Twenty Eight

"I'm taking you off-shift for the next two days."

McCoy looked up from his PADD, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. M'Benga was hovering in his doorway, looking nervous but determined. Nurse Riley was peering out from over his shoulder, and though she wasn't the one who had spoken, Leonard was sure it had been her idea for the other doctor to corner him like this. Julia Riley had a habit of orchestrating things in sickbay to ensure the CMO got his rest, which usually meant changing the schedule without telling him so he had no choice but to leave. There had also been the one fateful incident when she had spiked his coffee with two crushed sleeping pills to get him to take a nap after three days of non-stop shifts, but she still swore she hadn't known it would make him sleep for sixteen hours straight.

"I'm fine," he groaned, stretching in the cramped seat. His coffee was cold; before he could contemplate making another one, Nurse Riley had picked up his mug and walked out of his office with it wordlessly. Leonard chucked tiredly at his Head Nurse's actions, even as M'Benga sunk into the chair opposite his desk and gave him a worried look. Leonard rolled his eyes. "What is it, Geoffrey? Julia put you up to this?"

"She's just worried you're working yourself to death, Leonard. Again."

"You think bein' the CMO is easy?" Leonard snorted. "Most of it's paperwork, but the rest of it ain't exactly routine procedure in a civilian hospital."

"Which is why you need a break!" insisted M'Benga. "Look, I don't care if you sleep or not, but you need to get out of here. Go to the rec room, go to your room, heck, go to the Captain's room and let him bug you for a few hours. But get out of sickbay, Leonard. You spend more time in here than anyone else, and even you know that isn't healthy."

"Rec room's full of too many people," complained Leonard. "Damn near impossible to get a moment's peace on this ship. D'you blame me for hiding out in here?"

"Except you don't just hide out, you work," pointed out M'Benga. "Just go, Leonard. There's a lull. Take advantage of it while you can."

He wanted to say no, if only because he hated being forced out of his own sickbay, but Leonard knew M'Benga was right. He was tired, and he hadn't had a proper break since Jim's poker game, which had been days ago – he wasn't even sure how many days, at that point. Other than sporadic breaks to shower in his quarters, he hadn't left sickbay, opting to just crash on the sofa in his office. Engineering had had a spate of accidents that he'd had to deal with; then, the Science Deck had sent up two more ensigns with injuries during cataloguing; and that morning, Chekov's console had malfunctioned on the Bridge, which meant the youngest member of the crew was currently playing cards with one of the nurses, his hands bandaged tightly.

Leonard waved at Chekov tiredly on his way out, rolling his eyes when Nurse Riley smirked as he passed her station. Muttering about meddling colleagues, he headed to his quarters and tried to ignore the voice at the back of his mind that was reminding him of everything he still had to do that day. Other than the paperwork he'd been doing when M'Benga had interrupted him, he'd promised two new articles for a friend's medical journal, and he had to write an email to Joanna, who hated boarding-school and ended every email to her father begging to be allowed to go home. But it wasn't up to him; Pam had decided Joanna needed 'discipline', and even though he'd argued that she was a well-behaved kid who didn't need to be packed off to a different planet, he hadn't had much of a say in the matter.

Turning the corner of the hallway that housed his quarters, Leonard sighed tiredly. Maybe M'Benga was right. He should sleep first and tackle his never-ending to-do list later. As soon as he stepped into his room, however, his PADD chirped with a new message and he groaned. It was Jim.

Rec room, 5 mins. – JK

For god's sake Jim let me sleep. – LM

Take a break later. You don't want to miss this. – JK

I really do. – LM

I swear, it's worth it. Hurry up if you want in on the pool. – JK

Pool? Leonard frowned, and then it hit him what Jim meant. Swearing, he turned around and stormed out of his room, headed straight for the rec room two floors up. If his suspicions were correct, he would personally declare Jim unfit for duty and write up Spock for insubordination, damn the consequences. There was no crowd outside the doors of the rec room, unlike the last time Jim had called McCoy down, so at least that was a good sign. As the doors hissed open, Leonard frowned in confusion. Other than a small group in the corner by the sparring mats, the room was mostly empty.

"Bones!" Jim yelled out his name from the side, and he turned around to spot the captain standing next to the replicator, holding two bottles of water in his hands. He waved him over. "Get in here, quick!"

Leonard narrowed his eyes. "I swear to every god there is, Jim Kirk, I'm gonna kick your ass if you're encouragin' that damn fight club again."

"Who, me?" Jim grinned and tossed him one of the bottles, which he caught haphazardly. "I would never do that, Bones. It's against regulation."

"Regulation be damned. I've spent too much time fixin' up idiots who decide to throw around punches because they ain't got anythin' better to do," snapped Leonard. "Who've you got this time? I have half a mind to let their broken wrists heal the old fashioned way."

"I don't think you'll do that." Chuckling, Jim led him back to the small crowd which, Leonard realised, was made up of Spock, Scotty, and Homer. The two people sparring had their gear on properly for once, which was reassuring. Gloves, headgear, knee and elbow pads, and one of them even had chest padding on. Had Jim actually heard his threat last time, when Leonard had said they would end up with half the crew out of commission if he didn't start making sure they were at least outfitted properly during sparring matches? Maybe he had.

Spock nodded in greeting as Leonard joined him. "I expected more from you, Spock," he grumbled. "You tellin' me you think this is a good idea?"

"I am not facilitating this match, doctor, I have only just arrived myself," said Spock, and Leonard raised his eyebrows. He glanced at Jim's look of excitement suspiciously, and Spock noticed. "The captain is merely invested in this match for personal reasons. I am sure you can guess why."

Leonard frowned and refocused on the people sparring. The only rule, Jim had said, was that they didn't use weapons, only their hands. It was risky, of course, but Jim insisted that was what made it fun, even though he didn't participate anymore. Uhura had heard about it in its early days and had challenged Jim immediately, punched his lights out, and after that the captain had opted to merely watch and referee. That was also why Spock hadn't tried to stop it yet, Leonard realised; Jim had probably talked him into seeing the benefits of hand-to-hand combat training that few ensigns had thanks to Starfleet's focus on non-violence. As the crew of the Enterprise had seen, however, there was always some violence involved in deep space.

The taller combatant let out a groan and the shorter one grabbed him in a headlock. As they suddenly spun around, Leonard realised who exactly they were, and his eyes widened.

Victoria and Sulu were sparring. And, if the way Sulu was panting was any indication, it looked like Victoria was winning.

"Is that all you've got?" she taunted. Without looking like it took any effort, she dodged a kick aimed at her legs and instead landed a hit on his chest, causing Sulu to grunt. "Federation flagship pilot, and he can't even hit a girl."

"You're putting words in my mouth!" protested Sulu, ducking as she aimed another punch at him. "I never said you couldn't fight if you were a girl."

"You're on the defence because you're worried about hurting me," snapped Victoria. Almost to prove her point, she took two steps back and held her arms out. "Well, I'm open. Take your best shot."

Sulu hesitated, and Victoria huffed in annoyance. Closing the distance, she continued to dish out a steady stream of kicks and punches, eyes narrowed in concentration. Sulu continued to deflect and duck, but Leonard could tell he was getting frustrated. How the hell did that woman have so much energy? Her hair was tied back in a braid but strands had gotten free and were sticking to her forehead with sweat, and her hands were taped under gloves, so at least she wasn't going to have bruised knuckles after this. By all indications, she had done this before. And while Sulu was known for being able to outlast just about anyone on the ship when it came to hand-to-hand combat, it seemed Victoria was giving him a run for his money.

And she looked really, really good doing it. She was in the standard workout clothes that Leonard had seen women on the ship wear a thousand times, and he had barely turned his head to look at them twice, but suddenly Victoria More wore a pair of leggings and a tank top and he was eternally grateful she couldn't see him stare at her. Of course, he knew he was attracted to her, and damn it all if she didn't know it too, considering the way she flirted with him. But he also knew nothing could happen between them, even though the more he talked to her the more he found his mind wandering, thinking about what their lives would have been like if they had met at a different time, when neither of them had any emotional baggage to deal with.

For one thing, he knew he wouldn't have stopped at just flirting with her. Even now, Leonard wasn't a monk by any means; divorced or not, he could be charming when he wanted to be and having Jim as a best friend meant he certainly had his share of chances with pretty girls who wouldn't complicate matters by trying to call him the next day. And that wasn't to say he was like Jim, who went through women like Klingons went through bullets. Leonard had grown up with three sisters, he had a daughter who adored him, and he was close to his mother and grandmother. Basically, he had practice with women and how to treat them; he'd been married to a girl from one of the richest families in Georgia, for god's sake. So, it really wasn't fair that every time he saw Victoria More, his brain stopped working and he found himself unable to form coherent sentences.

And now, when he saw her effortlessly pin down one of the best hand-to-hand combatants on the ship and hold him there as Scotty counted down from ten, he realised it was only going to get worse from now on.

"Bet you're glad you didn't miss this," Jim stage-whispered from next to him. "I know you're not into the damsel in distress types."

Leonard snapped out of his daze and turned to glare at Jim. "What'd you just say?"

"What are you guys doing here?" Victoria's voice interrupted whatever feeble defence Jim had, and they both looked up to see her sitting cross-legged on the mats, frowning at them. Sulu was lying flat on his back next to her, panting up at the ceiling and muttering something about how it had been an unfair fight. Victoria ignored him. "Jim, did I hear you bet on me?"

"Spock said Sulu would beat you!" said Jim immediately, pointing an accusatory finger at the half-Vulcan. Victoria rolled her eyes and undid the Velcro on the gloves she was wearing, taking them off and wincing as she twisted her hand around. "But you kicked Sulu's ass, Tori. Just like I knew you would."

"I was winning until she started trash talking!" called out Sulu, his tone sullen. "How is that fair?"

"Klingons won't exactly hum a soothing lullaby when they're fighting you, you know," pointed out Victoria. "Anyway, I think you sprained my wrist, so at least there's that."

"Good thing I had the sense to call in a medic," Jim clapped Leonard on the shoulder, and Victoria offered the man in question a small smile in greeting. "Bones'll make sure you're all better, Tori."

"Right, and after that I'm spikin' your breakfast with poison," muttered Leonard. Ignoring Jim, he knelt down next to Victoria on the mat and cradled her wrist in his hands gently. "You know, darlin', there are better ways to get my attention than injurin' yourself," he said in a low voice. "Some women just expect me to pay for dinner."

"As if I knew you'd be here," scoffed Victoria. "Do you ever leave sickbay?"

"Don't usually have a reason to," he replied. Determining that her wrist wasn't broken, he glanced up and raised an eyebrow at her. "Why, you plannin' on givin' me one?"

Victoria grimaced. "I'd be flattered by your attention if I didn't know you meant you want to talk about… that," she trailed off lamely. "Also, it's not broken. Trust me, I know what that feels like."

"It's a sprain, but a bad one," agreed Leonard. "You might need somethin' for the pain if you want to go back to work today though."

"I have a shift in a few hours," Victoria sighed. "Think Homer will let me off if I threaten to kick his ass?"

Leonard smirked. "He might. Spock won't."

"Good point," Victoria frowned. "Should I go to sickbay?"

"Nah, too much paperwork," he said. Victoria threw him a grateful look; he knew, without being told, that she didn't want even her alias showing up in the ship's records too often. "Think I have a hypospray in my med bag that should help."

"That is a very clever way to get me to come back to your place," said Victoria teasingly. Leonard merely rolled his eyes and offered her his hand, which she flicked away. "I'm perfectly capable of standing up on my own," she said tartly. "But I will accept that hypospray. Lead the way."

"So, how'd he get you to join it?" asled Leonard as they began to walk out of the rec room. Spock and Jim were talking, Homer was helping Sulu get to his feet, and Scotty was happily counting out his winnings; apparently, he had bet on Victoria.

"Join what?"

"The stupid fight club those idiots run."

Victoria gave him an odd look. "I have no clue what you're talking about, Leonard."

"You tellin' me they just stumbled on you sparrin' and you let them take bets?"

Victoria shrugged. "I spar with Hikaru all the time in there. Neither of us have a lot of hand-to-hand combat training in the traditional sense, so it's good practice. I tried with Jim in the beginning, but he kicked my ass and then felt bad about it for a week so I had to put a stop to it. He just wandered in today and called in Spock and Scotty. Then Homer came to get Spock to sign something and stayed, I didn't know they were taking bets until halfway through. Who did you bet on anyway? I hope it was me." She nudged his arm with her shoulder teasingly. She wasn't wearing heels today; without them, Leonard realised she was actually a good head shorter than him.

"Jim didn't tell me why, just told me to get down to the rec room," Leonard rolled his eyes. "I don't encourage it. They've been runnin' a fight club for years. They all get together and punch each other's lights out as some kind of catharsis. Pretty sure there's more to it but it's from some holodisk Jim saw from two centuries ago."

"I know what it is," Victoria sounded amused. "I was the one who showed it to him. My dad's a movie buff, and my mom used to love twenty-first century musicals. Jim grew up on that stuff. I didn't think he'd try to replicate it on his ship."

"Well, he did." They entered the turbolift and Leonard leaned back against the wall, arms folded across his chest. "Every few month someone'll show up in sickbay with a broken arm, a black eye, or a concussion. No explanations, and Jim says don't ask questions. One day, I'm gonna kill him."

"I'm sure Spock makes sure it doesn't get out of hand," said Victoria diplomatically. "Usually the weirder Jim's ideas are, the more logical the reasoning behind them is. Anyway, you don't have to feel like you're ruining your reputation helping me. Most of the people who do this are men, right?" Leonard nodded, and Victoria smirked. "There you go. Women are smarter, we have way better forms of stress relief."

There was silence in the turbolift for a few seconds, and then Leonard raised an eyebrow and turned to face her. "Did you –"

"Yes, I know how that sounded!" Victoria turned red and practically ran out of the turbolift as the doors opened. Chuckling, he caught up with her easily. "I'm blaming that one on the broken wrist," she sighed.

"It ain't broken." He wanted to laugh at her indignant tone.

"Well then, maybe being around you makes me say stupid things."

"That makes two of us, darlin'."

Victoria gave him an indecipherable look, but didn't comment further. Leonard wanted to ask her what she meant; hell, he wanted to ask himself what he meant, and what he thought he was doing continuing to flirt with the woman, but he tried not to dwell on his actions. She certainly gave as good as she got, and nothing in her behaviour indicated she was uncomfortable around him. If anything, she seemed to like being around him.

When they got to his quarters, Victoria perched on the arm of his sofa while he rummaged in his medical bag for the hypospray he needed. When he turned back around, he was surprised to see her holding the holo-scan projector he kept on the coffee table. She quirked an eyebrow at him, as if asking permission, and he nodded. When she pressed the button, the resulting image made her smile.

"She's gotten so big," said Victoria softly. It was a picture of Joanna from only two months ago, and Leonard's grandmother had sent it to him just that week. She was smiling up at the camera, and he liked that it looked as though she was smiling at him; he had never been a fan of technology per-se, but holo-scans were the notable exception. "Does she still hate boarding-school?"

"Pretty much," said Leonard. He sat down on the sofa next to her and smiled at the picture of his daughter, which Victoria handed back to him. "She ain't exactly a people's person, don't know if you remember that."

"I do," Victoria smiled, a little wistfully. "I would have loved to get to know her better. Guess I can add that to my list of regrets, huh?"

"You got a lot of those?" asked Leonard. He gestured for her to turn around so he could inject the painkiller into her neck. "This might make you nauseous for a few minutes, so better lean your head back."

Victoria obediently turned her head and moved her braid out of the way. "Plenty," she answered the question he had forgotten he had even asked. She didn't even flinch as the contents of the hypospray entered her bloodstream with a low hiss. "You tend to accumulate them when you can't stay in one place for too long, or make any long-term connections. I don't have a big family, but I used to have a lot of friends. It was nice, and I got used to it, but I barely see them anymore."

"Good thing you're stuck on this ship for the next three years then," said Leonard dryly. "Jim won't leave you alone here."

"Maybe," said Victoria. She smiled and rested her head against the back of the sofa. "And what about when those three years are up?"

Leonard frowned. "What about then?"

"Can't stay on this ship forever."

"Nobody said anything about forever."

"Nobody ever does," she said, and a look of sadness passed over her face. He was taken aback for a second, but as quick as it came, it passed, and she closed her eyes. "Ugh, this feels awful. Are you trying to kill me?"

"If I was, it wouldn't feel awful," said Leonard dryly. Victoria didn't open her eyes, but made a face, and he chuckled. "You're worse than Jim."

"That's so rude, he is such a cry baby when he's sick," complained Victoria. She cracked open one eye to look at him, and raised an eyebrow. "At least I'm prettier."

"Ah, ain't that what every doctor hopes his patient is?"

"Oh, you're being sarcastic."

"Am I?" he rolled his eyes and stood up, going back to packing his med-bag. He couldn't look at her for too long, it was too damn hard to pretend his eyes weren't wandering every few seconds.

"Are you alright?" she asked curiously. When he glanced back, he saw that her eyes were still closed, but she was frowning. "You sound annoyed."

He didn't want to answer that question. "Do I?"

"Ah, answering a question with a question. Didn't you tell me off for doing that once?"

"I'm your doctor, tellin' you off is my job."

"I would argue, but I think you might stab me with another hypospray," said Victoria jokingly. "Also, I think your bag is pretty much packed now."

Despite himself, Leonard chuckled. Giving up on avoiding her, he turned back and folded his arms across his chest. Her eyes were still closed. Good; it meant she couldn't see him stare. "You were sayin' somethin', darlin'."

"Was I?"

"Stayin' on this ship forever?" he pressed.

"Oh, yeah," eyes still closed, Victoria grimaced. "My father is probably already planning a ten-year research mission he can stick me with once we go back to Earth. The further away, the better, in his opinion."

That was news. Going back to Earth was still so far off that Leonard doubted anyone else on the crew had planned ahead the way Victoria no doubt had. Was that what her life was? Constantly moving from one place to the other, and trying to stay under the radar? He remembered her Starfleet profile: the papers she'd written, the research she'd done, the conferences she'd attended… he loved his work, and he had no doubt if he hadn't had his career to fall back on, he'd have spiralled after his divorce. He could tell Victoria was the same way, but he also knew she avoided high-profile assignments even on the Enterprise, because getting involved meant drawing attention to herself. He knew it was for the best, and yet… the idea of her leaving, of never being able to see her again; neither of those things sat well with him, and he suddenly didn't want to think about why. He was too old for this. When had it gotten this complicated?

"Can't say I'm a fan of your father's plans," he said finally. Giving up on standing – he was tired, damn it – he sank down onto the couch next to her, mimicking her posture and tilting his head back against the headrest to stare up at the ceiling. "Stayin' in one place can be nice sometimes."

"I agree," she hummed. "Though I think the longest I stayed in one place after leaving Iowa was college."

"Where'd you go to school?"

"Tennessee," she answered. "What about you?"

Figures. Leonard snorted. "Mississippi."

"No way!" she giggled. "My friend was dating someone there, we went to practically every party! Don't tell me you were the frat boy who wouldn't take no for an answer my freshman year."

"Can't say I blame him," smirked Leonard. Victoria laughed again. "Y'know, we probably walked past each other a dozen times."

"And you didn't hit on me? Rude."

Leonard shook his head smilingly. "I would've, darlin', but I met my ex-wife, two years in."

"Oh," her tone immediately sobered. "You were college sweethearts? That's kind of sweet."

"Biggest mistake of my life."

"You have a daughter, Leonard," she reminded gently.

He sighed. "Yeah, and what a great life she has."

"I don't think I know enough to judge, but I'd say she was a pretty happy kid. She really didn't shut up about how great you were."

"That's nice of you to say, darlin', but we both know it ain't true."

"I don't really have any reason to lie to you," pointed out Victoria. She shifted her head to the side and opened her eyes, wincing slightly when the nausea hit her again. Feeling her eyes on the side of his face, Leonard schooled his expression and turned to look her, raising an eyebrow questioningly. She offered him a smile. "Want some friendly advice?"

He really didn't, but he liked it when she smiled at him. "Sure."

"Kids who grow up with parents who feel guilty turn into Jim." Leonard winched at the bluntness of her statement, and she grimaced. "Listen, I know it sounds awful and I love Jim to bits, but as a kid he was a mess. Sometimes, I think he still is. I was happy to pick up the pieces his mom left behind, but not every three year old has a Victoria More waiting to swoop in. Your daughter is great, and you feeling guilty you're not in her life won't help her. But if you make sure she's happy whenever you are around, then I promise you that will help her in ways your constant presence may not be able to."

Leonard sighed deeply. "Not that I don't appreciate this, darlin', but –"

"– I overstepped," said Victoria hastily. "I totally understand, I –"

"That's not it," he interrupted quickly, because she suddenly looked like she was about to run away. "I asked for your advice, darlin'. Joanna's better off with her mom, I know that. But it ain't easy to accept that me staying away is probably for the best."

"Oh," Victoria blinked. "Well, I know it's not the same, but I do know how it feels to have to stay away from the people you love to keep them safe."

Leonard smiled grimly. "'Course you do. Got any more advice?"

"Oh, you don't want my advice," Victoria rolled her eyes. "I talk big but I wouldn't follow half of it myself. I know it may not seem like it, but I am not a fan of asking for help. Deciding to stay on the Enterprise was the hardest thing I've ever done, and not because I had to leave everyone behind. I'll suck it up and swallow my pride for now, but no one is dying for me. I'd rather leave this world with a clear conscience."

"Morbid thinkin' like this ain't good for you, darlin'," sighed Leonard. He wanted to tell her he knew why it wasn't good, because he had spent weeks locked up in a hotel in Georgia contemplating the worthlessness of his life after his divorce, and it had been the darkest time of his life. But that wasn't a conversation he wanted to have, and this wasn't about him. "You should be thinkin' of ways to escape, if that ever happens."

"Well, I'm really good at fighting my way out, as you've seen," she smiled, a little too brightly, and Leonard knew she was faking it. "You think I could take them?"

"I think you could take just about anythin' you put your mind to," he said honestly. Her smile became a little more genuine at that, and he smiled back. "How about you focus on gettin' back to Earth in one piece so you can see Joanna and that niece of yours again?"

Victoria laughed. "It's a date," she agreed. And then, she held up her hand. "Also, I think I'm healed. I should get ready for my shift. If I'm late, Homer might steal my notes again."

"If he's givin' you a hard time, I could always keep him in sickbay and claim he's got herpes," offered Leonard. It was an empty threat, but it made her laugh again, which was what he had wanted. "You can cure it with a hyposrpay now, but Homer doesn't need to know that."

"I'll keep that offer in mind," Victoria giggled and he walked her to the door. Just before she left, she turned around and winked at him. "Next time you're not drowning yourself in paperwork in sickbay, come find me?"

Leonard couldn't resist the next words that came out of his mouth. "It's a date," he said, and she laughed before waving, heading back to the turbolift. As he watched her go, he felt a strange tightness in his chest, and quickly turned back, closing the door behind him. His bed was calling to him; he was exhausted, and he knew he'd end up back in sickbay during Beta shift in three hours just to check in and make sure nothing had gone wrong. He should sleep, maybe eat something, and write out his email to Joanna.

But he couldn't turn his brain off. His personal PADD was lying on his desk. He rarely used it, except to send emails to his family on Earth, or else on the few occasions he gave himself some time off and wanted to read something non-medical related. However, it also had all of his pre-Starfleet research on it, including his notes on the surgeries he had performed. He didn't often have a reason to go through them again, but suddenly, he knew what he needed to do. Because, even if he didn't want to dwell too much on why, the thought of Victoria More being forced off this ship just didn't sit well with them, and he'd be damned if he didn't do everything in his power to stop it from happening.