#posts and flees

      After retirement, he would still tell Jim stories, stories of his time as a doctor onboard the Enterprise, stories of how he could never deal with that stubborn First Officer they kept, and stories of how his daughter was growing up over the years.

      When it was the old doctor’s time to be tucked into the stark white hospital sheets, Jim knew he wasn’t going to have enough time to tell Bones his whole life, so he skipped to the important parts. The parts that took place after Bones had met him and they begun to share their lives with one another. Jim would trace the tendons in Bones’ hand, play with the academy ring that Bones still wore on his left pinky, and intertwine their fingers and hold on tight. Jim would talk about the many nights they spent staying up late studying, the infinite amount of playlists he would blare in the morning to get Bones up for class, and the amount of girls he started to kick out because he would rather spend time with his grumpy doctor.

      The last story Jim told Bones was the one where it would all end. He talked about how staying with Bones until the end of time was all he ever wanted, he talked about the Enterprise, and how she would always be with them no matter where they would go. He talked about the crew, and how they would all miss their beloved CMO. He talked for hours about how much he loved Bones. He told stories of galaxies that rivaled Bones’ eyes, of stars that could never shine as bright, and he spoke of oceans that were envious of his loving soul. But most importantly, he told the story of their life together, the great James Kirk and Leonard McCoy, and that this, in this moment, is how it ends. It would be softly, no big bang, no ensemble of doctors trying to save his life to let him live another day. Jim cried, his eyes red, his nose stuffy. It was the end, and he knew it would be selfish to try and stop it.