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seren_ccdLocated on just the edge of town, Enterprise County Jail was a neat, tidy building that looked like it hadn't been updated in a few decades – and didn't need it. Following Christine up the front walk, McCoy admired the regal way she held herself, despite being dressed in tennis shoes, and blue jeans that were fraying along the cuffs and back pockets. Honestly, it was one of the best views he'd had in a while. He allowed himself a good leer as he remembered how it felt to touch those curves. Mentally he cursed Christine's friends' larcenous tendencies and edged around her to hold open the front door.
She stalked straight up to the deputy sitting at the front desk and said, “Excuse me, Deputy Donovan, but I believe my friend is here.”
The deputy looked up and her eyes widened. McCoy stifled a snicker at the look of panic on her face. “Oh, hello, Nurse Chapel. Umm, you’ll be wanting to join the others?”
“Others?” Christine repeated.
“Damn it, Cupcake, I’m sure there’s a good explanation for this!” Jim’s voice could be heard coming from the cells. McCoy didn’t bother to hide his snort and just grinned at Chapel when she glared at him.
“Well, Mayor Kirk and Ms. Rand are already here,” Deputy Donovan said with a cringe. “And Mr. Sulu called Mr. Spock, so he’s here with Ms. Uhura.” She sighed. “I imagine another two won’t make much difference at this point.”
She pressed a button and waved them on through.
McCoy simply arched an eyebrow and followed Christine towards the raised voices.
Inside the cells, McCoy just observed the ruckus: Jim was facing off against a determined looking Sheriff, Janice Rand and Ms. Uhura were standing close to Gaila, who was dressed all in black and looked beyond miserable. Scotty was in a cell with Sulu and Chekov who were bickering with each other, while Scotty was trying to interject his own complaints to the sheriff. Spock, of course, was silent while he watched the goings on.
Christine headed straight for Gaila and McCoy strolled over to stand next to Spock.
“Evening,” he said to him.
Spock inclined his head. “Good evening, doctor. I must admit, I never expected such...activities to occur in such a quiet town.”
“Tell me about it,” McCoy replied flatly.
McCoy turned to watch the sheriff as he tried to explain the situation.
“Mayor, the last thing I want to do is lock up upstanding citizens of this town,” Sheriff Smith said with a definite edge to his voice. “However, they were caught red-handed, in a closet, wearing black, after having broken in to another person’s home. That is illegal.”
“You weren’t there when I went over,” McCoy heard Christine whisper to Gaila.
“You went over?” Gaila whispered back, her eyes wide and hopeful.
“Of course I did,” Christine said. “45 Robin Hood Drive, like you told me.”
Gaila closed her eyes looking pained. “Oh, God. I meant Robin Hood Lane.”
“Oh, hell,” Janice said rolling her eyes. “Gaila, for the love of Pete, what is going on?”
Here, here, McCoy thought.
Janice’s query seemed to quiet down the entire room and everyone looked over at Gaila. She sighed and slumped against the bars of her cell, her bright red curls a startling contrast against the gray metal.
“I know everyone’s always thought it was silly of me to be so interested in the Kirk jewels,” she said hesitantly. “And honestly, it was more of a fun hobby than anything else. You know, something to think about and research.”
“You researched them?” Jim asked cocking his head.
Gaila nodded brightly. “Oh, yeah! Did you know they have a name? The Fontis de Juvenis jewels. I found it in one of your grandmother’s journals, the ones you can look through at the estate. She talked about how Tiberius bought them for her and how much she loved them.
“Apparently, they went missing after an attempted robbery on the estate,” Gaila continued. “Guinevere decided to hide them for safe-keeping. Some place that only she, and the person she entrusted them with, knew about.” Gaila frowned. “I got the impression it was the hiding itself that was part of the fun.”
Jim nodded and had a small smile on her face. “She always loved mysteries.”
“Go on, sweetie,” Christine said holding Gaila’s hand.
She took a deep breath. “Well, like I said, it was just a fun hobby. I hadn’t planned to really do anything about it. But...”
“But what, love?” Scotty asked gently.
“But, everything went wrong,” Gaila said throwing her hands in the air, dislodging Christine’s. She started to pace in her cell. “One of the companies I bought my salon equipment from got taken over and they raised the monthly payment fees. Due to the stupid recession, the bank had to raise the interest rates on my loan and once I was delinquent on one payment, the fees just started to add up. And it’s not like business is bad, but it’s not booming by any means. But, I was hardly going to raise my prices ridiculously to pay people off.”
She sat down on a bench. “I’m going broke and I don’t know how to stop it.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Janice asked. “We could have helped you.” Christine nodded in agreement.
“How?” Gaila said looking at her friends with pleading eyes. “Jan, you’re hardly making the big bucks and Chris, you had to sell your car to make ends meet. No.” She shook her head. “I wasn’t about to ask you guys for help when it was my bad business plan that was the cause.”
“You could have told me,” Scotty said lowly. McCoy could see no trace of the jovial barman, just the stark emotions of a man still crazy about his wife.
“I know,” Gaila said softly looking at Scotty sadly yet with so much affection, tears formed in her eyes. “But, I’ve got that Murphy pride, you know. I couldn’t.”
“So, you decided to look for the jewels?” Uhura asked. “In order to help recoup some of your finances?”
“Pretty much,” Gaila said wiping her eyes. “I wasn’t going to keep them!” She looked at Jim. “I swear. I was just going to find them. Leave them where they were and then tell you where to look. There’s that finder’s fee... I would have just collected that.”
“That’s a heck of a long shot,” McCoy found himself saying gently.
Gaila gave him a wry glance. “Tell me about it.”
“So, how did these guys get roped in to everything?” Jim jerked his head towards Sulu and Chekov.
“I ran into Gaila at the estate, looking at the diaries,” Chekov said straightening up. “We started to talk about jewels. Where they could be. It was fun. A diversion.” He smiled at Gaila. “No regrets.”
“I, uh, ran into them when they were, ah, checking out a place,” Sulu said reluctantly. McCoy arched a brow at the blush spreading across the man’s face. “I kinda went along with them.”
“I followed Gaila one night and saw how bad her lock-picking skills were,” Scotty said casually. “I had to help.”
Sheriff Smith sighed. “Jesus, people. While I can get how money matters can make you desperate, Ms. Murphy, that’s no excuse for breaking the law.” He looked at everyone in the cells. “No excuse whatsoever.”
Everyone nodded looking a bit like reprimanded schoolchildren.
“Now, nothing concrete can be done tonight,” Sheriff Smith said. “We’ll have to wait until morning to see if the Kleins want to press charges. Until then, you’ll all be staying here overnight.”
The cells exploded into angry shouting.
“Now, Sheriff,” Jim started.
“My mind’s made up, your honor,” Sheriff Smith said firmly glaring at Jim. “The law is the law.”
“They’re clearly remorseful,” Jim said for once not trying to pour on the charm. McCoy had the impression it wouldn’t have worked on the sheriff anyway. “Isn’t there anything you can do?”
“They have to remain in police custody until a charge has been made,” Sheriff Smith said not moving an inch. “Surely, you understand, Mayor Kirk.”
Jim nodded thoughtfully.
“No! You can’t do this!” Janice said edging in front of Jim and glaring up at the sheriff. “They’re hardly hardened criminals.”
“Jan--” Jim said.
“No!” Janice whirled around, her short ponytail whipping her on the side of the face. “Jim Kirk, you fix this, right now.”
“They broke the law, Janice,” Jim said his voice going low. “I can’t overrule that.”
“Yes, you can,” Janice scoffed. “Of course, you can.”
“Not this time,” Jim said shaking his head. “I’m sorry, guys. This one is out of my hands.”
There were grudging murmurs from Sulu, Chekov and Scotty. Gaila just nodded, pulling her knees up to her chest while Christine gave her a sympathetic look.
Janice, however, was not so accepting. Her lower lip actually trembled, but McCoy wasn’t sure of it was due to frustration or despair.
“Jim,” she said quietly. So quietly that Jim’s entire expression changed, becoming the most unguarded McCoy had ever seen the man. “Jim, please fix this. Do not let Gaila sleep in a jail cell overnight.”
“She won’t be mistreated, Miss Rand--” Sheriff Smith stopped talking when Janice’s tiny hand was sharply held up in front of his face.
“Jim,” Janice repeated. “Your Honor.”
“I can’t, Jan,” Jim said his voice practically breaking.
Janice studied him for a moment longer and then nodded. She turned to Uhura. “I sent in that application this evening with a note saying to wait until I was sure.” Janice lifted her chin. “I’m sure.”
“What?” Jim shouted. “Application? You mean a job? Janice, what the hell?”
“Uhura and Spock have kindly offered me a position in their firm as a project manager,” Janice said evenly. “I have decided to accept.”
McCoy noticed Gaila get up off the bench and come to stand next to Christine, their hands blindly linking together as they stared at their friend.
“You--You’re leaving me?” Jim asked looking crushed. McCoy cringed, he’d never seen that look on his friend’s face. Jim shook his head. “No. You can’t. You can’t go.”
“I’ll stay until the majority of the renovations have been at least started and underway,” Janice said obviously blinking back tears. “But, I believe there is a project starting in Riverside that they’ll need me on.”
Jim turned to Spock. “You’re stealing my assistant?”
“Hardly,” Spock said. “We merely offered her a job that she would have eventually found for herself.”
“Did you think she’d stay with you as your personal assistant forever?” Uhura asked not unkindly.
McCoy grimaced as Jim continued to look lost and confused. Eventually, Jim turned back to Janice.
“Tell me what to do,” he said stepping close to her. “This town needs you to make sure it runs smoothly. Tell me what to do and I’ll do it.”
“There’s nothing you can do,” Janice said shaking her head. “Jim, this is something I have to do. I have to go.”
“Is it because of this?” He waved a hand at everyone currently locked up. “Because I won’t force Sheriff Cupcake to break the law?”
“No!” Janice said stamping her foot. “Because I’m so frustrated with you that sometimes I can’t breathe. Because half the time I want to hug you because you’re such and idiot and the other time I want to smack you in the face. Neither of which I can do because you’re my boss! It’s an impossible position to be in and I just can’t do it anymore.”
“But, we, I,” Jim faltered a bit, but continued, “I need you, Janice.”
She shook her head and laughed so bitterly that everyone winced at the sound. “No, you don’t. You need Janice Rand, PA Extraordinaire. Not Janice Rand, the girl. I’m tired of being the former for you. Not when I’d like to be the latter so much.”
McCoy looked away from the sheer amount of emotion displayed on both Janice and Jim’s face. He found himself looking at Christine, who was looking at him with sad eyes. She gave him a small smile and he returned it. Christ, compared to the rest, he thought she and he had gotten off pretty lightly. McCoy did not envy Jim’s situation. Or Janice’s, for that matter.
“So,” Janice said tossing her head in a deceptively breezy manner. “I’m taking the job with Spock’s company because it will be a fantastic career move for me. Because I want it.”
“Janice,” Jim said taking her hand. “Please. I...I don’t...”
Janice squeezed his hand. “You’ll be fine. I know it. And so will I.”
She let go of his hand and turned back to Gaila who was watching her with huge, teary eyes and a quirky smile on her face.
“Go you?” Gaila offered awkwardly.
“Go me,” Janice said with a nod. She met Christine’s gaze and Christine just nodded.
Then Janice left the cell. McCoy turned to look at his friend who looked awful. Gutted.
“What do I do, Bones?” Jim asked brokenly.
“You let the woman go with dignity and then ask her on a date, you moron,” McCoy said rolling his eyes.
Jim blinked at him.
“Well, was she right?” McCoy asked gruffly. “Do you want her as, how’d she put it...PA Extraordinaire or as a girl?”
The corners of Jim’s lips started to quirk up. “It never occurred I could have the second option,” Jim said.
“Well, you could,” Christine said bluntly. “So man up, Jim and don’t screw this up.”
McCoy smirked. God damn but he loved that suffer-no-fools-gladly tone of hers.
“Anything for you, She-Ra,” Jim said winking at her. He turned to Scotty, Sulu and Chekov. “Uh, guys. I gotta--”
“Go get her, man!” Scotty waved Jim off. “We’ll be fine. Not the first time I’ve spent the evenin’ in a cell. Not likely to be the last.”
Jim grinned and with a heavy slap to McCoy’s back, he dashed out of the cells.
“Is my first time in cell,” Chekov said looking around nervously. “Is kind of cold. Like Russia.” He looked hopefully at Sheriff Cupcake. “Can we have cocoa?”
“No,” the sheriff said flatly.
Chekov nodded glumly. “Yes. Figures.”
McCoy snorted. He stood aside as Spock and Uhura left, Spock telling Sulu that he’d be happy to provide his company’s legal counsel if it was needed.
Christine and Gaila were talking quietly and McCoy waited, eavesdropping shamelessly.
“Go home,” Gaila told Christine. “I’ll be fine. I promise.”
Christine nodded. “If you’re sure?”
“I am,” Gaila said. She glanced at McCoy, then said, “I get the feeling we interrupted something rather important.”
“What? No. You didn’t,” Christine said.
“Oh? So, that’s not the beginnings of a hickey on your throat, then?” Gaila asked grinning.
McCoy looked down at the floor while Christine gasped and her fingers came up to touch the love bite that he had indeed begun to give her earlier. He glared at the guys in the cell who were craning their necks to get a look at Christine’s throat.
“Knock it off,” he growled. His warning was met by snickers, guffaws and some thumbs-up. He rolled his eyes, feeling irrationally proud of himself.
Christine kissed Gaila on the cheek and with one last look at her friend, headed out. McCoy nodded to Gaila and gave her a wink, which she returned. He kinda liked her. She had spirit.
They left the jail in silence.
Christine walked into her house, McCoy at her heels, for the second time that evening. She felt exhausted. Emotionally, physically exhausted. She headed straight for the sink and filled two glasses with water. She handed one to McCoy and took a long swig from her own, only kind of wishing it was something stronger. Tonight had been... well. Tonight. Man, what a mess.
Then she sagged against the counter, McCoy mirrored her position next to her.
“Did you know that Janice liked Jim?” he asked after a few minutes.
“Sort of,” Christine said with a sigh. “I knew she liked him more than she thought she should. I always knew he liked her, though.”
McCoy nodded.
“Think they’ll figure it out?” she asked quietly tilting her glass back and forth, watching the water slosh from side to side.
“They’ve got as good a chance as any of us do,” he said. She could feel him looking at her.
“Especially now that she’s not going to be his subordinate.” Christine frowned as the fact that technically she was McCoy’s subordinate dawned on her.
"Oh, don't you start looking for excuses," he said, nudging her. “I don’t do the hiring and the firing, you know. The town does. I’m not your boss.”
“True,” she said thoughtfully wondering he could truly read her mind or if she was that obvious.
“How are you?” he asked. “Are you okay?”
His tone was brisk, but the fact that he was asking and the look on his face when she glanced over at him, well, it just melted something inside of her she hadn’t known was frozen. He cared. It wasn’t just to get her horizontal or anything other than just plain concern. She liked it.
“I’m okay,” she said, giving him a half-smile. “Thank you for asking.”
He shrugged and she shook her head as she turned to face him, leaning her hip against the counter. “No, really. Thank you for asking. Most people wouldn’t.”
McCoy looked at her and said, “Most people meaning your ex?”
“Well, yes,” she admitted, darkly. “Of course, he wouldn’t have gone down to the jail either.”
“You know, I had pretty much just considered the man a bastard,” McCoy said conversationally, as though they were discussing the weather. “But, now I think the man’s a fool.”
“Is a fool worse?” she asked watching his mouth form the words and not bothering to hide her ogling.
“Oh, yeah. See, a bastard could have cunning and intelligence, which I’d have to give credit for,” McCoy explained gesticulating with his empty glass. “Whereas a fool is just plain ignorant.”
“Well, I suppose I was a bit of a fool for thinking he was more than what I made him out to be,” she said not a little ruefully.
“Nah, you’re not a fool, Chapel,” McCoy said. “You just trusted him.”
“I think you may be giving me the benefit of the doubt,” she said meeting his eyes.
“’Course I am. I like you,” he said simply. “And it's not like I didn't have a big stretch of my life where I qualified as a damned fool, either.”
“Well, possibly,” Christine said smiling. “But, you got your daughter out of it.”
His face softened instantly. “Yeah, I got my Jo. Wouldn’t give any of it up for her.”
He looked down at his glass and she studied his profile and any doubts, any misgivings regarding him or her just faded away.
“I feel I should tell you that I’m extremely turned on right now,” she said casually setting her glass down in the sink.
McCoy turned his head slowly. “By me?”
“Oh, yes.” She nodded.
“Well now, that’s something a man likes to hear a beautiful woman say to him,” he said, his drawl becoming more pronounced and sending a frission of lust through her body.
“What do you want to do about it?” she asked.
He set his own glass down in the sink and shrugged. “Grab you. Tear your clothes off and take you on the kitchen table.”
Christine swallowed hard. “It’s not a very sturdy table.”
“Counter then; I’m not picky,” he said, his light tone completely belied by the intensity of his stare.
He didn't move though. But she knew it was because he was letting her make the first overtures. Christine appreciated the gesture, but she knew what she wanted.
So, she stepped up close to him, her head tilting back as she maintained eye contact. For the second time that night, she laid her hands flat on his chest and smoothed them up to curl around his neck. Apparently, she was taking too long, because just before she could lift her mouth to his, his own hands stole around her waist and he pulled her up flush against him, his mouth covering hers.
Christine really didn’t mind his enthusiasm.
Her mouth opened under his and their tongues twined and she felt that frission of lust again, coiling up tight in her abdomen.
“Christine,” he said against her lips. “Jesus Christ, I want you.”
She licked at his Adam’s apple and said, “Take me to bed, Leonard.”
“God, yes,” he said before kissing her again deeply. She let her hand snake down to find his and entwined their fingers together and before she could change her mind and just let him fuck her on the kitchen floor, she stumbled towards the stairs, still trying to continue kissing him.
They broke apart long enough to rush up the stairs, McCoy cursing her creaky step, and then they were in her bedroom and he was pulling her cardigan and t-shirt off. His hands immediately palmed her breasts and she sucked in a breath at seeing his large hands on her. His index fingers brushed over her already hardened nipples and he bent his head to suckle at one through the satin of her green bra.
Her head fell back and she held his head to her breast, her back arching to give him as much access as she could while they were standing. He switched his mouth to her other breast and she cried out something like his name.
She let go of his head long enough to unfasten her bra and he lifted his lips just enough for her to take it off and then his mouth was on her breasts. She rocked into him as his warm, firm lips caressed her nipples, sucking and laving, sometimes gently, sometimes hard and with the nip of his teeth.
“Oh, God,” she breathed. “The bed. I want you on the bed. Now.”
He raised his head and kissed her, her hands yanking at his button-down and then his undershirt, while he undid her jeans and pushed them down.
They both got a bit tied up when they realized their shoes were still on and there was some breathless laughter as they did their best to kick shoes and socks off. Then McCoy grabbed her around her waist and picked her up, her legs hugging his hips as he walked them over to the bed. She fell onto her grandmother’s quilt laughing and pulled him down to her, the front of his jeans rubbing roughly against her panties. It felt delicious.
They kissed and kissed until Christine thought she’d pass out from so much sensation and she finally pushed at his shoulder, turning them so he was on his back and she sat astride him.
He felt so real under her hands. Real and vital and solid. Roger, and all that he’d represented, had been an illusion. An image she thought she’d needed to be. Whereas McCoy...
Oh, this man she wanted. Desired.
Her mouth roamed over his chest, while his hands threaded through her hair, massaging her scalp.
She worked her way down to his belt and swiftly undid it and the button and zipper below. Eagerly, she pulled his jeans and boxers off his lower body, dropping them on the floor. Then she knelt on the bed, feeling remarkably comfortable wearing only her panties. She smiled at the sight of him spread out on her bed, looking ready to be thoroughly debauched. His eyes had darkened with desire so that only a hint of gray-green remained.
“That is one heck of a look you’ve got there,” he said as she smoothed her hands up his calves, over his knees and squeezing his thighs. She grinned a little and let her hands just brush the base of his erection. “Christ, Chapel.”
She ducked her head down and kissed the length of hipbone, laving all the way down to hover just over his cock. She looked up at him and he stared back at her.
“I don’t know whether to be scared or grateful here,” he said slowly.
She grinned again and said, “Both.”
Then her mouth descended, engulfing him as far as she could.
His shout of “Fuck!” echoed in the room and she hummed in amusement. The she dragged her tongue up the side of him and proceeded to tease and suck and lick while thoroughly enjoying herself and all the noises he made.
Eventually, his hands found her shoulders and he sat up long enough to pull her up the length of his body and kiss her, his tongue plunging past her lips as he fucked her mouth.
He rolled them so that she was beneath him and he kissed the length of her throat and along her clavicle. Then he returned to her breasts and paid them the same amount of attention as he’d done previously, this time with the added effect of his naked erection between her thighs while she rocked against him. Sparks of pleasure shot through her and good God it had never quite been like this before. She felt gorgeous and desired and so damn aroused she wasn’t sure she’d be able to come down from this.
His mouth continued to kiss and suck tiny red bruises onto her skin as he moved down. She looked down just as he looked up and she had to moan at the look of want in his eyes. Christine bit her lip as he slowly, so slowly dragged her panties down her legs. It was his turn to kneel on the bed and look up the length of her.
“Your legs, Christine,” he said hoarsely. “They’re a fucking miracle.”
“All the better to wrap around your waist?” she offered.
He smirked and raised her right leg in the air and kissed her ankle, then her calf, then the inside of her knee. By the time he got to the inside of her thigh, she was squirming and this close to begging him to just touch her already.
Which he did, by dragging a finger through her very wet folds. Her eyes squeezed shut and she lifted her arms up over her head, where they found purchase on her headboard. She tried to remember to breathe as he worked one finger inside her, then two, his thumb barely brushing her clit.
“I want to hear you, honey,” McCoy said sounding out of breath.
“Oh, fuck, McCoy,” she gasped out.
Then his fingers were replaced by his tongue and she shrieked.
Which was a first for her, it has to be said.
Christine couldn’t stop her hips from rocking and one hand left the headboard to hold the top of his head as he stroked her outer folds and then flicked against her clit. How could this feel so good? She could feel her control beginning to fracture and it was wonderful.
“So close,” she said feeling her orgasm building. “Len!”
McCoy raised his head and wiping his chin on the back of his hand, he moved up her body, his thick erection sliding against her folds. She pulled his face to her and kissed him, her tongue seeking out her taste.
“Condom,” he said bracing himself above her.
“Bedside table,” she told him. “Unopened box.”
“I’m flattered,” he said stretching across her to open the drawer. She retaliated by nipping at his nipple with her teeth. He yelped and moved back to kiss her firmly.
Then he sat up on his knees and she watched as he opened the packet and rolled the condom down his cock. The image of him masturbating shot through her hard, making her shiver and moan with possibility. Oh, they were doing that eventually. Yes, they were. McCoy just arched an eyebrow, taking in the ever-expanding flush of her skin. She rolled her eyes.
“Get down here and fuck me, doctor,” she said reaching for him.
“Gladly,” he said aligning his hips to hers. With a snap of his hips, he slid into her easily and they both groaned.
“Oh, my God,” Christine said relishing the feel of him hard and warm inside her.
“Yeah,” McCoy managed before pulling out and then surging back in. Christine raised her legs to wrap around her hips, holding him close and she started to rock her hips. They found a rhythm almost instantly and Christine arched her back, loving the friction against her clit.
“God damn,” McCoy said, pressing his face to her neck and mouthing at her skin, his hands firmly holding onto her hips.
He did a harsh thrust against her, hitting something just right and she was coming. She threw her head back and cried out his name. Her knees trembled and her skin felt electrified.
She opened her eyes to find he’d stopped thrusting and was just watching her with a look of awe mixed with desire and she gave him a shaky smile.
“Not bad, McCoy,” she managed to say.
His eyes narrowed as he slipped out of her and hauled her up. Still in the throes of post-orgasm lassitude, she let him manhandle her body, so that she was on her knees, her back to his chest. Her hand automatically curled around his neck as she tilted her head to kiss him messily.
She felt his still hard cock against the cleft of her bottom and while they continued to kiss, McCoy lifted her so that her thighs rested just along his, his cock coming to nestle against her folds.
“Not bad, my ass,” he muttered against her mouth. Then he surged up inside her and she gasped into his mouth.
The hand that wasn’t curled around his neck shot out in front of her, looking for something to brace herself with. It found purchase on the top of her headboard, the cool mahogany warming under her tight grip.
McCoy’s hips kept up a steady rhythm and she soon matched it, their mouths brushing against each other. He let one hand palm her breast, massaging it, cupping it, brushing his fingers over her nipple, then tweaking it. His other glided down over her stomach to comb through her curls, then slide over her clit.
Christine tore her mouth away from his to gasp in air as another orgasm threatened to peak.
“Come on, honey,” he grunted next to her ear. “One more. You can do it. Come on, Christine.”
“Fuck! Len,” she said, beginning to say things she’d never dreamed of saying. “Oh, God, you come, too. Come with me.”
“God damn it, darlin’!” he said as his fingers slid hard against her clit and Christine cried out as her second orgasm burst. She felt tears leak from her eyes from the force of it and McCoy’s hips stuttered against her as he pressed his open mouth to her neck.
They remained upright for a few seconds, before their energy deserted them and they slumped to the bed. McCoy just managed to not crush Christine with his weight but it was a near thing. Christine gingerly straightened out from a fetal position to her back, while McCoy groaned as he did the same. They met each other’s eyes and gave exhausted smiles.
“Still not bad?” he asked.
“You’ll do,” she replied. He snorted and just tugged her to him.
Christine stretched out her legs underneath the crisp bed sheet and her toes brushed against McCoy’s calf. He twitched next to her and pulled her closer, his head resting on her chest, where he pressed a kiss to the top of her breast.
She sighed and closed her eyes. “We definitely have to try to have a relationship.”
“The fact that we just had amazing sex totally tipped the scales for you, didn’t it?” he said his hand skimming her side, over her ribs to her hip and then back up.
“Pretty much,” she admitted carding her fingers through his hair.
He pressed another kiss to her skin and then another on her collarbone, then another on her throat and after he’d kissed his way back up to her mouth, he kissed her so slowly, so thoroughly and so deeply, Christine was drunk with pleasure and was beginning to writhe beneath him once more.
“Cannot get enough of you,” he murmured before kissing her again.
After he’d kissed her to the point that they were both breathless, he lifted his head and studied her.
“It’s entirely possible I may be in love with you,” he said seriously.
“Really?” she asked starting to smile. “That’s nice. It’s entirely possible I may be in love with you.”
“How about that?” he said the corners of his lips quirking upwards. Christine lifted her chin to kiss him and their hands began to roam over each other’s bodies once more.
She arched her back as his kissed the spot where her shoulder met her neck and he said, “Did you know that ‘fontis’ is Latin for fountain?”
“Mmm, no, I did not know that,” Christine said dazedly her hand smoothing over his back. “Tell me more.”
“‘Juvenis’ means youth,” he said his head dipping to kiss the peak of her nipple.
“Mmm, that’s--Wait.” Christine lifted his head from her breast and stared at him. “It means youth?”
“Uh, yes,” he said frowning. “Why?”
“The Fontis de Juvenis translates into the fountain of youth?” she asked an absurd well of hope forming in her chest. “The jewels are called the Fountain of Youth?”
“Ye-es,” he said slowly, “I guess they are. Again, why?”
Christine swallowed hard and tried to stay calm. “Guinevere Kirk always called my Aunt Abbie her personal fountain of youth. Because Abbie always kept her looking so young.”
McCoy’s brow furrowed as he said, “You don’t think---”
“That the jewels might be hidden inside the house that once belonged to Guinevere Kirk’s most-trusted friend and make-up artist?” Christine finished for him, her voice getting louder as she spoke.
His eyes widened. “Chapel, why does that step in your staircase creak so badly?”
Christine sucked in a breath. They moved at the same time, jumping off the bed, McCoy tried to put his jeans on and cursed when his foot got caught. Christine managed to grab her panties off the floor and slip them on, then she grabbed McCoy’s button-down shirt and threw it on, only bothering to button some of the buttons and getting them wrong.
“We need a crowbar,” McCoy said as they left the bedroom.
“I’ve got one in the garage,” she said, “I’ll get it.”
They rushed halfway down the stairs, both stepping on the step that creaked and looking at each other when the step seemed to curve upwards under their feet.
“Be right back,” Christine said rising up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his mouth. She scurried down the rest of the stairs to the garage, the cold concrete shocking her feet as she whirled around looking for the crowbar. She could hear McCoy inside on the stairs, grunting as he attempted to lift the step with his bare hands. Spotting the crowbar sticking out of her toolbox, she grabbed it and raced back inside to where McCoy was crouched down on the stairs, a determined expression on his face, his chest bare and his jeans riding low on his hips.
She took just a moment to appreciate the view and with a wicked and giddy smirk handed him the crowbar.
“Get to it, doctor,” she said.
“Anything for you, She-Ra,” he said dryly and Christine groaned.
“Stupid Jim,” she muttered, stepping down a few steps to give McCoy room to maneuver.
With a firm shove, he stuck the crowbar in the seam where the top of the step connected with the base. Then he gritted his teeth and started to lift the crowbar up and down, loosening the step. Then with one final heavy lift, the nails in the step squeaked as they came loose and the step lifted up completely.
Christine bit her bottom lip and fisted her hands in the tails of McCoy’s shirt. She moved up to crouch next to McCoy and looked into the space beneath the step.
A small, dusty metal box sat squarely in the middle.
“It was too tall to fit easily,” McCoy said quietly. “It rubbed against the wood every time someone stepped on it.”
“Oh, my God,” Christine said. She reached in and pulled the box out. Setting it on the step above, she undid the clasp on the front and with a squeal of the old hinges, opened the box.
They both leaned over to see inside.
A stack of letters addressed to Guinevere Kirk from various people sat on the top. Christine opened one and scanned the contents.
“Fan letters,” she said. “Very kind fan letters. Oh, Jim is going to have to see these.”
She sifted through the letters and smiled at some old photographs of Guinevere and Tiberius in Enterprise. Her eyes watered when she came across one of Guinevere and her Aunt Abbie smiling and hugging each other.
“Your aunt?” McCoy asked. Christine could only nod her head, so overcome she was at seeing the image. He pressed a kiss to her temple. “You look like her. Strong and gorgeous.”
“Charmer. Oh, she would have loved you,” Christine said laughing.
She lifted out the photos and the letters and froze when her fingers brushed against something soft and velvet.
“Oh, holy crap,” she breathed as she pulled out a black pouch. “Len.”
“You’re kidding me,” he said shaking his head.
Christine opened the pouch and looked inside. “Son of a bitch,” she said softly.
She tipped the pouch and a sparkling necklace with silver filigree dripping with sapphires and diamonds spilled onto her hand.
“Unbelievable,” McCoy said reaching a hand out to touch the large sapphire pendant. “Un-fucking-believable.”
Christine shook her head. “Under the stairs, this whole time.”
“Jim is going to freak,” McCoy said.
“Gaila is going to freak,” Christine amended. “I’m giving her the finder’s fee. I mean, they would have been found eventually, but if she hadn’t done all the research and found out the name of this.” She sighed and tilted her hand letting the dim light of the hallway make the jewels sparkle. “No. Gaila is getting the fee.”
McCoy nodded. “I figured as much. But, what are you going to get?”
She looked at the jewels and then down at the photos of her aunt. Then she looked at McCoy.
“I think I’d kind of like to ‘get’ you,” she said thoughtfully. “If that’s all right with you?”
“Oh, it’s more than all right with me,” he said cupping the side of her face. “In fact, I’m more than happy to let you ‘get’ me for quite some time.”
Christine smiled and leaned forward to kiss him. The kiss quickly turned deep and heated and the jewels were unceremoniously dropped back in the box, while Christine and McCoy stumbled up the stairs, back to The Bed.
Epilogue
“The roads are so twisty.”
McCoy smiled as he glanced down at his daughter as they drove slowly towards Enterprise, her eyes wide as she tried to see everything. In fact, he hadn’t stopped smiling since he got in the car that morning to go pick her up.
He’d just picked her up from the airport after her first flight all by herself. McCoy and Jocelyn had discussed how Joanna would visit him and he hadn’t had any problem with going to Atlanta to get her, but in the end Joanna had begged and pleaded to fly on her own.
She’d run into his arms at the airport, at least two inches taller than he’d last seen her and her hair was up in one ponytail at the back of her head instead of the two pigtails she’d worn before.
“Daddy,” she breathed into his neck and he’d felt the tears prickle behind his eyes as he squeezed her even tighter.
They’d hopped in the car and grabbed some McDonalds before hitting the interstate. McCoy took the scenic route and it had been worth it for the look of sheer wonder on Joanna’s face when she saw the Pacific.
“It’s so big, Dad,” she said when they’d pulled over at one of the viewing platforms. “Can I swim in it?”
“Yep,” he said. “We thought we might take a trip one weekend while you’re here. What do you think?”
Joanna had nodded vigorously.
Now, they were just on the edge of Enterprise.
“What’s that?” she asked pointing.
“That’s the new drive-in,” he said feeling his age. “They show movies on a big screen that you park in front of and watch in your car.”
Joanna wrinkled her nose looking very much like her mother for a second. “Do they have popcorn?”
“Popcorn and ice cream, or so they tell me,” McCoy said. “And I think they’re showing the Wizard of Oz this weekend.”
“I love the Wizard of Oz!” she said happily and promptly launched into a slightly off-key rendition of We’re off to see the Wizard. McCoy couldn’t help chuckling.
After she’d sung the chorus twice, she asked, “Are we going to meet Christine today?”
McCoy had told Joanna (and Jocelyn, by extension) about Christine shortly after he’d moved into her house. Jocelyn had sounded conflicted for a split second before wishing him luck (although with far more warmth than he’d seen in some time).
Joanna had been a little reluctant but after a few phone conversations with Christine and the discovery of a mutual love of animals and the color blue, Jo had accepted the other woman in McCoy’s life.
“We are going to see Christine today,” McCoy said as he turned onto Starling Drive. “We’re going to drop off your stuff at the house and then go meet her at the clinic. Sound good?”
“Sounds good,” Jo said with a nod.
They pulled into the driveway and Jo said, “It’s so pretty!”
McCoy agreed with her. It had taken all spring and they still weren’t quite finished, but the outside of the house had been painted a light green with a white trim that matched the original paint job that Christine remembered as a child. The azaleas in the front were blooming like mad and just last weekend, McCoy had finally got around to putting a swing on the front porch. He spared a quick moment to look at all their hard work and feel proud of the way the house was coming together.
Jo hopped out of the car and ran up the path to the porch, where she promptly sat down on the swing. McCoy grinned and grabbed her suitcase from the trunk, then joined her on the porch.
“Like it?” he asked.
“It’s like at Granny McCoy’s house!” she said smiling.
“Want to see you room?” he asked unlocking the front door.
“Yes, yes, yes!” she said bounding over to him and taking his hand.
“Okay, okay, okay,” he said as they went inside, Jo peeking in each room. The living room was still one of the brightest rooms in the house, though the kitchen had been re-painted a cheerful yellow. It felt like a proper home. Their home.
They walked up the stairs, Jo stopping on the infamous step that had a big X on the top.
“Is this where the treasure was buried?” she asked McCoy giving him a skeptical look.
“It is indeed,” he said nodding. “Later, we’ll go over to the museum and see all the pictures and the jewels themselves.”
“Cool!”
The jewels had, of course, been turned over to Jim and Christine had been awarded the finder’s fee, which she, in turn, gave to Gaila.
There was a huge row between Christine and Gaila over the money and finally, Gaila accepted the reward with one proviso, Christine was to be a shareholder of sorts in the salon. She got a say in some of the larger business decisions and naturally, free hair-cuts for her and her family for life.
Not that Gaila, Scotty, Sulu and Chekov got out of their troubles scot-free. While the Kleins decided not to press charges, all four had to do some extensive community service. Sulu renovated the playground in the city park for free, while Chekov had to cater every town meeting.
Scotty and Gaila happily picked up trash and worked at the youth center. Something they'd both continued after their hours were up.
And if the gossip was to be believed, they’d started to see each other again.
Properly.
Dates with dinner and dancing and Scotty depositing her on her front stoop at a reasonable hour.
Christine expected him to pop the question (again) fairly soon.
“Your room is the second one on the right, sweetie,” McCoy told Jo once they got to the top of the stairs. Jo skipped ahead of him and poked her head around the edge of the door.
“It’s blue!” she shrieked. “Daddy, there are clouds on my walls! Oh, cool!”
She dashed in and jumped on the single bed covered with a soft quilt with moons and stars on the cover and she knelt to touch the clouds that Christine and Janice had painted on the wall.
Janice had come to help during her first real weekend off after starting as project manager for Spock's firm. She'd ostensibly come back to help Christine, but the real reason for the trip had been her first official date with Jim.
Neither Jim nor Janice could stop grinning like fools at each other the following day at the Pike’s annual bar-be-que. Plus, they’d seen each other on alternating weekends after that, so...
McCoy suspected things were going well.
Jo’s room was decorated in all shades of blue imaginable and McCoy suspected that if he hadn’t put his foot down, the bedroom he shared with Christine might have suffered a similar fate.
“Dad! This is awesome!” Jo said giving him a brilliant smile. “I get to sleep in the sky!”
“Just remember to thank Christine, she’s the one who painted them,” McCoy said setting her suitcase down and going over to press a kiss to the top of her head.
“Oh, I will, it’s so pretty,” she said her finger still tracing the edge of the clouds.
“You want to come with me to get her now?” he asked. “Then we can go get some dinner?”
“Sure,” she said bouncing a little on the bed, then bouncing to the floor, her sneakers making a squeaky sound on the hardwood floor.
They headed back downstairs and out to the car, Jo talking eagerly about her new room and how her friends back in Atlanta were going to be so jealous.
“There’s really only one thing missing from my room, Dad,” Jo said seriously.
“And what is that?” he asked pulling into the clinic’s parking lot.
“A puppy.”
He refrained from rolling his eyes. “Uh huh. Well, we’ll see.”
Jo made a face. “Hillary says that when her dad says that it means ‘no’.”
“Well, when this dad says it, it means ‘we’ll see’,” McCoy said chuckling.
“Fine,” she said her lower lip sticking out in a pout that he well remembered. He reached over and tried to pinch it; she giggled and squirmed away so he was reduced to simply tickling her. When she started to shriek with laughter, he couldn’t help but join in.
Finally, he stopped and let her catch her breath.
“Ready to meet Christine?” he asked, feeling a little apprehensive. Christine was fantastic with kids, but this was his kid and he just wanted them to get along.
“Ready,” she said smiling. “I have to make sure you’re being looked after properly.”
McCoy let out a bark of laughter. “Yes, you do, Jojo. Come on then. Inside.”
Jo hopped out of the car and immediately put on her determined face, but also held onto McCoy’s hand tightly.
They opened the clinic door and stepped into chaos.
“What the--” McCoy stared wide-eyed around the waiting room at what he thought was the entire Little League baseball team.
“Whoa,” Jo said quietly, taking a step back and blinking rapidly.
A dozen young boys were wearing very dirty uniforms, three were sporting black eyes, another two were cradling their arms, one had a nasty cut on his shin and they all had bruises and scrapes.
“Oh, thank God,” Dr. M’Benga said when he saw McCoy.
“We really need you, Doctor,” Nurse Alice said before flying past him with a small triage kit heading to one of the kids with a gash on his arm.
Christine looked up from where she was giving one little guy an ice pack. She patted his hand and walked over to McCoy.
“What happened?” McCoy asked meeting Christine by the reception desk, holding Jo’s hand firmly.
“Well, a little scuffle broke out between the short stop and the pitcher,” Christine said indicating two of the boys with black eyes. “Then the right outfielder and the third baseman got involved. Which got everyone going and somehow they all managed to fall straight into the dugout on top on each other.”
She took a deep breath and continued, “There’s a broken nose and a broken wrist already in the exam rooms.”
Then she looked down and smiled. “Hi, Joanna. It’s so good to see you.”
“Hi,” Jo said shyly. “Thank you for my clouds.”
“Oh, you’ve seen them!” Christine said delightedly crouching down to Jo’s eye level, completely ignoring the madness in the waiting room. “Do you like them?”
“They’re great!” Jo said slipping her hand out of McCoy’s to make the shape of the cloud. “They’re so fluffy and it’s all in blue and it’s really, really cool.”
“Oh, I am so glad you like them,” Christine said smiling. “You know I was thinking about painting something in the kitchen, too. Do you want to help?”
“Yes, please,” Jo said bouncing on the balls of her feet.
A loud wail came from the kid who’d just had some antiseptic applied to his cut.
“Ouch,” Jo said. “I hate that stuff.”
“So do I,” Christine agreed.
She stood back up and looked at McCoy. “We kind of need you.”
“No,” McCoy said flatly.
Christine glared.
“What? I’m on my day off,” McCoy said to her. “I’ve got my daughter. I can’t just--”
“Dad,” Jo said tugging on his hand and rolling her eyes. “Don’t be silly. You’ve got to fix them. You’re a doctor.”
McCoy stared down at his daughter who stared up at him. He looked over at Christine who gave him a smirking smile that seemed to say ‘I told you so and so did your daughter.’
He scowled at her and then crouched down to look Jo in the eyes. “If you’re sure and you’re okay with it, then I’m going to go work long enough to get these kids back together. Okay with you?”
“Okay with me,” Jo said brightly. He pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“Okay,” he said straightening back up. “Now, where can you go while I do this?”
“Ah, Nora said she’d be happy to look after her,” Christine said looking slightly guilty all of a sudden. “She said she had some...things to occupy Joanna’s time with.”
McCoy narrowed his eyes. “What things?”
“Well,” Christine avoided eye contact and instead smiled at Jo. “Want to see what Nora has behind her desk?”
“Sure!” Jo took Christine’s hand without hesitation, a move that made Christine’s smile waver just a bit as she looked up at McCoy with barely concealed joy at his daughter’s apparent acceptance of her. He winked at her.
“Well, see,” Christine told Jo as they dodged the horde in the waiting room making their way to the reception desk. “Nora has a dog named Priscilla and about a month ago Priscilla had--”
“Puppies!” Jo cried out seeing the laundry basket filled with five four-week old Golden Retrievers. Christine laughed while McCoy groaned.
“Aw, hell,” he said. “I knew it.”
“No cussin’, Daddy,” Jo said absently, her eyes round and wide in her face as she looked at the puppies.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said while Christine snickered.
Nora grinned at Jo and said, “Now, seeing as your daddy and Christine are going to be very busy doing their jobs, your job is to hold each and every one of these puppies all afternoon. Can you manage that?”
“Yes, ma’am, I can do that,” Jo said seriously nodding her head.
“We’re getting a puppy, aren’t we?” McCoy muttered to Christine.
She elbowed his side. “You knew Nora was bringing them in today, don’t act like you don’t want one, Mr. Grumpy-pants.”
“Woman,” he said warningly, but she just smiled serenely at him and said, “Do you want the possible broken wrist or broken nose?”
“Wrist,” he said kissing her cheek. “You take the nose.”
Then with one last look at his daughter speechless in puppy heaven, McCoy and Christine headed out once more into the fray.
~THE END~
