A/N: *lays offering at your feet* A new chapter without having to wait a month! I can't begin to tell you how awesome all of you who have put this on alert/favorites. You're my favorites!

TWO YEARS LATER

Jim pulled her hair back into a pony tail. She pulled one arm across her chest, then the other. "Come on, Bones. It's one little training session. I promise not to laugh."

McCoy rounded the corner and entered the small training room Jim had reserved. "Alright already. Geez, woman, there's no need to be so pushy."

"Yes there is, Bones. You told me yourself Lieutenant Ramirez said that if you fail this sim, you fail the class."

Bones rubbed the back of his neck. He sighed heavily and looked at the ground. "I'm a healer, Jim. Not a fighter. I'm not built that way."

Jim bounced on her feet and rolled her head. "That's what I'm here for. Now, try and grab me."

McCoy paled. "Uhm, what now?"

"Grab. Me. Right here," she said, pointing at her waist.

"Naw, I'd really rather not."

"Leonard McCoy, if you don't try and grab my waist, I'm going to grab you."

Bones put up his hands in surrender. He slowly circled Jim, analyzing the best way to approach her.

"Stop thinking, Bones. I can hear the wheels turning in your head. Let it be natural."

"Natural, huh?" he whispered in her ear as he grabbed her waist from behind. Jim jumped into action, using his body to propel herself up. She elbowed him in the groin, kicked behind her, grabbed his arm and flipped him onto a mat. Bones groaned as Jim stood over him.

"Yeah. Natural." She offered him a hand and laughed as he stood up. "We got a lot of work to do."

For hours, Jim taught Bones the basics of hand to hand combat. How to throw a punch. How to block a punch. How to use your body to counteract the movements of another. How to know your opponent's move before they do. And by the end of the session, Jim was satisfied that Bones could at least pass his simulation. She still flipped him one last time to remind him she was better.

"You'll do," she said as she offered him a hand. He pulled her on to the mat beside him.

"Thanks for the support."

She punched him in the shoulder. "I'm sorry, who's the one who just spent three hours on a Friday afternoon helping you learn to fight?"

He rubbed his shoulder. "You're right, you're right. I'm sorry. Thank you."

She nodded in satisfaction. McCoy looked up at the clock. "Shit, I gotta go."

"Right right. You have that dinner thing." He'd been groaning for weeks about the annual Starfleet Medical banquet. It was required attendance for all Medical employees.

"Yep."

He hopped up and extended his hand to her. She pulled herself to her feet. They clocked out of the training room and made their way back to their dormitory. McCoy immediately went to shower and Jim grabbed a bottle of water. A comm beep signaled that someone had left a message.

Jim hit a button and a woman's voice filled the room. "Sorry Len, I won't be able to make it tonight. I have to catch the next shuttle home. I think we may have finally found someone who knows something about Roger. I know that it's so last minute and I'm sorry." She paused, and Jim could faintly hear an announcement in the background. "That's my shuttle. I have to go. Again, I'm really sorry. Chapel out."

Chapel? Jim's stomach sank. Bones had never mentioned anyone named Chapel, let alone needing a date to the banquet. She jumped as the door opened behind her.

"Who was that?" he asked.

Jim swallowed. "You had a message. Some chick named Chapel canceling tonight. Something about her Roger?"

Bones toweled off his hair. "Crap. Well, I hope it's good news. Lord knows she needs it."

"Who is she?"

"Hmm? Oh, she's a nurse I work with. She's engaged to a scientist who's off planet and she's the only one with enough sense that I can stand to be around. We've gone together to a couple other functions for company." He threw the towel into the laundry hamper. "Now I'm going to have to deal with those idiots all night."

He turned to go back into his room. The door was almost closed when Jim said quietly, "I could go."

McCoy turned around and looked at her. "If you want company, that is."

"I figured you'd hang with Gaila and your usual crowd tonight."

She looked at the ground. "I could cancel."

"I'd love company."

Jim looked up at him with a huge grin. "Give me ten?"

Twenty minutes later, McCoy and Kirk walked across campus towards the banquet location. She wore a simple green dress with a golden cardigan. It fit her personality more than the outfits she wore drinking, and he was distracted by how it made her shine. He wore a simple suit and tie. Before they entered, Jim stood in front of McCoy and straightened his tie. "Would you quit fussing over me?"

"No."

He sighed. "It's not like I have to impress anyone." He grabbed her hands and sternly told her to stop.

"Yes, you do. The big wigs are here, right?" At his nod, she continued. "And you hate flying? Impressing these guys can get you a good hospital placement when we graduate. Or would you rather fly in the 'disease wrapped in darkness and silence'?"

Bones grimaced. He turned and offered her his arm, "Well it's good I got my arm candy, then."

Jim stood a little straighter, adjusted her dress and took his arm. "Damn straight."

McCoy marveled at the way Jim could charm a crowd. Single handedly, she held long conversations with several of the higher ups in Starfleet, speaking on topics varying from basic field medicine to the political situation on Venga III. He didn't even know there was a political situation on Venga III. Shortly before the dinner was served, she caught his eye over an ambassador's shoulder. He excused himself from a colleague and escorted her away to their table.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just these shoes. I think my toes might fall off before the evening's over." Her eyes were cold, however, and her hands were sweaty. She was not alright. His suspicions were confirmed when the ambassador made his way over to them.

"Well hello again, Cadet Kirk. Who's your escort?"

"Admiral Escobar, this is my friend, Dr. Leonard McCoy. Bones, this is Admiral Giancarlo Escobar. He's the head of the Starfleet History department."

The ambassador smiled at McCoy and reached out to shake his hand, but McCoy's hand stayed firmly on Jim's back. "Ah. Nice to meet you, McCoy. My friends at medical speak very highly of you. They say you're one of the most experienced cadets they've seen in a while."

Bones did not get a good feeling from Escobar. And he especially did not appreciate how the admiral's eyes lingered on Jim's neckline. "It might be from the fact that I had my medical degree and had practiced for several years before enlisting," he said gruffly, hoping to end the conversation.

"Yes, that might be it. Cadet Kirk, I heard tell you were planning on retaking the Kobyashi Maru. Is that true?"

Jim looked at her hands and said coldly, "Yes, Admiral."

Escobar laughed heartily. "I don't know whether you're brave or just plain stupid. No one ever passes that test. Not even your father," his voice turned to ice, "or Admiral Pike."

Jim stiffened slightly under McCoy's hand. She met the admiral's eyes. "There's a first for everything, isn't there?" She stood up and McCoy's hand fell from her back. "If you gentlemen will excuse me."

Escobar shook his head lightly and placed his napkin in his lap. "She better hurry. This steak is to die for when it's fresh."

McCoy stood up violently, bumping the table and causing water to slosh out of a glass. He growled, "Excuse me," and headed in the direction Jim had went.

He found her standing just outside the ladies' room, dabbing at her eyes with her fingers. She caught sight of him in the mirror and attempted to run into the restroom, but McCoy grabbed her arm.

"Who was that asshat?"

"No one," she sniffed. "I'm alright, Bones. Promise." She tried to smile, but it fell quickly.

Bones wrapped his arms around her, stroking her back gently. "We can go if you want."

"No," she muttered into his chest. "I'm not weak. I can face him."

He leaned back from her and wiped a tear off her cheek. "I wasn't suggesting you were. I was saying for his safety and that of my career, we should probably leave."

Jim laughed a little. She took a deep breath, looked in the mirror and sighed. "Damage isn't that bad." She wiped at her eyes. "Let's go back."

He eyed her and shrugged. "If you want. But you're going to tell me who he is when we get home."

She shrugged and took his arm. They walked back to the table, and it was as if the earlier conversations had never happened. Jim spoke eloquently with the other admirals and doctors at the table, effectively hiding any discomfort Escobar caused her. McCoy, however, said nothing else the entire night, until it was time to leave. The admiral grabbed his elbow as they were walking away from the table.

"So what's she getting from you?" he whispered into McCoy's ear.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Escobar scoffed. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. Or what, are you just her live-in?"

McCoy stiffened. "We're friends, nothing more, nothing less. I don't have the faintest idea what you're suggesting, but I can assure you, you have the wrong idea about her."

"Let me ask you this, doctor. How else do you think she's passing advanced level courses and got on the fast track?" He sneered, "I've never seen Pike pull favors like these for anyone else."

McCoy took a step closer to the admiral and stared him in the eye. "Let me tell you something, mister. If I ever catch you speaking to Jim about anything other than academics or looking at her anywhere other than her eyes, your ass is mine. I can promise you that. Good evening, admiral."

Bones left the admiral dumbfounded at the table and caught up to Jim at the door. "I got some whiskey at the dorm. Care for a drink?"

Jim smiled. "I thought you'd never ask."

A/N 2.0: I realized I forgot to put any sort of description as to what they'd wear to a banquet. For me, it's not official enough for dress uniforms. Go to my profile for pictures if you want :)