fic: tides of man 6
Title: All Things Being Equal
Author: objectivelyp1nk
Series: Tides of Man
Rating: PG-13 for boys and their naughty language
Pairing: Eventual Kirk/Bones.
Posted at: kirk_mccoy
Notes: The idiot healer mentioned in this chapter isn't anyone in particular-- so, an OMC, unless someone has a suggestion for who it could be. ETA: fixed a character description.
Summary: As a simple country Healer, Leonard never expected to see anyone important except maybe at a distance. He never expected to make friends with the royal family, and he certainly never signed up to be constantly surrounded by damn horses, magical though they might be. (Fantasy AU)
Previously: A Fine Line.
Or start at the beginning.
Leonard’s used to having the run of the wing since Chapel gave the nod that he could be trusted not to damage the patients. All new Healers, ones that can’t be vouched for personally by one of the Healer’s circle, have to go through a period where they answer to a senior Healer. Chapel had been his, unofficially-- at least until a clerk bumbled into their fourth day and made them sign all the necessary paperwork.
Apparently Leonard passed through his probationary period in half the time for a usual Healer. Leonard doesn’t say anything when he overhears this, but he thinks that some Healers must be lazy bastards.
In addition to his morning rounds with Chapel that covers three floors of the Southeast wing, he’s also taken charge of the second floor of the South wing, on account of the Healer previously in charge being an idiot. Leonard had told the man so, going so far as to question his parentage for being such a fool as to confuse a patient’s medication with another. He bullied the Healer out of the wing entirely. No one raised much of a fuss, so obviously he wasn’t the only one who thought the man was hopeless.
It gives him a reputation for being a quick learner, an outstanding diagnostician, and a right bastard when his temper’s riled. Leonard doesn’t mind this reputation on account of it all being true.
He is irritated by the judgement passed by a certain member of the Healer’s circle.
“The man is an idiot, Bones,” Jim says consolingly from his perch on the fence that line the Companion’s Field.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Leonard growls. “But he’s the Dean’s son, and one of the strongest Healers we’ve got.” He huffs a little. “Seems to think he’s a shoe-in to be the next Dean, too.”
Jim nudges Leonard’s side with his boot. “Is he as good a Healer as you? He’s not, right?”
“Yeah, well, can’t speak for his Healing, but he needs to work on his mental abilities,” Bones mutters. “That, whatever it’s called, the mental probe he sent my way was heavy-handed as fuck. It nearly broke my top shield.”
Jim leans forward, looking interested. “But you’re still maintaining the second layer of shielding, right?”
“He didn’t know that! If that shield had been my only one, he could’ve given me one hell of a reaction headache,” Leonard says, scowling.
There’s a moment of silence and then he feels the fence starting to tremble. Leonard looks over and sees Jim shaking with silent laughter.
“What the hell, Jim?” Bones says.
“I can’t believe you,” Jim laughs. “You’re bitching about him classifying you as a low-level healer when you were hiding your goddamn status from him the whole time!”
“He could have asked!” Leonard said, outraged. “Instead he shoves a fucking probe in my direction without so much as a by-your-leave-- I wasn’t about to lower my shields and let a bastard like that in! If he wants to judge my status by the strength of the only shield he thinks I have, it’s his goddamn shortsightedness.”
Above him, Jim starts to laugh again. Leonard thumps him on the nearest leg and Jim almost falls off the fence. When he regains his balance, Jim kicks Leonard in the shoulder.
Not too far away, Enterprise pauses in her circuit of the Companion’s obstacle course to look at them. Leonard can almost hear her disgusted snort, the kind he used to hear from his female cousins as a kid.
“She thinks we need to grow up,” Jim tells him.
“I’m grown up plenty, thanks.”
“A grown up hypocrite,” Jim says and immediately moves out of range in case Leonard tries to hit him again.
“I could have you judged mentally incompetent,” Leonard says. “They’d put you in a nice room with no sharp edges.”
“You’d be miserable without me to distract you from your pessimistic gloom and doom.” Jim jumps off the fence with annoying grace and puts his hands on his hips, smirking. “Admit it, Bones.”
He’s not going to admit any such thing. “It’s not pessimism, it’s realism,” Leonard protests instead.
“Your mouth says mean things, but I know you’d cry if I stopped pulling your pigtails,” Jim tells him.
“I don’t know why I put up with you.”
“Because I’m the best friend ever! I thought you knew that by now.”
Leonard rolls his eyes.
“I see you doubting me. That’s very sad, Bones.” Behind Jim, Enterprise has finished her course and comes up behind the Trainee. “If I wasn’t the best friend ever, would I let you ride my very own Companion?” He strokes down Enterprise’s nose and the both of them look expectantly at Leonard.
“You what?”
“En wants to ride but I’ve got to head off to Ethics.” He quirks an eyebrow at Leonard in what is clearly an imitation of Leonard’s own expression. “I know you have the rest of the afternoon off.”
Leonard opens his mouth and then closes it. He’s never heard of a non-Herald riding a Companion except in cases of emergency.
“Well?”
It’s obvious that Enterprise has agreed to this; she’s got her head tilted at Leonard in inquiry. And he’d be a fool not to take the chance, so, “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll take her out.”
Enterprise snorts and Leonard grins at her. “That is, I’ll let her take me out.”
“Great, Bones.” Jim claps him on the shoulder likes it’s not a big deal at all. He climbs over the fence instead of using the gate only a few yards away.
“Well,” Leonard says and holds a hand out to Enterprise. “What do you think, lady? Can we manage without him?”
The look she gives him in response is so clearly saying You’re kidding me, right? that he grins again. They head to the stables to get her saddled up and Leonard waves off a stablehand to do it himself. It’s much the same as when he used to ride horses back in Peach Tree. It’s a little odd for there to be no reins, but with a Companion those things’d be mostly decoration anyway.
The two of them spend the next hour roaming the Companion’s field at incredible speeds. Leonard’s heart is in his mouth at a particularly deep crevasse that Enterprise jumps; they land heavily, but safely, on the other side. Leonard finds himself laughing at the sheer joy of it when she pulls into a gallop again, tearing off into the grassy meadow.
She slows down in a few places and it takes Leonard a moment to realize that she’s showing him the sights. He gazes out on the mirror-smooth surface of a pond, reflecting the brilliant colors of the trees just beginning to change color. “Thanks,” he says and rests a hand on her neck.
Enterprise remains quiet, as she always does, but he gets the feeling that she’s satisfied anyway.
They slow again when they come across another pair of Companion-and-rider. Being friends with Jim-- and, Leonard supposes, with Enterprise as well-- means that he’s spent a lot of time in around the Companion’s Field. He reckons he knows as much about Companions as anyone not a Herald or a stablehand.
This Companion is a stallion, and like all Companions has a white coat, blue eyes, and those oddly silver hooves. But he's bigger, much bigger, than the others that Leonard has seen. And he looks almost like he’s glowing in the daylight. The Herald, with his perfectly neat hair and olive-tinged skin, looks almost ordinary in contrast.
“That is not your Companion,” the Herald says abruptly. His own Companion halts and looks disapproving. Leonard can feel Enterprise give something that feels like a minute sigh before stopping as well.
“No, it isn’t,” Leonard agrees and doesn’t add, Not that it’s any of your goddamn business because his daddy raised him to be polite to strangers.
“You are a Healer,” the Herald adds after a moment.
“Keen observational skills,” Leonard says, because he was always more like his momma anyway.
“I can see by your tone that you are being facetious with me. Perhaps you are not aware of the sheer impropriety of what you are doing.”
Who licked the red off this asshole’s candy? “I sure as hell didn’t steal her,” Leonard says, glaring. “If we choose to take a ride together that’s our business, ain’t it? Not like we got to ask you for permission.” He knows his Peach Tree accent has strengthened in his anger, but doesn’t much care.
Enterprise tosses her head and snorts in a way that makes it clear she agrees with him. The other companion’s eyes narrow and Leonard wonders what kind of conversation the stallion and Enterprise are having mind-to-mind.
Before Leonard or the Herald can say anything, Enterprise gives a full body quiver and starts walking away. She breaks into a trot; Leonard looks back to see the Herald and Companion apparently give up on them, because those two go off in a different direction.
“Who the hell was that?” Leonard says. Enterprise flicks her ears back for a moment, but otherwise doesn’t comment.
Next: Tides of Man - Spock's Interlude
Author: objectivelyp1nk
Series: Tides of Man
Rating: PG-13 for boys and their naughty language
Pairing: Eventual Kirk/Bones.
Posted at: kirk_mccoy
Notes: The idiot healer mentioned in this chapter isn't anyone in particular-- so, an OMC, unless someone has a suggestion for who it could be. ETA: fixed a character description.
Summary: As a simple country Healer, Leonard never expected to see anyone important except maybe at a distance. He never expected to make friends with the royal family, and he certainly never signed up to be constantly surrounded by damn horses, magical though they might be. (Fantasy AU)
Previously: A Fine Line.
Or start at the beginning.
Leonard’s used to having the run of the wing since Chapel gave the nod that he could be trusted not to damage the patients. All new Healers, ones that can’t be vouched for personally by one of the Healer’s circle, have to go through a period where they answer to a senior Healer. Chapel had been his, unofficially-- at least until a clerk bumbled into their fourth day and made them sign all the necessary paperwork.
Apparently Leonard passed through his probationary period in half the time for a usual Healer. Leonard doesn’t say anything when he overhears this, but he thinks that some Healers must be lazy bastards.
In addition to his morning rounds with Chapel that covers three floors of the Southeast wing, he’s also taken charge of the second floor of the South wing, on account of the Healer previously in charge being an idiot. Leonard had told the man so, going so far as to question his parentage for being such a fool as to confuse a patient’s medication with another. He bullied the Healer out of the wing entirely. No one raised much of a fuss, so obviously he wasn’t the only one who thought the man was hopeless.
It gives him a reputation for being a quick learner, an outstanding diagnostician, and a right bastard when his temper’s riled. Leonard doesn’t mind this reputation on account of it all being true.
He is irritated by the judgement passed by a certain member of the Healer’s circle.
“The man is an idiot, Bones,” Jim says consolingly from his perch on the fence that line the Companion’s Field.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Leonard growls. “But he’s the Dean’s son, and one of the strongest Healers we’ve got.” He huffs a little. “Seems to think he’s a shoe-in to be the next Dean, too.”
Jim nudges Leonard’s side with his boot. “Is he as good a Healer as you? He’s not, right?”
“Yeah, well, can’t speak for his Healing, but he needs to work on his mental abilities,” Bones mutters. “That, whatever it’s called, the mental probe he sent my way was heavy-handed as fuck. It nearly broke my top shield.”
Jim leans forward, looking interested. “But you’re still maintaining the second layer of shielding, right?”
“He didn’t know that! If that shield had been my only one, he could’ve given me one hell of a reaction headache,” Leonard says, scowling.
There’s a moment of silence and then he feels the fence starting to tremble. Leonard looks over and sees Jim shaking with silent laughter.
“What the hell, Jim?” Bones says.
“I can’t believe you,” Jim laughs. “You’re bitching about him classifying you as a low-level healer when you were hiding your goddamn status from him the whole time!”
“He could have asked!” Leonard said, outraged. “Instead he shoves a fucking probe in my direction without so much as a by-your-leave-- I wasn’t about to lower my shields and let a bastard like that in! If he wants to judge my status by the strength of the only shield he thinks I have, it’s his goddamn shortsightedness.”
Above him, Jim starts to laugh again. Leonard thumps him on the nearest leg and Jim almost falls off the fence. When he regains his balance, Jim kicks Leonard in the shoulder.
Not too far away, Enterprise pauses in her circuit of the Companion’s obstacle course to look at them. Leonard can almost hear her disgusted snort, the kind he used to hear from his female cousins as a kid.
“She thinks we need to grow up,” Jim tells him.
“I’m grown up plenty, thanks.”
“A grown up hypocrite,” Jim says and immediately moves out of range in case Leonard tries to hit him again.
“I could have you judged mentally incompetent,” Leonard says. “They’d put you in a nice room with no sharp edges.”
“You’d be miserable without me to distract you from your pessimistic gloom and doom.” Jim jumps off the fence with annoying grace and puts his hands on his hips, smirking. “Admit it, Bones.”
He’s not going to admit any such thing. “It’s not pessimism, it’s realism,” Leonard protests instead.
“Your mouth says mean things, but I know you’d cry if I stopped pulling your pigtails,” Jim tells him.
“I don’t know why I put up with you.”
“Because I’m the best friend ever! I thought you knew that by now.”
Leonard rolls his eyes.
“I see you doubting me. That’s very sad, Bones.” Behind Jim, Enterprise has finished her course and comes up behind the Trainee. “If I wasn’t the best friend ever, would I let you ride my very own Companion?” He strokes down Enterprise’s nose and the both of them look expectantly at Leonard.
“You what?”
“En wants to ride but I’ve got to head off to Ethics.” He quirks an eyebrow at Leonard in what is clearly an imitation of Leonard’s own expression. “I know you have the rest of the afternoon off.”
Leonard opens his mouth and then closes it. He’s never heard of a non-Herald riding a Companion except in cases of emergency.
“Well?”
It’s obvious that Enterprise has agreed to this; she’s got her head tilted at Leonard in inquiry. And he’d be a fool not to take the chance, so, “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll take her out.”
Enterprise snorts and Leonard grins at her. “That is, I’ll let her take me out.”
“Great, Bones.” Jim claps him on the shoulder likes it’s not a big deal at all. He climbs over the fence instead of using the gate only a few yards away.
“Well,” Leonard says and holds a hand out to Enterprise. “What do you think, lady? Can we manage without him?”
The look she gives him in response is so clearly saying You’re kidding me, right? that he grins again. They head to the stables to get her saddled up and Leonard waves off a stablehand to do it himself. It’s much the same as when he used to ride horses back in Peach Tree. It’s a little odd for there to be no reins, but with a Companion those things’d be mostly decoration anyway.
The two of them spend the next hour roaming the Companion’s field at incredible speeds. Leonard’s heart is in his mouth at a particularly deep crevasse that Enterprise jumps; they land heavily, but safely, on the other side. Leonard finds himself laughing at the sheer joy of it when she pulls into a gallop again, tearing off into the grassy meadow.
She slows down in a few places and it takes Leonard a moment to realize that she’s showing him the sights. He gazes out on the mirror-smooth surface of a pond, reflecting the brilliant colors of the trees just beginning to change color. “Thanks,” he says and rests a hand on her neck.
Enterprise remains quiet, as she always does, but he gets the feeling that she’s satisfied anyway.
They slow again when they come across another pair of Companion-and-rider. Being friends with Jim-- and, Leonard supposes, with Enterprise as well-- means that he’s spent a lot of time in around the Companion’s Field. He reckons he knows as much about Companions as anyone not a Herald or a stablehand.
This Companion is a stallion, and like all Companions has a white coat, blue eyes, and those oddly silver hooves. But he's bigger, much bigger, than the others that Leonard has seen. And he looks almost like he’s glowing in the daylight. The Herald, with his perfectly neat hair and olive-tinged skin, looks almost ordinary in contrast.
“That is not your Companion,” the Herald says abruptly. His own Companion halts and looks disapproving. Leonard can feel Enterprise give something that feels like a minute sigh before stopping as well.
“No, it isn’t,” Leonard agrees and doesn’t add, Not that it’s any of your goddamn business because his daddy raised him to be polite to strangers.
“You are a Healer,” the Herald adds after a moment.
“Keen observational skills,” Leonard says, because he was always more like his momma anyway.
“I can see by your tone that you are being facetious with me. Perhaps you are not aware of the sheer impropriety of what you are doing.”
Who licked the red off this asshole’s candy? “I sure as hell didn’t steal her,” Leonard says, glaring. “If we choose to take a ride together that’s our business, ain’t it? Not like we got to ask you for permission.” He knows his Peach Tree accent has strengthened in his anger, but doesn’t much care.
Enterprise tosses her head and snorts in a way that makes it clear she agrees with him. The other companion’s eyes narrow and Leonard wonders what kind of conversation the stallion and Enterprise are having mind-to-mind.
Before Leonard or the Herald can say anything, Enterprise gives a full body quiver and starts walking away. She breaks into a trot; Leonard looks back to see the Herald and Companion apparently give up on them, because those two go off in a different direction.
“Who the hell was that?” Leonard says. Enterprise flicks her ears back for a moment, but otherwise doesn’t comment.
Next: Tides of Man - Spock's Interlude