Untitled Part 1/?pomme_noirApril 19 2011, 19:04:43 UTC
AN: I hope you like OP.
Jim was doing the homework for his Orion II class when Bones came in looking worn out. “You okay, Bones?”
“Yeah, just a long clinic shift.”
Jim frowned. It seemed like every time Bones came back from doing a shift at the hospital for the past two weeks he looked run-down and miserable. Usually clinic duty was his favorite part of the day. He’d said more than once that he could handle being a student again so long as he could still practice medicine.
“You catch a bad case?” Jim wasn’t sure why he was prying. Bones was never shy about complaining about something that bothered him.
“You could say that,” he muttered darkly.
When he didn’t elaborate, Jim didn’t push. “I was thinking I would go get some dinner. What don’t you take a shower and relax?”
“I’d appreciate that. I’ll take a shower, but I’m not sure how much relaxing I can do. I have to redo seven of my patient charts from today.”
Jim assumed it was due to a computer glitch. “All right, I’ll be back.” He paused a moment and then crossed the room to give Bones a quick kiss, pulling away before he could respond.
Not staying to see Bones’ reaction, Jim hurried to leave. They were still feeling out the boundaries of being more than friends. They’d only kissed so far. Surprisingly, he didn’t mind taking things slow with Bones. Kissing Bones was amazing in and of itself. No one had kissed him like Bones did. He'd better stop thinking about Bones’ mouth or he’d walk into the restaurant with a hard-on.
He picked up an extra order of mushroom chicken for Bones and headed back to campus. Maybe after Bones was done with his work Jim could talk him into making out for a little while. Jim felt about fifteen, getting giddy at the prospect of making out, but if he’d been making out with Bones at that age Jim probably wouldn’t have developed half the bad habits he had.
When he got back to their room Bones was on his bed typing away on his pad. He looked up when Jim came in. “You got Chinese.” He sounded pleased.
“I even got you an extra order of mushroom chicken.”
Bones moved his legs and patted the bed. They ate out of the cartons, stealing bites out of one another’s containers. When they were finished Jim pushed the remains aside and grinned at Bones.
“Jim, I still have three patient charts left to dictate.”
Re: Untitled Part 2/?pomme_noirApril 20 2011, 01:20:21 UTC
“You have plenty of time, Bones.” Jim closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to Bones'.
Something inside Jim calmed and unfurled. Being with Bones in this way felt so effortless. He moved to straddle Bones’ hips and Bones’ hands came up to grip his thighs. Jim couldn't help the noise he made. He moved his hands into Bones’ hair and gripped the soft strands. He tugged gently and was rewarded with a moan. He chapped his lips on the stubble of Bones’ jaw as he moved down to suck the spot behind his ear.
They continued until Bones grabbed his hips and murmured his name. Jim hadn’t even realized he’d been rocking against him. They were both hard and breathless, and it was time to stop. He gave Bones one last lingering kiss before moving off the bed and heading to the bathroom. He was looking forward to the time when one of them didn’t have to hide in the bathroom to take care of things.
****
Jim became so busy with classes and preparing for his upcoming battle-readiness sim that he and Bones turned into ships passing in the night. As the days went on he started to see little signs that Bones was not himself. First it was little things like dirty laundry left on the floor or the bed not being made. Bones was very fastidious about his living space by nature, so Jim knew he had to be under a lot of stress to lapse.
Jim made sure to fold Bones’ laundry the way he liked it and replenish his stock of those horrible-tasting rice crackers he was fond of munching on when studying. He told himself he did these things only because Bones was his best friend. It also paid to keep your roommate happy. He left Bones a note about something funny he’d seen an hour prior before heading out to get lunch.
He didn’t even want to know what it said about him and his level of patheticness that even in a crowed and noisy cafeteria he could hear when someone said “McCoy”. Two medical cadets were sitting four tables over, eating. Jim subtly shifted to better hear their conversation. Maybe they’d admit to thinking Bones was attractive and he could tease Bones. The man really had no idea how incredibly attractive he was.
“I could not believe Dr. Adams brought up his wife like that in front of everyone.”
“I couldn’t either. Did you see his face? I thought he was going to punch Adams right then and there.”
“I wouldn't have brought up my personal life like that in front of everyone. I felt so bad for him.”
Jim froze and then gave up any pretense of not listening to their conversation. This sounded serious. The last thing Jim wanted was for Bones to get thrown out of the academy for punching a professor-even if he deserved it.
“Dr. Adams is just jealous that Dr. McCoy is a better doctor than him. Did you read his last paper? I heard it was totally torn to pieces when it came up for review. McCoy is what, thirty, and he’s already developed a new surgical technique.”
“I heard Dr. Adams teaches because he failed his psych test to go out into space. I definitely think it’s a jealousy issue, too. Regardless, though, it was way out of line to say all that stuff about his personal life in front of everyone. I hope McCoy reports him.”
Jim agreed, but he knew Bones would do no such thing. He was the type to internalize and push on, unlike Jim who would blow up and confront it head-on. He was very curious to know exactly what Dr. Adams had said to Bones. The fact that it sounded like he had brought up Jocelyn didn’t bode well.
He picked up his tray to leave. Jim had a friend in his Orion II class who was on the medical track. Medical cadets were only superseded as the worst gossips by the diplomacy cadets. Something this juicy was bound to have made the rounds so far. Jim felt a little bad about going behind Bones’ back to listen to gossip about him, but he knew Bones would never tell him the whole truth. He’d just downplay it and brush it off.
Two hours and one conversation with Anshi later Jim was ready to march over to medical and punch Dr. Adams himself, consequences be damned. He struggled to calm himself, because no matter how angry he was, Bones had to be feeling worse. He set off in search of his best friend.
Re: Untitled Part 3/?pomme_noirApril 22 2011, 01:38:35 UTC
He finally found Bones tucked up in a little-used sections of the library. “Bones, if I didn’t know better I would think you were avoiding me.”
Jim pulled out a chair and dropped down into it. Trying not to let his anger show, he forced his body to relax and a smile to appear.
“I’ve been busy, Jim-just like you.”
“What can I say? I miss your sunny disposition.”
Bones rolled his eyes, which were bloodshot, and he looked like he had lost a few a pounds. Jim desperately wanted to reach over and touch him.
“You look awful, Bones. What’s going on with you?”
Bones looked annoyed at Jim’s question. “It’s been busy at the hospital and I’ve had several presentations to do. I’ll be fine once things calm down.”
The urge to call Bones on his bullshit-like Bones so often did to him-was almost overwhelming. Instead Jim focused on putting on his most charming smile. “We should go out tonight. We both could use a break.”
Just maybe, if he could get Bones to relax enough, he’d tell him about his problem with Dr. Adams.
“Jim, I can’t. I have two papers due in three days.”
Jim would have felt bad about what he was about to do if the circumstances weren’t so serious. Putting a hand on Bones' arm, he looked at him with soft eyes and said, “Please, Bones, I miss you. I’ll help you with your work.”
Bones sighed. “Fine. Only for a couple hours, Jim. I’m serious.”
“I promise.”
Jim found them a booth in the back. He waited until their third drink to start prying. “Bones, you’re constantly haranguing me about not taking care of myself when it’s obvious you haven't been taking your own advice.”
“Things haven’t been good at the hospital of late. There’s this doctor there who thinks I’m incompetent.”
Jim scoffed. “You’re far from incompetent. Wherever did this doctor come up with that idea?”
“I don’t know. I’ve thought about it, but just don’t know. I must have made a mistake somehow and not realized it.”
Bones' certainty that it had to be his fault that Dr. Adams was singling him out made Jim want to shake him until his confidence came back. Jim really wanted to say a few choice words to Jocelyn, and not for the first time. That woman was a certified leech. She’d sucked Bones dry both financially and emotionally.
One thing she hadn’t been able to take from him was the pride and confidence in being a good doctor, but it seemed Dr. Adams was more than willing to the take up the mantle. Jim would not allow that to happen.
“Have you talked to him and asked him what it is you did wrong?”
Bones’ eyes narrowed in suspicion. “How do you know I’m talking about a he?”
Jim shrugged. “Just guessed.” He needed to be careful; Bones was a very astute person.
“I didn’t ask,” Bones said. “He told me I was too used to getting my way in the civilian world and that Starfleet doesn’t bend the whims of overreaching pups. Then he told me my charting wasn’t up to standard and to redo them. Since then he’s been riding me for every little thing. I’m trying, dammit, and he just doesn’t let up.”
Jim moved closer to Bones until they were touching from hip to foot. “You’re a brilliant doctor, Bones. He’s just angry because he knows he's not as good as you are."
“Maybe Adams is right and I have been distracted, and it is affecting my work. I just don’t think Jocelyn is the one distracting me, though.” He reached out to touch Jim’s face before remembering they were in public and letting his hand drop.
Jim tilted his head in curiosity. “What does Jocelyn have to with your work performance?” He could see Bones didn’t want to tell him. Jim moved his hand under the table to rest on Bones' knee.
Re: Untitled Part 3b/?pomme_noirApril 22 2011, 01:39:14 UTC
Bones blew out a breath. “Adams said I would have caught that the patient was prone to a blood-clotting disorder if I'd been paying attention. The thing is, the patient was adopted! It’s a rare genetic disorder to begin with. He accused me in front of everyone of being distracted because of my divorce. Suggested maybe I needed to focus more on research than actually treating patients. Maybe I should just focus on research. I’ve never really wanted to go out into space, anyway. And everyone tells me I have a horrible bedside manner. I just don’t know who I am if I’m not a doctor.”
Jim couldn’t take it any more. He slammed his hand down on the table, causing Bones to jump. “You listen, Leonard McCoy. Fuck that jumped-up Starfleet prick. I’ve read your research, Bones. You’re an amazingly talented doctor. Why do you think Admiral Archer tried so hard to recruit you? He knew what an asset to Starfleet you’d be. Yeah, your bedside manner is a little gruff, but I’d take that any day over some sweet-talking idiot. Never doubt that you were meant to treat people, Bones. I have never meet another doctor who cares like you do-and you know I’ve met a lot in my life.”
Bones looked so conflicted, and it was at that moment Jim made the decision to make Adams pay for making Bones doubt his worth as a doctor. He’d have to do it in such a way that Bones couldn’t accuse him of interfering. Bones had not responded well to Jim's previous attempts to protect him.
They stayed a little longer before heading back to the Academy. Jim put Bones to bed despite his protest of having a paper to write. He knew enough so he was able to write a rough draft for the first of Bones’ essays and do the research for the second. When he finished, Jim went to his closet and got out his unregistered PADD and started doing research on one Dr. Richard Adams.
Re: Untitled Part 4/?pomme_noirApril 23 2011, 19:00:28 UTC
After two days of relentless searching Jim wasn’t able to find anything on Dr. Adams. He wasn’t discouraged, not in the least. No one was that clean-not even a Starfleet officer. The man was obviously hiding something, and it made Jim ten times more determined to find out what exactly it was.
He was having lunch, glaring at his PADD, when a shadow fell over him. It was Patricia Granville. She was on the accelerated command track with him, so they had practically every class together. She had been on the medical track, just about to graduate, when she had suddenly switched to command. She had a quiet, and competent manner and Jim was fond of her.
“Patricia, hi.” He kicked out the chair in front of him. “Have a seat.”
She hesitated and then took it. She obviously wanted to say something, but wasn’t sure how. Jim started talking about their advanced aeronautical class before she finally blurted out, “I heard Dr. McCoy is having problems with Adams.”
Jim noted how she referred to Bones by his title, but not Adams. “Yeah, he’s finding petty reasons to single him out and criticize.”
Patricia was looking down at the table when she said, “Tell Dr. McCoy not to be alone with him.”
“Why should he not be alone-”
She abruptly stood up. “I’m sorry, I have to go. Just-tell him, please.” Her please was so frantic and earnest that Jim nodded automatically. She disappeared before he could ask any more questions.
His conversation with Patricia stuck with him for the rest of the day. He made a call to Bones’ study partner asking that, to the extent possible, she not leave him alone. Jim knew that he was going to hear about it from Bones about that, but he didn’t care. Patricia wasn’t prone to hysterics. If she said Bones shouldn't be alone with Dr. Adams, then Jim was going to listen. She had also given him the much-needed clue on what to look for.
Pulling up a list of Dr. Adams' past students, Jim started the task of trying to find others who had switched tracks and found more than he expected. He then narrowed down the search to those who seemed to have the most comments in their reviews. In the end he found one other female and one male student in the past five years who had both taken leaves of absence and then switched to other tracks-just like Patricia.
Jim hated to hack Patricia's file, but if what he suspected was true, he was saving Bones and others. Patricia had taken a four-month leave from the Academy, citing health reasons, before returning to start command training. The male student had already graduated and was serving on board the Olympus, and the other female student was stationed at Starbase VII. He sent her a message asking her to call him back. He didn’t have much hope of getting anything out of her. No one had spoken out against Dr. Adams before, and there had to be a reason.
He wasn’t comfortable pushing Patricia. For now he would continue to research; now that he knew what he was looking for, it was just a matter of time before he found something he could use. Until then he’d keep an eye on Bones, and when he couldn’t, he’d have someone else do it.
Re: Untitled Part 5/?pomme_noirMay 3 2011, 00:21:18 UTC
AN: A weak installment. I apologize.
Jim had just stepped out of the shower when his com unit beeped, alerting him to an incoming call. Figuring it was Bones, he didn’t bother blocking video access. But instead of seeing Bones he saw a unfamiliar woman.
“Hello,” he said stupidly.
“Hi. I’m Kayla Morgan. You left a message asking me to call you back.”
“Oh, yes. Could you hold on for one second?” She smirkingly agreed.
Once dressed, he returned. “Sorry about that. I have something to ask you. It’s a rather personal matter and I’ll understand if you’d rather not, but I’m desperate.”
She sighed. “I knew as soon as I got your message what you wanted to talk to me about. Has he propositioned you yet?”
“Not me, my best friend is the one having problems with him. As far as I know he hasn’t been approached yet. I wouldn’t even have known if another student hadn’t come up to me and told me to warn my friend to never be alone with him.”
“It’s only a matter of time. He likes to wait until you’re at your lowest point before he swoops in for the kill.”
Jim hesitated before asking, but he had to know. “What exactly are the term of his propostition?”
“Rather unoriginal, really. If you agree to sleep with him he won’t fail you. Don’t sleep with him and he’ll make sure you’re kicked off the medical track, if not out of Starfleet itself.”
“Please don’t think I’m judging, but why didn’t you report him?”
“Here’s the genius of it all. He picks at you until you feel like you’re nothing, like you really are as incompetent as he says you are. He makes you feel lucky that he’s giving you a chance instead of just failing you. He told me no one would believe me if I tried to report him-that they would just think I was trying to get back at him for being graded so poorly.In the end it came down the fact that I had nowhere else to go. I’m an orphan.”
“He’s begun phase one with my friend. I’ve asked a fellow medical cadet to not leave him alone whenever possible.”
“It’s only a matter of time before he moves in for the kill,” she said bitterly.
“You wouldn’t happen to have anything on him, would you?”
“His tastes run young. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of two of his past partners have been under-age.”
Jim nodded. “Thanks. I’ll look into it.”
“I work under a Commodore now. I’m not that scared girl with nowhere to go. I’ll send you my statement. Get your evidence, Jim. Make him pay.”
“I’ll do my best. Thank you,” he said sincerely.
“Good luck.”
It was late and Bones still wasn’t back. Jim decided to go to the hospital and drag Bones home. He stopped off and got a brownie-the kind Bones liked but Jim was allergic to. He arrived at the hospital just in time to hear Dr. Adams ask to see Bones in his office. Bones looked like he would rather do anything else, but started to follow him. Jim, thinking quickly, stuffed the brownie in his mouth. Bones was worth the pain.
“Bones,” he called out.
“Jim, what are you doing here?”
“I don’t feel so well.” As if on cue, Jim could feel himself start to sweat and break out in a rash.
Bones rushed over and started scanning him. “Dammit, Jim, I've told you before, you need to be careful about what you put in your mouth.”
If he weren’t finding it so hard to breathe, Jim would have made a comment. He only got a glimpse of Bones’ worried visage before the sting of a hypospray put him out of his misery.
Jim was doing the homework for his Orion II class when Bones came in looking worn out. “You okay, Bones?”
“Yeah, just a long clinic shift.”
Jim frowned. It seemed like every time Bones came back from doing a shift at the hospital for the past two weeks he looked run-down and miserable. Usually clinic duty was his favorite part of the day. He’d said more than once that he could handle being a student again so long as he could still practice medicine.
“You catch a bad case?” Jim wasn’t sure why he was prying. Bones was never shy about complaining about something that bothered him.
“You could say that,” he muttered darkly.
When he didn’t elaborate, Jim didn’t push. “I was thinking I would go get some dinner. What don’t you take a shower and relax?”
“I’d appreciate that. I’ll take a shower, but I’m not sure how much relaxing I can do. I have to redo seven of my patient charts from today.”
Jim assumed it was due to a computer glitch. “All right, I’ll be back.” He paused a moment and then crossed the room to give Bones a quick kiss, pulling away before he could respond.
Not staying to see Bones’ reaction, Jim hurried to leave. They were still feeling out the boundaries of being more than friends. They’d only kissed so far. Surprisingly, he didn’t mind taking things slow with Bones. Kissing Bones was amazing in and of itself. No one had kissed him like Bones did. He'd better stop thinking about Bones’ mouth or he’d walk into the restaurant with a hard-on.
He picked up an extra order of mushroom chicken for Bones and headed back to campus. Maybe after Bones was done with his work Jim could talk him into making out for a little while. Jim felt about fifteen, getting giddy at the prospect of making out, but if he’d been making out with Bones at that age Jim probably wouldn’t have developed half the bad habits he had.
When he got back to their room Bones was on his bed typing away on his pad. He looked up when Jim came in. “You got Chinese.” He sounded pleased.
“I even got you an extra order of mushroom chicken.”
Bones moved his legs and patted the bed. They ate out of the cartons, stealing bites out of one another’s containers. When they were finished Jim pushed the remains aside and grinned at Bones.
“Jim, I still have three patient charts left to dictate.”
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Something inside Jim calmed and unfurled. Being with Bones in this way felt so effortless. He moved to straddle Bones’ hips and Bones’ hands came up to grip his thighs. Jim couldn't help the noise he made. He moved his hands into Bones’ hair and gripped the soft strands. He tugged gently and was rewarded with a moan. He chapped his lips on the stubble of Bones’ jaw as he moved down to suck the spot behind his ear.
They continued until Bones grabbed his hips and murmured his name. Jim hadn’t even realized he’d been rocking against him. They were both hard and breathless, and it was time to stop. He gave Bones one last lingering kiss before moving off the bed and heading to the bathroom. He was looking forward to the time when one of them didn’t have to hide in the bathroom to take care of things.
****
Jim became so busy with classes and preparing for his upcoming battle-readiness sim that he and Bones turned into ships passing in the night. As the days went on he started to see little signs that Bones was not himself. First it was little things like dirty laundry left on the floor or the bed not being made. Bones was very fastidious about his living space by nature, so Jim knew he had to be under a lot of stress to lapse.
Jim made sure to fold Bones’ laundry the way he liked it and replenish his stock of those horrible-tasting rice crackers he was fond of munching on when studying. He told himself he did these things only because Bones was his best friend. It also paid to keep your roommate happy. He left Bones a note about something funny he’d seen an hour prior before heading out to get lunch.
He didn’t even want to know what it said about him and his level of patheticness that even in a crowed and noisy cafeteria he could hear when someone said “McCoy”. Two medical cadets were sitting four tables over, eating. Jim subtly shifted to better hear their conversation. Maybe they’d admit to thinking Bones was attractive and he could tease Bones. The man really had no idea how incredibly attractive he was.
“I could not believe Dr. Adams brought up his wife like that in front of everyone.”
“I couldn’t either. Did you see his face? I thought he was going to punch Adams right then and there.”
“I wouldn't have brought up my personal life like that in front of everyone. I felt so bad for him.”
Jim froze and then gave up any pretense of not listening to their conversation. This sounded serious. The last thing Jim wanted was for Bones to get thrown out of the academy for punching a professor-even if he deserved it.
“Dr. Adams is just jealous that Dr. McCoy is a better doctor than him. Did you read his last paper? I heard it was totally torn to pieces when it came up for review. McCoy is what, thirty, and he’s already developed a new surgical technique.”
“I heard Dr. Adams teaches because he failed his psych test to go out into space. I definitely think it’s a jealousy issue, too. Regardless, though, it was way out of line to say all that stuff about his personal life in front of everyone. I hope McCoy reports him.”
Jim agreed, but he knew Bones would do no such thing. He was the type to internalize and push on, unlike Jim who would blow up and confront it head-on. He was very curious to know exactly what Dr. Adams had said to Bones. The fact that it sounded like he had brought up Jocelyn didn’t bode well.
He picked up his tray to leave. Jim had a friend in his Orion II class who was on the medical track. Medical cadets were only superseded as the worst gossips by the diplomacy cadets. Something this juicy was bound to have made the rounds so far. Jim felt a little bad about going behind Bones’ back to listen to gossip about him, but he knew Bones would never tell him the whole truth. He’d just downplay it and brush it off.
Two hours and one conversation with Anshi later Jim was ready to march over to medical and punch Dr. Adams himself, consequences be damned. He struggled to calm himself, because no matter how angry he was, Bones had to be feeling worse. He set off in search of his best friend.
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Jim pulled out a chair and dropped down into it. Trying not to let his anger show, he forced his body to relax and a smile to appear.
“I’ve been busy, Jim-just like you.”
“What can I say? I miss your sunny disposition.”
Bones rolled his eyes, which were bloodshot, and he looked like he had lost a few a pounds. Jim desperately wanted to reach over and touch him.
“You look awful, Bones. What’s going on with you?”
Bones looked annoyed at Jim’s question. “It’s been busy at the hospital and I’ve had several presentations to do. I’ll be fine once things calm down.”
The urge to call Bones on his bullshit-like Bones so often did to him-was almost overwhelming. Instead Jim focused on putting on his most charming smile. “We should go out tonight. We both could use a break.”
Just maybe, if he could get Bones to relax enough, he’d tell him about his problem with Dr. Adams.
“Jim, I can’t. I have two papers due in three days.”
Jim would have felt bad about what he was about to do if the circumstances weren’t so serious. Putting a hand on Bones' arm, he looked at him with soft eyes and said, “Please, Bones, I miss you. I’ll help you with your work.”
Bones sighed. “Fine. Only for a couple hours, Jim. I’m serious.”
“I promise.”
Jim found them a booth in the back. He waited until their third drink to start prying. “Bones, you’re constantly haranguing me about not taking care of myself when it’s obvious you haven't been taking your own advice.”
“Things haven’t been good at the hospital of late. There’s this doctor there who thinks I’m incompetent.”
Jim scoffed. “You’re far from incompetent. Wherever did this doctor come up with that idea?”
“I don’t know. I’ve thought about it, but just don’t know. I must have made a mistake somehow and not realized it.”
Bones' certainty that it had to be his fault that Dr. Adams was singling him out made Jim want to shake him until his confidence came back. Jim really wanted to say a few choice words to Jocelyn, and not for the first time. That woman was a certified leech. She’d sucked Bones dry both financially and emotionally.
One thing she hadn’t been able to take from him was the pride and confidence in being a good doctor, but it seemed Dr. Adams was more than willing to the take up the mantle. Jim would not allow that to happen.
“Have you talked to him and asked him what it is you did wrong?”
Bones’ eyes narrowed in suspicion. “How do you know I’m talking about a he?”
Jim shrugged. “Just guessed.” He needed to be careful; Bones was a very astute person.
“I didn’t ask,” Bones said. “He told me I was too used to getting my way in the civilian world and that Starfleet doesn’t bend the whims of overreaching pups. Then he told me my charting wasn’t up to standard and to redo them. Since then he’s been riding me for every little thing. I’m trying, dammit, and he just doesn’t let up.”
Jim moved closer to Bones until they were touching from hip to foot. “You’re a brilliant doctor, Bones. He’s just angry because he knows he's not as good as you are."
“Maybe Adams is right and I have been distracted, and it is affecting my work. I just don’t think Jocelyn is the one distracting me, though.” He reached out to touch Jim’s face before remembering they were in public and letting his hand drop.
Jim tilted his head in curiosity. “What does Jocelyn have to with your work performance?” He could see Bones didn’t want to tell him. Jim moved his hand under the table to rest on Bones' knee.
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Jim couldn’t take it any more. He slammed his hand down on the table, causing Bones to jump. “You listen, Leonard McCoy. Fuck that jumped-up Starfleet prick. I’ve read your research, Bones. You’re an amazingly talented doctor. Why do you think Admiral Archer tried so hard to recruit you? He knew what an asset to Starfleet you’d be. Yeah, your bedside manner is a little gruff, but I’d take that any day over some sweet-talking idiot. Never doubt that you were meant to treat people, Bones. I have never meet another doctor who cares like you do-and you know I’ve met a lot in my life.”
Bones looked so conflicted, and it was at that moment Jim made the decision to make Adams pay for making Bones doubt his worth as a doctor. He’d have to do it in such a way that Bones couldn’t accuse him of interfering. Bones had not responded well to Jim's previous attempts to protect him.
They stayed a little longer before heading back to the Academy. Jim put Bones to bed despite his protest of having a paper to write. He knew enough so he was able to write a rough draft for the first of Bones’ essays and do the research for the second. When he finished, Jim went to his closet and got out his unregistered PADD and started doing research on one Dr. Richard Adams.
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Enjoying this so far!
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He was having lunch, glaring at his PADD, when a shadow fell over him. It was Patricia Granville. She was on the accelerated command track with him, so they had practically every class together. She had been on the medical track, just about to graduate, when she had suddenly switched to command. She had a quiet, and competent manner and Jim was fond of her.
“Patricia, hi.” He kicked out the chair in front of him. “Have a seat.”
She hesitated and then took it. She obviously wanted to say something, but wasn’t sure how. Jim started talking about their advanced aeronautical class before she finally blurted out, “I heard Dr. McCoy is having problems with Adams.”
Jim noted how she referred to Bones by his title, but not Adams. “Yeah, he’s finding petty reasons to single him out and criticize.”
Patricia was looking down at the table when she said, “Tell Dr. McCoy not to be alone with him.”
“Why should he not be alone-”
She abruptly stood up. “I’m sorry, I have to go. Just-tell him, please.” Her please was so frantic and earnest that Jim nodded automatically. She disappeared before he could ask any more questions.
His conversation with Patricia stuck with him for the rest of the day. He made a call to Bones’ study partner asking that, to the extent possible, she not leave him alone. Jim knew that he was going to hear about it from Bones about that, but he didn’t care. Patricia wasn’t prone to hysterics. If she said Bones shouldn't be alone with Dr. Adams, then Jim was going to listen. She had also given him the much-needed clue on what to look for.
Pulling up a list of Dr. Adams' past students, Jim started the task of trying to find others who had switched tracks and found more than he expected. He then narrowed down the search to those who seemed to have the most comments in their reviews. In the end he found one other female and one male student in the past five years who had both taken leaves of absence and then switched to other tracks-just like Patricia.
Jim hated to hack Patricia's file, but if what he suspected was true, he was saving Bones and others. Patricia had taken a four-month leave from the Academy, citing health reasons, before returning to start command training. The male student had already graduated and was serving on board the Olympus, and the other female student was stationed at Starbase VII. He sent her a message asking her to call him back. He didn’t have much hope of getting anything out of her. No one had spoken out against Dr. Adams before, and there had to be a reason.
He wasn’t comfortable pushing Patricia. For now he would continue to research; now that he knew what he was looking for, it was just a matter of time before he found something he could use. Until then he’d keep an eye on Bones, and when he couldn’t, he’d have someone else do it.
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AN: A weak installment. I apologize.
Jim had just stepped out of the shower when his com unit beeped, alerting him to an incoming call. Figuring it was Bones, he didn’t bother blocking video access. But instead of seeing Bones he saw a unfamiliar woman.
“Hello,” he said stupidly.
“Hi. I’m Kayla Morgan. You left a message asking me to call you back.”
“Oh, yes. Could you hold on for one second?” She smirkingly agreed.
Once dressed, he returned. “Sorry about that. I have something to ask you. It’s a rather personal matter and I’ll understand if you’d rather not, but I’m desperate.”
She sighed. “I knew as soon as I got your message what you wanted to talk to me about. Has he propositioned you yet?”
“Not me, my best friend is the one having problems with him. As far as I know he hasn’t been approached yet. I wouldn’t even have known if another student hadn’t come up to me and told me to warn my friend to never be alone with him.”
“It’s only a matter of time. He likes to wait until you’re at your lowest point before he swoops in for the kill.”
Jim hesitated before asking, but he had to know. “What exactly are the term of his propostition?”
“Rather unoriginal, really. If you agree to sleep with him he won’t fail you. Don’t sleep with him and he’ll make sure you’re kicked off the medical track, if not out of Starfleet itself.”
“Please don’t think I’m judging, but why didn’t you report him?”
“Here’s the genius of it all. He picks at you until you feel like you’re nothing, like you really are as incompetent as he says you are. He makes you feel lucky that he’s giving you a chance instead of just failing you. He told me no one would believe me if I tried to report him-that they would just think I was trying to get back at him for being graded so poorly.In the end it came down the fact that I had nowhere else to go. I’m an orphan.”
“He’s begun phase one with my friend. I’ve asked a fellow medical cadet to not leave him alone whenever possible.”
“It’s only a matter of time before he moves in for the kill,” she said bitterly.
“You wouldn’t happen to have anything on him, would you?”
“His tastes run young. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of two of his past partners have been under-age.”
Jim nodded. “Thanks. I’ll look into it.”
“I work under a Commodore now. I’m not that scared girl with nowhere to go. I’ll send you my statement. Get your evidence, Jim. Make him pay.”
“I’ll do my best. Thank you,” he said sincerely.
“Good luck.”
It was late and Bones still wasn’t back. Jim decided to go to the hospital and drag Bones home. He stopped off and got a brownie-the kind Bones liked but Jim was allergic to. He arrived at the hospital just in time to hear Dr. Adams ask to see Bones in his office. Bones looked like he would rather do anything else, but started to follow him. Jim, thinking quickly, stuffed the brownie in his mouth. Bones was worth the pain.
“Bones,” he called out.
“Jim, what are you doing here?”
“I don’t feel so well.” As if on cue, Jim could feel himself start to sweat and break out in a rash.
Bones rushed over and started scanning him. “Dammit, Jim, I've told you before, you need to be careful about what you put in your mouth.”
If he weren’t finding it so hard to breathe, Jim would have made a comment. He only got a glimpse of Bones’ worried visage before the sting of a hypospray put him out of his misery.
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