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seren_ccdTitle: Time after time
Fandom: Star Trek 2009
Ship: Christine Chapel/Leonard McCoy
Beta: The wonderful![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fringedweller
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 3,972
Warning: mild language
Disclaimer: They are not mine.
Prompt: Bumming around Memory Alpha I found THIS little tidbit on Chapel's profile: "In 2286, she was stationed at Starfleet Headquarters, where she coordinated relief efforts while Earth was suffering a severe ecological "attack" from an orbiting space probe." Do something awesome with that - not necessarily exactly the same (the timeline is a bit awkward), but I'd love to see a fic where Chapel & McCoy come together where Christine ISN'T on the Enterprise (initially, at least), but is instead being BAMFy In Starfleet on Earth while McCoy is off reluctantly going boldly... but somehow they get together anyway.
Summary: They really needed to stop meeting like this. A McCoy/Chapel romance four years in the making.
Forjactrades, as part of the ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
mccoy_chapel Fic Exchange. I hope you like it!
Year 2258 - Starfleet Academy
“The reading for the week will be all of chapter one and two, followed by participation in the simulation,” Christine said to the cadets seated in front of her. She paused and then said, “Class dismissed.”
Inwardly she breathed a huge sigh of relief. She’d only agreed to teach the lecture at the last minute, hoping it would go some ways to fulfilling some of the pre-requisites of her degree. She’d conveniently forgotten (or ignored) what it felt like to stand in front of a lot of people and speak.
But the lecture had gone smoothly and the cadets didn’t seem to be unable to grasp the material, so it might be better than she’d initially thought.
The fact was she had been given a second chance to do what she’d always wanted to do: become a trauma surgeon. If said second chance came as a result of an ex-fiancé swanning off to parts unknown after she’d put her own goals on hold thinking that she’d be going with him on his research trip? Well. She’d still take it.
She tapped her PADD to close the diagrams projected onto the walls and nodded to the cadets as they filed out the door. Then she turned to pick up her bag to leave, hopefully she had enough time to grab something to eat before her shift at the relief center.
“I liked your lecture,” a deep, dry voice said behind her. “Especially the use of the hands-on approach.”
Christine smiled as she said, “I like to include that. People tend to forget that tricorders weren’t always used and have a tendency to break at inopportune moments. But thank you, cadet-“
She broke off as she turned and met the eyes of the cadet in front of her. He was tall with broad shoulders and was most definitely older than the average student.
He rolled his eyes. “McCoy. Leonard H. And you can say it.”
“Say what, Cadet McCoy, Leonard H.?” she asked, the urge to tease surprising her.
“What everyone eventually says,” he replied. He mock-narrowed his eyes. “’Aren’t you a little old to be a cadet?’”
Christine grinned. “Aren’t you?”
“Yeah, but they don’t have to bring it up,” he said looking disgruntled yet managing a grin.
Christine laughed. “I promise not to mention it. And thank you. I’m glad you liked the lecture. And I’m guessing you already knew all of it?”
“Most of it,” he said with a shrug. “I’m a doctor.”
“Well, I’m a nurse,” she said her eyes darting down to the time on her PADD, “who is going to be late for her shift.”
“You work at the hospital?” he asked falling into step beside her as she headed out the door.
“At the relief center, actually,” she said. “I specialize in trauma care. Yourself?”
“General practice, mostly,” he said. “With a fair amount of emergency care thrown in.”
“And now you’re space bound,” she said.
“In my defense I was very, very depressed and just shy of being completely soused and the Starfleet officer was extremely persuasive,” he said.
She grinned. “It comes with the uniform.”
“That’s what I thought.”
They arrived at the center of the square and Christine turned to face him. “I’m this way.”
“I’m that way,” he said jerking his head in the other direction. “And I meant it. I liked your lecture.”
“I appreciate that. A lot, in fact,” she said.
“First one?”
“Was it obvious?” she asked.
“No,” he said shaking his head. “It wasn’t. You’re good, Chapel. I look forward to the rest of the semester.”
“Thank you, McCoy,” Christine said. “So do I.”
He nodded at her and turned to head off. Christine did the same, when a thought struck her and she turned to call after him, “This isn’t your way of buttering up the instructor, is it?”
He just gave her a wink and continued on his way.
“General practice, my foot,” Christine said a few days later taking a seat across from McCoy in the canteen. “You’re the McCoy that wrote that paper on vaccination practices.”
He glanced up and smiled. “You’re one of the five people who read it.”
“Please,” Christine waved a hand in the air. “You have an incredible way with words and data, so drop the false modesty.”
“Done,” he said. “What’s your opinion on the matter?”
With that, a friendship that Christine hadn’t been looking for developed. McCoy was refreshingly blunt and intelligent. His no-nonsense approach spoke to her own practical tendencies.
He also was pretty easy on the eyes, but that was neither here nor there.
Christine was in the middle of her shift at the relief center when the emergency call came in. A part of her itched to be assigned to a ship and she had a moment of regret for not signing up to active duty. But she was soon pulled in to help organize a relief effort that would surely be needed and that took far longer than her assigned shift.
Therefore it wasn’t until quite late that night that she got McCoy’s voice message.
“Hey, Chapel. Look, I’ve only got a second, we’re about to take off. Just…I’ll be in touch, okay? And don’t forget to study those MacMillan notes I gave you. They’ll come in handy. And, uh, spare a thought for the dumb old man who’s heading into the black. See you when I get back. Yeah, I’m coming!”
Christine sat for a moment in silence, then replayed the message another three times and decidedly not focusing on why she was doing so.
True to his word, she did see him when he got back. She’d been working overtime with the group assisting the Vulcans in arranging supplies and teams for their relocation and hadn’t seen her apartment in days.
In fact, she almost tripped over him on her way to her door.
“Hey there, Chapel,” he said, his voice hoarse and exhausted, dark smudges under his eyes.
“Hey yourself, McCoy,” she said leaning against her door. “Need a place to crash?”
He shrugged. “If you’ve got the room.”
“Yeah,” she said. “I’ve got the room. I’ve also got a big thing of soup in my bag and bread from the canteen.”
“Sold.”
They ate the soup and bread in silence and then fell onto her bed still almost fully dressed and too tired to even contemplate any other reason two people would be in bed together.
She still woke up with his arms around her waist and his face pressed against her neck, but was too tired to do anything about it one way or the other and fell back to sleep.
The next time she woke up, he was sprawled on his stomach, head facing the other way and snoring like a monster.
Christine stumbled out of the bed, shedding her uniform on the way to the shower. When she was done, she moved past McCoy doing his own stumble to the shower.
They ventured from her apartment to the tiny diner on the corner and by some unspoken agreement, didn’t talk about the last few days.
After eating their weight in breakfast foods, they wandered over to the promenade along the bay, sat down on a bench, and watched the recovery team pull the massive drill out of the water.
Christine spared a moment for a grateful thought that the monstrosity fell into the bay as opposed to on land.
“I think I’m going back up there,” he said after a few minutes.
“I’m not surprised,” she told him.
“You’re not?”
“Please. Like you can leave Jim Kirk to his own devices,” she said. He made a face. “Not to mention, you kind of thrive on the danger.”
“I do not!” he said gruffly. Christine just stared at him. He rolled his eyes. “Fine. It’s interesting and I like being busy and being challenged. I still hate space, though.”
“Disease and danger,” Christine said nodding seriously.
“Don’t mock,” he said pointing a finger at her.
“Stop making it so easy,” she retorted.
“And you?” he asked, not-so-subtly changing the subject. “I overheard your name being bandied about for placement.”
“So had I,” Christine said, slumping back in her seat. She thought about for a moment, before shaking her head. “I gave my goals up once before, I don’t want to do it again. I want to be a surgeon, Len. I want to be the best one I can be and the way to do that is with this program.”
He nodded. “Good for you. You need any help, you message me, got it?”
“Are you kidding? Who do you think is going to proofread my thesis?” she said grinning.
He grinned back and then threw a casual arm around her shoulders. Christine leaned into him and they watched the drill slowly come up.
Year 2259
Message: CChapel to LHMcCoy
Why didn’t you tell me that practicals were this hard?
Message: LHMcCoy to CChapel
Because they’re a joy that every medical student needs to experience on their own with no prior warning. How’s the research coming?
Message: CChapel to LHMcCoy
Not bad. I’ve contemplated throwing my PADD out the window a mere half a dozen times in the last hour. Speaking of, what do you know about the effect blood loss has on the nervous system?
Message: LHMcCoy to CChapel
Nervous systems? You’re studying trauma surgery on nervous systems. Woman after my own heart. Where should I begin?
Message: CChapel to LHMcCoy
Flirt. And the beginning works for me.
Year 2260 - Korvus VII
Christine winced as another explosion rocked the small fortress. She gritted her teeth and focused on the wounded man before her, deftly suturing up a very deep gash and hoping that she could get him and the others beamed out as soon as possible.
“You have flawless taste in warzones, Chapel, I’ll give you that,” a familiar and extremely welcome voice said.
Christine managed a laugh as McCoy’s hands seamlessly took over for her. “You’re one to talk,” she said while grabbing another set of sutures. “Last I heard you were taunting Klingons.”
“Blame Jim,” he said, “and when was the last time you slept?”
“No idea,” she said cheerfully. “I’ll sleep when we’re done.”
Another tense twelve hours passed before the explosions stopped and the Enterprise was able to start beaming people to safe places.
Christine sat on the floor, her legs stretched out in front of her, and enjoyed the quiet of the empty triage room. She stared at the tips of her boots in an exhausted daze and eventually became aware of McCoy sitting next to her, his large frame warm and welcome.
She sighed and let her head tilt to the side, her cheek coming to rest against his shoulder.
“’m gonna sleep now, ‘kay?” she slurred.
“Okay,” he said wrapping an arm around her. She settled in against his chest with a sigh. “But we really need to talk about your latest draft. I think you can do better.”
“No talking, sleep now,” she said poking his side.
He huffed out a laugh and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Christine drifted off with a smile on her face.
She woke an hour later when Jim Kirk arrived and told McCoy it was time to go.
“Not that I blame you for wanting to hang around, Bones,” Kirk said with a smile aimed towards Christine. “Looking lovely as always, Nurse Christine.”
“Thank you kindly, Captain,” Christine said, letting McCoy help her to her feet. “But I know a lie when I hear one.”
“Please,” Kirk said. “You could wear a pelt made out of Tribbles and look gorgeous.”
“And with that image in my head,” McCoy said rolling his eyes. “We’ve got to go.”
Christine waved him off. “Thanks for your help. I’ll send you my latest research and you can yell at my conclusions via messages.”
“I look forward to it.” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead and Christine felt herself sway towards him; then she straightened and poked his stomach.
“Go on. Back to the black with you,” she said grinning.
He rolled his eyes again and she watched him beam back to the Enterprise.
Christine took a deep breath and closed her eyes and let herself miss him.
Then she got back to work.
Year 2261 - Tehleet IV
Christine watched the people dancing and took another sip of her purple drink. Tilting her head to the side, she considered her options and sighed.
“Uh oh. Sounds serious.”
Christine turned around in her chair and jumped to her feet. “McCoy! What the hell are you doing here?”
She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. It occurred to her that she may have had too many of the purple drinks and should probably switch to the green ones; especially if it caused her to just leap on old friends.
It also occurred to her that he smelled really nice…familiar…and sort of yummy.
It also also occurred to her that he was hugging her back just as tightly.
She grinned and stepped back and looked him over. “Civilian clothes, I see,” she said sitting back down. “Shore leave?”
“And well-deserved,” he said sitting across from her and taking a sip of her drink. He made a face. “What the hell is that?”
“No idea,” she said, “it looked like fun in a glass.”
“It’s purple.”
“That’s the color of fun.”
“Really?”
“Everyone knows that.”
“I think I’m cutting you off.”
“I think you’re not the boss of me,” she said. She lifted her chin. “In fact, I just might outrank you. Or, at the very least, am on your level.”
McCoy’s eyes narrowed. “Chapel? What are you doing here?”
“I’m celebrating, actually,” Christine said.
He raised an eyebrow. “And what are you celebrating?”
“Me. I did it,” she said softly. “I’m a doctor, Len. I’m a Starfleet trauma surgeon.”
A delighted smile spread across his face. “Of course you are. Congratulations, Doctor Chapel.”
“Thank you, Doctor McCoy,” Christine said smiling and tossing her head back, letting her loose hair settle around her shoulders. “I feel so…so…good.”
“You should.”
“I also feel really damn proud.”
“Once again, you should.”
She met his eyes as he handed her glass back to her. “I’m really glad I ran into you.”
“So am I,” he said softly, holding her gaze with his. Christine felt warm all over. She wanted to see what his skin felt like under her hands and what it tasted like under her tongue.
She tore her eyes away and hurriedly sipped at her drink.
“All right, what was that?” McCoy asked leaning forward.
“What was what?” she asked, taking another sip.
“That look,” he said. “One second you’re looking as serious as a heart attack and the next, you look like a startled rabbit. What’s going on, Chapel?”
“Any chance you can accept it as feminine capriciousness?” she asked.
He snorted. “No way in hell.”
“Damn,” she muttered under her breath. Oh, well. Nothing for it. She put her glass on the table and met his eyes. “I told myself that this weekend was going to be my last hurrah before being sent out on a mission. My last chance to be a little bit reckless and celebrate.” She took a deep breath. “The fact is, the second I saw you, I had the urge to treat myself to something.”
“Something?” he asked, his voice gone low and soft.
“Yes. Um, you, in fact.”
His eyes widened and she groaned, picked up her drink and downed the rest. Only when she was finished did she dare to lift her eyes to his. What she saw there made the glass in her hand slip a little.
“Let me just get this straight,” McCoy said dangerously calm. “You wanted to reward all your hard work with…me.”
“Yes?” she breathed.
For a moment all he did was stare at her. Then he stood up and held out his hand to her. Christine stared at it blankly, then looked up at him. He rolled his eyes.
“I have a king-size bed in my hotel room, Chapel,” he said with that wonderfully blunt way of his. “I’d very much like to have you in it. In fact, if we’re being completely honest here, I’ve wanted you in it since I met you.”
Christine blinked once. Then she dropped her glass on the table, grabbed her bag and then his hand.
His hand was warm and large around hers, but gentle as he pulled her through the crowd in the bar. Once outside, he picked up the pace, Christine hurrying along beside him, the urge to laugh in delight bubbling up in her throat.
They rushed into a large resort and headed for the elevator. Once inside, Christine felt some of the adrenaline cool in her veins.
What was she doing? Was she seriously about to treat herself with McCoy? Use him? Not that it looked or sounded like he minded. In fact…
She snuck a glance at him
His jaw was set and his hand firm around hers. And if she wasn’t mistaken, his cheeks were flushed and his pupils were wide.
Good signs, she thought. Then she berated herself. For God’s sake, he’s not a patient. He’s… He’s your…
He’s McCoy, she thought happily. And this is going to be incredible.
They arrived at his floor and he practically dragged her out of the elevator and Christine had to laugh. He grinned back at her and swiped his key card at the entrance of the door to his room and flung her inside.
“Look, McCoy,” she managed to get out before his mouth covered hers and she clutched at his shoulders and simply hung on for dear life while they kissed. Fast, hard kisses followed by deep, slow, dirty kisses that had her pressing herself against him as close as she could get.
He lifted his head long enough to ask, “Did you say something?”
“Nope,” she said biting down on his earlobe. “I didn’t. Not a damn thing.”
“Good,” he said and then neither of them said a damn thing for some time.
Later, while Christine rested her head on his chest and trailed her hand along the lines of his body and he traced the curve of her spine with his index finger, he said, “You know… Never mind.”
She lifted her head and pressed a kiss to the bottom of his chin. “I know. I miss you, too.”
Year 2262 - Planet 4351
One minute Christine had her hands deep in the chest cavity of a dying ensign and the next she was staring at McCoy who seemed to appear out of nowhere.
“Doctor,” he said nodding at her.
“Doctor,” she answered back. “It’s bad. I’ve got at another two exactly like this,” she said gesturing at the young man on the table. “The explosion took out most of the third floor, but these came from the second floor. There’s no power and only some of the handheld devices are working.”
“Good thing I took a class that reminded me how to do things manually. I’m on it,” he said with a half smile for her and then he was gone, yelling at his team to prep the other wounded for surgery.
Five hours later, Christine emerged from surgery to find McCoy in the hallway.
“How’d it go?” she asked.
“They’ll live,” he said grimly.
Christine nodded. “Good answer.”
He leaned against the wall and she could feel his eyes on her as she walked over to stand next to him.
She rested her head on his shoulder and he turned his face into her hair.
“Christ, I miss you sometimes,” he muttered. “At the strangest times, I just miss you.”
“Same here,” she said. “I can’t explain it. I thought of you when I was filling in a YP309 form the other day.”
“Isn’t that for ordering more tricorders?”
“I said I can’t explain it.”
He sucked in a breath. “Damn it, Chapel. It’s not practical.”
“I know.”
“Or fair. To either of us.”
“Oh, I know.”
“It’s not just because the sex was amazing.”
“And it was amazing.”
“It’s everything.”
“Yeah.”
“Damn it.”
“I wish. Oh, Len, sometimes, I just wish.” She turned towards him and closed her eyes as he wrapped his arms around her.
She counted the beats of his heart and then when she got to one hundred she lifted her head. He kissed her softly, gently and then they moved a part and went back to work.
Seven months later, she got an offer from Starfleet.
It only took her five heartbeats to know her answer.
Year 2262 - USS Enterprise
The transporter room of the Enterprise slowly came into view and Christine heard a familiar voice say, “We don’t need a trauma team!”
She grinned and when S’Goya leaned back and muttered, “Well, that’s an auspicious way to start,” Christine grinned even harder.
“Dr. Chapel, Lieutenants S’Goya and MacTavish, welcome to the Enterprise,” Captain Kirk said smiling broadly. “The grumpy old man over there is Dr. McCoy and he’s as delighted to have you here as I am.”
McCoy shook his head even as he stared at Christine, but he didn’t say a word.
Which was just as well, as the intercom called Kirk to the bridge and he strode off down the hall with a wave.
McCoy opened his mouth and then closed it again. Christine took advantage of his apparent speechlessness and walked over to him.
“I hope you don’t think that we’re just going to pick up where we left off,” she said.
“Oh, but I do,” he said studying her. “Chris…how?”
She shrugged. “The Enterprise apparently has a knack for getting into some nasty scrapes and Starfleet thought you might like an extra few pairs of hands.” She nodded at her lieutenants calmly chatting with the transporter engineers. “They’re the best I know.”
“I believe you,” he said. “Now, about not picking up where we left off…”
“I meant where we left off the last time we met,” she clarified. “We can most definitely pick up where we left off the time before that.”
A slow smile spread across his face. He opened his mouth to speak, just as loud klaxons went off and the ship banked sharply.
“Damn it, Jim! Sickbay is on level three, have a look around and get ready,” he said backing away to presumably head to the bridge. “You have no idea how good it is to see you and I have serious plans for you, Dr. Chapel. Welcome to the Enterprise.”
He grinned at her and ran down the hall.
Christine laughed to herself and just said, “Glad to be here.”
Then, as per usual, she got to work.
Fandom: Star Trek 2009
Ship: Christine Chapel/Leonard McCoy
Beta: The wonderful
fringedwellerRating: PG-13
Word Count: 3,972
Warning: mild language
Disclaimer: They are not mine.
Prompt: Bumming around Memory Alpha I found THIS little tidbit on Chapel's profile: "In 2286, she was stationed at Starfleet Headquarters, where she coordinated relief efforts while Earth was suffering a severe ecological "attack" from an orbiting space probe." Do something awesome with that - not necessarily exactly the same (the timeline is a bit awkward), but I'd love to see a fic where Chapel & McCoy come together where Christine ISN'T on the Enterprise (initially, at least), but is instead being BAMFy In Starfleet on Earth while McCoy is off reluctantly going boldly... but somehow they get together anyway.
Summary: They really needed to stop meeting like this. A McCoy/Chapel romance four years in the making.
For
jactrades, as part of the mccoy_chapel Fic Exchange. I hope you like it! Year 2258 - Starfleet Academy
“The reading for the week will be all of chapter one and two, followed by participation in the simulation,” Christine said to the cadets seated in front of her. She paused and then said, “Class dismissed.”
Inwardly she breathed a huge sigh of relief. She’d only agreed to teach the lecture at the last minute, hoping it would go some ways to fulfilling some of the pre-requisites of her degree. She’d conveniently forgotten (or ignored) what it felt like to stand in front of a lot of people and speak.
But the lecture had gone smoothly and the cadets didn’t seem to be unable to grasp the material, so it might be better than she’d initially thought.
The fact was she had been given a second chance to do what she’d always wanted to do: become a trauma surgeon. If said second chance came as a result of an ex-fiancé swanning off to parts unknown after she’d put her own goals on hold thinking that she’d be going with him on his research trip? Well. She’d still take it.
She tapped her PADD to close the diagrams projected onto the walls and nodded to the cadets as they filed out the door. Then she turned to pick up her bag to leave, hopefully she had enough time to grab something to eat before her shift at the relief center.
“I liked your lecture,” a deep, dry voice said behind her. “Especially the use of the hands-on approach.”
Christine smiled as she said, “I like to include that. People tend to forget that tricorders weren’t always used and have a tendency to break at inopportune moments. But thank you, cadet-“
She broke off as she turned and met the eyes of the cadet in front of her. He was tall with broad shoulders and was most definitely older than the average student.
He rolled his eyes. “McCoy. Leonard H. And you can say it.”
“Say what, Cadet McCoy, Leonard H.?” she asked, the urge to tease surprising her.
“What everyone eventually says,” he replied. He mock-narrowed his eyes. “’Aren’t you a little old to be a cadet?’”
Christine grinned. “Aren’t you?”
“Yeah, but they don’t have to bring it up,” he said looking disgruntled yet managing a grin.
Christine laughed. “I promise not to mention it. And thank you. I’m glad you liked the lecture. And I’m guessing you already knew all of it?”
“Most of it,” he said with a shrug. “I’m a doctor.”
“Well, I’m a nurse,” she said her eyes darting down to the time on her PADD, “who is going to be late for her shift.”
“You work at the hospital?” he asked falling into step beside her as she headed out the door.
“At the relief center, actually,” she said. “I specialize in trauma care. Yourself?”
“General practice, mostly,” he said. “With a fair amount of emergency care thrown in.”
“And now you’re space bound,” she said.
“In my defense I was very, very depressed and just shy of being completely soused and the Starfleet officer was extremely persuasive,” he said.
She grinned. “It comes with the uniform.”
“That’s what I thought.”
They arrived at the center of the square and Christine turned to face him. “I’m this way.”
“I’m that way,” he said jerking his head in the other direction. “And I meant it. I liked your lecture.”
“I appreciate that. A lot, in fact,” she said.
“First one?”
“Was it obvious?” she asked.
“No,” he said shaking his head. “It wasn’t. You’re good, Chapel. I look forward to the rest of the semester.”
“Thank you, McCoy,” Christine said. “So do I.”
He nodded at her and turned to head off. Christine did the same, when a thought struck her and she turned to call after him, “This isn’t your way of buttering up the instructor, is it?”
He just gave her a wink and continued on his way.
“General practice, my foot,” Christine said a few days later taking a seat across from McCoy in the canteen. “You’re the McCoy that wrote that paper on vaccination practices.”
He glanced up and smiled. “You’re one of the five people who read it.”
“Please,” Christine waved a hand in the air. “You have an incredible way with words and data, so drop the false modesty.”
“Done,” he said. “What’s your opinion on the matter?”
With that, a friendship that Christine hadn’t been looking for developed. McCoy was refreshingly blunt and intelligent. His no-nonsense approach spoke to her own practical tendencies.
He also was pretty easy on the eyes, but that was neither here nor there.
Christine was in the middle of her shift at the relief center when the emergency call came in. A part of her itched to be assigned to a ship and she had a moment of regret for not signing up to active duty. But she was soon pulled in to help organize a relief effort that would surely be needed and that took far longer than her assigned shift.
Therefore it wasn’t until quite late that night that she got McCoy’s voice message.
“Hey, Chapel. Look, I’ve only got a second, we’re about to take off. Just…I’ll be in touch, okay? And don’t forget to study those MacMillan notes I gave you. They’ll come in handy. And, uh, spare a thought for the dumb old man who’s heading into the black. See you when I get back. Yeah, I’m coming!”
Christine sat for a moment in silence, then replayed the message another three times and decidedly not focusing on why she was doing so.
True to his word, she did see him when he got back. She’d been working overtime with the group assisting the Vulcans in arranging supplies and teams for their relocation and hadn’t seen her apartment in days.
In fact, she almost tripped over him on her way to her door.
“Hey there, Chapel,” he said, his voice hoarse and exhausted, dark smudges under his eyes.
“Hey yourself, McCoy,” she said leaning against her door. “Need a place to crash?”
He shrugged. “If you’ve got the room.”
“Yeah,” she said. “I’ve got the room. I’ve also got a big thing of soup in my bag and bread from the canteen.”
“Sold.”
They ate the soup and bread in silence and then fell onto her bed still almost fully dressed and too tired to even contemplate any other reason two people would be in bed together.
She still woke up with his arms around her waist and his face pressed against her neck, but was too tired to do anything about it one way or the other and fell back to sleep.
The next time she woke up, he was sprawled on his stomach, head facing the other way and snoring like a monster.
Christine stumbled out of the bed, shedding her uniform on the way to the shower. When she was done, she moved past McCoy doing his own stumble to the shower.
They ventured from her apartment to the tiny diner on the corner and by some unspoken agreement, didn’t talk about the last few days.
After eating their weight in breakfast foods, they wandered over to the promenade along the bay, sat down on a bench, and watched the recovery team pull the massive drill out of the water.
Christine spared a moment for a grateful thought that the monstrosity fell into the bay as opposed to on land.
“I think I’m going back up there,” he said after a few minutes.
“I’m not surprised,” she told him.
“You’re not?”
“Please. Like you can leave Jim Kirk to his own devices,” she said. He made a face. “Not to mention, you kind of thrive on the danger.”
“I do not!” he said gruffly. Christine just stared at him. He rolled his eyes. “Fine. It’s interesting and I like being busy and being challenged. I still hate space, though.”
“Disease and danger,” Christine said nodding seriously.
“Don’t mock,” he said pointing a finger at her.
“Stop making it so easy,” she retorted.
“And you?” he asked, not-so-subtly changing the subject. “I overheard your name being bandied about for placement.”
“So had I,” Christine said, slumping back in her seat. She thought about for a moment, before shaking her head. “I gave my goals up once before, I don’t want to do it again. I want to be a surgeon, Len. I want to be the best one I can be and the way to do that is with this program.”
He nodded. “Good for you. You need any help, you message me, got it?”
“Are you kidding? Who do you think is going to proofread my thesis?” she said grinning.
He grinned back and then threw a casual arm around her shoulders. Christine leaned into him and they watched the drill slowly come up.
Year 2259
Message: CChapel to LHMcCoy
Why didn’t you tell me that practicals were this hard?
Message: LHMcCoy to CChapel
Because they’re a joy that every medical student needs to experience on their own with no prior warning. How’s the research coming?
Message: CChapel to LHMcCoy
Not bad. I’ve contemplated throwing my PADD out the window a mere half a dozen times in the last hour. Speaking of, what do you know about the effect blood loss has on the nervous system?
Message: LHMcCoy to CChapel
Nervous systems? You’re studying trauma surgery on nervous systems. Woman after my own heart. Where should I begin?
Message: CChapel to LHMcCoy
Flirt. And the beginning works for me.
Year 2260 - Korvus VII
Christine winced as another explosion rocked the small fortress. She gritted her teeth and focused on the wounded man before her, deftly suturing up a very deep gash and hoping that she could get him and the others beamed out as soon as possible.
“You have flawless taste in warzones, Chapel, I’ll give you that,” a familiar and extremely welcome voice said.
Christine managed a laugh as McCoy’s hands seamlessly took over for her. “You’re one to talk,” she said while grabbing another set of sutures. “Last I heard you were taunting Klingons.”
“Blame Jim,” he said, “and when was the last time you slept?”
“No idea,” she said cheerfully. “I’ll sleep when we’re done.”
Another tense twelve hours passed before the explosions stopped and the Enterprise was able to start beaming people to safe places.
Christine sat on the floor, her legs stretched out in front of her, and enjoyed the quiet of the empty triage room. She stared at the tips of her boots in an exhausted daze and eventually became aware of McCoy sitting next to her, his large frame warm and welcome.
She sighed and let her head tilt to the side, her cheek coming to rest against his shoulder.
“’m gonna sleep now, ‘kay?” she slurred.
“Okay,” he said wrapping an arm around her. She settled in against his chest with a sigh. “But we really need to talk about your latest draft. I think you can do better.”
“No talking, sleep now,” she said poking his side.
He huffed out a laugh and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Christine drifted off with a smile on her face.
She woke an hour later when Jim Kirk arrived and told McCoy it was time to go.
“Not that I blame you for wanting to hang around, Bones,” Kirk said with a smile aimed towards Christine. “Looking lovely as always, Nurse Christine.”
“Thank you kindly, Captain,” Christine said, letting McCoy help her to her feet. “But I know a lie when I hear one.”
“Please,” Kirk said. “You could wear a pelt made out of Tribbles and look gorgeous.”
“And with that image in my head,” McCoy said rolling his eyes. “We’ve got to go.”
Christine waved him off. “Thanks for your help. I’ll send you my latest research and you can yell at my conclusions via messages.”
“I look forward to it.” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead and Christine felt herself sway towards him; then she straightened and poked his stomach.
“Go on. Back to the black with you,” she said grinning.
He rolled his eyes again and she watched him beam back to the Enterprise.
Christine took a deep breath and closed her eyes and let herself miss him.
Then she got back to work.
Year 2261 - Tehleet IV
Christine watched the people dancing and took another sip of her purple drink. Tilting her head to the side, she considered her options and sighed.
“Uh oh. Sounds serious.”
Christine turned around in her chair and jumped to her feet. “McCoy! What the hell are you doing here?”
She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. It occurred to her that she may have had too many of the purple drinks and should probably switch to the green ones; especially if it caused her to just leap on old friends.
It also occurred to her that he smelled really nice…familiar…and sort of yummy.
It also also occurred to her that he was hugging her back just as tightly.
She grinned and stepped back and looked him over. “Civilian clothes, I see,” she said sitting back down. “Shore leave?”
“And well-deserved,” he said sitting across from her and taking a sip of her drink. He made a face. “What the hell is that?”
“No idea,” she said, “it looked like fun in a glass.”
“It’s purple.”
“That’s the color of fun.”
“Really?”
“Everyone knows that.”
“I think I’m cutting you off.”
“I think you’re not the boss of me,” she said. She lifted her chin. “In fact, I just might outrank you. Or, at the very least, am on your level.”
McCoy’s eyes narrowed. “Chapel? What are you doing here?”
“I’m celebrating, actually,” Christine said.
He raised an eyebrow. “And what are you celebrating?”
“Me. I did it,” she said softly. “I’m a doctor, Len. I’m a Starfleet trauma surgeon.”
A delighted smile spread across his face. “Of course you are. Congratulations, Doctor Chapel.”
“Thank you, Doctor McCoy,” Christine said smiling and tossing her head back, letting her loose hair settle around her shoulders. “I feel so…so…good.”
“You should.”
“I also feel really damn proud.”
“Once again, you should.”
She met his eyes as he handed her glass back to her. “I’m really glad I ran into you.”
“So am I,” he said softly, holding her gaze with his. Christine felt warm all over. She wanted to see what his skin felt like under her hands and what it tasted like under her tongue.
She tore her eyes away and hurriedly sipped at her drink.
“All right, what was that?” McCoy asked leaning forward.
“What was what?” she asked, taking another sip.
“That look,” he said. “One second you’re looking as serious as a heart attack and the next, you look like a startled rabbit. What’s going on, Chapel?”
“Any chance you can accept it as feminine capriciousness?” she asked.
He snorted. “No way in hell.”
“Damn,” she muttered under her breath. Oh, well. Nothing for it. She put her glass on the table and met his eyes. “I told myself that this weekend was going to be my last hurrah before being sent out on a mission. My last chance to be a little bit reckless and celebrate.” She took a deep breath. “The fact is, the second I saw you, I had the urge to treat myself to something.”
“Something?” he asked, his voice gone low and soft.
“Yes. Um, you, in fact.”
His eyes widened and she groaned, picked up her drink and downed the rest. Only when she was finished did she dare to lift her eyes to his. What she saw there made the glass in her hand slip a little.
“Let me just get this straight,” McCoy said dangerously calm. “You wanted to reward all your hard work with…me.”
“Yes?” she breathed.
For a moment all he did was stare at her. Then he stood up and held out his hand to her. Christine stared at it blankly, then looked up at him. He rolled his eyes.
“I have a king-size bed in my hotel room, Chapel,” he said with that wonderfully blunt way of his. “I’d very much like to have you in it. In fact, if we’re being completely honest here, I’ve wanted you in it since I met you.”
Christine blinked once. Then she dropped her glass on the table, grabbed her bag and then his hand.
His hand was warm and large around hers, but gentle as he pulled her through the crowd in the bar. Once outside, he picked up the pace, Christine hurrying along beside him, the urge to laugh in delight bubbling up in her throat.
They rushed into a large resort and headed for the elevator. Once inside, Christine felt some of the adrenaline cool in her veins.
What was she doing? Was she seriously about to treat herself with McCoy? Use him? Not that it looked or sounded like he minded. In fact…
She snuck a glance at him
His jaw was set and his hand firm around hers. And if she wasn’t mistaken, his cheeks were flushed and his pupils were wide.
Good signs, she thought. Then she berated herself. For God’s sake, he’s not a patient. He’s… He’s your…
He’s McCoy, she thought happily. And this is going to be incredible.
They arrived at his floor and he practically dragged her out of the elevator and Christine had to laugh. He grinned back at her and swiped his key card at the entrance of the door to his room and flung her inside.
“Look, McCoy,” she managed to get out before his mouth covered hers and she clutched at his shoulders and simply hung on for dear life while they kissed. Fast, hard kisses followed by deep, slow, dirty kisses that had her pressing herself against him as close as she could get.
He lifted his head long enough to ask, “Did you say something?”
“Nope,” she said biting down on his earlobe. “I didn’t. Not a damn thing.”
“Good,” he said and then neither of them said a damn thing for some time.
Later, while Christine rested her head on his chest and trailed her hand along the lines of his body and he traced the curve of her spine with his index finger, he said, “You know… Never mind.”
She lifted her head and pressed a kiss to the bottom of his chin. “I know. I miss you, too.”
Year 2262 - Planet 4351
One minute Christine had her hands deep in the chest cavity of a dying ensign and the next she was staring at McCoy who seemed to appear out of nowhere.
“Doctor,” he said nodding at her.
“Doctor,” she answered back. “It’s bad. I’ve got at another two exactly like this,” she said gesturing at the young man on the table. “The explosion took out most of the third floor, but these came from the second floor. There’s no power and only some of the handheld devices are working.”
“Good thing I took a class that reminded me how to do things manually. I’m on it,” he said with a half smile for her and then he was gone, yelling at his team to prep the other wounded for surgery.
Five hours later, Christine emerged from surgery to find McCoy in the hallway.
“How’d it go?” she asked.
“They’ll live,” he said grimly.
Christine nodded. “Good answer.”
He leaned against the wall and she could feel his eyes on her as she walked over to stand next to him.
She rested her head on his shoulder and he turned his face into her hair.
“Christ, I miss you sometimes,” he muttered. “At the strangest times, I just miss you.”
“Same here,” she said. “I can’t explain it. I thought of you when I was filling in a YP309 form the other day.”
“Isn’t that for ordering more tricorders?”
“I said I can’t explain it.”
He sucked in a breath. “Damn it, Chapel. It’s not practical.”
“I know.”
“Or fair. To either of us.”
“Oh, I know.”
“It’s not just because the sex was amazing.”
“And it was amazing.”
“It’s everything.”
“Yeah.”
“Damn it.”
“I wish. Oh, Len, sometimes, I just wish.” She turned towards him and closed her eyes as he wrapped his arms around her.
She counted the beats of his heart and then when she got to one hundred she lifted her head. He kissed her softly, gently and then they moved a part and went back to work.
Seven months later, she got an offer from Starfleet.
It only took her five heartbeats to know her answer.
Year 2262 - USS Enterprise
The transporter room of the Enterprise slowly came into view and Christine heard a familiar voice say, “We don’t need a trauma team!”
She grinned and when S’Goya leaned back and muttered, “Well, that’s an auspicious way to start,” Christine grinned even harder.
“Dr. Chapel, Lieutenants S’Goya and MacTavish, welcome to the Enterprise,” Captain Kirk said smiling broadly. “The grumpy old man over there is Dr. McCoy and he’s as delighted to have you here as I am.”
McCoy shook his head even as he stared at Christine, but he didn’t say a word.
Which was just as well, as the intercom called Kirk to the bridge and he strode off down the hall with a wave.
McCoy opened his mouth and then closed it again. Christine took advantage of his apparent speechlessness and walked over to him.
“I hope you don’t think that we’re just going to pick up where we left off,” she said.
“Oh, but I do,” he said studying her. “Chris…how?”
She shrugged. “The Enterprise apparently has a knack for getting into some nasty scrapes and Starfleet thought you might like an extra few pairs of hands.” She nodded at her lieutenants calmly chatting with the transporter engineers. “They’re the best I know.”
“I believe you,” he said. “Now, about not picking up where we left off…”
“I meant where we left off the last time we met,” she clarified. “We can most definitely pick up where we left off the time before that.”
A slow smile spread across his face. He opened his mouth to speak, just as loud klaxons went off and the ship banked sharply.
“Damn it, Jim! Sickbay is on level three, have a look around and get ready,” he said backing away to presumably head to the bridge. “You have no idea how good it is to see you and I have serious plans for you, Dr. Chapel. Welcome to the Enterprise.”
He grinned at her and ran down the hall.
Christine laughed to herself and just said, “Glad to be here.”
Then, as per usual, she got to work.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2013-01-10 06:44 pm (UTC)I adore how focused Christine is, and how she's not letting anything stop her from getting what she wants this time, whether it's the degree or McCoy. I love McCoy's calm acceptance of it, even though they both ache, because he can't imagine doing anything else either. And I love that the universe let them work it out eventually. <3
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Date: 2013-01-11 02:37 am (UTC)This is awesome, start to finish.
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Date: 2013-01-26 05:41 am (UTC)Woman, given how well you write, you need to get your novels written already so I can start buying them! (And to blend this comment in with a more recent post of yours, yes, please...commit trilogy! {grin}
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Date: 2013-01-26 08:36 pm (UTC)And I'm writing, I'm writing! I have NO idea what the plot is, but I'm writing! ;D
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Date: 2013-03-12 04:27 am (UTC)But....thank you!!!!
Me wub me some Chapel/McCoy.