Present Day

Watching the stars passing by at an inconceivable speed it occurred to Maggie Zacher-Hagen she had no idea what she was doing, not a clue. That wasn't to say she didn't enjoy the feeling of lying atop a snoring Leonard H. McCoy. Her ear, resting on the centre of his chest allowed her the pleasant pastime of listening to his rhythmic heartbeat. Maggie wasn't some giddy teenager, nor was she a young woman of her twenties intent on the truest pursuit of love. She had experienced enough in her life to know that true love, if it did exist was very rare. This however, was pretty god damn good. She wasn't about to spoil it by overthinking matters or getting ahead of herself. They'd been able to chat comfortably and enjoyably for months, she hoped the same could be said for this next chapter they found themselves in. She felt his breathing change, slowly she brought her head up just in time to see his eyes open and focus sleepily on hers.

"Good morning." He yawned as he said this, stretching his arms above his head and then coming to rest on her back.

"Good morning." She answered back. "You were snoring."

"Was I?"

"Yes, didn't you know you snored?" She rested her head against his chest again, Leonard lazily twisted her hair between his fingers.

"There hasn't been anyone here to tell me Sweetheat." He answered somewhat sheepishly. She looked up at him again.

"Oh Leonard, you poor thing." She was teasing him he realised, he stuck out his bottom lip in a mock sulk. She was very aware that she must be only a handful of people who ever saw this side of him. Dragging herself out of bed she got cleaned and dressed, Leonard was happy just to watch. "Okay, the show's over. Get your arse out of bed and get to work Doc!"

"Yes Ma'am."

"It's Lieutenant to you Mister."

"Don't forget your glasses." She simply gave him a warning look for the last remark. Before she left she gave him a peck on the cheek, told him to be safe and that she would see him later.

Leonard felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders, one he hadn't been aware existed until now. Maggie was smart, easy to talk to, fun and sensitive to his moods. He didn't have to try, to play games. Unlike his ex-wife Maggie didn't expect him to be anything other than himself, it was wildly refreshing. He'd never contemplated having a relationship before now, he'd joined Starfleet out of necessity, and any kind of companionship had been the furthest thing from his mind. Meeting Maggie had reminded him of the happiness he had once felt and he didn't want his own cynicism to ruin it.

Leonard had been in the Med Bay for the last sixteen hours dealing with minor injuries of one kind or another. All of a sudden the warning lights came on and Jim's voice came over the ship wide communication system.

"All hands, brace for impact!" Before he could react Leonard was knocked off his feet, medical personnel went flying in every direction. Pulling himself up he quickly assessed the damage. Shouting out orders the medical crew began securing all the apparatus, injured crew members began to stream in most with cuts and bruises, some more severely injured than others. McCoy went about treating and assessing, treating and assessing. The ship continued to rock from time to time, whatever was going on hadn't stopped after the first blow. Another several hours went by until calm swept over the Med Bay and the ship as a whole. McCoy, standing in the centre of the room took in the rows of beds, each of them filled with recovering patients. His hand automatically went up to his comms badge but before he had a chance to tap it a voice came through.

"Captain Kirk to Doctor McCoy, we need you on the Bridge."

"On my way." He grabbed a medical kit on his way out, weaving through the corridors littered with debris. In the turbo lift he stood straight, eyes focused on the door ahead of him. They opened and he made his way immediately to the Captain.

"Jim, what the hell happened?" He shouted. Kirk waved his hand between them as a form of dismissal.

"I'll tell you later Bones, we have injuries that need to be treated." Bones' eyes went wide, he searched around the room, he couldn't see anybody injured until they fell upon Maggie. She was sat at her station holding her hand to her head, blood had poured down the side of her face and seeped into her uniform. He immediately went over to her and knelt down, opening his medical kit.

"I'm okay Leonard." Maggie whispered to him, only loud enough for him to hear.

"The hell you are! Why didn't you come to the Med Bay?" He was looking at the readings as he spoke through a clenched jaw.

"I was doing my job." She answered in a matter of fact way. Kirk had been watching the pair, he hadn't heard what they had said to one another but he did pick up on the change in his friend's demeanour the moment he'd seen the Lieutenant. He made his way over.

"What the hell happened Jim?" McCoy repeated his question.

"Run in with your garden variety gaseous lifeform, you know how it is." Kirk responded.

"The hell I do! Mag…Lieutenant Zacher-Hagen could very well have a concussion! Keeping her at her station was a ridiculous thing to do. She could have fallen unconscious, or worse!" Maggie hoped that the Captain hadn't picked up on Leonard's mistake of beginning to call her by her first name. She wasn't sure how much he knew and she didn't want to start having that conversation right there on the Bridge. She stole a glance at him, if he had picked up on something his face didn't show any evidence. "She needs to go to Sick Bay, now!" McCoy stood up and placed a hand on Maggie's arm helping her stand.

"I'm okay Doctor, really. Just a nasty gash." Maggie was trying to make him feel better, but just as she had finished speaking she began to see stars and her head felt like a fog had set in. Feeling her knees go weak the last thing she remembered was a strong pair of arms encasing her.

Opening her eyes Maggie instantly remembered the last thing to happen to her, cringing she wondered what a sight it must have been for her to pass out into the CMO's arms on the Bridge of all places. For a moment she wondered how Leonard had reacted, whether or not he'd said anything. Done anything. Her fingers fluttered gingerly over the area on her forehead where she had knocked it against her console. Touching ever so slightly there wasn't a trace of the injury left.

"You had the best Doctor in Starfleet tend to you Lieutenant, not a hint of scar to be seen." Leonard was stood in the doorway to his office, that area of the Med Bay was all but empty.

"I wouldn't expect anything less." She replied, her voice breaking slightly. McCoy brought over a glass of water and helped Maggie sip it slowly. "When can I get back on my feet?" She asked, laying her head back down on the head rest.

"As soon as you're ready, the Captain has issued an R&R for all Bridge crew." McCoy was slightly overwhelmed with the feeling of protectiveness he had towards Maggie. Sensing this Maggie took hold of his hand.

"What is it Leonard?" She gave him a reassuring smile.

"I didn't like it, I didn't like seeing you hurt."

"I'm sure you didn't, but I'm here and I'm well. Par for the course and all that. Leonard, these things happen. Please, don't worry yourself. If this is to work we need to be realistic about it. We're in deep space for crying out loud. 'Stuff' is going to happen. If you fall, I'll pick you up and vice versa."

"How do you know the right thing to say in every situation?" He asked smiling.

"I have to deal with Kirk and Spock every day, you develop a knack." The Doctor assessed Maggie one last time and then discharged her, instructing the Lieutenant to go to her quarters and rest. Maggie didn't need to be told twice. Neither asked when they would see each other again, both felt confident that they could seek the other out when ready. Fraternisations or in their case, relationships weren't frowned upon but they did have a duty of care to their fellow crew members that there be no adverse effect to them carrying out their duties. Easier said than done at times, Maggie was confident however, neither of them were irrational hot heads.

Maggie returned to her post the following day, Kirk welcomed her return saying that her presence had been missed. Half way through her shift McCoy appeared and stood next to Kirk, arms resting across his chest. Maggie had turned to see who it was, nodded ever so slightly in his direction and continued on with her work. McCoy wanted nothing more than to go and show her how much he had missed her over the last few hours. He simply had to resign himself to staring at the back of her head.

"Your quiet today Bones." Kirk looked to his friend, who had been glaring at Lieutenant Zacher-Hagen since he'd shown up on the Bridge.

"I have a lot on my mind Jim, like trying to keep you from killing yourself and all of us along the way." McCoy was his usual cantankerous self. Maggie had to stifle a laugh.

"Captain, if we continue on our current course we will approach a small solar system three light years ahead." Kirk turned to Spock for further information.

"It appears to be similar to Earth's solar system Captain, two class J planets, one class D planetoid and a class M and H."

"Warp 5 Lieutenant, keep an eye out." Kirk instructed Maggie.

"Aye Captain."

"Commander Spock, ready a briefing on the system. If we can explore the M or H I'd like to as soon as reasonable. Bones, you up for a trip?" Kirk asked playfully.

"Not a chance Jim!"

"Lieutenant Zacher-Hagen, I'd like you to accompany the away party, if necessary pilot the shuttle." Maggie turned round to face the Captain, stood just behind him she could see McCoy in her peripheral vision looking at her as if she'd grown another head.

"Aye Captain." She responded, refocusing on Kirk.

"Oh for crying out loud, I better come just to keep you from losing a limb Jim." McCoy gruffly ran a hand through his normally neat hair and left the Bridge. Kirk returned his gaze to Maggie who was trying her hardest to keep her face blank. He gave her a wry smile before sitting down. Damn damn damn Maggie thought to herself.

Hope you're enjoying this as much as I am writing it! As ever, reviews would be nice! LLAP :-) XOXO