Fic: ... and Medical Expertise
Feb. 21st, 2011 04:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
leandraholmesTitle: ... and Medical Expertise
Chapters: 6 of 7, parts 1 & 2, parts 3 & 4, part 5
Pairing: Kirk/Spock (Reboot)
Word Count: 1490
Rating: PG
Genre: Romance with a trace of humor; first-time
Summary: What happens when two friends discover deeper feelings for another but can't seem to sort it out? This Chapter is Jim's POV
A/N: Following the events of Of Enclosed Quarters and Eight-Legged Creatures but can be read as stand-alone.
This one is Bones' POV again, the continuation of "Of Courtship Rituals..."
VI.
So that had finally passed. No more pining and fretting and sad puppy-dog eyes anymore. Smirks and dirty grins and heavy eyebrow raising instead, but at least the mood on the ship, especially among the bridge crew, had improved drastically. Sure, Jim seemed slightly distracted – the others were starting to notice too – but that was still better than having a captain moping for the loss of his best officer, dear friend and… well… lover, boyfriend. Whatever they were now.
So naturally, Leonard was in quite a good mood as well. Sickbay was rather quiet these days, except for two young ensigns puking their guts out after having consumed (illegally purchased) Romulan Ale, but aside from that, the chief medical officer had had a lot of time to dedicate himself to some medical research in between routine checkups and giving those misbehaving youngsters a dressing-down. Which had been kind of fun. A lot of fun. Leonard knew people sometimes got extremely intimidated by him though he didn't really know why.
But the improved overall mood and quiet time wasn't the only reason why Leonard was content about the turn of events. He, himself, would have missed Spock, all that bickering and lengthy arguments about logic, playing chess with Spock or watching Jim beat that Vulcan ass at it. And most of all, he was extremely pleased things had worked out for his best friend and the person that was, even though he'd never admit it, the next best thing.
The only thing he... well, regretted ever so slightly was the fact that he hadn't seen much of Jim the past few days.
He had to blink in surprise as, just a few minutes after he had thought this, the doors of his office in sick bay slid open and Jim stepped in, two mugs of coffee in his hands and a wider than usual smile on his face.
“Jim, what can I do for you?” he asked with slight skepticism. If Jim was doing him a favor without having been asked for it there had to be something specific he wanted.
Nevertheless, the captain just shrugged and walked over, setting one of the two mugs on Leonard's desk and slumping down in the chair across of him. “I've some spare time after finishing all those reports. Thought I'd come by and see how you're doing.”
“Ah,” Leonard replied, not fully convinced. “Well thanks for the coffee. And I'm doing good. Picked up some of my earlier research again. Been going through my old notes and records.”
“Oh, sounds good. Anything interesting?”
“Nothing you'd understand,” Leonard replied, suppressing his teasing smirk. Clearly, Jim was just trying to make smalltalk until he'd be willing to stop beating about the proverbial bush.
“I'd feel offended and tell you that I'm smarter than you think. But then again I didn't take Exobiology, so...” He shrugged again and took a sip of his coffee.
“Yeah. Right. On second thought, I'm researching the connection between stress-induced hormonal imbalance and allergies. S'pose you know a thing or two about allergies and hormones.”
Jim laughed and shook his head. “Well... kinda.” He cleared his throat and let his gaze drift to the PADDs lying on Leonard's desk. “But that really does sound interesting. And you're a brilliant doctor. There's a good chance you'll make some ground-breaking medical discovery soon.”
“Yeah, fat chance”, Leonard replied sarcastically. He did enjoy this topic, no denying that, but allergies weren't exactly the biggest still unsolved medical mysteries. “I've only just begun comparing the growth hormone and histamine levels of a number of test subjects, and that's just the first step. Medical research ain't exactly solving a crossword puzzle.”
“Oh. Well.... then maybe you won't get there today or tomorrow, but I fully trust in your abilities as a scientist and physician.”
Oh God, what did Jim want? If he was complimenting Leonard like this it had to be something big. Leonard contemplated simply asking his friend to cut to the chase, but knowing Jim this would be a futile effort as the captain would deny having something on his mind when being asked. Whatever Jim said or did, especially when it was a private matter, he did it on his own terms.
“Thanks, Jim”, he said instead and gave his friend a brief smile. “But this is more a hobby of mine than anything. Just using some quiet time to do what I haven't had much time for recently. But it's looking good so far.”
“Good, good, that's interesting,” Jim smiled. “Hey speaking about medical facts and stuff, what do you know about Vulcan anatomy?”
It was rather unfortunate that Leonard had taken a large mouth full of coffee the moment Jim had uttered the words, and he couldn't fully prevent from choking on the liquid, coughing and, thankfully enough, spitting most of it back into his mug.
“Random”, he croaked, blinking against the tears that had shot into his eyes and coughing a few more times.
Unlike his usual reactions, Jim did not look mischievously amused at Leonard's misfortune; he just smiled lopsidedly, biting his lower lip and giving his friend an apologetic glance that made him look very young and almost innocent. That little bastard.
“Why are you asking?” He tried to sound as if he had no clue.
“Oh, well, just... curious,” Jim replied, shrugging a little too fake.
Leonard cleared his throat. “Where to begin? Hm, well they have additional teeth, extremely good hearing, their heart is where our liver would be and the males have retracting penises that grow to be a foot long.”
It was really hard not to burst out laughing at Jim's utterly shocked expression: his eyes widened, his mouth slightly open he stared at Leonard who gave him a perfectly serious expression. Maybe a bit too serious.
“Oh... Oh! You asshole!” Jim exclaimed in a half laugh then and breathed out in relief.
Leonard laughed. “You had it comin'.”
“F-for what exactly?”
“For not asking directly what you want to know.”
Again, Jim's expression showed utter confusion and even mind shock as he stared at his friend. Leonard could see the proverbial wheels rattling behind that thick skull of Jim's.
“You mean... you... you know??!”
“I'm not an idiot, Jim. Of course I know. Who doesn't?”
Silence.
Leonard rolled his eyes and decided he was over with his little revenge for Jim making him choke on his coffee. “Jim, I'm your friend. There isn't much about you that I don't know. Unfortunately,” he added with a sarcastic smirk.
The younger man shrugged and gave a sheepish chuckle. “Okay. Um... but when you're saying 'who doesn't', does that... I mean...”
“Relax. I might have exaggerated a bit there,” Leonard interrupted before the man would pee his pants. “Though, do you need for this to be a secret?”
The time for joking and teasing seemed over, the first shock at the awkwardness of the conversation gone. Jim's brow furrowed for a moment before a small smile appeared on his lips. “Well, not exactly. Not like that. It's just... Spock's not exactly the PDA kinda person, you know? Not sure if he'd be comfortable with people knowing. And then, you know what the crew can be like sometimes. All that gossip and talk.”
Leonard nodded, knowing exactly what Jim was talking about. It was something entirely different if their captain had a fling with a guest on the Enterprise, but a relationship with a fellow crew member, one of the senior bridge officers on tops, could be frowned upon or misunderstood.
“Well, Jim. Running the risk of sounding like a woman, but I'm happy for you, honestly.”
The big grin returned to Jim's features and his eyes lit up in a way Leonard had rarely seen.
“Wow, didn't know you could be this sappy”, Jim said but raised his coffee mug in a hinted toast.
Leonard snorted, this time luckily before he took another sip of coffee. “So you and the devil himself, huh? Can't say I saw that one coming.”
“Hey, you gotta stop calling him that.”
“Okay. You and the green-blooded hobgoblin then.”
Jim rolled his eyes but laughed.
It was one of those rare moments between friends that made Leonard feel rather warm inside, knowing that, despite his small worries and doubts, he still was the person Jim relied on, and ,despite the slight awkwardness that simply seemed to be natural between guys, could share the things that were most important to them. And they both seemed to enjoy this moment; silence between them as there wasn't any need for more to be said.
Until Jim's brow twisted slightly. “So, um... about Vulcan anatomy...”
~ TBC ~
The final part should be finished sometime today or tomorrow. I hope. It's the 'Grand Finale' ;)
Chapters: 6 of 7, parts 1 & 2, parts 3 & 4, part 5
Pairing: Kirk/Spock (Reboot)
Word Count: 1490
Rating: PG
Genre: Romance with a trace of humor; first-time
Summary: What happens when two friends discover deeper feelings for another but can't seem to sort it out? This Chapter is Jim's POV
A/N: Following the events of Of Enclosed Quarters and Eight-Legged Creatures but can be read as stand-alone.
This one is Bones' POV again, the continuation of "Of Courtship Rituals..."
So that had finally passed. No more pining and fretting and sad puppy-dog eyes anymore. Smirks and dirty grins and heavy eyebrow raising instead, but at least the mood on the ship, especially among the bridge crew, had improved drastically. Sure, Jim seemed slightly distracted – the others were starting to notice too – but that was still better than having a captain moping for the loss of his best officer, dear friend and… well… lover, boyfriend. Whatever they were now.
So naturally, Leonard was in quite a good mood as well. Sickbay was rather quiet these days, except for two young ensigns puking their guts out after having consumed (illegally purchased) Romulan Ale, but aside from that, the chief medical officer had had a lot of time to dedicate himself to some medical research in between routine checkups and giving those misbehaving youngsters a dressing-down. Which had been kind of fun. A lot of fun. Leonard knew people sometimes got extremely intimidated by him though he didn't really know why.
But the improved overall mood and quiet time wasn't the only reason why Leonard was content about the turn of events. He, himself, would have missed Spock, all that bickering and lengthy arguments about logic, playing chess with Spock or watching Jim beat that Vulcan ass at it. And most of all, he was extremely pleased things had worked out for his best friend and the person that was, even though he'd never admit it, the next best thing.
The only thing he... well, regretted ever so slightly was the fact that he hadn't seen much of Jim the past few days.
He had to blink in surprise as, just a few minutes after he had thought this, the doors of his office in sick bay slid open and Jim stepped in, two mugs of coffee in his hands and a wider than usual smile on his face.
“Jim, what can I do for you?” he asked with slight skepticism. If Jim was doing him a favor without having been asked for it there had to be something specific he wanted.
Nevertheless, the captain just shrugged and walked over, setting one of the two mugs on Leonard's desk and slumping down in the chair across of him. “I've some spare time after finishing all those reports. Thought I'd come by and see how you're doing.”
“Ah,” Leonard replied, not fully convinced. “Well thanks for the coffee. And I'm doing good. Picked up some of my earlier research again. Been going through my old notes and records.”
“Oh, sounds good. Anything interesting?”
“Nothing you'd understand,” Leonard replied, suppressing his teasing smirk. Clearly, Jim was just trying to make smalltalk until he'd be willing to stop beating about the proverbial bush.
“I'd feel offended and tell you that I'm smarter than you think. But then again I didn't take Exobiology, so...” He shrugged again and took a sip of his coffee.
“Yeah. Right. On second thought, I'm researching the connection between stress-induced hormonal imbalance and allergies. S'pose you know a thing or two about allergies and hormones.”
Jim laughed and shook his head. “Well... kinda.” He cleared his throat and let his gaze drift to the PADDs lying on Leonard's desk. “But that really does sound interesting. And you're a brilliant doctor. There's a good chance you'll make some ground-breaking medical discovery soon.”
“Yeah, fat chance”, Leonard replied sarcastically. He did enjoy this topic, no denying that, but allergies weren't exactly the biggest still unsolved medical mysteries. “I've only just begun comparing the growth hormone and histamine levels of a number of test subjects, and that's just the first step. Medical research ain't exactly solving a crossword puzzle.”
“Oh. Well.... then maybe you won't get there today or tomorrow, but I fully trust in your abilities as a scientist and physician.”
Oh God, what did Jim want? If he was complimenting Leonard like this it had to be something big. Leonard contemplated simply asking his friend to cut to the chase, but knowing Jim this would be a futile effort as the captain would deny having something on his mind when being asked. Whatever Jim said or did, especially when it was a private matter, he did it on his own terms.
“Thanks, Jim”, he said instead and gave his friend a brief smile. “But this is more a hobby of mine than anything. Just using some quiet time to do what I haven't had much time for recently. But it's looking good so far.”
“Good, good, that's interesting,” Jim smiled. “Hey speaking about medical facts and stuff, what do you know about Vulcan anatomy?”
It was rather unfortunate that Leonard had taken a large mouth full of coffee the moment Jim had uttered the words, and he couldn't fully prevent from choking on the liquid, coughing and, thankfully enough, spitting most of it back into his mug.
“Random”, he croaked, blinking against the tears that had shot into his eyes and coughing a few more times.
Unlike his usual reactions, Jim did not look mischievously amused at Leonard's misfortune; he just smiled lopsidedly, biting his lower lip and giving his friend an apologetic glance that made him look very young and almost innocent. That little bastard.
“Why are you asking?” He tried to sound as if he had no clue.
“Oh, well, just... curious,” Jim replied, shrugging a little too fake.
Leonard cleared his throat. “Where to begin? Hm, well they have additional teeth, extremely good hearing, their heart is where our liver would be and the males have retracting penises that grow to be a foot long.”
It was really hard not to burst out laughing at Jim's utterly shocked expression: his eyes widened, his mouth slightly open he stared at Leonard who gave him a perfectly serious expression. Maybe a bit too serious.
“Oh... Oh! You asshole!” Jim exclaimed in a half laugh then and breathed out in relief.
Leonard laughed. “You had it comin'.”
“F-for what exactly?”
“For not asking directly what you want to know.”
Again, Jim's expression showed utter confusion and even mind shock as he stared at his friend. Leonard could see the proverbial wheels rattling behind that thick skull of Jim's.
“You mean... you... you know??!”
“I'm not an idiot, Jim. Of course I know. Who doesn't?”
Silence.
Leonard rolled his eyes and decided he was over with his little revenge for Jim making him choke on his coffee. “Jim, I'm your friend. There isn't much about you that I don't know. Unfortunately,” he added with a sarcastic smirk.
The younger man shrugged and gave a sheepish chuckle. “Okay. Um... but when you're saying 'who doesn't', does that... I mean...”
“Relax. I might have exaggerated a bit there,” Leonard interrupted before the man would pee his pants. “Though, do you need for this to be a secret?”
The time for joking and teasing seemed over, the first shock at the awkwardness of the conversation gone. Jim's brow furrowed for a moment before a small smile appeared on his lips. “Well, not exactly. Not like that. It's just... Spock's not exactly the PDA kinda person, you know? Not sure if he'd be comfortable with people knowing. And then, you know what the crew can be like sometimes. All that gossip and talk.”
Leonard nodded, knowing exactly what Jim was talking about. It was something entirely different if their captain had a fling with a guest on the Enterprise, but a relationship with a fellow crew member, one of the senior bridge officers on tops, could be frowned upon or misunderstood.
“Well, Jim. Running the risk of sounding like a woman, but I'm happy for you, honestly.”
The big grin returned to Jim's features and his eyes lit up in a way Leonard had rarely seen.
“Wow, didn't know you could be this sappy”, Jim said but raised his coffee mug in a hinted toast.
Leonard snorted, this time luckily before he took another sip of coffee. “So you and the devil himself, huh? Can't say I saw that one coming.”
“Hey, you gotta stop calling him that.”
“Okay. You and the green-blooded hobgoblin then.”
Jim rolled his eyes but laughed.
It was one of those rare moments between friends that made Leonard feel rather warm inside, knowing that, despite his small worries and doubts, he still was the person Jim relied on, and ,despite the slight awkwardness that simply seemed to be natural between guys, could share the things that were most important to them. And they both seemed to enjoy this moment; silence between them as there wasn't any need for more to be said.
Until Jim's brow twisted slightly. “So, um... about Vulcan anatomy...”
~ TBC ~
