Work Text:
His head felt like it had been rammed into a wall. Multiple times. His whole body ached like when he’d been a teenager to the tenth power. Mildly, he wondered if he’d been captured by the Klingons again.
That couldn’t be though. Klingon ships smelled like sweat, blood and a vege definition of honour. Wherever Leonard was smelled like scented candles, and there was only one place he could hope to find scented candles burning.
“Chris, has anyone ever told you that the only good scented candle is ‘cinnamon’ and everything else is a crime against humanity?” Leonard complained, rolling onto his side and dropping his hand off the edge of the couch. It was partially true. Every scented candle that Leonard had ever had the displeasure of being in the same room as made him want to vomit. Either it was too strong or it was just really gross. Cinnamon was about the only scented candle that Leonard had ever liked, which is probably why Jim had about 50 in storage for special occasions.
“You can always leave the room and escape such a ‘vile’ smell.” Cracking an eye open, Leonard glared over at Christine and watched as she finished setting the dinner table. “I wouldn’t mind. Sharing a valentine's day breakfast with my girlfriend and my boss is kind of weird.”
“You are so weird.” he accused, closing his eyes once more. Leonard was ready to fall asleep again and forget about the day when he realized that something was wrong.
Not only had he never had an excuse to sleep on Christine’s couch, since he had an entire room to himself that he didn’t share with either of his boyfriends, but the last thing he recalled was laying on some random planet bleeding in Spock’s arms. He could even recall the numbness he had felt just before he passed out.
Jolting up in his spot, Leonard reached down to check his body for injuries, bandages or any sign that he had actually been hit with a phaser blast. When he found nothing, he looked up and examined the room.
Around him, Leonard found pictures, a dresser, the kitchen that Christine was standing in, and a large bed across the room from him with a human sized lump under the blankets. A lump that he could only assume was Nyota refusing to get out of bed at this ungodly hour.
“Chris…” this time when he spoke, Leonard’s voice was weak. There was absolutely no reason he should be in Christine and Nyota’s room. If he had been dreaming about the whole ‘dying’ thing he should have woken up in his room. If he hadn’t been dreaming, however, and they somehow managed to save him at the last minute through some miracle, he should be in Sickbay.
“Relax Doctor.” Setting the last candle down on the table, Christine turned around in her spot and smiled over at Leonard. “You’re right where you belong, though i’m sure Captain Kirk and Commander Spock would like to see you.”
“I don’t…” he looked back down at his body, almost expecting to see that Bandages had magically appeared around his abdomen. Nothing made any sense. “What...what is going on here Chris?”
“It’s...quite a lot to explain.” Christine said softly, walking over to Leonard’s side and laying a hand down on his shoulder “you might not even believe half of it, but i assure you everything is fine.”
“I should have a hole in my side.” Protested Leonard “blood on my skin, or bandages. I should be in medical.”
“It has been over a month since you were shot.” Leonard winced at the sound of that. A month was a long time to be out of it, and the new information left him with so many more questions.
His fingers traced over the part of skin where he had been shot. He could almost feel Spock’s hand there, attempting to apply pressure while he assured Leonard that he was going to make it. That he was going to survive.
None of this made any sense.
“I’m sure you have a lot of questions.” Chris smiled at him, her hand still on his shoulder for support “but right now i think it would be best if you get to the Captain’s quarters. He’d really like to see you.”
“He…” putting a hand in his hair, Leonard frowned as he tried to organize everything in his mind. How could he be gone a month? How could he find himself waking up in Christine and Nyota’s room, and Christine was somehow perfectly fine with that? What the hell had happened?
“Chris…” He glanced up at her, searching for an answer to even just one of his questions. He didn’t know which one he wanted an answer to the most, but he had an idea of which one would start making everything a bit easier to understand, hopefully. “Did...did i die?”
The smile on Christine’s face disappeared. Leonard wasn’t sure what was going through her mind at that exact moment, but from the way she frowned and narrowed her eyes, he could only guess that it was bad. Really bad.
“Oh…” he laid his hands down on his lap and lowered his eyes to the ground. He could only imagine what Jim and Spock went through without him around. The two of them were dependent on him in their own little ways, and it’s part of why Leonard loved their relationship.
Jim had always needed him to be a guiding figure. Someone who stepped in when he was about to do something stupid and turn him around. In return, Jim pulled Leonard into a new life that had terrified him, and made it fun. Made it the most amazing experience in Leonard’s life, even if he did still complain about it on a regular basis.
Spock on the other hand, needed Leonard to poke him in the side once in awhile and tell him it was ok to show emotions. He never did, but Leonard figured that hearing “it’s ok to express yourself” allowed him to feel more comfortable. Somehow it seemed to make it easier for Spock to relax and refocus himself before continuing on as if nothing had happened. It made Leonard feel special knowing that his overly emotional personality gave someone some sort of comfort.
He hoped they had been able to find some sort of balance between the two of them while he was gone. They may not be able to see each other as boyfriend material, but they were some of the most important people in Leonard’s life. He needed them to take care of each other while he was gone.
“I...i should…” for the first time that morning, Leonard took a second to look down at his body, sighing when he noticed that he was in nothing but his boxers. “I’m not going outside this room in my boxers, Chris…”
“But it’s such a lovely sight.” Leonard rolled his eyes while Christine pushed herself to her feet and headed towards her closet.
Giving his head a shake, Leonard pushed himself to his feet and frowned when something fell on his food. Glancing down towards the ground, he raised an eyebrow when he saw what looked like a Sehlat but in stuffy form.
“Did i steal this from someone?” he asked, bending over to pick the Sehlat off of the floor and examining it carefully.
“Kind of.” looking over at Christine, Leonard smiled when he saw her walking back with one of his hoodies in her hand. A hoodie that he recalled putting over Nyota’s shoulders on a particularly cold planet when hers got drenched after she fell into a lake. He had never asked for it back, so it made sense that Nyota and Christine had it. “Ambassador Sarek gave it to you.”
Ok, now Leonard was really confused. Who gives a grown man a stuffy, and when did that happen because he certainly didn’t remember.
“It’s really hard to explain.” Christine chuckled, handing over the hoodie before reaching down to the coffee table and picking up her Padd.
Placing the stuffy on the couch for the moment, Leonard carefully pulled his arms through the hoodie and fixed it on his shoulders before zipping it up. The outfit may not have come with pants, but at least he wouldn’t be almost completely naked while walking down the hallway.
Maybe he’d be lucky and no one would see him.
“Here.” He turned his attention back to Chris and raised an eyebrow when he saw her holding out her padd towards him. He wasn’t quite sure he really wanted any answers for his questions, given how Christine had responded to everything he had asked.
He looked down at the padd anyways, though, and as soon as he did he realized his mistake. “Is...is that…” he poked the screen for emphasis “m...me???”
“That is what the blood sample we took said.” His heart sank at the sound of that. Dead and then turned into a child? He wasn’t handling this information well at all, so he could only imagine how his boyfriends took it.
“Shit…” his eyes went wide at the realization. Jim was probably a mess and here he was wasting time in Christine’s room embarrassed to leave without pants “i should...i should go.”
“That would probably be a smart idea.” Christine chuckled, watching as Leonard turned around and picked up his stuffy once more and headed towards the door. “Oh, Doctor...i do have one question.” Turning around in his spot, Leonard raised an eyebrow. “I was just wondering...well, you never did name your new stuffy when you got it.” He glanced down at the Sehlat teddy in his arms and frowned. Was this really an important question?
“I don’t know,” he shrugged his shoulders, holding the Sehlat out for a second and examining it before letting a smile pull at his lips. “Maybe i’ll name it Jim. He can sit by Doctor Padsey in my room and Spock can complain about me cuddling a Sehlat when he leaves bed.”
Christine slapped a hand over her hand, attempting to stifle a laugh. It failed though, and Leonard was a little confused about what exactly he had said that was apparently so funny. He had more important things to worry about at the moment though.
“I’ll see you later.” he waved a hand back at her and headed out the door. He had somewhere he really needed to be.
Leonard did his best to keep his eyes forward as he made his way down the hallway. It was the only way he could hope to ignore all of the crewmen staring at him.
He wasn’t sure if it was the fact that he was apparently newly alive and an adult once again, or that he was currently walking down the hallways of the U.S.S. Enterprise in nothing but his boxers and hoodie with a Sehlat stuffy clutched against his chest. Whatever it was, he really wished they would look away. His day was already awkward enough.
Apparently, however, nothing was going to work out for him. At least, that’s the only reason Leonard could come up with for the fact that Sarek had just stepped out of his quarters directly in front of Leonard.
“Oh…” Leonard pulled himself to a hard stop and instinctively pulled the stuffy a bit closer to his chest. The last thing he wanted this morning was to have a conversation with Spock’s father while he was in his boxers. That was just too weird.
“Doctor McCoy.” If Leonard could roll his eyes at this exact moment, he probably would. Unfortunately it would look really bad and he’d probably get in a ton of shit with Spock for being disrespectful. “I see you have returned to your regular self?”
“Tall, grumpy, gruff, annoying and cute? Yeah, i’m back.” He beamed when Sarek raised an eyebrow at him “i mean, it’s better than being a kid right?”
“I would not be so sure.” Leonard frowned at the sound of that. There was no way anyone could possibly believe that he was any fun as a kid, could they? Leonard knew what he was like when he was younger. He was scared of everything, didn’t like people, hide in small places and used ‘Doctor Padsey’ to protect him from anyone who got too close.
He was ridiculous and there wasn’t a bit of his childhood that could be considered ‘cute’ or ‘fun’ in any sense of the words. At least, not in his opinion.
“I think Spock would view this as a good thing.” Leonard grumbled under his breath bitterly, wincing when Sarek narrowed his eyes at him. “I...i mean…” glancing down at the stuffy in his arms, Leonard sighed and held it out towards Sarek “i meant to say, thank you for letting me borrow this.”
Rather than taking the stuffy away, however, Sarek examined it for a moment and raised an eyebrow “it is not customary for a Vulcan to take back a gift.” Sarek explained calmly.
“I…” Leonard blinked in surprise. He had thought Sarek would have appreciated the chance to give the stuffy to whoever he had actually gotten it for, since he could only assume it wasn’t originally intended for Leonard. Giving his head a shake, he smiled softly and pulled the stuffy close to his chest again “thank you.”
Sarek nodded his head. There wasn’t much need for words between the two of them as a rule, and Leonard was sort of thankful for that. It was nice to interact with someone who didn’t need a five page essay about his life, job or anything else in order to consider their conversation fulfilling.
“I...i should go…” He whispered, looking down at his lack of pants awkwardly. He really needed to retrieve some clothing from his room, or wherever he might find some, before he tried talking to more people. “I need to see Jim and Spock.”
With a simply nod of his head, Sarek stepped past Leonard and made his way down the hallway. Leonard could only guess that he was going to the mess hall, probably to meet Amanda since the last few times they had met it seemed like she always got up first.
Leonard gripped his new stuffy close and smiled fondly. Maybe today wasn’t going to be as bad as he had originally thought.
Leonard was almost at Jim’s quarters, home free and away from the prying eyes of countless crewmembers. He could feel his muscles starting to relax at the mere thought of being out of the hallway and hidden away with a boyfriend or two to hug. It would be amazing to get some pants on before he stepped outside into the hallways again.
Except, apparently the universe had one more curveball to throw at him this morning.
“Doctor McCoy!” Leonard grunted when someone collided with his back, sending him tipping forward and reaching out to grasp the nearest available surface for support. Unfortunately, his search failed and he quickly found himself face first on the ground with an immensely heavy weight on his back.
A weight that could only belong to one person, since there weren't many people crazy enough to jump Leonard from behind, or who had a very distinct Scottish accent.
“Scotty, it’s hard to breath.” Leonard groaned, his face smushed against the cold floor of the Enterprise and Scotty’s arms wrapped around in neck in a death grip.
“Hmmm?” Scotty moved back a little, pulling Leonard’s head back with his arms before finally realizing what was going on and letting go of the Doctor with a yelp. “Oh, no. i’m so sorry. I just got a little excited and i just…”
Shoving the top half of his body off of the floor, Leonard drew in a harsh breath and attempted to shove Scotty off of him. “Ya, i get it.” He groaned, using his legs to push Scotty off to the side so he could turn around in his spot and sit down. “You got very excited.”
“Ya, sorry about that.” Scotty put a hand in his hair and chuckled “it’s just...well when you were a Wee lad you kind of...didn’t like me.”
Leonard raised an eyebrow “didn’t like you as in ‘keep away from me or i’ll cry’ or didn’t like you as in…”
“Didn’t like me as in ‘keep away or i’ll bite off your bloody hand’” Scotty supplied, chuckling when Leonard winced.
“Sorry about that…” he whispered “you are kind of scary for a tiny kid.”
“I’ll try to take that as some sort of compliment.” Scotty chuckled.
Turning his eyes towards the other man, Leonard frowned when he saw a familiar stuffed bear tucked away under Scotty’s arm. “W...why do you have my teddy bear?”
Scotty glanced down towards the stuffy in question and smiled. “Mr. Spock gave it to me to rep…” he stopped talking when Leonard narrowed his eyes at him “i just...i...you left it in your room and Doctor M’Banga.” Scotty held the teddy bear out towards Leonard and watched as the Doctor carefully reached out to take it. “Nothing bad happened, i assure you.”
“Uh huh.” Leonard frowned, pulling his teddy close to his chest beside his new Sehlat teddy “and i’m just supposed to believe that you choice just now to take it to Spock and Jim?”
“Well, you know…” Scotty chuckled nervously, running his fingers through his hair while he kicked the ground under his foot nervously. “I just thought maybe they would like to have it.”
“Mmm.” Leonard smirked. Taking a step forward and watching as Scotty glanced around the hallway. He could only assume that Scotty was looking for an escape from what he thought was going to be a very painful encounter, but the Engineer seemed to relax quickly when Leonard wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him into a hug.
“Uh, Doctor…” Scotty wiggled awkwardly in Leonard’s hug “this is kind of...you’re in your boxers…”
Leonard took a step back awkwardly and dropped his hands by his side “y...ya. Sorry.” he whispered. “I...i should get to Jim’s room…”
“That would be a good idea.” Scotty agreed with a chuckle.
Turning around in his spot, Leonard let out a shaky breath and continued down his path towards Jim’s room. Thankfully it wasn’t much further to go, so he figured he’d be able to avoid any more embarrassing situations.
“Oh, and Doctor.” he glanced back at Scotty “Make sure Doctor Padsey stays away from Cadet Krouser’s dog.”
Leonard wasn’t sure what was worse. The sudden rush of embarrassment that he felt at the loud proclamation of his stuffed animal’s name, or the curiosity as to why exactly Scotty would be talking about Cadet Krouser’s dog.
On second thought, he probably didn’t want an answer to that second question. It would most likely lead to a very angry Leonard and a terrified dog.
Holding Leonard’s ring over his head, Spock examined it carefully while Jim slept beside him with his face buried in Spock’s side. He didn’t know why, but seeing the soft blue stone in the middle and feeling the smooth silver metal under his fingers made him feel warm. It was almost as if Leonard was there with him, holding onto his hand through the ring.
It was an illogical feeling, but Spock couldn’t help but crave it. Maybe Leo was correct. Maybe he really did need to feel like Leonard was still there in some way. He only wished that he could have the real Leonard there beside him holding his hands.
They didn’t know when Leo would grow up though, or if he ever would, and they had one day left before they would have to say goodbye and watch Admiral Marcus take the little boy onto a shuttle and back to earth, where they may never see him again.
Jim moved against his side, sliding an arm over his waist and pulling him close in his sleep. Glancing down at the Captain, Spock drew in a deep breath and slipped the ring onto his pinky finger. Jim needed him to be strong at this time. To support him through whatever may happen, and Spock knew that Leonard would want him to do exactly that.
There was no way he could doubt it. Leonard always talked about making sure Jim was safe, loved and cared for. It was one of his main worries and something that he seemed to love about the relationships he had with Jim and Spock. He loved worrying about them, even if it meant that he would become aggravated and annoyed with them once in awhile.
So that’s what Spock would do. Regardless of what happened, Spock would be the support that Jim needed to make it through. There wouldn’t be the tender kisses and sweet ‘i love you’s’ that he had seen Leonard give to Jim multiple times in the years they had been together, but Spock would do what he could for Jim.
The alarm on Jim’s nightstand went off, blaring through the room as a warning to the Captain that it was time to get up. Spock never understood Jim’s need for such a thing, though he was aware of the Captain’s inability to get a full 8 hours of sleep that was required for the standard human to function throughout the day.
Unfortunately, it seemed as though the alarm did not do its job sufficiently. At least, that’s the only conclusion that Spock could come to when Jim reached over him and slammed the snooze button with a grumble before turning to his original position and hiding his face in Spock’s side once more.
“Jim…” Spock reached out and placed a hand on Jim’s shoulder, giving him a gentle shake and frowning when Jim simply pulled himself closer to Spock’s side and grumbled. “Jim it is time to wake up.”
“Don’t want to.” Jim huffed in annoyance as he moved his hand off of Spock’s waist and used it to pull the blanket over his head.
Sighing., Spock reached out to shake Jim once again when the doorbell to Jim’s quarters rang.
“Go away!” Jim called out in annoyance, grumbling when Spock shifted away from him and got out of bed. “Spock don’t answer, they’ll only want to talk.”
“It could be important.” Spock pointed out, rolling his eyes when Jim simply pulled his blanket closer and hide himself as much as he could under it. In Spock’s experience, Jim was the worst in the morning, but he had never been present when the Captain was forced to wake up. He had no idea how Leonard had handled any of this, and he kind of wished that there was an instruction manual to being in a relationship with James T. Kirk.
Making his way over to the door, Spock reached out and waved a hand over the panel off to the side and watched as the door slide open slowly to reveal a very odd sight.
“Spock!” He didn’t have much time to process what was going on before he found himself with an arm full of one very adult Leonard H. McCoy.
This was an interesting start to his day.