Chapter Text
Here they were, doing the same simple charade again.
It felt like every other week they were getting into some mix-up with some new species of aliens or somewhat. The Enterprise had decided for shore leave, they would spend their time on a remote newly discovered planet that had just been added to the Federation. The natives were of course angry when they stopped a living sacrifice from going on. It was the same old shindig that they always did.
"She was doomed to die!" The Alien leader cried out, her whole body shaking with anger. "The gods require a sacrifice!"
"She didn't need to die!" Bones argued. "There are other ways to please the gods!"
He felt stupid saying it, but how else could he get it into their thick skulls. Here they were, in the council room at the center of this foreign city, waiting for the punishment of intervening in such a ceremony.
"We have not had rain for several tide cycles! Our home has dried and cracked! The gods are angry, can you not see?"
"Killing is not the answer! You're part of the Federation now!" Leonard argued, his voice starting to go hoarse.
"You may have done it this way before, but you don't have to anymore," Jim said behind him. So the unusual part was that Leonard had actually been the one to intervene and violate the Prime Directive, not Jim. The entire away team was waiting behind them, for the verdict. The alien guards stood at either side of the away team, made up of Spock, Scotty, Sulu and 3 redshirts.
The leader's expression twisted. "They demand a sacrifice."
The other aliens of the council roared in agreement. Here they were, standing before this Council after saving this girl, as always. Leonard felt like this was a weekly occurrence, in his plans right next to 'stab Jim with a hypo'.
"And they will get one," The Leader continued. She was draped in dark materials that sparkled in the sunlight. The heavy jewels jingled as she walked toward them, fury in her eyes.
She stopped in front of Leonard, who only met her fiery glare.
"You. You released her. You will pay the price."
"No!" Jim said almost immediately. He was always self-sacrificing, something that he was trying to work on. "He's my responsibility."
"Very noble of you, captain. But it is his doing. He will pay." The alien leader suddenly raised her hand to the guards. "Take them away, escort them to their ship."
Every single one of them protested, but they were still led away, all except for Leonard. As they were forced out, they all looked at Leonard as if that would be the last time they'd see him. It very well might.
Leonard inhaled deeply, focusing himself. His friends were safe. Anything that happened to him was alright, as long as they were okay.
They were okay.
He opened his eyes and sharpened his gaze. "Let's get this over with."
The alien leader only tutted. "Normally, the punishment is death, but we have decided on a more...poetic punishment for your crimes against the ethereal."
"I'm not going to die?"
"You will still die," The alien leader smiled, "Slowly and at your own hand. You see, doctor, your inability to reach out to others has finally come to haunt you. There is no love in your heart. There is no joy. Only darkness and sorrow. You believe it is weak to depend on others, but your solitude will be your downfall."
"I don't understand," Leonard said breathlessly.
"You do not have to, doctor. In time, you will come to realize what will have killed you is your own self. No one could ever truly love a man who could not love himself. Your world is empty and loveless, and no amount of time could ever change the universal constant that you will be forever alone."
Leonard couldn't speak, his words ripped from his throat. He felt jagged and hollow, as if the cold wind could blow right through him. His hand was forcefully grabbed by the Leader, and she dragged the thorn of a flower against his palm, a dark red cut forming.
He pulled his hand away quickly, looking at the deep bloody cut the thorn of the strange red flower left. It looked like something similar to a rose, but more vibrant and with gold tipped ends.
"What did you do?"
"You have been marked. By the next cycle's first light, you must perform an act of true love. Or die a lonely death."
He opened his mouth to protest, but something hard hit him and the world went dark.
Leonard woke up in med bay, his head spinning. The lights were too damn bright and he had to blink for several moments before he realized there was a person. He was laying in a biobed and to his right, sitting in a chair was Scotty, the chief engineer. He was reading, and his eyes flickered up to Leonard's, widening in realization.
"Doctor, ye're alright." His voice seemed flooded with relief.
"'Course I'm alright," Leonard said strangely. He felt off, not quite himself. And then he remembered. The whole thing with the aliens, the curse, the haunting words. He quickly raised his hand to his eye level.
And there was the cut, not bleeding, but more like a scar, a wound deep within his soul. He shivered softly.
"What'd they do to ye?" Montgomery asked after a moment.
"Nothing," Leonard whispered softly, his eyes still snagged on his hand. He forced himself to look away. "They did nothing."
Nothing but tell me the truth.
"How'd ye escape?"
"I didn't. They...let me go."
He only had a week left to live, if their curse was true. Somehow he knew it was. That he would be dead in a week. A slow death indeed.
"Jus' let ye go?" Montgomery repeated, his eyes furrowing in concern. He almost seemed to notice Leonard's disassociated look, as if he wasn't really present in the room. "Doc?" The engineer placed a warm hand on his arm and that warmth pulled him out of his thoughts.
It was a gentle feeling, and for the first time, Leonard finally met his eyes. There was something about Montgomery that made Leonard want to tell him everything. He wanted to tell him all about this curse where he was going to die in a week if he didn't find his one true love which was impossible--but right at that moment, more people walked in.
Jim, Spock, and Uhura all walked in talking about some scientific nonsense, and Montgomery's hand quickly slipped from his arm. Leonard already missed the warmth of his hand, the reassurance and peace it seemed to instill in him.
"Bones!" Jim smiled. "How're you feeling?"
"Fine," Leonard answered quickly. His heartfelt uneven in his chest and there was something so very wrong about this whole situation.
No one could ever love a man who doesn't love himself.
"We were worried about you," Uhura continued, gesturing to the flowers in her hands. "We thought they'd have killed you."
"They didn't." Not yet. "Thanks for the flowers. White lilies are my favorite."
"Yeah I know," Nyota stated as if it was obvious. Leonard felt a spark of guilt. She actually took the time to get to know him and he'd done nothing for her. He was selfish and greedy, a horrible friend.
"Did they attempt to hurt you in any manner?" Spock inquired, his eyebrow quirked in question.
"Nothing but a bruised ego," Leonard forced out a chuckle. And a bruised soul. "I'm fine. Really. No need to worry."
He was already getting back up on his feet when a hand on his chest stilled him. It was Scotty's.
"Take yer time, doc. No need to rush."
"I'm fine, Montgomery, really."
The engineer looked genuinely worried for him, and Leonard just tilted his head ever so slightly, saying with his eyes, I'm okay.
Montgomery sighed and let his hand fall to his side. The whole debacle did not go unnoticed by the others.
"So, you're good?" Jim finally broke the silence. "Everything in check?"
"Yeah, as good as I can be. Thanks for worrying."
"We're just glad ye're okay," Montgomery said softly and Leonard almost smiled.
"How long have I been out?"
"Just a couple of hours," Nyota answered, placing the flowers on the bedside table.
"3.246 hours to be correct," Spock said in that voice that drove Leonard crazy.
"Wow," Leonard murmured. "Time to get back to work I suppose."
Back to work. He only had 7 days to live, what with the fact that he had no true loves. If he was going to die in 7 days, he was determined to make the most of it. In just 7 days, he was going to capture the moments that mattered most, and hopefully, after he was gone, his friends would only remember that and not what was to come.
He was determined to make a mark before he died, and a mark he would most certainly make.