#bones fluff

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, I couldn't,” he answered gently. “I wasn’t sure I was going to make it here in time.”

“But now I didn’t get to look forward to having you here for the Family Days!” Joanna pouted, even as the big grin made its way back across her face. “Or register for all the competitions we could do together.”

“I’m sure they’ll make an exception for us, and we can still register, sweat pea,” McCoy kissed the top of her head and set her back down on the ground. “I really couldn't tell you before, you know. Because daddy only ever makes promises he can keep. You understand that?”

“Yes, daddy,” she sighed and, quickly losing interest in their discussion as she spotted her grandma waving at them from the cake and pie stall, grabbed the doctor’s hand to pull him along.

“Welcome home, Leonard,” McCoy’s mother smiled when they’d reached the stall, wrapping him in a big hug. “I’m so glad you made it!”

“Granny knew?” the frown was back on Joanna’s face. “You told her? Don’t you have to keep your promises to her?”

“Of course, I do, honey,” the doctor laughed, ruffling her hair. “But I never promised her I’d come. I just told her I’d try.”

Joanna seemed satisfied with his answer and turned around to search the sports grounds for a suitable activity they could participate in.

“Are you a fast runner, daddy?” she asked, looking at him appraisingly.

“That depends,” he chuckled. “If the cookie monster is threatening to eat the last piece of my favourite peach cobbler, I sure am fast as lightning!”

“You’re silly, daddy,” Joanna giggled. “There is no cookie monster, and you’re standing right next to a gazillion peach cobblers.”

“Oh, right,” McCoy feigned surprise, looking around the stall with all its cakes and pies. “So, what were you thinking of?”

“I want us to do the water bucket relay race over there. Can we, please?”

“Of course, we can,” the doctor smiled, winking at his mother and hurrying after his little girl to their first competition of the day.

x-x-x-x-x

Several activities and competitions later, an exhausted McCoy and his daughter were about to settle down on the grass near the cake and pie stall with cold drinks and an ice cream for Joanna, when a boy, looking close to tears, almost slammed into them, apparently trying to get away from four girls who were chasing him and laughing at him over something.

The girls came to stand right next to Joanna, and one of them pointed a finger at the boy, who’d sat down on the grass, face covered in his hands.

“My dad’s great,” he cried indignantly. “He just has to work, and he does love me!”

“Look at him, Jo!” the girl sneered. “No one likes him. Not even his own dad. Finn registered them for so many competitions, but his dad didn’t even show up today.”

“He can’t help it, if he has to pull an extra shift!” the boy, Finn obviously, murmured defeatedly, but the girls weren’t even listening, too busy taunting him.

McCoy was watching the scene closely, waiting for the right moment to intervene. It was clear that Joanna didn’t agree with the other girls who tried to get her to join in. He knew the outraged look on her face, when she was disgusted by something, only too well, and couldn't wait to hear her set those girls straight.

Joanna, however, just turned around and quietly walked away. The doctor was very disappointed to see his daughter abandoning the poor boy. He’d have to talk to her about this later. But right now, he had to put an end to the bullying. So, he went over to Finn and, crouching down next to him, disapprovingly fixed the girls, one after the other, with his eyes.

“Do you ever stop to think before you speak, girls?” he asked sternly. “Have you even considered that his dad might not have had a choice? That maybe he is needed at work more than other dads are? Some people have important jobs they can’t just leave at any given time.”

McCoy turned towards Finn and put a comforting hand on the boy’s shoulder. “What does your dad do, kid?”

“He’s a paramedic,” Finn answered shyly.

“Oh wow, that’s one of the most important jobs of all! Just like fire fighters and other heroes!” the doctor exclaimed, looking back up at the girls, who were awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other now. “Just imagine if one of your dads or someone else you love had an accident, and there were no paramedics on duty to help them, just because they’d all decided they’d rather spend time with their families.”

The girls looked away, adequately chastened by the doctor’s words. All but one, who spoke up, looking at him defiantly.

“But still, there are plenty of other paramedics. Surely his dad could have made time for the Family Days, if he’d really wanted to!”

“It’s not always that easy, my dear,” McCoy replied more gently now, grateful to have got the girls thinking at least. “Sometimes there are emergencies, and they always take priority over private engagements. I’m a doctor myself, and this is the first time I could make it to the Family Days.”

“But that’s different! You work in space!”

“How is that different? Saving lives is always important, no matter where – space, Earth, or any other planet!”

x-x-x-x-x

After the girls had toddled off, and Finn had run off with a grateful little smile, too, McCoy had gone to find Joanna, who’d been watching from around the corner of the cake and pie stall.

It had been evident that she was proud of him while clearly less than proud of herself, and since the doctor hadn’t wanted to spoil the rest of the day for her, he’d just hugged her to him, brushed a kiss on her hair, and smiled, “Let’s talk in the evening, sweetheart, shall we? Because right now, I want to have some more fun with my darling daughter!”

So here they were, sitting on Granny’s comfortable couch after dinner, when McCoy brought the issue up again.

“Now tell me, pumpkin, why did you just walk away from Finn this afternoon?” he asked, trying not to sound too reproving.

“Well, I didn’t join in, did I? I hate when my friends make fun of him!”

“So, those were you friends, eh?” the doctor raised a quizzical eyebrow.

“Yes. They can be really nice, you know, dad,” Joanna sighed. “But for some reason, they always have it out for Finn.”

“That sounds like they’re bullying him, Jo. Are they?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“So, you didn’t join in,” McCoy went on. “I’m proud that you don’t just follow your friends’ lead and make your own choices instead. But, Joanna, in this case, not joining in wasn’t enough, you know that, don’t you?”

“What else could I have done?” she asked, but he could tell that she knew the answer perfectly well.

“Stand up for him, of course!” he spelled it out for her anyway. “And if those are your friends, it should have been particularly easy for you to make them stop.”

“But I didn’t really know what to say, dad! After all, you’re not often around, either,” his daughter countered with a helpless little shrug.

Joanna was just trying to explain, of course. McCoy was aware of that. She didn’t even sound accusing, and knowing her, probably didn’t mean it that way, either. But it was still like a punch in the gut. Because she was right. He wasn’t there for his little girl nearly as much as he should. Or would like to be.

Joining Starfleet had seemed like the logical choice at the time, putting some distance between him and his ex-wife after giving in to Jocelyn’s demand of full custody instead of dragging Joanna through a long and ugly battle in court. But maybe he should have fought harder.

Suddenly, the meaning behind Joanna’s words struck home.

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart! Did they give you a hard time, too? Have you been bullied for not having your dad around?”

“No, never,” Joanna shook her head vehemently. “They’re my friends, and with you, it’s totally different. You’re a cele … a celeb … kind of really famous!”

“A celebrity?” McCoy couldn't help but smile at that, relieved that his daughter hadn’t been bullied because of him.

“Yes, that,” Joanna nodded. “And besides, Finn’s not even my friend!”

“So?” the doctor asked, the conversation back to the topic of bullying now. “If someone gets bullied, we stand up for them! That’s what we do! No matter if they’re a friend or not. We don’t just ignore it and hope it’ll simply go away again. You’d want someone to stand up for you, too, if it happened to you, wouldn’t you?”

“I guess so.”

Having made his point and knowing that Joanna was feeling bad enough about the whole thing anyway, the doctor moved on to the next question.

“Why are they bullying Finn anyway?”

“I’m not sure,” his daughter responded. “Probably because he’s such an easy victim.”

“I see,” McCoy said thoughtfully. “So, that’s where we have to start. Tonight, we’ll make a plan how to help him be less of a victim, all right? You can be quite bossy, sweet pea! I’m sure there’s a lot you can teach him about self-confidence!”

“I probably could,” Joanna grinned.

“Perfect!” the doctor smiled, holding up his hand for her to high-five. “And we’ll also figure out a way to convince your friends that bullying is a horrible thing to do.”

“Yes, daddy, let’s!” his daughter nodded enthusiastically, clapping their hands together, then proudly added, “We’re McCoys after all, we can make a change!”

“Where did you get that from?” McCoy chuckled, lovingly pressing a kiss to Joanna’s forehead.

“Granny always says that,” the girl explained, snuggling comfortably into her daddy’s arms.

Ah, good old mom! the doctor thought. She’d taught him all about values, and apparently, she was also making sure that Joanna got hers right, too.

“And, Jo,” McCoy returned to the subject of bullying one more time, “if your friends won’t listen to you, and the bullying goes on, you have to tell a teacher, ok? Bullying is a serious matter, and it often needs an adult to deal with it. You understand?”

“Yes, daddy,” his daughter nodded earnestly, “I understand. If I have to, I’ll probably tell my French teacher. I’m sure she’d be happy to help. And I promise I won’t just walk away again.”

“Glad to hear that, sweetheart!” the doctor smiled, immensely enjoying having this conversation with his daughter while holding her close instead of just seeing her face on a screen. “One more question, though. Why didn’t I get to meet the fabulous Ms. Annie, today?”

“Oh daddy!” Joanna giggled, playfully hitting his arm. “Why do you always get her name wrong? And you’d better not let her hear you calling her Ms. Annie – she hates that! Her name’s Ms. Anne. With a silent ‘e’.”

“All right, all right, pumpkin,” McCoy chuckled, impressed by his daughter’s linguistic expertise, and couldn't resist teasing her a little. “I’ll make sure to always call her Ms. Anne with a silent ‘e’ from now on.”

“Daddy!” his daughter exclaimed, rolling her eyes, “You’re so embarrassing!”

“Oh, am I now?” the doctor grinned, rolling his eyes, too, in perfect McCoy manner. “Well, maybe if I finally got to meet her, I wouldn’t get confused over her name anymore!”

“You’ll meet her tomorrow, daddy, I promise,” Joanna beamed. “She couldn't be there today. Something to do with her family. I think she had to go look at some colleges with her son or something. But after all the sports today, tomorrow is quiz day. And Ms. Anne always has the best quizzes! It’ll be quite a challenge for you to win them!”

“I can’t wait!” McCoy laughed, groaning inwardly at the quiz part, but looking forward to finally meeting this fabled teacher. “And make sure to introduce me!”

“Doctor McCoy?”

Leaning back in his chair Bones sighed. “Come in”

Nurse Chapel entered with a small smile “I finished doing the inventory, you just have to sign this Doctor”

Without saying anything, Bones took the padd from the nurse’s hands and signed it quickly.

Noticing the frown on his face, the nurse asked softly “Are you ok Doctor McCoy?”

Even though she knew really well the Doctor’s temper and his grumpy demeanor, it was unusual even for him to be so serious and thoughtful. Not a sarcastic remark or small talks of some kind.

“Yes, yes… I’m fine” he dismissed her rapidly and went back to what he was doing.

Chapel gave him a sympathetic smile and exited quietly.

The day went by normally, but any task or stitches Bones would perform, his mind was never there for more then five minutes.  Nurse Chapel wasn’t the only one who noticed it, firstly his friend Kirk, and even Spock who commented that “The Doctor’s  moody demeanor was quite worse than usual”

Kirk at first ignored his first commander’s comment but he soon got a confirmation when it was time for lunch, and he was avoiding his annual physical, again.

This was the third time Kirk had rescheduled his appointment, but Bones knew him far too well, he knew he would never come down to Medbay of his own accord. Like every other year, he always had to force him or take him by surprise, injecting him with his hypos around the ship, in the most random occasions.

So when Kirk sat down to enjoy his meal next to Spock and saw Bones approaching his table with the most serious expression drawn on his face, he instantly thought it was there to take him away. However it didn’t happen. Bones sat down quietly, placed his tray on the table and started eating without acknowledging the fearful expression on Kirk’s face.

“Bones?”

Without even lifting his head the Doctor hummed lightly. “Mmmh?”

“I thought you were here to drag me down to Medbay”

“For what?”

Kirk was very confused at this point. Bones never ever forgot about those kind of things: something was really up to him.

“My annual physi-”

“Good morning Captain, sorry for bothering you, I just wanted to inform you that me and Mr Scott are working assiduously to repair the main reactor”

A silvery voice interrupted Kirk’s comment, making Bones’ heart skip a beat. For the first time in that conversation, his eyes darted up to meet your beautiful face.

“We should be able to reach warp speed in no more than few hours” you assured with a smile.

“Y/n! Alright, thank you. Why don’t you join us?” Kirk said pointing to the empty spot near him and Bones.

You looked briefly between the two men, instantly feeling uneasy but tried not to show it. Feeling Bones’ eyes on you, you excused yourself.

“Sorry Captain, I must go finish the reparations, Scotty is probably waiting for me” and with that you walked away, leaving Kirk speechless. The Captain immediately looked at his friend who was now sighing with his eyes down to the tray.

“Bones, what happened with Y/n?”

“Doctor, your expression and manner suggests an inner conflict”

“Spock your concern flutters me” Bones responded sarcastically.

The First Commander cocked his eyebrow.

“Come on Bones, what is it?”

I ruined everything. She is the light of my life, and I ruined everything he wanted to say. His heart ached.

“It’s nothing” he stood up, leaving his food almost untouched and his friend in total confusion. He was probably heading back to Medbay.

       ___________________________________________________

A loud knock made Bones almost jump in his seat. He was ready to shout at whoever knocked before seeing Kirk’s head popping out behind the door.

“Jim what the hell”

“May I?” he asked swinging a bottle of whiskey in his hand. A grunt from the Doctor was the answer as he entered placing the bottle down on his friend’s desk.

“I guess you are not here to enjoy a good whiskey Jim”

“You are right” he confirmed with a playful smile while pouring two glasses.

Bones took one and drank, the hot feeling of the alcohol calmed his nerves a bit.

“Listen, if you are here to talk about Y/n, I have nothing to say”

Kirk looked at him trying to ignore his stubbornness.

“Come on Bones, I know you. I can see there is something wrong. You are distracted, grumpier than usual. You didn’t try to chase me after I rescheduled three times my appointment. Even Spock noticed it.”

The Doctor continued looking at the glass in his hands, occasionally taking a sip from it, tasting the liquor.

Hearing no response from him, Jim urged “Spit it out” as he also took a sip of the drink.

Bones knew Jim too, he knew he would never give up before hearing what he had to say about the situation. Trying to find the right words to use, he placed down his glass.

“It’s just...” he sighed “I’m not the one for her”

Jim furrowed his eyebrows “What do you mean?”

“My love life has been a mess, the past sometimes still haunts me”

Kirk gave him a sympathetic smile.

“And then I found her...she is amazing, truly. I almost thought I could be happy again. But I’m not the one for her, she needs someone better than me, someone who’s not so messed up like me. So I tried to keep my distance but I can’t. I can’t stop thinking about her...”

Jim was surprised to say the least: seeing his friend like this was completely new for him. He knew that his past was haunting him but what he was saying about you made no sense. He was there when Bones first saw you and he could swear he had never seen his friend so fond of someone. The way he looked at you during meetings, while you talked. He was madly in love.

But so were you.

“Bones, I saw Y/n when she’s around you. She is in love.” his friend looked up to meet his eyes, hope drawn on his features.

“Keep her away can led only to suffering. For both of you.” he smiled. Bones simply nodded.

“You should talk to-”

A loud banging sound could be heard throughout all the ship. Jim and Bones instinctively put their hands around their armchair to maintain balance and not fall to the ground.

“What the hell was that?” the CMO shouted.

The computer beeped before Jim could respond.

“Bridge to Captain” Chekov’s voice.

“Kirk here. Mr. Chekov what is going on?”

“The main reactor Sir. It seems there was a radiation leakage down in engineer, there was an explosion Sir.”

Jim turned his head to his friend in utter surprise as Bones eyes widened in horror.

“Y/n” he whispered.

Without thinking about it twice he stood up in a second and sprinted outside Medbay, Jim right behind him.

              ___________________________________________________

“I don’t know lassie, you should talk to him”

Since Leonard and you met the first time, for you it was love at first sight. Deep down you knew, he it was the same for him: the way he looked at you, how he remembered small things that you liked, his attentions… But then in a blink of an eye he started avoiding you, he seemed almost scared. You couldn’t understand why.

“I know Scotty, I know. But he is avoiding me...” you sighed earning a raised eyebrow from Scotty.

“He probably doesn’t want to lose you too, his past is rough”

You looked down for a brief moment, then took the screwdriver and started tighten some parts.

“So avoiding people is the new way to get through it?”

Scotty was standing by your side, watching as you fixed the last circuits “I saw how he looks at you, everyone noticed it to be honest. He was less grumpier than usual with you by his side I have to tell you lassie”

The idea of being by his side made you smile a little. With a quick movement you stood up and met Scotty’s eyes.

“Done” you said rubbing away the dirt from your uniform.

“Nice work lass” he smiled “I can finish here, go talk to-”

Before he could say anything else, a loud sound surrounded both of them.

Then an explosion.

          ___________________________________________________

The corridors to engineer were teeming with nurses and other crew members called by Kirk in order to find the source of the explosion and to assist possible wounded shipmates.

When Jim and Bones arrived, some hurt ensigns were already been carried away, some others were only intoxicated by the smoke and were headed out the engineer room with a little help.

Bones looked around frenetically, you were nowhere to be seen.

“Spock report!”

“Captain, the explosion seemed to have damaged just some secondary valve, no damage to the warp core”

“That’s good” he left out a sigh of relief while following Bones with his eyes who was trying to find you “What about the crew?”

“Some wounded ensigns, no mortal injuries”

The smoke was thick, seeing what was inside the room was impossible. Bones patience was running thin when suddenly he heard some coughing coming from inside.

You and Scotty appeared with your hand clenched to your mouths, trying to prevent toxic inhalations.

“Y/n!”

Hearing your name made your head turn as you saw Bones approaching you quickly.

“Le-” you couldn’t finish because his strong arms encircled you.

“Are you ok? Are you hurt?” his hands traveled down to your forearms.

“I’m fine” you coughed.

“I’m fine too Doctor” said Scotty sarcastically.

You continued coughing and Bones urged “We need to go to Medbay”

         ___________________________________________________

Sitting on the biobed you could feel Bones’ breath on your neck as he examined your lungs. The beeping of the tricorder was the only sound in the room. You could hear all the voices and the frenetic footsteps outside, but you two were completely quiet. Just your sporadic cough waves.

It was you voice that broke the silence after few minutes.

“You know… If I'm not the one for you, you've gotta stop holding me the way you did before”

Bones heart started hammering again in his chest “I thought you were hurt, or worse”

He walked around the bed to stay in front of you.

“Sweetheart I...” he sighed placing down the tricorder. Luckily, you were completely fine.

You took courage and asked “Why are you avoiding me Leonard? Did I do something wrong?”

“No Y/n, you didn’t” he took your hands in his and gently rubbed soft circles. “I was afraid.”

Your eyebrows raised in perplexity. 

“The first time i saw your face i knew i was in love but i also knew that you needed someone better than me...”

“Don’t even say that” your grip in his hands tightened for an instant. 

“Len i know your past, i know what happened, but don’t let it bring you down. Just have hope... in us. Just don’t pretend that you don’t want me, please”

“The only thing i want is you Y/n, i can’t stay away from you, i can’t stop thinking about you and i don’t want to mess things up again, not with you, you are too importanto to me” your heart melted. 

“You won’t” you smiled. 

He couldn’t hold back a smile, full of happiness, happiness he thought he would never feel again in his life.  Standing up you looked into his eyes, meeting his steady glare. His hand slowly made its way to your face as he stroke away a strand of hair behind you ear. You heart faltered.

His free hands came up to cup your face along with the other. Your faces just few inches away. 

Then he kissed you, passionately, intensely. You melted in that blissful moment.

Bones smiled when your lips parted “I promise. I won’t”

       ___________________________________________________

TAG LIST

@dyn-djarin​

@zizzlekwum​

That was three days ago. You had returned to the spot where they had beamed Spock back aboard the ship. You’re currently looking at the sky. If you squint your eyes, you could see Enterprise. You try to contact them for what feels like the millionth time, but there still isn’t any response. You sigh and sit down on the ground. Your eyes are itchy due to the lack of sleep. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t fall asleep. Probably because you waited for Enterprise to contact you.

You tilt your head back to look up again and squint your eyes. Leonard was probably worried sick. A small smile appears on your lips as you imagine him following Jim around the ship. Leonard would probably stop talking to Jim once you are back on board. You sigh again. Jim would probably be worried sick as well. You couldn’t imagine your boyfriend or your brother getting enough rest or a decent meal as long as you’re still on the planet. 

You let yourself fall backwards and close your eyes. It didn’t seem like they would contact you any time soon, so why not try to get at least 15 minutes of sleep? The ground feels rather hard, even though it’s mostly sand. You take a deep breath and exhale, clutching your communicator in your hand. If they would contact you, you would know and you would wake up.

The familiar beeping sounds faint, and a little distant. You groan and open your eyes. It’s dark, and the temperature must have dropped at least twenty degrees. You blink a few times in order to wake yourself. Judging from the darkness you’re in, you must have gotten at least two hours of sleep.

You suddenly remember why you woke up. You can hear Jim’s voice through the communicator you’re holding. ‘Y/N? Y/N? You out there? Y/N, respond! Come in, please.’ he says.  You can’t help but to sigh out of relief.  ‘Yeah, I hear you, Jim.’ you say. ‘I’m here.’ ‘Oh, thank god.’ says Jim.  ‘You guys figure out how to fix the transporter?’ you say and you hear Jim chuckle. ‘Yeah, Scotty fixed it. Stand by, we’ll beam you up.’ says Jim. 

You quickly get up and try to get some of the sand off your uniform. You inhale and close your eyes. When you open them, you’re on Enterprise, surrounded by familiar faces. The first one you see is Jim, followed by Scotty, Spock and of course, Leonard. 

Without hesitation, Leonard walks up to you and pulls you in his arms. You breathe in his scent and smile. ‘Hello Lee.’ you say softly. ‘Scared the hell out of me, darlin’. Don’t do that ever again.’ says Leonard. ‘I’m okay. No need to worry, I’m right here.’ you say. Leonard is still holding you when someone loudly clears their throat. 

You let go of Leonard and see Jim is looking at you, eyebrows raised. Scotty is looking from you and Leonard back to Jim. And even Spock has a slightly surprised look on his face. Jim opens his mouth to say something, frowns, and closes his mouth again. He keeps frowning as he’s thinking.

‘Jim?’ you say. ‘Something you want to say?’ Jim slowly walks up to you and Leonard, clearly still trying to find the right words. He points to you and Leonard. ‘You and- uh- what’s happening? Why? And how?’ stutters Jim. ‘It appears that Lieutenant Kirk and Doctor McCoy are in a romantic relationship.’ says Spock. You roll your eyes and look at the Vulcan. ‘Thanks, Spock.’ you say sarcastically. Leonard mutters something underneath his breath and you’re thankful Spock can’t hear him. ‘You’re welcome.’ says Spock, thinking he helped you.

‘But, since when? You’re my sister, Y/N. And Bones, you’re my- I don’t get it. How? When? I don’t get it.’ says Jim, still confused. You step closer to your brother. ‘Jim, look at me.’ you say. He does so and you look into his eyes. ‘Listen, I get that you have a lot of questions. I get that we need to have a conversation about this. But I’m cold, and I’m covered in sweat and sand. I need a shower and I need to catch up on some sleep. We’ll talk about it some other day, yeah? I’m going to bed.’ you say.

‘The hell you are.’ says Leonard behind you. You turn around to look at him. ‘I’m going to check you for any injuries first.’ he says. You sigh. ‘Lee, please, I’m tired.’ you say. ‘You can sleep after I confirm you’re okay.’ says Leonard. He takes your hand in his and walks toward the door. As you walk through it, you catch Scotty’s eyes, who is still gazing at you and Leonard, trying to process what he just witnessed. You can almost feel Jim’s eyes burning in your back. Nevertheless, you follow Leonard through the halls. You’ll have the brother-sister talk some other day.

McCoy instantly dissolved into bright, helpless laughter once more. That spot certainly was intense, but still not as bad as his feet had been. Sure, he was laughing his head off, arching and twisting like crazy, but the sounds that came out of his mouth were definitely laughter, not agonised shrieks. And he was also still able to beg, which he did in abundance.

BAAAAAAWAHAHAHAHA! Oh my GOHOHOHOHOD! Anywhere but THEHEHEHEHERE! AHAHAHAHA! Can’t TAHAHAHAHAHKE it! AHAHAHAHA! No more PLEEEEEEEHEHEHEASE! Christine DOHOHOHON’T! Absolute death SPOHOHOHOHOT! Stop! AHAHAHAHA! Stop! AHAHAHAHA! Can’t breathe! STOHOHOHOHOP!

Thrashing around like a possessed man, the doctor fell into silent laughter, and Christine immediately took her hands away again, watching him suck in big gulps of air, fascinated by how long it took for the twitching and giggling to stop, a few tears of laughter still running down his face.

“Talk about mean,” he growled, when he was finally able to get some words out again, nodding towards his boxers, and Chapel was taken aback to see that the bulge seemed to have grown even further. “You were supposed to help me out there, not make it worse!”

Slowly approaching the tent in his boxers, demonstratively licking her lips, Christine was amused to notice that, in his eagerness, the doctor didn’t even ask her to untie him anymore.

“You’re not ticklish there, too, are you?” she teased as she gripped his hard member through the material, making him groan loudly and arch into her palm, desperate to find some friction.

And before he even had the chance to answer, the nurse found a little wet spot of pre-cum and gently started rubbing there, teasing his slit through his underwear, eliciting desperate moans and frantic rutting.

“My, my, tickling sure turns you on, doesn’t it?” Chapel purred, enjoying the power she held over McCoy’s lust.

“Please, Christine, I need help with …”

He broke off abruptly when the fingers of her other hand started to dance all over his belly, making him erupt into frenzied giggling, hitting those unbearably ticklish spots where belly meets sides.

Nooooohohohoho! Eeeeehehehevil! Give me a BREHEHEHEHEAK! Nonononono! Not THEHEHEHEHERE! Please no! No! NO! NOOOOO! Not THEHEHEHEHEHEHRE! AAAAAAAAHAHAHA!

The doctor was in tickle hell again, just from a little belly rub. Chapel’s own desire went up another notch just from knowing how easily she could destroy him without any effort at all. And he surely knew it, too. Being so helpless and vulnerable must kill him, she thought, as she let her fingers explore the tickle spots on his lower belly with only the lightest touch.

AEEEEEEH! McCoy squealed when she hit an especially tender spot, then started to cackle helplessly, as she viciously scratched over that same spot again and again until she saw that he really couldn’t take any more.  

“You need help?” the nurse asked innocently, when she’d eased off again, letting him catch much-needed breath.

The doctor just grunted, still huffing and puffing, the muscles in his belly still fluttering.

“With this?”

She gave his member a few more firm strokes, her grip on his shaft strong enough to turn his residual giggles into moans, the fingers of her other hand now gently tapping his glans.

“Sweet Jesus, yes, Christine,” McCoy groaned, lifting his hips to grind against her hands. “More please!”

“More?” she grinned mischievously before going on to test his thighs for ticklishness, her devious fingernails lightly skittering all over the sensitive insides.  

Jackpot.

This time they were both surprised the restraints still held, with him bucking and thrashing so hard, Chapel thought he might topple over the whole bed with her sitting on its edge.

McCoy cackled and squealed like a maniac, not even trying to form words to beg, just giving in to the unbearable sensation, and the nurse knew she’d have to stop soon. This was really killing him.

AHAHAHAHA! EHEHEHEHEHE! GOHOHOHOHOHOD! CHRCHRCHR! BAWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

‘Who would have thought this was such a harrowing spot?’ Chapel thought in awe, as she watched the doctor come off his ticklish frenzy, seeming rather surprised himself.

“Christine, I really need…” he started, hardly able to speak through his heavy breathing.

“... my help here, I can see that,” she chuckled, impressed by how hard he still was, despite all this debilitating tickling, and feeling a huge surge of tenderness for this man, who let her torture him in a way that was almost impossible for him to endure, just because he knew how severely it turned her on.  

So, before touching him where he so desperately needed her to, she leaned towards his face, making him writhe and giggle a little by walking two fingers teasingly up his stomach and chest, and then pressed the softest kiss on his lips. No more tickling, just a warm, honest kiss full of love and longing, to which he responded with hot passion.

“I’ve been in love with you forever, Leonard,” she breathed, “but this is so much better than my wildest dreams.”

McCoy looked at her, and she could see genuine affection shining through the burning desire in his eyes.  

“But before we let this go any further, I need to know that you’re all right with it, and if you have feelings for me, too. Because,” she let the teasing tone creep back into her voice, “I can either just finish you off, give you what you’ve definitely earned, or we could have some more fun.”

“More fun,” he smiled unhesitatingly. “I’ve dreamed about you for a long time, too, Christine. Well, not exactly about this, but still...”

“I’ve never known I was into tickling until today,” Chapel admitted, looking sincerely at him, “and if you hate it, I’ll untie you now…”

“I’ve hated it until today,” the doctor cut in softly, “or at least I thought I did. Because most people just can’t lay off once they find out how insanely ticklish I am, and it’s torture. But as it turns out, I seem to find it hot, too.”

“I’ll always be careful not to push you past your limits, respect any boundaries you set. And I’ll never touch your feet again unless you ask me to,” she grinned. “But I’ll certainly explore the rest of your gorgeous body thoroughly.”

“I trust you, Christine,” he said, holding her gaze and sending a warm glow to her heart. “And I can’t promise I won’t go back to just hating being tickled. I’m the most ticklish CMO in the galaxy after all.”

“Oh Leonard, I just made that up to tease you!” she cried out, feeling guilty for having been so cruel.

“I’m glad to hear it,” he chuckled. “Although I’ve never taken you for the evil kind.”

“It’s a side only you seem to bring out in me,” she smiled, pressing another soft kiss to his lips. “But enough of the talking now. We still have unfinished business.”

And making a big show of not getting a hold on the elastic waistband, her fingers tickling the doctor’s belly mercilessly in the process, she finally pulled down his boxers to reveal a bone-hard member, ready to burst with the first stroke.

Hitching up her dress, Chapel climbed onto the biobed and straddled him, the feeling of his dick rubbing against the wet fabric of her uniform panties almost making her cum right away. Grinding against him, she unthinkingly let go of her skirt, and was completely surprised when he suddenly cried out in ticklish agony again, bucking so hard, he nearly threw her off.

SHIHIHIHIT! Get that awful dress off! AHAHAHAHA! Oh God! I CAHAHAHAHAHAN’T! GAHAHAHAHAHAD! That DREHEHEHEHEHEHSS! So BAHAHAHAHAD! MEHEHEHEHERCY! AHAHAHAHAHA! STOHOHOHOHP! PLEHEHEHEHEASE!

But this time she couldn’t stop right away. Grinding against him, his hard cock rubbing against her clit in the exactly right spot, with the exactly right speed, while hearing him scream ticklish laughter and seeing him writhe and buck underneath her from the unbearable tickling she was inflicting upon him, brought her to the edge within seconds.

Only when she exploded with the most intense orgasm of her life, could she bring herself to gather up her dress and free him from the excruciating torment of her skirt. And moments later, while she was still riding out her own climax, she felt the doctor erupt with an almost animalistic groan, his swollen dick pulsating against her throbbing womanhood, spouting hot, sticky strands of cum against her thighs, and rubbing her to her second orgasm.

Carefully taking off her uniform dress and discarding it onto the floor, so as not to inflict any more tickle torture on McCoy while he was still coming off his orgasmic high, she collapsed on top of him, feeling his over-sensitised belly and chest muscles twitching and fluttering even just from the touch of her bare skin and lacy bra.

“That was awesome, Leonard,” she breathed, enjoying the feel of his warm, moist skin against hers.

Chapel was just thinking about getting up to actually untie him this time, so that he could take her in his arms, when she felt his chest starting to rumble and his body beginning to convulse again.

Looking up, she saw the doctor’s face scrunched up, as he clearly tried to hold back the laughter, obviously not wanting to spoil this moment of post-coital bliss for her.

“Awesome doesn’t cut it,” he grinned at her, his voice still sounding a little strained as the suppressed laughter was ebbing away again.

“So why the giggles just now?” Chapel asked, genuinely intrigued, leaning in for another kiss. “The naughty dress is already on the floor.”

McCoy just smiled, seemingly still blissed out from his intense orgasm.

“Your hair, my armpit and neck,” he murmured, raising his head to tenderly cover her mouth with his soft lips.

“I love you, Leonard,” she whispered into his mouth.

“I love you, too, Christine,” he whispered back. “And now please untie me, so that we can take this to my quarters. I need to touch you, hold you, fill you. And I need my hands to take you to a place you’ve never been before.”

Christine’s throat went dry, just thinking about what those legendary hands might do to stimulate her body even further.

“And no more tickling. At least not tonight,” McCoy growled, his voice low and titillating.

“Sounds perfect to me,” Chapel purred against his lips, appreciating the promise in his words, before getting to her feet and – with extreme care – untying the doctor without forcing so much as a single giggle out of him.

His normally neat quarters were rather untidy that evening. On the far wall sat an old radio from earth he had found in an antique shop playing an even older song.

Underneath the tangle of blankets on the bed you laid, propped up on your elbow watching the doctor. The scent of whiskey mixed with his cologne was enough to drive you crazy and you sat giggling at something he said, but you couldn’t remember what. He smirked at your drunken reaction. The song on the radio changed and he let out a slight laugh.

“What is it?” You asked, leaning over flirtatiously.

“My mom used to sing me this song,” he said quietly. You listened to the scratchy cd play quietly and he started to hum along to it.

Country roads take me home to the place I belong West Virginia mountain momma take me home country roads.

“I thought you were from Georgia,” you giggled, poking at his chest.

“I am,” he smirked down at you, “doesn’t mean this song isn’t good,”

“I’ve never been to Georgia,” you mumbled after a moment of silence.

He turned to look at you with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s the most beautiful place on Earth,” he said, “I wanna go back,”

“What? You don’t like space?” You teased, giggling some more.

“Hell no,” he said annoyed, “it makes me anxious,”

“Well then I think you chose the wrong career path,” you giggled then proceeded to hiccup.

He’d thought it was cute at first, his girlfriend being all nervous about something he viewed as so routine. But, after rescheduling and then just flat out not showing up, McCoy was genuinely concerned and annoyed. Mostly concerned, though the tone of his voice favored mostly annoyed as usual.

“Jim,” McCoy said, demanding full attention as he strode onto the bridge, “Is Y/N here? She didn’t show for her physical this morning.”

“Haven’t seen her,” Kirk replied, swiveling in his chair to face McCoy, “Trouble in paradise, Bones?”

There went another eye roll, riddled with unamusement. What a miracle those things remained in his head, especially with the way Kirk was smirking at him. “She hates doctors appointments, which is personal and something you don’t need to know about. But she has to have an exam, where is she?”

“Uhura?”

Uhura rose from her spot and strode over to the two men. “I haven’t seen her since last night. She had dinner with Spock and I.”

Spock inclined his head toward the group at the mention of his name. “Lieutenant Uhura is correct and Y/N did sign in this morning. But, it appears she is working remotely with her communicator off.”

“She came in early this morning, grabbed a few things and headed out,” Sulu chimed in from his spot without glancing their direction, “Said she had to run some tests.”

“Well, where’d she go?” McCoy repeated, mainly at Sulu who shrugged. “Okay. Let’s just get this over with. We have to find her. I’ll take her room and engineering. Uhura-”

“She might be on the recreational deck, I’ll look there,” she cut across the doctor, “And Spock-”

“Why not simply alert the crew to the situation, she will be found much faster,” the resident half-vulcan countered logically.

“Faster and much angrier, which I assure you, none of us wants,” McCoy returned, shaking his head just at the thought of how furious you’d be with him specifically…

Showing no signs of comprehension to that aspect of the situation, Spock quieted with an air of skepticality.

“The main decks might be a safe bet,” Kirk continued with Uhura’s previously interrupted suggestion.

“She could be in the lab too,” Uhura offered, a definitive determination in her voice.

“Okay, let’s find her, I have to talk to her…” McCoy grumbled, raking his hand across his face tiredly.

~

It was almost noon and you couldn’t have been more surprised you’d eluded capture until then. Only a matter of time until someone discovered you, probably to chew you out, if they were even looking for you. That possibility hadn’t occurred to you. Either way, knowing your boyfriend he’d be furious about how ridiculous you were being. It was just a doctor’s appointment after all. You’d had what seemed like thousands of them, and hated every single one. You kept telling yourself this, your anxiety and deep rooted instinct to run, was all about the appointment, it certainly had nothing to do with your boyfriend… Your boyfriend that happened to be very affectionate even though his personality didn’t tend to give off that cuddly vibe.

You’d only been with Leonard for a few months, though you’d known him for years, and the two of you had been taking things, well slowly. For some reason you couldn’t shake the feeling that it all was too good to be true anyway. The Leonard McCoy being with someone like you? It didn’t seem real. And the further and further you fell for him, an uneasy feeling followed suit, growing and growing… The more you loved him the worse it would hurt when he left, just like everyone else.

You surely weren’t dealing with it in the most mature way, but at the same time you just couldn’t bring yourself to make it to that doctor’s appointment. You just couldn’t face Leonard at the moment.

So, instead, you worked and forced all those jumbled worries out of your head. Only in short bursts though. You kept moving and finding other hiding spots, which led you to Scotty’s office of sorts in engineering just before lunchtime.

“Y/N, lassie, how are ya? And what are you doing down here in lil old engineering?” Scotty greeted you happily the moment he strode up to you.

You’d clearly stolen his chair and even had your feet up on the console, your own data pad over your lap. You smiled widely back. “Just thought I could use a change of scenery from the bridge, besides I missed you, Scotty!”

“Glad to hear it. Don’t see enough of you these days!” The scotsman went about his work around you, motioning for you to stay where you were despite your protests. He had his own data pad in hand, reading it and then what looked like inputting data into the console. “How’s everything up there? Oh, and your boyfriend, everyone’s favorite doctor?”

Internally, you cringed, and willed yourself to disappear. Alas, it did not work and you were forced to answer Scotty’s question. “The bridge is good… You know, nothing too exciting lately, or I’m sure you’d be having a ball dealing with Jim pushing our lovely ship to the limits.”

While you’d certainly given a tactful and happy response, Scotty noticed your aversion to his second question. After all, the man knew you well, you’d spent years on the ship with him, even working in engineering for a while. “And is Dr. McCoy pushing you to your limits?” He asked with piqued interest and no small amount of concern.

You opened your mouth and shut it again, unsure exactly how to respond… You hadn’t exactly spoken about your feelings with well anyone, that just so happened to be a least favorite pastime of yours.

“It so happens, I don’t kiss and tell, Scotty,” you finally responded, though slightly audibly strained. To conceal your vulnerability, you stood, giving him a wink, and left to find a new hiding spot.

“I’m here if you need, Y/N,” Scotty called after you, but made no attempt to follow your course.

~

“Hey there,” a calming voice greeted out of nowhere. You even squeaked, jumping a little in your makeshift seat. But, your initial shock didn’t fade as you knew you were caught, you wouldn’t be able to hide any longer now that she’d found you. A few people had to be looking for you at least. She wouldn’t have left the bridge during the day otherwise, let alone to ventured to the recreational decks.

“Hello…”

Uhura smiled and sat down on the floor next to you. “Where’ve you been today?”

“Around.”

“Avoiding your boyfriend you mean,” Uhura spoke straight to the point, not one to beat around the bush, “He says you hate doctor’s appointments, but there’s something more going on isn’t there?”

You looked away from her, hugging your data pad to your chest. Again, talking about feelings, yuck. “I do hate doctors appointments and I especially don’t want to have one today…” You swallowed, knowing fully well she’d continue to press until she knew everything.

“Any specific reason why?”

In refusal to answer, you remained silent, eyes trained on your feet alone. Detaching yourself was just so much easier than facing those deep, dark fears.

“Sweetheart,” she began and placed a gentle hand on your arm, “Did he do something? Do I need to throw him off the ship? You know I will.” Despite the softness in her voice, you knew her threats held weight with their own fierce undertones. The two of you had known each other for so long too, you were practically sisters, even went through the academy together.

You shook your head, letting your curled limbs fall against her. She took your head against her chest and calmly stroked your hair and shoulders, but didn’t press any further, knowing you’d speak once you found the words.

With a shaky breath, you finally spoke aloud what had been internally tormenting you for weeks. “It’s stupid… I know I’m being ridiculous, but… I just can’t go. If only he’d rescheduled it for tomorrow.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, he’s just going to leave me isn’t he, so I need to stop getting so attached-”

“Now, that’s insane. He adores you! You guys have known each other for so long, you’re just perfect together. We were all so glad when you two finally did something about it and stopped dancing around each other,” Uhura tried to assure you.

You pried yourself from her grasp and sat up, collecting your things. “No, it’s just too good to be true,” you insisted, shaking your head as you retreated within the walls of your heart that you’d built up over the years.

While she called after you, you didn’t stop and ran off to one of the less frequented turbo lifts to the labs, where you hoped you wouldn’t find Spock…

~

Luckily, you found no one else in the archives, quickly setting up shop on of the stations in the back, where you might be able to go unnoticed if someone so happened to enter.

Somehow, the person you least expected found you.

“Fancy meeting you here, Y/N,” none other than James T. Kirk drawled from just inside the doorway, “Come here often?”

“Only when I want to avoid you, Jim. You’ve found me out,” you relied sarcastically, making no move to collect your things.

He strolled over slowly, keeping his eyes intent on you, probably reading into your body language. “Aw, and why would you want to avoid me, princess?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because you love me, though not as much as you love Bones.”

You flinched at your boyfriend's nickname, refusing to meet the captain’s eyes as he finally stopped in front of you.

“It’s your anniversary today, isn’t it? Three months, nice little milestone…” He frowned at your continued silence, reevaluating the banter. The two of you normally went back and forth easily, happily, both feeding off the other’s witty remarks. Today he was met with different circumstances though. You clearly weren’t up for playing, and that definitely signaled that something was wrong, very wrong. “Y/N?”

Complying out of habit or professional duty, you glanced quickly up at his eyes and away once more.

“He’s worried about you, really worried… I think he even had a surprise planned for you this morning, the anniversary and all.”

You frowned and swallowed slowly. “He’s probably furious now.”

Kirk smiled a little at that. “He is, but more worried. I’m sure he’d love to talk about what’s wrong and fix it.”

With a shake of your head and a mumble, you finally clued Jim in, your oldest and best friend. “He can’t fix it. It’s me. I just can’t stop thinking he’s going to leave, like everyone else…”

He reached across the workstation and placed his large hand over you small one. “Hey, you can’t think like that… We’re so similar you know? We can’t let ourselves open up to people, it takes a long ass time and it scares the shit out of us. It’s just easier, not to mention safer, to be alone and shut yourself off. But, we can’t be alone forever, where’s the fun in that? Come on, look at me.”

When you finally brought your slightly teary eyes to his, he continued softly, “Leonard loves you and I know you love him. That should be all that matters. Besides, we’ll all beat the shit out of him if he hurts you.”

You finally smiled faintly, offering a slight chuckle at your captain’s words. “Okay, Jim,” you sniffed and he squeezed your hand, “Where is he?”

~

As you walked down the corridor to your quarters, you forced yourself to take deep breaths and focus on that feeling, not the distinct dread filling your gut. The closer you got to your room, the shakier you felt, and the tremors in your hands proved that. You’d never been so nervous about such a silly conversation.

Once you reached your door, you about turned around and bolted away; only Jim’s words kept your feet rooted to the floor. You had to do this. Then, as if fate had a hand in it all, your door wooshed open with Leonard standing right in front of you.

You must have looked grave, or paler than normal, because Leonard’s face immediately fell and he pulled you inside. “Oh, sweetheart, sit down, please. Are you alright?” He sat you down on your bed and kept trying to look you over before he sat down next to you.

“I’m fine,” you said with a deep sigh, which didn’t help your case at all. “Okay, fine, I’m not, Leonard,” you grumbled as he gave you his ‘I don’t believe you’ look.

“Then, tell me what’s wrong, please.” His eyes showed just how pleading his words were even if his voice didn’t. They glinted nervously, with his own tide of dread swimming around in them.

“I… I freaked out, okay? You know how hard it is for me to open up to people. It’s hard to put myself out there, and I’ve been scared that you’re going to leave me… You just matter so much to me, everyone always leaves, I can’t…”

Leonard waited patiently for you to say everything you wanted, and he took your hand the moment your voice broke the first time, squeezing it tightly with both of his as the tears pooled in your eyes.

“I know I’m being ridiculous, but with today as our anniversary. I couldn’t make the appointment.”

Without a word, several moments after you’d finished speaking, Leonard took your face gently in his hands and pressed his forehead against yours, his eyes falling shut. “I am never, never going to leave you, Y/N. I know we’ve only been dating technically for three months, but I can’t imagine my life without you after all these years that I’ve known you. I think I knew a while ago, you’re it for me. I love you so much. I’ll never love anyone like I love you. And that scares the shit out of me too, you’re not the only one. Believe me. I wouldn’t have it any other way though, so please don’t push me away.” His voice was gentler and sweeter than you’d ever heard it and that made your insides melt.

When he pulled away too look at you directly, verifying that he’d gotten through to you, you brought your lips to his without a moment of hesitation. He kissed back gratefully, wrapping his arms around you tightly.

“I don’t want to push you away. I’m sorry… I love you too,” you mumbled into his neck once you disconnected lips.

“And good lord woman, don’t scare me like that again,” he murmured sternly.

You laughed allowed unable to help yourself, which only made him grin, chuckling too, until he silenced you with a kiss. Were doctor’s appointments really something to be afraid of?