Chapter Text
Scotty
Montgomery Scott sat in the small, uncomfortable chair, moving his leg restlessly. He was anxious. This was definitely not the place he had planned to end up.
A hospital.
Why did it have to be the hospital? Why wasn’t he sitting in the shipyard’s sickroom? He should be at work.
But that damn piece of metal he had been working on, had decided to slice his left arm open. Badly.
So his boss had called an ambulance right away which had brought him to the nearest hospital.
People had taken care of the Scottish engineer, especially a nurse called ‘Chapel’. She had taken a quick look at the cut, before wrapping it up again, and had made the decision to get one of the doctors.
Scott glanced at the clock which was ticking in the room. Only one hour until his shift would end. One hour until his boyfriend would come to pick him up.
‘I have to be there when he arrives.’
His love would be angry if he knew about this. And… he’d have all right to be. Why couldn’t Montgomery Scott do one thing right? Why did he even fail at doing his simple job?
His mind was slowly breaking free from this spiral of thoughts, when a man entered the room.
“Doctor?”
A tall man with dark hair. His eyes were staring down at the file in his hands. He didn’t even look up at first, probably reading all about his new case.
But when he finally looked up, Scott’s world seemed to stop for a moment.
McCoy
It had been a long day and McCoy was looking forward to clocking out soon. He barely glanced up from filling out charts when Christine slid another in front of him.
“This one’s all yours Leo,” she said. “Room nine.”
“What is it?” he asked distractedly.
“Deep laceration, left arm.”
“Alright, let me finish this before I forget what I’m doing.”
Christine walked off with a shake of her head.
McCoy took another five minutes to finish charting. He stretched back in his chair and stood. He grabbed the file to read while he walked to room nine.
“Doctor?” a nervous voice asked when he entered the room.
“Hmm.” McCoy finished reading the patient notes before he looked up. His breath caught when he finally looked at the injured man.
His reddish hair glinted with gold in the harsh hospital lighting. McCoy knew instinctively that if the man smiled it would light the room up. Why that thought filled him with warmth he didn’t know.
But for some reason the man in the chair seemed smaller than he was. Curled in around himself somehow McCoy thought. He wondered why. Then he noticed the man’s leg bouncing nervously.
“Mr. Scott?” he waited for a nod from the other man. “I’m Dr. McCoy. Let’s see what you’ve done.”
McCoy moved to the man and went to lift the bandage. His fingers brushed the others arm and it felt like a bolt of lightning went through him. He glanced sharply up to see Mr. Scott staring back wide eyed.
McCoy cleared his throat. “Uh…, you did this at work?”
“Yes.”
“Did anyone give you the L&I forms to fill out?”
The man shook his head.
“Ok, I’ll make sure you get them before you go.”
McCoy continued to examine the wound, trying his hardest not to brush against him again, but for some reason desperately wanting to. McCoy pushed the thought away.
“I think we’re going to need some stitches inside and then on the outside to close it up. I’ll get something so you won’t feel it,” he said straightening up again.
“Once that takes effect then it’ll be simple sewing job.”
Scotty
Scotty looked at the doctor and for some reason he didn’t want him to leave the room. He wanted to look at him a little longer, wanted to get to know him.
But the doctor left, leaving him all alone in the empty room. At least it felt empty - it wasn’t though.
He let his eyes wander around the room to look at the equipment doctors and nurses probably used every day. One looked kinda broken. Their even was a sign on it which said ‘Don’t use’. Maybe he could repair it? Of course, it wasn’t one of his ships, but he was a great engineer. There was no machine he couldn’t fix - at least that’s what his boss always told him. He himself wasn’t too sure about that though.
His mind wandered back to the doctor who was taking care of him.
Dr. McCoy.
Judging by the accent Scott had been able to make out, the doctor was a Southern man.
‘And a bonnie lad.’
Scott froze in his place. Why was he thinking such things? He was in a great relationship after all! He shouldn’t call other men ‘bonnie’, no matter how gorgeous their dark hair and greenish blue eyes were. No matter how careful they treated him. The man’s hand touching him had felt strangely… warm and nice.
He thought about another man who was probably driving through the streets of San Francisco by now to pick him up after work. What would he say if he didn’t find Scotty at work?
‘I have to text him.’
With that on his mind, Scott grabbed into his pocket… to find his phone gone! He frantically looked around, but it was nowhere to be found. He… must have left it at his desk!
Before he could start to swear loudly, the door reopened and the doctor stepped back in.
“Ehm, wh-when can I return to work?”
McCoy
McCoy stepped out of the room and blew out a breath.
“Focus McCoy,” he muttered to himself. What had that been about? The electric feel when he had brushed the man’s arm? He’d be awful handsome if he wasn’t so nervous. McCoy would like to see him smile.
He shook his head. It had been a long day. He walked down to the supply room and grabbed the anesthetic he’d need and everything else.
McCoy hoped he could calm the man’s fears some when he went back. The way his leg had been bouncing nervously, maybe he was afraid of doctors. Lots of people were. He thought back and realized the man had only said one word. He answered with nods otherwise.
He walked back quickly and stepped back in the room.
“Ehm, wh-when can I return to work?”
McCoy’s heart skipped a beat as he looked at the man. He looked so vulnerable. And he hadn’t caught the accent from only one word. McCoy felt like the other man was going to hear his heart beating as it sped up.
He cleared his throat before answering.
“Usually we have you come back in around twelve days to snip the stitches out. And since it looks like you didn’t do any significant damage, you’ll probably be back to work then. Maybe light duty only to start, but we’ll know that when you come back.”
McCoy suddenly hoped he was the one on duty when this man came back. He glanced up as he filled the syringe. The man’s eyes were filled with… fear? That couldn’t be right.
“Alright, this might sting,” McCoy said as he wiped Mr. Scott’s arm with an antiseptic wipe. He set it aside and picked the syringe back up. “Ok, couple pinches now.”
Warmth traveled back through his fingers as he touched the man’s arm.
“Ok, just a couple more,” he said idly. “You’re doing fine.”
He glanced up again and saw the hint of a smile. Good, he’d made him calm some. Christine might say he was gruff with patients, but he knew how to comfort them when it was necessary. Now he just wanted to hear more of that accent.
“What kind of work do you do Mr. Scott?”
Scotty
Scott glanced at the doctor who was working on his arm, but a thought kept his mind occupied.
Twelve days. For twelve days he had to stay at home. For twelve whole days he’d be just… useless. What would his love say?
When he realized that the doctor was asking him a question, his mind snapped back into reality. He looked at the beautiful eyes which met his own and tried to give the other man a smile.
“I… work at the nearby shipyard. I repair and build these bonnie lasses so they can travel the whole wide world.”
The smile on his face grew bigger as he talked. He loved his ships, even though they weren’t really his own. He treated them just like the good doctor treated him - with care.
“That sounds quite interesting, but dangerous too.”
Dr. McCoy glanced at him and Scotty shrugged.
“It’s the one job I always dreamed of since I was a wee lad. So… I risk the dangers.”
Named dangers being cuts and burns. But usually they weren’t that bad. This was the worst accident he had had in years.
“Is there… by any chance a phone around here I can use?”
The doctor looked back up and pointed one finger at the door.
“There’s a pay phone in the main hall.”
He turned back to wrap a clean bandage around the treated arm. It looked far better now than the improvised one his colleagues had made.
“Good. I have to call my boyfriend to tell him… about this.”
McCoy
McCoy listened to the Scotsman happily describe his job. He glanced up from the stitches from time to time. The smile spreading across his face spread a happy joy through McCoy.
He tied off the end of the last stitch and bandaged the arm again. He answered the man’s question about a phone and wondered who he might need to call.
“Good. I have to call my boyfriend to tell him… about this.”
McCoy felt incredibly stupid. Of course this handsome man with the smile that lit the room had a boyfriend. He hadn’t done anything but try to alleviate the man’s fears and tend to his wound, so why did he feel like he’d been plunged into darkness?
“Oh.”
What was wrong with him? God he hoped Mr. Scott hadn’t heard the disappointment he tried to keep from his voice.
“You’re all finished,” McCoy said, turning to dispose of the needle and syringe. He closed his eyes tight and took a breath.
“Come on out to the desk and I’ll get you those L&I forms.”
McCoy stood and moved to the door. He held it open for the Scotsman. His heart gave a pang as the man got up. He moved lightly and was nearly as tall as McCoy.
‘Right height to fit snug against your shoulder.’
McCoy’s breath caught and he was glad to be behind where he couldn’t be seen. He tried to collect himself quickly.
“The phone is over there,” he said with only the slightest strain in his voice. “I’ll get those forms and meet you back at the desk.”
McCoy walked back to the desk full of confusion.