TPOL: C22-C24
Chapter Twenty-Two: Wait, what?
Two days after the Battle of Minas Morgul, James woke to find himself in the Sickbay of his own ship. Christine checked him over, declaring that he had not sustained any "new brain damage".
"So, does that mean I can leave?" James asked, eager to find out how he had gotten back on board the Enterprise.
Christine chuckled darkly.
"That's up to the acting Chief Medical Officer, Captain," she replied.
James frowned.
"Isn't that your job?" James asked.
Christine rolled her eyes.
"No, it's M'Benga's job as long as Healer McCoy remains in Sickbay as a patient," the nurse corrected him.
"Patient?" James asked, "I wasn't aware that we could reverse death."
"Don't worry, sir, the dead are staying dead," Christine replied.
"But I saw Bones die," James objected.
"He didn't die, Captain," M'Benga called as he strode over to the Captain's bedside, "but it certainly was a close thing."
"Still is," Christine added grimly.
About three hours later, Spock came into Sickbay to brief James on the current state of affairs.
"So the Valar got involved then," James remarked once Spock had brought him up to date.
The half-elf nodded.
"Indeed, Captain," he confirmed aloud.
"Why did they get involved?"
"Apparently, Nero's quest for power threatened the Valar themselves, sir."
"And Nero? What has become of him?" James asked.
"Dead," Spock replied, "Leonard McCoy killed Nero with his own sword."
"I saw Nero kill Leonard, Spock," James objected.
"According to M'Benga, the sword managed to miss any vital organs," the half-elf remarked.
"And then Leonard played dead for the next five minutes or so?"
"It is likely that he was unconscious, sir," Spock coolly replied, "the healer had just sustained a severe injury, after all."
James sighed.
"He wouldn't have even been injured if it weren't for me, Spock," the hobbit finally admitted.
"Captain?" Spock asked, confused.
"Nero announced that he was going to kill me, and Leonard jumped out from his hiding place to keep him from killing me," James explained.
"Sounds to me like it's Leonard's own fault, sir," Spock observed.
James scowled at the half-elf.
"It is in his nature to care for others, Captain," Spock continued, "perhaps Nero even knowingly used that to his advantage."
"Yeah, well, I still feel guilty about it," James informed Spock.
Christine stepped into the room.
"Excuse me, sirs, but the Captain needs his rest," the head nurse informed them.
Spock nodded.
"I shall return in a few hours, at the end of my shift, sir," the half-elf informed the Captain.
~*~
James looked over at the other bed in the room. Lying on the bed was the still form of Leonard McCoy.
"Oh, Bones," sighed James, "please wake up."
But the healer did not stir, and James continued to feel very lonely without his Bones to snark at him.
When had he fallen in love with the healer?
Chapter Twenty-Three: Wake-up Call
The Enterprise was a few hours away from Falasîr when Leonard finally woke up, just minutes after James had been dismissed from Sickbay with a clean bill of health. He did not stay awake for very long, though, just long enough to blink a few times at Christine. James did not find out about this until they actually arrived at Falasîr, however.
"Why didn't you say anything earlier?" James demanded.
"It was a judgment call, sir," the nurse replied, "since he was only awake for a handful of seconds, I decided we could wait until later to tell you."
"How could you be so sure that you could wait?" James petulantly demanded.
"I'm a nurse, Captain," Christine pointed out.
"Sorry, Christine," James said, "I'm just stressed out over Leonard's well-being."
The nurse nodded.
"It's very obvious that you love him, sir," she remarked.
James scowled at Christine's choice of words.
"It's none of your concern, Nurse."
"He's not someone you can have a one-night stand with, Captain," Christine boldly pressed onwards, "he's searching for stability."
"Stability?" James asked.
"Someone who will remain by his side until the end of time, sir," Christine replied.
"Bridge to Sickbay."
Christine answered the comm.
"Chapel here," she said.
"Chris, could you send the Captain up to the Bridge?" Uhura requested, "we're about to start our final approach before landing."
"Will do, Ny," Christine replied, "Chapel out."
James sighed (yet again--he was getting tired of having to sigh so much, yet another reason the hobbit needed his Bones).
"Duty calls, Bones," he informed his sleeping friend.
~*~
Two Weeks Later
Leonard opened his eyes to find himself in an unfamiliar hospital bed.
"Bones!" called an excited voice, "you're awake!"
The healer turned to glare at the speaker.
"Yes, I can see that, James," he growled--or at least, tried to.
"Don't try to talk just yet," James needlessly advised him.
Leonard scowled at the hobbit.
"I should let Nurse Chapel know you're awake, huh?" James asked.
"No need, I'm already here," Christine said, "now get out of the way, lover boy."
Leonard frowned.
"Lover boy?" he croaked.
Christine sighed in annoyance.
"Don't talk, Leonard!" she ordered, before directing James to get a cup of room temperature water.
Once the Captain had left the room, Christine checked Leonard out, making sure he was still healing properly. By the time James returned with the requested cup of water, the nurse was finished with her exam.
"If all goes well, you'll be released into James' care tomorrow afternoon, Leonard," Christine informed the healer.
"My mom can't wait for you to come home with me, Bones," James informed Leonard, "she likes cooking."
~*~
Meanwhile, Pike was pouring over old tomes, checking to make sure that there was not anything missed, that Nero had truly been destroyed once and for all.
"Why do you question what has happened, Christopher?" a voice questioned, startling Pike.
The man looked up from the dusty book on his desk to find a beautiful elven maiden in a radiant white gown standing in the middle of his study.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
"I am Varda," the elf-maid replied.
"My Lady," Pike said respectively, bowing as best as he could in a wheelchair.
"Why do you question the outcome of the Battle of Minas Morgul, Christopher?" Varda insisted.
"The Chosen One was supposed to sacrifice his life for Middle-earth in order to stop Nero," Pike replied, "but Leonard is alive and mostly well."
"Is such a thing so terrible?" Varda inquired.
Pike shook his head.
"It's not that I'm not happy that Leonard is alive--I am quite happy about that--, it's just that I can't rest easy knowing that there's a chance that it was all in vain," he explained.
Varda sighed.
"Prophecies are not meant to be taken literally, Christopher," the Vala said patiently, "like in this case, all that was required of Leonard was for him to seem dead, not actual death. His willingness to give up his life was enough to satisfy the prophecy."
Pike nodded, understanding dawning in his eyes.
"And like how Lady Éowyn and Meriadoc Brandybuck were able to defeat the Witch King(1)," he stated.
Varda nodded.
"Precisely, Christopher," she said.
Pike blinked, and she was gone.
"So Nero really has been defeated then," Pike said, speaking to empty air, "and Leonard didn't have to actually die to make that happen."
1. It was prophesied that no man could kill the Witch King. As Lady Éowyn was a woman and Meriadoc Brandybuck was a hobbit, they clearly weren't men, and therefore able to kill the Witch King.
Chapter Twenty-Four: Heart-to-Heart
Leonard decided that he needed to talk to James about his feelings for the hobbit as he lay awake in his hospital bed that night. James himself had been forcibly removed from the room by Christine, leaving the healer alone with his thoughts for the night. Morning couldn't come soon enough for Leonard--it was much too quiet in his room. But once it did come, James did not make an appearance. In fact, Leonard did not see him until that afternoon, when the time came for Leonard to be released from the hospital.
"Sorry, Bones," James said, "I'd have gotten here a whole lot sooner, but it took me longer than I expected to find someone willing to drive us home by horse."
~*~
As soon as the cart pulled up in front of the Kirk family home, James lept out of the cart and carefully unloaded Leonard into his arms. Then he carried the healer all the way to the guest bedroom. Once Leonard was tucked into bed, James said, "Bones, there's something I need to tell you."
"I've got something I need to tell you too," Leonard remarked.
"Oh," James said uncertainly.
"James, I have feelings for you," Leonard boldly announced.
"Oh, um, that's good," James replied softly.
Leonard scowled at James.
"What the hell kind of response is that?" he demanded.
"Surprised," James admitted, "I was just about to admit my undying love for you, but if you don't--"
"Dammit, James, why did you have to admit to your feelings now!?" growled Leonard, "when sex is still out of the question!"
"Look who's talking, "grumbled James, "you just did the same thing."
Leonard growled, but didn't say anything.
"What about cuddling?" James asked, "is that out of the question too?"
"As long as you're gentle and don't roll over on top of me, it's fine," Leonard decided, "now get in this bed right now."
James grinned.
"Now, Bones, is that any way to talk to your captain?" he asked.
"Of course it is," Leonard retorted, "now get!"
~*~
Winona walked into the guest room two hours later to inform the boys that it was tea time, only to find Leonard and James fast asleep in the guest bed together. Her heart melted at the sight of her son cuddled up to his soul mate.
This must have been how my mother felt when she saw George and me together, Winona thought to herself, tea time can wait.
Then she quietly stepped back out of the room.
~*~
James woke up hungry, with Leonard still fast asleep in his arms. It was dark outside--and inside the room too, since no one had turned on the lights in the guest room. It was quite late--but James was not sure just how late it was, and he could not look at the chronometer without having to move Leonard, which might wake him up. And Leonard was not the kind of person who took kindly to having his sleep disturbed, which was kinda odd for a healer. James' stomach rumbled again, so he decided to risk the healer's ire anyways. The younger hobbit managed to slip out from under the healer without waking him, much to James' relief.
He then glanced at the chronometer, which informed him that it was almost midnight.
"Guess it's time for a midnight snack," James whispered to himself before tip-toeing out of the guest bedroom.
Once he got to the kitchen, he found a note on the kitchen table, addressed to him in his mother's strong script:
Jimmy,
Gone to spend the night with Christopher. Don't burn the house down while I'm gone again, your friend won't appreciate that very much.
--Mom
P.S. I made you boys some of my carrot cake. It's in the fridge, next to the milk jug.
"Bones will love this," James observed aloud, before getting out the carrot cake and cutting two slices--one for the healer, and another slice for himself.
~*~
"So, when's the wedding?" Pike asked over dinner.
"Wedding?" Winona asked, confused.
"For your son," Pike clarified, "I'm sure he's already proposed to Healer McCoy."
Winona shook her head.
"There's no wedding planned," she said.
"They're going to elope then?"
"Jimmy hasn't proposed to Leonard, Chris," Winona stated.
"Why not?" Pike demanded, "they're clearly in love with each other."
"I think Jimmy's too afraid to make the first move," Winona replied, "and Leonard's too busy healing to really consider it just yet."
"Perhaps they just need a little push, Winona," Pike suggested.
"Like how you got Pavel and Hikaru together?" Winona asked.
Pike nodded.
"Let's give them a few more days to get there on their own first, Chris," Winona insisted, "and if that's not enough time for them to get on with it, then you can meddle all you want."
~*~
When James returned to the guest room with the slices of carrot cake, he found Leonard had woken up on his own.
"Is that what I think it is?" the healer asked, indicating the slices of cake.
"If you're thinking that these are slices of my mom's homemade carrot cake, then yes, you are correct," James affirmed.
"One of those slices is for me, right?" Leonard asked.
"Of course, Bones," James replied, "why else would I have gotten two plates dirty?"
"When it comes to you, James, anything is possible," Leonard observed.
"Speaking of which," James said, setting the plates down on the night stand, "Leonard Horatio McCoy, would you marry me?"
"Aren't you supposed to kneel when you propose?" Leonard asked.
"Usually, yes," James acknowledged, "but since I don't have a ring to put on your finger yet, I thought it would be a bit silly to kneel."
Leonard chuckled.
"Proposin' without a ring?" he asked, "does that mean you're not being serious?"
"I am serious, Bones," James insisted, "I've just not had the chance to buy an engagement ring since I realized that I love you."
"Good, 'cause I've already got a ring for you," Leonard remarked.
"Huh?" James asked, confused.
"James Tiberius Kirk, would you do me the honor of marrying me?" Leonard asked.
"You're not kneeling either," James pointed out.
"Yeah, well, I'm on bed rest," Leonard reminded him, "but if you check my pack, in the side pocket, there's a ring. Put it on your finger for me."
"I don't get a say in this?" James asked, amused.
"Considering you asked to marry me before I asked, I already know the answer to my question," the healer observed, "now put on that ring, dammit!"
James did so. It fit him perfectly.
"Was this your old wedding band?" James asked.
"Course not," Leonard replied, "it'd never fit you."
"Then how did you happen to have a ring that fits me perfectly?" James asked.
"Scotty made it for me while you were asleep at my bedside in the hospital," Leonard replied.
"Scotty made you a ring?" James asked, stunned.
"Yeah, so?" Leonard replied.
"He completely refused to have anything to do with wedding and engagement rings the last time I checked, Bones," James replied.
"Maybe he changed his mind?" Leonard suggested.
"Bones, that was this morning," James replied.
"So that's the real reason you took so long this morning," Leonard observed.
"In part," James admitted, "but I was mostly telling the truth."
"Whatever," Leonard grumbled, "get in bed."
"Don't you want cake?"
"Oh yeah, let's eat that first, then get on with our night," Leonard decided.
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Two days after the Battle of Minas Morgul, James woke to find himself in the Sickbay of his own ship. Christine checked him over, declaring that he had not sustained any "new brain damage".
"So, does that mean I can leave?" James asked, eager to find out how he had gotten back on board the Enterprise.
Christine chuckled darkly.
"That's up to the acting Chief Medical Officer, Captain," she replied.
James frowned.
"Isn't that your job?" James asked.
Christine rolled her eyes.
"No, it's M'Benga's job as long as Healer McCoy remains in Sickbay as a patient," the nurse corrected him.
"Patient?" James asked, "I wasn't aware that we could reverse death."
"Don't worry, sir, the dead are staying dead," Christine replied.
"But I saw Bones die," James objected.
"He didn't die, Captain," M'Benga called as he strode over to the Captain's bedside, "but it certainly was a close thing."
"Still is," Christine added grimly.
About three hours later, Spock came into Sickbay to brief James on the current state of affairs.
"So the Valar got involved then," James remarked once Spock had brought him up to date.
The half-elf nodded.
"Indeed, Captain," he confirmed aloud.
"Why did they get involved?"
"Apparently, Nero's quest for power threatened the Valar themselves, sir."
"And Nero? What has become of him?" James asked.
"Dead," Spock replied, "Leonard McCoy killed Nero with his own sword."
"I saw Nero kill Leonard, Spock," James objected.
"According to M'Benga, the sword managed to miss any vital organs," the half-elf remarked.
"And then Leonard played dead for the next five minutes or so?"
"It is likely that he was unconscious, sir," Spock coolly replied, "the healer had just sustained a severe injury, after all."
James sighed.
"He wouldn't have even been injured if it weren't for me, Spock," the hobbit finally admitted.
"Captain?" Spock asked, confused.
"Nero announced that he was going to kill me, and Leonard jumped out from his hiding place to keep him from killing me," James explained.
"Sounds to me like it's Leonard's own fault, sir," Spock observed.
James scowled at the half-elf.
"It is in his nature to care for others, Captain," Spock continued, "perhaps Nero even knowingly used that to his advantage."
"Yeah, well, I still feel guilty about it," James informed Spock.
Christine stepped into the room.
"Excuse me, sirs, but the Captain needs his rest," the head nurse informed them.
Spock nodded.
"I shall return in a few hours, at the end of my shift, sir," the half-elf informed the Captain.
~*~
James looked over at the other bed in the room. Lying on the bed was the still form of Leonard McCoy.
"Oh, Bones," sighed James, "please wake up."
But the healer did not stir, and James continued to feel very lonely without his Bones to snark at him.
When had he fallen in love with the healer?
Chapter Twenty-Three: Wake-up Call
The Enterprise was a few hours away from Falasîr when Leonard finally woke up, just minutes after James had been dismissed from Sickbay with a clean bill of health. He did not stay awake for very long, though, just long enough to blink a few times at Christine. James did not find out about this until they actually arrived at Falasîr, however.
"Why didn't you say anything earlier?" James demanded.
"It was a judgment call, sir," the nurse replied, "since he was only awake for a handful of seconds, I decided we could wait until later to tell you."
"How could you be so sure that you could wait?" James petulantly demanded.
"I'm a nurse, Captain," Christine pointed out.
"Sorry, Christine," James said, "I'm just stressed out over Leonard's well-being."
The nurse nodded.
"It's very obvious that you love him, sir," she remarked.
James scowled at Christine's choice of words.
"It's none of your concern, Nurse."
"He's not someone you can have a one-night stand with, Captain," Christine boldly pressed onwards, "he's searching for stability."
"Stability?" James asked.
"Someone who will remain by his side until the end of time, sir," Christine replied.
"Bridge to Sickbay."
Christine answered the comm.
"Chapel here," she said.
"Chris, could you send the Captain up to the Bridge?" Uhura requested, "we're about to start our final approach before landing."
"Will do, Ny," Christine replied, "Chapel out."
James sighed (yet again--he was getting tired of having to sigh so much, yet another reason the hobbit needed his Bones).
"Duty calls, Bones," he informed his sleeping friend.
~*~
Two Weeks Later
Leonard opened his eyes to find himself in an unfamiliar hospital bed.
"Bones!" called an excited voice, "you're awake!"
The healer turned to glare at the speaker.
"Yes, I can see that, James," he growled--or at least, tried to.
"Don't try to talk just yet," James needlessly advised him.
Leonard scowled at the hobbit.
"I should let Nurse Chapel know you're awake, huh?" James asked.
"No need, I'm already here," Christine said, "now get out of the way, lover boy."
Leonard frowned.
"Lover boy?" he croaked.
Christine sighed in annoyance.
"Don't talk, Leonard!" she ordered, before directing James to get a cup of room temperature water.
Once the Captain had left the room, Christine checked Leonard out, making sure he was still healing properly. By the time James returned with the requested cup of water, the nurse was finished with her exam.
"If all goes well, you'll be released into James' care tomorrow afternoon, Leonard," Christine informed the healer.
"My mom can't wait for you to come home with me, Bones," James informed Leonard, "she likes cooking."
~*~
Meanwhile, Pike was pouring over old tomes, checking to make sure that there was not anything missed, that Nero had truly been destroyed once and for all.
"Why do you question what has happened, Christopher?" a voice questioned, startling Pike.
The man looked up from the dusty book on his desk to find a beautiful elven maiden in a radiant white gown standing in the middle of his study.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
"I am Varda," the elf-maid replied.
"My Lady," Pike said respectively, bowing as best as he could in a wheelchair.
"Why do you question the outcome of the Battle of Minas Morgul, Christopher?" Varda insisted.
"The Chosen One was supposed to sacrifice his life for Middle-earth in order to stop Nero," Pike replied, "but Leonard is alive and mostly well."
"Is such a thing so terrible?" Varda inquired.
Pike shook his head.
"It's not that I'm not happy that Leonard is alive--I am quite happy about that--, it's just that I can't rest easy knowing that there's a chance that it was all in vain," he explained.
Varda sighed.
"Prophecies are not meant to be taken literally, Christopher," the Vala said patiently, "like in this case, all that was required of Leonard was for him to seem dead, not actual death. His willingness to give up his life was enough to satisfy the prophecy."
Pike nodded, understanding dawning in his eyes.
"And like how Lady Éowyn and Meriadoc Brandybuck were able to defeat the Witch King(1)," he stated.
Varda nodded.
"Precisely, Christopher," she said.
Pike blinked, and she was gone.
"So Nero really has been defeated then," Pike said, speaking to empty air, "and Leonard didn't have to actually die to make that happen."
1. It was prophesied that no man could kill the Witch King. As Lady Éowyn was a woman and Meriadoc Brandybuck was a hobbit, they clearly weren't men, and therefore able to kill the Witch King.
Chapter Twenty-Four: Heart-to-Heart
Leonard decided that he needed to talk to James about his feelings for the hobbit as he lay awake in his hospital bed that night. James himself had been forcibly removed from the room by Christine, leaving the healer alone with his thoughts for the night. Morning couldn't come soon enough for Leonard--it was much too quiet in his room. But once it did come, James did not make an appearance. In fact, Leonard did not see him until that afternoon, when the time came for Leonard to be released from the hospital.
"Sorry, Bones," James said, "I'd have gotten here a whole lot sooner, but it took me longer than I expected to find someone willing to drive us home by horse."
~*~
As soon as the cart pulled up in front of the Kirk family home, James lept out of the cart and carefully unloaded Leonard into his arms. Then he carried the healer all the way to the guest bedroom. Once Leonard was tucked into bed, James said, "Bones, there's something I need to tell you."
"I've got something I need to tell you too," Leonard remarked.
"Oh," James said uncertainly.
"James, I have feelings for you," Leonard boldly announced.
"Oh, um, that's good," James replied softly.
Leonard scowled at James.
"What the hell kind of response is that?" he demanded.
"Surprised," James admitted, "I was just about to admit my undying love for you, but if you don't--"
"Dammit, James, why did you have to admit to your feelings now!?" growled Leonard, "when sex is still out of the question!"
"Look who's talking, "grumbled James, "you just did the same thing."
Leonard growled, but didn't say anything.
"What about cuddling?" James asked, "is that out of the question too?"
"As long as you're gentle and don't roll over on top of me, it's fine," Leonard decided, "now get in this bed right now."
James grinned.
"Now, Bones, is that any way to talk to your captain?" he asked.
"Of course it is," Leonard retorted, "now get!"
~*~
Winona walked into the guest room two hours later to inform the boys that it was tea time, only to find Leonard and James fast asleep in the guest bed together. Her heart melted at the sight of her son cuddled up to his soul mate.
This must have been how my mother felt when she saw George and me together, Winona thought to herself, tea time can wait.
Then she quietly stepped back out of the room.
~*~
James woke up hungry, with Leonard still fast asleep in his arms. It was dark outside--and inside the room too, since no one had turned on the lights in the guest room. It was quite late--but James was not sure just how late it was, and he could not look at the chronometer without having to move Leonard, which might wake him up. And Leonard was not the kind of person who took kindly to having his sleep disturbed, which was kinda odd for a healer. James' stomach rumbled again, so he decided to risk the healer's ire anyways. The younger hobbit managed to slip out from under the healer without waking him, much to James' relief.
He then glanced at the chronometer, which informed him that it was almost midnight.
"Guess it's time for a midnight snack," James whispered to himself before tip-toeing out of the guest bedroom.
Once he got to the kitchen, he found a note on the kitchen table, addressed to him in his mother's strong script:
Jimmy,
Gone to spend the night with Christopher. Don't burn the house down while I'm gone again, your friend won't appreciate that very much.
--Mom
P.S. I made you boys some of my carrot cake. It's in the fridge, next to the milk jug.
"Bones will love this," James observed aloud, before getting out the carrot cake and cutting two slices--one for the healer, and another slice for himself.
~*~
"So, when's the wedding?" Pike asked over dinner.
"Wedding?" Winona asked, confused.
"For your son," Pike clarified, "I'm sure he's already proposed to Healer McCoy."
Winona shook her head.
"There's no wedding planned," she said.
"They're going to elope then?"
"Jimmy hasn't proposed to Leonard, Chris," Winona stated.
"Why not?" Pike demanded, "they're clearly in love with each other."
"I think Jimmy's too afraid to make the first move," Winona replied, "and Leonard's too busy healing to really consider it just yet."
"Perhaps they just need a little push, Winona," Pike suggested.
"Like how you got Pavel and Hikaru together?" Winona asked.
Pike nodded.
"Let's give them a few more days to get there on their own first, Chris," Winona insisted, "and if that's not enough time for them to get on with it, then you can meddle all you want."
~*~
When James returned to the guest room with the slices of carrot cake, he found Leonard had woken up on his own.
"Is that what I think it is?" the healer asked, indicating the slices of cake.
"If you're thinking that these are slices of my mom's homemade carrot cake, then yes, you are correct," James affirmed.
"One of those slices is for me, right?" Leonard asked.
"Of course, Bones," James replied, "why else would I have gotten two plates dirty?"
"When it comes to you, James, anything is possible," Leonard observed.
"Speaking of which," James said, setting the plates down on the night stand, "Leonard Horatio McCoy, would you marry me?"
"Aren't you supposed to kneel when you propose?" Leonard asked.
"Usually, yes," James acknowledged, "but since I don't have a ring to put on your finger yet, I thought it would be a bit silly to kneel."
Leonard chuckled.
"Proposin' without a ring?" he asked, "does that mean you're not being serious?"
"I am serious, Bones," James insisted, "I've just not had the chance to buy an engagement ring since I realized that I love you."
"Good, 'cause I've already got a ring for you," Leonard remarked.
"Huh?" James asked, confused.
"James Tiberius Kirk, would you do me the honor of marrying me?" Leonard asked.
"You're not kneeling either," James pointed out.
"Yeah, well, I'm on bed rest," Leonard reminded him, "but if you check my pack, in the side pocket, there's a ring. Put it on your finger for me."
"I don't get a say in this?" James asked, amused.
"Considering you asked to marry me before I asked, I already know the answer to my question," the healer observed, "now put on that ring, dammit!"
James did so. It fit him perfectly.
"Was this your old wedding band?" James asked.
"Course not," Leonard replied, "it'd never fit you."
"Then how did you happen to have a ring that fits me perfectly?" James asked.
"Scotty made it for me while you were asleep at my bedside in the hospital," Leonard replied.
"Scotty made you a ring?" James asked, stunned.
"Yeah, so?" Leonard replied.
"He completely refused to have anything to do with wedding and engagement rings the last time I checked, Bones," James replied.
"Maybe he changed his mind?" Leonard suggested.
"Bones, that was this morning," James replied.
"So that's the real reason you took so long this morning," Leonard observed.
"In part," James admitted, "but I was mostly telling the truth."
"Whatever," Leonard grumbled, "get in bed."
"Don't you want cake?"
"Oh yeah, let's eat that first, then get on with our night," Leonard decided.
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