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seren_ccdTitle: Take Off Your Kid Gloves
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
seren_ccd
Fandom: Star Trek 2009
Pairing(s): Christine Chapel/Leonard McCoy, Spock/Uhura, pre-Jim Kirk/Janice Rand, mild Scotty/Gaila, Sulu/Chekov
Word Count: 48,370
Rating/Warnings: M, sex, language, AU
Beta: The incrediblefringedweller who helps me keep my tenses straight and the fabulous aj who helps me keep my characters in line.
Summary: Christine Chapel was just trying to work and renovate her house in peace. She hadn’t counted on all of her friends deciding to collectively start behaving bizarrely. Or that Leonard McCoy, the new doctor, would be quite so hard to ignore. And really, it could all be traced back to the fact that the wrong bed got delivered. Star Trek AU (No space ships or aliens!)
Author's notes: So, this totally began as a response to a meme and then exploded. I’ve always adored Jennifer Crusie’s novels and I thought that it might be fun to write a Star Trek AU with Jennifer Crusie undertones using my absolute favorite pairing of Christine Chapel and Leonard McCoy. I have to thank my friends-list for being awesome and encouraging and answering all my questions about everything! This story is for you!
Amazing artwork bytherisingmoon is here.
Fantastically brilliant fanmix byrobanybody is over here.
The title is from Bonnie Raitt’s song Thing Called Love.
Once upon a time, a royal couple decided to create their home a town called Enterprise in the wilds of Northern California. Tiberius and Guinevere Kirk, stars of the silver screen and Hollywood’s favorite sweethearts, had longed for privacy and an escape from the flashing bulbs of cameras.
“They’re simply looking for some peace and quiet,” their publicist explained to the eager throng of reporters. “I hardly think that’s too much to ask.”
The Kirks visited the town often in between film projects and found a glorious estate complete with a gorgeous sprawling Victorian mansion that Tiberius was keen to renovate and expand. Then their first and only son, George was born.
Happy to keep their son away from the hustle and bustle that was Los Angeles, the Kirks remained in Enterprise and George cheerfully went through the local school system.
He eventually married Winona Sawyer, originally from Riverside, Iowa, who he met while he was studying film at UCLA while she was studying photography. It was Winona’s wish to return to Iowa and George, a man truly in love, agreed. They had two sons, George Samuel and James Tiberius.
James adored his paternal grandparents and spent every summer with them in Enterprise, which is where he was eventually discovered by a casting director. He then spent the majority of his childhood in front of the camera on the hit sci-fi TV show, The Tarsus Project.
However, Hollywood is fickle and eventually the show came to its natural end. Jim soon ‘retired’ and went to college. After travelling the world and discovering a love for renovation (quite possibly inherited from his grandfather), he found his way back to Enterprise and set about revitalizing the town, first turning the old Kirk mansion into a historical monument and running for mayor - which after three separate campaigns - he won.
But, and this should be made clear, this is not actually Jim Kirk’s story. This story is about the town of Enterprise and its current inhabitants. Including one Christine Chapel.
And at the moment, she’s a little pissed off.
“What the hell is that?”
Christine stood glaring, clipboard and required signature forgotten as the delivery men struggled to bring in what appeared to be a massive hunk of polished oak.
“Uh, it’s your bed,” the deliveryman with ‘Rick’ stitched on his lapel said. “Where’s the bedroom?”
“No. No! No, I ordered the simple pine frame with the light finish,” Christine said. She gestured at the monstrosity being pulled and pushed through her front door. “That - that is a Viking sleigh. I did not order that.”
“Well,” Rick grunted under the weight of the headboard. “This is what was at the depot and this is what we were told to deliver and it’s really heavy, so where’s the bedroom?”
Christine felt her mouth open in shock and stared at the headboard. The one she’d ordered? That one was simple, and had slats and would be perfectly functional and comfortable. Instead, she was looking at what could only be a king-sized French oak in a deep mahogany finish that looked decadent and rich and, and, and provocative.
Christine Chapel did not do provocative.
Which may be your problem, a little voice piped up with. Roger’s gone. You’ve finally got the house you’ve been lusting after and the world is your oyster. So to speak.
I’ve also got a mortgage payment that, if I’m lucky, will just about leave me enough money each month to buy peanut butter. The store brand, not a name brand, by the way, Christine told the little voice. The last thing I need is a bed that is more indulgent than a chocolate cake wrapped in ganache wrapped in sin.
The headboard slipped a little in Rick’s grasp and Christine caught sight of an ornate carving with a fleur-de-lis and something inside of her melted.
Which Rick must have picked up on, because he said, “You know, that other bed? The pine one?”
“Yes?” Christine said warily.
“It’s not a good bed.”
Christine blinked. “I beg your pardon?”
“It’s not a good bed,” Rick said. “This? This is a good bed. Sturdy. Strong. Able to cradle you whilst you dream enchanted dreams of love and comfort.”
Christine blinked again and felt the “you’re bullshitting me” face slide into place. Sadly, it was one she’d had a lot of practice with lately.
“His five year old daughter’s into fairy tales at the moment,” the other delivery man said, whose name tag read ‘Keith’. “Just go with it.”
“O-kay,” Christine said wondering how this had become her life.
“All I’m saying,” Rick said with a pointed look at Keith, “is this is a quality bed. And I know beds. You don’t deliver these things for fourteen years without knowing beds.”
“He does know his beds,” Keith agreed.
Christine opened her mouth to say something, although she wasn’t quite sure what, but Rick cut her off.
“Look, just try it out,” Rick said, his brown eyes twinkling. “It was made in Sweden, if that helps. They know their beds over there.”
“You’ll be dreaming of reindeer and fjords in no time,” Keith said.
“That’s Norway,” Rick said jostling the bed frame a little. “Fjords are in Norway.”
“Wait! Stop, okay,” Christine said holding up her hands. She studied the bed a little more and then said slowly, “If it turns out that you guys delivered the wrong bed by mistake, am I going to have to give it back or pay the difference?”
“Hey, if it’s our bad, you can keep it,” Rick said with a shrug that had him scrabbling to hold onto the headboard. “And as for the money, who’s gonna know?”
Christine stared at the mahogany and her fingers itched to trace the curve of the wood. She sighed.
“The bedroom’s upstairs, first door on the right.”
After Rick and Keith had left, Christine stared at her new bed. She tilted her head to the side. Well, it certainly looked good pushed up against the freshly painted walls, with the bay window letting light spill onto the mattress. Christine once again congratulated herself on at the very least getting her bedroom in order. The rest of the house might be a serious disaster, but she could sleep in peace.
And sleep she would in that bed. Sweet Jesus, it was huge, yet it somehow fit the rest of the house. Despite being the same size – at least according to the mattress – as the original order, this bed seemed… bigger. The dark paneling of the window-seat complemented the bed and the embroidered blue curtains her great-aunt had sewn herself fluttered in the light breeze coming in from the open window.
The house had been built in 1898 and over the years had been modernized and added on to. Christine’s great-aunt Abigail had moved in with her husband Reginald in the early 1950s. Abigail had found her way from New Orleans to Los Angeles, in pursuit of stars and glamour. Luckily for her, she’d had the good fortune (or bad, depending on whether she was in a teasing mood or not) to meet and quickly find herself employed by Guinevere Kirk as the actress’s personal make-up artist.
Guinevere appreciated talent and Abigail appreciated working with beautiful people. And Guinevere? Was beautiful. Abigail followed Guinevere most everywhere, including to Guinevere’s home in Enterprise. Which is where Abigail Chapel eventually met Reginald Proctor, the local MD.
“It was love at first sight,” Aunt Abbie had told a very young Christine on her first visit to California. She had been taking Christine on her first tour of the town, sharing gossipy tidbits for each point of interest. Her eyes sparkling, Abigail continued. “Oh, I was such a clumsy thing. Give me eyeliner and mascara and I’ve got the steady hands of a brain surgeon. But ask me to walk on my own two feet? Hopeless.” Christine giggled as her aunt made a funny face. “I was right over there, outside the drugstore, running errands and I miss-stepped and took a massive tumble down those concrete steps. Smacked my forehead but good.
“So there I was seeing stars and feeling something running down the side of my face and the very next thing, there was this young man with the fullest beard I’d ever seen and hands so large, I thought he was a giant.”
“Was it Uncle Reggie? He’s very tall,” young Christine said.
“It was! Well, I asked him if he was a giant,” Abbie said with a smile. “He said, ‘No ma’am, just your friendly neighborhood doctor and that’s quite the bump you’ve got.’ He helped me up onto my feet, then into his office and then straight into my heart.”
She squeezed Christine’s hand. “We got married a month later right here in Enterprise up at the Kirk mansion. Then we moved straight into Proctor house which his parents had left to him, and it’s where we’ve been ever since.”
Christine had always loved running about the lawn at the Kirk mansion, but that love was nothing compared to how it felt being inside Proctor house. The walls seemed to be filled with comfort and warmth and Christine had looked forward to her summer vacations in Enterprise.
It’s such a shame those same walls are covered in mildew, she thought to herself, coming back to the present. This weekend I tackle the living room.
A door opened and closed downstairs and a voice called from the kitchen, “Christine! Are you home?”
“I’m upstairs, Janice,” Christine called over her shoulder, not taking her eyes off the bed.
“I’ve got muffins,” Janice Rand said as she clambered up the stairs. An ominous creaking was heard halfway up. “Oh, God! Are you going to get that step fixed, Chris? It gives me a heart attack every time I step--oh, my Lord, what is that?”
Christine looked over at one of her best friends who had come to a full stop just inside the room and was staring in bewildered fascination at the bed.
“It’s my new bed,” Christine said. She reached her hand out and Janice handed her the bag from the bakery.
“I thought you were going with the pine one,” Janice said, looking very smart in her mayor’s office clothes.
“So did I,” Christine said pulling out an orange-cranberry muffin, handing the bag back to Janice and pinching off a piece. “Supposedly there was a mix-up and I got this one instead.”
“Well, okay,” Janice said pulling out her own apple cinnamon muffin. “It’s kind of big. Like a sleigh.”
“It’s made in Sweden, apparently.”
“They do know their furniture.”
“Rick says I’ll be having enchanted dreams in no time,” Christine said.
“Who’s Rick?”
“My fairy god-deliveryman.”
“Right,” Janice said giving Christine the side-eye. “How silly of me not to know that.”
“His daughter’s in to fairy tales at the moment,” Christine said around a bite of muffin. “But, you know what? It’s the perfect size and color for my grandmother’s quilt.”
“Wait, is that the one with the--?”
“Fleur-de-lis?” Christine supplied wryly. “Yep.”
“Whoa.”
“Un huh.”
“Is that spooky or just a happy coincidence?”
“I think I’ll go with happy coincidence,” Christine said. “I don’t have time for spooky.”
“Especially not today,” Janice said taking a bite of her muffin. She chewed and swallowed. “That’s kind of why I came by. Jim says the new doctor will be arriving today.”
“Today?” Christine asked looking Janice. “I thought that was next week.”
Janice shrugged. “Apparently he wanted to get here sooner. He should be in by lunchtime. If Jim’s to be trusted.”
“Is he?” Christine asked with a smirk.
Janice snorted. “I certainly don’t.”
“Do you have coffee?” Janice asked.
“You’re asking a nurse if she has coffee? What’s wrong with you?”
“Sorry, sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
The two women headed out the door, Christine giving her new bed a last look, all the while imagining it made up with her granny Katherine’s royal blue quilt.
Janice preceded Christine down the stairs and winced as she stepped on the creaky step. Christine did a little hop and bypassed it.
“I’ll have to get Hikaru by later to take a look at that,” she said as they went into the kitchen, the only other room in the house that was remotely livable. Christine had attacked it with a massive amount of cleaning supplies and while the paint job was not quite the color she wanted, it was clean and the appliances gleamed. “Unless he’s already got work?”
Janice groaned at the question and sat down at the kitchen table while Christine headed towards the coffee maker. “Hikaru Sulu Construction Ltd. will never need to look for work again if Jim has anything to say about it. They’re starting on the old drive-in this week.”
“Really? Spock agreed to it?” Christine asked as she poured two cups of coffee. She glanced at the clock on the wall and got out another mug and poured a third cup.
“I don’t know if ‘agreed’ is the word for it,” Janice said nodding her thanks as Christine gave her a mug. “More like gave in if only to shut Jim up. I know Uhura’s going to kill him one of these days. Maybe suffocate him with one of her memos.” She paused, a spoon of sugar just above her coffee, then said, “I’ll probably watch as she does it.”
Christine laughed as sat down with her cup of coffee to enjoy the rest of her muffin.
“What’s so funny?” a voice said as the screen door opened. “Has Jim broken something expensive?”
Gaila, Christine’s other best friend, strolled in, her red curls artfully done up in a messy bun and her brilliant kelly green dress swishing against her legs. She headed straight to the extra cup of coffee Christine left on the counter.
“Nope, nothing’s broken,” Christine said as Gaila sat down and made a delighted noise at the sight of a white chocolate and raspberry muffin. “Unless you count Janice’s last nerve.”
“Stupid jerk,” Janice said with a sigh.
Christine and Gaila were familiar with that particular sigh and made sighs of their own. The three women sipped their coffees in a comfortable silence. Until, Gaila made a little sound and said, "I think I’ve made progress!”
Christine and Janice groaned and rolled their eyes.
“Honey, you say that every two weeks,” Janice said.
“I mean it this time!” Gaila retorted.
“You say that every two weeks, too,” Christine said. Janice snickered while a lovely pout appeared on Gaila’s face. Christine caved. “All right, all right. What have you learned?”
“Apparently,” Gaila said excitedly, “Guinevere Kirk visited Monaco when she was filming The Sheik’s Promise. Do you know what that means?”
“What does that mean?” Janice asked almost by rote, the corners of her lips turning up.
“Tiberius could have won them off of some wonderfully rich royal in a game of poker at the Le Grand Casino! Can you imagine what they look like?” Gaila asked with a sigh, looking out the window at the mid-morning blue sky.
Janice and Christine shared another look. Gaila’s fixation on the so-called lost jewels of Guinevere Kirk was getting out of hand.
“Gaila,” Christine said slowly. “You do know it’s a myth? A legend? It was probably something that Jim’s mom told him to get him to sleep at night or something some stagehand made up and it took on a life of its own.”
“Or,” Janice added. “If, by some amazing chance, they are real and Guinevere did actually misplace some of her valuables, they’re hardly going to be the Hope Diamond’s long-lost cousins.”
“I’m aware of all that,” Gaila said lightly. “And I know that if I actually found them, all I’d get might be some kind of finder’s fee, since they’d really be Jim’s and all. But, what if they are the Hope Diamond’s long-lost cousins? Wouldn’t that be awesome?”
Christine felt the fight leave her and remembered why she adored Gaila so much. After all, it had been Gaila’s unswerving optimism and determination that had helped Christine get over Roger and finally decide to buy her house.
Gaila wasn’t a native to Enterprise, unlike Janice whose family hailed back at least three generations. But, she had taken to the town instantly.
She actually came to town on the arm of Scotty, the owner of the town pub. One weekend he headed off to Las Vegas to attend a conference and ended up sitting at a bar chatting happily with a lovely young woman with hair redder than the sun.
Gaila had been making her living working with one of the showgirl productions. However she was always prompt to point out that she worked behind the scenes with the hair and make-up.
“You know the movie Showgirls?” she was fond of saying, “Well, take away about a tenth of the crazy and it’s pretty close.”
Scotty fell for her like a ton of bricks and the feeling was more than mutual. She came back to Enterprise with him and found work at the local salon, which she then bought when Mildred, the previous owner, decided to retire to New Jersey.
Gaila was unfailingly nice, bright, and friendly and Christine had been delighted to make such a good friend.
So, Christine smiled and said, “Fine. If it turns out that they are actually these amazing and wonderful -”
“And sparkly,” Janice interrupted pointing a slim finger at Christine. “One cannot forget the sparkly.”
“Yes, of course, pardon me. Amazing and wonderful and sparkly jewels and you, Gaila Murphy, happen to find them by some brilliant stroke of luck,” Christine said. “I will be the first to shout ‘Huzzah!’”
Gaila grinned. “‘Huzzah?’ Is that what you’re supposed to shout when you find hidden treasure?”
“Yeah, I always thought it was ‘Woohoo, I’m rich!’” Janice said.
“You can say whatever you want,” Christine said standing up to take her cup to the sink. “I’m saying ‘Huzzah.’”
“It’s all those old movies she watches,” Gaila faux-whispered to Janice. “We really need to get her cable.”
Christine rolled her eyes and deliberately tugged on one of Gaila’s curls. “Don’t you two have work to go to? You know, jobs or something?”
“Sadly, yes,” Janice said checking her thin silver watch. She stood up and smoothed the front of her lavender button-down shirt. “I think I’m getting too old for this.”
“You’re twenty-five,” Christine said dryly. “You don’t get to say you’re too old for anything until you pass thirty.”
“I work for Jim Kirk and that panel of misfits we call our city council,” Janice said. “I think that automatically ages a person at least five years.”
Christine nodded. “You have a point.”
“I love my job,” Gaila said with a smile. “Mrs. Flannery is coming in and she always wants something new done to her hair and a full manicure and pedicure. Then Frances from your office is coming in, Jan.” She made a face. “I’ve got a full schedule today. I can’t be chatting all day long with you two. See you!”
With a bright smile and flip of her skirt, Gaila was out the door.
Christine chuckled. “I wish I had half her energy.”
“I’d settle for a third,” Janice said putting her own mug in the sink. “Did you know I once overheard Scotty telling Jim the reason Gaila and he divorced was because Scotty was exhausted?”
Christine’s jaw dropped. “He did not!”
“Yep,” Janice said picking up her purse. “And Scotty couldn’t bear being the man that slowed her down.”
“I can’t tell if that’s a terribly sweet or terribly patronizing way to split up,” Christine said, grabbing her bag and pinning her watch on.
“I know,” Janice said following Christine out the door. “At least it wasn’t over arugula.”
“Pardon?”
“Arugula,” Janice said. “That’s the source of the latest feud between Scotty and Chekov.”
“Arugula?”
“Chekov’s decided to add it to his portobello mushroom melt and has struck some sort of deal with the produce man making Chekov’s his first stop in town,” Janice said getting into her car, while Christine got in the passenger’s side. “Which means Scotty gets second choice on produce.”
“Oh dear.”
“I know. I hear mothers were brought into it yesterday.”
“All this over arugula?”
“I know! I mean, I could understand if it was about tomatoes or avocado, but arugula?” Janice said as she carefully pulled out of the drive and onto the road.
“I always thought it was more of a garnish,” Christine said thoughtfully.
“Exactly!” Janice was quiet for a few minutes. “Why do we live here again?”
Christine thought of the new doctor arriving and the way the gutters on the house were always getting clogged and how much money she didn’t have. The she thought about the way her grandmother’s quilt was going to look in her bedroom and the way the sunlight just streamed into her kitchen and sharing muffins with two of the best friends she’d never thought she could have and she answered Janice’s question with a simple: “Because we love it.”
Leonard McCoy pulled his dusty Ford Explorer over to the side of the road and took a deep breath. He stared at a sign that read ‘Welcome to Enterprise! We’re happy to see you!’.
“Unless that’s a banana in your pocket,” he muttered. He scrubbed a hand over his jaw, his two-day old stubble scoring his palm.
He wasn’t supposed to be here yet. He was supposed to arrive next week. But, once he had everything packed up, his secondhand furniture sent off to Goodwill and his job at the hospital over and done with, he’d looked around at his empty (and ugly, let’s be honest) apartment and grabbed his bags and filled up the tank of his car.
Quite possibly spurred on by far too many readings of Kerouac and Burroughs, he decided to drive the whole the way from Atlanta to Enterprise to get the full effect of southwestern landscape as it turned into northern California.
Five days later, here he is, his old chambray shirt rumpled all to hell, Big Gulp cups littering the backseat and thoughts whirling around in his head wondering if he was absolutely insane to give up a promising career in a prestigious hospital to move across the country to accept a job in a clinic.
A job that Jim Kirk had offered him, for Christ’s sake.
“I’m going crazy,” McCoy told the sign. “Stark raving mad.”
The sign said nothing back.
McCoy shook his head.
A pick-up truck pulled up behind him and McCoy swore.
“Please don’t be the cops,” he said to himself. “I might be going insane, but I’m not there yet.”
A lean man of medium build with a healthy shock of salt and pepper hair got out of the cab of the truck. His jeans looked worn in with grass and dirt stains on the front and he was wearing a pair of cowboy boots that had seen better days.
He looked tough, but he didn’t look like a cop. McCoy sighed and got out of his car.
“Doctor McCoy?” the other man asked.
“For all my sins, that’s me,” McCoy said.
The man smiled, the skin around his eyes crinkling. “Jim asked me to keep a look out for you. I’m Chris Pike.”
He held out a hand that McCoy shook. “Enterprise’s former mayor?”
“For all my sins,” Pike said with a grin. McCoy grinned back. “Any particular reason you found yourself on the side of the road here?”
McCoy shook his head. “Just taking a moment to get the lay of the land.”
“And have some second thoughts?”
“More like eighth or ninth thoughts,” McCoy said.
Pike nodded and looked at the Welcome sign. “It’s a good town, folks are friendly, I highly doubt you’ll have too many challenges. We get a good case of flu every year and at least one kindergarten class comes down with the chicken pox. We’ve had one gunshot wound in the past twelve years and it was more of a graze than anything else. Every now and then someone gets stupid and drives too fast and wraps him or herself around a lamp post.” Pike shrugged. “Pretty easy-going. Shouldn’t be too difficult for an Atlanta man.”
“I’ve never tried easy-going,” McCoy said. “It may be more difficult than you suppose.”
“Won’t know until you try,” Pike told him. “Care to follow me into town? Or do you need more time to reflect?”
McCoy took another look at the Welcome sign and the road leading into Enterprise. He shook his head. “Lead on, your honor.”
Pike gave a full-bodied laugh. “Make sure to call me that in front of Jim. It’s always fun to watch his hackles rise.”
McCoy chuckled and then swore as a silver Cadillac came roaring around the bend, nearly clipping Pike. “Jesus Christ, man! You okay?”
Pike continued to chuckle. “Oh, yeah. They missed.”
“Not by much,” McCoy said frowning after the car that was quickly heading into the distance. “You know who that was?”
“Sure,” Pike said as he headed towards his truck. “It was my wife.”
McCoy stopped by his car. “Your wife?”
“She likes to keep me on my toes,” Pike said with fond look in his eyes as he looked down the road.
Something occurred to McCoy as he watched the former mayor watch the Caddy go over a hill and disappear from sight.
“That gunshot wound,” McCoy asked with narrowed. “Just what did you do to earn it?”
Pike looked over at him with surprise. Then his grin returned. “Some things are best left between husband and wife, Dr. McCoy.”
Then Pike hauled himself up into his truck. McCoy got into his car and as he pulled onto the road to follow Pike into town he said, “Easy-going, my ass. And I’m definitely going insane.”
At the same time McCoy was contemplating his life choices along with the “Welcome to Enterprise” sign, Christine was chatting with Dr. Puri, Enterprise’s former doctor. The man who’d graciously come out of retirement to help out.
“Thank you again,” Christine said warmly.
“As always, Christine, it’s my pleasure,” the small man said, his smile deepening the wrinkles next to his eyes. “Any time you need the extra hand, I’m here. I’m retired, not dead.”
“No one could say otherwise,” Christine said. “Where are you off to now? Alaska? Tierra del Fuego?”
“Smart mouth,” he said affectionately. “I’m off to see the grandkids in Florida. Apparently we’re needed to tackle the Magic Kingdom. Disneyland just isn’t the same.”
“Well, give Mickey my best,” Christine said leaning in to kiss his cheek.
“Kissing other men, Christine?” a voice came from the open door to the office. “I’m hurt.”
Christine looked over to see Jim Kirk - current mayor and former bane of her eight-year-old existence - standing in the doorway with a smile on his far too handsome face. While Jim as a child actor had appeared adorable and winsome, those same looks had taken on a more polished and mischievous attractiveness. Christine gave him a withering look. “Not as hurt as you’re going to be if you’ve missed your appointment with the city council.”
“Easy, She-Ra,” Jim said using his old nick-name for her, “I’ve just come from there. I wanted to say good-bye and thank you to Dr. Puri.”
He turned to the doctor and said, “Thank you. You really helped us out. I sincerely appreciate it.”
“As I told Christine, it was my pleasure and I’m delighted to help out,” Dr. Puri said shaking Jim’s hand. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to take my wife out to lunch.”
“Give Laura my love,” Christine said.
Dr. Puri gave them both a wave and headed out. Jim turned to Christine with a smile. “How’s my favorite nurse?”
“You only say that because Nurse Connors has refused to treat you anymore,” Christine said walking out of the office into the reception area. “Now, when’s your little friend getting here?”
“Any minute now actually,” Jim said. “And he’s taller than me.”
“Uh huh, and why is he getting here today instead of next week?” she asked.
“Way he says it, he just felt the need to get out of dodge and had always wanted to drive across the country,” Jim said putting a spare stethoscope around his neck, which Christine quickly took away from him. “I don’t think he expected it to take as long as it did. In fact, I’m pretty sure he drove through a few of the nights.”
“Must have read too much Kerouac in his formative years,” Christine muttered to herself.
“Whither goest thou, America, in thy shiny car in the night?” Jim quoted.
Christine shot him a look. He shrugged. “What? I read.”
Nora, the receptionist, snickered. Christine glanced over and smiled at her while Jim looked affronted.
“No one takes me seriously around here, do they?” he asked.
“We take you very seriously, mayor,” Nora said. “We also think you’re much too cute and too fun to play with to resist.”
Christine smiled broadly at Nora. Nora, who had worked for the Enterprise Medical center for as long as Christine could remember and was also Janice’s mother. If you could imagine Dolly Parton with a slightly smaller bra size and brown hair as opposed to blonde, that was Nora. She was singular in that she could cut a person down to size while wearing the sweetest smile and use the kindest voice in such a way that the person would thank her for her trouble.
“Nora, you gorgeous thing,” Jim said leaning over to kiss her cheek. “When are you going to leave your husband and run away with me?”
“Along the time Satan starts handing out ice skates,” Nora said. “Now, are you being nice to my daughter? Or have you managed to drive her ‘round the bend and back again?”
“Oh, come on now, Nora,” Jim said. “Shouldn’t the question be: is your daughter being nice to me?”
Nora tilted her head to the side and just stared at him. Christine felt a smirk start on her face as Jim actually squirmed.
“Alright, fine,” Jim said. “Yes, Janice’s mom, I’m being very nice to your daughter. I have to be. I couldn’t survive without her.”
There was a tone in his voice that bordered on sincere and Christine and Nora exchanged glances.
“Anyway,” Jim went on, “Bones should be here soon.”
“Bones?” Christine asked, drawing the word out with an incredulous look.
“Yeah, as in Sawbones,” Jim said grinning. “I gave him the nickname in college. It suits him. You’ll see. He’s very earthy.”
“Un huh. And you’re sure he’s right for the clinic?”
Jim rolled his eyes and poked her in the side. “Yes, I’m sure he’s right for the clinic. Come on, Chris, he’s brilliant and gifted and he’s got tons of experience working in a huge hospital, so this should be a snap.” He poked her again. “Stop worrying, She-Ra.”
“Do you have to call me that?” Christine said twisting away from his fingers.
“Yep,” he said. “I’m afraid it’s your lot in life to be teased by me.” He wiggled his fingers at her and she glared and attempted to move past him to the hallway. Jim was faster and managed to snake an arm around her waist and dug his fingers in. Christine yelped and tried to stomp on his foot, while Jim just laughed.
“I swear to God! Jim!” Christine’s voice rose to a shriek as he found that spot that made her flail like an idiot.
A low chuckle came from the door to the waiting room and Christine looked over through the strands of her hair that had come out of her ponytail. She felt her face flush as she spotted Chris Pike and a taller man with broad shoulders that could only be the new doctor. His face looked rugged with a generous amount of stubble on his jaw, dark brows that were raised in amusement and a mouth with a lower lip that was made to be nibbled on. His clothes looked rumpled and his hair could have used a quick brush. Essentially, the man looked like he’d just rolled out of bed.
Oh, crap, Christine thought dismally as she let out a squeak when Jim hit a soft spot. He’s hot. That’s not fair.
“Bones!” Jim said happily from his position of still digging his fingers into Christine’s side. “You made it! Welcome to Enterprise!”
McCoy just shook his head at Jim’s cheerful welcome and tried not to stare at the woman his friend had just been mauling. Jim let her go and strode over to give McCoy a handshake and one of those manly half-hugs. McCoy was honestly glad to see his friend. They’d roomed together while McCoy was getting through his internship and Jim was trying to figure out how to live his life post-fame. It had felt like a bad rerun of the Odd Couple before they both discovered they got along more often than not.
In fact, Jim was one of the only friends McCoy had kept in touch with. Lord knows McCoy had depended on Jim’s advice more than the kid had ever depended on his.
However, that didn’t mean McCoy wasn’t irrationally envious of how Jim had been touching the blonde woman, who was clearly one of the nurses in the practice.
“How was your drive?” Jim asked.
“Longer than I expected,” McCoy said bluntly. “But, gorgeous.”
“Did you get your fill of the desert?”
“More than,” McCoy said, trying to pay attention to Jim, while his gaze kept sliding to the nurse who was standing nearby, an embarrassed flush still in her cheeks.
She was slim and of medium height, with delicate features. If someone had told him she was an actress transplanted from one of Hitchcock’s films, he’d have believed them. Her blonde hair reminded him of sunlight on a spring afternoon and dear lord, had he always been this sappy? Scrubs were never flattering and the ones she wore (bright blue with little fish on them) hardly displayed her figure, he could see the enticing curve of her neck and toned arms and her eyes...
McCoy raised an eyebrow as his eyes met hers and wasn’t surprised by how sharp and keen they were.
Yeah, eyes like those made him positive she was a smart, perceptive person, ideal traits in a nurse and as he read her nametag, Christine Chapel, Nurse Practitioner, he knew she was the office manager Jim had mentioned in the first discussion about the job.
The intelligent and appraising look in her eyes made him know instantly that he wanted this woman in charge of his medical practice.
The faint blush still present in her cheeks made his palms itch to trace the curve of her neck and see if her waist was as narrow as he suspected it was.
Well, that’s inappropriate, he scolded himself. At least get her name before you start to mentally undress the woman, you jackass.
“Well, let’s go into the office and have a quick chat and get you to look over the contract and fill in the paperwork,” Jim said. “Then I’ll take you over to your apartment so you can get some sleep and a shower. You smell like you’ve been driving for hours.”
“That’s probably because I have,” McCoy said dryly.
“Before we do, let me introduce you to She-Ra,” Jim said indicating the blonde nurse, who rolled her eyes.
“Honestly, Jim,” she said in a strong, clear voice. She met McCoy’s eyes and held out a hand. “Christine Chapel. I’m a nurse practitioner and I also help with the management of the practice.”
“Leonard McCoy,” he said taking her hand and hoping like hell the surge of lust he felt from touching her wasn’t written all over his face. “I’ll do my best not to disrupt your routines. Just point me at the sick people and I’ll stay out of your way.”
She smiled and said, “Oh, I think we’ll get along just fine. I’m sure Jim and Mr. Pike have a lot to talk to you about, so don’t worry about learning about the routines today. Our part-time doctor, Dr. Geoffrey M’Benga is on this afternoon.”
“What time do you want me in tomorrow morning?” he asked, stupidly reluctant to let go of her hand. Christ, when was the last time a woman had had this kind of effect on him? It’d been close to two years since his divorce, and he just hadn’t felt ready for any kind of relationship, serious or otherwise. But, something was repeatedly socking him in the gut as he looked at Christine Chapel. Something that felt very much like his god damn libido.
“I’ll be in at eight,” she said.
“Then so will I,” he said.
“Good.”
“Fine.”
“You gonna let go of her hand this century, Bones?” Jim asked an unrepentant grin on his face. McCoy dropped Christine’s hand and coughed, while she blushed. Pike simply stood by and watched everything with a tiny grin on his face.
“I’ve got patients,” Christine said. “Jim, stay out of trouble and stop bugging Janice. See you in the morning, doctor. Welcome to Enterprise.”
“Thank you, Nurse Chapel,” McCoy said as he watched her walk away. He quickly turned his head and came face to face with Jim’s stupid smirk. “Shut up, Jim.”
“I didn’t say anything!”
McCoy glared and looked over at Pike who started to chuckle.
“Sure you don’t need more time for reflection?” Pike asked him.
McCoy shook his head. “I think it’s too late for that. I’ve already decided I’m going insane. I may as well make it official. Where do I sign?”
“Right here,” Jim said. “Follow me. We can use the office.”
As three men walked deeper into the clinic and past reception, Jim shot Nora a wink and charm smile. For her part, Nora just rolled her eyes, blushing a little, before settling on a stern look.
“Bones, this is Nora, the woman who knows everything that goes on in Enterprise,” Jim said. “She’s also the beautiful mother of my assistant, Janice.”
“I only know the juicy stuff, mayor,” Nora said, lowering her reading glasses and meeting McCoy’s eyes. “I hope you’re a better MD than the last guy.”
McCoy raised a brow while Jim and Pike coughed to hide grins. “Well, I promise to do my best,” he said holding out his hand to Nora. She took it in a surprisingly strong grip and she nodded.
“We’ll see,” she said. The phone began to ring. "Now get out of our way, mayors." Nora turned her back on the men and answered the phone with a brisk, “Enterprise Medical, how may I help you?”
McCoy followed Jim and Pike into the small office in the back of the clinic. From what he could see, the clinic looked tidy and well-kept up. The machinery seemed modern, and the hygiene specs seemed on target. It smelled like a clinic always smelled, of chemicals and antiseptics, but there was an underlying scent of something fresh. Most of McCoy's concerns faded away.
Until he saw the supply room and he did a double take.
“That’s an awful lot of bandages,” he said calculating the stock quickly in his head. “Does the clinic really go through all that?”
He looked over at Jim who was sharing a look with Pike and McCoy frowned.
“Jim, what have you gotten me into?” he asked.
Jim grinned and clapped a hand on McCoy’s shoulder. “Exactly what you were looking for, Bones.”
McCoy let Jim steer him down the hall; the impending sense of doom that followed him through his internship and the six months post-grad that he and Jim spent as roommates making a sudden and firm reappearance.”
The small office was crammed to the ceiling with medical texts and a few of the titles leaped out at McCoy and his fingers itched to pull them off the shelves. But he took a seat in one of the ancient chairs while Jim sat behind the clean desk and Pike took the other chair.
“Well, here you go,” Jim said handing McCoy a small sheaf of papers. “As per the city council’s mandate, you’re on a month’s probation and then we’ll see about making you a permanent fixture to the place. That is unless, you decide you don’t like it here and want to move on. We do ask that you give a proper notice and so on and so forth. Your benefits package is pretty good and if you’ve got any questions, just give my office a call. Janice can talk you through anything.”
Jim paused and McCoy looked up from his perusal of the papers. “What? Spit it out, Jim.”
“I, well, we hope you like it here, Bones,” Jim said. “The last guy, well...”
“I don’t think small town life was really to his liking,” Pike said diplomatically. “When he found something more suitable, he left us high and dry.”
“Some of us more than others,” Jim muttered looking pissed off, which surprised McCoy. His friend wasn’t one show his anger that obviously.
“Am I missing something here?” McCoy asked.
“Oh, tons of things,” Jim said. “But, I’m sure you’ll find out all of the gory details at some point.”
McCoy snorted. Jim and Pike let him read over the papers and talked quietly to each other. When McCoy got to the dotted line, he hesitated, but only for a moment, and then signed.
“Great!” Jim said grinning. “You won’t regret this, Bones. Now, let’s go get some lunch and we’ll tell you all about Enterprise.”
“Sounds good to me,” McCoy said the mention of food reminding him of his empty stomach. “Out of curiosity, where am I staying?”
“There’s an apartment complex just down the road,” Pike said as they all stood up. “Funnily enough, it’s where the last doctor lived, but it’s been cleared up and cleaned out.”
“How many rooms?” he asked.
“You're still hoping to bring Joanna here?” Jim asked.
“For the summer at the very least, provided everything works out,” McCoy said.
“Joanna?” Pike asked.
“My daughter,” McCoy answered.
Pike smiled. “Enterprise is great for kids. Just ask Jim here. And Nurse Chapel for that matter. They spent a good portion of their formative years here.”
“Nurse Chapel is from here?” McCoy asked, wondering if he’d imagined the slight southern accent in her voice.
“Naw, New Orleans,” Jim said. “But she came to stay with her aunt and uncle during the summer when she was a kid.”
McCoy nodded and followed the men out of the office. On their way out, he met the part-time doctor, Geoffrey M’Benga who seemed competent and friendly and another nurse named Alice Robbins. He caught a fleeting glimpse of Christine Chapel talking with one of her patients.
The curve of her neck was like a magnetic pull; pale and graceful in ways that made his skin itch, and good lord, he needed to grow the hell up because this was ridiculous. Just because his body had decided to wake up horny, didn’t mean he had to. Mentally rolling his eyes, he turned back to Jim farewell-flirting with Nora. Who looked ready to smack him with her handset. Yeah, he and Nora were going to get along fine.
If he’d kept his eyes on Christine a just moment longer, he would have seen her glance over in his direction.
The men headed down the street in the direction of what looked like an honest-to-God pub, with the name Scotty’s hanging on a sign over the door.
“Two o’clock,” Pike said to McCoy giving him a wry grin. “You’re in luck; we’ve just missed the lunch crowd.”
McCoy chuckled. “What a shame. I was looking forward to the third-degree by the citizens.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Jim said. “Everyone will know everything about you by the weekend.”
“Swell,” McCoy muttered.
As they walked inside, the smell of grilled hamburgers made McCoy’s mouth water. He looked around and marveled at the eclectic decor. Flags from random countries hung on the walls, next to odd pictures clearly torn from magazines and put into frames. But, the bar looked well-stocked and the floors and tables were clean and gleaming.
A slim, red-haired fellow was behind the bar, yelling at someone over the phone.
“For pete’s sake,” the man hollered, “it’s the principle of the thing. I can’t stand the particular vegetable myself, but that’s not the point.”
“Which vegetable is it this week?” Pike asked Jim.
“Arugula.”
“Isn’t that a garnish?”
“That’s what I thought.”
“Do I want to know?” McCoy asked.
“No,” Pike and Jim said in unison.
“Right. How’re the hamburgers?” he asked.
“Char-grilled heaven on a sesame seed bun,” Jim said.
“Perfect.”
Twenty minutes later, as McCoy was biting into what honestly was char-grilled heaven on a sesame seed bun, he met the infamous owner of Scotty’s, Mr. Montgomery Scott, himself.
The Scotsman was a former merchant marine and had and had, through some twist of fate, found himself in the town of Enterprise in the mid-90s and stayed. He opened up his pub and business had been booming ever since.
“At least it was booming until that little upstart took over the Farragut,” he told McCoy, Jim and Pike just grinning away behind their own burgers.
McCoy swallowed. “Upstart?”
“Pavel Chekov,” Pike said. “Child prodigy. You should see the things he does with mathematics.”
“Wish he’d go back to the numbers and leave the sandwich making to the professionals,” Scotty said before taking a healthy belt of his cuppa.
“How did a mathematics prodigy end up in Enterprise running a sandwich shop?” McCoy asked.
Jim shrugged. “He says he hated academia and all those stuffy professors telling him what to work on. So one day, he left MIT, hopped a bus and wound up here.”
“He says the symmetry of making sandwiches is similar to math and while his hands are busy, it leaves his mind free to think,” Pike said.
“That...makes a certain amount of sense, actually,” McCoy said.
“Course it does!” Scotty said. “And don’t get me wrong, the lad’s a deft hand with a pencil and set of matrices, but he’s stealing my lunch crowd! Who puts apples in their chicken salad? It’s madness!”
“But, really tasty,” Jim said. Scotty glared at him and Jim went back to his hamburger.
The gentlemen passed the afternoon away by telling McCoy everything they thought was pertinent to living in Enterprise.
“And since you’re the new doc,” Scotty said with a gleam in his eye. “You get to work alongside the charming Miss Chapel.”
Kirk grinned. “He’s met her already. I think she made an impression, right, Bones?”
McCoy glared. “She seemed very competent.”
Pike chuckled.
“Competent?” Scotty said sounding excited. “The woman’s more than competent. She’s bloody gorgeous. And talk about refined. That woman is pure class from her lovely face down to her, what I imagine, are her lovely little toes.”
“She did appear quite, ah, nice,” McCoy said awkwardly.
“’Nice’,” Jim repeated with a snicker. “Bones, you were smitten, don’t deny it.”
“Shut up, Jim,” McCoy said looking away.
“Fine, fine. I give up. Oh and wait until you meet Spock,” Jim said. “You’re gonna love him.”
“What the hell kind of name is Spock?” McCoy asked.
“One he gave himself, or so I heard,” Pike said.
“Who is he?”
“The man who is going to help us put Enterprise back on the map,” Jim said. “He’s our architect. He’s got a keen eye for design and you should see some of his plans for Main Street.”
“Nothing too radical, I hope?” Pike said.
“Nothing radical, I promise,” Jim said. “Just taking what’s there and returning it to what it was with a twist.”
“A twist?” Scotty repeated. “Saints preserve us.”
“It’ll work,” Jim said stubbornly.
“Sure it will,” Pike said.
McCoy yawned. Loudly. Everyone looked over at him and he apologized. “Christ, I’m sorry.”
“Drive catching up to you?” Pike asked.
“More like punching me in the face,” McCoy said. “If I’m going to be expected to actually treat people tomorrow, you’d better point me towards a mattress.”
“No problem,” Jim said. “Follow me.”
McCoy reached for his wallet to pay for dinner, but Scotty told him to put it away. “First meal is on the house. But, only if you come back.”
“You kidding?” McCoy said. “I can’t remember having a hamburger that good since I was a kid.”
Scotty beamed.
McCoy said good-bye to Pike with a shake of his hand
“Once you’ve settled, you’ll have to come out,” Pike said. “We’re out just on the edge of town, but we try to have an annual barbeque at the beginning of spring.”
“Looking forward to it,” McCoy said.
After picking up his truck, he followed Jim to his new apartment, which was clean and sparsely furnished. He couldn’t tell if the dizzy sensation he was experiencing was a result of driving through the night or due to the crazy stories about the town Pike, Jim and Scotty had spun for him.
“What am I doing here?” he muttered to himself pulling into a small parking lot after Jim.
You’re here because Atlanta was too much for you and you were starting to hate everything, he told himself. You’re here because you needed the change. Don’t back out now.
“It’s a pretty modern place,” Jim said once they were both inside. “It was built a couple of years ago and everything works.”
“It’s fine, Jim, thanks,” McCoy said. “For everything, actually.”
“Hey, I’m just glad to see you, man,” Jim said with a smile. “You sounded like crap when I talked to you last month.”
“Thanks,” McCoy replied dryly. “Felt like it, to be honest.” He took a deep breath. “I needed a kick in the ass to get me moving, Jim.”
“Dude, I am always happy to kick you in the ass,” Jim said sincerely. “And I hope you like it here. I really think you will.”
“I’m just looking forward to working in a place that doesn’t have wall to wall drama and political machinations,” McCoy said. “I had enough of that in Atlanta.”
“Well, there’s a distinct lack of political machinations, but as for the drama...” Jim shrugged. “Who knows?”
“Uh huh,” McCoy said not liking the look on Jim’s face. “Go away, Jim.”
“Sleep tight, Bones,” he said with a wave.
McCoy walked through his empty apartment. Luckily, a few items of furniture had been left or purchased by Jim. He’d seen the bed earlier – although it was only a twin – made up with blue cotton sheets and a plain comforter. He detoured through the kitchen. He checked the cupboards, coming up with a few mis-matched dishes, and snagged a glass to fill up with water.
The place wasn’t massive, but it was well laid-out, and with some work and shopping, it would shape up fairly nicely. He had several months before Jo had a school break and was scheduled to come visit. It wasn’t bad. He could work with it.
He decided against making any plans considering he felt exhausted to his core. He kicked off his shoes and set the alarm on his watch. Then he shucked his shirt and jeans off and fell face first onto the bed, clad only in his boxers.
He shoved a pillow under his head as his mind raced over everyone he’d met. Just before falling asleep, the image of Christine Chapel’s neckline appeared and he wondered what she looked like when she let her hair down.
As McCoy was wandering his apartment, Christine was helping Nora to close up the clinic. As they got into Nora’s ancient Oldsmobile, Christine considered for the hundredth time whether or not she should just buy a really cheap car instead of relying on Jan and Nora for rides to and from work. But another quick calculation firmly refuted that idea. There was just no way she could afford a car right now.
“What do you think of the new doc?” Nora asked her, interrupting Christine’s thoughts.
“I’m not sure,” Christine said. “I think we’ll see what he’s made of tomorrow.”
“It’s a Tuesday,” Nora said with a bit of a grimace. “You know how Tuesdays are.”
“It’s as if all the common sense they started out with on Monday morning has leaked out their ears,” Christine said.
“Good old Enterprise.”
Nora pulled up to the curb outside Christine’s house and they said good-bye before Christine walked up the path to her front door.
Once inside, she headed straight up the stairs to the box that still held most of her linens. God, she’d been thinking about this all day. She couldn’t contain the butterflies in her stomach at the thought of making up The Bed. Her bed. Then she walked into her bedroom, startling herself when she took in the size of her new bed.
“Good Lord, did you expand?” she said out loud. “Were you this big this morning?”
Shaking her head, she quickly changed out of her scrubs into a comfy pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt. Then she tore the plastic covering off the new mattress and box spring.
With a deft flick of her hands, she unfolded the bed sheet over the mattress and efficiently made the bed with a new set of light blue sheets. Then she went over to the hope chest and opened it. The smell of cherry wood made her smile and she lifted out her granny’s quilt. The quilt had been made as a gift for Christine when she’d been a little girl. Thanks to a mix up on measurements and her grandmother’s stubborn refusal to waste fabric, the quilt had turned out somewhat... larger than originally planned. However, Granny Chapel was not one for waste, so the quilt ended up being king-sized as opposed to twin. Christine loved it. The dark, rich navy blue was the perfect background to the swatches of light blue and purple material shaped into fleur-de-lis.
Christine carefully laid the quilt out on the bed and then stepped back to look it over.
It was perfect. The dark blue complimented the headboard and the bed looked sumptuous and divine. Christine sighed with pleasure.
“I hope you’re as comfortable as you look,” she said.
Later that night after eating some leftover chicken soup, she crawled under the covers and groaned happily.
It was definitely as comfortable as it looked.
She drifted to sleep with a smile on her face.
Part II
Author:
seren_ccdFandom: Star Trek 2009
Pairing(s): Christine Chapel/Leonard McCoy, Spock/Uhura, pre-Jim Kirk/Janice Rand, mild Scotty/Gaila, Sulu/Chekov
Word Count: 48,370
Rating/Warnings: M, sex, language, AU
Beta: The incredible
fringedweller who helps me keep my tenses straight and the fabulous aj who helps me keep my characters in line.Summary: Christine Chapel was just trying to work and renovate her house in peace. She hadn’t counted on all of her friends deciding to collectively start behaving bizarrely. Or that Leonard McCoy, the new doctor, would be quite so hard to ignore. And really, it could all be traced back to the fact that the wrong bed got delivered. Star Trek AU (No space ships or aliens!)
Author's notes: So, this totally began as a response to a meme and then exploded. I’ve always adored Jennifer Crusie’s novels and I thought that it might be fun to write a Star Trek AU with Jennifer Crusie undertones using my absolute favorite pairing of Christine Chapel and Leonard McCoy. I have to thank my friends-list for being awesome and encouraging and answering all my questions about everything! This story is for you!
Amazing artwork by
therisingmoon is here.Fantastically brilliant fanmix by
robanybody is over here.The title is from Bonnie Raitt’s song Thing Called Love.
Once upon a time, a royal couple decided to create their home a town called Enterprise in the wilds of Northern California. Tiberius and Guinevere Kirk, stars of the silver screen and Hollywood’s favorite sweethearts, had longed for privacy and an escape from the flashing bulbs of cameras.
“They’re simply looking for some peace and quiet,” their publicist explained to the eager throng of reporters. “I hardly think that’s too much to ask.”
The Kirks visited the town often in between film projects and found a glorious estate complete with a gorgeous sprawling Victorian mansion that Tiberius was keen to renovate and expand. Then their first and only son, George was born.
Happy to keep their son away from the hustle and bustle that was Los Angeles, the Kirks remained in Enterprise and George cheerfully went through the local school system.
He eventually married Winona Sawyer, originally from Riverside, Iowa, who he met while he was studying film at UCLA while she was studying photography. It was Winona’s wish to return to Iowa and George, a man truly in love, agreed. They had two sons, George Samuel and James Tiberius.
James adored his paternal grandparents and spent every summer with them in Enterprise, which is where he was eventually discovered by a casting director. He then spent the majority of his childhood in front of the camera on the hit sci-fi TV show, The Tarsus Project.
However, Hollywood is fickle and eventually the show came to its natural end. Jim soon ‘retired’ and went to college. After travelling the world and discovering a love for renovation (quite possibly inherited from his grandfather), he found his way back to Enterprise and set about revitalizing the town, first turning the old Kirk mansion into a historical monument and running for mayor - which after three separate campaigns - he won.
But, and this should be made clear, this is not actually Jim Kirk’s story. This story is about the town of Enterprise and its current inhabitants. Including one Christine Chapel.
And at the moment, she’s a little pissed off.
“What the hell is that?”
Christine stood glaring, clipboard and required signature forgotten as the delivery men struggled to bring in what appeared to be a massive hunk of polished oak.
“Uh, it’s your bed,” the deliveryman with ‘Rick’ stitched on his lapel said. “Where’s the bedroom?”
“No. No! No, I ordered the simple pine frame with the light finish,” Christine said. She gestured at the monstrosity being pulled and pushed through her front door. “That - that is a Viking sleigh. I did not order that.”
“Well,” Rick grunted under the weight of the headboard. “This is what was at the depot and this is what we were told to deliver and it’s really heavy, so where’s the bedroom?”
Christine felt her mouth open in shock and stared at the headboard. The one she’d ordered? That one was simple, and had slats and would be perfectly functional and comfortable. Instead, she was looking at what could only be a king-sized French oak in a deep mahogany finish that looked decadent and rich and, and, and provocative.
Christine Chapel did not do provocative.
Which may be your problem, a little voice piped up with. Roger’s gone. You’ve finally got the house you’ve been lusting after and the world is your oyster. So to speak.
I’ve also got a mortgage payment that, if I’m lucky, will just about leave me enough money each month to buy peanut butter. The store brand, not a name brand, by the way, Christine told the little voice. The last thing I need is a bed that is more indulgent than a chocolate cake wrapped in ganache wrapped in sin.
The headboard slipped a little in Rick’s grasp and Christine caught sight of an ornate carving with a fleur-de-lis and something inside of her melted.
Which Rick must have picked up on, because he said, “You know, that other bed? The pine one?”
“Yes?” Christine said warily.
“It’s not a good bed.”
Christine blinked. “I beg your pardon?”
“It’s not a good bed,” Rick said. “This? This is a good bed. Sturdy. Strong. Able to cradle you whilst you dream enchanted dreams of love and comfort.”
Christine blinked again and felt the “you’re bullshitting me” face slide into place. Sadly, it was one she’d had a lot of practice with lately.
“His five year old daughter’s into fairy tales at the moment,” the other delivery man said, whose name tag read ‘Keith’. “Just go with it.”
“O-kay,” Christine said wondering how this had become her life.
“All I’m saying,” Rick said with a pointed look at Keith, “is this is a quality bed. And I know beds. You don’t deliver these things for fourteen years without knowing beds.”
“He does know his beds,” Keith agreed.
Christine opened her mouth to say something, although she wasn’t quite sure what, but Rick cut her off.
“Look, just try it out,” Rick said, his brown eyes twinkling. “It was made in Sweden, if that helps. They know their beds over there.”
“You’ll be dreaming of reindeer and fjords in no time,” Keith said.
“That’s Norway,” Rick said jostling the bed frame a little. “Fjords are in Norway.”
“Wait! Stop, okay,” Christine said holding up her hands. She studied the bed a little more and then said slowly, “If it turns out that you guys delivered the wrong bed by mistake, am I going to have to give it back or pay the difference?”
“Hey, if it’s our bad, you can keep it,” Rick said with a shrug that had him scrabbling to hold onto the headboard. “And as for the money, who’s gonna know?”
Christine stared at the mahogany and her fingers itched to trace the curve of the wood. She sighed.
“The bedroom’s upstairs, first door on the right.”
After Rick and Keith had left, Christine stared at her new bed. She tilted her head to the side. Well, it certainly looked good pushed up against the freshly painted walls, with the bay window letting light spill onto the mattress. Christine once again congratulated herself on at the very least getting her bedroom in order. The rest of the house might be a serious disaster, but she could sleep in peace.
And sleep she would in that bed. Sweet Jesus, it was huge, yet it somehow fit the rest of the house. Despite being the same size – at least according to the mattress – as the original order, this bed seemed… bigger. The dark paneling of the window-seat complemented the bed and the embroidered blue curtains her great-aunt had sewn herself fluttered in the light breeze coming in from the open window.
The house had been built in 1898 and over the years had been modernized and added on to. Christine’s great-aunt Abigail had moved in with her husband Reginald in the early 1950s. Abigail had found her way from New Orleans to Los Angeles, in pursuit of stars and glamour. Luckily for her, she’d had the good fortune (or bad, depending on whether she was in a teasing mood or not) to meet and quickly find herself employed by Guinevere Kirk as the actress’s personal make-up artist.
Guinevere appreciated talent and Abigail appreciated working with beautiful people. And Guinevere? Was beautiful. Abigail followed Guinevere most everywhere, including to Guinevere’s home in Enterprise. Which is where Abigail Chapel eventually met Reginald Proctor, the local MD.
“It was love at first sight,” Aunt Abbie had told a very young Christine on her first visit to California. She had been taking Christine on her first tour of the town, sharing gossipy tidbits for each point of interest. Her eyes sparkling, Abigail continued. “Oh, I was such a clumsy thing. Give me eyeliner and mascara and I’ve got the steady hands of a brain surgeon. But ask me to walk on my own two feet? Hopeless.” Christine giggled as her aunt made a funny face. “I was right over there, outside the drugstore, running errands and I miss-stepped and took a massive tumble down those concrete steps. Smacked my forehead but good.
“So there I was seeing stars and feeling something running down the side of my face and the very next thing, there was this young man with the fullest beard I’d ever seen and hands so large, I thought he was a giant.”
“Was it Uncle Reggie? He’s very tall,” young Christine said.
“It was! Well, I asked him if he was a giant,” Abbie said with a smile. “He said, ‘No ma’am, just your friendly neighborhood doctor and that’s quite the bump you’ve got.’ He helped me up onto my feet, then into his office and then straight into my heart.”
She squeezed Christine’s hand. “We got married a month later right here in Enterprise up at the Kirk mansion. Then we moved straight into Proctor house which his parents had left to him, and it’s where we’ve been ever since.”
Christine had always loved running about the lawn at the Kirk mansion, but that love was nothing compared to how it felt being inside Proctor house. The walls seemed to be filled with comfort and warmth and Christine had looked forward to her summer vacations in Enterprise.
It’s such a shame those same walls are covered in mildew, she thought to herself, coming back to the present. This weekend I tackle the living room.
A door opened and closed downstairs and a voice called from the kitchen, “Christine! Are you home?”
“I’m upstairs, Janice,” Christine called over her shoulder, not taking her eyes off the bed.
“I’ve got muffins,” Janice Rand said as she clambered up the stairs. An ominous creaking was heard halfway up. “Oh, God! Are you going to get that step fixed, Chris? It gives me a heart attack every time I step--oh, my Lord, what is that?”
Christine looked over at one of her best friends who had come to a full stop just inside the room and was staring in bewildered fascination at the bed.
“It’s my new bed,” Christine said. She reached her hand out and Janice handed her the bag from the bakery.
“I thought you were going with the pine one,” Janice said, looking very smart in her mayor’s office clothes.
“So did I,” Christine said pulling out an orange-cranberry muffin, handing the bag back to Janice and pinching off a piece. “Supposedly there was a mix-up and I got this one instead.”
“Well, okay,” Janice said pulling out her own apple cinnamon muffin. “It’s kind of big. Like a sleigh.”
“It’s made in Sweden, apparently.”
“They do know their furniture.”
“Rick says I’ll be having enchanted dreams in no time,” Christine said.
“Who’s Rick?”
“My fairy god-deliveryman.”
“Right,” Janice said giving Christine the side-eye. “How silly of me not to know that.”
“His daughter’s in to fairy tales at the moment,” Christine said around a bite of muffin. “But, you know what? It’s the perfect size and color for my grandmother’s quilt.”
“Wait, is that the one with the--?”
“Fleur-de-lis?” Christine supplied wryly. “Yep.”
“Whoa.”
“Un huh.”
“Is that spooky or just a happy coincidence?”
“I think I’ll go with happy coincidence,” Christine said. “I don’t have time for spooky.”
“Especially not today,” Janice said taking a bite of her muffin. She chewed and swallowed. “That’s kind of why I came by. Jim says the new doctor will be arriving today.”
“Today?” Christine asked looking Janice. “I thought that was next week.”
Janice shrugged. “Apparently he wanted to get here sooner. He should be in by lunchtime. If Jim’s to be trusted.”
“Is he?” Christine asked with a smirk.
Janice snorted. “I certainly don’t.”
“Do you have coffee?” Janice asked.
“You’re asking a nurse if she has coffee? What’s wrong with you?”
“Sorry, sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
The two women headed out the door, Christine giving her new bed a last look, all the while imagining it made up with her granny Katherine’s royal blue quilt.
Janice preceded Christine down the stairs and winced as she stepped on the creaky step. Christine did a little hop and bypassed it.
“I’ll have to get Hikaru by later to take a look at that,” she said as they went into the kitchen, the only other room in the house that was remotely livable. Christine had attacked it with a massive amount of cleaning supplies and while the paint job was not quite the color she wanted, it was clean and the appliances gleamed. “Unless he’s already got work?”
Janice groaned at the question and sat down at the kitchen table while Christine headed towards the coffee maker. “Hikaru Sulu Construction Ltd. will never need to look for work again if Jim has anything to say about it. They’re starting on the old drive-in this week.”
“Really? Spock agreed to it?” Christine asked as she poured two cups of coffee. She glanced at the clock on the wall and got out another mug and poured a third cup.
“I don’t know if ‘agreed’ is the word for it,” Janice said nodding her thanks as Christine gave her a mug. “More like gave in if only to shut Jim up. I know Uhura’s going to kill him one of these days. Maybe suffocate him with one of her memos.” She paused, a spoon of sugar just above her coffee, then said, “I’ll probably watch as she does it.”
Christine laughed as sat down with her cup of coffee to enjoy the rest of her muffin.
“What’s so funny?” a voice said as the screen door opened. “Has Jim broken something expensive?”
Gaila, Christine’s other best friend, strolled in, her red curls artfully done up in a messy bun and her brilliant kelly green dress swishing against her legs. She headed straight to the extra cup of coffee Christine left on the counter.
“Nope, nothing’s broken,” Christine said as Gaila sat down and made a delighted noise at the sight of a white chocolate and raspberry muffin. “Unless you count Janice’s last nerve.”
“Stupid jerk,” Janice said with a sigh.
Christine and Gaila were familiar with that particular sigh and made sighs of their own. The three women sipped their coffees in a comfortable silence. Until, Gaila made a little sound and said, "I think I’ve made progress!”
Christine and Janice groaned and rolled their eyes.
“Honey, you say that every two weeks,” Janice said.
“I mean it this time!” Gaila retorted.
“You say that every two weeks, too,” Christine said. Janice snickered while a lovely pout appeared on Gaila’s face. Christine caved. “All right, all right. What have you learned?”
“Apparently,” Gaila said excitedly, “Guinevere Kirk visited Monaco when she was filming The Sheik’s Promise. Do you know what that means?”
“What does that mean?” Janice asked almost by rote, the corners of her lips turning up.
“Tiberius could have won them off of some wonderfully rich royal in a game of poker at the Le Grand Casino! Can you imagine what they look like?” Gaila asked with a sigh, looking out the window at the mid-morning blue sky.
Janice and Christine shared another look. Gaila’s fixation on the so-called lost jewels of Guinevere Kirk was getting out of hand.
“Gaila,” Christine said slowly. “You do know it’s a myth? A legend? It was probably something that Jim’s mom told him to get him to sleep at night or something some stagehand made up and it took on a life of its own.”
“Or,” Janice added. “If, by some amazing chance, they are real and Guinevere did actually misplace some of her valuables, they’re hardly going to be the Hope Diamond’s long-lost cousins.”
“I’m aware of all that,” Gaila said lightly. “And I know that if I actually found them, all I’d get might be some kind of finder’s fee, since they’d really be Jim’s and all. But, what if they are the Hope Diamond’s long-lost cousins? Wouldn’t that be awesome?”
Christine felt the fight leave her and remembered why she adored Gaila so much. After all, it had been Gaila’s unswerving optimism and determination that had helped Christine get over Roger and finally decide to buy her house.
Gaila wasn’t a native to Enterprise, unlike Janice whose family hailed back at least three generations. But, she had taken to the town instantly.
She actually came to town on the arm of Scotty, the owner of the town pub. One weekend he headed off to Las Vegas to attend a conference and ended up sitting at a bar chatting happily with a lovely young woman with hair redder than the sun.
Gaila had been making her living working with one of the showgirl productions. However she was always prompt to point out that she worked behind the scenes with the hair and make-up.
“You know the movie Showgirls?” she was fond of saying, “Well, take away about a tenth of the crazy and it’s pretty close.”
Scotty fell for her like a ton of bricks and the feeling was more than mutual. She came back to Enterprise with him and found work at the local salon, which she then bought when Mildred, the previous owner, decided to retire to New Jersey.
Gaila was unfailingly nice, bright, and friendly and Christine had been delighted to make such a good friend.
So, Christine smiled and said, “Fine. If it turns out that they are actually these amazing and wonderful -”
“And sparkly,” Janice interrupted pointing a slim finger at Christine. “One cannot forget the sparkly.”
“Yes, of course, pardon me. Amazing and wonderful and sparkly jewels and you, Gaila Murphy, happen to find them by some brilliant stroke of luck,” Christine said. “I will be the first to shout ‘Huzzah!’”
Gaila grinned. “‘Huzzah?’ Is that what you’re supposed to shout when you find hidden treasure?”
“Yeah, I always thought it was ‘Woohoo, I’m rich!’” Janice said.
“You can say whatever you want,” Christine said standing up to take her cup to the sink. “I’m saying ‘Huzzah.’”
“It’s all those old movies she watches,” Gaila faux-whispered to Janice. “We really need to get her cable.”
Christine rolled her eyes and deliberately tugged on one of Gaila’s curls. “Don’t you two have work to go to? You know, jobs or something?”
“Sadly, yes,” Janice said checking her thin silver watch. She stood up and smoothed the front of her lavender button-down shirt. “I think I’m getting too old for this.”
“You’re twenty-five,” Christine said dryly. “You don’t get to say you’re too old for anything until you pass thirty.”
“I work for Jim Kirk and that panel of misfits we call our city council,” Janice said. “I think that automatically ages a person at least five years.”
Christine nodded. “You have a point.”
“I love my job,” Gaila said with a smile. “Mrs. Flannery is coming in and she always wants something new done to her hair and a full manicure and pedicure. Then Frances from your office is coming in, Jan.” She made a face. “I’ve got a full schedule today. I can’t be chatting all day long with you two. See you!”
With a bright smile and flip of her skirt, Gaila was out the door.
Christine chuckled. “I wish I had half her energy.”
“I’d settle for a third,” Janice said putting her own mug in the sink. “Did you know I once overheard Scotty telling Jim the reason Gaila and he divorced was because Scotty was exhausted?”
Christine’s jaw dropped. “He did not!”
“Yep,” Janice said picking up her purse. “And Scotty couldn’t bear being the man that slowed her down.”
“I can’t tell if that’s a terribly sweet or terribly patronizing way to split up,” Christine said, grabbing her bag and pinning her watch on.
“I know,” Janice said following Christine out the door. “At least it wasn’t over arugula.”
“Pardon?”
“Arugula,” Janice said. “That’s the source of the latest feud between Scotty and Chekov.”
“Arugula?”
“Chekov’s decided to add it to his portobello mushroom melt and has struck some sort of deal with the produce man making Chekov’s his first stop in town,” Janice said getting into her car, while Christine got in the passenger’s side. “Which means Scotty gets second choice on produce.”
“Oh dear.”
“I know. I hear mothers were brought into it yesterday.”
“All this over arugula?”
“I know! I mean, I could understand if it was about tomatoes or avocado, but arugula?” Janice said as she carefully pulled out of the drive and onto the road.
“I always thought it was more of a garnish,” Christine said thoughtfully.
“Exactly!” Janice was quiet for a few minutes. “Why do we live here again?”
Christine thought of the new doctor arriving and the way the gutters on the house were always getting clogged and how much money she didn’t have. The she thought about the way her grandmother’s quilt was going to look in her bedroom and the way the sunlight just streamed into her kitchen and sharing muffins with two of the best friends she’d never thought she could have and she answered Janice’s question with a simple: “Because we love it.”
Leonard McCoy pulled his dusty Ford Explorer over to the side of the road and took a deep breath. He stared at a sign that read ‘Welcome to Enterprise! We’re happy to see you!’.
“Unless that’s a banana in your pocket,” he muttered. He scrubbed a hand over his jaw, his two-day old stubble scoring his palm.
He wasn’t supposed to be here yet. He was supposed to arrive next week. But, once he had everything packed up, his secondhand furniture sent off to Goodwill and his job at the hospital over and done with, he’d looked around at his empty (and ugly, let’s be honest) apartment and grabbed his bags and filled up the tank of his car.
Quite possibly spurred on by far too many readings of Kerouac and Burroughs, he decided to drive the whole the way from Atlanta to Enterprise to get the full effect of southwestern landscape as it turned into northern California.
Five days later, here he is, his old chambray shirt rumpled all to hell, Big Gulp cups littering the backseat and thoughts whirling around in his head wondering if he was absolutely insane to give up a promising career in a prestigious hospital to move across the country to accept a job in a clinic.
A job that Jim Kirk had offered him, for Christ’s sake.
“I’m going crazy,” McCoy told the sign. “Stark raving mad.”
The sign said nothing back.
McCoy shook his head.
A pick-up truck pulled up behind him and McCoy swore.
“Please don’t be the cops,” he said to himself. “I might be going insane, but I’m not there yet.”
A lean man of medium build with a healthy shock of salt and pepper hair got out of the cab of the truck. His jeans looked worn in with grass and dirt stains on the front and he was wearing a pair of cowboy boots that had seen better days.
He looked tough, but he didn’t look like a cop. McCoy sighed and got out of his car.
“Doctor McCoy?” the other man asked.
“For all my sins, that’s me,” McCoy said.
The man smiled, the skin around his eyes crinkling. “Jim asked me to keep a look out for you. I’m Chris Pike.”
He held out a hand that McCoy shook. “Enterprise’s former mayor?”
“For all my sins,” Pike said with a grin. McCoy grinned back. “Any particular reason you found yourself on the side of the road here?”
McCoy shook his head. “Just taking a moment to get the lay of the land.”
“And have some second thoughts?”
“More like eighth or ninth thoughts,” McCoy said.
Pike nodded and looked at the Welcome sign. “It’s a good town, folks are friendly, I highly doubt you’ll have too many challenges. We get a good case of flu every year and at least one kindergarten class comes down with the chicken pox. We’ve had one gunshot wound in the past twelve years and it was more of a graze than anything else. Every now and then someone gets stupid and drives too fast and wraps him or herself around a lamp post.” Pike shrugged. “Pretty easy-going. Shouldn’t be too difficult for an Atlanta man.”
“I’ve never tried easy-going,” McCoy said. “It may be more difficult than you suppose.”
“Won’t know until you try,” Pike told him. “Care to follow me into town? Or do you need more time to reflect?”
McCoy took another look at the Welcome sign and the road leading into Enterprise. He shook his head. “Lead on, your honor.”
Pike gave a full-bodied laugh. “Make sure to call me that in front of Jim. It’s always fun to watch his hackles rise.”
McCoy chuckled and then swore as a silver Cadillac came roaring around the bend, nearly clipping Pike. “Jesus Christ, man! You okay?”
Pike continued to chuckle. “Oh, yeah. They missed.”
“Not by much,” McCoy said frowning after the car that was quickly heading into the distance. “You know who that was?”
“Sure,” Pike said as he headed towards his truck. “It was my wife.”
McCoy stopped by his car. “Your wife?”
“She likes to keep me on my toes,” Pike said with fond look in his eyes as he looked down the road.
Something occurred to McCoy as he watched the former mayor watch the Caddy go over a hill and disappear from sight.
“That gunshot wound,” McCoy asked with narrowed. “Just what did you do to earn it?”
Pike looked over at him with surprise. Then his grin returned. “Some things are best left between husband and wife, Dr. McCoy.”
Then Pike hauled himself up into his truck. McCoy got into his car and as he pulled onto the road to follow Pike into town he said, “Easy-going, my ass. And I’m definitely going insane.”
At the same time McCoy was contemplating his life choices along with the “Welcome to Enterprise” sign, Christine was chatting with Dr. Puri, Enterprise’s former doctor. The man who’d graciously come out of retirement to help out.
“Thank you again,” Christine said warmly.
“As always, Christine, it’s my pleasure,” the small man said, his smile deepening the wrinkles next to his eyes. “Any time you need the extra hand, I’m here. I’m retired, not dead.”
“No one could say otherwise,” Christine said. “Where are you off to now? Alaska? Tierra del Fuego?”
“Smart mouth,” he said affectionately. “I’m off to see the grandkids in Florida. Apparently we’re needed to tackle the Magic Kingdom. Disneyland just isn’t the same.”
“Well, give Mickey my best,” Christine said leaning in to kiss his cheek.
“Kissing other men, Christine?” a voice came from the open door to the office. “I’m hurt.”
Christine looked over to see Jim Kirk - current mayor and former bane of her eight-year-old existence - standing in the doorway with a smile on his far too handsome face. While Jim as a child actor had appeared adorable and winsome, those same looks had taken on a more polished and mischievous attractiveness. Christine gave him a withering look. “Not as hurt as you’re going to be if you’ve missed your appointment with the city council.”
“Easy, She-Ra,” Jim said using his old nick-name for her, “I’ve just come from there. I wanted to say good-bye and thank you to Dr. Puri.”
He turned to the doctor and said, “Thank you. You really helped us out. I sincerely appreciate it.”
“As I told Christine, it was my pleasure and I’m delighted to help out,” Dr. Puri said shaking Jim’s hand. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to take my wife out to lunch.”
“Give Laura my love,” Christine said.
Dr. Puri gave them both a wave and headed out. Jim turned to Christine with a smile. “How’s my favorite nurse?”
“You only say that because Nurse Connors has refused to treat you anymore,” Christine said walking out of the office into the reception area. “Now, when’s your little friend getting here?”
“Any minute now actually,” Jim said. “And he’s taller than me.”
“Uh huh, and why is he getting here today instead of next week?” she asked.
“Way he says it, he just felt the need to get out of dodge and had always wanted to drive across the country,” Jim said putting a spare stethoscope around his neck, which Christine quickly took away from him. “I don’t think he expected it to take as long as it did. In fact, I’m pretty sure he drove through a few of the nights.”
“Must have read too much Kerouac in his formative years,” Christine muttered to herself.
“Whither goest thou, America, in thy shiny car in the night?” Jim quoted.
Christine shot him a look. He shrugged. “What? I read.”
Nora, the receptionist, snickered. Christine glanced over and smiled at her while Jim looked affronted.
“No one takes me seriously around here, do they?” he asked.
“We take you very seriously, mayor,” Nora said. “We also think you’re much too cute and too fun to play with to resist.”
Christine smiled broadly at Nora. Nora, who had worked for the Enterprise Medical center for as long as Christine could remember and was also Janice’s mother. If you could imagine Dolly Parton with a slightly smaller bra size and brown hair as opposed to blonde, that was Nora. She was singular in that she could cut a person down to size while wearing the sweetest smile and use the kindest voice in such a way that the person would thank her for her trouble.
“Nora, you gorgeous thing,” Jim said leaning over to kiss her cheek. “When are you going to leave your husband and run away with me?”
“Along the time Satan starts handing out ice skates,” Nora said. “Now, are you being nice to my daughter? Or have you managed to drive her ‘round the bend and back again?”
“Oh, come on now, Nora,” Jim said. “Shouldn’t the question be: is your daughter being nice to me?”
Nora tilted her head to the side and just stared at him. Christine felt a smirk start on her face as Jim actually squirmed.
“Alright, fine,” Jim said. “Yes, Janice’s mom, I’m being very nice to your daughter. I have to be. I couldn’t survive without her.”
There was a tone in his voice that bordered on sincere and Christine and Nora exchanged glances.
“Anyway,” Jim went on, “Bones should be here soon.”
“Bones?” Christine asked, drawing the word out with an incredulous look.
“Yeah, as in Sawbones,” Jim said grinning. “I gave him the nickname in college. It suits him. You’ll see. He’s very earthy.”
“Un huh. And you’re sure he’s right for the clinic?”
Jim rolled his eyes and poked her in the side. “Yes, I’m sure he’s right for the clinic. Come on, Chris, he’s brilliant and gifted and he’s got tons of experience working in a huge hospital, so this should be a snap.” He poked her again. “Stop worrying, She-Ra.”
“Do you have to call me that?” Christine said twisting away from his fingers.
“Yep,” he said. “I’m afraid it’s your lot in life to be teased by me.” He wiggled his fingers at her and she glared and attempted to move past him to the hallway. Jim was faster and managed to snake an arm around her waist and dug his fingers in. Christine yelped and tried to stomp on his foot, while Jim just laughed.
“I swear to God! Jim!” Christine’s voice rose to a shriek as he found that spot that made her flail like an idiot.
A low chuckle came from the door to the waiting room and Christine looked over through the strands of her hair that had come out of her ponytail. She felt her face flush as she spotted Chris Pike and a taller man with broad shoulders that could only be the new doctor. His face looked rugged with a generous amount of stubble on his jaw, dark brows that were raised in amusement and a mouth with a lower lip that was made to be nibbled on. His clothes looked rumpled and his hair could have used a quick brush. Essentially, the man looked like he’d just rolled out of bed.
Oh, crap, Christine thought dismally as she let out a squeak when Jim hit a soft spot. He’s hot. That’s not fair.
“Bones!” Jim said happily from his position of still digging his fingers into Christine’s side. “You made it! Welcome to Enterprise!”
McCoy just shook his head at Jim’s cheerful welcome and tried not to stare at the woman his friend had just been mauling. Jim let her go and strode over to give McCoy a handshake and one of those manly half-hugs. McCoy was honestly glad to see his friend. They’d roomed together while McCoy was getting through his internship and Jim was trying to figure out how to live his life post-fame. It had felt like a bad rerun of the Odd Couple before they both discovered they got along more often than not.
In fact, Jim was one of the only friends McCoy had kept in touch with. Lord knows McCoy had depended on Jim’s advice more than the kid had ever depended on his.
However, that didn’t mean McCoy wasn’t irrationally envious of how Jim had been touching the blonde woman, who was clearly one of the nurses in the practice.
“How was your drive?” Jim asked.
“Longer than I expected,” McCoy said bluntly. “But, gorgeous.”
“Did you get your fill of the desert?”
“More than,” McCoy said, trying to pay attention to Jim, while his gaze kept sliding to the nurse who was standing nearby, an embarrassed flush still in her cheeks.
She was slim and of medium height, with delicate features. If someone had told him she was an actress transplanted from one of Hitchcock’s films, he’d have believed them. Her blonde hair reminded him of sunlight on a spring afternoon and dear lord, had he always been this sappy? Scrubs were never flattering and the ones she wore (bright blue with little fish on them) hardly displayed her figure, he could see the enticing curve of her neck and toned arms and her eyes...
McCoy raised an eyebrow as his eyes met hers and wasn’t surprised by how sharp and keen they were.
Yeah, eyes like those made him positive she was a smart, perceptive person, ideal traits in a nurse and as he read her nametag, Christine Chapel, Nurse Practitioner, he knew she was the office manager Jim had mentioned in the first discussion about the job.
The intelligent and appraising look in her eyes made him know instantly that he wanted this woman in charge of his medical practice.
The faint blush still present in her cheeks made his palms itch to trace the curve of her neck and see if her waist was as narrow as he suspected it was.
Well, that’s inappropriate, he scolded himself. At least get her name before you start to mentally undress the woman, you jackass.
“Well, let’s go into the office and have a quick chat and get you to look over the contract and fill in the paperwork,” Jim said. “Then I’ll take you over to your apartment so you can get some sleep and a shower. You smell like you’ve been driving for hours.”
“That’s probably because I have,” McCoy said dryly.
“Before we do, let me introduce you to She-Ra,” Jim said indicating the blonde nurse, who rolled her eyes.
“Honestly, Jim,” she said in a strong, clear voice. She met McCoy’s eyes and held out a hand. “Christine Chapel. I’m a nurse practitioner and I also help with the management of the practice.”
“Leonard McCoy,” he said taking her hand and hoping like hell the surge of lust he felt from touching her wasn’t written all over his face. “I’ll do my best not to disrupt your routines. Just point me at the sick people and I’ll stay out of your way.”
She smiled and said, “Oh, I think we’ll get along just fine. I’m sure Jim and Mr. Pike have a lot to talk to you about, so don’t worry about learning about the routines today. Our part-time doctor, Dr. Geoffrey M’Benga is on this afternoon.”
“What time do you want me in tomorrow morning?” he asked, stupidly reluctant to let go of her hand. Christ, when was the last time a woman had had this kind of effect on him? It’d been close to two years since his divorce, and he just hadn’t felt ready for any kind of relationship, serious or otherwise. But, something was repeatedly socking him in the gut as he looked at Christine Chapel. Something that felt very much like his god damn libido.
“I’ll be in at eight,” she said.
“Then so will I,” he said.
“Good.”
“Fine.”
“You gonna let go of her hand this century, Bones?” Jim asked an unrepentant grin on his face. McCoy dropped Christine’s hand and coughed, while she blushed. Pike simply stood by and watched everything with a tiny grin on his face.
“I’ve got patients,” Christine said. “Jim, stay out of trouble and stop bugging Janice. See you in the morning, doctor. Welcome to Enterprise.”
“Thank you, Nurse Chapel,” McCoy said as he watched her walk away. He quickly turned his head and came face to face with Jim’s stupid smirk. “Shut up, Jim.”
“I didn’t say anything!”
McCoy glared and looked over at Pike who started to chuckle.
“Sure you don’t need more time for reflection?” Pike asked him.
McCoy shook his head. “I think it’s too late for that. I’ve already decided I’m going insane. I may as well make it official. Where do I sign?”
“Right here,” Jim said. “Follow me. We can use the office.”
As three men walked deeper into the clinic and past reception, Jim shot Nora a wink and charm smile. For her part, Nora just rolled her eyes, blushing a little, before settling on a stern look.
“Bones, this is Nora, the woman who knows everything that goes on in Enterprise,” Jim said. “She’s also the beautiful mother of my assistant, Janice.”
“I only know the juicy stuff, mayor,” Nora said, lowering her reading glasses and meeting McCoy’s eyes. “I hope you’re a better MD than the last guy.”
McCoy raised a brow while Jim and Pike coughed to hide grins. “Well, I promise to do my best,” he said holding out his hand to Nora. She took it in a surprisingly strong grip and she nodded.
“We’ll see,” she said. The phone began to ring. "Now get out of our way, mayors." Nora turned her back on the men and answered the phone with a brisk, “Enterprise Medical, how may I help you?”
McCoy followed Jim and Pike into the small office in the back of the clinic. From what he could see, the clinic looked tidy and well-kept up. The machinery seemed modern, and the hygiene specs seemed on target. It smelled like a clinic always smelled, of chemicals and antiseptics, but there was an underlying scent of something fresh. Most of McCoy's concerns faded away.
Until he saw the supply room and he did a double take.
“That’s an awful lot of bandages,” he said calculating the stock quickly in his head. “Does the clinic really go through all that?”
He looked over at Jim who was sharing a look with Pike and McCoy frowned.
“Jim, what have you gotten me into?” he asked.
Jim grinned and clapped a hand on McCoy’s shoulder. “Exactly what you were looking for, Bones.”
McCoy let Jim steer him down the hall; the impending sense of doom that followed him through his internship and the six months post-grad that he and Jim spent as roommates making a sudden and firm reappearance.”
The small office was crammed to the ceiling with medical texts and a few of the titles leaped out at McCoy and his fingers itched to pull them off the shelves. But he took a seat in one of the ancient chairs while Jim sat behind the clean desk and Pike took the other chair.
“Well, here you go,” Jim said handing McCoy a small sheaf of papers. “As per the city council’s mandate, you’re on a month’s probation and then we’ll see about making you a permanent fixture to the place. That is unless, you decide you don’t like it here and want to move on. We do ask that you give a proper notice and so on and so forth. Your benefits package is pretty good and if you’ve got any questions, just give my office a call. Janice can talk you through anything.”
Jim paused and McCoy looked up from his perusal of the papers. “What? Spit it out, Jim.”
“I, well, we hope you like it here, Bones,” Jim said. “The last guy, well...”
“I don’t think small town life was really to his liking,” Pike said diplomatically. “When he found something more suitable, he left us high and dry.”
“Some of us more than others,” Jim muttered looking pissed off, which surprised McCoy. His friend wasn’t one show his anger that obviously.
“Am I missing something here?” McCoy asked.
“Oh, tons of things,” Jim said. “But, I’m sure you’ll find out all of the gory details at some point.”
McCoy snorted. Jim and Pike let him read over the papers and talked quietly to each other. When McCoy got to the dotted line, he hesitated, but only for a moment, and then signed.
“Great!” Jim said grinning. “You won’t regret this, Bones. Now, let’s go get some lunch and we’ll tell you all about Enterprise.”
“Sounds good to me,” McCoy said the mention of food reminding him of his empty stomach. “Out of curiosity, where am I staying?”
“There’s an apartment complex just down the road,” Pike said as they all stood up. “Funnily enough, it’s where the last doctor lived, but it’s been cleared up and cleaned out.”
“How many rooms?” he asked.
“You're still hoping to bring Joanna here?” Jim asked.
“For the summer at the very least, provided everything works out,” McCoy said.
“Joanna?” Pike asked.
“My daughter,” McCoy answered.
Pike smiled. “Enterprise is great for kids. Just ask Jim here. And Nurse Chapel for that matter. They spent a good portion of their formative years here.”
“Nurse Chapel is from here?” McCoy asked, wondering if he’d imagined the slight southern accent in her voice.
“Naw, New Orleans,” Jim said. “But she came to stay with her aunt and uncle during the summer when she was a kid.”
McCoy nodded and followed the men out of the office. On their way out, he met the part-time doctor, Geoffrey M’Benga who seemed competent and friendly and another nurse named Alice Robbins. He caught a fleeting glimpse of Christine Chapel talking with one of her patients.
The curve of her neck was like a magnetic pull; pale and graceful in ways that made his skin itch, and good lord, he needed to grow the hell up because this was ridiculous. Just because his body had decided to wake up horny, didn’t mean he had to. Mentally rolling his eyes, he turned back to Jim farewell-flirting with Nora. Who looked ready to smack him with her handset. Yeah, he and Nora were going to get along fine.
If he’d kept his eyes on Christine a just moment longer, he would have seen her glance over in his direction.
The men headed down the street in the direction of what looked like an honest-to-God pub, with the name Scotty’s hanging on a sign over the door.
“Two o’clock,” Pike said to McCoy giving him a wry grin. “You’re in luck; we’ve just missed the lunch crowd.”
McCoy chuckled. “What a shame. I was looking forward to the third-degree by the citizens.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Jim said. “Everyone will know everything about you by the weekend.”
“Swell,” McCoy muttered.
As they walked inside, the smell of grilled hamburgers made McCoy’s mouth water. He looked around and marveled at the eclectic decor. Flags from random countries hung on the walls, next to odd pictures clearly torn from magazines and put into frames. But, the bar looked well-stocked and the floors and tables were clean and gleaming.
A slim, red-haired fellow was behind the bar, yelling at someone over the phone.
“For pete’s sake,” the man hollered, “it’s the principle of the thing. I can’t stand the particular vegetable myself, but that’s not the point.”
“Which vegetable is it this week?” Pike asked Jim.
“Arugula.”
“Isn’t that a garnish?”
“That’s what I thought.”
“Do I want to know?” McCoy asked.
“No,” Pike and Jim said in unison.
“Right. How’re the hamburgers?” he asked.
“Char-grilled heaven on a sesame seed bun,” Jim said.
“Perfect.”
Twenty minutes later, as McCoy was biting into what honestly was char-grilled heaven on a sesame seed bun, he met the infamous owner of Scotty’s, Mr. Montgomery Scott, himself.
The Scotsman was a former merchant marine and had and had, through some twist of fate, found himself in the town of Enterprise in the mid-90s and stayed. He opened up his pub and business had been booming ever since.
“At least it was booming until that little upstart took over the Farragut,” he told McCoy, Jim and Pike just grinning away behind their own burgers.
McCoy swallowed. “Upstart?”
“Pavel Chekov,” Pike said. “Child prodigy. You should see the things he does with mathematics.”
“Wish he’d go back to the numbers and leave the sandwich making to the professionals,” Scotty said before taking a healthy belt of his cuppa.
“How did a mathematics prodigy end up in Enterprise running a sandwich shop?” McCoy asked.
Jim shrugged. “He says he hated academia and all those stuffy professors telling him what to work on. So one day, he left MIT, hopped a bus and wound up here.”
“He says the symmetry of making sandwiches is similar to math and while his hands are busy, it leaves his mind free to think,” Pike said.
“That...makes a certain amount of sense, actually,” McCoy said.
“Course it does!” Scotty said. “And don’t get me wrong, the lad’s a deft hand with a pencil and set of matrices, but he’s stealing my lunch crowd! Who puts apples in their chicken salad? It’s madness!”
“But, really tasty,” Jim said. Scotty glared at him and Jim went back to his hamburger.
The gentlemen passed the afternoon away by telling McCoy everything they thought was pertinent to living in Enterprise.
“And since you’re the new doc,” Scotty said with a gleam in his eye. “You get to work alongside the charming Miss Chapel.”
Kirk grinned. “He’s met her already. I think she made an impression, right, Bones?”
McCoy glared. “She seemed very competent.”
Pike chuckled.
“Competent?” Scotty said sounding excited. “The woman’s more than competent. She’s bloody gorgeous. And talk about refined. That woman is pure class from her lovely face down to her, what I imagine, are her lovely little toes.”
“She did appear quite, ah, nice,” McCoy said awkwardly.
“’Nice’,” Jim repeated with a snicker. “Bones, you were smitten, don’t deny it.”
“Shut up, Jim,” McCoy said looking away.
“Fine, fine. I give up. Oh and wait until you meet Spock,” Jim said. “You’re gonna love him.”
“What the hell kind of name is Spock?” McCoy asked.
“One he gave himself, or so I heard,” Pike said.
“Who is he?”
“The man who is going to help us put Enterprise back on the map,” Jim said. “He’s our architect. He’s got a keen eye for design and you should see some of his plans for Main Street.”
“Nothing too radical, I hope?” Pike said.
“Nothing radical, I promise,” Jim said. “Just taking what’s there and returning it to what it was with a twist.”
“A twist?” Scotty repeated. “Saints preserve us.”
“It’ll work,” Jim said stubbornly.
“Sure it will,” Pike said.
McCoy yawned. Loudly. Everyone looked over at him and he apologized. “Christ, I’m sorry.”
“Drive catching up to you?” Pike asked.
“More like punching me in the face,” McCoy said. “If I’m going to be expected to actually treat people tomorrow, you’d better point me towards a mattress.”
“No problem,” Jim said. “Follow me.”
McCoy reached for his wallet to pay for dinner, but Scotty told him to put it away. “First meal is on the house. But, only if you come back.”
“You kidding?” McCoy said. “I can’t remember having a hamburger that good since I was a kid.”
Scotty beamed.
McCoy said good-bye to Pike with a shake of his hand
“Once you’ve settled, you’ll have to come out,” Pike said. “We’re out just on the edge of town, but we try to have an annual barbeque at the beginning of spring.”
“Looking forward to it,” McCoy said.
After picking up his truck, he followed Jim to his new apartment, which was clean and sparsely furnished. He couldn’t tell if the dizzy sensation he was experiencing was a result of driving through the night or due to the crazy stories about the town Pike, Jim and Scotty had spun for him.
“What am I doing here?” he muttered to himself pulling into a small parking lot after Jim.
You’re here because Atlanta was too much for you and you were starting to hate everything, he told himself. You’re here because you needed the change. Don’t back out now.
“It’s a pretty modern place,” Jim said once they were both inside. “It was built a couple of years ago and everything works.”
“It’s fine, Jim, thanks,” McCoy said. “For everything, actually.”
“Hey, I’m just glad to see you, man,” Jim said with a smile. “You sounded like crap when I talked to you last month.”
“Thanks,” McCoy replied dryly. “Felt like it, to be honest.” He took a deep breath. “I needed a kick in the ass to get me moving, Jim.”
“Dude, I am always happy to kick you in the ass,” Jim said sincerely. “And I hope you like it here. I really think you will.”
“I’m just looking forward to working in a place that doesn’t have wall to wall drama and political machinations,” McCoy said. “I had enough of that in Atlanta.”
“Well, there’s a distinct lack of political machinations, but as for the drama...” Jim shrugged. “Who knows?”
“Uh huh,” McCoy said not liking the look on Jim’s face. “Go away, Jim.”
“Sleep tight, Bones,” he said with a wave.
McCoy walked through his empty apartment. Luckily, a few items of furniture had been left or purchased by Jim. He’d seen the bed earlier – although it was only a twin – made up with blue cotton sheets and a plain comforter. He detoured through the kitchen. He checked the cupboards, coming up with a few mis-matched dishes, and snagged a glass to fill up with water.
The place wasn’t massive, but it was well laid-out, and with some work and shopping, it would shape up fairly nicely. He had several months before Jo had a school break and was scheduled to come visit. It wasn’t bad. He could work with it.
He decided against making any plans considering he felt exhausted to his core. He kicked off his shoes and set the alarm on his watch. Then he shucked his shirt and jeans off and fell face first onto the bed, clad only in his boxers.
He shoved a pillow under his head as his mind raced over everyone he’d met. Just before falling asleep, the image of Christine Chapel’s neckline appeared and he wondered what she looked like when she let her hair down.
As McCoy was wandering his apartment, Christine was helping Nora to close up the clinic. As they got into Nora’s ancient Oldsmobile, Christine considered for the hundredth time whether or not she should just buy a really cheap car instead of relying on Jan and Nora for rides to and from work. But another quick calculation firmly refuted that idea. There was just no way she could afford a car right now.
“What do you think of the new doc?” Nora asked her, interrupting Christine’s thoughts.
“I’m not sure,” Christine said. “I think we’ll see what he’s made of tomorrow.”
“It’s a Tuesday,” Nora said with a bit of a grimace. “You know how Tuesdays are.”
“It’s as if all the common sense they started out with on Monday morning has leaked out their ears,” Christine said.
“Good old Enterprise.”
Nora pulled up to the curb outside Christine’s house and they said good-bye before Christine walked up the path to her front door.
Once inside, she headed straight up the stairs to the box that still held most of her linens. God, she’d been thinking about this all day. She couldn’t contain the butterflies in her stomach at the thought of making up The Bed. Her bed. Then she walked into her bedroom, startling herself when she took in the size of her new bed.
“Good Lord, did you expand?” she said out loud. “Were you this big this morning?”
Shaking her head, she quickly changed out of her scrubs into a comfy pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt. Then she tore the plastic covering off the new mattress and box spring.
With a deft flick of her hands, she unfolded the bed sheet over the mattress and efficiently made the bed with a new set of light blue sheets. Then she went over to the hope chest and opened it. The smell of cherry wood made her smile and she lifted out her granny’s quilt. The quilt had been made as a gift for Christine when she’d been a little girl. Thanks to a mix up on measurements and her grandmother’s stubborn refusal to waste fabric, the quilt had turned out somewhat... larger than originally planned. However, Granny Chapel was not one for waste, so the quilt ended up being king-sized as opposed to twin. Christine loved it. The dark, rich navy blue was the perfect background to the swatches of light blue and purple material shaped into fleur-de-lis.
Christine carefully laid the quilt out on the bed and then stepped back to look it over.
It was perfect. The dark blue complimented the headboard and the bed looked sumptuous and divine. Christine sighed with pleasure.
“I hope you’re as comfortable as you look,” she said.
Later that night after eating some leftover chicken soup, she crawled under the covers and groaned happily.
It was definitely as comfortable as it looked.
She drifted to sleep with a smile on her face.
Part II
