Little did she know it would be almost 72 hours before she saw him again.
After their date was cut short she went to sick bay and packed a standard medical kit for an away mission and left it on his desk. She had a feeling he would be needing it. When she arrived at work the next morning the kit was gone and the away team didn't arrive back for two more days.
When they got back she had been instructed to meet them in the transporter room with a mobile biobed. One of the security officers that had gone down to the planet had a boulder crush his right leg. McCoy and Kirk helped the man into the bed and then she and McCoy moved him to sickbay. They had to do surgery on the leg immediately to fix the damage. She could tell the Doctor was completely worn out but he still didn't miss a beat.
In her opinion, when it came to being a doctor and a surgeon, McCoy was just about the best of the best. The damage to the leg was very extensive and she knew doctors who wouldn't even attempt it. The bone was fragmented and it was slow, meticulous work, but by the time he was finished the man would eventually be back to 100% capability once healed.
After they moved the patient into the recovery room McCoy stated he was going to go get some rest and headed towards the door before halting for a moment and turning back to look at her.
"Thanks for packing my medical kit, by the way." He gave her a tired smile. "Can I come see you later?"
She smiled back at him. "I was hoping you would."
When he buzzed her door later that evening she opened the door to find him leaning against the door frame, a smug grin on his face. "Good evenin' ma'am. Mind if I come in?"
"You better get in here mister." She grabbed his hand and pulled him inside with a strength that actually surprised him a bit. The door closed behind him and she practically threw herself into his arms.
He was sure he wasn't doing a good job at hiding his surprise at her enthusiasm when she laughed at him. "Don't give me that look! I haven't seen you in 3 days.… I missed you." She moved a piece of stray hair away from his forehead affectionately.
"Missed me? I go on away trips all the time, that's nothing new. What's different this time?" He asked, knowingly.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Leonard?"
"Hmm?"
"Shut up and kiss me."
He grinned and snaked an arm around her, pulling her in for a kiss. This kiss held a level of excitement and with no interruptions they were able to properly lose themselves in one another, her hands finding their way back into his hair and his arms pulling her against him. After a while McCoy had to reluctantly pull away before things could get too heated. He had to remind himself he was taking things slow when he stepped back and really took in her attire.
It's not that she was dressed inherently sexy. If anything she was simply dressed for comfort, but something about seeing her in those little pajama shorts and a tank top was seriously turning him on. Then again, this woman could probably walk around in a trash bag and he'd still be turned on.
"Careful Chapel. A man could get used to this kind of treatment." His eyes traveled down to her legs. "A man could get used to those damn shorts too."
She blushed. He was getting fresh but she could play that game too. She looked down at her shorts.
"You like them? Maybe I'll let you take them off me sometime." She said casually. When her eyes met his face again his eyes were wide and he swallowed hard. His deer in headlights look caused her to erupt into a fit of giggles and she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek before pulling him further into her quarters.
"Will you stay awhile? I thought we could snuggle up and watch a holovid together."
The prospect of snuggling up with her for the next couple hours sounded very appealing. "I'll stay as long as you like, sweetheart."
"Good, I'll get some popcorn! Make yourself comfortable." She walked over to the food replicator and McCoy looked around the room.
Officer quarters on a starship were pretty basic, there was a desk and chairs on one side and a bed on the other. There was no sofa or comfy chairs to lounge in so if she wanted to 'snuggle' then the bed was really the only option. He felt a little awkward but he sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled off his boots before scooting back and propping himself up against the headboard as he waited for her.
She came over with a bowl of popcorn and he scooted over to make room for her next to him and held his arm out for her to join him. She climbed onto the bed and slotted herself against his side, his arm coming around her back and pulling her close to him. Then she stretched out her legs and draped them over his.
She started munching on the popcorn. "So tell me about the away trip."
"I thought you wanted to watch a holo."
She waved her hand dismissively. "We'll get to that but first I want to hear what happened."
He sighed, remembering the excursion. "Well, I told Jim I didn't think it was a good idea to beam down, something didn't sit right. The distress call, the greeting, it all seemed very practiced. Of course, Spock said that argument seemed illogical and they hadn't done anything so far to cause alarm. I guess Jim liked his advice better so we beam down and what happens? Immediately a dampening field goes up, cutting us off from the Enterprise…." He animatedly explained the trip to her and she listened with rapt attention.
As his story drew to a close he noticed she was very quiet. He turned to see a frown on her face. "What's the matter?" He asked her, concerned by her change in demeanor.
She turned to look at him. "I was worried about you Leonard." She said seriously. "Like you said, you go on away trips all the time, but this time….this time it felt different for me."
He felt the need to reassure her. "I go on away trips with the Captain, sweetheart. Jim has a knack for getting us out of any situation."
"That doesn't mean those situations aren't still dangerous." She ran her hand up his chest. "I guess the truth of the matter is, I'm going to have to learn to deal with falling for a man who finds himself in dangerous situations so frequently."
It took McCoy a moment to really comprehend what she had just said to him. He sat up straight. "Don't say things you don't mean just because you know it's what I want to hear." He sounded more vulnerable than she was used to and she sat up straight too and looked him in the eyes.
"I would never do that, Leonard. I meant what I said." She placed her hand on his cheek and gently kissed his lips. The kiss was soft and sweet and she felt him relax against her. He wasn't sure what to say. She had just told him she was falling for him and he had no words. Perhaps they didn't need any more words. She already knew how he felt about her.
She snuggled back down against him and laid her head on his chest before ordering the computer to start the holo. After just a few seconds she popped up again and looked at him.
"Are you wearing that cute black t-shirt under this?" She asked and tugged on his uniform shirt.
He lifted an eyebrow at her. "I don't know about cute, but yeah, I'm wearing a black t-shirt under this."
She grinned. "Good, then take this one off."
He thought about asking why but decided it didn't really matter. He sat up and pulled the blue uniform shirt over his head and dropped it onto the floor next to the bed before settling back and letting her resume her position. "Much better." She said as she laid her head back on his chest.
He chuckled. "I aim to please."
As they lay together watching the holo, Leonard lightly drew patterns on the skin of her thigh. His touch was relaxing and after a while began to slow and eventually stopped all together, his hand just resting on her thigh. She glanced over at him and found him fast asleep.
She smiled at him. He must have still been exhausted when he showed up at her quarters. She saw no reason why she should wake him, so she pulled the blanket up over them both and asked the computer to lower the lights. It wasn't long before she drifted off to sleep to the sounds of his deep breathing.