I'm going back to the start (Jim and Leonard)
It had been an amazing year.
The five year mission had been given to Jim and the Enterprise. Well deserved, most people thought, after word spread about what Jim had done. The Enterprise had been a fairly new ship, but a five year mission required additional time in Spacedock, updates and upgrades and refits - even Sickbay received new equipment, a larger storage area, and a more intensive surgical suite.
During the final walk-through, Leonard had felt a cold shiver down his back as he stared at the table where he'd pronounced Jim dead. One day, that terrible feeling of seeing Jim's body laid out would be gone, he hoped.
But not yet.
Their summer living together had turned into a year of cohabitation, one of the best of Leonard's life. Not as easy as they'd hoped, with two stubborn men both used to their own way, living on their own. But the joy of being with each other outweighed any setbacks, and arguments, however heated, always led to amazing make-up sex and a better understanding of each other.
Leonard knew Jim wanted to continue living together once they returned to the ship, and he did as well, though privately there had been concerns - not about their relationship, which satisfied Leonard in ways he didn't think possible. No, it was the other people, it was Starfleet, and it was their jobs that worried him. But in the end, when the Enterprise left Spacedock, the ship manifest listed Leonard H McCoy's room assignment as Deck 5 Room 0195 - the Captain's Quarters.
At least his office stayed the same. "I told you, Chapel, unless it's an emergency I don't want to be disturbed right now." It was all hitting him right now - the mission, the move, the new personnel. Five years in space, and Leonard just needed some time alone.
But the door didn't close. Glancing up, he raised his eyebrows. "Oops, sorry about that, Captain," he began, a guilty smile on his face. "Everything okay, Jim?"
The five year mission had been given to Jim and the Enterprise. Well deserved, most people thought, after word spread about what Jim had done. The Enterprise had been a fairly new ship, but a five year mission required additional time in Spacedock, updates and upgrades and refits - even Sickbay received new equipment, a larger storage area, and a more intensive surgical suite.
During the final walk-through, Leonard had felt a cold shiver down his back as he stared at the table where he'd pronounced Jim dead. One day, that terrible feeling of seeing Jim's body laid out would be gone, he hoped.
But not yet.
Their summer living together had turned into a year of cohabitation, one of the best of Leonard's life. Not as easy as they'd hoped, with two stubborn men both used to their own way, living on their own. But the joy of being with each other outweighed any setbacks, and arguments, however heated, always led to amazing make-up sex and a better understanding of each other.
Leonard knew Jim wanted to continue living together once they returned to the ship, and he did as well, though privately there had been concerns - not about their relationship, which satisfied Leonard in ways he didn't think possible. No, it was the other people, it was Starfleet, and it was their jobs that worried him. But in the end, when the Enterprise left Spacedock, the ship manifest listed Leonard H McCoy's room assignment as Deck 5 Room 0195 - the Captain's Quarters.
At least his office stayed the same. "I told you, Chapel, unless it's an emergency I don't want to be disturbed right now." It was all hitting him right now - the mission, the move, the new personnel. Five years in space, and Leonard just needed some time alone.
But the door didn't close. Glancing up, he raised his eyebrows. "Oops, sorry about that, Captain," he began, a guilty smile on his face. "Everything okay, Jim?"