needed fresh linens in the worst way. I had been there for hours and hours, never moving and in turns sweating and freezing. The sheets were a tangled mess and smelled sour even to me. I slowly sat up and spotted the glass of water he had left on the table by the bed. I was so thirsty I drank it all down in one continuous gulp and wanted more. My lips were chapped and my mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton, but all in all a vast improvement from the night before. I went to the bathroom to get more water and returned to look at the disheveled bed. McCoy was gone again and I noted with a small sense of alarm so was his medical bag. Immediately I thought of Jim.

I found a spare set of sheets in the closet and I stripped the bed and remade it as well as I could. It was nothing approaching the tight military style in which McCoy made my bed when he passed out, but it would do. I felt as though I were coated in a film of grime and I wanted nothing more than to shower, so I took one last look at his room before heading out into the rain to my own cabin where all my clothes were. The streets were mostly empty, but I could hear voices as I passed in the warmly lit cabins of friends who had gathered to play cards or listen to music. A little rain wasn't going to ruin their fun.

I was startled by a familiar gruff voice shouting, "Hey! Where the hell do you think you are going?" I turned to see McCoy about a block away, feet sloshing in the mud as he jogged toward me with a scowl, his bag slung across his shoulder.

I waited for him to catch up and noted that he was soaked to the bone. "I am going to shower." I answered a little defensively. "All my clothes are at my place and I didn't see any replicators."

He blinked rainwater out of his eyes and muttered, "There aren't any. It is supposed to be relaxing, but I think it is an unnecessary pain in the ass. Anyway, you shouldn't be wandering around out here unless you want pneumonia as well."

He swiped his hand through his wet hair, slicking it back and I watched rivulets of water run down his worried face. It was very endearing. "I am feeling better now thanks to you." I crossed my arms and smirked. "You know, I probably at least owe you a dinner for saving the day yet again and ruining your shore leave."

His face softened and he looked down at the pool of mud he was standing in. "You didn't ruin anything. I usually work more on shore leaves than I do on the ship. At least on the ship they are all contained in a fairly small space with a limited number of things that can go wrong, but out here," He squinted and looked around at the mountains that surrounded us, "the possibilities are endless. No stone is left unturned, if there is any trouble to be found they will find it." He sighed and wiped his eyes. "I was just doing my job so you don't owe me anything, but I won't say no to non-replicated food."

"You look exhausted." I commented noting his pale complexion and dark eyes. "Are you sure you feel up to it? Maybe you should get some sleep."

"Who's the doctor here?" He asked with a smile.

I laughed and replied, "We both are, actually."

"Ah, right." He conceded. "A nap would feel good, but actual food sounds better. There is a nice restaurant on the other side of the camp, but I don't want to walk all the way over there and eat sopping wet. There is a smaller cantina just a few blocks away if you want to go there." He looked down at my pajamas which were now clinging to me and frowned. "It is casual, but I don't think you can go in dressed like that." He quickly looked around to see if anyone was getting a sneak peek and protectively put his arm around my shoulders to walk me to my cabin. "You should get some actual clothes on before some idiot gets the wrong idea."

"I told you I wasn't a hooker." I said distastefully.

He looked down at me in surprise. "I didn't mean it like that." He protested pulling me just a bit closer. "What I meant was these places are generally pretty safe, but let's face it: Starfleet is mostly young males who are far away from their wives and girlfriends for long periods of time. Add in alcohol and a dash of temptation and all of a sudden something like this can spell trouble."

I nodded as we trudged through the mud. Times may have changed, but even Starfleet was not as shiny and perfect as they would have you believe and he had a point. On the way we passed the same security officer that led me to McCoy's room the night before. She was off duty and with a young man, laughing as they ran through the rain. She spotted McCoy with his arm around my shoulder and she paused to smile. I returned the gesture thinking of how she assumed we had reconciled and again I felt bad for lying to her, but at least she thought it all ended well.

We ducked into my cabin after McCoy paused to snicker at the nameplate on the door. "Jim will be the death of me, I swear." He muttered. While I removed clean, dry clothes from my bag and headed to the shower, McCoy dumped his medical bag out on my desk to reorganize and inventory his supplies to keep busy while he waited. I took my time, washing away the film until I was squeaky clean and energized. I was in an unusually good mood and I hummed a cheery 80's tune while I wrung out my pajamas and hung them to dry. I emerged to find McCoy slumped awkwardly in a chair fast asleep. I debated if I should just let him sleep awhile longer, but he looked so uncomfortable positioned like a ragdoll that had been casually tossed. In the end, I decided to postpone our plans for another time and let him be. I carefully slid a window open near him to alleviate some of the ambient stuffiness and humidity before quietly shutting the door and making my way to a small convenience store I spotted on the way.

During my time aboard the Enterprise, I often pondered the new economy of the Federation. I knew a monetary scale existed and wages were earned, but I never saw money exchange hands nor paychecks handed out on Fridays. I wasn't actually sure how one would pay for purchases and with replicators on board there was no need. I browsed the aisles of exotic sounding bottles of alcohol such as Saurian brandy, personal care goods, and cheap looking souvenir trinkets where I found Chekov looking at a rack containing shot glasses and small spoons emblazoned with the starbase's logo or the familiar softly rounded triangle indicative of Starfleet.

"Shopping for your sister?" I asked sidling up next to him.

He jumped slightly and smiled. He had a bit of a sunburn from being outside all day on our arrival and the reddish hue clashed with his blonde hair and blue eyes. "Yes, I do not think she has anything from this base." He replied looking back to the rack and slowly turning it.

"Pavel," I began in a curious tone, "how do you pay for things?"

He looked at me confused and smirked. "You vill take your things to the register."

I rolled my eyes. "I know. But then what? How do you actually pay for it? Do you have money or a credit card? How do you know how much something costs, anyway?" I saw numbers below items, but no indication of monetary designation such as a dollar, euro or pound sign.

He pointed to a small sign below the shot glasses and answered, "This is the number of credits. Vhen you are done, you give the person your number."

"What number?" I asked exasperated.

"Yeah, forgot about that." Jim laughed from behind me. I turned to see him quickly move his hands behind his back, but he wasn't quick enough for me to see the box of condoms he held. He tried to maintain his cool as he sauntered a little closer. "I was looking over the registers before we came down and I noticed you have a shitload of unused credits. I meant to tell you about it, but well, I kinda got busy…" I raised my eyebrow.

Looks like you are planning on getting even busier.

"Anyway, your number is 1701-705. Don't spend it all in one place." He advised quickly heading to the register as though he had somewhere to be in a hurry.

I looked at Pavel who was aimlessly turning the rack and suppressing a smile, he must have seen it too. He cleared his throat and chuckled, "It may help you to remember: 1701 is the ship's number and the rest is your assignment, deck 7, room 5."

"Room charges." I sighed with wide eyes. "Like a hotel." He shrugged although I knew he had no idea what I was talking about.

He finally settled on a small keychain and I wandered off to look at a small section at the back of the store that offered PADDs onto which you could load games, books, and movies. I cursed McCoy for making me leave mine back in the shuttle bay because it meant I had to buy a new one. I looked through the extensive catalog of available options and settled on a gift I thought would be appropriate to his tastes and smiled as I made my way back to the registers to give the clerk my newly assigned number. It was almost too easy and I wondered how they knew I wasn't using someone else's account since I was never asked for identification, not that I had any. I walked out of the store and also noted that I was not given a receipt. I wondered how I was supposed to return my item should it prove to be defective.

I returned to my room to find McCoy sprawled face down on my bed with one arm hanging down to the floor dead to the world. It seemed the allure of non-replicated food was not enough to overpower his biological need for sleep and I smiled feeling sorry for him. He spent so much of his time and energy looking after everyone but himself. I opened another window and covered him up before turning out the lights and leaving him to rest in my room while I went to his.

The rain had finally stopped, leaving an earthy smell in the air and a slightly cool breeze that ruffled my hair as I walked. I wryly wondered if I would ever sleep in my own bed again. I paused to look up and observe the stars that hung in the inky sky arranged in unfamiliar patterns. I was a little saddened not to see the usual constellations of the big dipper or the Pleiades. Not even my old friend Orion could be seen, even though I had a love-hate relationship with him because I thought him to be the most magnificent of them all, but he heralded the coming of winter- my least favorite season of the year. The moon was smaller and more yellowish than the Earth's, but it somehow shined brighter and cast a pale light on the ground.

Once more I was overcome with a sense of awe remembering how I used to look up at the sky as a child and wish to be far away from where I was, and that childish wish was granted beyond all expectation and reason. I now lived among the very stars I admired so long ago and it never ceased to amaze and humble me to know that all across the universe many varied races of sentient beings were looking deep into their skies and wishing the same.