A/N

I think the chapters of this just get longer and longer! Apologies, this one is super dialogue heavy and again touches on some sensitive issues. Maybe it feels like a filler except it isn't a filler because its sewing the seeds of the final plot that's going to tie all these threads together! It's also completely devoid of Jim, and there isn't really any Spock either, BUT I PROMISE IT IS COMING (probably like summer 2037 the speed that I write at these days :'D... but it is coming!) So yeah, please accept a huge pile of cute fluffiness from me. Leave me a review if you feel that way inclined, they do mean a lot to me. I would absolutely love to hear your thoughts on what you suspect is all going on :)

Oh and also if anybody just want to chat Star Trek then hit me up with a PM :)

*Note that there are lyrics in this chapter, they belong to a band called Tonight Alive and they just fit what I needed Emily to have written. I don't claim any ownership of them, and I totally suggest you check out the song they belong to.


Chapter Thirty-Eight

David woke to a small hand grabbing his face.

"Mmm, Thomas, how many times do I need to tell you that grabbing someone's face isn't a nice way to wake them up?" he asked without opening his eyes.

Thomas giggled loudly and close to his ear.

"Chris told me to!"

"I did not!" Chris protested with a laugh. David opened his eyes to find Chris wide awake and sat up, Thomas sat between them and obviously extremely excited.

"It's 5am, and I don't think we're getting any more sleep," Chris explained and David groaned, pulling the covers over his head and hiding until Thomas burrowed his way under next to him.

"Did Santa bring presents for you and for me and for Chris?" he asked, tripping over his words a little, wide-eyed and grinning.

David forced himself into a sitting position and plastered a smile on his face through his tiredness.

"I'm sure he did. How about we get a little more sleep and then we'll go see?" he attempted and Chris chuckled.

"I've been trying that one for almost half an hour already. He's up now. That's it. But I do have one thing we need to do before we go downstairs. Thomas, did you check your room? Did Santa leave anything in there?" Chris asked and Thomas shook his head, leaping off the bed and running towards his room.

"What did you put in-" David began, getting cut off by a loud excited squeal and then rapidly approaching small footsteps, the young boy reappearing carrying a bright red Christmas stocking emblazoned with his name.

"What's that you've got there?" David asked, grinning at the expression of pure joy and excitement on his sons face.

"From Santa!" Thomas exclaimed, jumping up and down.

What did you get him?

Chris just winked in response as Thomas opened the stocking and tipped it out onto their bedroom floor. Small items wrapped in brightly coloured paper scattered across the floor and he hurried to gather everything up before beginning to rip into things.

"Jim used to give us these, when we were little. Obviously without the chocolate coins, but the rest is pretty much what he'd give us," Chris explained quietly as Thomas opened all his Christmas candy from his stocking. He finally discovered a small red envelope at the bottom and held it up to David to open.

He carefully opened it and pulled out a crisp old-style dollar bill.

"Oh wow, Thomas do you know what this is?" he asked, handing it to him. He shook his head and looked to David to explain.

"Before we had credits as money, people used to use dollars. This is a very old dollar, more than a hundred years old. They're very special if you keep them and collect them," he explained carefully, watching Thomas' face light up.

"Special dollar?" he asked and David nodded.

"Can you keep it safe for me?" he asked and both Chris and David laughed out loud.

"Sure thing little man, I'll keep it safe for you," David promised, taking it and setting it carefully on the nightstand.

"What do you say to Santa for all your sweets?"

"Thank you Santa! Wait… why didn't Santa bring you sweets?" he asked, frowning.

Before either of them could make up an excuse Thomas picked up one item each from his small pile of goodies and handed them one each.

"Thank you," Chris grinned, accepting the old-style jelly beans and watching fondly as David was handed a generous double handful of chocolate coins.

"Downstairs now?" Thomas asked eagerly and they relented, allowing him to descend the stairs, following close behind.

Thomas barely even paused in the doorway, sprinting flat out at the Christmas tree in the corner and jumping up and down in excitement.

"LOOK AT HOW MANY PRESENTS!" he squealed at maximum volume and David and Chris just laughed.

"Nice wake up call for Leo and Emily there," David smirked as Chris found Thomas a parcel with his name on to get started.

Thomas' energy seemed to be endless as he ripped through every single item under the tree for him, and even helped Chris and David open their own presents, though he was entirely disinterested in what was in them and only wanted to help with ripping off the brightly coloured paper.

"More presents?" Thomas asked curiously as he caught David yawning widely. He laughed and scooped up the small boy, holding him close.

"No more presents buddy, I think you got them all!"

"But I can see more!" he protested, reaching out towards the tree.

"Those are Emily and Leo's presents, you can't open those," he explained and Thomas looked sad.

"Hey, how about if we actually open up some of this stuff and play with it?" Chris offered, and Thomas seemed to accept, supervising Chris in opening up a box while David snuck off to the kitchen to put coffee on. When he returned Thomas was eagerly building a train track around the living room under Chris' supervision. He handed him a mug of black coffee and received a grateful kiss on the cheek in return.

"Eewww," giggled Thomas and they both smirked.

"What's eww huh?" David asked and Thomas pulled a face.

"Kissing is icky," he explained, making another face.

"One day you're gonna pull that horrible face and it'll get stuck that way and never go back," Chris warned and Thomas pouted. David rolled his eyes and joined in with building the train track.


By mid-morning the house was a disaster zone, and David was grateful to be going out. They'd all been invited for Christmas dinner with his parents and headed over in one car so Chris could drive home, allowing everyone else to have a few drinks if they wanted to.

Carol ushered David away to help her in the kitchen almost as soon as they arrived, and Joanna took one look at Chris and took Thomas off his hands, taking him away to entertain him with the few extra presents waiting for him under the tree there.

Finding himself at an unexpected loose end, Chris wandered into the kitchen to see if he could offer to help at all. He found Leo and Emily already in there, harassing David who had been left with the task of stuffing the turkey.

"I'm just saying man, you seem way too familiar with putting your entire hand in that turkeys ass. Something you're not telling us?" Leo smirked, Emily choked on the sip of her drink she was taking with a giggle and David glared; a little pink flush appearing on his cheekbones that Chris was praying to every god in the universe for his twin to not notice.

"Hey speak of the devil, we were just talking about your bedroom preferences," Leo greeted cheerily as Chris entered the room.

"Oh were you now? Well go on, don't let me interrupt your conversation," Chris shrugged, passing them and heading for the fridge to find himself something to drink.

"So yeah, I mean that's a task you seem pretty comfortable with," Leo pressed again and David aggressively wrenched his hand free, opening his mouth to argue when Chris interrupted.

"Oh he is. We fist each other all the time. Like basically every hour, just can't get enough. I'm surprised you guys can't hear us… y'know, through those really thin walls we have at the house," Chris said, voice heavy with sarcasm initially and then finishing off with an accusatory tone. Leo looked mildly uncomfortable.

"I mean last night I could hear some weird stuff, sounded kind of like oh, Leo, yes baby," he put on a breathy, feminine voice and Leo blushed bright green up to the very tips of his ears. Emily's smirk faded fast.

"We'll leave you guys to get on with fisting the turkey in peace," Emily said quickly, dragging Leo from the room.

"I can't decide if we won that round?" David asked with a chuckle after they had left.

"I think we did. Sorry for having to go for your sister like that, she's an easier target," Chris smirked, scratching the back of his head uncomfortably.

"It's ok. They deserved it. Have you noticed his asshole streak sometimes affects her too?"

"Maybe. But you and Emily have always been assholes to each other," Chris pointed out and David shrugged, withdrawing his hand from the turkey with a grimace before taking it over to the oven.

"True. So just to clarify, I don't want your entire hand in my ass, ever. You… you uh… don't actually want me to put my entire hand in your ass do you?" David asked, turning around to face him with one eyebrow raised slightly.

Chris burst out laughing.

"Uh… no. No you have pretty big hands, and I think I'm probably good," he dismissed unconvincingly, and David was having none of it.

"Chris! Oh my god, I hope you don't think for one second that I would seriously even consider-"

"Seriously consider what?" Bones interrupted them, appearing in the kitchen suddenly.

"Going skiing. I asked David if he wanted to go skiing with me, he said no," Chris lied quickly, trace of green blush on his cheekbones.

"Damn right he said no. One of you would probably break your fool neck," Bones grumbled, rummaging in a cupboard and producing a bottle of bourbon.

"Do you keep one of those hidden in every room?" Chris asked, rapidly changing the subject as the doctor triumphantly uncapped it.

"At least two with all the stress you kids put me through," he grumbled, pouring himself a generous measure and motioning to offer one to David who nodded his acceptance as he scrubbed his hands at the sink, turkey now in the oven.

"So what time did the little man wake you guys?" he asked, taking a sip from his drink. David dried his hands and then scrubbed at his face tiredly.

"I don't know, around five. I've lost count," David sighed.

"He woke me up at like… four-fifteen. I did my best but he wasn't going back to sleep whatever I tried," Chris explained and the doctor chuckled.

"I remember you guys… first Christmas on Earth. David you woke us up at two in the mornin'. I was too damn soft on you… took you downstairs and let you open everything. Course you made a lotta noise, so your sisters had to get up too. It was the year your mom had that nasty Andorian flu, so I was watching you guys by myself. Everything was open by three-thirty, and you guys were all back in bed by ten in the morning. Took me days to get you back on a normal sleep schedule," he chuckled fondly.

"'Course Jim loved Christmas, cheerful bastard that he was. You guys always had outrageous amounts of toys. I tried to tell Jim he was spoiling you, but he wouldn't have it," Bones said, the fondness in his voice remaining but tinged with sadness now.

"And then there was the famous year you two fought each other and managed to pull the tree over. I swear I was pulling pine-needles outta the couch for months," he grumbled, David chuckling into his glass of bourbon.

"I remember that fight. That was fun, we should do that again sometime," he smirked at Chris who raised an eyebrow.

"You remember how I'm at least three times stronger than you, right?"

"Pssh. Three times stronger my ass. When was the last time you hit the gym?" David teased, one hand patting Chris on the now slightly rounded stomach.

"Uh… honestly? I don't remember," Chris shifted awkwardly, not able to miss the way the doctors eyes were locked on his stomach now, hidden under an oversized tee that had become his preferred style lately.

"You're getting a little belly going, man titties too if you're not careful," David continued and Chris kept his eyes on the doctor until the older man looked up and met his gaze with a curious expression.

"Yeah, probably because my wonderful fiancé stopped cooking for me when he went into space and I started living on takeout," Chris defended, prodding David in the side with one finger and causing him to flinch and almost spill his drink.

"Hey! Careful. If you spill that I'll make you lap it up off the floor. This is the good stuff," the doctor warned and David and Chris settled down.

"I'm gonna go check if Jo needs any help with Thomas, be right back," David pressed a bourbon-y kiss on Chris' cheek and left the room, oblivious to the strange look his father was still giving his bondmate.

"Stop looking at me like that Bones, you're creeping me out," Chris began weakly as the doctor advanced on him, setting his glass down on the side.

"Your stomach still hurt sometimes? Still got those food intolerances we talked about a while back? Reflux?" he grilled and Chris rolled his eyes.

"I'm not pregnant Bones. I think we discussed this a while back, I don't have the equipment, remember?" Chris argued while simultaneously resigning himself to the doctor crowding him against the kitchen countertop and prodding at his abdomen carefully.

"Hmm. You sure about that?" he asked, pushing up Chris' shirt and prodding at him more thoroughly, ignoring Chris' indignant huff at his cold hands.

"Uh. Yeah. And also I'm pretty sure that to get pregnant you need to have sex. And I can assure you there's been entirely none of that happening for a pretty long time now," he said bluntly and the doctor raised an eyebrow.

"Do you ever listen to anything I say to you? Remember what happened to Emily and Leo. The way that you guys work… it doesn't… work that way. Jesus kid. Go and-" the doctor was cut off by David coming back into the room. For a second he froze and then Chris dropped naturally into an act he could easily go along with.

"So you think the feeling might be trying to come back in that area of my chest and that's why it hurts more than usual?" he asked the doctor without even hesitating and he shrugged, picking up Chris' act and playing along quickly.

"Maybe. Beats me. Everything's so jumbled up in there… nerves… I don't know. I mean, I know you're not keen on it but I do really think I could help you, if you let me get back in there and try to reconnect some things. When I did the first surgery the goal was stopping you from bleeding out on the floor, and the second one was to switch out your lungs… we never got as far as working too much on nerves as much as we could have. I mean cosmetically I could get a big improvement on-"Chris yanked his shirt down, now feeling very self-conscious as he felt David's eyes on his mid-section now too.

"I'm not risking my life just to look better, Bones, we've been over this," Chris said firmly.

"I'm not suggesting tha-"

"You're also the one who warned me about the dangers of putting me under after everything, so, I don't really want to risk leaving David alone for the sake of looks. It's fine the way it is. I can just… always wear a shirt," he sighed heavily and the doctor placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Kid. I'm confident we can help you, and that the risks are low enough. Swing by my office on Monday, just come and talk to me about it and we can go over your options, okay? It can't hurt just to talk about it," he said and Chris glanced at David who shrugged.

"It's up to you. I love you the way you are, but I know you're not happy, I think it's worth discussing, and if it might help with your pain I think it would definitely be worth it," he said, taking Chris' hand gently in his own.

"Ok Bones, I'll come by on Monday and we can talk. And you guys leave my little belly alone, it's Christmas, everyone is allowed to be a little fat," Chris huffed, leaving the room and going looking for Thomas.


Christmas dinner was a truly incredible feast. Carol was a brilliant cook, and with David's help in the kitchen too everything had turned out perfect. Three o'clock found everyone gathered around the table, all the McCoy's plus Quinn and Thomas, as well as the twins, Seren, and even Spock had caved in and joined them for the first Christmas since Jim's passing. It was a tight squeeze around the table but they managed it.

"I notice that Joanna did not accept a glass of wine with her meal," Seren mumbled to Quinn who was seated on her left hand side and he stammered for a moment before Seren gave him a small smile. Joanna was sipping from a wine glass that contained simply red grape juice that Seren had accidentally witnessed her pouring in there in the kitchen just before they sat down.

"Congratulations. Do you know how many weeks?" she asked quietly so nobody else would hear.

"Uh… we think around five or six, haven't had a checkup yet. We're not tellin' anybody just until we do," he answered just as quietly and she nodded in understanding.

"And have you been successful in obtaining a position aboard a ship?" she asked him and he nodded.

"I have. Looks like I'm gonna be shipping out in a couple weeks' time. USS Pegasus as the second helmsman. We're gonna be runnin' a three-month supply mission out on the edge of the neutral zone. It's a good opportunity for me and all bein' well Jo should be graduating right around the time I get back. We're plannin' the wedding for then too, in the spring," he grinned and Seren smiled as Joanna picked up on their conversation and took Quinn's hand turning to join in.

"Have you found your dress yet?" Seren asked her and Jo shook her head.

"Not yet. I need some help choosing. I was hoping my two bridesmaids would help me," she smiled and Seren nodded.

"I would assume that would fall into the tasks required to be completed by bridesmaids," she said and Joanna chuckled.

"I was hoping you'd say that. So, what do you say, Seren will you be my bridesmaid?" she asked and Seren blinked, startled by the question.

"I… yes, of course, I would be honoured," she beamed, blue eyes so familiar when she smiled. They were Jim's exact colour and she knew it caused everyone at least some degree of pain, so much so that she had begun to avoid eye-contact.

"Perfect! I need to ask Emily too, and of course I need to ask Carol. I'm kind of thinking I'm gonna merge the mother of the bride and maid of honour role into one for her. I mean she really has been just… she's always been there for me, and I admire her so much for the way she always treated me the exact same as David and Emily," she said fondly and Seren smiled, glancing across the table to where Chris was now bouncing Thomas on his knee and causing the small boy to giggle in delight.

"I agree. It takes a truly wonderful soul to care for a child as if they are your own without a biological connection," she said and Joanna caught her second meaning, grinning at Chris and Thomas too.

"They're adorable, right?" Quinn interjected.

"So adorable. Thomas is just the cutest kid going, especially with his little pout going on," Joanna smiled.

"I'm seeing a side to Chris I never knew he possessed," said Seren, watching now as her brother gently brushed Thomas' untidy dark hair back off his forehead and placed a kiss there, causing the boy to pull a face. The look on Chris' face was one of total and complete love and affection; until he spotted he was being watched by nearly everyone at the table.

"What?" he asked with an uncertain shift in his chair, looking embarrassed.

"You're being so damn cute nobody can stop looking," Bones explained gruffly and Chris chuckled.

"Sorry everybody. I know I'm good looking, but I can't take all the credit. Thomas is most definitely the best looking man at this table right now. So I'm gonna raise a toast," he said, lifting his glass of water, everyone around the table copying, mostly with glasses of wine.

"To David McCoy and his damn fine genetic material," he smirked and a ripple of laughter ran around the table, David blushing slightly and Thomas looking innocently confused.

A few hours later found most of them gathered in the living room. Spock had surprisingly stayed after dinner and was now discussing life aboard a starship with Quinn, while Joanna sat with Emily, Seren and Carol in the corner talking about the wedding. Leo was sat at the now cleared table, building an intricate scale replica of the Enterprise that had been gifted to him by Scotty with the challenge being that he couldn't complete it all in one day.

Thomas had fought and fought against tiredness but had eventually crashed out on top of David as he lounged watching an old Christmas movie, legs propped up on Chris' lap.

David absently played with a few strands of Thomas' dark hair, his mind wandering from the movie that wasn't really holding his attention. After a few seconds he became aware he was being watched and glanced up to meet Chris' eye.

"What you thinking about?" Chris asked quietly and David shrugged a little.

"He didn't ask about Hughes today. Don't you think that's kinda sad?" he admitted and Chris looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Maybe we should tell him that you're his father."

"Chris he's two. He's not going to understand concepts like mother and father… and then when we explain that, how do we explain us to him? I don't want to confuse him with our…"

"Outrageous levels of homosexuality?" Chris supplied helpfully and David noticed Leo glance up at them from his position at the table with a smirk on his face.

"I was going to phrase that differently," David objected with an eye-roll.

Arriving at a most inopportune moment, Leonard settled in the armchair nearest the couch they were sharing, fresh glass of red wine in his hand.

"Run out of bourbon?" Chris asked and the doctor looked at his glass.

"Nope. Just like to enjoy a nice, full-bodied red over the holidays. 'Tis the season and all that bullshit," he smirked, sipping from the wine and leaning in a little closer.

"So, if you guys ever want us to take Thomas for a day, or an evening… or maybe even overnight or a weekend, just say the word and we'll try to help out as best we can," he offered and David blushed a little.

"I mean I know Leo and Emily are going on that trip of theirs at the end of January, maybe you guys might… y'know, want some time alone in the house," he hinted heavily and David pulled a face. Chris spluttered a laugh, blushing a vibrant shade of green.

"Thanks. We'll uh… let you know how that goes, I mean, if we need you to take him for a day or so," David answered awkwardly.

"Just figured you guys might want some alone time. It can be tough to come by when you have a little one running around," the doctor chuckled and David blushed crimson, knowing exactly what his father was implying.

"Please stop talking," he urged and his father laughed heartily.

"I'm kind of concerned Bones, you seem very keen to enable me bending your son over any available surface," Chris smirked and the doctor's eyebrow shot up, David's blush reaching a level of red Chris had never before seen and Leo dropping several pieces of his miniature Enterprise, his eavesdropping now blatantly obvious.

"I'm not the one who'd be getting bent over anything," David muttered in response and Leonard's eyebrow rose, if possible, even further.

"Well this has been entirely too much information for me," the doctor grumbled, sipping from his wine.

Leo just couldn't help himself and turned around to look at his twin and David on the couch.

"So… do you… you both…I mean… both of you?" he trailed off and David rolled his eyes, Chris pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, taking an overdramatic deep, calming breath.

"Yes Leo. Both of us. And it's really fun. Now please can you stop asking?" Chris deadpanned and David laughed out loud, burying his face in his hands in embarrassment and causing Thomas to stir a little in his sleep.

"Seriously. Everybody. Stop talking. I was implying, I never wanted to hear about any of it," Bones grumbled, rubbing his forehead and looking at the floor.

"So about 50/50? Or…?" Leo pressed and Chris threw the cushion he was leaning on across the room full force, hitting his brother square in the face.

"I'd tell you not to throw stuff in my house, but he deserved that," Bones said firmly, getting up from his chair and coming over to kneel beside the couch, looking closely at Thomas.

"He looks just like you when he's sleeping. Exactly the same," he said wistfully and David rolled his eyes.

"You always talk shit about how much of a nightmare child I was, yet now you have a new version you're besotted with him."

"Yeah, but this is better because when he gets cranky, or throws a tantrum I can just give him back to you guys to take care of. I can just get the best parts, that's what being a grandparent is all about, right?" he smirked and David wrapped his arms around Thomas protectively and closed his own eyes. Chris' heart skipped a little as he watched them and he focused on sending a clear message through their bond.

Marry me? I want us to be a real family with rings and vows and everything. You can wear the white dress though.

David didn't open his eyes but he did smile faintly.

"Are you guys doing your mind-voodoo?" the doctor asked and Chris nodded.

"All good stuff though. Actually, Bones, could I borrow you in the kitchen for a moment?" he asked, sliding carefully out from under David's legs and offering a hand to the doctor who was sitting on the floor. He helped him up and then the two headed into the kitchen.

"What do you need?" he asked as soon as they were out of earshot of the living room.

"Your blessing. I want to marry your son, and I want to do it like… yesterday," he sighed longingly.

"Chris. You don't need to ask me for my blessing. You already have it, you're already a son to me, you know that kid," he said, in an unusually soft tone, hazel eyes serious but not stern.

"I do need to ask, it's important to me. Now… especially with Thomas, and with everything that's happened, I want us to be a real family… officially, I want to prove to David that I want to be with him for the rest of my life," he said seriously and the doctor nodded, pulling out a chair at the table and sitting down heavily.

"Kid… a couple of years ago I wanted you to keep the hell away from my son. I thought you were a hell of a bad influence. You were reckless, and the drinking and the drugs and the partying, and the underwear modelling… I just… your ego was out of control. I always wondered if there was a decent guy in there somewhere. I figured Jim and Spock should have instilled at least some good in you. And you've proven me so damn wrong about you. You're kind and caring and supportive and you're everything I want for David to have in a partner. The way you've responded to Thomas has just proved it even more to me… you've grown up to be a hell of a man Chris, and I couldn't want for a better person to take care of David. He won't let on, but he does need someone to take care of him from time to time," he said, picking at his fingernails and not looking at Chris as he finished talking.

"I know he does. I can feel his insecurities and his vulnerabilities and it just… makes me want to make him stronger."

"You make each other stronger. You're great together. You have my permission to marry him, just make sure you plan a damn good wedding… Jim would have wanted you to throw a hell of a party. He'd be so proud of you, kid, you've grown up to be a hell of a man," he said, a slight twinkle in his eye that Chris pretended not to notice as he promised their wedding would be an event to never forget.

"One final question. Would you have any issue with me taking the great McCoy name?" Chris asked uncertainly and the doctor's eyebrow shot skywards.

"Christopher George McCoy huh? David will sure as hell like it, he'll never admit it but he's possessive as hell. I see how he looks at you when you steal his clothes..." Bones said with an eye-roll and Chris chuckled, knowing exactly the look the doctor was referring to "And I like it, means the hundreds of kids you guys are no doubt gonna pop out can keep my name going down the line," he chuckled as they headed back towards the lounge.

They stayed a little while longer, until David started drinking at a pace Chris could only describe as aggressive. He persuaded David to go to the car, Leo and Emily had decided to just sleep in Emily's room, and Joanna and Quinn along with Spock and Seren had left some time earlier.

"Thanks for today, see you tomorrow Bones. Oh and get the hangover cure ready because David is going to be in one hell of a state when he wakes up," Chris sighed as he scooped up Thomas' sleeping form from the couch and held him securely to his chest.

"Sure will kid. Suits you, y'know," he said vaguely as he walked Chris back to the door from the living room.

"Hm?" Chris asked, glancing back.

"The parenting thing. It suits you. I've never seen you smile like you do these days," the doctor elaborated and Chris knew he wouldn't be being nearly so open with his feelings if he hadn't helped David finish off the bottle of whiskey.

"Don't get all sappy on me again. See you tomorrow," he dismissed, letting himself out and heading to his car. David was asleep in the passenger seat, snoring with his head lolling to one side. Shaking his head he carefully lowered Thomas into his car-seat in the back and strapped him in securely, driving them home slower than the speed-limit, glancing in the rear-view mirror every now and then to make sure Thomas was still sleeping.

When they got back he nudged David's shoulder to wake him up and carefully carried Thomas into the house. He managed to get him upstairs and into his room, but woke him as he tried to change his clothes into his pyjamas while he was still sleeping.

"Is it Christmas again tomorrow?" Thomas asked innocently.

"Sorry Thomas… we only do Christmas once a year. You've got another three hundred and sixty-four days until Christmas comes back. Do you know how old you'll be then?" he asked as he tried to wrestle pyjama pants onto the squirming child.

"No," he pouted and Chris chuckled.

"You'll be three and a half! And do you know how old I'll be then?" he asked and Thomas shook his head.

"I'll let you in on a secret… I'll be twenty-five. Twenty-five! Isn't that super old?" he asked and Thomas giggled and nodded.

"Really really old!" he enthused and Chris laughed out loud.

"Do you know how old Grandpa Bones will be then?" he asked as he peeled Thomas' shirt off him, fetching him the one that matched with his pyjama bottoms.

"No!" Thomas giggled and Chris grinned.

"He's going to be one hundred years old!" he mock-gasped and Thomas laughed.

"So old!" he cried happily as Chris took the opportunity of him being distracted and pulled the fresh shirt over his head.

"I know right! When you see him again tomorrow you can tell him he's the oldest ever, okay?" he said and Thomas grinned and nodded.

"Ready to brush our teeth?" Chris offered and Thomas followed him obediently to the bathroom and brushed his teeth under Chris' supervision as Chris brushed his own.

A few minutes later found Thomas safely tucked into his bed, nightlight glowing in the corner and scruffy old bear curled in tight to his chest. Christopher closed the door quietly and padded down the hallway to his room, opening the door to find David sprawled on the bed still fully dressed and fast asleep.

Chris gently nudged him awake.

"Hey, don't sleep in your clothes, your jeans will cut off your circulation," Chris prompted and David looked around the room seemingly disoriented for a few seconds.

"I uh… yeah. Sure, thanks," he mumbled, coming to his senses and sitting up groggily, unfastening his jeans and peeling them down his legs. When they got as far as his ankles he switched to ungracefully trying to kick them off until they got stuck and he hissed in frustration.

"I got them," Chris offered helpfully, leaning over to grab the denim and detach the jeans from where they were stuck bunched up around David's feet. He removed them and his socks and dropped them on the floor at the side of the bed, absentmindedly trailing one hand all the way up David's leg from the inside of his ankle up the inside edge of his calf, then trailing over his solid, muscular thigh before settling on his hip as he curled up beside him.

"Chris?" David asked after a few seconds and the part-Vulcan looked up, opening his mouth to respond but being cut off as David lunged for him, kissing him hard on the mouth and pulling him as close as possible with a firm grip on the neck of his baggy tee.

"You taste minty," David giggled tipsily, breaking the kiss before going back for more, Chris pulling back after a few seconds.

"And you taste like you've had a lot to drink. I don't know if this is a good idea," he said hesitantly and David ignored him, pawing at his shirt now, pulling it up.

"I've missed you," David whimpered, dragging Chris' shirt up and pulling it clumsily over his head, throwing it aside.

"I've missed you too. Maybe we should just go to sleep? I think you've had a lot to drink and-" Chris was cut off as David started kissing him again.

"Please please I just want to feel normal after all of this shit. I just want to feel normal, I just want… to feel like you still want me," he whispered, voice strained as he struggled to stay in control.

"Of course I still want you. I'll always still want you," Chris insisted, meeting David's eyes and opening up the bond fully, allowing the younger man to feel he was telling the truth.

"Please, can't we just fool around or just… anything?" David sighed and Chris blinked slowly.

"Okay," Chris breathed finally and David's hands dove to his jeans, unbuttoning them and shoving them down rapidly, boxers following, both items remaining bunched uncomfortably around his thighs in David's haste to wrap one large hand around him and grip firmly, causing him to groan as he began to stroke slowly, teasingly, rapidly leaving him fully hard.

"Feels good," Chris encouraged, relaxing a little into the touch, his own hand trailing a feather-light touch over David's lower stomach, pausing at one prominent hipbone and lightly skimming over it with the tips of his fingers.

After a few more moments Chris felt bolder, and that David wasn't flinching away from his touch, so he lowered his hand to cup him through his boxers, freezing up when he found he was completely soft.

"I'm sorry I uh… I don't know what the problem is," David mumbled, looking confused and embarrassed.

"Well, I would have been impressed if you could get it up after how much you drank," Chris chuckled, trying to make light to the situation when really all he felt was concern that he carefully blocked from passing through their bond.

"No… I usually don't have a problem after drinking," David trailed off, his hand still around his bondmates erection slowing to a near stop.

It became clear to Chris that the moment was gone and he gently removed David's hand and pulled his boxers back up.

"Chris, I want to-"David tried to wriggle his hand free of his much stronger grip and Chris silenced him with a firm kiss.

"No, I uh… I don't want you to," Chris said awkwardly.

"Why?"

"Because I don't," Chris argued feebly as a pang of hurt ricocheted through their bond.

"Just not tonight. We've had a really long day… I'm tired, you're tired, let's just get some sleep," he said softly and David narrowed his eyes, sighing in frustration and slumping onto his back.

Chris kicked his jeans off the rest of the way and curled up against David's side, one arm around his waist and his chin on his shoulder.

"I don't… I don't understand what's happening to me. First in Bali when I freaked out, and now too?"

Chris took a few moments to think carefully before he responded, first pressing a kiss to David's neck.

"I think we should give it some more time," he said gently and David snorted.

"Yeah. Time. That'll help. That'll take away the fact that every time we try something like this I can feel that damn Orions hands on me, pushing my legs apart, forcing me onto my back... What if this never gets better? What if we can never have sex again?" David asked seriously, voice rising threateningly with emotion that was in danger of spilling over. He kept his eyes stubbornly on the ceiling until Chris cupped his face and guided him to look at him.

"This isn't going to be forever. You're going to get through this. And you never need to think of that Orion touching you ever again, because he can't. He's not anywhere he can hurt you again, and if we ever do find him I'm going to show him why it's dangerous to piss off a territorial Vulcan," Chris said and David cracked a tiny smile.

"And what if I never do get over it? And things never go back to normal?" he asked miserably and Chris kissed him firmly.

"It's illogical to worry about things that will never happen," he deadpanned and David rolled his eyes.

"Seriously though?"

"Seriously, we can figure something out. I'm not going anywhere, I mean it," Chris promised and David sighed, looking uncertain but leaning forward to kiss his bondmate tenderly. Chris responded happily, one hand on the side of David's face and his thumb lightly grazing over his cheekbone. David shifted closer as they kissed until their bodies were pressed together. Chris had willed his own erection away while they had been talking, but the tight press of their bodies together somehow felt even more intimate with neither of them physically aroused.

David buried his face into Chris' neck and mumbled a goodnight, falling asleep still clinging onto him as if holding on for dear life. Chris lay awake for a long time, hyperaware of the feeling of David's chest rising and falling against his own.


He woke what felt like only a few hours later to find himself alone, the other side of the bed completely cold. It was light outside and he blinked a few times before sitting up, confused. He listened carefully for a few moments and decided he couldn't hear anybody at home. He decided to go and investigate, wincing slightly as he stood up and began to walk towards the hallway. He peered out of the room and decided to check Thomas' room first.

The bedroom was empty and the bed made, the little clock on the bedside table telling him it was before nine, so Thomas had probably been up for a few hours already.

He padded down the stairs, bare feet sinking slightly into the carpet as he did so. It took him only another minute to confirm there was nobody home. Scratching his head, he glanced by the door to find that David's sneakers were missing, as well as Thomas' small shoes and the keys to his car.

Before he could wonder much more where they were the car pulled up outside and David unlocked the door coming in clutching a grocery bag, Thomas eagerly following him. It took David a second to spot Chris sat on the bottom step and he looked a little awkward when he did.

"Oh… morning, I was trying to get back before you woke up, we didn't have any good food in," he smiled nervously, toeing off his shoes.

"I haven't been up long," Chris replied, standing up and opening his arms for Thomas, who quickly leapt on him, climbing up him and giggling wildly.

"Thomas come on, he's not a climbing frame, leave Chris alone he only just woke up," David warned and Thomas pouted, setting about trying to remove his own shoes.

"Did David tie your shoes too tight huh?" Chris asked, bending down and undoing the laces for the toddler as David headed for the kitchen.

Chris occupied himself with entertaining Thomas until he could smell something absolutely incredible from the kitchen and he had to check it out.

"I uh… was going to bring you breakfast in bed," David admitted sheepishly as Chris peeked into the room.

"Adorable," Chris half-smiled, slipping into the room and sitting at the table, kicking his feet up onto one of the spare chairs. David blushed a little and turned back to what he was cooking.

"So how's your hangover?" Chris asked nonchalantly as David cooked. The younger man glanced back at him, a bashful expression on his face.

"Well… I uh… I vaguely remember last night. I feel pretty gross this morning," he spoke facing away from Chris, one hand scratching the back of his neck, muscles in his shoulders bunching up under his thin tee-shirt as he did so.

"What do you remember going on last night?" Chris pressed curiously. He wanted to see how David would respond to this line of questioning.

"I remember… y'know. I remember what happened," David said, again not facing him.

"And…?" Chris pried further and David turned around to face him.

"And I'm just as embarrassed as I was last night and would rather not discuss it again right now," he said bitterly.

"Hey, no need to be embarrassed," Chris said, getting up and going to stand next to his bondmate so he could more easily meet his eye while he was cooking. David barely glanced at him.

Taking the hint that David was in no mood to discuss things this morning, Chris dropped it, thankful for Thomas charging into the room a few moments of awkward silence later.

"Chris I'm hungry!" he announced. Chris bent down and scooped him up.

"What do you want for breakfast little man?" he asked as David finished cooking and cut the omelette he had made in half, piling it on two plates and setting them at the table.

"Do you want to share some of my breakfast?" Chris offered and Thomas sniffed the plate and then pulled a face.

"No? What would you like instead?" Chris asked patiently and Thomas grinned and then leant in to whisper his answer in Chris' ear, eyes sparking with mischief.

"Mmm, I don't know. I don't know where they are. Maybe David can help you?" Chris suggested and Thomas moved to the other side of the table and pulled David down so he could whisper in his ear.

"So long as you don't tell Grandpa," David agreed and Thomas nodded eagerly. David got up and from the top cupboard, well out of the reach of small hands; he retrieved a box of 'Space O's'. He poured an appropriately sized portion into a bowl and added milk and a spoon and then handed it over to Thomas who almost fell off his chair with excitement.

"See, easily pleased," Chris grinned as the three of them ate. He was finished first by a long way because he was seriously hungry without even realising it, so he then helped Thomas with his cereal. The little marshmallow pieces kept escaping him so Chris helped him chase them all around the bowl and catch them. David felt like his heart might actually melt watching them interact so adorably, and the not so subtle look that Chris gave him confirmed that he'd definitely let his feelings of adoration slip through the bond.

"So I'll probably get my pysch eval request this coming week," David said and Chris looked at him carefully.

"You ready to go back out if they post you?" he asked, doing his best to keep the jealousy out of his voice.

"I think so," David said, sounding anything but certain.

"David?" Thomas asked from his seat where he was still sitting with them.

"Yeah buddy?"

"Are you going away like Mommy?" he asked innocently and Chris felt a surge of pain from David's side of the bond.

David opened his mouth and no words came out, he just stared at Thomas with a completely heartbroken look on his face.

Chris got up from his seat and moved so he was crouching down next to Thomas, at his same height.

"Thomas it's important that we tell you something… your Mom isn't coming back," he said gently and Thomas didn't visibly react.

"Why?" he asked finally, large brown eyes seemingly impossibly wide and innocent. David placed one hand on Chris' shoulder, the other on Thomas' back.

Please tell him, because I don't think I can find the words.

Chris took a moment to gather his thoughts. He'd known since Thomas arrived that he would likely have to be the one to break the news to him about his mother, since David was under so much pressure and stress the last thing he would need is to worry about that.

"Sometimes when people go into space they don't come home. Sometimes people can get hurt or sick and they can't come back. But it's ok, because we know they didn't want to really leave us," he said steadily.

"Why? Why can't they come back?" Thomas asked, beginning to look distressed.

Chris took a deep breath, David's large hand now rubbing soothing circles on the small boys back.

"Sometimes people die. And that means they can't come back to us, no matter how much we want them to. When someone dies it means they got sick or hurt and nobody, not even a doctor could make them better. But you know that they're never really gone so long as we keep them in here," he reached out and touched Thomas' head. "And here," he touched the boys chest, over his heart.

"Some of the stars you see at night time? They died years and years ago, but they still shine for us to see," Chris added and Thomas' face crumpled, two fat tears rolling down his cheeks. Chris quickly gathered him in his arms and picked him up.

"It's allowed to be sad when somebody dies, it's a good thing, it means we loved them a lot and we'll always remember them," Chris comforted as David joined their embrace and Thomas wept against David's shirt, sobs racking his small frame.

"Do you remember Grandpa Jim who gave you your special Christmas book?" Chris asked, a sudden inspiration hitting him. He removed his personal communicator from his pocket and opened his media files, delving to a folder he rarely viewed these days. A hologram of Jim's face leapt out from the device and hovered above his hand.

"This is a picture of him. Grandpa Jim was my dad, and he died, but now he's always in here," Chris said, touching where his own heart would be if he were wholly human. Thomas copied his action and touched his own chest, then reaching out the same hand and putting it through the hologram of Jim's face.

"That's right. But you don't need to worry, ok? Because now you've got me and I'm not going to leave you, and you've got your dad, and he's not going to leave you," Chris said, putting away the hologram of Jim and stepping forward to enclose both David and Thomas in his arms.

"My dad?" Thomas asked quietly, looking confused. It took Chris a moment to realise what he'd said.

"Me. And I'm always going to be here to take care of you, ok? I promise," David said sincerely, voice uneven as he forced himself to hold back tears.

"Ok I promise too," Thomas said, sniffling and wiping his face on David's shirt.

"What do you promise?" Chris asked and Thomas looked up at them both with wide eyes and innocent understanding of the situation.

"I promise to care of you too," he said clumsily and Chris held them both a little tighter.

They spent that afternoon at the McCoy family home again, trying to eat the leftovers of the previous day's Christmas feast. It was a much more relaxed affair than Christmas day had been, and they ended up going home quite early to get some rest. Emily volunteered to put Thomas down for the night so Chris and David were free to curl up on the couch and doze to a movie they were only half-watching, the conversation about the night before buried for the time being but not forgotten.

"Do you think he'll be ok?" David asked quietly and Chris shifted, blinking up at him sleepily from where he had his face buried in his chest.

"I'm sure he will be. He's been fine all day after we explained earlier," he said, giving him an encouraging squeeze.

"You were really great," David said seriously and Chris blushed a little.

"I just… I don't know. I read something in a book about how to break it to him easy. It kind of made me realise I don't really remember the moment I found out about Jim. It's all just a painkiller and sedative haze," he admitted and David tightened his hold on him.

"You did an incredible job breaking it to him without upsetting him too badly, and in a way he can understand. I should do what I have to do and go to Hughes' apartment. I only have until the end of the month and they're emptying it on her behalf," David mumbled.

"If you want me to go with you I can do that," Chris offered and David shifted uncomfortably.

"I think this is something I should do by myself."


It took David two more days to pluck up the courage to request access to Hughes living quarters from Starfleet. As Thomas' father his request was granted without much delay, and that evening after putting Thomas down for the night he made his excuses to Chris and left, heading over to one of the apartment buildings near campus reserved for cadets and fresh graduates.

He located the place, and used the access code he'd been issued earlier that day, letting himself into the apartment. The first thing that struck him was how cold it felt. Nobody had been there for a long time and the environmental controls had been left to idle, leaving a distinct chill in the air of the place.

The door led immediately into the lounge area, kitchen against one wall. There were two doors off the main room, one leading to a tiny bathroom, the other into a bedroom that was almost equal in size to the lounge/kitchen space.

A double bed stood against one wall, standard Starfleet issue built in wardrobe another, and a small single bed nearest to the door.

Glancing around David wasn't surprised that there seemed very few personal items; from getting to know Hughes aboard the ship he knew she was never really the sentimental type. There weren't any pictures left out or displayed, the whole place seemed pretty sparse. Pushing down the feeling that it was wrong for him to be prying and reminding himself he needed to gather anything relevant for Thomas, he started to search around a little.

It didn't take him long to uncover a data chip with his name on it. His heart skipped a little as he spotted it, thinking he must have read it wrong, but he picked up the small silver item and rotated it until he could clearly read the name on the side.

D. McCoy.

Unless there was another D. McCoy who may have crossed paths with Lieutenant Hughes, whatever was on this chip was definitely for his attention.

He took it over to her player in the corner and plugged it in, waiting a few seconds before it loaded and steeling himself before pressing play. Hughes face appeared, she looked maybe a little less tired than he remembered her default look, and her hair was longer, scraped into a ponytail rather than in her short crop she'd had on the ship.

"McCoy, if you're watching this then I'm no longer around. I can also assume by this point you know about Thomas. If you're wondering why I didn't tell you about him, it's because I think you're an immature asshole who doesn't deserve the chance to be in his life," she spoke completely bluntly as she had aboard the ship when dishing out orders.

"That being said. If I'm not around anymore then I need you to step up, man up, and take care of him. I'd rather he was with his biological father than getting raised by some Starfleet foster family that will let him grow up into this life. My only requests for his upbringing are that he is loved and cared for, and that you keep him the hell away from Starfleet. I don't want him having anything to do with it when he grows up, so you push him into… sports or… or law school or something. Anything to keep him out of this mess," she said gravely and David frowned. What was she talking about? Why would she forbid her own son to follow her own chosen career path?

"I hope by the time you receive this message you might have proven me wrong about you, please try to be good to him… he's been through a lot, and through things no two-year old should have to try and understand." Hughes paused and then took a slow inhale.

"I'm going to be gone before his fifth birthday comes around anyway. I'm uh… I'm sick. If you want to really know then you can dig for the information, you're a smart enough guy and you'll probably figure it out, but I'm not explaining it all on this shit because it isn't secure. Just know that it's not genetic and Thomas doesn't have it. I've been very careful to make sure he doesn't have it so please just keep him, and take care of him and raise him well. Make sure he grows up to have good values and learns to respect his elders and mind his manners. I want him to take your last name too; I don't want to cause him any confusion. I already filed the paperwork so when I die it rolls over within thirty days. David I uh… I'm sorry. Please make sure he knows that although I didn't really know how to show it, I did really love him," Hughes paused again and David's frown deepened as he racked his brain to try and think about what she could be talking about.

"There's money for him. My parents left it for me when they died and Starfleet got me real young so I never needed it, there's a folder in the drawer beside my bed, absolutely everything you need is in there so please don't go trawling through my whole apartment. Just take that folder and that has all of the information, the money is in his name and my wish is that it goes into a college fund so he can go into anything but Starfleet. It should be enough. There are a few pictures there too, I don't know if you're the sentimental type, I figure probably not but he might want them when he's old enough. Please do right by him, he needs you now," she finished and the recording clicked off.

Abiding by her wishes David retrieved only the folder he was instructed to, before gathering up anything that looked like it belonged to Thomas and getting out of the apartment as quickly as he could, taking the data chip with him too.

He drove the longest possible way home and got back late enough that by the time he did everyone in the house was asleep, including Chris who was sprawled on his stomach and snoring slightly. He crept into Thomas' room to check on him and sat down on the floor beside his bed, watching him sleep and the rise and fall of his little chest under the blanket. He stirred at one point, frowning in his sleep and whimpering, fighting a little against the blankets covering him. Unsure of himself David placed one hand on the boys shoulder to try and comfort him from whatever was troubling his sleep, only to regret it immediately when the young boy jolted awake at the contact and screamed.

"Hey, it's just me. What's the matter?" David asked quickly as Thomas took a huge gulp of air and started wailing at the top of his voice.

"Hey, Thomas, shh, it's alright," he attempted to soothe him by wrapping him in his arms and pulling him close into his chest. He immediately latched onto his tee-shirt, bunching up two tiny fists of the fabric and pulling it as he continued to cry loudly, tears streaming down his face now.

"Were you having a bad dream?" David asked, stroking his wild hair back off his forehead and trying to get him to stop crying. He hiccupped and nodded, smearing snot on David's upper arm in the process.

"It was only a dream, it can't hurt you because it's not real," he explained quietly as Thomas began to settle down, his loud cries now replaced with sniffles though the tears continued.

"Not real?" Thomas repeated as a question, looking up at his father.

"Nope. Bad dreams aren't real. What was your dream about?" he asked and Thomas frowned.

"Don'rember," he mumbled.

"You don't remember?" David asked and Thomas shook his head.

"See, it can't be so scary if you don't remember, can it?" he asked with a forced smile.

"I don't wanna," Thomas pouted, fresh tears rolling down his cheeks.

"You don't want to what? Go back to sleep?" David asked.

"Wanna go with you," Thomas insisted, clinging to David's shirt tighter still, stretching the fabric.

"You want to sleep in our bed with us?" David asked and Thomas nodded shyly against his chest, smearing more mess on his t-shirt.

"OK little man, I think that's allowed after a scary dream. Let's go," he hoisted the boy out of bed and carried him down the hall to his own room. Chris was sat upright on the edge of the bed and blinked blearily at him through the dim light.

"I got him, he's ok. He had a bad dream but he's going to be brave and go back to sleep in here with us where we can take care of him," David explained, setting Thomas down on the bed who immediately crawled to Chris and grabbed onto him like a limpet.

"I heard him crying and I was gonna get up but then I realised you'd already gone," Chris mumbled sleepily, wrapping Thomas in a tight hug.

"I uh… I haven't even been to bed yet, my evening was weird. I'll tell you about it tomorrow," he said vaguely, shucking his jeans and socks and heading to the bathroom to brush his teeth before crawling into bed. Chris had got Thomas to settle down and he wasn't asleep yet but was quiet and content and wrapped almost aggressively around Chris.

"You're totally his favourite," David whispered and Chris chuckled.

"Hey you hear that Thomas? I think you're hurting your dad's feelings. Do you have a big hug for him too?" he asked and Thomas obediently turned over, latching onto David instead and gripping him tightly. Chris' hand snuck over underneath the blanket and took David's slightly smaller one as Thomas drifted off to sleep between them and they both eventually followed him.

Chris woke up first, aware that he was on the very edge of the bed with almost no blanket, neck slightly stiff from sleeping at an awkward angle. In front of him Thomas was asleep with his thumb in his mouth and David still asleep too sprawled on his back. He paused to watch them both for a few moments, always taken by how much younger David looked asleep without his default scowl on his face; and not even angry about his complete lack of space and blanket given how adorable they looked asleep together like this. He took a sly picture and sent it to Bones, knowing that though the doctor would never admit it, family pictures like this would always mean a lot to him.

He eventually peeled himself out of bed and padded to the bathroom, taking a shower before wrapping his towel around his waist and heading back to the bedroom to grab himself some fresh clothes. As he rounded the corner into the room Thomas took a flying leap at him off the bed and he only just reacted in time to catch him, one hand holding the loose knot in his towel, the other catching the toddler around the back as he clung on, giggling wildly. David grinned sleepily up at them from the bed.

"What are you doing? Monkey," Chris scolded, tickling him and setting him down. Thomas went completely and totally silent as Chris walked past him to head to the dresser to grab some clothes. A loud wail behind him caught his attention and he turned back to the small boy who was now bawling at the top of his lungs for no obvious reason.

"Oh no. Thomas did you hurt yourself when you jumped?" Chris asked, advancing a few steps back towards him. The boy shrieked and ran a few steps from him, backing himself into the corner and crying harder still.

"What's the matter?" Chris asked, David climbing out of bed and scooping Thomas into his arms.

"What's the matter buddy?" David asked, holding his son with his chin resting on his shoulder, he turned his face away from Chris pointedly and Chris blinked hard, feeling sick as realisation hit him.

It's me. He's afraid of my scars. He's never seen it before.

David set Thomas down on the bed and knelt in front of him.

"Hey, hey calm down ok? Look at me," he instructed and the boy began to settle a little bit.

"What's the matter? Is it Chris?" he asked and Thomas nodded. David glanced at his bondmate over the boy's head, able to see the hurt radiating off him clearly.

"It's nothing to be upset about or scared of… Chris looks a little bit different because he got hurt doing something very brave. And he's still the same as me and you; he just looks a little bit different. Here take a look," David encouraged and beckoned to Chris to come around to the other side of the bed, in Thomas' line of sight. The boy flinched away at first but glanced back up when his father set his hand squarely in the middle of the large area of scarring.

"This isn't scary. It's just a scar, see, just skin," David said and Thomas reached out his hand curiously to touch near his father's hand, Chris leaning in a little so he could reach.

"Does hurt?" Thomas asked and Chris raised an eyebrow. He didn't expect Thomas to understand a concept as complicated as a scar causing pain, or having resulted from an injury.

"Yeah, it does hurt sometimes. But that's ok because I'm still alive and I still get to be here with you and your daddy," Chris forced a smile.

"I don't like it," Thomas frowned deeply and Chris dared to let out a small chuckle.

"I'm not too keen on it either buddy. What do you say I try and find a way to fix it? Maybe Grandpa knows a special doctor for scars?" Chris suggested and Thomas nodded enthusiastically before leaping off the bed and hurrying down the hallway to his own room. Chris exhaled heavily and David removed his hand from Chris' chest.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten him… it totally slipped my mind that I wasn't wearing a shirt and-"Chris trailed off.

They held each-other gaze for a moment, neither of them really knowing what to say.

"It's ok. He would have seen it eventually and asked a bunch of questions. Hey so later I need to talk to you about Hughes, and we should probably finish our conversation from the other day… maybe when he naps this afternoon?" David suggested and Chris nodded as he retrieved himself a clean shirt.

The day passed slowly. David was called in for an initial meeting regarding him going for another assignment on a ship. As he suspected he was informed it would be subject to completion of a psychiatric evaluation because of his 'traumatic experience'.

While David was out Chris snooped through a little of the information Hughes had left about Thomas. He respectfully left the video message alone, but found a few baby pictures amongst the files on the data stick, one was a scan image of Thomas before he was born, one where Thomas couldn't have been more than a few hours old and looking like a red-faced David-squished-potato hybrid. There was another where he was a few months older, holding his bottle with his feet, mischievous glint in his now-brown eyes. He'd grinned widely at them and immediately ordered printed copies, an old hobby and something that Jim had always done and had stuck with him.

David returned later than Chris had expected. He gave Chris vague responses when he tried to ask about it, so the subject was left well alone. Around three in the afternoon Thomas started to become irritable and disruptive, prompting Chris to take him upstairs and put him down for a nap.

He returned downstairs running both hands through his hair and sighing as he rounded the corner into the kitchen. David was sat at the table, mug of tea steaming in front of him. He had one leg brought up to his chest, hugging his knee to himself and looking like his brain was struggling to process something far too large for one man.

Chris slid out the chair opposite and sat down slowly, David's eyes on him the whole time.

"So, do you want to talk about it?" Chris offered carefully and David chewed his lip.

"I guess. I have good news and bad news," he admitted.

"Alright, let's start with the bad news and get it out of the way," Chris reasoned and David shrugged, taking a sip from his tea and setting it down again, not meeting Chris' eye when he spoke again.

"Something weird was going on with Hughes. She left me this weird message where she was saying very firmly that Thomas isn't allowed to have anything to do with Starfleet when he's old enough. She seemed… I don't know. Intimidated by something."

"Well there are some pretty intimidating people at the top of Starfleet, Mitchell for one-"

"No," David interrupted sharply, finally looking up.

"This is bigger than Mitchell. And trust me; she wasn't the kinda woman to be easily intimidated. You never met her, so you're gonna have to trust my judge of character, but whatever this was… it was weird. I don't even know where to start to figure this out. She said something about she was sick… she wouldn't see Thomas' fifth birthday she said," he said tensely and Chris was silent for a moment, holding his partners gaze.

"Then maybe your first place to start should be her medical records?"

"I wouldn't understand any of it, how am I supposed to…" David stopped talking as Chris raised an eyebrow.

"OK, I'll ask my Dad to run me through her file, if I can get it. My Mom should be able to get it," he said determinedly.

"OK, so we have a starting point. Any other bad news or do we move onto the good now?" Chris asked and David looked sheepish.

"I uh… they made me talk to somebody today, when I went in. I'm grounded until I see a therapist… I just… I don't think I'm ready to talk about it," he finished in a voice barely above a whisper.

"You talked to somebody today though, right?" Chris pointed out and David twisted his hands together.

"Well… kinda," he admitted and Chris gave him a few moments to elaborate further.

"I told him I don't remember much and don't want to, and he said that trying to remember and accepting what happened is important to getting through it and I told him to fuck off," David scratched the back of his head and Chris snorted.

"Charming as ever," he said, reaching across the table for where David was wringing his hands together again and placing his one hand over the top of both, stopping the nervous movement.

"I don't want people meddling in my business."

"They're trying to help," Chris pointed out.

"And what if I don't want their help?!" David demanded, voice rising.

Chris didn't answer, just held his gaze until David broke and looked away with a heavy sigh.

"I think… maybe because it was a man," David said vaguely and Chris nodded in understanding.

"Ok, well you don't have to talk to a man; there'll be plenty of non-male people you can talk to. Do you want me to handle it and find you someone?" Chris offered.

After a few long moments of silence David spoke up, but avoided answering the question.

"So the good news is that I passed my physical, and I'm allowed to go out for sports again," David said with another swig from his tea.

"Well good, you're bitchy as hell when you're not allowed to exercise properly," Chris grinned and David gave him a cheery middle fingered salute from across the table.

"So about the other night. We should probably finish talking about that," Chris offered and David looked like a rabbit caught in headlights.

"I uh… yeah, if you think we need to," he answered shyly and Chris gripped his bondmates hands a little tighter.

"You were drunk. You got drunk deliberately."

"Yeah… I was pretty drunk."

"I need to know that you're not going to drink to excess again until you're sure that you feel in control of it, if you think that's fair?" Chris suggested.

David frowned. "Why? Far as I remember, I'm not the one with the drinking problem here," he pointed out spitefully, taking a jab at something he would never usually throw in Chris' face.

"You're deflecting," Chris said flatly, reaching out within their bond to try and probe for the true feelings David held towards that evening.

"So if I was to ask you if you felt we could try to have a physical relationship again?" Chris asked and David's smirk slipped.

"I… I don't know how to answer that," he said in a hollow voice.

"Answer it with the truth; don't tell me what you think I want to hear. If it isn't something that can happen between us right now, that's ok," Chris tried to encourage and David's temper flared.

"STOP TELLING ME ANYTHING ABOUT THIS IS OK!" he roared, lurching to his feet and storming from the room. His heart was pounding at his sudden outburst of rage as he grabbed his shoes by the door and rammed his feet into them.

"David I didn't mean-" Chris attempted, stopping immediately when David punched the wall nearest to the door, slamming his right hand into it with full force, yelling out in pain and anger.

"Stop it! You're going to hurt yourself," Chris said, approaching him, David backed up immediately, clasping his right hand with his left and backing away fearfully.

"Don't come any closer," he warned and Chris froze, raising both hands slowly as if in surrender, obviously confused and concerned at the sudden erratic behaviour of his bondmate.

David stared at him for a few seconds before flinging the door open and storming out. Chris fought his instinct to chase him and took a deep steadying breath, standing in the hall and just staring at the door.

David did his best to ignore the throbbing in his hand as he walked as fast as his legs would carry him away from the house. He felt like he was suffocating and wanted to crawl out of his own skin. He fumbled for his communicator only to discover he had left the device at home, as well as his keys, so he was completely on his own. Once he was a few blocks away and sure enough that Chris wasn't following him he allowed himself to stop and think where he wanted to actually go. He needed to talk to someone but he couldn't deal with talking to Chris about any of this, it was just too painful and humiliating.

His mind settled on someone he trusted completely and he knew wouldn't judge him or think any differently of him, and he set off in the direction of her apartment. Joanna wasn't home when he arrived, so he sat outside the building huddled against the wall and freezing until she appeared what felt like at least an hour later as the light was beginning to fade.

"David? What's going on? Shit, what happened to your hand?" she asked as she approached. He looked at his right hand, it was very bruised and swollen across his knuckles, and it wouldn't surprise him if he'd broken something.

"I went one round with the wall. Wall won," he shrugged, voice cracking as his eyes filled with tears he couldn't control.

"Can I come in? I need… someone to talk to," he breathed and she set her hands on his shoulders, looking at him neutrally which was somehow easier than the pity that always clung to Chris' features whenever he met his eyes now.

"Come inside, we can get you some ice on your hand and a glass of something strong and you can talk to me about anything," she assured, letting them into the building and leading the way through to the elevator, staying silent for the ride up and then letting them into her apartment.

"Quinn isn't due home tonight; he's on a survival expedition out in the Mojave for a few days so you don't have to worry about anyone coming back when we're talking, ok? It's just you and me, and anything you want to tell me is safe here and only between us," she assured as she headed for the kitchen area and he nodded, sinking into the couch and kicking off his shoes, pulling his knees up to his chest and hugging them there with his left arm, right hand dangling uselessly.

"This might be broken," she said, picking up his right hand carefully and helping him to lower it into a bowl she had filled with water and crushed ice.

"Want to tell me why you punched the wall?" she asked, sitting beside him and he took a deep breath, closing his eyes.

"Because I can't have sex with Chris," he said bluntly and she was silent for a few seconds.

"So I have no business prying into your private life like this, but you're gonna have to be more specific," she said in her typical tone of pulling no punches and he chewed his lip.

"Christmas day, when I was drunk when we got home. He took Thomas and put him down for the night, I was drunk and… well, I can get a little… handsy… when I've been drinking. So he came back into our room and I basically begged him for it, I just… I hate feeling like he's wrapping me up and keeping me safe from everything right now… I just wanted to feel normal. So we were starting to fool around a little… and well… my body wouldn't get on board with the proceedings, if you catch my drift," he finished in a mumble, pink blush flooding into his cheeks.

Joanna was silent for a few moments before she opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it again.

"Spit it out," David said irritably after she repeated this a few more times.

"What… uh… what happened to you on that Orion ship?" she asked and his blush darkened.

"That's private," he said, trying to sound firm but the waver in his voice giving him away.

"C'mere," she said, and without another word she wrapped him tightly in her arms. He fought back tears that stung at his eyes, and when they parted was surprised to see that his older sister had tears on her face too.

"I was hoping… I thought maybe… nothing happened," she mumbled and he chewed his bottom lip.

"It… I don't remember it. Not really. Somebody fought the guy off. Stopped him, before… it wasn't as bad as it could have been…" he trailed off and she shuddered.

"Whatever happened is bad enough. I'm sorry, really… I'm so sorry," she said, drawing a complete blank of what else she could really say following this revelation.

"It's ok. I haven't told anybody except Chris. Not directly anyway. I think Mom and Dad know, and Leo and Emily probably too."

"Dad and Carol definitely suspect it, I know Carol tried to pull up your medical records and they've been sealed, so they certainly have their suspicions."

"So yeah. I guess now you know. And now… I have this problem," he said and she nodded.

"I mean I imagine that must be a fairly normal thing, to feel nervous about any kind of sexual contact after a traumatic experience," she said sympathetically and he exhaled heavily.

"So do you think I need to see a shrink? To get over this in my mind? I mean… I like sex as much as the next guy, I'd like to be able to do it again someday," he said, laying a thick sarcastic tone over his words to lighten how heavy the conversation really was.

"I think probably yes. Your body is healed but your mind isn't, and you need to work through whatever damage is there that's stopping you from… y'know," she trailed off and he raised an eyebrow before burying his face in his hands with embarrassment.

"Oh god. I can't believe I'm honestly sitting here telling my sister about my inability to get a boner. This is honestly the worst day of my life," he groaned dramatically and she laughed heartily.

"The worst day of your life so far," Joanna pointed out helpfully and David groaned.

"Well, at least you know I would never judge you. So how's Chris been about the whole situation? Because it must have been a while now for you guys right? If it's been well over three months since you left for the mission?" she asked and David mentally counted back. She was right. It had been well over three months since he left for the mission and he and Chris had been intimate for the last time.

"He's handling it fine. He's being super annoying actually… being all extra nice and 'oh don't be embarrassed' and 'it's ok if you can't, I don't mind' and all of this sappy bullshit. It's kind of making it worse," he admitted, scratching the back of his head and Joanna sighed, giving him an impatient look.

"What?!" David asked indignantly and Joanna rolled her eyes.

"He's basically handling this situation as sensitively as he possibly can, and you're sat here complaining about it. That kind of makes you a bit of an asshole," she pointed out and he thought for a second before sighing.

"Damn it Jo, why are you always right about everything?"


Four hours later David arrived home with his two broken metacarpals repaired and a fresh determination to resolve his problem. He'd checked on a list of approved therapists from Starfleet and with Joanna's support had commed one name that stood out to him, the part-Vulcan therapist Seren had seen after Jim's death, and Leo had seen to help him through his own issues. He'd come up with an idea that David thought might be a good solution for him and Chris, and also made an appointment for later that week for David to go in and see him, the offer open for Chris to go along too if he wanted to.

David sheepishly rang the door chime, waiting for Chris to come and let him in.

Leo came to the door and rolled his eyes at him by way of a greeting before walking away from the open door.

"He's in the kitchen, stressing about how he isn't handling whatever is going on between you guys sensitively enough," Leo shot over his shoulder as he headed back upstairs and David kicked off his shoes, closing the door. It was late enough that Thomas was already up in bed, so David headed for the kitchen, expecting to find Chris ready for an argument.

"Hey," he said cautiously as he rounded the corner to find Chris sat at the table working on a PADD.

"Hey," he glanced up "You get your hand fixed?"

"Yeah. I broke two of the little bones," David shifted awkwardly and Chris nodded.

"Yeah I uh… I felt it through the bond," he said uncomfortably and David nodded, looking down at the floor for a few seconds before looking back to Chris, finding his eyes still locked on him.

"I've picked a therapist and made an appointment," David said quietly and Chris nodded.

"That's good. I think it'll help you. If you want me to come with you I can do that, but also if you want me to leave it alone and let you handle it yourself I can do that too," he said evenly and David finally let himself meet Chris' eyes properly, this time holding his gaze.

"I think maybe the first one I need to go alone, but then after that I'd maybe want you to come along? Can I see how they go?"

"Of course. I can be as involved as you want," Chris said with a small smile. David tried his best to return it but wasn't sure how convincing his face was. All he could feel was uncertainty over if everything would ever feel normal between them again, and he knew he hadn't shielded it well from the bond when Chris stood up and crossed the room to him, standing just in front of him and still holding their eye-contact that was growing increasingly intense. Chris reached out with his left hand and took David's, the younger man sighing in relief as soothing thoughts smothered the turmoil inside his own mind like a thick blanket suffocating a fire.

"I'm here for you, whatever you need," Chris mumbled sincerely and David gave him a small smile, a genuine one this time.

"I appreciate it. More than I know how to say," he admitted, voice wavering a little.

"You don't have to say it, I already know," Chris said, gathering David into his arms and holding him tightly. They stayed that way for a long few moments, just holding each other contentedly until a throat clearing behind them make them both look up.

"Are you guys done gaying all over the kitchen now? I want to make food," Leo interrupted from the doorway and Chris snorted indignantly, David rolling his eyes.

"Let's go be gay in a different room," said Chris, poking his tongue out at his twin as he led David from the room and upstairs by the hand.


"It's fucking busy, especially for new years!" David yelled to Leo over the volume of the support band.

"Yeah it's sold out," he replied and David's eyebrow shot up.

"They sold it out?"

"Yeah. Exciting right?!" Leo enthused, politely clapping as the support act finished their final song and began to vacate the stage.

"Since when did Emily's bands sell out anywhere?"

"I don't know man, this new album they have coming is pretty different, in a good way. One song got leaked and since then everyone has been all over it. I mean… the particular song it was I wish it hadn't got out but hey, these things happen I guess," he shrugged and David nodded. He was all too familiar with the song that had been leaked.

It was the first time Emily had been able to bring herself to write about Jim, or the baby she and Leo had lost. The song in question was deeply personal, and finally addressed the topic that she had widely skirted around in any other lyrics she had written. She'd been incredibly upset when part of the demo had got out, but it had been widely praised as perhaps the most honest thing she'd ever written and the surrounding media buzz had brought some welcome attention to the band, selling out a few of their upcoming shows.

"They're gonna play it tonight, she's already warned me. The full version, not the shitty leaked half a version that got out. I've never even heard the whole thing so I'm kind of nervous," Leo admitted and David nodded.

"I'm sure it'll sound great. She's been on top form recently," he said and Leo nodded in agreement. Since they had bonded, Leo had noticed Emily had definitely had fewer of her recurrent problems with her voice and he wondered if somehow he was helping.

Chris returned from the bar with their drinks and with Joanna and Tucker now in tow. The five chatted easily and sipped from their various drinks as they waited eagerly for the stage set-up to be complete and for Emily's band to come out. The venue was filling out even further now and they were pushed forward and more tightly together as the room became completely full. Leo couldn't help but notice the way Chris stood behind David amongst the crowd, pressed against his back with his arms protectively wrapped around him.

He focused his energy on sending Emily positive thoughts through their bond and settled into chatting with the others and waiting until the house lights went down and an excited buzz spread over the room. He could make out dark shadows emerging onto the stage and the crowd began screaming and clapping as they began to play what he recognised as an introduction to an older song before Emily burst out onto the stage and bounded to her microphone.

"San Francisco! Let's fucking do this!"

The crowd exploded in response and the band kicked into the song properly.

Emily was as flawless as ever, but was certainly paying more attention to her stage presence than Leo had ever seen her do before. She barely stood still for a second, making sure to use all of the space available on the larger stage than she was used to, and at one point ending up standing up on top of one of the large speakers and taking a dramatic leap into the crowd. The crowd themselves were good, jumping and dancing as instructed and when the moment called for it. During one of the heavier songs Leo lost sight of Chris and David only to spot them a few moments later being swirled around inside of a mosh-pit that had opened up.

They played for over an hour, until he could tell that Emily's energy was really fading.

"This is our last song," she began to explain, slightly out of breath and finally returning to her mic stand and setting the microphone back into place.

"I think probably a lot of you have heard part of it. It got out. It sucks but that's something that happens sometimes," she paused, looking out over the crowd.

"It's kind of a personal one, and it's about two people who I think about every day and especially this time of year… and it can be hard, and sometimes it can feel like you're living in a bad dream but you have to just keep going," she paused again, meeting Leo's eyes in the crowded room, their bond thrumming with adrenaline and anxiety and raw emotion.

"This song is called Everywhere," she said, taking a swig from her water bottle as the guitar alone began and she took a deep breath, still keeping her eyes on Leo amongst the crowd as she began to sing.

"For all of the world

I'd tell you tonight dear

That I pray for God for you to be here

I look for a sign, something to remind me you'll find me

So when I'm alone I know you're beside me," Emily's voice cracked and she closed her eyes tightly and she drew in a deeper breath, pushing for more power in her voice and reaching one hand up towards the ceiling.

"'Cause you're never really gone,

No, you're never really gone…

I feel you everywhere,

And when it rains

You're in the air

Touched by the sight like a memory

And when you're gone

I'm in your arms

Watch over me

I feel you everywhere."

Leo fought against tears burning at his eyes. He didn't want to press at the bond too much while she was performing and distract her, but he knew she could feel his emotions too and was fighting to keep it together as they began the second verse.

"And all I can hope

Is that you have found peace

While I journey on

Your flame I will carry."

As the second chorus began Emily jumped down into the gap between the stage and the crowd, the crowd surging forwards as everyone tried to touch her outstretched hand, a security guard behind her holding her back by the belt.

Leo had to get to her. He forced his way through the crowd until he was in the front row, clutching the metal barrier and within a few seconds Emily was directly in front of him. She stopped there and took his hand tightly, pressing her forehead to his as she let lose all of the power she had left in her voice for the closing bridge of the song and reached for some notes that Leo knew were at the very edge of her vocal range.

"I feel you everywhere,

I feel you everywhere."

The final note died out as the room erupted and Emily pulled her face back just far enough from Leo that he could see the tears shining on her cheeks. He squeezed her hand and leaned in to kiss her. It was as if there was nobody else in the room.

"I'm sorry… I know… it's too personal I just… I… I had to get it out," she mumbled against his lips.

"I had no idea how you felt about it all. You should talk to me more, open up a little," he encouraged.

"Yeah. Yeah maybe," she nodded in agreement.

"I think you have some business to wrap up and then we can talk after?" he offered and she grinned, coming back to realisation that she needed to end off the show properly. She kissed him quickly and clambered back up onto the stage, wiping her face with her hands and the crowd applauded. She linked arms with the guys in the band as they all took a bow and then ran off to the side of the stage.

Come to the dressing room, they know you and they'll let you through.

Leo smiled at the clearly projected message through their bond and squeezed back through the crowd to find the others and tell them where he was going.

"Come find us for midnight!" Chris called after him as Leo took off running for the dressing rooms. Security let him through and it only took him seconds to find Emily.

"I… I had no idea how you felt about it all. And I… I mean it, I don't want you to think I never realised how much losing Jim hurt you too, I was selfish and I never considered how you might have needed help as much as I did and… god that was… amazing. The whole room had chills I'm sure of it," he gushed and she gave a weak smile, pushing her sweaty hair back off her face.

"My voice hurts," she mumbled as he gathered her into his arms.

"I'll find you some honey and lemon, and we need to go and find the others for midnight or we're going to be late," he said letting her go and she nodded.

"I need to help the guys load out. Can you see if maybe Chris and David mind helping us pack some stuff up in the van? Two more pairs of hands would help save a lot of time," she said as he glanced at the clock on the wall behind her. Ten-thirty. The venue had an early curfew because of a new year's eve party happening after the show, but they were heading elsewhere. Scotty traditionally threw a party on new year's eve and this year instead of hosting it at his house, he had announced the party was taking place in a secret undisclosed location and they would be being beamed in at eleven thirty sharp.

Leo rounded up his twin and David to help pack up and shift all of the bands gear as Emily sipped on hot honey and lemon and helped where Leo allowed her. She seemed exhausted and shaky and normally he would have no objection to her handling heavy band equipment if she wanted to, but she seemed so wrung out that tonight he had insisted on her sitting aside as he did her share of packing up.

Joanna and Quinn made their excuses for not beaming up to Scotty's secretive party and left early, heading there without the use of the transporter instead.

Before long it was time for their beam out. The band was all packed up and the venue was refilling with the party-goers for the evening as the four snuck out through the back way and into the cold night air.

"Four to beam out Scotty, but please don't beam us if you've already been drinking. I don't want to end up switching bodies with Chris and having to kiss David, that would be disgusting," Leo smirked into his communicator and David rolled his eyes.

"Aye laddie, I've gotcha," the Scotsman responded and a few seconds later they rematerialized on the roof of a building. It took Leo a few seconds to get his bearings but he soon realised where they were.

"The roof of HQ?! Scotty! You're the man!" he laughed as Scotty excitably worked his way through the crowd to greet them.

"Aye. Well I cannae stand tha' Mitchell so I figured this is a lovely big middle finger to 'im. If anyone comes up from the stairwell they just see an empty rooftop, we're all hidden," he grinned, indicating a device over by the doorway into the stairwell that was providing camouflage for the rooftop.

"I love it. And the view from up here is great," he smiled, looking around again but then noticing a familiar little boy wandering away from a man with dark hair flecked with grey who had his back turned.

"Hang on. Nephew problems," he said, excusing himself from the conversation and dashing off to grab Thomas and lift him up, sitting him on his shoulders.

"Thomas McCoy! What are you doing at the grown up party? Hmm? And why are you wandering away from Grandpa Bones like this?" he asked and Thomas giggled and squirmed.

"Damn it. I need eyes in the back of my head," Bones grumbled as he realised where Thomas had gone.

"What's he doing here Bones?"

"Well, we were hanging out at home watching cartoons, but then he couldn't sleep. And then I couldn't sleep, and Carol is working, and Scotty had invited me and I figured why not. I'm not drinking, and I thought maybe David might want him here for midnight, I know he felt bad about leaving him with me tonight," he said and Leo nodded.

"Yeah. He's really taking to this whole fatherhood thing."

"Do you want to go find your dad?" Leo offered up to Thomas who nodded eagerly, looking around the rooftop and spotting David and Chris over on the side closest to the bay, looking out with their backs to the party.

"Do you see him right over there?" Leo asked and Thomas nodded. "Go get him," he said, setting him down and watching him run off at full speed. He smiled as he watched him arrive at David's side and alert him to his presence by tugging on his sleeve. David picked him up and spun him around with a big smile. He noticed Leo and Bones watching and gave them a wave before turning back to Chris.

"They're adorable, right?" Leo smiled and the doctor nodded.

"I think they'll have a second one before we know it," he said and Leo spluttered.

"What?!"

"I have a theory. I haven't been able to prove it yet, but once your brother stops ducking me and I can get a good look at him there might be big news," he said cryptically and Leo frowned.

"Chris? Pregnant? Bones you're kidding me! There's no way!" Leo laughed and the doctor raised an eyebrow.

"I'll bet you… a hundred credits and you can wash my car for a month," he said, offering his hand. Leo looked at the hand and then up to his face.

"I'll raise you to two hundred credits, and I'll clean your car and bring you coffee to your office, because I'm telling you Bones he's just fat," he said, clasping the doctors hand firmly and shaking it, then heading off to circulate the crowd for a while before finding Emily again a few minutes before midnight.

Leo found her chatting with Nyota and a few others near to where the bar had been set up and stole her away.

"Leo! Where are we going?!" she giggled as he grabbed her and scooped her up bridal style, causing one of her shoes to slip off her foot.

"I need my shoe!" she protested as he carried her away in the direction of a quieter corner of the large roof. As he'd requested of them, David and Chris and Joanna and Quinn were already nearer to that corner, as well as Bones, and Carol had snuck out of her office and up to the roof in her uniform, but Emily hadn't spotted her yet.

"Nah you don't, let's get rid of this other one too," he laughed, snatching her other shoe and dropping it on the floor. She laughed and protested weakly until they reached the edge of the roof and he set her down.

"I feel short now," she protested, looking up at him. She was around five-eight but against his six feet and two inches she did seem short without her shoes.

"Well, those stupid things were hurting your feet, you shouldn't end this year in pain," he pointed out with a raised eyebrow and she opened her mouth to argue before closing it again and grinning.

"You're right. My feet were killing me in those stupid things. But now my feet are cold," she pouted and he frowned.

"You do look cold, do you need my jacket? I mean, I don't want you seeing out the year cold either," he grinned, slipping his jacket off and offering it to her. She hesitated and folded her arms across her chest.

"So how do you want me seeing out this year then?" she asked suspiciously. He pulled the black velvet box out of his jacket pocket and threw the garment around her shoulders, dropping to one knee and taking her hand.

"As my fiancé?" he offered, opening the box and looking up at her as the ten second countdown began around them. Her hand was trembling where it gripped his and her other hand shot up to cover her mouth in shock.

"Leo…"

"Emily Rose McCoy, will you marry me?" he asked nervously, the world around them seeming to fade out to nothing but the connection between their minds.

After what felt like hours Leo was dragged to his feet, barely reacting fast enough to catch her in time as Emily jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist and kissed him like her life depended on it as the boom of the midnight fireworks echoed around them.

"Is that a yes?" he mumbled against her lips as she pulled back to steal a breath.

"Yes," she beamed, kissing him again.

Around them most of the other couples were wrapped up in their own partners. Joanna and Quinn shared a kiss as the clock struck midnight, his hand creeping to rest subtly on the very slight curve of her belly. A few feet away Leonard and Carol exchanged a tender kiss before Carol noticed what was happening between Emily and Leo and they both stopped to watch with bated breath. Chris had been in on Leo's plan and had set up a hidden camera to capture the moment, and he'd snuck a glance at them before he'd taken a shy looking David into his arms.

"We're in public," David pointed out and Chris grinned.

"That's why I love you, your incredible observation skills," he chuckled, cupping his face with one hand and pressing their lips together firmly, other hand at his waist. It took a second for David to respond and when he did Chris felt his heart skip. David pulled back far too soon and was grinning when Chris opened his eyes again.

"Your brother is down on one knee over there," David pointed out.

"Mhm, he did warn me. Now we just have to fight them off for the best wedding date this summer."

"Summer? Why wait? I was thinking spring. I was also thinking that our handsome little man didn't get a midnight kiss," David said, scooping Thomas up between them and holding him securely.

"Oh no! He didn't. What are we gonna do about that?" Chris asked and David grinned as they simultaneously kissed him on either side of the head. He squealed with laughter and fought against David's grip until he set him down.

"I like big boom!" Thomas said enthusiastically as the fireworks continued to go off around them.

"Uh oh, are you gonna grow up to be a pyromaniac?" Chris asked and Thomas tilted his head in confusion at the long word.

"So did you know that Uncle Leo just asked Aunt Emily if she'll marry him, isn't that exciting?" David asked and Thomas nodded, not really understanding.

"I needed to ask you a big important question too Thomas. Is that ok? Can you give me a serious answer?" he asked and Thomas nodded sincerely.

"I wanted to ask if you like living with me and Chris?" he asked and Thomas cracked a wide smile, nodding enthusiastically.

"You're the best dad and Chris is the best Chris even when he makes it bedtime," he said with a small pout and David threw his head back and laughed.

"He is the best Chris. I wanted to ask you Thomas, if there was a way Chris could be your dad too, would you like that?" David asked carefully and Thomas looked confused and then frowned.

"No. Dad is you," he explained and David nodded.

"That's right. But you're allowed… you're allowed to have two dads, if you want. I know Chris would really like it if he got to be your dad aswell. What do you say?" David asked and Chris thought his heart was going to burst out of his chest.

Thomas looked like he was deciding the fate of the universe within his young mind.

"I think yes?" he said uncertainly. "One dad is fun so maybe two dads means more bedtime stories?" he asked innocently and Chris cracked up laughing, tears stinging at his eyes. David grinned and turned to him, pulling a small PADD out of his jacket pocket.

"In that case… Mr. Kirk, I filed some paperwork this week… if you want to sign it. I'd love it if you would formally adopt Thomas, and I think he'd like it too," he said, holding out the PADD.

"It would be… an honour," Chris said in a voice that sounded very much unlike his own.

Chris' fingers were trembling as he accepted the PADD, and he was barely even aware of Thomas clinging on around his legs as he skim-read the document and confirmed his identity with his thumb-print.

"Ok, I was totally too shocked to read that properly, so I hope I didn't just sign my life away to you right now," he grinned and David shrugged.

"Not to me. To him."

"Well," Chris looked down at the young boy hanging onto his legs with his innocent, wide brown eyes and adorable frown and then back up to his father, blue eyes reflecting the colours of the fireworks still going off around them and hope spread all across his face. "I think signing my life away to both of you isn't such a bad thing. C'mere. Family hug. First official one," he grinned, finding himself choked up as he lifted Thomas up to hug between himself and David.

He felt slightly shaky and in awe of what had just happened as they joined the others in congratulating Emily and Leo.

"You break her heart and I'll break you," Bones said firmly to Leo as he gave him a congratulatory hug.

"Wouldn't dream of it Bones. She's going to be safe with me. I'm going to take the best care of her," Leo said fondly, pushing Emily's hair aside and kissing her cheek.

"And all the babies we're going to make," Emily said determinedly and Leonard raised an eyebrow. Leo smirked.

"And, apparently, all the babies we're going to make," Leo smirked at the expression on the doctors face as he turned and walked away from the couple.

"Speaking of which. Wanna go home and practice?" Emily asked Leo in a low voice that was missed by everybody except for Chris with his higher than average hearing.

Leo blushed slightly as Chris caught his eye.

"You know, in fact, as my engagement gift to you two please take this and go find yourselves a fancy hotel room for the night. Somewhere with a hot tub and champagne," Chris said, pulling his credit chip out of his pocket and offering it to Leo.

"Really?" he asked suspiciously.

"Yeah. And then maybe we need to all sit down later this week and talk about our living arrangements, because our place isn't really big enough with Thomas too. And plus if David and I have to listen to you two fucking one more time I think we're both going to need therapy," he said seriously and Leo and Emily both giggled.

"How much money is on here?" Leo asked and Chris rolled his eyes.

"Enough. Go find somewhere nice, treat yourselves," he said.

"I don't know if I can accept this," Leo said seriously, offering the credit chip back.

"Sure we can, he said it was a gift," Emily interrupted, pulling Leo's hand back and giving him a meaningful look.

"Leo it's rude to keep a lady waiting, get out of here," Chris instructed and they didn't need to be told again, bidding their goodbyes to the group before leaving the party hand in hand with huge grins on their faces.

David sidled over to Chris and sighed as he leant against his shoulder, holding a now sleeping Thomas in his arms with the young boys face nestled into his neck as he slept.

"Is that what it looks like when you're freshly engaged and all excited about it?" he asked glumly and Chris smirked.

"Yep. I realise we didn't quite get that. But you can also have a fancy hotel for the night if you'd like?" Chris offered and David shook his head.

"I'd rather just have our bed."

"With Thomas in the middle of us?" Chris asked and David laughed.

"Well where else is he going to sleep? He steals all the blanket if he's on the edge."

"Maybe in his own bed?" Chris suggested helpfully and David pouted.

"But he's all cuddly and adorable."

"You used to want to cuddle me. I've been replaced," Chris smirked and David grinned.

"Well. You're still my second favourite," he said cheerily, giving Chris a swift kiss on the cheek as they took each other's hands and began to head home from the party.