“…do you love me?”

“Of course I do. You know that, but... it don’t really give me any idea of what the hell to say or do, does it?”

“Is that not a bit informal for  the workplace?”

“Not for friends. And we’re friends, aren’t we?”

the wicked rest EASY while the RIGHTEOUS lose SLEEP.

“Oh, doctor. Don’t be such a  grump.”

“Okay, fine. How ‘bout we start with you callin’ me Leonard?”

  “ —– As do I. The only time I wish to interfere is when they are in need of help or healing… otherwise it is far safer for all to keep sufficient distance. “  Mahia answered, voice softening. 

“Exactly,” Bones said, surprised someone actually agreed with him. It was a... touchy subject on the Enterprise. “I mean, what’s gettin’ involved gonna get us, anyway? A dramatic chase off the planet and a new enemy to add to the list? No thanks.”

Mika’s jaw dropped slightly and she stared at him in disbelief. She honestly thought he’d tell her to never mention this to anyone then leave but… She smiled at him, gently grasping his shirt collar and pulled him closer. “That is a request I will most happily oblige you, Leonard.” She pressed her lips his once more. She pulled away with a smile and gingerly climbed into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. “So…will I now be able to find out all the secrets of your magic hands?” She teased with a smile, gently kissing him again.    

No matter how forward he was being, and how she had been the one to initiate the situation to begin with, Leonard was still shocked when his collar was grabbed. His lips parted in surprise, which only strengthened the kiss she planted on them a second later, which in turn only made him want to kiss her more. He almost protested to her pulling away, but her next move left nothing else to be desired. He returned each kiss she gave him with a fervent excitement, somehow feeling like they had been doing this for years. “That depends,” he said quietly, his hands traveling to her hips at the mention. He kissed her again before continuing with a wry smile. “What time you gotta get up in the morning?”

Scotty could tolerate a lot of things – in fact, most the time he was more than happy to laugh it off, even when the jokes were at his expense. Most of the crew members knew better than to mess with his ship; most of them didn’t dare to incur his wrath in such a matter, but apparently Bones hadn’t gotten the memo. Now it was bloody well war! “I will NOT! Ye put dead Tribbles in the ventilation systems of MY ship! I mean, I might have been good humoured about it, had it been my locker … or Christ, even my bed! But ye went too far this time, McCoy!”  Rounding one of the beds with another oozing Tribble held above his head, the engineer afforded the CMO a look that could have killed. The attempt at deflection only incensed him further and he lobbed yet another dead alien at the doctor, which sailed over his head and connected with a nearby window with a sickly SPLAT. “Oh leave it out, ya great numpty!! Jim loves this ship as much as I do, but YOU -  Mr I-Kick-The-Medical-Scanners-When-They-Don’t-Work?? You just HAD to take it that one step too far didn’t ye!?” 

Bones was past being shocked. He moved right by trying to stop Scotty from hurling dead mammals at him and began to resent the entire situation in general. He had OBVIOUSLY underestimated the pure gall of the Scot, which, in hindsight, was his first mistake. His second, apparently, had been showing his face in the medbay today, without thinking of the very wet and STICKY consequences that would occur. His own anger started to mirror Scotty’s, and he put his hands on the medbed in front of him and assuming an angry position. “Oh, c’mon, man! Get yourself together long enough to realize the ship ain’t ALIVE!” It was a low blow to the engineer, and Bones knew it - but currently, he was slimed with Tribble guts, and the hypocrisy of his own situation failed to make a dent in his anger. 

The doctor struggled to keep eye-contact with Scotty when his look became sinister, but for his own pride, he held the stare. Bones winced noticeably at the disgusting sound the animal made when it hit the window, swallowing with some difficulty. “Jim’s done worse, and you know it! It may’ve not been to you, but he has!” Bones could recall a few equally disgusting pranks pulled at the academy, but this was much more personal somehow. Maybe it was jut because this whole show was being played out in front of everyone who were meant to respect him. “Oh, so it’s MY FAULT my scanners don’t work?! And here I was, thinkin’ it was the goddamn ENGINEER’S job to fix them!” 

I loved last scene in Beyond.

“But, why, Len? What did I ever do?”

She couldn’t control the tears rolling down her face as she continued walking. Why was he doing this her? She thought he loved her…

“You... you didn’t...”

He had to do this. It was either this, or... or they kill her. He just hoped he’d piss her off enough so that she’d hit him. Maybe then they’d let her go...

“This!” She shoved the small screen into his palms, looking for all the world like a slightly lost child. “You’re the doctor, Leonard!” She folded her arms across her chest, more for comfort than out of anger. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh or cry. “I’m not reading that right. I can’t be. Can I?” Jocelyn’s voice rose sharply, the question almost a plea. 

His lips thinned in borderline annoyance when she shoved the screen at him, but he took it with curiosity. What could have Jocelyn so panicked? What was important enough for her eyes to gleam with worry, and not anger from all of their fighting? Leonard raised both eyebrows at her words, looking down at the screen to see what all the fuss was about...

His stomach plummeted so quickly that he was momentarily afraid it would tear his diaphragm. No. No. No. It couldn’t be. Could it? Maybe it could. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t breathe. 

“Joss, you... you read it right,” he croaked out, trying to hand her the screen back, suddenly not wanting to be touching it anymore. “I think... I think I’m gonna be sick...”

“If you think that I’m leaving you here, you’re insane!” She practically growled at him as she yanked off her jacket and threw it over him to keep him as warm as possible. “While the wind may be going down, the damn lightning is going off like it’s Friday night lights. There’s no way I’m going to be able to get in touch with the ship, let alone get beamed back up right now.” She ran her face over her hands with a frustrated sigh. “Leonard,” she began looking down at his leg. “I have to pull this out and stop the bleeding…”

She bit her lip and looked up at him. “But there’s really only one way I know how to do that right now…and it’s going to hurt like hell…unless you know any other way, you’re the doctor not me…” She didn’t want to use that option but she was terrified he’d bleed to death if she didn’t. Mika gently brushed his hair back a bit, “You have to let me know what you want to do…and leaving you here is not a fucking option!”

Not insane, just dying. 

The words were in his mind, but he didn’t dare speak them aloud - they would only worry Mika more, and she already looked so scared. He didn’t like the fact that she was going to sacrifice her own safety for him, but part of him didn’t want her to go. If he really was dying - which, if they didn’t do as Mika suggested and stop the bleeding - he didn’t want to do it alone.

He couldn’t bring himself to respond to most of what she said, if only because his ability to speak seemed to drip away with every drop of blood that left his system. But when she ended her sentence with a firmly decided statement, his eyes wandered away form his wound and to her gaze, a mixture of pain, fear, and gratitude in his own. “Okay,” he finally said, straightening a little against the cave wall with a sharp groan. “If y’ain’t gonna leave, then I guess I’ll just have to get myself to walk and we can both get - ah - outta here.” He hissed through his teeth as another shot of pain went through his thigh. “But in order to do that... yeah, m’gonna need you’re help,” he said apologetically, looking down at his wound again. "Now, just... listen to me very carefully, okay? We can't... afford to slip up if we wanna... go home..."