Kirk was still a little drunk when he got back to the apartment. In trying to be stealthy he managed to knock over an end table stacked with beer bottles he'd left out to annoy his roommate. McCoy hated clutter, and like everything else got really angry about it. There were times when Kirk just couldn't help pushing his buttons, it was so much fun to watch him explode, and that night it was clear it wouldn't take much to push the doctor over the edge.

"Did you sleep with her?" McCoy asked, and Kirk nearly fell over the couch. McCoy was sitting at the kitchen table in the dark, a half empty bottle by his side.

"Why are you sitting in the dark? You know how creepy that is?" Kirk asked, tossing his shirt and coat onto a chair. He hadn't bothered with anything more than his pants after Uhura had kicked him out, wandering all the way across campus without a shirt on. He considered it a public service to all the female cadets who happened to look out their windows...

"Damn it, Jim, I asked you a question. Did you you sleep with her?" McCoy sounded especially irritated, and Kirk didn't quite understand why. From what he could remember, with the multiple whiskey sour's dulling his thoughts, McCoy didn't really think much of Gaila. Thought she was too noisy and a little airheaded. If anyone could resist Orion pheromones, it would the Leonard McCoy.

"Well, there was a small interruption. It was the weirdest thing, she said she loved me..." Kirk began to explain, thinking how funny it was that Sophie-Anne had told him that was the case before he realized it himself.

"Sophie-Anne said she loves you?"

"Huh? Bones, are you drunk?" Kirk stumbled a little, righting himself on on the kitchen island. McCoy didn't answer, just stood up. His chair scraped against the tile, nearly upending, and he stormed into his bedroom. Kirk got there before he could slam the door, leaning against the frame. "You know her, don't you? You've been holding out on me!"

"I don't want to talk about it."

This was too good. "Ooh, you guys have some sort of tortured past! You've got that same look on your face as when we ran into that nurse you used to date. I didn't sleep with her, you know, though not for lack of trying."

McCoy was through with the conversation, clearly, because he'd come back, shoved Kirk back into the common room, and yanked the door shut. "Go to sleep, Jim." Kirk couldn't help but laugh, seeing his usually crabby roommate stomping around like a teenager was the best entertainment he'd had all night.

"But I want to hear the story! I probably should have guessed, Fi did say she grew up in Georgia," Kirk whined, but the door didn't budge. "You're going to have to tell me eventually. Or maybe I'll get her to tell me, though it didn't really seem like she remembered you..."

McCoy slumped down on the bed, struggling to tune his roommate out. She had acted like she didn't remember him, but he knew she did. She had to, even after all the years that had passed... they'd been through too much.

XXXX

Georgia, 2244

They hadn't been to the Caldwell's beach house on Tybee Island in two years. During those two years Leonard's parent's had gotten divorced, his mother had remarried, and his life had become a living hell.

"Put the window up, Leonard. The air is on," his stepfather Garrett said, giving him a sharp glance in the mirror. Just one more year, and I'll be out of here, he reminded himself, and pressed the button to raise the window and avoid an argument. Arguments with his stepfather were never winnable, and usually ended in a bruise of some sort.

"Olivia says Sophie-Anne can't wait to see you, Len," his mother said, in an awkward attempt to lighten the mood. Leonard just groaned. The last time he'd seen Sophie-Anne she was nothing more than a scrawny thirteen-year-old with braces and a crush on him. The thought of spending an entire summer being trailed by a lovesick teenage puppy was almost too much to handle.

"I could have stayed home on my own, I'm nearly eighteen..." Leonard couldn't help but grumble under his breath, causing Garrett to grip the steering wheel.

"What did you say?" Garrett's voice held a clear warning, but thankfully they were pulling up to the house. It was an older style building, built up above the dunes on pillars, and Olivia Caldwell was sitting on the front porch with her oldest son, Wilder. Leonard's mother practically flew out of the car, and the two women embraced. Garrett turned in his seat, "Get the bags."

He got out of the car then too, leaving Leonard behind to get their things. Watching his stepfather laugh and joke around made him sick, so he concentrated on emptying the car. After a few minutes of pulling on suitcases Wilder came down into the driveway, holding out a hand.

"Hey man, it's been a while!" Instead of shaking his hand, Wilder pulled him into a hug. Leonard pulled back laughing. In the two years since they'd seen each other Wilder had seemingly doubled in size, going from a skinny nineteen to a burly twenty one. He grabbed up three of the bags Leonard had been struggling with, motioning toward the house with his head. "Sophie-Anne won't shut up about you getting here, she's driving me up the wall."

Leonard picked up the remaining bags, trailing him up the steps. Their parents had gone inside, chattering loudly. "How's school? I can't wait to get out of Marietta..."

Wilder smiled. "You're going to love it, babes for miles." They'd reached the foyer, and Wilder dropped a bag to point up the stairs. "You're bunking with me, up the stairs in the room across from Sophie-Anne's. I'll take these bags to your parent's room, they're on this floor around back. Come on down when you're done, we can walk down to the pier." The older boy was gone then, leaving Leonard to drag the two suitcases. When he'd gotten about halfway up he heard soft laughter, and felt himself look up to the second floor in annoyance. Someone was standing at the railing instead of helping him, and he planned on snapping at them until he got a glimpse of legs.

"They've got you doing manual labor, huh? That sucks," Sophie-Anne said with a smile, and Leonard was so distracted he almost let go of the handle. A moment later she was by his side, taking one of the heavy cases.

"Sophie-Anne?" He had to ask. The change was almost too much to be believed. The girl in his memories wore her long hair in pigtails, and was usually dressed in one of her father's over sized Kennesaw State tee shirts. The girl by his side wore her hair long and wavy, brown color lightening to almost blonde at the tips, and she'd traded the baggy tee shirts for a soft white sundress that hugged her body in all the right places.

The way she smiled at him then, it was like she knew something he hadn't quite figured out yet. "Don't tell me you've forgotten me..."

One thing was certain... Sophie-Anne Caldwell had grown up.

XXXX

A/N: mmmmmmmkay. so i know that all the materials say he didn't marry jocelyn in nero's universe, but i'm holding some things over and i've got this whole... thang going. all will be revealed through flashbacks i hope won't be too painfully long.