Work Text:
On November 7, Robert "Robbie" Scott stood in front of the mirror in his bathroom, frantically trying to fix his hair. He needed to look good.
His heart was racing at the thought of where he'd go that evening. A date! He hadn't been on a date in years!
And, in all honesty, Robbie didn't feel ready for it. After all, Leah McCoy wasn't just any lass. She always looked great. She was polite and gentle and a strong and confident woman.
The sound of a bark caught his attention and Robbie turned around to see Hunter standing at the bathroom door. The wee dog was wiggling its tail.
"Oh, aye, yer food. Sorry, lad. I forgot the time."
Hectically, Robbie once again ran a hand through his hair, then headed over to the kitchen. Hunter followed right on his heels.
The dog actually belonged to a homeless man whom the Scotsman had saved at Halloween, but since Howard Blaten was still recovering from a stab wound at the hospital, Robbie had decided to take care of it for the time being.
As fast as he could, Robbie filled Hunter's bowl and placed it on the ground.
"There ye go."
For a moment Robbie watched the dog happily devour the food, then his eyes fell onto the clock. His blood froze.
"Oh shit! I've gotta go! Enjoy yer dinner, laddie."
With that, the man ran into the hallway, grabbed his keys and jacket and then headed off to his car.
He wasn't ready for this evening at all.
His heart was beating out of his chest as he rang the bell with Leah's name on it and waited on the doorstep. Once again, he checked his appearance in the reflection of the door.
His hair was messy, but apparently he couldn't do anything about that. His pants and shirt looked well enough. The shoes were clean.
All in all, he didn't look too bad. At least that's what his mother would have said.
His eyes fell onto the bouquet of flowers he had bought after work. They still looked fresh.
When the main door opened, Robbie quickly stretched out his hand holding the bouquet, however he was surprised to see an elderly woman in front of him.
"Oh my, what a handsome visitor. Flowers? For me?"
Flabbergasted, Robbie's eyes widened and he lowered his hand to stare into the face of the wee granny.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, ma'am. I-uhm-"
The woman simply chuckled.
"I'm just kidding, young man. I know that you're not here for me."
Robbie could only stare at his counterpart, no words leaving his mouth, when suddenly a voice sounded from behind the old woman.
"Well, well. If that isn't Mr. Scott running into fair women again."
Quickly, the Scotsman's eyes moved to the person walking downstairs and he blushed even more than he already had. A bonnie lass dressed in a gorgeous knee-length purple dress.
"Leah, I assume this handsome gentleman is here to pick you up?"
The nurse chuckled softly, nodding her head.
"Yes, Marianne. I think so. Though if he weren't here for me, he surely would have taken you out tonight, ain't that right, Mr. Scott?"
Leah grinned at Robbie and the man's eyes widened for a moment before he nodded.
"Oh, a-aye! Of course!"
At that, the woman - Marianne - nudged his arm playfully.
"Now don't you lie, young man. No one would take an old woman like me out for dinner."
"Oh, Marianne. Don't say that! You're still gorgeous. And no one can dance like you," Leah quickly intervened and her neighbor laughed out.
"If you say so, honey. Well then, I better get going. After all, the groceries won't shop themselves."
Only now did Robbie notice the bag the woman was carrying.
"Isn't it too late for ye to go outside all by yerself, ma'am? There are a lot of bad people in the streets."
He couldn't help but think of the guys who had attacked Mr. Blaten. San Francisco was a dangerous place at night.
"Oh, don't worry about me. I know these streets. And I know how to defend myself."
Robbie's counterpart raised a fist and Leah chuckled once again.
"Trust her. No one would dare to attack our lovely Marianne."
Named woman gave them another nod, then made her way past Robbie and started to walk down the street.
"Have fun! But don't do anything I wouldn't do!"
Robbie almost instantly blushed even harder when he saw Marianne wink at them, however, he couldn't help but call after her.
"Wait!"
The woman stopped and turned around once more.
Awkwardly, the Scotsman pulled one of the flowers out of the bouquet and handed it over.
"There ye go. A bonnie flower for a bonnie lass."
Marianne just stared at him for a moment, then she smiled and took the flower.
"Why thank you, young man."
Robbie was rewarded with a kiss to his cheek, before the old woman headed off again, leaving him and Leah behind.
"A genius, a hero, a gentleman - is there anything you are not, Mr. Scott?"
The Scotsman turned his head around to look at Leah and he shrugged his shoulders.
"I... I don't know. I'm a bad dancer."
The nurse raised an eyebrow in surprise, then smiled as she grabbed Robbie's hand.
"Well, we'll see about that. But first, I think you're here to take me out for dinner?"
Robbie's face quickly mirrored the smile and he held up the bouquet.
"No, first, the flowers."
Leah couldn't help but laugh and it filled the Scotsman's heart with warmth.
"Thank you very much. I guess I'll put them in a vase first then. Be right back."
Leah started to head back into the house, however, not without turning around once more.
"Don't flirt with any more neighbors while I'm gone."
The heat rushed to Robbie's cheeks, but he laughed as he nodded.
"I'll try my best."
Another nod and Leah was gone.
The drive to the restaurant wasn't too long and soon enough the two of them were seated at their table.
"I... I didn't know what ye would like, so I went with a Chinese restaurant? M-most people I know like Chinese food," Robbie started to explain as Leah looked at their surroundings.
"Well, I'm different from most people. I hate Chinese food."
Robbie felt a pang in his chest and his eyes widened. Oh no. No, no, no...
"Oh my- I'm so sorry, I-"
However, Leah's stern face quickly relaxed and she grinned.
"I'm joking, Robbie. I love it! It's a nice place."
For a moment it felt like a huge weight was lifted off his heart and the Scotsman breathed in relief.
"Oh, thank goodness."
Leah only laughed, placing her hand on his.
"Relax. I think you know me quite well."
Even though they had only met twice in person and had talked and texted on the PADD for merely a week, Robbie couldn't help but agree.
He had a feeling for what Leah liked - or at least he hoped so.
When a waiter came to serve their drinks and take their orders, the two of them chuckled as they both ordered the same. It was just crazy how similar they were.
The man serving them nodded and as soon as he was gone, Leah spoke up again.
"I'm glad we could find the time for a date. It's kinda hard with my work," the woman admitted.
"Well, I'm happy that ye chose yer day off to go out on a date with me."
Leah shrugged her shoulders and took a sip of her wine.
"What else was I supposed to do? Say 'no' when a hero invites me?"
A smile tugged at Robbie's lips. Slowly but surely he was getting used to Leah's teasing. She had done it before in her messages. It seemed to be her way of flirting.
"Come on, I'm no hero. I only happened to help a few people. Twice."
And strangely enough both times he had met Leah. It almost seemed to be fate.
The nurse slowly leaned forward and looked at her counterpart with interest.
"Then tell me who you are. I want to get to know you."
Robbie laughed softly, then shook his head.
"There's nothing too interesting about me. I'm... just a lad from Aberdeen, Scotland. I'm the youngest of two brothers. I work for Starfleet. I design and build spaceships and shuttles."
Leah raised her finger and hurried to swallow down the sip she had taken.
"What brings you to San Francisco?"
Robbie frowned. Strangely enough they hadn't talked about that before. They had mostly chatted and texted about their work and how their days had been. No deep talk.
"Oh, uhm, I was offered to come abroad and since my son studies at Starfleet Academy, I thought of it as a nice opportunity to see him more often."
Leah's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"You have a son?"
Robbie nodded, smiling.
"Aye, Chris. He's 17 years old and I love him very much."
"Oh."
The Scotsman could hear concern in his counterpart's voice, so he quickly added the more important facts.
"Before ye ask, I'm divorced. Chris' mother left me when the lad was still wee. Ran off with some rich British business guy."
It still ached sometimes to think about Juliette, but years had passed and Robbie had eventually understood that it hadn't been his fault. Chris and the rest of his family had made sure that he didn't blame himself.
"Ouch. I'm sorry to hear that."
Leah's voice and the look in here eyes were sincere. Even though she was a humorous person, she knew when to be serious.
"What can I say, I survived. I got over it."
They stopped their talk when the waiter brought their food.
Carefully, both of them tried their dishes and Robbie was relieved when Leah let out a soft moan.
"Oh, this is good."
"Aye, it is."
They both ate some more, before Robbie was the one to ask a question.
"So? What about ye? Tell me more about Ms. Leah McCoy."
Leah, who still had her mouth full, almost choked on the food as she chuckled.
"Ha! Me? There's nothing to say about me. My life is boring."
At that, Robbie raised an eyebrow.
"I don't believe that in the slightest bit."
Leah shrugged.
"But it's true. I'm the nurse in a family of doctors. According to some aunts and uncles I 'didn't live up to my full potential'. My younger brother is CMO on a starship. My mum and dad have their own medical practice. I didn't want or need all that. I live alone in a small apartment. I don't have children. Neither was I ever married. My work is my life."
Robbie nodded slowly, showing that he listened to Leah.
"Well, maybe I can change yer life."
The moment the words had left his mouth, Robbie instantly regretted them. He blushed heavily.
"Oh, I... I didn't mean to..."
However, Leah laughed out loud, then grinned at him.
"Oh, I'm hoping for you to change my life, Robert Scott. I'm hoping that you'll show me a new side to this boring life I'm living."
Robbie blinked a few times, then smiled gently.
If he could do anything for this bonnie breathtaking woman, then he'd do it for sure.
So he raised his glass and spoke out a toast.
"Well then... to a hopeful future. For both of us."
Their glasses clinked and both of them knew that it was only the beginning. There was so much more to come for them. And they couldn't wait to see it.