Chapter Text
The day, if you could call it a day, McCoy thought to himself, as he glanced at the artificial sky, had been long. He was feeling anxious to get home. Home being the apartment in one of the officer’s towers that Starfleet had reassigned to him and Scotty upon their return with the Enterprise crew and the USS Franklin. McCoy closed his eyes a moment to remember the crew mates they had lost fighting against Krall. That only two months had gone by was hard to accept at times.
He picked up his pace, hoping that Scotty would be home already. Maybe they would have already started dinner. McCoy was worn out from two long surgeries. Jaylah was pretty good at making sure Scotty left work close to on time. He‘d stay all night working on the new ship if no one reminded him to eat or sleep.
As excited as Scotty was about the new Enterprise, he could still be caught at times with a mournful look in his eye about his previous ship.
Those were the hardest days in the hospital; the days the salvage team, led by Jim of course, returned. Crew mates in bags, carried solemnly by the Enterprise’s remaining crew. Brought to the hospital, to the morgue for identification. The days between salvage runs, the days Jim spent writing letters to families. Those days weighed down on everyone.
McCoy rubbed a hand over his face and he reached the block their building was on. Jim was out on a salvage run again. The crew who went with him changed and rotated, but Jim and Chekov went on every run.
Just a little further and he’d be home. A shower, some dinner and then maybe they could stretch out, watch something mindless and go to bed. In another month Jaylah would be shipping to Earth to start at the academy. Jim had got her admission taken care of. She seemed excited and scared in equal measures. She spent her days with Scotty and Keenser and the rest of the surviving engineers working on the new ship.
McCoy smiled as he rode the elevator up. Jaylah was, as Scotty would say, a good lass. Her skills lay in engineering but she was quick to learn anything put in front of her. He hoped she would do well at the academy. That would be a completely new experience, but Scotty was positive she would adapt well.
“Dr. Bones!” Jaylah called out as he opened the apartment door.
“Hello darlin’,” he called back.
McCoy walked in and set his bag on the coffee table.
“What’cha making?” he asked as he walked over to the kitchen.
“Montgomery Scotty called it ‘cock-a-leekie’ soup,” Jaylah answered. She gave it another stir.
McCoy smiled. “And where is Monty?” He slipped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a half hug.
“Right here,” a brogue said behind them.
McCoy turned around to see his husband rubbing a towel through his hair. McCoy smiled to himself as the memory of the first time he had seen Scotty rose up. He’d been rubbing a towel through his hair then too.
“Good day mo ghràdh?” Scotty asked.
“Long leannan,” McCoy replied as he moved to embrace Scotty. “Your ensign Mitchell needed his appendix out-”
“That lad,” Scotty interrupted with a shake of his head. “One of these days…”
“What is an appendix?” Jaylah asked, turning from the stove.
“It’s a small sac, about here,” McCoy pointed to his own abdomen. “It’s at the end of the large intestine. If it gets inflamed it can make a person very sick and needs to be removed.”
Jaylah nodded and turned back to stirring the soup. McCoy smiled and looked over at Scotty. Scotty was smiling too. McCoy leaned over for a kiss.
“Go shower love,” Scotty said when they broke apart. “The soup can cook a little longer.”
“Alright,” McCoy said. He snatched another kiss then walked off to their bedroom, grabbing his work bag as he went.
Happiness settled in his chest as he stood in the bedroom doorway looking into the kitchen. Scotty and Jaylah were joking around together as Jaylah dished up bowls and Scotty cut a loaf of bread. They hadn’t noticed him yet. Only just two months had gone by since McCoy and Scotty had nearly lost each other. They had both survived the Enterprise’s destruction and had found each other again on the planet Altamid. Two months since Jaylah had escaped with them and the crew.
McCoy’s left thumb rolled the ring on his finger around. Not quite two months since he and Scotty had married. Two months if you counted from the ceremony it turned out Jim had faked on Altamid with Spock’s influence. Almost two months since Jim and Spock had made the mistake up to them, and thrown them a surprise wedding.
Scotty saw him in the doorway as he carried the cut loaf and a bowl to the table.
“Just in time love.”
“What can I do?” McCoy asked as he walked over.
“Nothing Dr. Bones,” said Jaylah as she carried over the other two bowls.
McCoy quietly shook his head as he sat. No matter how he tried, Jaylah would call him nothing else. He found it amusing.
“How’s the ship coming today?” McCoy asked after they had eaten in silence for a few moments. He grinned as Scotty and Jaylah began at the same time.
“Go ahead lass,” Scotty said with a laugh.
“Thank you Montgomery Scotty,” Jaylah said before she continued.
McCoy watched in the bathroom mirror as Scotty moved around the bedroom behind him. He was brushing his teeth and just letting his mind wander. Scotty had gotten the covers of the bed pulled back and was making himself comfortable when McCoy finished and went to join him. He pulled his shirt off and tossed it half heartedly towards the hamper. Scotty grinned at him when it fell short. McCoy turned to go pick it up.
“Leave it mo ghràdh,” Scotty said. “It won’t harm anything on the floor for a night.”
“Too late,” he answered as he picked up the shirt and dropped it in. He smiled as he made his way back to the bed and got in.
“C’mere,” Scotty said to him and pulled McCoy close.
“I’m not good for much,” McCoy admitted as Scotty kissed him.
“I wasn’t asking,” Scotty replied. “I just wanted you close.”
McCoy gave him an eye roll while he smiled.
“You’re tired,” Scotty continued.
“Two surgeries one after the other can do that.” McCoy moved around until he was comfortably wrapped up with the engineer.
“I thought we could go out for dinner this weekend. Just us,” Scotty said after a moment.
“Alright,” McCoy said. His head moved as Scotty began to run his fingers in the doctor’s hair.
“We’ve both been busy and still haven’t seen much of the station. And…”
“And what leannan?” McCoy said into the silence Scotty left. He glanced up and saw a hint of pink on Scotty’s face.
“And it’s our two month anniversary,” Scotty said.
McCoy could hear the slightly bashful note in his husband’s voice.
“Which wedding you counting from?” McCoy teased. “Hey!” he cried as Scotty gave a light tug to his hair.
“It’s close enough between to count for both.” Scotty resumed his light scratching on McCoy’s scalp.
“Ok, let’s go out then,” McCoy smiled. “Did you have somewhere in mind?” He yawned and snuggled in closer.
“Not yet. But I’ve heard of a couple places.”
McCoy yawned again. Warm and comfortable in bed and his body was relaxing. He closed his eyes.
“I don’t want to have to wear a tie,” he mumbled against Scotty’s chest. He felt the laugh rumble through Scotty.
“No worries about that mo ghràdh. I don’t want to wear one either.” Scotty ran his fingers through McCoy’s hair one more time then brought his arm down to embrace him.
“Lights five percent,” Scotty called and the room darkened. He cuddled in closer and whispered in Gaelic at McCoy.
“Love you too,” McCoy replied sleepily.
When McCoy woke, he was alone in the apartment. Scotty and Jaylah usually started their work before he started at the hospital.
It had been strange at first. McCoy hadn’t had a home with anyone since before his divorce. He and Scotty had been sharing their quarters on the Enterprise since early in their relationship. They generally used Scotty’s rooms as their living quarters and McCoy’s for their workspace. But that wasn’t quite the same as having a home, an actual residence.
This apartment came close to that. They’d be here for as long as it took to build the new ship. Scotty had given him an estimate around two and a half years, but had cautioned him that it may take more or less time than that. The new ship was going to be the most advanced in the fleet, and Scotty was the best engineer they had. He’d be staying in Yorktown for the duration. And where Scotty was, McCoy would be.
The hospital in Yorktown was advanced and served the entire station. Looking through the station's windows and seeing the blackness of space; the curves of the mind bending build all around, still could make McCoy’s stomach turn, but for Scotty he’d tolerate it.
Some of their crew mates had already been reassigned for the duration of the ship building. Many of the engineers had been reassigned to help. Spock and Uhura would be off soon for assignment on New Vulcan. Sulu had already been posted to another ship for piloting duties. When salvage on Altamid was over Jim would be assigned to captain a ship and he was making sure Chekov was assigned with him. Christine and Geoff were content to work at the hospital in Yorktown with McCoy.
Jaylah had been a special case and Jim had taken it to Commodore Paris. The commodore had helped Jim arrange Jaylah’s academy entry and had allowed her to be assigned under Scotty until such time as she would start at the academy. Jim had thanked the commodore and Jaylah had enthusiastically thanked Jim.
It also gave Jaylah the opportunity to get used to Starfleet protocols and operations. Between Scotty and Keenser and Russell and Mitchell and all the rest of the engineers she was getting an education before she got her official Starfleet education.
As he grabbed his bag to head out the door, McCoy remembered Scotty’s dinner plans for the weekend. Maybe he could ask around at the hospital and see if anyone had suggestions for where to go; help Scotty out.
The day was moving along uneventfully. As McCoy returned to his office from lunch with Christine he heard his name called.
“Yes?” he asked as he turned. One of the younger Enterprise nurses was coming towards him.
“Dr. McCoy, I was just coming to find you,” she said out of breath.
“What is it?” McCoy asked, feeling himself moving into alert mode. He looked at the nurse. It was Ryan. Why he could never think of her name right off bothered him.
“You’ve got a call from SFM,” she answered.
He could hear a note of awe in her voice.
“I’ll take it in the office, thanks,” he said and went back to walking up the hall. He wondered who was calling. He’d know soon enough.
Settling behind his desk, he flicked the holoscreen on and hit the button to transfer the call to his screen. It took only seconds and McCoy was facing an older man. A smile broke out on his face.
“Hello Phil! How are you?”
Now he understood the awe in Ryan’s voice. Dr. Phillip Boyce was the head of all of Starfleet Medical. And he was a friend to McCoy.
“I’m doing well Leonard? Yourself?”
They made idle small talk before Boyce got down to the real reason he had called.