Hello, lovely people! I've been a while with this one, and it's short and sweet - very sweet - so I hope you'll forgive me for how long it took! Back to my regular schedule of updates now, at least once a month! If you're still here, drop a line and let me know what you think, I love reading your reviews! LLAP! x

Forty Two

Victoria woke up to the smell of coffee.

It was the good kind too, the rich scent drawing her out of sleep and causing her brain to jump-start as she inhaled deeply. She couldn't remember setting the replicator to make her a cup in the morning; what time was it anyway?

"Mornin'," said a rough, slightly out of place voice from behind her. "Didn't mean to wake you."

Victoria's eyes flew open and she turned over in bed, blinking the sleep out of her eyes to see… blue. Everything was blue. Raising a hand, she rubbed her eyes so they could focus, and realised that she was looking at a Sciences blue uniform shirt, stretched across a very familiar back.

"Hi," she heard herself say. Her voice was heavy with sleep, but Leonard didn't turn around to face her. His muscles worked under his shirt as he bent down slightly, and she realised he was putting on his shoes. She blinked. "What time is it?"

"Six," he answered. Accomplishing whatever he was doing, he turned back to face her, and his face was carefully neutral. "I didn't know what time you needed to be up."

"Oh," Victoria blinked. "I – well, if you need to go –"

"I don't."

"You're already dressed," she pointed out.

"Shower's free," was all he said.

"Right," she nodded. She couldn't decide if she was taken-aback by his aloofness, or slightly grateful for it. He was still watching her, and his gaze was too much like the way he had looked at her last night, when they had – swallowing thickly, Victoria sat up and pulled the sheet up with her, drawing her hair across her bare shoulder to create a curtain between them as she glanced at the nightstand next to her, searching for her comm. What she saw, however, made her pause. "You made me coffee." It wasn't a question. There was a steaming mug lying on the table, identical to the one Leonard had on his own nightstand.

"Yeah."

"You didn't have to do that." Momentarily forgetting her awkwardness, Victoria smiled and picked up the mug, inhaling the scent. It was definitely not from a replicator. Her eyebrows shot up. "You went to the mess hall at six in the morning?"

Leonard didn't answer, but he didn't need to. They both knew he had done it, and Victoria was sure he was avoiding her gaze as he picked up his own mug and took a sip, eyes on the comm he had just flicked open, no doubt to read the messages he had ignored last night. She suddenly felt a surge of affection for the man sitting opposite her, because he was clearly uncomfortable and unsure, but Leonard McCoy would never leave a woman alone in his bed the morning after sleeping with her, not without the kind of coffee she liked and making sure the shower was free so she wouldn't have to wait around for him to be done. His manners, as always, were antiquated.

He really was one of a kind.

"Hey," she said softly, and he immediately looked up. His eyes were wary, as if he knew exactly what she was going to say and hadn't quite made up his mind on how to answer her. Victoria didn't like how easily he could predict her thoughts, and changed tactics at the last minute. "Mind if I borrow something?" she asked. Pointedly, she tugged at the sheet she was holding up. "Your room is colder than mine."

His lips twitched. "I ain't complaining, darlin'," he said, and the familiar, flirty banter made her smile. He got up and fished something out of his dresser, tossing it to her before sitting back down on the bed. Victoria unfolded the sweatshirt and pulled it over her head; the Starfleet Academy insignia was splashed across the front, and she saw the words MEDICAL stamped on the back.

She pulled the too-long sleeves over her hands and cupped the mug of coffee between them. "You might not get this back," she warned. "Medical track cadets always got nicer uniforms."

Leonard merely smiled, shrugging a shoulder as if to say he didn't mind. But he didn't say anything. And instead of feeling uncomfortable, it made Victoria feel slightly better. "You haven't done this before," she guessed. "Have you?"

Leonard raised an eyebrow. "Done what?" Victoria merely raised an eyebrow back. "Woken up with a beautiful woman in my bed?" he asked, and she smiled. "Doesn't happen to me very often, believe it or not."

"I'm not sure I do believe it," she said, sipping her coffee. "This is five star morning after treatment, you know."

"Ah, so you've done this before."

"Would that bother you?" she asked curiously.

Leonard snorted. "That's not an answer, darlin'."

"You didn't ask a question."

"Fine," he rolled his eyes. "Do this often?"

"No," she said simply. "I told you, I don't like to start things I won't want to finish."

"I hear that."

"And I did mean what I said last night, you know. I don't want to hurt you, and I really don't want to put you in any danger." Victoria ran a hand through her hair exasperatedly. "I just… I don't know what to do now. What do you think we should do?"

"You ain't gettin' off that easy," said Leonard. "Pretty sure I made it clear what I thought last night. And about four times before that."

He was right. Leonard McCoy had given every indication that, whether or not she thought it was a good idea, he was definitely interested in her, in being with her. It was because of that that she hesitated now, replacing her mug of coffee on the nightstand and bunching up the sleeves of his sweatshirt in her hands. As she stared down at her lap, she felt his fingers brush across her cheek. They left a trail of heat across her skin, as he tucked her hair behind her ear so he could see her face properly.

It was impossible to think clearly when he touched her.

"I…" Victoria trailed off helplessly. "I don't… want to… not do this again?"

Leonard's lips twitched. "Well, aint' that flattering."

"You know what I mean!"

"No, I don't." He gave her that look again, the one that made it seem like she was the only person in his world that mattered, and Victoria had to look away. "You gonna tell me what you're really thinkin'?"

"I don't know what I'm thinking, Leonard," she sighed. "I just – I was so tired of pretending I didn't feel anything every time I looked at you."

Leonard's eyes softened. "I know how you feel, darlin'. Why do you think I wanted those files so badly?"

"What was it you said last night? The man's a research legend," she repeated dryly, and Leonard grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I thought that was a pretty crappy excuse too."

"Can't blame a man for trying," he smiled, and Victoria's heart skipped a beat. Had he moved closer while talking? "I wasn't exactly in the mood for thinkin' last night."

"Neither was I," breathed Victoria. Leonard's fingers twisted into her hair to angle her head to the side, and Victoria's hands slid up his chest, pulling him in by his shoulders. The kiss was just as electric as the numerous ones the night before, and the first one after Julia's wedding, when it had taken everything in her power to walk away. And as Leonard continued to kiss her, his thumb moving lazily across the skin of her neck, Victoria realised again that she really, really didn't want to walk away this time.

Leonard was already smirking when she finally broke the kiss, her fingers still firmly digging into his shoulders. Despite the haze that had engulfed her brain as soon as his lips had touched hers, Victoria narrowed her eyes. "Stop that."

"I didn't say anything, darlin'."

"I know that face."

"What about it?"

"You look like you won the lottery."

"What's a – never mind," Leonard sighed. "I don't understand half the things you say, you know that, right?"

Victoria pouted. "Don't be mean."

He shook his head and smiled, and somehow their hands found their way to each other again as he continued to smile at her. Victoria marvelled at the way their fingers intertwined almost automatically, the warmth spreading from her hands all the way through her body until she felt a little dizzy from the sheer euphoria that Leonard's presence seemed to be enough to cause inside her. And then she remembered what they'd been talking about before he had kissed her, probably to distract her, and scowled at him.

"I haven't given you my answer yet," she pointed out.

Leonard smirked and leaned in again, causing Victoria's frown to immediately falter. He chuckled. "I think I know your answer."

"No, you don't," Victoria groaned. "It wasn't easy to stay away from you for even a few weeks, you know that. You know how I felt. I don't know if I can do that again."

"Then don't. Just stop avoiding me."

"I can't just –"

"Darlin', there's no rush," Leonard rested his forehead against hers, and the simple act was enough to make Victoria feel ridiculously calmer. "I promise, I won't take that coffee away if you just keep quiet right now. We can talk about this some other time."

"But we don't have time, Leonard."

"You're stuck with me for at least the next three years, you callin' that no time?"

"And after those three years are up?" she demanded.

"I'm goin' to find a way," he said simply. "Can you trust me on that?"

Victoria chewed her lip anxiously, even though the obvious answer to his question was yes, she did trust him, more than she had ever trusted anyone. And that was why she found herself thinking that maybe it was worth the risk. If Leonard succeeded in helping her, then at least they wouldn't have wasted any time by not being together. And if he didn't succeed, she'd be heartbroken and force herself to leave, of course, but at least she would have tried. And if he was willing to go through it, to take a risk despite the fact that it could all end badly, couldn't she do the same?

"Okay," she said slowly. "Then I guess… we're doing this?"

"Looks like it."

"And you won't hate me when this inevitably blows up in our faces?" she confirmed.

"No," he smiled at her again, and this time when he touched her face Victoria rested her cheek against his palm, her eyelids fluttering shut. His thumb brushed against her lower lip teasingly. "But it won't blow up in our faces."

"You're sure?"

"No, but I'm going to try pretty damn hard to make sure."

She cracked open an eye and smiled. "You know, that's actually really reassuring. At least now I know you won't lie to me."

Leonard snorted. "I was never much good at lyin'. Explains my crappy bedside manner."

Victoria's eyes twinkled. "Actually, I think your bedside manner is just fine," she whispered. Her words made him smirk, and she took the opportunity to lean in closer and kiss him again. And this time, she felt nothing but pure contentment when he deepened the kiss, angling her head to the side so he could trace her jawline with his fingers. It made her shiver. "Please tell me you're not going back to work yet," she murmured in between kisses.

She felt him smile against her lips. "I took the morning off the second you put on that sweatshirt, darlin'."

Victoria giggled. "Very presumptuous of you, Dr. McCoy," she said. Leonard pulled back just far enough to raise his eyebrows at her, and his expression only made her want to tease him more. "What if this conversation hadn't gone the way you expected?" she asked. "What would you have done with all that free time?"

Leonard ignored her, nuzzling her neck softly. Her skin erupted into goosebumps, and she was sure he noticed; she felt his lips turn up in a small smile as he kissed her bare shoulder, the large sweatshirt making it all too easy for him to access her skin. For a few seconds, Victoria forgot that she had planned to tease him, and her eyes fluttered shut; after all, the man could do things with his mouth that made it very difficult to concentrate on anything except what he was doing.

However, clearly he hadn't forgotten what she had said. Victoria felt his lips against her neck one last time before he pulled away, only to gently push her onto her back and hover over her. When she opened her eyes, she caught the way he was looking at her, and felt a blush creep up her neck. His eyes – a feature of his that she realised she adored – were dark with a familiar emotion, and it made butterflies erupt in her stomach. "Trust me, darlin'," whispered Leonard, leaning in so his lips were now at her ear. "Even if this conversation had gone another way, I'd have found a way to make sure you enjoyed my morning off too."

Victoria merely let out a sound of acknowledgement, all thoughts of teasing now gone. One of Leonard's hands was braced by her head, holding his weight off her, but the other had already slipped under the sweatshirt she was wearing, and she bit her lip before any potentially embarrassing sounds could escape. If there was one thing that could rival Leonard McCoy's mouth on her body, it was his hands. "I think we should lock the door now," she said faintly.

Leonard smirked. "It's locked. Anythin' else?"

She wanted to say something witty that would make him smile, or roll his eyes, or even groan in that delicious way he tended to do when she was teasing him and he had had enough – admittedly, something she hadn't noticed until last night. But she didn't have to choose, she realised suddenly. Because she had time; anything she didn't say now, she could say to him the next day. Or within the next hour. Because neither of them were going anywhere. At least, not yet.

"No," she said simply. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she tugged him closer, eyes fluttering shut as his mouth neared hers. "Nothing else," she murmured, just before his lips touched hers, and her mind went blissfully blank.