#boneswhump

Kirk grunted and stumbled forward so he was just ahead of his best friend and CMO, blood streamed down his face. “This was so not my fault!” Kirk yelped dodging another arrow hurtling toward his head. A loud howl of pain and thud made Kirk whirl around.

McCoy gripped onto a blue-tinted tree his left leg stretched out, “Bones!” Jim gasped scrambling back, he landed on his knees next to his friend. His hands hovered around the elaborate-looking arrow that was sticking out of McCoy’s thigh. Upon McCoy falling to the ground the arrow twisted making the wound bleed profusely.

“Oh, that’s not good,” he muttered pressing onto the wound in hopes of stopping the bleeding. Jim grabbed a fist full of his hair a look of sheer terror and panic on his face. “Of course it’s not good, you’re bleeding out!” he hissed and checked his comm again. Still no signal.

“I’m fine, I jus’ need to…” McCoy mumbled his drawl more pronounced than before. Kirk whipped his head up to look at his friend who was slumped on the ground, chin touching his chest. “Bones!”

The CMO jerked to alertness and groaned, “Tourniquet,” he finished and glanced over his shoulder at the sounds of shouting and screeching war cries. McCoy fumbled with his belt for a moment before pulling it free with a snap. He wrapped it around his leg just above the arrow and pulled it tight. Hissing in pain Bones clenched his jaw and tilted his head back panting. The Captain’s head was on a swivel, both checking on the distance of the oncoming natives and McCoy. He was feeling helpless and he hated it. Ducking another arrow Kirk scrambled over to McCoy helped him to his feet.

“Come on old man,” Jim huffed dragging the injured man through the bushes. Leonard snorted rolling his eyes,

“Old my ass,” he slurred a scowl firmly set on his face. Kirk chuckled relieved that his friend is still grouching and growling like he usually does. Though they weren’t out of the woods yet, Jim almost wanted to laugh at the pun.

They ran through the rest of the forest like it was some kind of deadly three-legged race. McCoy panted but gritted his teeth through the pain, black spots danced across his vision. Kirk focused on keeping his friend upright and the communicator in his hands. “Come on Bones, there’s a nice bottle of bourbon in my quarters for you! You just have to stay awake!”

“Kirk to Enterprise!” the Captain shouted into his comm. Static.

“Come on Enterprise!” he growled and sagged as McCoy dropped to his knees. Kirk cursed under his breath as he turned Bones so he was lying on his back. The arrow twisted painfully in the man’s thigh digging in even deeper than before. “Come on Bones, wake up you stubborn son of a bitch!” Jim shouted smacking his CMO on the sides of his face.

“...Cap-”

“Kir- do - -copy?”

Kirk wanted to cheer but a colorful arrow grazed his shoulder causing him to curse instead. “Enterprise if you can hear me, beam us up! Straight to Med-bay!” only static was heard along with the cries of the planet’s natives. Jim curled himself over McCoy and squeezed his eyes shut.

He only opened them when things became quiet and hands began pulling him away from Bones. The sterile lemony smell of med-bay and the nurses made him breathe a sigh of relief. McCoy was lifted onto a stretcher and immediately carted into an operating room. Laughing a little Kirk slumped back into the nurse that gently held him upright.

“Sir let me take a look at your arm,” the nurse whispered urging Jim to cooperate. Turning to look Kirk saw Chapel there and relaxed. Everything was going to be okay.

“He’ll be fine, Geoff has him,” Christine whispered pulling Kirk to his feet. Nodding Jim - with the help of Chapel - stumbled over to a biobed. He sat down heavily never allowing his eyes to stray from the operating room doors.

Four hours and a long debrief later McCoy was moved to a bed. Kirk and Spock were there as soon as Christine gave the “Okay”

Both men sat by McCoy’s side until he woke up with a wrinkle of his nose and a sarcastic remark.

“Kid, go take a shower, eat, and go to bed, and in that order. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, you smell!”

Kirk couldn’t be mad, a laugh bubbled past his lips and he nodded. “Good to have you back Bones,” he whispered before taking his leave. Spock straightened, clasping his hands neatly behind his back as McCoy turned his eyes on him.

“We get what we needed?” he asked his voice raspy and quiet. Spock nodded once, “We did retrieve the probe. The distraction you and the Captain provided worked well. Too well Doctor,”

McCoy wanted to roll his eyes but he was afraid the action would make him throw up. Take a deep breath he decided to close his eyes instead. “We got the job done Spock. Mission success, that’s all there is to it.”

He could feel the first officer stare a hole into his head. He didn’t need any more holes, he’s got enough thanks. At Spock’s continued silence Leonard cracked an eye open; the Vulcan was frowning at him. ‘Great,’ he thought with a groan.

“Not at your expense Leonard.”

McCoy let out a little laugh at Spock’s use of his name. “I didn’t exactly intend on getting shot with an arrow Spock. All I’m saying is that the mission was a success. I’m alive, no need to dwell on the fact that I could have died. Thought you’d appreciate the logic.”

The First Officer inclined his head a ghost of a smile in his eyes, “Logical indeed doctor. A rare sight. Rest well Leonard,” and he was gone. Gritting his teeth McCoy shouts,

“Get back here you pointed eared bastard!”

One would assume that the shouting and cursing in sickbay herald bad omens. But for the Enterprise it was like a breath of fresh air. Sickbay seemed to relax and breathe easier at the sound of its CMO cursing up a storm at the ship’s first officer. Things were going to be alright.

Tags:

Everything: @lauraaan182,@chickadee-djarin, @cowenby2, @bluesclues-1234,@sayuri9908

The ship bucked and shuddered under another bout of fire. Doctor Leonard McCoy growled in frustration as he held down a badly injured engineer. The man was howling in pain his broken femur shifting under the abuse. The CMO placed a gentle calming hand on lieutenant Gregors head and whispered reassurances. McCoy cursed under his breath as he read over Gregors scan,

“Christine I need the OR prepped, a bone knitter isn’t gonna cut it for this one!” he barked over his shoulder. The head nurse gave a thumbs up and called out her own set of orders to the other nurses in the trauma ward. One of them followed her while the rest kept doing triage.

“You’ll be alright Thomas, I’ll get yeh fixed up in no time, “ he promised loading a hypospray with a heavy analgesic. Carefully McCoy pressed the hypo against the engineer’s neck all the while watching the man’s stats above the biobed. The ship lurched again causing Leonard to curse colorfully, “Bridge to Sickbay!”

Uhura’s calm tone broke through the chaos, cursing again McCoy answered. “McCoy here Uhura, who’s hurt, and how bad?” he asked getting right to the point. The communications officer let out a strangled chuckle,

“There are a few up here that need your attention doctor. One of them the Captain of course,” she said only pausing for a breath and a small curse as the ship shuddered and bucked again. “Electrical burns, broken bones, and few contusions. One- scratch that two are unconscious,”

McCoy grumbled under his breath. Christine was by his side in a second with his emergency kit, “I’m on my way up Uhura, McCoy out,” the doctor turned to his head nurse and sighed. “Doctor M’Benga is in the OR ready,” she said eyeing the man on the biobed beside them. Leonard nodded taking the kit from her,

“I’ll be back with a few more customers,” he muttered and gestured for one of the nurses to follow him.

----------oOo----------

Leonard McCoy breathed deeply as the turbo lifted made its way up toward the bridge. Nurse Franklin Taylor fidgeted in the corner, his hands flexing around the large trauma kit in his hands. The nurse was new to the ship, fresh from starbase 12, this was his first official ship posting. The Enterprise bobbed and groaned as the shields were hit again, the boy squeaked and tightened his hold on the case even more. Sighing McCoy turned his head to the young man and tried to keep from sounding like his usual charming self,

“Deep breaths, the only thing you focus on is your patient. Everything else is white noise, if you’re unsure what to do, you look at me. Got it?”

Taylor relaxed somewhat at McCoy’s calm authoritative tone and nodded. With a quick “Yes, sir,” Taylor took a couple of deep steadying breaths just as the lift doors hissed open. McCoy clapped the nurse on the shoulder before striding onto the bridge and headed straight for the Captain.

“Jim, how did you hurt yourself now?” he asked in a casual drawl. Captain Jame’s “The T stands for trouble” Kirk gave his best friend and CMO a cheeky grin. It would have worked to reassure the good doctor if it weren’t for the steady stream of blood flowing down the Captain’s face.

“Bones, I’m fine. Sulu-” Kirk started but McCoy scanned him anyway. Sensing Kirk’s annoyance and stress Leonard sighed. Without looking away from his medical tricorder he barked out,

“Taylor, how is Mister Sulu doing?”

Without delay or looking away from his own work Taylor calls back, “He’s out cold. Other than a mild concussion and some bruising he’ll be alright!”

McCoy looked back at Kirk with a raised eyebrow and the Captain relented to his friends prodding hands. “What’s going on anyway?” Leonard asked as he covered Kirk’s wound with a temporary bandage. Jim wrinkled his nose,

“Just some Orion pirates who thought this was an easy score,” he grumbled with a roll of his eyes. Leaning out of McCoy’s touch Kirk turned to look over his shoulder at Uhura,

“Uhura, have they-”

The comms officer shook her head, “No captain,” she frowned pressing a hand to her earpiece. Shaking her head in confusion Uhura turned her chair around to look out the viewscreen, and then to Kirk. “There is no chatter of any kind. It’s like-”

“Proximity detonation!” Chekov barely got the words out before a blinding light filled the bridge. The whole ship lurched to the side sending multiple people flying; McCoy included. A slew of colorful and rather creative curses echoed across the bridge tinged with a southern bite.

McCoy landed heavily on the deck and bit back a cry of pain. Despite not hearing a crack Leonard knew that he broke something. Gritting his teeth he pushed himself into a sitting position, his eyes scanning the bridge for casualties. Upon seeing plenty of them McCoy hissed pushing past the pain to get to his feet.

Consoles were aflame and sparking, Officers alike were out of their seats groaning trying to get their barrings. Most recovered quickly and got back to the task at hand, McCoy was relieved Jim and Spock were amongst them.

Blood pulsing in his ears McCoy cradled his arm against his chest. Stumbling over to the closest injured crew member, who happened to be Chekov, Leonard got to work.

It was only twenty minutes later when things stopped shaking and the loud chaos became a low buzz. There weren’t any enemies to fight, now came the task of damage reports and repairs. McCoy felt the world drop away as he was attending and triaging crew members he didn’t notice the bridge grow eerily quiet.

Spock being the closest to him, from what he originally assumed was because he had been tending to Uhura (Burns to her hands, she’ll be alright) but everyone seemed to be staring at him in shock and panicked concern.

Jim shifted his weight and swallowed hard, “Bones…” he whispered as if speaking any louder would spook a wild animal.

Furrowing his brow McCoy goes to stand but that made multiple people panic and shout for him to stop. Uhura’s hand gripped his arm trying to guide him back down to the floor again. Her eyes flickered to his abdomen and he followed her gaze. What he saw there made him let out a string of curses.

Glass from one of the console’s screens was embedded in his side. ‘Adrenaline kept me from feelin’ it’ he thought with a grimace.

“Fuck my life,” he growled out looking down at the wound with a detachment only he could provide.

Nurse Taylor was at his side helping him into a prone position. The kid was speaking but Leonard couldn’t hear a word he was saying; the word “Shock” filtered through. Blinking McCoy almost jumped when he saw that Kirk was on his other side speaking to him, or trying to anyway. Uhura was by his feet, her bandaged hand gripping his ankle concern written all over her face. Eyes flitting around McCoy noticed that a lot of the bridge crew were wearing worried faces.

‘Are they okay?’ he thought numbly; he tried to get up and check to make sure but he was being held down by a warm hand. Looking up he saw Spock with one hand on his shoulder and the other holding a comm,

“Hurry Mr. Scott, the doctor is losing a significant amount of blood.”

“Stay with me Bones!”

Leonard didn’t even realize he was beginning to fall asleep until Kirk jolted him awake. Blinking sluggishly McCoy stared up at his friends as they hovered over him with clear concern. Taylor spoke into another comm his voice a distant buzz in his ears. Then he felt an all too familiar pull of the ship’s transporter. As the gold swirled around him, Leonard drifted succumbing to the dark.

----------oOo----------

Everything was warm, not Vulcan warm; but a beautiful Georgia summer’s day. Comfortable. Peaceful. Well, that is until it was broken by a colorful curse in Klingon. Despite feeling like he was in the clouds he knew he was just in sickbay as high as the Enterprise herself. Letting out a little breath of annoyance Leonard cracked his eyes open ever so slightly.

Seeing that the lights were dimmed indicating that night had fallen upon the ship, he let them open even further. There on a table over him was a three-dimensional chess set. Kirk and Spock seated on either side of him were engaged in what appears to be a close match. If his experience in watching his two friends play was up to par, it looked as if Spock was going to win this round.

“Give it up Jim. He’s got ya.” McCoy rasped closing his eyes again, his head suddenly decided it wanted to pound and throb. He could hear the obvious relief in Jim’s voice,

“But Bones, I got him just where I want him! A total false sense of security.”

McCoy could practically hear Spock’s eyebrow raise into his bowl-cut hairline. He opened his eyes again to check; upon seeing that he was right Leonard smirked ever so slightly. “Yeah right, I’m lyin’ here as high as Woodstock and I can see he kicked your ass this round.”

Jim snorted out a laugh his grin lighting up the room while Spock just tilted his head looking perplexed at McCoy’s latest metaphor.

“What is Woodstock?”

It was Leonard’s turn to laugh, it came out choked and stopped quickly by a pained groan. Waving away worried hands he smiled.

“Something historical. Look it up sometime,”

Spock opened his mouth ready to ask more questions but he was interrupted by the entrance of Nyota Uhura. She stood at the end of the biobed and gave McCoy a soft smile,

“It’s good to see you awake Len,” she greeted. McCoy gave her a reassuring smile in return,

“Is everyone okay?” he asked remembering all of the injured crewmen that still needed attending when he went down. Kirk placed a gentle hand on his shoulder,

“Everyone is fine Bones. We’re all more freaked out about you actually.”

Leonard furrowed his brows at Jim’s words. Spock nodded in agreement, “The crew is indeed worried about you doctor,”

Uhura smiled at him, “A lot of crew wanted to visit but Christine only allowed the Captain and Spock at the moment. I had to bribe my way in.” she chuckled. McCoy huffed out a quiet laugh,

“Spread the word that I’m alright? I don’ need everyone worrying over nothin’” his voice is quiet and drawls more pronounced than before. They all knew that he was on the fast track back to dreamland. So Uhura merely nodded and patted his leg. Jim kept his hand on Leonard’s shoulder until he completely drifted off.

But of course, McCoy had to have the last word, he wouldn’t be Bones if he didn’t.

“Jim get some sleep, you look like shit.”

Kirk rolled his eyes to the sky a small smile on his lips, he shot Spock a knowing look,

“Just like any other day,” he sighed.

Tags:

Everything: @lauraaan182,@chickadee-djarin, @cowenby2, @bluesclues-1234, @sayuri9908

The first thing that sprung to mind was pain. Pain from just about everywhere; his body ached and throbbed in places that have never ached and throbbed before. A burning heat grazed his back and that’s what prompted his sense of smell to come back to him. Wrinkling his nose, Leonard “Bones” McCoy coughed. The smell of burning metal and plastic invaded his nose causing him to gag and cough again in hopes of getting rid of the smoke that invaded his lungs.

Opening his eyes Leonard groaned and grimaced at the sudden light blinding him. Carefully he lifted himself onto his forearms, gritting his teeth against the pain that radiated through him, he turned to look at his surroundings. Eyes widening McCoy scrambled to his feet, the shuttle was steadily filling with smoke and fire.

Taking in an accidental deep breath Leonard started to choke on the black smoke that drifted through the air. His eyes began to water and his mind tried its best to catch up and form a plan. Squinting through the smoke McCoy saw the pilot bent backward at an unnatural angle his eyes wide and unseeing. The man was his ride back to the Enterprise, from a little colony here on the planet. New Athens? Was that it? What was it Jim said to him after ordering him to the colony to teach the local doctors to use the latest medical tech?

“It’ll be good for you to get out of here Bones. I think Christine is going to snap and kill you soon if you don’t calm down a little,”

‘I guess neither of us thought this was going to happen,’ he thought morosely.

Leonard cringed, he forced the bile back, the pilot was a nice kid, green as grass. Couldn’t have been out of the academy more than a year or so, if he were to hazard a guess. Assigned to Enterprise only recently he talked and chatted with McCoy for a while trying to put him at ease.

‘Puke later, escape now,’

He turned again and felt along the bulkhead for the door’s emergency lever. He hissed out at the hot metal under his hands. Sweat beaded across his body and things began to get blurry. The world started to spin, he was running out of time. Coughing violently McCoy fell to his knees. Setting his jaw he kept looking.

Upon finding the red emergency lever, McCoy pulled the lever out and up releasing the pressure locks. The door groaned but stayed firmly in place. Frustrated Leonard screamed and kicked the door, it shuddered and moved. Leaning back onto his elbows McCoy continued to kick the door. With every kick, the shuttle door moved an inch. Coughing McCoy turned and pulled everything he had into one final kick.

The door squealed and flew back opening up wide. A blast of cold air caused the fire around him to flare and spread faster. Cursing under his breath Leonard crawled toward the opening; the light of day guided him to safety, but that’s all it did for him. As soon as he left the threshold of the shuttle he fell. Yelping McCoy fell a solid - from what he could guess - fifteen feet. Groaning Leonard looked up at the dusty blue sky above him, dark clouds in the distance were closing in.

McCoy snorted, it was the same storm that caused the shuttle to crash in the first place. He survived the damn colony, which was deadly in its own way (a story for another time), and then the damn shuttle crashes. A burst of hysterical laughter bubble up Leonard’s throat,

“If the lottery was still a thing, I’d buy a damn ticket,”

His voice came out horse and it felt as if he had been eating glass. His throat was dry and his head still swam from all the smoke. Numbly he took stock of his body, nothing was broken too badly, that was for certain. Experimentally he moved his legs and arms so he could sit up but nothing wanted to cooperate.

A stab of pain from his ribs and shoulder caused Leonard to gasp and collapse back into the dirt. Panting he ran his fingers over his rib cage gauging how many were broken, cracked, or bruised. Pain flared at the movement of his left arm,

“Dislocated shoulder,” he deduced with a hiss. Using his right hand McCoy checked his ribs,

“Four broken, two cracked, the rest most likely bruised,” he muttered tiredly. The bright sun dimmed and faded as black storm clouds drifted over him. A distant boom of thunder pulled him back to reality, falling asleep where he was, was not an option. According to Spocks little minions storms here got bad, and McCoy would rather not get caught in one. Especially in his current condition.

Groaning and gritting his teeth Leonard lifted himself into a sitting position. Looking at his immediate surroundings, he decided his best bet was to find shelter quickly. Rolling onto his knees McCoy breathed and hissed through the deep ache that he felt in his bones, his stomach rebelled and his head pounded. ‘Damn concussion,’ he added to the ever-growing list of injuries. He pulled himself to his feet grumbling and cursing all the while.

“Damn shuttles, damn colony with a damn crazy man who shouldn’t be a doctor in the first place.”

He didn’t realize he was speaking aloud until he heard his voice rise and echo through the trees. Leonard winced, he couldn’t help but be paranoid and think that the sound of his voice could attract the worst kind of attention. From what the colonists had told him there was a rebel faction in the surrounding area and not to mention dangerous wildlife. They weren’t greatly supportive of the Fleet. Swallowing down his words and bile, he stumbled and staggered his way through the thick forest.

Looking back at the shuttle some distance away McCoy saw that it was completely engulfed in flames, the hull creaked and buckled under the heat; he was sure it was going to explode pretty soon.

Not even seconds after the thought crossed his mind a flash of light and thunderous boom shook the trees and ground below him. Yelping Leonard shielded his eyes and ducked behind a series of boulders.

“Maybe I shouldn’t ever consider the lottery,” he muttered with a shake of his head. The sky grew darker by the second, the first thing McCoy needs to do is find shelter for the night. And if he manages to make it until the morning he needs to find a source of water and figure out where in the hell he was so he can figure out where in the hell he was going.

Pulling his injured arm to his chest McCoy looked around for possible shelter sites. He craned his neck up at the cliff face at his back, grimacing he knew deep down he’s going to have to climb in order to get his bearings. Turning his gaze downward he saw a cave opening a good two yards to his left. He mentally weighed his options, take the cave and risk finding something that already lived there, or take his chances out in the rain.

The shiver that ran down his spine to his toes chose for him. Cave it was. Hopefully, he won’t have a roommate. Wincing he staggered to the cave entrance and to his relief it wasn’t deep enough to harbor an unspeakable evil or creature, but it was deep enough for him to camp in for the night.

Gathering what dry wood he could find Leonard hunkered down in his home away from home. Sighing heavily he assembled a sad-looking campfire and got to work on actually lighting the damn thing. Taking two stones Leonard repeatedly struck them against each other. It was a tedious task but Leonard was determined.

----------oOo----------

A clap of thunder startled him awake, gasping and scrambling away from the freezing cold rain Leonard tried to get his bearings. He didn’t even remember falling asleep. Shivering he ruefully looked at the fading embers of a fire. His memory slowly coming back to him.

The storm was raging just over him now. Groaning Leonard pulled his aching body into a sitting position. Squinting so he could see he picked up his fire poker - a stick he had managed to find nearby- and nudged at the fire in hopes of bringing it back to life. There was no such luck.

“It’s dead, Leonard,” he muttered to himself quietly with a shake of his head.

Thunder boomed again, McCoy flinched as it shook the cave he was huddled in. ‘I need to find my way back to the Colony. I can get ahold of the Enterprise from there.’ he thought, a plan steadily forming in his mind. They taught survival at the Academy and he passed -- by the skin of his teeth -- mostly because he saved a cadet who had thought it would be a good idea to eat something he shouldn’t have.

Leonard pressed his lips together in thought. He remembers enough to get him to where he needs to be. He hoped he did anyway. Water, that’s the first thing he needs to find. It can be dangerous on Earth let alone an alien planet. Sticking his hand out into the cold rain, Leonard caught a few drops before pulling back to sniff at it. There were no odd odors and McCoy knew that there was nothing too horrible in the planet’s water that will kill him outright. His only hesitation was that there was a little bit of pollution still from the colony. McCoy grumbled at the thought of the colony. “Idiots the lot of them,” he muttered with a shake of his head.

The colony was relatively big. More a large town than a city. A town that obviously hadn’t learned from past mistakes with using cars, power plants, and the like. And using too much of it to boot. The water in time will make him sick as it did with the colonist but if he got back to Enterprise in time there shouldn’t be a problem.

The next two things he would need to worry about are food and keeping warm on the way to the colony. The planet -- that they had lovingly dubbed Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot-995 -- wasn’t partially livable in his opinion. It was either too damn cold or too damn hot --yes even as a southerner some things were just too damn hot -- and full of unpredictable weather patterns.

Lightning struck several feet away from his cave shelter in four quick successions. Flinching Leonard scowled. “Unpredictable weather patterns. It’s more like a natural death trap,” he muttered curling closer to his dying fire. Steeling himself Leonard put the last of his dry wood on the embers and tucked his hands under his armpits ignoring the pain in his shoulder. He had to get as much rest as possible, he had a long walk in the morning.

He woke up shivering and damp. Groaning Leonard cracked his tired eyes open and saw that his fire was all but embers and ash. The early morning light was dim enough for him to see by but not enough to be blinded. McCoy was grateful for the little bit of luck. Everything hurt but his head hurt most of all.

Struggling to his feet Leonard hobbled from his makeshift shelter. The planet’s morning air was crisp and wet with due and leftover rain from the storm. ‘I need to find water’ he thought running his tongue over his dry chapped lips. Rubbing his arms Leonard scanned the area carefully. The heavy rainfall from the night before made some puddles and there were some collections of water settled on some nearby alien plant life. McCoy weighed his options. Dehydration or touching potentially poisonous leaves.

Grumbling to himself Leonard decided that he would try and do what Jim would do. Fuck it all and go with your gut. Leaf water it is. Sipping the water cautiously he couldn’t help but sigh in relief as the cool liquid slid down his scorched dry throat. When he was done he ran damp fingers through his hair and looked toward the cliff face with trepidation. Turning his head down so he could glare at his limp arm, Leonard actually took a moment to think.

So he thought about the flight; he recalled that they had only been up in the air for about twenty minutes. Turning in circles McCoy thought some more, “Boy Spock would be proud,” he muttered with a roll of his eyes. He would really rather not climb in his condition if he could help it so he let himself fall gut instinct. Looking at his surroundings carefully, Leonard spotted some familiar mountains through the thick trees.

Remembering back McCoy recalled one of the nurses from the colony telling him that the mountains would always guide someone home. Leonard could certainly understand why the small city/town was nestled right up against the unusual natural monument. The mountains in the early morning light were rather breathtaking. Glowing bright orange and red like a ragged sunset emerging from the planet. He was just relieved he didn’t have to climb.

McCoy chewed on his lip as he did the math in his head, “Well if I keep a good pace without finding any trouble then I should be able to walk ninety miles in twenty some odd hours,” he muttered to himself as he moved. Scoffing, Leonard shook his head rolling his eyes,

“Who am I fucking kidding? Of course, I’m gonna run into trouble!” he groused tacking on an additional four to six hours to his poor estimate.

----------oOo-----------

Leonard McCoy sometimes hated it when he was right. One arm wrapped around his ribs, he worked to slow down his breathing. The large tree he hid behind was rough on his back, gritting his teeth, Leonard shifted and peered around to where the animal hunting him was prowling. He had been running for over an hour, ever since the giant creature had caught sight of him. McCoy wasn’t sure if he could even explain what the hell it looked like. The only thing that came to mind was an odd cross between a lizard and a cat. A large creepy cat with very large, and very sharp teeth. ‘Dragon cats, just peachy,’ he thought bitterly.

The low growl that the creature produced made the hair on his entire body stand on end. The barbed teeth and red eyes were a thing of nightmares. Swallowing hard Leonard watched as the scale-covered feline sniffed the air by taking a deep hissing breath. Its scorpion-like tail whipping back and forth in clear irritation. Leonard as he was being chased earlier had remembered something his granddaddy had told him a long time ago. His grandfather had taken him to a wilderness preserve -- where he had worked and studied animals for several years -- for a few days of “Bonding time,” it hadn’t gone well. Despite their endangered status bears were still a common sight in the preserve.

“They can smell yeh Len, if you wanna stay hidden from big predators, mask your scent.”

So that’s what he did. Covered in mud and God knows what else, Leonard sent a silent prayer of thanks to his grandfather. The beast couldn’t catch his scent.

Refusing to take his eyes off the predator, Leonard reached for the loose stones under his boots. Grabbing a decent-sized rock, McCoy held his breath and chucked it as far as possible in the opposite direction of his goal. The “thing” and Leonard still hadn’t come up with a clever name for it, gave a piercing screech before running off into the overgrown blue-tinted bushes.

Letting out his breath, Leonard quickly and dizzily stumbled in the direction of the colony. Everything hurt, and he felt himself slowly losing the energy to keep going. He knew he needed to find water again, hell he needed it a while ago but his new friend had kept him busy.

Every single breath he took was painful. His ribs hadn’t fared well and he was fairly sure he was going to puncture his lung anytime now. Using the trees to keep his balance, McCoy pushed himself forward. He refused to give up and die on some backwater planet.

Leonard almost didn’t see it. The sheer drop into a barren ravine cut him off from his escape. The best way back to the colony was forward but that wasn’t happening now. His mind scrambled for a new plan but the sound of twigs snapping and a distinct low rumbling growl made him freeze. His breath caught in his throat as fear flashed through him chilling him to the core. His friend was back and was none too pleased with the trick Leonard had pulled.

Slowly backing away McCoy let out a small gasp as his foot brushed the edge of the vast cliff. Looking at the deadly creature baring its teeth in front of him he knew he had to make a choice. A terrifying one but the choice was still his and he couldn’t help but feel somewhat smug about it. It was either get eaten alive or fall to his death. Neither choice was satisfactory in his opinion.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly Leonard glared at the feline his teeth slightly bared. “If you want me, come get me asshole,” he growled and took a step back.

For a single moment, it didn’t feel as if he were falling at all. Air rushed past him and he could hardly breathe. Looking up at the bright blue sky as it grew smaller, Leonard almost felt at peace with his decision. Almost. He was still terrified, terrified enough for his heart to race and scream to burst out from his lips. He was so panicked that he had almost missed his salvation.

Golden light swirled around him and a familiar pull of the Enterprise’s transporter. In a blink of an eye, the deadly canyon and blue sky were replaced by chrome and soft chirps of computer consoles. Leonard was thankful, even after he crashed painfully onto the pad.

Groaning holding onto his ribs, McCoy rolled so he could see Chekov by at the transporters console with his wild hair and wide worried eyes.

“Nice catch kid,” he muttered giving the navigator a shaky thumbs-up. The far doors hissed open and Leonard breathed a sigh of relief before letting his eyes droop closed. Warm hands gripped his shoulders and a friendly safe voice urged him to rest.

“We’ve got you Bones, you’re safe, you’re back home,”

Tags:

Everything: @lauraaan182, @chickadee-djarin, @cowenby2, @bluesclues-1234, @sayuri9908

“You know Doctor the sooner you talk to me the sooner this will all be over,”

Leonard scoffed at that, rolling his head to the side so he could look his captor in the eye. “You’re really not as brilliant as you think you are Finney,” he muttered voice raspy and horse from the screaming he all but gave up in holding back several hours previous. Finney glared at him and predictably he surged forward brandishing his ‘Fleet issued knife.

“You’re not in a position to be making insults McCoy,”

Leonard gave Finney a bored look despite the numb fear he had been feeling. “Sorry but you make it incredibly easy,”

‘God, I need to start keeping my damn mouth shut!’ Leonard thought as he screamed out in pain. Finney drove the knife right into his shoulder before giving it a twist for good measure. It was very much clear to McCoy -- and to his mild embarrassment-- that Finney had lost his God Damned mind quite some time ago. He had never caught it. Finney was a psychopath, a psychopath that somehow managed to fool StarFleet’s patented psych evals. And of course McCoy -- though part of him thinks that he knew something was off but he just couldn’t figure out what it was.

Yanking the knife free Finney examined it curiously. The man hummed as McCoy’s blood dripped from the blade onto the floor. “You know I figured with the amount of whiskey and bourbon you put away you’re blood would smell fermented.” he chuckled moving closer to him again. Leonard just scowled at him, his breath coming out in short pants.

“Oh, fuck you,” McCoy growled. Finney cocked his head to the side a wicked grin stretching across his face, he chuckled.

“Enticing offer Doctor but I’m going to have to pass,”

The mad man moved even closer, so close that Leonard wanted to lean away. The problem was he was strapped to a table like a damn starfish. Finney eyed McCoy carefully as he played with his blade, he was thinking, trying to make a decision. Though if Leonard had to hazard a guess, he would assume that Finney was not thinking about letting him go.

“I like you, doctor, you’re always so...compassionate I find it amusing. Always trying to make people happy and healthy, I never saw the point but to each his own I suppose. So I’ll give you one more chance. Tell me about Kirk, his biggest fears, weaknesses, anything that will help me grind him into nothing. Tell me and you’ll continue to make people happy and healthy.”

Leonard curled his lip and let out a dark chuckle shaking his head. “Finney, why in the hell would I give you something like that?”

Finney looked almost surprised by Leonard’s answer. The young man took a small step back his face growing darker and darker. Screaming out in frustration Finney spun the knife and violently drove it through Leonard’s palm. McCoy couldn’t bite back his scream. Eyes clenched shut Leonard didn’t even see the second knife coming until it was in his other hand.

His screams subsided as the pain died down into numb shock. Turning his head, Leonard watched as Finney pulled an old antique gun from the back of his pants. He looked at the barbaric weapon with a smile and stroked its side almost lovingly.

“Amazing invention these. Have you ever felt the power behind an old projectile weapon, McCoy?”

‘Yes,’ Leonard thought with a hard swallow. When he was a boy his granddaddy took him out shooting with an old hunting rifle. Taught him the history of such a weapon and how it was never a toy. It was something dangerous and only meant to be used in the direst of situations. So Grandpop McCoy taught little Leonard how to use the weapon safely and taught him what it could do to a person.

He was not looking forward to what Finney had planned in his fucked up little mind. It seemed he didn’t have to wait long. A loud bang shattered the brief silence and Leonard felt a wave of heat before he felt suddenly cold. Raising his head he watched as his gray academy t-shirt turned red. Much to both his and Finney’s surprise, Leoaned didn’t make a sound.

Finney said something but he just couldn’t hear past the roaring in his ears. Like a rushing river taking him under its cold surface.

“Bones!”

Distantly Leonard thought he heard Jim’s voice but that wasn’t right. Jim was with Spock at an officers conference. It couldn’t be Jim. Jim was safe. Blinking the black spots from his vision, Leonard sluggishly turned his head. Everything for a moment had become clear and Leonard was able to see and hear again. Much to his horror Jim was indeed there beating the ever-loving shit out of Finney. Both men were on the ground shouting, throwing punches and insults.

Leonard hissed when Finney managed to get an upper hand and clock Kirk across the face. The doctor struggled for a moment and cried out, a firm warm hand rested on his forehead, gasping Leonard looked up to see Spock.

“Please be still doctor!’

Spock’s eyes were wide for only a moment before they narrowed. His gaze went from wound to wound trying to assess the best way to proceed. Leonard saw the Vulcan speaking but he couldn’t hear a lick of what he was saying. Another hand entered his vision but instead of calm and controlled it was shaking and frantic. “Bones, buddy don’t worry we’ll get you out of here.” Jim pressed down on the bullet wound his adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed hard. The sudden pressure hurt and the only comfort that he was afforded was soothing words melding together into a low hum.

Just before passing out, Leonard heard Jim whisper his tone soft and worried. “Don’t worry Bones we got you.”

It was many days later when McCoy woke up again he saw Spock and Uhura at the end of his bed whispering to one another. Turning his head, Leonard saw Jim leaning back in a chair with PADD’s littering his lap, he muttering to himself as he did his daily reports. Scotty sat in a chair next to him fast asleep and snoring away. Turning his gaze to the other side, Leonard saw Sulu and Chekov playing cards. They were mock whispers yelling at one another throwing cards down. Gaila was watching them with a smirk on her face, her chair balancing on it’s two back legs. Of course Leonard wasn’t surprised to see her feet up on the bed by Jaylah who sat hunched over some sort of gadget.

“Ya’ll could wake the dead,” he muttered closing his eyes. McCoy wanted to smirk in satisfaction at the multiple gasps and shouts of joy. Wincing he opened his eyes to glare,

“It wasn’t a challenge,”

“Doctor Bones,” Jaylah greeted with a toothy smile. He couldn’t help but send a smile back and say something but he was suddenly engulfed by Jim and Gaila who were both talking a mile a minute.

The greetings and well wishes were amazing and he felt so loved and grateful to have everyone in his life but, he was scared. He --since he had woken up-- had been avoiding looking at his bandaged hands. They seemed to be the Klingon in the room. He couldn’t feel them. He tried not to panic, there could be several reasons why he couldn’t feel his hands. It could be the same reason why he was in such a damn good mood. Drugs. The really good ones.

Jim caught his eye. The Captain smiled and nodded his hand resting on Leonard’s shoulder like an anchor. Geoff walked over with Christine on his heels both whispering to each other comparing PADD’s. When they arrived at the foot of McCoy’s bed they gave him a reassuring smile.

“Nothing to worry about Len, the damage was easy to repair. After some PT, and some good old fashioned rest you'll be...how do you put it? Right as rain?”

McCoy barked out a laugh which in turn caused everyone else to burst into laughter. Well, maybe not Spock but there was definitely an upturn of his lip. Leonard McCoy knew he would be alright. The new nightmares he knew he was going to have were a bridge that he would cross some other time. For now? He was going to enjoy living.

Tags:

Everything: @lauraaan182, @chickadee-djarin, @cowenby2, @bluesclues-1234, @sayuri9908

It had been a week since Leonard lost his eyesight and he was beginning to lose hope. If they didn’t find a way to fix the problem soon he will have to get surgery and special tech that would help him see. It’s painful and the recovery is lengthy. Lengthy enough that he would have to go on temporary leave and the Enterprise would have to continue its mission without him.

Leonard sighed tossing his bedcovers to the side. Everyone tried their best to keep optimistic around him but he could tell that it was fading and quickly. McCoy rubbed a hand down his face and through his hair. Yet another sleepless night. Getting up slowly Leonard carefully made his way to his desk where Gaila --yesterday’s helper--- left his clothes.

As he was changing his comm went off with a beep. “Bones you up?” Jim’s voice cheery voice echoed through his dark quarters. Pulling on his black undershirt, McCoy grunted,

“Well, I have to cancel breakfast. We just arrived at Starbase Beta-seven and I have to meet with the station’s Captain.” Leonard couldn’t help but frown and feel mildly disappointed. He was supposed to go to a specialist on the station later that afternoon and Jim was supposed to go with him but McCoy knows now that his friend is going to be held up for the rest of the day.

“Jaylah should be there soon. She offered to take you to your appointment and out to eat on the station. It’ll be fine Bones and I will catch up with you guys as soon as I can.”

----------oOo-----------

Leonard walked stiffly through a crowd with Jaylah guiding him. She barked and cursed at people to move and get out of their way. Leonard found it both horrific and endearing. She had his hand in a tight but reassuring grasp. Ever since he lost his sight he couldn’t stand crowds. Everything was too loud and made him panic. He doesn’t know why, usually he’s perfectly fine with people but now he just can’t breathe. It came back in bits and pieces, blurring together like a melted painting. It felt like the more he tried to remember the more he forgot. It frustrated both him and Spock. And it worried the rest. Just the other day he couldn’t remember his mother’s name.

He suddenly stopped when a hand met his shoulder. Looking up he tried to picture Jaylah’s golden eyes watching him. “You were far,” she said in a concerned and curious manner. McCoy grimaced,

“I’m…” but he couldn’t finish. What was he feeling? There were so many emotions running through Leonard’s head that he couldn’t pick just one. His silence must have spoke millions because Jaylah -- surprisingly to McCoy -- slowly and gently wrapped him up into a hug.

Returning the gesture as he always did without hesitation, McCoy clenched his jaw to keep the tears away. “You are tired,” she whispered to him and he took a gasping shuddering breath. The young woman squeezed him tightly for one more moment before letting go. He could feel her watching him carefully.

Taking his hand again, Jaylah leads him further into the station. “Come doctor Bones, we eat then we go to the specialist.” she declared without leaving any room for argument. To Jaylah food and music meant peace and happiness. Who was Leonard McCoy to argue? She would get along wonderfully with his mother and of course his daughter. Jo would love Jaylah to death. ‘Elenore. Joanna. Elenore. Joanna.’ he kept repeating the names over and over again in his head. If ever forgot them…

He didn’t want to even think about it.

----------oOo-----------

Lunch was good, for once. Jaylah kept topics light and Leonard managed to actually get his food in his mouth. They had just left the restaurant and were making their way to the starbases medical facility when things went downhill.

Halfway to their destination Jaylah suddenly stopped her whole body stiff as a board. Seconds later a loud boom alarm echoed around them. “Kid…” he whispered, she tightened her grip on his hand and hushed him.

“It is dark doctor. The emergency lights are active, something is very wrong,”

Leonard sighed and rolled his eyes, “Of course it is. When doesn’t something go wrong?” he asked dryly. He couldn’t see her but he knew Jaylah cracked a smile.

The station shuddered and moved under their feet causing a few to cry out and scream. McCoy shifted closer to Jaylah making sure they both stayed on their feet. “Boarding party,” he whispered his unseeing eyes flitting every which way.

Jaylah let out a string of curses that would have made Scotty very proud and tugged him through the panicking crowd. It was all so loud that McCoy’s head felt as if were about to burst but it suddenly grew deathly quiet. He and Jaylah froze listening for anything that screamed “Danger” but all they heard was the whispers and breathing of the people petrified nearby.

“Come, Leonard,” Jaylah whispered much closer than she was before. She squeezed his bicep in reassurance. He felt it more than he heard it, his skin goosebumps and the hair on the back of his neck rose. Something was lurking behind them.

“Jaylah move!”

Leonard dove grabbing the girl around the waste sending them flying to the ground. Something missed them centimeters cutting the air sharply. Leonard looked up despite not being able to see anything. He knew deep down something was there, something that wanted to kill them. Scrambling McCoy covered Jaylah with his own body.

The air hummed and then unbearable pain. Both he and Jaylah screamed, one in agony and one in rage.

Leonard McCoy knew something was really, really wrong by the guttural cry of “Bones!” in the distance. Turning his head in that direction he stared into oblivion watching the dark shift and turn and lighten. Leonard thought it must have been a trick of his mind but he could have sworn he saw Jim barrel into a Klingon while Jaylah ran it through with a concealed blade.

Blood loss he guessed. It had to be. The world became a blurred painting of color, sound, and war cries.

To be continued….

Tags:

Everything:

@lauraaan182, @chickadee-djarin, @cowenby2, @bluesclues-1234, @sayuri9908