Sickbay -- Day 10, evening [backdated & private/finished]

[my_god_man]

It was on the late side for the CMO to be working away in Sickbay. Even better, it was supposed to be Leonard's day off. But leave it to an underling -- Anderson, specifically, again -- to royally fuck up something as simple as a growth culture. Except this culture -- synthflesh for grafting purposes -- was anything but simple. And his

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[my_god_man]

Leonard liked the song he was singing in part because it reminded him of Jo. Back when life was a little more sane, with a wife and kid by his side, he used to sing to his little girl every night. And often in the mornings. And sometimes over a transmission, when she was being sassy with her mother...

Ah hell, it was easier to say that their native tongue to each other had been music.

Well, anyway, this song had been one that Joanna liked sleeping to best. It was a nice evening song, full of promises. It conjured images in his mind of beautiful strawberry blond hair and dark blue eyes. So it was something of a surprise to hear a noise behind him, turn without thinking and find.... well, a blond-haired, blue-eyed man looking at him as if he were speaking in another sort of tongue

[my_god_man]

Someone had to be messing with the temperature controls. Either that or the flirting he'd been doing earlier with Sky had left the innuendo switch in his brain flipped on. But the comment about practicing his grip and the mischievous twinkle in Scott's mismatched eyes... well, Leonard almost lost control of the probe light and his expression. There was still a twisting smirk on his lips, before there was nothing but bright light

[transwarp_beam]

Well well, was that a smile he saw gracing the good doctor's lips? Apparently the man did know how - the rumour mill would have had him believe otherwise. And snarking at him no less! Maybe this physical was going to be fun after all. He cocked his head and openly grinned at McCoy.

"About the same," he replied, the words feeling at odds with the smirk he could feel struggling to escape, "No worse, but no improvement either. Been a bit below-par for years now."

[my_god_man]

Oh lord, he knew an incorrigible when he saw one. This was the downside of Sky's so-called "Charm" theory. You stop being a bastard for one second, and you get people grinning at you like a cat on a warm vent. Even worse? All that damn grinning could be infectious. Leonard was a seasoned curmudgeon, though, and kept that smile riot in check. Mostly.

"I'm a doctor, not a dentist. Pack away those teeth and gimme yer ear." He tugged on the lobe in question, just to remind Scott of his bastard status.

The study of the man's ear canal was more in depth, the probe scanning and recording much finer data. Due to the nature of his work, Scott had suffered a good amount of vibration-related damage. "Damn, how'd this all get this bad? I know Starfleet has safety regs to protect against this." Leonard pulled away from the man's ear in frustration, giving him A Look.

[transwarp_beam]

"Be happy, doc," Scotty said cheerfully, unperturbed, "You'll live longer." He checked his grin a little - wouldn't do to make the good doctor uncomfortable - and held still again.

He was surprised by McCoy's reaction to vibration damage that had to be in his files, though. Surely it wasn't that bad? He could still hear, after all.

"Aye, Starfleet does," he said with a shrug, "Independents don't, though. I skipped out on the 'Fleet for a few years after I got my PhD, worked passage with a few freighters to get some hands-on experience. Not all of them had the greatest regard for health and safety."