fic: Let Me Fall
Title: Let Me Fall
Author: bandearg_rois
Rating: PG-13
Word Count:
Warnings: mild language (McCoy does talk, you know), Gender!bend. I think that's it. Gen!fic.
Summary: Jemima Kirk boards the shuttle to Starfleet. She wasn't expecting the grouchy doctor with the good taste in liquor.
Jemima sat down on the shuttle, after waving cheerily at Cupcake and his friends, who looked rather more battered and bruised than she herself could account for. Then she noticed an Asian guy and the girl from the night before nursing bruised knuckles, and had to laugh a little bit. There were only two seats open, and she sat down next to the Asian, who nodded at her, but didn’t speak. That was fine with her, since she really wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone, especially not when she was going to the one place she’d once sworn never to go.
“Sir, you need a doctor!” a shrill, commanding voice said, very loudly, cutting through her thoughts and destroying them. She looked up to see a tall man covered in hair being chased from the bathroom by the owner of the voice, a tiny woman in Command-greys.
“I told you people, I don’t need a doctor, dammit, I am a doctor!” the man groused, and Jemima was instantly amused. The man was at least a sheet to the wind, covered in scruff, arguing with this woman that would probably mop the floor with him - and leave it the dirtier.
“Sir, you need to get back to your seat,” the woman said, quieter now that she had a firm audience, something Jemima couldn’t help but admire. The woman knew people were watching, and wasn’t trying to make herself heard over imaginary noise like every other female military Jem had met, with her mother as the only exception. Before this lady, of course.
“I had a seat in the bathroom! With no windows! I suffer from aviaphobia! Fear of dying in something that flies!”
“Sir, for your own safety, sit down or I’ll make you sit down!” the woman said, and Jem wanted to laugh, because for the first time since she’d seen the man, the wildness in his eyes died down a little, and rational thought must have come back on some level, because he sat down quickly. Smart man.
The loudspeakers crackled with the call for takeoff, and the man yanked his restraints on, eyes closed and skin pale as hell. When he finished, he glanced over at her, before leaning closer. “I may throw up on you,” he grumbled, and despite the fact that he smelled like her second step-dad’s still, there was a scent of antiseptic under it, like he wasn’t long out of the hospital. She shook her head ruefully. Might as well be a Good Samaritan and distract him from himself.
“You know, if you talk, it’ll help,” she said, and was rewarded with the greatest walleye look she’d ever seen, as he looked at her like she was an undiscovered alien. She smothered her laughs behind her hand as he gaped a little before settling into a mulish expression and pulling out a small travel-flask. It smelled like good bourbon, and she hoped he was a gentleman like his accent suggested, because she was damned thirsty, and could use a little of that courage.
He took a healthy swig and obviously just let it settle before swallowing, and then he looked at her with a considering look. She looked right back, trying to see beyond the scruff to the man beneath it, which seemed to pass some test he had, since he passed over the flask.
“Jem Kirk,” she said, toasting him happily before taking a small sip. When he raised his eyebrow at her, she took a swig that matched his from before and let it sit, since it was good bourbon, and that kind of thing shouldn’t be abused.
“McCoy, Leonard McCoy,” he said, accepting the thing back. She snorted in laughter, since he sounded like that old holovid that her mom liked, the 007 one.
“So, Leonard,” she said once they’d emptied the flask between them. “Why join an outfit that operates in space, when you’re afraid of flying?”
“Got nowhere else to go,” he said, only a little bitterly. “Ex-wife took the whole damned planet in the divorce. All I got left are my bones.” She winced in sympathy, since her mom’s last husband had tried the same thing. Being the widow of the Hero, though, had its perks, as did the fact that the judge was her godmother.
“Ouch,” she said, making a face. She didn’t touch him, since he hadn’t invited it, and for some reason, she didn’t want to push past boundaries with him.
“Yeah. So what’re you doing on this bucket of bolts?” he asked, obviously taking her olive branch and running with it, trying to plant a tree.
“Got dared.” She laughed out loud at his face, not bothering to hide it, and completely forgetting about her cracked rib. Despite it being wrapped, it still hurt, and she must not have been quick enough in hiding her wince of pain.
“You hurt?” he asked, and she realized that drunk or not, this man was a doctor, and it was his life.
“Yeah. Some fuckheads at the bar last night decided I was pretty. I decided they weren’t. Irrevocable differences, I’m afraid.” A snort from the girl made her giggle, which didn’t hurt quite as much. “Okay, okay, one of them knocked into me, I took exception, chased him off. He knocked her over and then I got involved again. Things escalated and Pike had to step in to save them.”
“You mean it was cadets?” he asked, casting a mean eye over the shuttle’s occupants, zeroing in on the three assholes in the next row. They shifted uncomfortably, and for good reason. Doctors were sadists, as everyone knew, and this one looked like the worst of them all.
“Yeah, but my friends here took care of them,” she said lightly. “Easy, tiger. Just a cracked rib that’s already been wrapped.” He looked at her like she was crazy, and she grinned, all teeth. She wasn’t some wilting flower, and he needed to know that. She didn’t like coddling, and it seemed he was more of a gentleman than she’d anticipated.
“When we land, I’m taking a look at it,” he said in a tone the brokered no argument, but then again, she never backed down from a challenge.
“Why, Leonard!” she said, putting a hand to her throat in mock-horror. “I don’t take my shirt off until the second date!” That got her a grudging chuckle before his face hardened, and she sighed.
“You’re not getting out of it, Jem,” he said, shaking a finger at her. By her internal chronometer, they were over halfway through the flight already, and she only needed to keep him occupied for about 20 more minutes.
“Fine. Tell me about yourself, Leonard. Besides the terrible divorce and ensuing fallout.” He cracked a grin at her ‘delicate’ phrasing before sighing.
“Well, I grew up in Americus, Georgia. My dad -“ There was a flash of deep pain, and strangely, guilt. “My dad died last year, and then I got divorced and came here.”
“That has to be one of the shortest, most uninteresting life stories I’ve ever heard,” she declared, with the intent of getting his ire up, since he was looking a bit green. The comment about his dad must have shocked him out of the half-relaxation she’d managed.
“Well then, Hot Shot, let’s see you do better,” he growled, and she grinned, hiding the fact that she knew she’d just lost a potential friend from years of practice.
“Fine,” she said lightly. “I was born in space in the middle of a lightning storm.” The blank look in his eyes threw her for a moment and she lost her veneer. Something of it must have shown on her face because Leonard looked like he wanted to put a hand on her arm, which was definitely something she never allowed. She cleared her throat and started over. “I was born in space, exactly 1 minute before my father died. There. I did better in one sentence than you did with your entire story!” She tried to play it off as a joke, because obviously Leonard still didn’t get it, but the sniff from her other side had her looking at the girl, who was looking at her with - was that pity?!
“Oh no you don’t, girlfriend,” she said, shaking her head firmly. “if you look at me like that, I will pull your hair out of your head. I got over being the Kelvin baby a long-ass time ago, so I don’t need you to feel sorry for me. Okay?” She let her voice and eyes soften on that one, because the girl was actually nice, though the bruises on her hands suggested that if she was riled she turned into a shark. Once the girl nodded, jaw steeled, she turned back to Leonard.
“Okay, so you were born in space. Big deal,” he said, and for some reason, she knew he meant it.
“Louis,” she said, trying and failing to replicate the voice of that one actor her mom loved. “This is the start of a beautiful friendship.” Leonard grinned, and tilted her chin up affectionately.
“Here’s lookin’ at you, kid,” he said, and she couldn’t bring herself to be irritated that he’d hit it spot on.
Author: bandearg_rois
Rating: PG-13
Word Count:
Warnings: mild language (McCoy does talk, you know), Gender!bend. I think that's it. Gen!fic.
Summary: Jemima Kirk boards the shuttle to Starfleet. She wasn't expecting the grouchy doctor with the good taste in liquor.
Jemima sat down on the shuttle, after waving cheerily at Cupcake and his friends, who looked rather more battered and bruised than she herself could account for. Then she noticed an Asian guy and the girl from the night before nursing bruised knuckles, and had to laugh a little bit. There were only two seats open, and she sat down next to the Asian, who nodded at her, but didn’t speak. That was fine with her, since she really wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone, especially not when she was going to the one place she’d once sworn never to go.
“Sir, you need a doctor!” a shrill, commanding voice said, very loudly, cutting through her thoughts and destroying them. She looked up to see a tall man covered in hair being chased from the bathroom by the owner of the voice, a tiny woman in Command-greys.
“I told you people, I don’t need a doctor, dammit, I am a doctor!” the man groused, and Jemima was instantly amused. The man was at least a sheet to the wind, covered in scruff, arguing with this woman that would probably mop the floor with him - and leave it the dirtier.
“Sir, you need to get back to your seat,” the woman said, quieter now that she had a firm audience, something Jemima couldn’t help but admire. The woman knew people were watching, and wasn’t trying to make herself heard over imaginary noise like every other female military Jem had met, with her mother as the only exception. Before this lady, of course.
“I had a seat in the bathroom! With no windows! I suffer from aviaphobia! Fear of dying in something that flies!”
“Sir, for your own safety, sit down or I’ll make you sit down!” the woman said, and Jem wanted to laugh, because for the first time since she’d seen the man, the wildness in his eyes died down a little, and rational thought must have come back on some level, because he sat down quickly. Smart man.
The loudspeakers crackled with the call for takeoff, and the man yanked his restraints on, eyes closed and skin pale as hell. When he finished, he glanced over at her, before leaning closer. “I may throw up on you,” he grumbled, and despite the fact that he smelled like her second step-dad’s still, there was a scent of antiseptic under it, like he wasn’t long out of the hospital. She shook her head ruefully. Might as well be a Good Samaritan and distract him from himself.
“You know, if you talk, it’ll help,” she said, and was rewarded with the greatest walleye look she’d ever seen, as he looked at her like she was an undiscovered alien. She smothered her laughs behind her hand as he gaped a little before settling into a mulish expression and pulling out a small travel-flask. It smelled like good bourbon, and she hoped he was a gentleman like his accent suggested, because she was damned thirsty, and could use a little of that courage.
He took a healthy swig and obviously just let it settle before swallowing, and then he looked at her with a considering look. She looked right back, trying to see beyond the scruff to the man beneath it, which seemed to pass some test he had, since he passed over the flask.
“Jem Kirk,” she said, toasting him happily before taking a small sip. When he raised his eyebrow at her, she took a swig that matched his from before and let it sit, since it was good bourbon, and that kind of thing shouldn’t be abused.
“McCoy, Leonard McCoy,” he said, accepting the thing back. She snorted in laughter, since he sounded like that old holovid that her mom liked, the 007 one.
“So, Leonard,” she said once they’d emptied the flask between them. “Why join an outfit that operates in space, when you’re afraid of flying?”
“Got nowhere else to go,” he said, only a little bitterly. “Ex-wife took the whole damned planet in the divorce. All I got left are my bones.” She winced in sympathy, since her mom’s last husband had tried the same thing. Being the widow of the Hero, though, had its perks, as did the fact that the judge was her godmother.
“Ouch,” she said, making a face. She didn’t touch him, since he hadn’t invited it, and for some reason, she didn’t want to push past boundaries with him.
“Yeah. So what’re you doing on this bucket of bolts?” he asked, obviously taking her olive branch and running with it, trying to plant a tree.
“Got dared.” She laughed out loud at his face, not bothering to hide it, and completely forgetting about her cracked rib. Despite it being wrapped, it still hurt, and she must not have been quick enough in hiding her wince of pain.
“You hurt?” he asked, and she realized that drunk or not, this man was a doctor, and it was his life.
“Yeah. Some fuckheads at the bar last night decided I was pretty. I decided they weren’t. Irrevocable differences, I’m afraid.” A snort from the girl made her giggle, which didn’t hurt quite as much. “Okay, okay, one of them knocked into me, I took exception, chased him off. He knocked her over and then I got involved again. Things escalated and Pike had to step in to save them.”
“You mean it was cadets?” he asked, casting a mean eye over the shuttle’s occupants, zeroing in on the three assholes in the next row. They shifted uncomfortably, and for good reason. Doctors were sadists, as everyone knew, and this one looked like the worst of them all.
“Yeah, but my friends here took care of them,” she said lightly. “Easy, tiger. Just a cracked rib that’s already been wrapped.” He looked at her like she was crazy, and she grinned, all teeth. She wasn’t some wilting flower, and he needed to know that. She didn’t like coddling, and it seemed he was more of a gentleman than she’d anticipated.
“When we land, I’m taking a look at it,” he said in a tone the brokered no argument, but then again, she never backed down from a challenge.
“Why, Leonard!” she said, putting a hand to her throat in mock-horror. “I don’t take my shirt off until the second date!” That got her a grudging chuckle before his face hardened, and she sighed.
“You’re not getting out of it, Jem,” he said, shaking a finger at her. By her internal chronometer, they were over halfway through the flight already, and she only needed to keep him occupied for about 20 more minutes.
“Fine. Tell me about yourself, Leonard. Besides the terrible divorce and ensuing fallout.” He cracked a grin at her ‘delicate’ phrasing before sighing.
“Well, I grew up in Americus, Georgia. My dad -“ There was a flash of deep pain, and strangely, guilt. “My dad died last year, and then I got divorced and came here.”
“That has to be one of the shortest, most uninteresting life stories I’ve ever heard,” she declared, with the intent of getting his ire up, since he was looking a bit green. The comment about his dad must have shocked him out of the half-relaxation she’d managed.
“Well then, Hot Shot, let’s see you do better,” he growled, and she grinned, hiding the fact that she knew she’d just lost a potential friend from years of practice.
“Fine,” she said lightly. “I was born in space in the middle of a lightning storm.” The blank look in his eyes threw her for a moment and she lost her veneer. Something of it must have shown on her face because Leonard looked like he wanted to put a hand on her arm, which was definitely something she never allowed. She cleared her throat and started over. “I was born in space, exactly 1 minute before my father died. There. I did better in one sentence than you did with your entire story!” She tried to play it off as a joke, because obviously Leonard still didn’t get it, but the sniff from her other side had her looking at the girl, who was looking at her with - was that pity?!
“Oh no you don’t, girlfriend,” she said, shaking her head firmly. “if you look at me like that, I will pull your hair out of your head. I got over being the Kelvin baby a long-ass time ago, so I don’t need you to feel sorry for me. Okay?” She let her voice and eyes soften on that one, because the girl was actually nice, though the bruises on her hands suggested that if she was riled she turned into a shark. Once the girl nodded, jaw steeled, she turned back to Leonard.
“Okay, so you were born in space. Big deal,” he said, and for some reason, she knew he meant it.
“Louis,” she said, trying and failing to replicate the voice of that one actor her mom loved. “This is the start of a beautiful friendship.” Leonard grinned, and tilted her chin up affectionately.
“Here’s lookin’ at you, kid,” he said, and she couldn’t bring herself to be irritated that he’d hit it spot on.