A/N

So, here we are again... though I think this last break was the longest one I've taken yet. I am sorry. I am still determined to get this finished. Basically... long story short and without saying anything too trigger-y, I had a breakdown. But I'm doing OK-ish now. I'm back. To make up for my absence I think this is the longest chapter ever? A LOT is going on... the only warning for this chapter is some sexy stuff, but nothing particularly graphic (sorry, maybe next time ;) ) and I guess vague mentions of slavery and nasty Orions? But again nothing graphic.

Thank you to Spockums, for keeping me chatting about the story and keeping my interest in it alive. You rock!

And thanks to SpaceGirl13 for your very thoughtful review on chapter 32 when I genuinely had lost hope of ever getting another review again.

Anyway. Shutting up...

Chapter Thirty-Three

Jim doesn't know how long it takes him to lose track of time entirely. Without a window or chronograph the days and nights all blur into one. He sleeps a lot, tries to eat as little as possible, and doesn't interact with any other living thing. He's kept entirely isolated in his tiny cell; food shoved through a hatch twice a day though he barely touches it, wishing his body would just give up and let him starve to death.

His bones protrude against his skin, facial hair long, hair matted. He dreads to think what anyone would say if they saw him now, saw him like this.

After spending many hours thinking about it, Jim decides that the Orions must be taking him somewhere to sell, rather than to serve them on this ship. There would be no other reason to keep him isolated like this. Much of his career as Commodore had involved shutting down operations just like this and he was well aware of how it usually worked.

Slaves would be acquired through various means, perhaps a stranded ship, perhaps a smaller planet without the means to properly defend themselves. Once on board the slaver ship they would be sorted into two types of slave, work slaves who would usually be men, the larger and stronger, and the sex slaves who would usually be women, smaller weaker men, or in the very worst cases, children. Anyone who was of no use as either would be thrown out of an airlock.

As he was still aboard and not a large, strong man anymore he'd deduced that he was probably destined for the sex trade.

That gave him a better chance of escape at least. If he was purchased by someone who might treat him well maybe he could build up his strength, maybe enough that one day he could fight back, escape, steal an emergency escape pod and head for Earth. Head for anywhere.

Raato would visit him occasionally, but Jim knew the time had come when the large Orion appeared in his cell with two others in tow.

"Up," he ordered.

Jim heaved himself to his feet and stood shakily facing the Orions.

"You are not in good condition. We are going to attend to this, if you do not comply we will make an example of you. You must be in saleable condition by the time we get you to the market," he said and Jim said nothing, just stared blankly just next to the Orion's bald head.

"Do you understand Captain?" he asked silkily and Jim gave one small nod.

"Good. Now, to ensure you are being properly cared for, I have decided you will join me in my quarters for the remainder of our journey. I can make sure you are consuming your meals, resting, and caring for your appearance this way. Come with me and co-operate, and we will not have a problem," he said in the same smooth tone and Jim gave another single nod.

"If you make any attempt to do anything foolish…" he threatened and Jim pre-emptively tensed as he waited for the ring around his ankle to shock him.

It didn't and the three Orions roared with laughter at him before he was awarded a sharp jolt from the metal band, sending him back to his knees on the floor.

"Get up, human!" the larger of the two Orion henchmen ordered and Jim swayed, the other grabbing him by the upper arm and yanking him to his feet.

"A real bed will have you ship-shape in no time Captain," Raato smirked as the two larger Orions half carried half dragged Jim from his tiny cell and out into the corridor. Jim had never seen the corridor, eyes blinking rapidly as they tried to adjust to light for the first time in he didn't know how long.

There were doors. Hundreds of doors, all the way along either side. He felt sick as he realised they were all full of people exactly like him, trapped and alone and desperate.

He saw nothing but more of the same as he was led along until he reached a large metal bulkhead door. It took the handprints of all three Orions on biosensors for the door to release and Jim was dragged into their world.

*~*~*~*~*PAGE BREAK*~*~*~*~*

It had not taken long for the news of Doctor McCoy's resignation to spread.

Whoever had leaked the information Mitchell had sent them didn't wait long to do it, the news breaking just 24 hours after he officially resigned. Leonard was eternally grateful to Emily and Chris choosing the day following it to stage their breakup, with Emily theatrically crying and throwing clothes out of her bedroom window at Chris standing on the front driveway arguing with her, all whilst Leo and David crouched in the corners of Emily's bedroom out of sight of the paparazzi in the street below, watching the whole act progress and giggling hysterically.

The gossip rags had been far more interested in the break-up story, meaning his resignation and the attempt to tarnish his reputation was swept under the rug almost entirely.

In the weeks following the event he'd done his best to keep a low profile, but it had been long enough now and he needed to get back to work, get back to doing something productive with his day.

He had to admit it had been nice to have a bit of time off. He'd never really had much of a break during his career, once he'd joined Starfleet he had been pretty much flat out between his job and raising his family.

He allowed himself a six-week break before joining the team at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital as a senior trauma surgeon. It had been something of an adjustment after spending so many years at Starfleet Medical, but the knowledge he would never be going back out into space was helping him become more at-ease with the strange new situation.

He'd worked at Saint Francis for two months when he noticed a new message on his personal PADD as he got home from work late one Friday.

He opened it up as he sat heavily on the couch, his knees aching from having been on his feet so long that day.

Doctor McCoy – I realise it has been quite a long time since we last spoke, I apologise, it was unintentional. I have been working to secure financial backing to open a clinic, and I believe I am finally in a situation where I can confidently say that I have secured enough funding. I was hoping if you did not already have plans this weekend that you might wish to have dinner with me to discuss my ideas?

- Seren A. Kirk

He smiled to himself as he read her message. The way she worded things had always been an odd combination of both Jim and Spock's vernacular and he found it charming in its clumsiness. He quickly wrote back.

Seren, great to hear from you and good job on getting funding secured. I'm free tomorrow night, could pick you up at 7?

- LHM

It took barely a minute before she replied.

7pm is convenient. I look forwards to seeing you then.

He tucked the PADD away and crept upstairs to bed, sighing when he found it empty. Carol had worked late every night for the last two weeks, sometimes not coming home at all. A new Orion slave ring had been causing trouble at the edge of the neutral zone and the Admiralty had been holding a series of crisis meetings to try and figure out a way to stamp them out.

She woke him as she crept in around two in the morning, apologising in a whisper as she crawled into bed.

"Don't be sorry darlin', I've woken you up a million times," he chuckled as she curled close to him.

"What a week," she sighed and he held her close, the thumb of his right hand rubbing soothing circles into her tense shoulder.

"What's happening down at ol' Starfleet HQ that's got their newest Admiral runnin' around like this?" he asked and she chuckled weakly.

"This is the problem. Nothing. There's been a huge surge in activity from a new Orion slave ring, but Starfleet are avoiding the problem, say that it isn't our fight, but if they're enslaving federation citizens then of course it's our duty to intervene. It's taken me a week just to get them to listen, and now they've said if I want to try to sort it, I need to be the one behind planning some intervention," she ranted and he hesitated a moment before asking his next question.

"Does this have anything to do with what Jim was workin' on?"

She was silent a moment before answering.

"Yes and no. He was instrumental in several large-scale operations to seize some key slaver ships and free everyone aboard, but they were different Orions, these seem to be… well… some form of hybrid. Their pheromones seem to have a really strong effect on humans, much stronger than usual," she said, yawning widely.

"What kind of effect?" he asked, curious.

"Well, you know how normally they make you kind of drowsy? Pliable? Maybe a little stupid? Well these new ones, humans are unconscious within under a minute, it's really powerful stuff," she mumbled sleepily.

"Do you know how they're doing it?" he asked, his interest now sparked.

"Need to catch one to do some analysis," she replied weakly, yawning again.

"Get some rest darlin', I'm sure there'll still be super-Orions running around for you to catch in the morning," he assured, kissing her cheek gently. She was asleep within seconds but he lay awake for what felt like a long time, contemplating what she had told him.

*~*~*~*~*PAGE BREAK*~*~*~*~*

The door chimed a seven pm exactly.

Seren was already waiting downstairs, but Spock beat her to it and answered the door.

"Hi, Spock," McCoy said awkwardly.

"Doctor McCoy, please come in," he offered politely, stepping aside from the doorway.

"You've redecorated," he pointed out as he stepped into the now beige coloured hallway.

"Blue was always Jim's idea," Seren pointed out as she entered the now crowded hallway. Spock looked guilty.

"It looks just fine both ways," McCoy quickly pointed out and Spock inclined his head slightly in agreement.

"You ready to go?" he offered and Seren nodded.

"Have a pleasant evening," said Spock mildly, turning and retreating up the stairs.

Seren glared after him, not missed by the older Doctor, before following him down the driveway to his car.

"What's your old man done to deserve stink-eye like that?" he asked and Seren looked at him blankly.

"The glare at the back of his head," he clarified and she shook her head.

"No, I know. I'm familiar with the expression, I've spent enough time around you and David to be by now. It's the changes to the house. Jim hated beige. He hated beige anything. White yes, but not beige," she said with strong distaste.

"And he put all of Jim's stuff in a storage locker. All of our family pictures too. There's almost no trace of him at the house anymore," she said flatly.

McCoy was quiet for a moment, trying to think of a way to respond that would be appropriate. He knew that his immediate reaction would best remain inside his head.

"Do you think he's planning on leaving again or something?" he asked and she shrugged.

"Maybe. He keeps talking about going to New Vulcan to search for his counterpart."

"Would that bother you?" he asked and she looked at him.

"It would bother me because it goes against the only request that Jim left for him, which was for him to be someone we could depend on if anything ever happened. Spock and I… we used to be close. But recently as it's coming up to the third year… I feel like the side of him that Jim brought out is properly starting to recede. He's… like a robot," she said, careful to keep too much emotion from creeping into her voice.

"He was like a robot when I served with him the first time, when he left Jim on Delta Vega. I guess part of me wondered if this side of him would come back eventually," he said thoughtfully and she nodded in agreement.

"Indeed. Anyway, moving on, because I could bitch about Spock all night. I hear you're working at Saint Francis memorial?" she asked.

The short drive passed quickly and by the time they had sat down and ordered their food Seren was passing him a PADD across the table and he was reading, feeling his eyes becoming wider with each line of text.

"And this is the two year projection?" he asked and she nodded eagerly.

"Five year is over the page," she said and he scrolled, letting out a low whistle.

"Well kid, you've figured out how to be a doctor and be rich. I must have missed somethin' because working for Starfleet wasn't the way to go," he said, setting the PADD down and looking at her proudly.

She'd acquired herself just enough funding to set up a small clinic and pay the rent on the premises for two years. The budget allowed for herself and one other doctor to be paid close to what he was earning when he left Starfleet, with a sharp rise as their client base grew. The costings had all been worked out precisely. They would fund a fair cost of time, equipment and maintenance, and of course the procedures themselves but there would be no surplus profit made by the company.

"But if you charge the same… per couple, in this flat rate, that means eventually…"

"We're going to earn a lot of money? That had crossed my mind. If you're uncomfortable with that, I researched a few charity options, we could even set up-"

"Seren… wait. We?" he asked and she grinned. She grinned and looked like Jim for that split second and his heart ached for his best friend to be here to be as proud of his daughter as he was.

"I didn't tell you? I'm offering you a job. Well, a partnership, to be exact. All the costings were done under the assumption of there being two of us, and there is no other doctor I'd want to go into partnership with," she said casually and he looked at her for a few seconds before allowing himself to smile.

"OK. On the condition that when Chris and David want to do this, I don't have anything to do with it, then yeah… I'll accept," he said and she laughed.

"I don't want anything to do with it either!" she protested, pulling a face.

"Well, we can hire somebody else just for them," he laughed and she grinned.

"So, I start looking for premises tomorrow, budgets are all done, and my inbox is overflowing with potential candidates for treatment. Partners?" she offered her hand across the table and he grinned as he shook it.

"Partners."

Things moved quickly after their initial conversation over dinner. In the space of a few short weeks, Seren had managed to locate a premises. It needed some renovation, but most of the work was superficial, so she had enlisted the help of her brothers and David to help give the place a fresh coat of paint.

Handing in his resignation to the second job in less than a year was a very strange feeling to Doctor McCoy and as he left Saint Francis for the last time after his final shift, he couldn't help but wonder if what he was about to begin doing would be the job that would see out his career.

He arrived early on the day of the clinic's opening. The waiting area still smelled of fresh paint and he glanced around, the same grin still firmly on his face.

"All finished?" he asked and Seren nodded.

"Your dad would be so damn proud of you today kiddo," he said and she gave a small smile.

"I'd like to think so," she nodded, tucking her long braided hair over her shoulder and chewing on her bottom lip.

"C'mere," he said, noticing the discreet sign of her becoming emotional and opening his arms to hold her tightly for a few seconds.

"Jim would be overjoyed to see this, and I'm very proud of you myself," he said and she nodded against his shoulder, pulling back and nodding before quickly changing the subject.

"So, your office is the one to the left," she pointed out.

The clinic premises was very small. They had their two main offices, a small exam room with more equipment, the waiting area, and a few smaller offshoots of the main area including a staff resting area they could make use of. For surgical procedures they'd made an arrangement with a local hospital to refer patients there, or make use of the operating theatres themselves if needed.

"So do we have anyone coming in today?" he asked and she looked up from the PADD she was reading.

"A few," she nodded.

"In that case, I'm going to go test out the coffee in our new staff room," he said, shuffling off in the direction of said staff room.

It was very small, only a few chairs and a very basic kitchen area, but it was all they needed to quickly grab some refreshments between appointments.

As he was finishing up his cup of coffee their new receptionist arrived for her first day, and Seren got her all set up, he could see both young women were nervous, and he couldn't deny he was feeling a little nervous himself for the first day of work.

At a few minutes to nine he went over and unlocked the doors, their first appointment was due at nine-fifteen.

They'd agreed the patients would be split randomly, so there could be no bias, and the first had landed Seren for their appointment. His schedule was due to be clear until ten.

"I'll be uh… in my office I guess," he said awkwardly and the receptionist nodded with a small smile. It felt completely unfamiliar to him to have no actual work to do, he'd need to wait for some patients first.

"Remind me of your name again, I'm an old man… I forget," he laughed and she smiled again.

"Carla," she answered and he nodded.

"Right. Carla, sorry," he said, letting himself into his office and sinking into his chair.

He got barely five minutes of peace before he was commed from the reception desk.

"Doctor McCoy?"

"Yes Carla," he said, wanting to prove he wasn't so rude as to forget her name twice.

"I've got two gentlemen here who don't have an appointment, but if you're free could you-"

"Of course, send them right on through," he said, surprising even himself with his cheeriness for that time of the morning.

He wasn't really surprised to find out that his visitors were none other than David and Chris, both wrapped in coats and scarves to protect against the miserable day outside.

"Sorry, I was told gentlemen, have you seen any?" he asked as the two made themselves at home in the office.

"Well look at this fancy-pants new office!" David said excitedly, ignoring his father's jibe completely and beginning to spin on one of the spare office-style chairs.

"You break it you buy it," Leonard warned his son who barely settled down at the warning, still spinning just in a slightly more controlled fashion.

"So, you boys have a reason to be here or did you just want to waste some of my first morning on the job?" he asked and David stopped spinning, glancing at Chris who looked away at the floor.

"Uh… no we were just in the neighbourhood and thought we'd say hi," Chris answered.

"Oh quit acting so nervous," David rolled his eyes at his bondmate who shoved him playfully, his tension breaking instantly.

"Nervous?" Bones asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He's nervous because I want his babies and he's not ready and he didn't want to come in here in case I started trying to like… steal sperm or something," David smirked and Chris scowled, looking mock-indignant.

"You're not ready either," he pointed out and David shrugged, grinning still.

"No, you're right, but I'm excited we can try this someday, when we're both ready. So… should we spill the news now, or wait until later?" David asked and it was Chris' turn to break into a grin.

"News?" The Doctor asked with interest and Chris stood a little closer to David who was still lounging in the chair, their hands linking together loosely, fingers brushing together with an easy affection that showed just how comfortable they were with each other.

"We uh… went and viewed a new apartment today, and I think we're going to put in an offer," Chris said nervously, David smiling fondly up at him standing at his side.

"That's great news! Finally getting out of the old bachelor pad huh?" he asked and Chris nodded.

"And this asshole is finally going to have to pay his way in the world and not just sleep at my place for free all the time," he mock glared at David who opened his mouth to protest only to be cut off by his father laughing at him.

"So yeah, Dad, I guess I'm moving out officially, at last," he said and Leonard sighed.

"All my babies grown up and gone away. Guess I'll have to have my mid-life crisis now huh? Buy a sports car or somethin'?"

"You're way too old for a mid-life crisis," Chris smirked.

"Yeah, more like an 'old age setting in' crisis," David added and Leonard glared at his son across the desk.

"Tell me about your new house, before I throw you out of my office for being brats," he tried to threaten but couldn't keep the smile off his face as Chris leant down and kissed the top of David's head as he began to excitedly babble about the new apartment.

"-And it fronts onto the park, and it has three awesome bedrooms, and enough space for all our stuff, and hopefully all of Emily's because she has a lot of shit-"

"Wait… Emily?" Leonard frowned, confused.

"Yeah… uh. We're moving in with Leo and Emily, surprise!" David said, his voice wavering slightly and Chris sighed and rolled his eyes.

"It's so they can keep an eye on me when David goes away. So they can make sure I don't go all crazy or anything, although I'm pretty sure I'll be fine," Chris explained quickly and Leonard nodded.

"So, the four of you are going to share? How's that gonna work?"

"It should be alright. Leo and Emily are having the master bedroom which has their own bathroom and enough space for a couch and all that stuff, so kinda like their own living area, and we have the second biggest room and we'll use the main lounge more… but it probably won't work out that way, we'll probably just all kill each other after like a week and then I'll move back home and I have no idea what you guys will do," David laughed and Chris sighed.

"Yeah, if Leo and Emily stop arguing for five seconds this plan will work out perfectly," he sighed, rubbing at his face tiredly.

"They're still fighting?" Leonard asked. Emily and Leo had fought on and off since the incident with David and the shuttle and Leo's miscarriage.

"I can never tell when they mean it; can you tell when they mean it?" David asked and Chris shrugged.

"They like… fight and then they like… screw each other's brains out for a whole day, and then they're fine, but then they fight again. I really don't get them," he sighed, shaking his head before looking up suddenly, dangerous smirk on his face.

"Hey, if we have a fight does that mean you'll actually put out after it?" Chris asked and David's jaw dropped, a deep red blush creeping into his face. His father blushed almost as badly.

"Uh excuse me, I didn't hear you complaining the other night," David quickly retaliated.

"Psssh. That didn't count-"

"Uh. Mentally scarred forever over here!" interrupted Bones quickly, waving his hand to get their attention.

"Did this count as a fight?" David asked with a smirk and Chris shrugged.

"Maybe, I guess so?" he offered and David grinned, grabbing Chris by the arm and dragging him from the office, neither of them even saying goodbye as they hurried out.

The Doctor sighed and shook his head, muttering about crazy kids as he glanced at the time. His first patients of the day were due to be with him soon, so he loaded up their file and set about getting himself ready for their consultation.

*~*~*~*PAGE BREAK*~*~*~*

"You're heavy," Chris whined.

David huffed a laugh against the back of his neck but made no effort to move.

"You can take it," he retaliated and Chris squirmed, trying to shove him off.

"You're heavy and you're sweaty and gross."

"Hmm and who's fault might that be?" David asked, carefully pulling out, detangling their limbs and slumping onto the mattress beside his bondmate in a state of post-orgasmic bliss.

"No idea," Chris said with feigned innocence, tilting his head so their eyes could meet.

"No? Not even a theory? Not the slightest clue?"

"Nope."

David grinned and leant in to press their lips together tenderly, one hand settling on tracing the strong line of Christopher's jaw. The angle was bad with Chris still laying on his front and David pulled away with realisation after a few seconds.

"Aren't you laying in the wet spot?" he asked with a smirk and Chris shifted somewhat guiltily.

"Uh… there… kinda isn't one, yet," he added quickly seeing the expression shift on David's face.

Quicker than he could even react he was on his back, two of David's fingers jabbing mercilessly at his prostate and his cock hitting the back of his bondmates throat.

Chris came with a low moan, head tilted back and fingers pulling maybe a little harder than he intended at David's short dark hair.

It took him a few seconds to get his awareness back and when he did he was wrapped comfortably in a pair of warm arms and turned onto his side.

"Mmm," he mumbled, stubble scratching at the side of his neck as light kisses were trailed up towards his ear.

He squirmed a little and was rewarded with a puff of air against his neck as David chuckled.

"Tickles," he protested weakly.

"You're adorable when you're all fucked out like this," David told him softly, one hand now playing with his hair.

"Shh. Sleeping," Chris mumbled back turning his face towards the pillow.

"Excited to do it in every room of our new house? I'm going to bend you over every single item of furniture, just to warn you."

"Sleeping," Chris protested, keeping his eyes tightly shut.

"I am, I'm so excited to have our own place together, I mean… Leo and Emily being there is-"

"David?" Chris interrupted and he stopped talking.

"Hm?"

"Now is sleeping. Either sleep or leave," Chris warned and David chuckled, holding him closer.

"I love you," he sighed and Chris did his best to supress the way those words made him feel. His heart did a weird sort of flutter in his chest, face contorting into an awkward, half held-back smile.

"Love you too, now sleep or so help me I will end you," Chris warned and David took the hint, with one final laugh and a gentle kiss on the back of his neck, he allowed his Vulcan to fall asleep.

When Chris woke up he was alone, the light on his communicator blinking with a new message.

Got called in to talk about that training mission, I'll text you when I know more

He flung the device back down on the bedside counter and sat up; scratching his head groggily and stretching, wincing as his chest pulled and a sharp jolt of pain racked him.

"No bullshit from you today, I need to do important shit like buy a house," he warned the old injury aloud, getting out of bed and shuffling to the shower, still half asleep.

He laughed as he walked into the bathroom. In the condensation on the glass shower cubicle David had drawn him a picture, their initials in a badly shaped heart, waiting for him to find when he got up. Allowing himself to grin the whole time, he got washed and found clean clothes before heading over to Leo's apartment to talk to him about the house.

Leo looked dazed and exhausted as he opened the door, long hair scraped into a messy ponytail, wearing sweatpants covered in various stains and burn marks from the engineering department and an old tee-shirt Chris recognised, with a pang in his chest, as once belonging to Jim.

"You're wearing your hair like a girl," Chris pointed out and Leo opened and closed his mouth a few times as if to retaliate and then shrugged as he couldn't think of anything to say.

Leo slumped into the couch, one hand scratching at his face where his stubble was now so long it may even classify as a beard.

"Why is everything so early?" Leo asked, voice low and scratchy from tiredness.

"It's like… ten thirty. Doesn't Scotty have you polishing Starships at like o-six-hundred most mornings?"

"Yeah but I was up all night writing some stuff, and I haven't slept yet this week and-" the remainder of Leo's sentence was lost in an enormous yawn, treating his twin to a perfect view of his tonsils.

"You're so gorgeous in the morning!" cried Emily cheerily as she appeared from the kitchen and jumped onto the couch next to Leo who groaned at her enthusiasm, pulling a cushion from the couch over his head.

"Jeez, what did you do to him? He's completely wrecked."

"I didn't do anything. I was asleep, not my fault if he wants to stay up working all night, making mess," Emily eyed Leo's desk in the corner of the lounge with distain. Piles of PADD's and books teetered precariously as well as numerous sample jars of questionable substances, all of which Leo swore were not radioactive, though to Chris they looked suspiciously like warp-plasma.

"So did you guys view the house after us yesterday?" Chris asked and they both nodded.

"And?" Chris asked precariously. The whole plan hinged on Leo and Emily agreeing on the house, they couldn't afford it on their own and needed them both to buy in or it wouldn't work.

"And… we think we should probably look at selling both our places," Leo answered and Chris grinned.

"Awesome. We just need to get grumpy on board and we're all good, but I think he's pretty much sure that-" Chris was cut off as him communicator started to ring.

"Speak of the devil," he muttered as he flipped the device open and got up from the couch, backing away a few paces from the couch so he'd have a little more privacy.

Leo watched his brother carefully as he spoke, his sensitive hearing could pick up what David was saying too and it broke his heart to watch Chris visibly deflate as David broke the news to him.

He'd been selected for the training mission and was going out into space for the first time, and he'd be gone for just over a month. Chris hung up by telling David where he was and to come over so they could discuss the house.

He sat back down and tried to keep his facial expression neutral but barely managed, Emily becoming suspicious that something was wrong as they sat and drank coffee waiting for David to get across town to them.

He arrived and the door had barely knocked before Chris was up out of his seat and hurrying to open it, the two of them embracing in the doorway like they might never see each other again.

"Am I missing something?" Emily asked quietly as David and Chris just held onto each other.

"Yeah, David got picked to go out on that Capricorn 9 graduate ship, so we're going to have to adopt Chris for a while. Do you think you can cope with another one of me for a bit?"

"Of course. We'll look after him, no problem," she smiled reassuringly as David and Chris sat heavily on the other couch together, sitting apart for only a few seconds before Chris sat so close to David he was practically sat on him, but David not complaining and holding him closer.

They discussed David's imminent departure briefly before calling the required parties to make their offer on the house and to put both Christopher and Leo's apartments on the market.

It was going to be a rush to get everything finished before David would be leaving in a few short weeks, but they were optimistic they'd get things finalised in time.

Chris didn't sleep that night. He lay awake and silent, arms tightly wrapped around his bondmate, the soothing rise and fall of his deep breathing filling his ears.

"Did you sleep?" David asked quietly the next morning as Chris knocked over his cup of coffee after having tripped over a chair leg only a few minutes earlier.

Chris nodded, avoiding his bondmate's eye across the table as he picked at his breakfast.

He wasn't like Leo in being able to only sleep once a week. Since his injury he'd needed a normal human amount of sleep to function properly, and having missed an entire night was having a serious impact on his ability to function.

"What classes do you have today?" asked David through a mouthful of toast.

"Uh… tactical analysis, then free until late, xeno-biology. My middle class got cancelled. I can't remember what it even was. What day is it?" Chris asked as he carefully cleaned up the spilt coffee.

"It's Thursday. Want me to go to tactics for you and get your notes? You can stay here and get some sleep?" he offered and Chris glanced at him before going back to cleaning up the coffee.

"Uh… no, it's ok. I can go, I just need to coffee some drink."

David raised an eyebrow and it took a second for Christopher to realise what he'd just said.

"Drink some coffee. I definitely meant drink some coffee. Do we have any… uh… do we have any left? Of my good meds?" he asked quietly and David looked very serious.

"Yeah, there's two left. Why? You need one?" he offered and Chris nodded shakily. He was in a lot of pain. It was rare he'd have days this bad, but for these times he had a backup supply of a particularly strong medication. It was kept by David in a secret hiding place Chris wasn't allowed to know, because it was one of the medications Chris had become addicted to after the injury.

"You want to do it?" David asked, re-appearing and offering the hypo to his bondmate.

"No," Chris said flatly.

"That's ok. Uh… how should I?"

"Just ram it in my neck and get it over with," Chris ordered and David flinched at the harsh tone of his voice. He complied, carefully administering the hypo before taking it away and returning again to sit at the table opposite his bondmate, reaching across for his hands which he held lightly, forcing Chris to look up and meet his eye.

"Are you mad at me because I'm leaving?" he asked and Chris narrowed his eyes.

"That's a pretty unfair-"

"It's a perfectly fair question. Are you mad at me, yes or no?"

He was silent for a few minutes before he answered.

"I'm worried about Leo, he's still acting weird."

"I'm worried about Leo too, but I need to know if you're mad at me. I don't want to go out for the first time worried you're going to hate me for doing it."

"I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at myself for not being in a position to go with you," he admitted and David squeezed his hands reassuringly.

"You're less than a year away from that. It'll go so fast you won't even notice it and then we'll be going out together on the same ship and-"

"There's no guarantee of that."

"Yes there is, we're bonded, they aren't going to split us up and you know it."

"We'd have to actually tell Starfleet about our bond for that to be true," Christopher muttered, snatching his hands out of David's grasp and getting up from the table. He snagged his backpack on the way past and before David could even react to snap back, he was gone.

*~*~*~*~*PAGE BREAK*~*~*~*~*

Leo swallowed hard again as he walked down the long corridor, occasionally glancing at room numbers to be certain he was still going the right away.

He couldn't shake his nerves and wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans as he finally neared his destination.

The door was plain white with just a simple brass number in the centre, old fashioned, making it stand out from the rest of the super-modern hospital corridor.

He knocked and waited a few seconds before a male voice beckoned him inside.

"Leonard, I take it?" he was asked immediately before he'd even got inside.

He flinched at the use of his full name and closed the door behind him, finally locking eyes on the man inside the room.

He was tall and thin, black hair cut in the traditional Vulcan style. Leo caught him give his own hair hanging messily around his shoulders a disapproving glance.

"It's Leo," he corrected and the Vulcan nodded once.

"My name is Soren, but I am sure you are already aware of that," he said and it was Leo's turn to give a single nod.

"My sister speaks very highly of you," Leo said, not missing the very tiny flush of green that crept into the other man's cheeks. He raised one eyebrow.

"Indeed?"

"Yep. She sure does," he said cheerily, inwardly smirking that he'd taken less than two seconds to uncover his secret crush.

"Would you follow me please?" Soren asked and Leo's smile dropped immediately. He'd been warned Soren would not allow him to hide his feelings behind humour. When Seren had made him the appointment she had told him exactly what to expect.

Leo followed Soren from the small reception area through another, similar white door into a larger room. The office was neutrally decorated, with large windows overlooking the street outside the hospital. Several comfortable chairs were placed around, a handsome wooden desk in one corner with another comfortable chair behind it.

"Wish my office looked like this," Leo commented, thinking of the tiny, messy, cupboard-like space he shared with Scotty in the engineering department.

"I am very fortunate. I like to keep my office orderly and comfortable, so that patients can feel safe here, and able to speak freely," he explained, sitting in one of the armchairs.

Leo flung himself down onto the couch, kicking his feet up.

"So doc, are you going to cure me?" he asked and Soren raised an eyebrow again, looking incredibly like Spock when he did so.

"I hope that by being able to express your emotions with me and share information that perhaps you would not have shared with others who are not so impartial to the situation that you may gain clarity in your mind. I do not expect you to be cured as you put it, after one session. This process is likely to take time," he said and Leo nodded, exhaling heavily.

He forced himself to remember the blazing row with Emily that had led him to be here in the first place. She'd given him an ultimatum – get help, or she was leaving. He'd booked the appointment less than five minutes after the end of the argument.

"First I would request you remove your footwear from the couch," Soren asked calmly and Leo kicked off his boots, letting them fall to the floor with a heavy 'clunk'.

"I would now like to gather a basic understanding of you, Leo. If you would not mind, please could you tell me some basic information about yourself, who you are, your family, your home, your work, and finally why you are here today," he asked in the same soft tone of voice.

Leo wanted to bite. To tell him he knew damn well why he was here, and surely he knew about their family from all the time he spent talking to Seren, that this was stupid, that the whole situation was stupid.

"Well… I'm twenty-three, I'm a part-Vulcan hybrid with a dash of genetically enhanced superhuman in there too. I'm studying engineering with Starfleet, but I already have my civilian degree in mechanical engineering, and Starfleet kinda promised me I'd graduate early… but it hasn't happened yet, uh… I live in an apartment with sometimes my girlfriend, sometimes not. She's a musician and goes away a lot. My family are… I don't know. You know about my family. I have an older sister Seren, I have a twin brother, and kind of another brother too because his bondmate is kinda like… my brother now… and then there's Spock."

"Spock is your father?" Soren asked. He was jotting things down on an old-fashioned leather-covered notepad. Leo nodded.

"And your other parent?"

"You know full well that Jim is dead," Leo spat, perhaps more nastily than he had intended. Soren flinched slightly and then stiffened in his chair, his rigid posture a stark contrast to the squashy armchair he was seated in.

"I apologise. All matters discussed with Seren during our sessions are considered to be a matter of doctor-patient confidentiality. I must assume nothing based on information she has given me, nor can I tell you or allude to anything she has ever told me," he said flatly and Leo nodded.

"Sure. Yeah. Sorry. Yeah… uh… then there's Jim. Jim died just over two years ago. Things have been pretty fucked up ever since."

Soren didn't flinch at his language but simply inclined his head in an invitation for Leo to continue talking.

"Well, Jim died, Chris got hurt really bad and turned into a drug-addict, Spock went kinda crazy with grief and turned into this weird recluse-"

"And you? What did you do immediately after this event?" Soren asked.

"I uh… ran away. I hid away from everybody for a while, just to try and straighten things in my own head. Guess it didn't work so well," he said with a weak smile.

"And finally, why are you here today Leo?" Soren asked.

"I'm here because I uh… something weird happened to me… a couple of months ago, and I can't seem to get over it, and my girlfriend is sick of me waking her up at night crying about it," he said vaguely and Soren's dark stare pierced into him until he opened his mouth to speak again.

"I had… a miscarriage. About six-weeks in. It's something to do with… I don't know. Jim carried us, it's been well documented, it was something to do with the augments. It turns out he passed that ability down to me… and I didn't know. And I did something stupid and reckless and I didn't know and then I-" he stopped talking abruptly, realizing he was already on the verge of tears.

"You say you did something stupid and reckless? Not only was I present at the hospital that day, but your actions were well-documented. You saved the life of another cadet, I believe this person to be bonded to your brother, is that correct?"

Leo nodded.

"Had you known about your ability to carry a child, would you have acted differently that day?" he asked and Leo stared at the ceiling for a few moments, waiting for the plain white surface to answer for him.

"If I'd have known I could do it, I probably still would have jumped out of the shuttle yeah, but if I'd have known I was actually… y'know, then I don't know. I think I probably wouldn't have. But then what kind of a brother does that make me? If I hadn't saved David? I'm pretty sure he's the only thing keeping Christopher from destroying himself."

"You place the needs of your brother above your own?" Soren asked and Leo nodded without hesitation.

"He's been through a lot. Anything I can do to help him, or make his life easier, I'll do it," he said honestly and Soren made a few more notes.

"Tell me about your significant other?" he asked and Leo nodded, grateful to move the conversation onwards.

"Her name is Emily. We've been together on and off for a couple of years. I've known her all my life, we kind of grew up together but then she went to boarding school in England and we didn't talk much for a few years. She's a musician, and she's so talented… she's a genius. She's beautiful and caring and generous and just… yeah. She's the only person I've ever loved… y'know, in that way," he finished awkwardly and Soren nodded.

"You say your relationship has been on and off?"

"Yeah we've split up a couple of times. To be totally honest I probably don't treat her as well as I should. I've been trying, since everything happened, to be better… but I'm upsetting her with my emotional state so it isn't going too well," he chuckled slightly at just how badly his efforts had been going.

"Please elaborate?" Soren asked and Leo sat up, leaning back against the couch, legs spread wide in an attempt to ease the pain in his lower back. He had told Scotty he was too damn tall to be crawling around inside those fuel tanks!

"Well. We aren't… y'know. Bonded. Our only mental connection is if she asks me to meld us, which sometimes I do, but I find it hard to keep things away from her and it upsets her a lot. I uh… after Jim I went and travelled a lot, and I behaved in a way that I'm really not proud of."

"You were sexually promiscuous," Soren stated casually and Leo snorted.

"If that's how you want to put it, yeah. I was a huge man-slut the whole time I was away. I know when I share our minds she see's things that I don't want her to see, things that I don't think about ever… but she somehow digs them up, gets into these corners of my mind that I never even… think about. But anyway, lately when we're been sleeping it seems like my mind is kind of… leaking? I guess I'd describe it as leaking, into hers, through body contact maybe, I know my shields aren't the best right now… and yeah. All my darkest, most depressing thoughts are haunting her, and now I sleep on the couch a lot, or I just don't sleep at all, and that's why I'm here," he blurted out and Soren nodded slowly, making a few more notes before looking up at Leo.

"Emily, her parentage. Does she have any telepathic ancestry?"

Leo shook his head.

"Nope, humans. Plain and simple. Well, I mean, not plain, they're both geniuses in their own fields, but Emily is all human. Why do you ask?"

"I ask because her ability to extract thoughts from you which you are not consciously sharing is very rare. This would usually only occur if you have inadvertently bonded, which I'm certain you would be aware of, or if both parties in the meld had some form of telepathic ability."

"You're saying Emily is a telepath? I'm telling you she isn't. She's just a normal, human woman. Pretty much a hundred-percent certain she's PSI-null."

"Indeed? Then perhaps you have bonded, or begun to form a bond, perhaps without realising it. Moving on from this, you say your darkest thoughts are entering her mind and causing her distress. Could you explain some of these thoughts to me?"

Leo took a deep breath and began to talk.

He arrived home several hours later, voice hoarse and eyes still puffy. He felt as though every emotion he'd ever felt in his life had been dragged to the surface, ruthlessly examined, and then replaced, raw, just beneath the surface again. He felt like a flimsy plastic bag full of jagged pieces of broken glass, just waiting for something to tear through the surface. It had been even harder than he expected to talk about the hurt he had been carrying for the last few months, harder still when the topic of conversation had turned to Jim.

Emily crept out of the bedroom into the lounge as she heard the front door open and he just stood there looking at her. She didn't approach him and he closed the door behind himself, turning to lean his back against it before looking at her through the half-light.

"I'm sorry," he said hoarsely.

"Leo, don't, I don't need to hear you apologise, you haven't done anything to apologise for and-"

"Please just let me?" he asked quietly and she nodded, taking a few cautious steps forwards.

She was wearing one of his old tee-shirts and a pair of his boxers.

"Aren't you cold?" he chuckled and she shrugged.

"C'mere," he offered, sitting on the couch and patting the spot beside him. She settled on his lap instead and they sat in silence for a few moments, his thumb absentmindedly tracing small circles on the exposed skin of her thigh.

"Firstly I want to tell you that I love you so much, even if I don't always act like it, I really do," he said heavily and she leant against his chest, nuzzling her face into his neck and placing a gentle kiss there. He held her tighter and took a deep breath.

"Secondly I need to tell you that I really miss Jim… like a lot; and I… I wanted to thank you for being there for me through all this. I know it's been a really rough few years, but I think I'm starting to come to terms with him not being here anymore," he said thickly, fighting back tears and she said nothing, just nodded, placing her hand over his that was resting on her thigh and giving it a supportive squeeze.

"Third… but kind of the most important really… I… I was so devastated about… about the baby, because I… I really want that for us. I know we've only been back together properly for not all that long, and I know that I have no right to… expect… something like this from you. But I really hope one day we can talk about it for real, and maybe put it in the correct one of us next time," he said with a half-smile that she glanced up just in time to see.

"Soren… suggested that I name him, to help me find closure. I… I guess I liked Nathan, if that's ok, with you?" he asked awkwardly. She could hear in his voice how badly this was paining him.

"I like it," she agreed softly, tears stinging at her own eyes as she squeezed his hand again.

"I… from what I understand, he got frozen, along with the uterus. Your dad arranged it I think… and I… I think maybe I want to have him buried… maybe next to Jim. Where Jim should be, I mean," he said with a small sniffle.

"Of course," she agreed quietly.

"I know so early he couldn't have lived and I'm being stupid about this maybe but… I just. I can't stop thinking about him. I can't stop thinking about a perfect little combination of the two of us, and how loved he would have been," he sighed, one hand now smoothing her hair back off her face.

"We could do this now, we could try now, I could stop touring, we could try and-"

"I don't think we should. I think I'd be looking for a replacement, somewhere for all… this love I have… somewhere to put it all. It wouldn't be healthy so soon, but thank you for volunteering so eagerly, means I don't have to worry about convincing you further down the line," he said with a small smile. She smiled back, looking up at him.

"And you aren't… being stupid. About Nathan I mean. At six weeks his heart was beating, he was really there, and I think about him a lot too," she admitted, tentatively moving her one hand to sit low on Leo's firmly muscled abdomen. He placed his hand flat on top of hers.

"I'd be such a fatass by now," he chuckled.

"You'd have only been about six months."

"Yeah but I know I'd have been a fatass. Any excuse to eat more food, I'd have jumped at it," he said, his stomach giving a well-timed growl.

"You hungry?" she asked and he nodded.

"Always," he grinned.

"Want to go get a shower before bed and I'll order us some Chinese from your favourite place?"

"You saying I'm stinky?"

"Well, no, but I know how much you like to shower before bed," she smiled up at him and he leant down to meet her, kissing her forehead softly.

"You do make a very good case," he said, patting her leg as a hint for her to get up so he could move from the couch.

He disappeared into the bathroom and she quickly called up and ordered their regular menu choices before changing the sheets on the bed to their softest set. He used to complain about them being too girly, as they were faintly printed with flowers, but once he'd slept in them had soon come around to them.

"I think I'm going to cut all of this off," he said, towelling his long hair roughly as he emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of steam.

"Yeah? I mean, it's up to you, I like it both ways," she smiled reassuringly.

"I can't graduate with it like this, they'll kick my ass for breaking regulations on personal appearance," he smirked.

"Since when did you ever care about rules?" she asked and he grinned, tossing his towel towards the laundry hamper in the corner and then fidgeting with the second towel around his waist.

"I don't even use a separate towel for my hair," she taunted and he glared.

"My hair needs to be treated like a princess. And I'm not putting the same towel that I used to dry my junk anywhere near my face, no thank you very much," he said bluntly and she burst into fits of giggles, tumbling backwards onto the bed.

"You think that's funny huh?" he demanded, grabbing her bare feet and tickling them mercilessly until she couldn't breathe and they were interrupted by a knock at the door.

Emily collected their food and allowed Leo the rare luxury of eating in bed. Normally she would have banished him to the table in the corner of the kitchen.

"That's better," he sighed when he was done, sprawling out flat on his back with his arms outstretched.

"I'm glad the solution to all problems in the universe has been discovered," she chuckled, gathering up their plates and the food cartons and taking it all into the kitchen to clean up.

When she returned she'd barely even had a chance to lay down before Leo was on her, kissing her neck, hands all over her in a way that never failed to make her shiver.

"Could you maybe… wear my clothes like this just forever?" he chuckled as he undressed her from his own clothing she'd been wearing.

"Forever is a long time," she smirked and he seemed to hesitate, a very serious expressing crossing his face briefly.

It took him only a few seconds before he seemed to brush off whatever he'd felt at that statement before he continued, trailing kisses down her now naked body, dark eyes glinting up at her mischievously as he descended, dragging the sheets down with him.

His usual intensity was still there, but there was no urgency, nothing hurried about anything, she felt like she was being worshipped, completely revered by his every touch, kiss, movement.

By the time he finally pressed inside of her, she felt like she could explode… whatever this strange energy was between them it was making her feel like nothing could ever break them apart.

Their eyes met; faces only centimetres apart, and neither of them was able to tear themselves away from it.

It felt as though time had stood still around them until finally they lay together breathing heavily, sated and grinning lazily at each other as they shared tired kisses until they fell asleep.

Emily woke up the next morning feeling warm and contented, reaching out to her side to cuddle up to Leo she found the blankets crumpled and peeked her eyes open to see him sitting on the edge of the bed with his back to her, head down and looking at something in his hands.

"Hey you" she mumbled sleepily and he turned to face her, sliding back under the blankets, his right hand tightly closed, left hand lightly caressing her cheek, brushing her hair back. Her eyes flickered closed again and she smiled as she felt herself drifting back towards sleep.

His hand retracted from her face and she opened her eyes slowly again, noticing him not-so-subtly stashing something in his bedside drawer.

"Whatcha got there?" she asked playfully and he smirked.

"Never you mind," he grinned, pulling her close.

It was several more hours before they got out of bed. They showered together, Leo attentively lathering her hair with shampoo for her, the soothing circles of his fingertips on her scalp almost enough to make her fall asleep leaning against him under the warm water.

"What time are we going to your parents?" he asked, deep voice vibrating through her as they stood with his chest pressed against her back.

"Uh… I don't know. For dinner. I think David ships out in the morning so everyone will be there," she mumbled in response.

"Crazy that he's finally going, took so long for him to get to this point."

"I just hope Chris is ok by himself, the house is taking forever to all go through… I'd hoped we'd all be there by now and he wouldn't be alone," she said sadly and Leo kissed her neck affectionately.

"I love that you're so caring of him, it's really sweet."

"Well, he's kind of my brother-in-law, right?" she said, turning to face him with that same wide smile on her face.

"That's true. I still find it weird… those two. Like… they're best friends… except they have sex. It's weird," Leo grimaced, being broken off by laughter as she started tickling him.

"How is it any weirder than me and you?" she asked and he shrugged.

"I don't mean that it's weird that its two guys, I mean that its weird that outside of the house they're just buddies, then they come over or we're at their place and they hold hands and smooch all over each other in front of us and it's kind of… who do you think bottoms?" he blurted out and she gasped, bursting into laughter.

"You can't ask that!"

"I'll get David drunk and ask him. I totally think it's him."

"Well… I've seen Chris walking funny leaving-"

But Leo had put his hands over his ears and was beginning to loudly hum to himself.

Emily laughed and hit him with a towel as they got out of the shower.

They were only ten minutes late to the McCoy residence that evening, which by their timekeeping standards was something of a miracle.

Chris and David were already there, and there was an ugly tension filling the living room where they were sat on the couch beside each other, not touching and not talking.

Leo caught her eye and inclined his head slightly towards the kitchen. She gave him a curious look before she caught on.

"I'm going to get a drink, anyone want anything?" she offered. Chris mumbled a negative response, David holding up the empty mug he'd been drinking from.

"Tea?" she offered and her brother nodded.

"I'll help," Leo said quickly, following her into the empty kitchen and closing the door.

"They're so stupid to be fighting about this," she groaned, sliding her hands into her hair and gripping it in frustration.

"If I was going away for six weeks, how mad would you be?" he asked and she shrugged, but was obviously unhappy at the thought.

"Exactly. Now, imagine that, plus David is going to miss their anniversary, and potentially the anniversary of… y'know… if they get delayed coming back. I feel so bad for them both," he said miserably.

"Do you think there's anything we can do to help?"

"We could try forcing them to talk to each other?"

She frowned.

"Is that a good idea? Won't that make them fight worse?"

"I don't see how they could be fighting worse. They already look like they want to murder each other," Leo shrugged.

He walked back into the living room and before Emily could say anything to stop him; he'd dived into the middle of the situation.

"Christopher, why are you angry at David?"

"I'm not," he snapped.

"David, why are you angry at Christopher?"

"I'm not. He's being a dick about-"

"Oh I'm being a dick. Sorry, I'll try and stop," Chris spat and David glared.

They were both silent for a few seconds before they began yelling at each other in unison.

"-not my fault you're so sefish-"

"-the whole world doesn't revolve around you-"

"-to not even talk to me about it!"

They were cut off as Carol entered the room and whistled loudly, getting their attention sharply.

David was breathing hard, on his feet now and Chris was on his feet too, fists clenched at his sides.

"If something happens to one of you, do you really want the last thing you said to each other to be those words? Do you really want to have spent this last week fighting? You're members of Starfleet, for goodness sake! You're going to spend time apart, that's part of the job. I know this is hard for you both, I know you're both angry for your own reasons about this, but please don't be angry with each other, and please just make up and come sit down and we'll all eat dinner together as a family?" she offered and Chris and David looked at each other.

"Sorry," David mumbled, looking at the floor.

"Shake hands," Emily ordered from the doorway.

David offered his hand first, Chris leaning forwards to take it. He grabbed the extended hand and used it as leverage to pull David to him, kissing him firmly, both hands taking hold of the sides of his face.

Leo rolled his eyes and looked away.

"Now both of you say you're sorry," Emily instructed.

They both mumbled an apology.

"Good enough for me, let's eat, I'm starving!" Leo said, quickly trying to move them along.

He felt bad for both parties. Frustrated for Chris that he had to watch David leave on a mission he would have enjoyed greatly himself, but at the same time annoyed for David at Chris' lack of support and negativity. When the news had broken about the mission, Chris had been supportive and even kept up an act of being happy for his bondmate, but as the departure date grew nearer he'd become more outwardly bitter about the whole thing.

Dinner was awkward. Emily did her best to keep conversation going, but both David and Christopher seemed to have very little interest in talking.

After the meal they were quick to try and leave.

"I wanted to ask you guys… please don't come down for the shuttle tomorrow. I wanted to say bye now, I don't want loads of people there tomorrow," David said awkwardly.

"Totally understand. Be safe out there, ok?" Leonard said, stepping forwards to embrace his son, clapping him on the shoulder as they parted.

"I'll be monitoring you, but make sure you do call home sometime," Carol said as she hugged David too.

"Don't touch me," said Emily with a smirk as David got to her.

He ignored her and grabbed her in a bear hug she couldn't wriggle free from, kissing the side of her face and making her shriek until he let her go.

"You're the worst. But try not to die," she grinned to her younger brother who nodded.

"Sure. I'll do my best," he smiled before reaching Leo.

"I'd say good luck, but you don't need it. Enjoy it, you've earned it," said Leo, offering his hand.

"Thanks man. That ship you've built not going to fall apart?" he asked as he shook Leo's hand firmly.

"Well come to think of it… I did have a handful of bolts left after I finished the assembly… maybe I should ask Scotty if they were important?" he asked sarcastically and everyone laughed. Even Chris forced a smile.

"Well. I'll comm. you guys in a few days once everything settles down and I get my shift rotation," he said as he grabbed his coat.

"See you guys soon," said Chris glumly as he followed David down the driveway to his car.

They both slumped heavily into the car, trying not to look at each other too much.

Chris had a little cough that he'd been noticing the last few days, and it was tickling in his chest, but he did his best to stifle it until they stopped at a red light and he had to cough.

He coughed long enough that David set a hand on his knee until it stopped and he looked up.

"How long have you had a cough like that?" he asked quietly and Chris shook his head.

"It's nothing, just a tickle in my throat," he answered.

"You worry me when you get sick," he sighed as the light changed and they began moving again.

"I don't think I'm sick, I think I'm just kinda run down from this week," he blurted out and David chewed his lip.

"I'm sorry that I'm going. I know it's a bad time of year, and that I might miss the anniversary, and that I'll miss our anniversary, but I didn't get to choose the schedule, and if it was up to me I wouldn't be leaving you right now," he said miserably.

"It's ok. I'm sorry that I've been an asshole about it. I should have been more supportive," Chris sighed, stealing a glance at his bondmate beside him. David's eyes were on the road, but in some ways seeing him focused just made him more attractive.

"Does this mean we get to have make-up sex now?" David asked as they reached another set of traffic lights and had to wait. He glanced at Chris and their eyes met, both of them smirking as forgiveness filled their bond from both sides.

"I think we get to combine it with 'you're going away for six weeks and I'm going to be damn frustrated' sex too. So yeah. That's the rest of our evening planned," Chris said casually and David smirked, leaning across and groping at Chris' thigh.

"Not while you're driving the car," he protested, pushing David's hand away.

"Spoilsport."

They got back to Chris' apartment in record time and raced to the elevator, then through the apartment, clothes being thrown in every direction until they reached the bedroom.

"Why have we not been doing this for the last few weeks again?" Chris asked as David pinned him to the bed.

"I have no idea," David muttered as Chris pulled him down into a kiss.

Several hours later Chris woke up alone in bed. The other side was still warm so he fumbled on the floor beside him until he recovered a pair of boxers which he pulled on before padding out into the living room.

David was stood at the large window in the lounge, watching the sun rise over the city.

"So that's where my pyjamas went," Chris commented and David looked round, a guilty expression on his face.

"Yeah well… I'm pretty sure those are my boxers," he retorted as he glanced back. Chris glanced down and shrugged.

"Yeah, pretty sure they are. Guess that makes us even."

He crossed the room a few steps before pausing and biting his lip. David's back was covered in angry red scratches.

"Chris?"

"Mhm?"

"You need to cut your fingernails," David laughed, turning around and Chris smirked.

"Sorry."

"Oh… uh. No, really sorry," Chris pointed out as his eyes trailed down towards the waistband of the pyjama pants. Several angry red hickeys were scattered on his bondmates lower abdomen. David glanced down his own body and sighed.

"Why is it that you can leave me looking like I was ravaged by a whole harem of sex-crazed Orions, but I can't even leave a single mark on that thick hide of yours that lasts until the morning?" he asked and Chris grinned.

"Superblood."

"Pssh. I'll find something that'll last. Go make yourself useful and make some coffee?" David asked and Chris laughed, going back towards the kitchen area and turning on the coffee-maker.

He was distracted after only a few moments by a pair of warm hands sliding down his back until they reached the waistband of his boxers, pulling them down on one side.

"I think, right here," David said, trailing the pad of his thumb across the now exposed skin "You should get a tattoo."

"Oh yeah? And what do you want me to get permanently blasted into the skin of my ass?" Chris asked, turning his head so his face was only inches away from David's.

"I think something nice and simple will do. How about… Property of David McCoy," he grinned and Chris snorted with laughter.

"The funniest part is I'll actually do it, then you won't find it nearly so funny," Chris dismissed him, smirking as he continued to make coffee, trying to ignore the hands wandering all over his body and the insistent press of the warm body behind him.

"You wouldn't actually do it," David taunted and Chris shrugged.

"Sure I would. In fact, after I go with you to the shuttle, I'm going to go find someone to do it right then."

"This conversation is stupid."

"You're stupid."

"Shut up and give me some coffee," David whined. Chris laughed and poured up two mugs, adding milk to one and keeping the one without for himself.

"No milk?" David questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"It's been making me feel kinda sick lately, so I'm going to stick without. Last thing I want to do is throw up on you in the shuttle hangar," Chris sighed, taking a sip from his mug of steaming liquid.

"You feeling nervous?" Chris asked, deflecting the conversation away from himself. He needed to cough, his chest feeling tight and constricted, but was determined not to in front of David.

"Not so much. I think just kind of… accepted it now. I finished packing when you were still passed out, so I think I'm ready to go. Or y'know… as ready as I'll ever be," he sighed, sinking into the couch.

"You're going to do great," Chris said as enthusiastically as he could manage.

The silence in the room turned slightly awkward as they both sipped on their coffee. The sun was rising fast now outside the windows and the city was coming to life.

"I'll miss this view, when we move," Chris said, getting up and walking back over to the windows.

"I don't know if the city of San Francisco will miss you fucking me against the window though," David pointed out and Chris grinned.

"That was a fun night," he laughed, turning to glance back at David who was smirking at him from the couch.

"You're a damn exhibitionist," David grinned and Chris laughed.

"The lights were off, it's fine."

"I better go get my last water shower for six weeks," David sighed, getting up and taking his empty mug over to the kitchen area.

"That was kind of a hint I'd like some company in there," he called back as he headed for the bathroom.

*~*~*~*PAGE BREAK*~*~*~*

Saying goodbye had been relatively easy, all things considered.

Chris hadn't let him talk much, and had made sure to tell him he looked adorable in his uniform, which had made him blush a healthy shade of crimson.

He hadn't been expecting Chris walking him right to the shuttle, their two forefingers lightly touching just for the briefest of moments before he gave him a hearty pat on the back like any good friend would.

"See you soon McCoy, try not to throw up on the way up to the ship," he said loudly, making sure people around heard them.

I love you so fucking much. I'm so proud of you right now. I'll be waiting.

David could hardly cope with the difference of what was coming out of Chris' mouth and what was streaming into his mind.

"I… uh… sure. You too?" he said weakly, confused by the bond and the verbal stimuli all at once.

"Take care," Chris mumbled with a half-smile, setting his hand briefly on David's shoulder before he set off walking towards the exit to the hangar area.

David watched him go for a good few seconds before he caught up enough to send him a message through their bond.

I love you. Don't sulk too much now.

He boarded the shuttle and met two fellow recent graduates who were already aboard and ready to leave.

No time for sulking, I'm actually off to go find the nearest tattoo shop.

It took only a few more minutes before the remaining cadets had boarded.

We're leaving now. I'll comm. you.

The shuttle seemed to vibrate a little more than usual on take-off, but David calmed himself by hanging onto their bond as best he could, just taking in the positive energy from it.

Make sure you do. I don't mean to be all clingy but yeah… you'd better call me or last night was the last time you're ever getting laid. Ever.

David did his best not to smirk as he made conversation with the people who were now his fellow crewmembers for the next six weeks. There was only ten of them, nine in the cabin with the Captain up in the cockpit.

"So you're David McCoy?" asked a nervous looking girl with mousy-blonde hair sitting opposite him.

"Uh huh, that's me," he said tensely. He was getting nervous himself now.

"Are you a doctor like your Dad?" she asked and he laughed.

"No. No no. I actually pretty much pass out if I see blood. No. I uh… command track," he said awkwardly, pulling at his gold shirt.

"Fair enough. I'm in engineering, Ensign Russo," she offered her hand.

"Or just Louisa, is fine," she said, clearly uncomfortable with her newly attained rank just as David was.

"Louisa. Nice to meet you."

She briefly introduced him to a few of the other nervous looking young men and women in the shuttle and before he knew it, they were docking with the ship that was to be their home for the next six weeks.

OK, we're docking. I'll check in with you in a few hours once everything settles down here.

He didn't get a response from the bond, but his pocket vibrated. When he had a moment, he discreetly checked his communicator, biting back a laugh when he opened the picture Chris had sent him of the fresh tattoo now adorning his left buttock.

Looks like you're stuck with me forever then.

It was barely a second before Chris replied.

Looks that way.

A/N

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