#st 2009

It was a huge honor to be given the position. You had worked your whole life for a spot on the Starfleet vessel. Only a half hour ago, you had received your orders, but you were already eager to get things moving. You didn't like waiting around when there were things to be done – especially when one of those things was getting you aboard the Enterprise. You made your way toward the loading dock and chatted away with other crew members who would be boarding with you.

"Yeah, I'll be working with Dr. McCoy," you were saying to one of your crewmates and fellow doctors. "Do you know him?"

"Unfortunately," she scoffed as she rolled her eyes. Was he that bad? She must've seen the concern in your eyes because she chuckled and put her hand on your shoulder. "Don't worry about it. He's good with the medical side of things, he just needs to work on his people skills." With that she joined the line that was forming to board the docking ship.

You took a deep breath. Here we go.

When you were finally on the ship, you went straight to your room so you could get changed into the blue dress and black boots you had been given. You sat down on your bed and checked your tablet which, to your relief, was now plugged in. Your instructions were to go to Deck 10 where you would meet your chief medical officer, Doctor Leonard McCoy. The minute you were sure of your instructions, you sprang to your feet and hurried to Deck 10.

***

"Don't touch that, Jim, unless you wanna end up in the ICU for the next few weeks while we treat your collapsed lung and failing liver!" You heard a southern voice yelling not far from your work assignment. You turned the corner to see a dark haired man snatching a tool away from a lighter haired man who was wobbling around the sickbay. As you walked closer they both turned to you.

"And who might you be?" the blond man questioned as he looked you up and down. As he stumbled closer to you, you tried to hold back a laugh.

"Doctor Y/N L/N," you replied. "And you are?"

The shouting, southern man pulled him back. "Delirious," he answered for him. "Go lie down, Jim, you aren't doing well."

"I'm fine, Bones. Just let go of me, and let me stand on my own." Jim slurred. As instructed, Bones let go of him. Jim extended his hand. "Captain James T. Kirk, nice to meet you." Then he immediately dropped to the floor.

"Great," Bones huffed. He bent down and started half carrying, half dragging him across the floor. You wrapped the Captain's arm around your shoulder and helped Bones raise him onto a bed. "At least we might get some peace and quiet around here now." Bones remarked as he injected Jim with a hypo.

"That's Captain Kirk?" you questioned incredulously.

Bones nodded. "Unfortunately, yes, that is the moron that Starfleet chose to control a space-bound, flying vessel with thousands of lives on board. Not to make you nervous or anything."

"Okay..." you replied. "Hey, I'll be out of your way here in a little bit. I'm just looking for Doctor McCoy."

"You're lookin' at him," Bones answered. His brown eyes met yours and you forgot what you wanted Doctor McCoy for at all. He stared at you expectantly, and you tried to remember what you were doing there.

"Listen," he said before you compiled your thoughts. "If you're one of the doctors from Deck 13, asking to change decks because of what happened to Doctor Hiskan-"

"No, I'm actually here as Doctor Puri's replacement," you interrupted as soon as you remembered. Even though you were now a bit curious about what had happened to Doctor Hiskan.

Bones crossed his arms. "I'm Doctor Puri's replacement," he argued.

You shrugged. "Then I guess I'm your replacement," you decided, not wanting to start an argument. You knew you were there to fill in somebody's empty space. Whoever's place it was didn't affect whether you would do your job or not.

"Yeah, well, I'm not gonna need a replacement if we can't get Kirk back on his feet so he can lead the Enterprise." Bones looked over at the unconscious blond laying on the bed you had dragged him onto.

"What's wrong with him?" you questioned McCoy as you got closer to study Kirk's symptoms.

"Don't know yet," he shook his head. "Came stumbling in here 'bout an hour ago too weak to even talk." He stopped and considered what he had said. "I kinda regret fixin' that for him."

"Do you mind if I examine him?" you asked even though you fully intended to do so with or without his permission.

He gestured for you to continue. "Be my guest, but if we can't find out what's wrong with him and cure him in 2 hours, it's gonna be a real hassle explaining to the flight council why the Enterprise is still on the ground." He picked up a PADD and disappeared behind the door to his office.

You kept examining Kirk as you carefully ruled problems out. You tried to work quickly but the more you learned, the more likely it was that there wasn't a quick and easy solution. Your eyes lit up when you decided you had the answer. You went to get Doctor McCoy, but right as you were about to knock on his door, it opened and he stepped out.

"We need a solution now," he said quickly. You flipped the tablet you were using so he could see.

"Kaddu poisoning," you offered simply. He snatched the PADD away from you to study closer.

"Mind telling me what that is exactly?" he questioned.

"The Kaddu are a reptilian race and the females can breathe poison in defense against males who aren't their kin," you answered, remembering what you had read in Starfleet Academy.

Bones rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's just like him. How do we fix him?" You looked over at Kirk who was still out cold.

"The best we can do is let it wear off, but that could take at least three hours," You didn't want the takeoff to be postponed over something that would heal with time, but if the captain wasn't well, that was that.

"We don't have that kind of time so you need to find a way to get rid of it sooner," Bones replied. You knew he was right, but trying to rush the restoring could give you more problems than what you had to start with. You started thinking of alternate options.

"Wait, couldn't we just get Commander Spock to do the takeoff?" you asked, starting to get hopeful.

"Not unless he has the permission of the current captain who, lucky for us, is out like a light," Bones huffed.

"Couldn't we bend the rules a little?" you asked exasperated.

"Maybe, if Spock wasn't a pointy-eared rule book on legs."

Before you could suggest anything else Hiraku Sulu entered the medbay. "We need Captain Kirk on the bridge," he informed.

"Get Commander Spock down here immediately," you instructed him. Sulu took a curious look at Kirk before rushing back to the bridge.

Bones shook his head. "You're not gonna get him to break the rules," he stated. You walked over to Kirk.

"You're right, so get over here and help me wake him up."

Kirk sat up in the bed mumbling to himself while you and Bones waited for Spock to arrive. His delusions were getting worse, and his slurred speech didn't make it any easier to know what he was saying. You looked over at Doctor McCoy who was slowly pacing the Sickbay. His brow was furrowed in concentration and he had a hand resting at his mouth. He looked over your way and your gaze snapped away. You had only just realized you'd been staring. Before you had the time to be embarrassed, Spock arrived, and you snapped your attention back to the project at hand.

"Took ya' long enough!" Bones greeted him. "Get over here and listen to your captain give you orders to start the flight."

"Doctor, I believe I am owed an explanation." The Vulcan inferred. McCoy explained the situation with no small annoyance and with a few of his own choice words. After Spock was all caught up, Kirk started speaking louder as if he was addressing a crowd. You tried to quiet him down while Bones and Spock argued in the background.

"Medical code states that the treatment and transport of a patient is to be determined by his attending physician!" McCoy declared.

Spock turned to you. "You are his attending physician?"

Were you? You thought Bones was. You glanced behind Spock to see Bones vigorously nodding his head.

"Yes," you said hesitantly.

"And what do you think is best for your captain?" Spock questioned.

"I'm your captain!" Jim interrupted.

"I think he'll be better if we can get this ship moving," you decided.

Spock was quiet for a moment before saying, "Very well. Captain, your permission is required for me to start the launch." Kirk suddenly stopped talking and stared blankly at Spock. "Captain," Spock tried again to get a response. Kirk suddenly reached forward and grabbed either side of Spock's head.

"How do you think with these on your head?" he affronted Spock has he examined his ears. You and Bones rushed to the Vulcan's rescue and held Kirk's hands down.

"It is not my place to question your diagnosis--" Spock began.

"You're right, it's not," Bones interrupted. "Jim, just say 'start the launch'!" he commanded as he struggled to keep the captain's hand away from Spock. Even with Bones's persuasion skills, Kirk didn't give the order.

Can someone just hypo him? you thought as you held Kirk's other hand down.

As if the doctor had read your mind, he grabbed a hypo and pointed it in Kirk's direction. "So help me, I'll hypo you again, Jim!"

That made Kirk hesitate. He stopped struggling and glared at the hypo as if he had a personal vendetta against it.

"Start the launch," he finally grumbled.

Bones rolled his eyes. "Was that so hard?" he queried. Then, without any warning, he injected Kirk with the hypo he held in his hand.

"Hey!" Kirk yelled before collapsing unconscious on the bed. Bones tossed the now empty hypo to you and shooed Spock out of the medbay.

"Just in the nick of time," you remarked as you looked at the time.

"Yeah," Bones snorted. "Good thing you were here. I wouldn't have figured that out in near enough time."

You smiled at the praise. "I'm here to help," you responded.

Bones raised his brow. "You can prove that by taking inventory on the new supplies," he said as he handed you a PADD.

You smirked. "Sure, and while I'm at it, maybe I can find some more lemons for you to bite into," you teased as you took the PADD.

Bones rolled his eyes. "I'll let that slide today because you were quick on your toes. But just today, keep that in mind," he added with a short chuckle before walking back to his office.

You turned around to face the supplies, and without another moment's hesitation you officially started your first day of work on the U.S.S. Enterprise.

***

It had been a month since you joined the crew of the Enterprise. It had proved to be just challenging enough for your liking. You were always doing something, always busy. Every day seemed to bring some new and exciting predicament into your infirmary.

It was a good thing that you and Bones made such good team. To cut the work in half you and Bones had divided the sickbay in two (one side for you, and the other for him). The two of you worked back-to-back in a pleasant rhythm.

You had just finished some last minute tasks on your side and looked over at McCoy. He was frowning at a PADD as he harshly pressed the buttons on it.

"What did that tablet do to you?" you teased as you walked over with a smirk.

Bones tossed the PADD onto a nearby bed. "It just stopped working, cold turkey," he grumbled.

"I guess I'd better get back to work then," you joked as you walked back over to your side. He followed you over and rolled his eyes.

"Not what I meant," he said as he picked another tablet up. "Have these things been workin' for you?"

You furrowed your brow. "Actually I think one quit on me yesterday," you informed. You hadn't thought anything of it at the time, but now it seemed a little strange. You looked around, and some of the nurses seemed frustrated with their PADDs too. "What do you think it could be?"

"I'm a doctor not a mechanic," Bones reminded you. You were about to try a different PADD when Captain Kirk walked into the med bay.

"Jim, our tablets aren't working down here," Bones complained before the captain could get one word out.

Kirk sighed. "They aren't on the bridge either. I was hoping for a different story here," he said. "How's the medical equipment?"

"Working. For now," Bones grunted. Did he really think they would go out too?

"If the medical equipment goes out we'll be in big trouble," you commented.

Jim looked over at you like he just noticed you were there. "Have we met?"

"Hardly," you responded trying to hold back a laugh as you remembered the last time you had seen your captain in person. "I treated you when you were high on Kaddu poisoning."

"Right," he said. "I guess we should pick up where we left off." He extended his hand to you. "Captain James T. Kirk." Bones pushed him back by his shoulder.

"Can you focus on the task at hand instead of flirting with every girl you see?" he growled. Kirk brushed him off.

"Ah, Bones, not every girl I see, just the good looking ones," he said with a quick wink to you. Bones rolled his eyes and grumbled something under his breath.

"Doctor McCoy is right, Captain," you said trying to direct Kirk's attention back to the problem. "Our PADDs are where we keep our medical records and files."

"I'll get Scotty on it." Kirk promised. "Until then, Bones, you'll have to fill out hardcopies of your files." You could almost feel your wrist cramping for the doctor. Even though there were some files you had to have hard copies for anyway, you knew that adding all the files you put on the PADDS to the list would make things much more difficult for him.

You heard Bones swear under his breath. "Listen, Jim, I'm a doctor not a secretary!" Kirk clapped Bones on the shoulder in mock sympathy.

"I'm sure it'll be no problem you being the chief medical officer and all," he taunted. "And if it is I might have to replace you with another more attractive option." He looked over at you and smiled. You would've blushed if you hadn't known his words were empty. With a final pat on the shoulder he added to Bones, "Don't take it personally," and walked out of the med bay.

Bones turned back to his side of the med bay grumbling to himself. You stared after him realizing you probably shouldn't let him sulk off like that, but you sighed and returned to your own work.

Later in the day Scotty and Keenser came to Sickbay and collected all the tablets. You watched as Bones grudgingly gave the tablets to them, and you couldn't help but feel bad for him. You knew that paperwork was no fun, especially when doing it alone. You walked over to Bone's side of the medbay.

"Doctor McCoy," you called to get his attention. He looked up from what he was doing, and walked over to you.

"It's Bones," he commented before letting you continue.

"Bones," you corrected yourself as a couple nurses raised their brows. "If you want, I could stay here and help you with the paperwork," you offered. You noticed by now that some of the nurses had cleared off his side of the room. Had you done something wrong? You started second guessing yourself, but you saw Bone's eyes go soft for just a moment. It didn't last long but you couldn't get the look out of your mind.

"Well it would be nice to actually get some help around here," he commented with a side glare to the nurses who had scurried away.

"See you later then," you said as you hastily turned on your heel and continued to work for the rest of the day.

***

It had been a couple weeks since the all the PADDS had been taken from you and Doctor McCoy. You both stayed late at work to fill out papers, and as a result you and Bones kept losing more and more sleep.

Nobody had expected the PADDS to be gone this long, and people had started noticing other electronic devices giving way. Captain Kirk had reported losing power on the bridge once or twice, which always scared people. But you had to be honest with yourself; you hardly even processed the reports from the bridge anymore. Your lack of sleep just made you more stressed during the day and it took a lot of focus not to turn into a grump like McCoy.

You looked over at him now. His hair was unkempt and his shirt was wrinkled, most-likely from not having enough energy to care about sleeping in it. He seemed to have a permanent scowl on his face even more than before. You used to pass the time with talking, but the only time you talked to each other now, was when you were so bored with paperwork that you finally resorted to social interaction. You felt a buzz on your wrist as your watch told you it was time to clock out. You shut it off and sighed, knowing that the real work had only just begun.

You walked over to McCoys office and opened the door to see him already drowning in papers.

"You should go to bed." Bones grunted without looking up.

"And you shouldn't?" you retorted as you pulled up a chair. "I'm not leaving you to do all this by yourself." You just then realized how much it actually was. It could have just been sleep deprivation talking, but you thought this was the biggest workload yet. Bones glanced over at you but didn't respond and you started filling out the papers.

Two hours of nothing but paper, pen, and ink drove you crazy, and you had to set the pen you were holding down and lean back for a minute. You didn't dare close your eyes for fear of falling asleep and Bones trying to finish this by himself, but you massaged your cramped wrist and stretched your back. You were about to pick up the pen and continue when the speakers in the office suddenly burst out static. You cringed at the sound but it eventually faded away and what came next was even worse. It had to be the corniest southern music you had ever heard blaring through the speakers filling the room. Bones stood up and gave you a questioning look before opening his comlink.

"Jim, what's this?" he yelled over the music. A groggy voice answered.

"What's what, Bones? Is it so important you had to wake me up?" Kirk questioned.

"Sorry to disrupt your beauty sleep, your highness, but could you turn this down or off," Bones scoffed.

"What are you talking about?" Kirk asked exasperated. The music was getting louder at the chorus and you scrambled to find a remote as Bones yelled at Kirk. When you found the remote, the power button didn't work so you had to just turn the music down. Looking up you saw Bones stomping over to you.

"He hung up, that little--"

"The music might actually be nice," you interrupted. "Something to occupy the other half of our minds?"

Bones grunted and trudged back to his desk. You sat down and grabbed the pen, but you couldn't seem to bring your hand to the page. The slow music in the background certainly wasn't helping you stay awake and you were about ready to fall asleep on the desk. You felt your eyes fill with tears and you buried your head in the papers so Bones wouldn't notice. You just wanted to stop doing insane amounts of paperwork every night. Sure you had volunteered in the first place, but you could hardly do it with two people let alone with one. You were about to crash and go to sleep right there when suddenly the music turned up. You looked up to see Bones extending his hand to you.

"You need a break and so do I," he said, prompting you to take his hand. "I actually know this song."

You wanted to just keep working and get the job done, but Bone's soft and caring expression drew you toward him and you took his hand. He pulled you closer to him and rested his hand on your waist. You placed a hand on his shoulder and let him lead you in a slow rocking movement. You held his hand firmly and let him hold you close to him so he could keep you from falling over from exhaustion. You rested your head on his shoulder and even though you felt tired enough to collapse into his arms your heart seemed to be wide awake and very excited to be so close to the doctor. You felt Bones rest his head on yours as he gently lead you to the rhythm.

"I can't let you keep overworking yourself, Y/N," he muttered into your hair. You lightly shook your head.

"Work is much more difficult when you're alone," you commented quietly. He let go of your hand and wrapped both of his arms around you. You hugged his neck and closed your eyes just for a second.

"Well, if anyone is going to help me, I'm glad it's you," he mumbled. You raised your head to look into his eyes. They looked back softly, and he pressed his head against yours.

"Me too," you agreed. He smiled and kissed you gently. You suddenly didn't seem so tired as you smiled into his kiss and hugged him closer to you.

"I love you, Y/N," Bones whispered.

"And I love you, Leonard McCoy," you whispered back. Bones took you by the hand.

"We can finish this tommorow," he decided. "It'll be easier if we're well rested." You nodded in agreement and followed Bones as he lead you to your room.

You stood in the doorway for a moment before saying, "Believe it or not, I may actually be looking foreward to the paperwork tommorow."

Bones chuckled and started walking back to his room. "Goodnight, Y/N."

"Goodnight." You turned around wondering how you would ever get to sleep now, but as soon as you hit the bed you were out cold.

You jumped awake to the sound of Captain James Kirk finishing an announcement over the speakers. Because you were still waking up, you didn't catch all of the annoucement, but you would just ask Bones about it later. You checked the time and saw that you majorly overslept. You quickly got dressed and rushed to Sickbay.

"Sorry I'm late," you said to no one in particular as you jogged through the door. Bones walked over to you immediately.

"Tablets are working again," he said as cheerfully as he seemed capable. "Something about accidentally stumblin' into an electromagnetic field? Fried a couple circuits, including some of the radios, but we should be gettin' out of it now."

You didn't really know how to respond to that. Obviously it was good news, but you wanted to spend more time with Bones.

He must've guessed what you were thinking because he walked closer to you and hugged you. "Hey, this isn't a bad thing. Now we can spend time together under not-so-stressful circumstances."