Reading Time: 96 Minutes

Title: Against All Odds
Author: Meri
Fandom: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Drama, Family, Romance, Science Fiction, Slash
Relationship(s): Captain Christopher Pike/Dr. Leonard McCoy
Content Rating: R
Warnings: *No Mandatory Warnings Apply. Illegal drugging of characters, Very brief BDSM negotiation that doesn’t end up going anywhere, Discussions Of Child Abuse, Discussions of Mental Health Issues
Beta: SerpentsGarden. Thank you for your stellar beta. Also Grammarly and Text Aloud
Word Count: 76,369
Summary: Doctor Leonard McCoy and Captain Christopher Pike both have their share of struggles. Their first meeting should have gone very differently than it did. McCoy was looking for one thing but ended up finding something completely unexpected. At their second meeting, Doctor McCoy saves Captain Pike’s life, although Pike is unconscious at the time. Their third meeting didn’t go as expected either. By the fourth time they meet, they can’t ignore the undeniable connection between them. Could it be a soul bond? As far as either of them knew, soul bonds weren’t supposed to happen the way this one did.

After a while, they began to wonder if there was a larger conspiracy that was trying to keep them apart.
Artist: ImaliFegen89 — thanks so much for your lovely artwork!

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Chapter One

Risa
Three Days Before the Accident

At almost any other time, Dr. Leonard McCoy found the atmosphere on Risa electric and dazzling. Not tonight, though. Even as the music pulsed from every direction, a mix of deep bass beats, melodic alien tunes, and a fusion of nearly everything else, all drifting through the humid air, Len wasn’t in the mood to appreciate it.

He moved through the crowded streets, not making eye contact with anyone. His brother-in-law, Billy-Ray Carson, owned a private club on this street. It was pretty exclusive, and Len probably wouldn’t even be here at all if it weren’t for that. But the club catered to a variety of specific needs, and Len had one of those needs.

There was a small brass sign that said: Votre Choix, Your Choice. The bouncer outside waved him through without him saying anything. It was quiet and cool inside and a relief from the heat of the night.

Len pressed the chime on Billy-Ray’s office door and waited until he heard “Come,” before it opened.

“Lenny,” Billy-Ray said, smiling and coming around his desk to wrap him in a hug.

Len was not a small man by any means, standing over six feet tall, with broad shoulders and a muscular build from his years in Starfleet and having to maintain his fitness, but Billy-Ray was much taller and broader. His dark hair, now shot through with gray, fell past his shoulders in messy waves.

“What brings you here tonight?” Billy-Ray asked, pulling back from the hug.

“The usual,” Len said, knowing Billy-Ray wouldn’t ask too many questions. Since he’d explained what he was looking for, Billy-Ray hadn’t asked him again about his needs. He sat in the chair in front of his desk, and Billy-Ray leaned on the edge of his desk next to him.

“It’s that bad again,” Billy-Ray asked. But he didn’t ask anything else, which was good. Len could not explain right now. Maybe when he left, but he doubted that, too.

Len just nodded. “I need the same thing that I always do,” he said. He hated to ask, and a part of him hated what was coming, but he needed it. At this point, he was holding himself together by the fraying threads of his strength of will. He felt like he was going to come apart at the seams at any second. The next crisis would rend him apart if he didn’t get some relief.

“I know,” Billy-Ray said, understanding in his voice. “And tonight, you’re in luck. Someone is here that I know well and trust with you. Especially given everything.”

Len raised an eyebrow at him. “Really? You seemed kind of upset the last couple of times I was here for this.”

“Not upset, so much as worried about you,” Billy-Ray said. “I would never comment on what someone needs or wants. I just want you to be safe with it.”

Len stood. “That said, you know what I need –”

“Yeah, I know. So go to Bar Two, and there is a gray-haired man with really styled hair, wearing plain jeans and a white t-shirt with a leather jacket over it. He’ll be sitting at the bar. Tell him I sent you. He’ll give you what you want. But he’ll make you spell it out.”

“I like him already,” Len said. He appreciated someone who didn’t take anything for granted. This was hard enough for him to do.

*****

The bars in Billy-Ray’s club were numbered and had specific designations regarding what the patrons wanted. Bar Two was the most upscale of all and was for particular types of tastes and for specific people. Billy-Ray curated it. It made it less daunting to find what one was looking for. And for Len, who wanted to be broken but not injured, it was a safe place.

Bar Two was inviting, the atmosphere relaxing, with ambient lighting that glowed softly in muted golds and deep violets. The bar’s surface was a smooth expanse of dark quartz infused with tiny specks of silver that shimmered under the light. To Len, it always reminded him of being in space, though he’d never found being in space to be relaxing.

The bartender, Anna, was an older human woman who had been there every time Len had come in, and he knew that Billy-Ray had hired her just after he’d bought the place. Aside from ordering a drink or two, Len had never exchanged more than a handful of words with her.

He approached her now and asked for some water. It wouldn’t do for him to drink anything alcoholic before this kind of encounter. She handed it to him.

Len murmured his thanks. He took a sip of the water, and it relieved the dryness of his mouth. He listened to the muted fusion of music, not really recognizing it. But it gave him something to do while finishing his water. It was time to move on to the main event.

When he scanned the bar, the guy with very styled gray hair was easy to find. Len wondered how much time and effort he put into that hair, and given his worn-out jeans and plain white T-shirt, that seemed slightly eccentric. But Len liked the dichotomy of it.

Len slid into the seat next to him and got his first look at his face. Very good-looking. But Len didn’t care that much about what his oblivion provider looked like, only what they gave him. “So, hi. Billy-Ray, who you might know as William, sent me.”

The man turned to face him and smiled. He had a strong jawline, a wide mouth, and kind-looking light blue eyes. Very nice. “Billy-Ray? I’ve never heard anyone call him that.”

“I’ve known him for a very long time,” Len said. “Does it matter?”

“How do you know him?” the man asked, a hint of command in his tone.

Len hesitated for a minute, but Billy-Ray said that he trusted this guy with him, which meant he knew him well enough to say that.

“He’s my brother-in-law,” Len said by way of an explanation.

And the man frowned. “I didn’t know he was married.”

Something in the way he said that made Len sit up. Why would he care, anyway? “He’s not. Not anymore, but he was to my sister,” Len explained.

“Divorced?”

Len shook his head. “She passed many years ago.”

“I’m sorry,” the man said sincerely.

“Me, too. I need something to call you,” Len said. “And I don’t do, sir, or master or anything like that.”

He laughed at that, and damn, he had a very engaging smile. “I can understand that. Chris is fine.”

“Okay, Chris.” Len wondered if that was his real name or what. But that was fine, too. Hopefully, after tonight, he wasn’t going to see him again.

“Do you want a drink?” Chris asked, waving a hand toward the bartender.

Len shook his head. He didn’t want his senses impaired.

Chris set his empty glass down on the bar. “Why don’t you tell me what you want tonight?”

“Oblivion,” said Len without hesitation.

“And how do we achieve that for you?” Chris asked earnestly, as if it mattered.

Len licked his lips and looked down. “Usually, with a strap.”

He just nodded. “I need more details. Most people don’t want that without something before it. Or at least, something to set the scene.”

“I don’t want a scene,” Len said, and he could tell he’d shocked Chris.

“You just want someone to beat you?”

“Yes.”

Chris glanced at him and frowned again. Len could sense his discomfort. Billy-Ray had made a mistake this time.

Len slid off the stool. “I think –”

“I am trying hard not to ask why,” Chris said. “I know it’s none of my business, but I like to understand what exactly I’m doing beyond the obvious.”

And something about the way he said that made Len want to tell him. Or maybe it was just his presence that was somehow, Len didn’t know, comforting maybe? “I use the physical pain to break through my mental pain. And then the fucking after gives me a taste of oblivion. Without drugs or alcohol.” These were not options for Len, given his need to be sober enough to do surgery on a moment’s notice. And sobering meds didn’t work half so well as actually being sober.

Chris nodded. “Have you ever tried anything else to break through the emotional pain?”

Wait. What? The question surprised the hell out of Len enough for him to answer it. “No. Once I found something that worked, I never thought about looking for anything else.”

“Would you like to?” Chris asked earnestly. “I’ve been told I’m very good.”

Len could believe that, and a part of him wanted to take Chris up on that offer, for a lot of reasons. Some of them had to do with the amount of pain he’d already dealt with in his life, especially lately. Some of them had to do with Chris, himself. He seemed so much more than just an attractive man. Len liked being near him. He felt steady and, more importantly, safe. There were few enough people in his life that he could say that about. But this was a one-night arrangement, and that didn’t leave room for anything else.

The other problem was… what was the problem? If it didn’t work, would it be enough help to get through until the next time? Did he want to chance that? But he could feel something shifting inside him.

With a smile that Len hoped was at least slightly salacious, he met Chris’ eyes. “Just how good are you?”

Chris smiled at that. “Pretty damned good.”

“Can you give me a taste of oblivion without the pain first?” Len asked. He could hear how hopeful he sounded, and there was nothing he could do about that. Maybe it didn’t have to hurt.

“I can try,” Chris promised. “I would like to try. But I’ve already promised to be what you need tonight.”

“I’m going to hold you to that,” Len agreed.

“What’s your safe word?”

It was going to sound strange in this context, but Len shrugged. “Stop.”

“Seriously?” Chris laughed. “That’s not a safe word.”

“It is for me. Before this, I didn’t say anything until I was done,” Len explained. “And then it was time to stop.”

“I guess that will work,” Chris said and seemed amused. “I will stop if you say to.”

“I thought this was all about the pleasure.”

“Pleasure can be very intense, I promise you that.” Chris’ tone was serious, and Len wanted to believe that it was possible.

God, Len hoped so. “I guess I’m going to find out.”

“I have a room for the night,” Chris said. “But I have to leave early tomorrow morning.”

Len nodded. “Okay. We should get started.”

*****

Chris led him upstairs to one of the high-end rooms. He palmed the door, and it snicked open.

Len looked around. The room looked like any upscale luxury hotel, opulent and comforting at the same time. The walls were made of pale panels of what looked like white matte-finished metal, illuminated with off-set lighting. Chris turned the lights down when they came in. The bed was on a low platform and dominated the room.

“Where do we start?” Len asked, standing there looking at Chris across the room.

“Why don’t you take off your clothes and lie down on the bed, face down,” Chris suggested. “I want to pick up some things in the bathroom.”

Well, that was an interesting suggestion and not what he was expecting. But he’d already agreed to this, so he was going to see it through. Or at least until something went dreadfully wrong.

Len dropped his clothes on the floor and climbed into the bed, laying there with his face in the pillows. It was relaxing, with gentle music playing in the background, and the dim lights made him a little sleepy.

Chris came towards the bed, and he was carrying something.

“What’s that?” Len asked, turning back to look at him.

“Heated massage oil.”

Well, that was something else Len wasn’t expecting. “Seriously?”

“I want you to be nice and relaxed for what I have in mind.”

“Relax me too much, and I’ll go to sleep on you.”

“Nah, I won’t let that happen, I promised you a good time, and I have never had someone fall asleep on me.” Chris put a knee on the bed. “I’m going to touch you now,” he said. “Okay?”

“I already said yes,” Len said, trying not to get irritated.

“You’re going to say it a few more times before we’re done tonight.”

That was surprisingly more comforting than Len would have thought, and he did relax some. “Go for it.”

With a laugh, one of Chris’ hands touched his shoulder and smoothed it down the length of his back. Then the other hand did as well, and Len hummed in pleasure. It had been a long time since anyone had touched him like that. For a while, Chris’ hands smoothed up and down his back, and then they went lower, smoothing over his ass and down his legs.

It was pretty damned relaxing but also subtly arousing because he was naked, and Chris was still mostly dressed. Maybe Len should think about getting a real massage at some point.

He was turned over, and Chris’ hands were on his chest and belly, but completely missing other parts that were taking an interest in where those hands were going.

His hands went over Len’s thighs and down the rest of his legs. Then moved up over his hips and then his belly. Finally, one finger ran along the length of him. And damn, that should not have been as pleasure-filled a touch as it was. Maybe it was the anticipation.

“I think we’re ready for step two,” Chris murmured. “Are you ready?”

“Definitely up for whatever else you’ve got in mind.”

“I see that,” Chris said with a chuckle. “We’ll have to do something about that. Well, eventually.”

It sounded like a threat. Or something. Len couldn’t quite get a read on it. He could tell that Chris was excited about what was coming, and really, so was Len. This was already so different from anything he’d experienced before.

Chris’ touch was so slow and so sure that Len stopped thinking about it. There were kisses on his neck and chest and down his belly, again missing some of the important parts, but that would probably come later. He’d already resigned himself to waiting for it.

The build-up was slow and steady. He was turned and turned again. Len did what he was asked and allowed Chris whatever liberty he wanted. Chris took, and he gave, and Len’s heart was pounding long before he was touched in any significant way. He was out of breath by the time Chris’ mouth got to where it needed to go.

Then he didn’t stay there. Len whined. “Get back there.”

“Patience, sweetheart,” Chris said.

“I’m not good at that,” Len assured him. “I want mine, now.”

“Nope. It’s coming later.”

Len growled at him. And Chris laughed, continuing on his way. His mouth made its presence known in a variety of ways, sucking kisses down his back and then lower, and Len closed his eyes tightly and rode it out. The pleasure intensified more and more as Chris continued.

Finally, after a very long time, Chris’ fingers finally touched him intimately, gently working on him. Len moaned and pressed into them.

Eventually, Chris rocked into him, moving slowly at first and then more firmly, and Len pushed back, groaning. “More. Please more.”

“Of course, sweetheart,” Chris said, moving harder against him. “You feel amazing. I knew you would be like this.”

Len thought about asking like what, but as soon as the thought formed, it went away again. And he couldn’t think about anything. All he could do was feel and it was glorious. Like nothing he’d ever felt before and everything he’d ever wanted. He rode each sensation as far as he could, and when it faded, he found another one, and finally, finally, it was right in front of him, everything he needed and had only ever found other ways. Oblivion was his, and he embraced it, and it swelled and overtook him.

He opened his eyes, still panting from what had just happened. “Thank you. That was perfect,” he gasped out. Now, he was so tired. “I’m going to pass out now.”

“Sleep then. I’ve got you,” Chris promised.

Len believed him. That he’d be safe with this man. He closed his eyes and let sleep take him.

*****

Chris blinked awake, surprised to find the man from last night wrapped around him. It was actually an excellent way to wake up. He glanced at the clock and saw he had more than an hour before he had to get up. Maybe he’d go back to sleep or just lie there and enjoy the feeling of someone holding him for a change.

Last night was lovely. There were few things he enjoyed more than giving someone pleasure like that.

After a minute or two more, Chris felt him stir. His arms tightened around Chris, and he pressed into his ass and ground down a little. Need sliced through him, surprising the hell out of Chris with its power. It had been a long time since he’d let anyone do that. But there was something about this man that made Chris want him.

A hand ran down his chest and then, disappointingly, pulled back. “Apologies,” he mumbled.

“If you tell me your name, you can continue with what you were doing,” Chris said.

He snorted. “I thought this was supposed to be nameless.”

“If you’re going to keep going, then I need you to tell me,” Chris said because after he did this, it wasn’t going to be nameless anymore.

“Len,” he said. “And I thought you were the dom here.”

“Truthfully, I’m not really much of one. Although, as you saw last night, I do like being in charge once in a while.” Chris laughed at the joke there. He was in charge all the fucking time.

“So, yes? I like to give and get pleasure,” Len said. “And I know what I’m doing.”

Chris wanted him right now and he wasn’t going to worry about the why of it. “Yes. Carefully, though. I don’t care for it hard and fast.” He reached a hand out to the bedside table. There were several kinds of lubricants there. Chris picked one and handed it back to Len. “Use a lot.”

Len leaned forward and kissed the juncture of his neck and spine, then licked down. “Maybe have a little fun with you before the main event?”

Chris was on board with that. “Absolutely.”

Len tossed off the covers and turned Chris over onto his belly, staring to kiss slowly down his back. Chris closed his eyes and sighed. He loved the feeling of someone wanting to give him pleasure. Len sucked kisses into his spine, and each one aroused Chris a little more. He pressed his hips into the bedding, looking for a bit more stimulation, and there was a light tap on his ass.

“Nope. You save that for me,” Len said.

Chris could tell he was smiling. And after the kisses went lower, he was hard-pressed not to move into the bedding. He clutched the sheet, but it wasn’t enough. “Come on,” Chris said.

“In my own time,” Len said. “You wanted it slow and soft. That’s what you’re going to get.”

He could swear he felt Len’s amusement and pleasure at what he was doing.

Chris sighed when Len’s slick fingers finally started to work on him, oh so very carefully, knowing exactly where to go and how hard to press. Even with Len’s hands and actions promising him all good things, he hadn’t expected it to be so sweet. Each sensation pressed outward, and Chris went along as far and as long as possible. It was so good. He rocked back against Len’s hands, moaning.

Finally, after what felt like days of being teased and promised, Len eased him onto his side and pushed one of his legs forward. It wasn’t his usual position for this, but it did work, and the long, slow slide was delicious. Chris wanted nothing more than for it to last forever, but nothing like this could, and soon, even with that slow, sweet pace, it had to break. And it did, harder and faster than Chris expected, leaving him breathless.

And he felt Len’s teeth in the back of his neck, not hard enough to break the skin, but enough so that it would leave a mark, which he hoped no one would notice.

He was still panting when he turned over and took Len back into his arms. Len leaned down and kissed his chest and then put his head down on it and sighed.

“That was lovely,” Chris said.

“It was. Last night, too. I would not have thought that would have worked as well as it did, but I feel so much better this morning. And having you right now, was delightful.”

Chris ran a hand over Len’s back. “You should probably talk to someone about some of that.”

“I should, among other things. But I need some more sleep,” Len murmured, his eyes starting to close.

Chris’ alarm went off. “I have to go now. But you can stay here. And there is a real water shower in this room. Feel free to use it.”

He got out of bed and looked back at Len, stretched out on his stomach. Despite what they’d done last night and just now, he felt a wave of intense desire and attraction move through him. Damn, now was not the time for this. He had to catch his shuttle. Chris picked up his clothes and went into the bathroom for a quick clean-up before he got into them.

But he couldn’t go without saying something. He leaned over and put a hand lightly on his shoulder, caressing his skin softly. Then, leaned down to kiss his temple. “Another time,” he promised.

*****

Chris knocked on William’s office door. He always seemed to be there, no matter when Chris came by.

“Chris, come in,” William said. “I trust you had a good time?”

“I did. Not in the way that I thought I would have. Why did you send him to me?” Chris asked. “That wasn’t something I would normally do. But I agreed, and then something else happened. I’m going to let him tell you about that.”

William’s eyes widened slightly, and he said, “I thought, perhaps incorrectly, that you could help him. There are only so many people that I trust with him.”

“He called you Billy-Ray and said you were his brother-in-law,” Chris said. William was dating his brother. No matter how casual they said it was, it had been going on for a long time.

William sighed. “I guess I should have told him not to say anything about that.”

“Does Jon know?”

“That I was once married? We haven’t discussed it in detail. But he does. Jon and I had met once when we both had different lives.” William sounded sad, but they’d never talked about that.

Chris sighed. He didn’t have time right now to get into any kind of discussion. “Anyway, he’s still asleep. I can pay for a few more hours,” Chris said.

“No. That’s fine. I’ll wake him later,” William said. “Are you okay with whatever happened last night?”

“I am,” Chris said. He needed to get going. “I have a training cruise in a few days. I don’t know when I’ll be back. But if he wanted to see me again, I’d like that,” Chris said.

“You could just ask him out,” William suggested.

“I suppose I could,” Chris said. “I’d need his full name.”

“You have enough information to figure it out if you want to,” William said.

He was right, of course, and maybe he’d take some time to figure it out. “I’ll take that under advisement,” Chris said, laughing and then sobered, remembering what was coming with that training cruise. “But it probably won’t be for a while.” Or at all.

*****

Chapter Two

On The Enterprise
Three Days Later

Len was still thinking about his encounter on Risa, even though he knew he should just forget about it. There had been such pleasure in that man’s touch that it just wouldn’t let him go. He wanted to see him again and taste him again. While his name might or might not be Chris, Len knew nothing about him or how to find him. He sighed. That was going to be a search for another time.

As he came through the doors of the bridge on the Enterprise, he heard Uhura say to Jim, “Captain, we have an urgent distress call coming in from the USS Republic. That’s an old J-Class training vessel.”

“Put it on screen, Lieutenant,” Jim said. “This is Captain James Kirk of the USS Enterprise. How can we help you?”

“Oh, thank God,” a young woman said, her dark hair tumbling down into her smudged, dirty face. “We need immediate assistance. During Fleet Captain Pike’s inspection tour, we had a baffle plate rupture in engineering. He has been grievously injured. The CMO beamed him into stasis, but that isn’t going to last long. We need help for him and the other cadets who were injured.”

“Who are you?” Jim asked.

“Apologies. I’m Dusty Swender. One of the cadets Captain Pike saved. But we can’t contact anyone on the bridge or in Engineering. I jury-rigged the console here in sickbay to send a distress message out. We think people are succumbing to the radiation, which they haven’t been able to completely lock down in engineering. I’m here with the other injured cadets and Captain Pike. We’re all in lockdown here. We need help.” She sounded scared but also calm and determined.

“We’ll be there in less than an hour. Hold on until then,” Jim said. “Kirk out.”

Len looked at Spock, who had gasped quietly at the mention of the fleet captain. “Isn’t Starbase 11 near to where the Republic is?” Uhura asked. Before anyone could answer, she turned back to her station and said, “We’ve got a priority one message coming in from Admiral April.”

Jim looked up at that. “I think we’ll take that in my ready room,” Jim said. “Mr. Spock and Bones, you’re with me. Mr. Sulu, you have the conn.”

“Privacy protocols in place, Lieutenant,” Jim said as he left the chair and Sulu took it.

*****

Jim’s ready room was a standard Starfleet design, with almost no personal touches, which Len had always thought was a little odd given Jim’s larger-than-life personality. Off-set ambient lighting that, in theory, created a calm atmosphere. Len was not so sure it worked that well. Especially lately. There was a large desk at one end with an integrated computer console, multiple wall-mounted holo-displays for tactical and navigational data, as well as a large conference table.

“Admiral April,” Jim said as April’s image formed, and they all sat at the conference table. “How can we help you?”

“We’ve got a serious situation on Starbase 11. There have been several reports of a large explosion,” April said.

“We were just on our way in that direction, but the USS Republic just hailed us with a distress call. They’ve had a baffle plate rupture. Apparently, a cadet managed to get a distress message out.” Jim told him everything that he knew. “There is definitely something going on with that, too.”

April looked surprised and upset by the news. “Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. And then looked up. “Please proceed to the Republic, and I will reroute the Yorktown. Between your CMO and theirs, they might be able to help Captain Pike.”

Len thought about it for a second. “Their CMO is Joseph M’Benga.”

“That’s correct, doctor. He’s got significant experience dealing with a multitude of terrible situations. And you have significant experience with the same, as well as radiation poisoning.”

“I’m surprised you know that, sir,” Len said.

April sighed. “I make it a point to know who works for me. The Captain of the Yorktown is –”

“Una Chin-Riley,” Jim said. “I’ll contact her and make arrangements. What about Starbase 11?”

“The explosion was supposed to have taken out a large section of the starbase,” April said and looked down at something out of the camera’s range. “It looks like there are over a hundred injuries. After you see to Captain Pike and the cadets, we’ll send you there to provide support. Right now, I’ve got two other starships headed there.”

“Very good, sir,” Jim said. “We’ll let you know as soon as we know something. We should be there in about twenty minutes.”

“Yorktown should be there by then. M’Benga will beam over since the Yorktown’s sickbay isn’t as updated as yours.”

“We’ll have sickbay ready by the time we get there,” Len said.

“Very good. April Out.”

*****

Thirty minutes later, Doctor Joseph M’Benga beamed on board. Jim, Spock, and Len were in the transporter room to meet him. He was about the same age as Len and was shorter and thinner. He’d heard that M’Benga’s combat skills were top-notch and that they had been sharpened during the Klingon war, but Len was much more interested in his excellent surgical skills.

“Permission to come on board, Captain,” M’Benga said with a slight smile.

“Granted, and we’re pleased to have you with us, doctor,” Jim said, moving forward to shake hands with M’Benga.

“It is very good to see you again, Doctor M’Benga,” Spock said, more subdued than Len had seen him, possibly ever.

“It’s good to see you too, Mr. Spock. I am sorry it’s under these circumstances,” M’Benga said.

“Good to meet you, Doctor M’Benga,” Len said, coming forward to shake his hand as well.

“And you, Doctor McCoy. Your reputation precedes you,” M’Benga said. “When are they beaming Captain Pike over here?”

“About ten, fifteen minutes,” Len said. “We should prep the OR. Our head nurse, Christine Chapel, will assist us.”

M’Benga nodded and followed Len to sickbay. Christine hugged M’Benga. “Good to see you, Joseph,” she said.

“Before we start,” Len said. “What do you know about my theories about eliminating radiation poisoning in a patient who has had a lethal dose?” Len hoped they had some knowledge of what he’d done so he didn’t have to explain in a huge amount of detail. “Over time, I’ve come up with several different methods of doing that, as well as supplementing and boosting the body’s own healing. After we get rid of the radiation, then we can start to regenerate the damaged organs, muscles, and bone marrow.”

“I don’t know as much as you do,” M’Benga said. “But I’ve read all your papers on it, starting from years ago. Before you joined Starfleet. Several of your methods are already standard procedure in Starfleet.

Len knew that. However, it took time for every iteration to be tested and then implemented. And his latest hadn’t gotten that far yet. And they were going to need that.

“So have I,” Christine said.

“You’ve never mentioned that. And there’s no time to discuss it now,” Len said. “The procedure and therapies are used to eliminate the radiation before it can do further damage, and that is the key here.” He described how he thought they should proceed with this. M’Benga had some excellent suggestions, and Christine did too.

Captain Pike was beamed in, and he was a mess. Pike’s readings were terrible, and he was pretty close to death at this point. But Len wasn’t going to let him go. He and M’Benga worked on him for what seemed like days rather than hours. Between the two of them, as well as Christine, they’d managed to eliminate much more of the radiation than Len expected, and that minimized the organ and bone marrow damage. They were able to regenerate his bones and muscles.

Finally, there was nothing more they could do. It wasn’t a perfect cure, but it was a hell of a lot better than he’d been hoping for when they’d started.

And damn, he was so fucking tired. As much as he wanted to go back to his quarters and sleep for a week, he needed to be here for the next couple of hours to monitor Pike. He used the locker room off the sickbay to clean up and replicate a clean uniform.

“You just did a hell of a job on Captain Pike. Thank you,” M’Benga said, also in a clean uniform.

“You served with him as his CMO,” Len said. “He’s got a reputation as an outstanding captain.”

“A fucking Boy Scout, that one,” M’Benga said with a laugh. “The kind of person who, to know him is to love him. I’ve rarely met a better man. Or served under a better captain.”

“I’ve never met him,” Len said. “But I hear about him all the time from the crew who served with him.”

“Well, hopefully you’ll meet him soon,” M’Benga said. “We should go check on him.”

“Yes. We should.”

Len followed him out and toward the room he’d assigned to Pike. At least ten or twelve people were all waiting in the area in front of Pike’s door.

Everyone who was sitting around on the empty biobeds and various chairs stood up.

“How is he?” Captain Chin-Riley asked, and her voice sounded more strained than Len would have expected from her reputation, but she’d been Pike’s First Officer for years before she’d gotten her own command.

“Captain Pike is going to survive. He’ll need some physical therapy and rehab,” Len said. “But he should eventually make close to a full recovery.”

Chin-Riley blinked at that, as if she hadn’t been expecting good news. Actually, everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Especially Spock, Uhura, and Scotty.

“Thank you. Doctor, both of you. I can’t tell you how relieved I am to hear that,” Chin-Riley said. She looked more than just relieved. She looked like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

“Yes,” Uhura said, and her voice cracked. “Both of you. I, we can’t thank you enough.”

“When can we see him?” Spock asked, and even Len could hear the emotions in his voice.

“He’s going to sleep for at least eight hours. So tomorrow, at the earliest,” Len said, and M’Benga nodded.

Everyone cleared out, and he was left facing M’Benga. “I’ll take the first shift if you want to get some sleep. I’m sure you know where the guest quarters are if you don’t want to go back to the Yorktown.”

“I’ll stay here for tonight at least. And thanks. I’m not as young as I used to be,” M’Benga said.

“Neither am I,” Len agreed and moved towards his office, where he could monitor Pike and get some other work done.

*****

M’Benga relieved him in four hours, and Len tottered off to his own bed. By the time he woke again, four hours later, the Enterprise was underway to Starbase 11. Pike and the injured cadets had been transferred to the Yorktown and were headed to Earth. A third starship that Len hadn’t gotten the name of had arrived, and almost everyone had been transferred off the Republic. It was being towed to Starbase 14 for repairs once the radiation leak had been mitigated. Since Starbase 11 was out of commission for the moment, that was the closest starbase that could deal with the level of repairs needed.

Beyond what he’d been told, Len had no idea what was going on with that. He was still dead tired and disappointed not to see Pike awake, but M’Benga had sent him a status report, and Pike had woken up and spoken to him. So, that was good to hear.

A little while later, Len made his way to Jim’s Ready Room for a status meeting. They would be at Starbase 11 shortly. They were going to investigate what happened there, and Len was going to help with the injured.

Len slid into a chair at the table. “What’s going on, Jim?”

“Bones, they are going to need your skills at Starbase 11. There are at least a hundred people injured, and for the worst of them, they don’t have anyone working in the hospital who can help them,” Jim said.

“How is that possible? Starbase hospitals were supposed to have the best doctors of those who don’t want to serve on a starship.”

“I’ve always wondered why you served on this ship when you could have a position on a starbase,” Jim said, smiling at him.

“You asked me to be your CMO. I get plenty of practice serving here. But I’ll admit, I’ve thought about it,” Len said, especially after Minara II and being tortured nearly to death by the Vians. “You didn’t answer my question about why they couldn’t deal with whatever was happening?”

“I don’t know. I have a list of the doctors on the starbase, but I don’t know any of them.” Jim turned the view screen around and showed the list to Len.

He was appalled. “Those are some of the worst doctors I know in Starfleet. Some of them aren’t even in Starfleet. I guess they must be employed by Starfleet. I could see having one or even two, but how did they get that many? That can’t be random. It just doesn’t work that way.”

“What are you saying, Bones?” Jim asked. “I have no idea why there would be so many bad doctors.”

“They aren’t bad so much as mediocre. They are the ones that complained the most and did the least.” Len sighed. “You have to be a decent doctor to get into Starfleet or to stay in.”

“Not everyone is as good as you are,” Jim pointed out, smiling at him. “And you complain the most of anyone.”

“I know that,” Len snapped, even though he knew Jim was teasing him. “At least, I try my best to help anyone who needs it. Most doctors try to help people.”

“Are you saying these don’t?” Jim asked, sounding surprised and definitely not amused.

“I guess we’ll see when we get down there,” Len said and stood. “I’ll go prep sickbay and see what I can figure out. I assume we’ll have to take the worst of them on board to treat them.”

“Yeah, if the hospital isn’t doing the job properly, that would probably be a good idea. I think there are a couple of other starships there trying to help out. I will be in charge of the investigation,” Jim said.

“Sounds like fun for you,” Len said.

Jim shook his head. “Nope. This is going to be a mess. I can tell already.”

*****

Jim’s words turned out to be prophetic. As far as Len could tell, all of the Starfleet doctors stationed at Starbase 11 were at some level of incompetence. Currently, he was standing in the doctor’s lounge watching a group of maybe half a dozen doctors mill around, drinking coffee, as if there weren’t patients that needed treatment right outside the room.

Len was outraged, but at this point, he didn’t have time to worry about it since some of the patients were in critical condition.

“Do any of you know how to assist with surgery?” Len finally asked. It was a good thing Pike hadn’t been brought here. He would have been crippled by the lack of skill in this hospital. Which almost seemed willful.

“I can assist,” a female Vulcan said. “I can also do surgery myself.”

“Then why haven’t you been?” Len asked.

“Commodore Mendez does not allow the contract medical staff to do surgery,” said one of the other doctors, and Len didn’t know his name.

“What’s your name?” Len demanded. “Both of you.”

“I’m Doctor Candice Swender-Vance,” she said.

“I know that name,” Len said. “Dusty Swender was the cadet who got the distress message out for the Republic.”

“My sister-in-law,” Swender-Vance said. She sounded proud of her, or as much as a Vulcan sounded proud.

“Your husband is chief of security on the Yorktown and is headed for Earth.”

“I was on that ship until I was asked to help out here. They dropped me on their way to Earth,” Swender-Vance explained and then glanced at the other doctors. “I do not care what Mendez said. He does not get to decide where I do or do not do surgery.”

“You’re a damned pediatrician,” the same doctor sneered.

“Who the hell are you, anyway,” Len demanded, glaring at him. “None of you are competent to assist with wiping your own ass.”

Swender-Vance smirked at that, complete with a raised eyebrow. “One, I can and do treat adults. Two, do you think you can stop me?”

They all seemed to take a step back. She didn’t quite smile at that. Len had already decided that he liked her.

“You’re not like most of the Vulcans I know,” Len said. “But you’ll do. Let’s see what we can do to help the folks who need us.”

“I am very much ready to help with that,” she assured him.

“The rest of you are fired,” Len said.

“You can’t fire us,” one of the other doctors said.

He just smiled. “Try me.”

*****

Hours Later

There was only a coed locker room for the doctors, but Len had shared worse. At least it had individual water showers, and it was hot. He stood under the spray for a long time before going back to his locker and replicating another clean uniform. He’d gotten his pants on when Swender-Vance came in. As he did whenever he had to share space with others, Len ignored her and she him.

She came back dressed in casual clothing. “I am so tired. How can there be this many patients and that many incompetent doctors.”

“It’s got to be on purpose,” Len said. “But honestly, I’m too tired to worry about it right now.”

“I agree. I want to get to my quarters and go to sleep.”

“You know, I thought Vulcan’s don’t need to sleep as much as humans do. Or so Mr. Spock tells me all the time.” Why was he trying to make conversation with her? He was too tired for this type of small talk.

“He might not, but I need sleep, especially after a marathon surgery session like the one we just did,” she said and sort of smiled. “Although Spock might be overstating his abilities somewhat.”

“Do you know him?” Len asked.

“We have met. We are in a unique group of Vulcan/Human hybrids. We were both among the first group to survive long enough to be born.”

While he knew Spock’s medical history very well, he didn’t know all the details of his birth. “How many were there?”

“There are five. Spock was the oldest, and I was a year younger. The other three were eighteen months to two years younger than me.”

“Did they all survive into adulthood?”

“Yes. Although, all of us were ultimately raised on different planets,” she said.

“Where were you raised?” Len asked curiously.

“Earth. It is where I met my bondmate. Derrek Swender.”

Len didn’t have anything to say about that. He hadn’t met Swender. He went back to his locker and finished dressing. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Where we can start this process again.” She said as she went out.

*****

The Next Morning

Len settled at the table in Jim’s ready room. He was meeting with Jim, Spock, and Scotty about the situation.

“What do we know, Bones?” Jim asked.

“Not a hell of a lot,” Len said, going on to tell him about the situation at the hospital and the staff’s lack of professionalism.

“I assume you will write a report on this for Admiral April?” Jim said.

Jim knew him well. “Nearly complete,” Len confirmed. “I just want to check with the only other competent doctor around. She’s from the Yorktown.”

“All right,” Jim said. “Scotty, what do you have for me?”

“I found an incendiary device, and I’ve never seen anything like it before.” Scotty held it up in a gloved hand.

“Is it made from material you haven’t seen before?” Jim asked.

“May I look at it,” Spock held out his hand, and he was also wearing a glove.

Scotty handed it to him, and Spock inspected it. “I do not believe it is made out of anything that I cannot identify by sight, but the configuration is not something I have seen before, either.”

“That’s what I was saying,” Scotty said. “This isn’t something that came from anyone we know.”

“Thoughts?” Jim asked.

Scotty shrugged. “I’ve got nothing on this one.”

Len didn’t know anything, either. But the whole thing felt off to him. “I think we should look into what else was happening here and on the Republic.”

Jim and Spock looked at him. “What do you mean?” Spock asked.

Scotty cleared his throat. “Doctor McCoy is right. Doesn’t it seem a little coincidental that Captain Pike’s ship had a baffle plate rupture, a radiation leak despite the lockdown in engineering, and then a communications problem, all at the same time,” he said. “One of those things would have been a surprise, but all of them at one time?”

“Add to that,” Len agreed, “Even if they had made it to Starbase 11, which is where the ship was headed, they would have found a completely incompetent hospital staff.”

“I hadn’t put those incidents together yet,” Jim said after a pause. “That’s an excellent point.”

“It is. However, that would mean that someone knew about or planned what happened with Captain Pike,” Spock pointed out.

“And why would anyone want to hurt him,” Scotty asked. “He’s beloved by almost everyone who served with him.”

“It’s just a thought I had when I was working with the incompetent staff here. Pike’s injuries were severe enough that he wouldn’t have survived this had Doctor M’Benga and I not been working together to mitigate the damage the radiation did. And that required specialized knowledge.”

Spock and Jim nodded. “We’ll need to look into this further,” Jim said. “I’ll report what you’ve just said to Admiral April.”

Everyone filed out, and Jim nodded to him and Spock to stay. “Spock, you served with Captain Pike. What else can you tell me about him or this?”

Spock looked a little surprised by the question. “I am not sure what you wish to know.”

“I’ve got the feeling you know something more about this,” Jim said.

Jim had a weird way of knowing things that Len had always found to border on telepathic or maybe empathic.

“Whatever I might or might not know about Captain Pike is not something I can discuss. It is classified,” Spock said, in a tone that said he wouldn’t say anything else.

That wasn’t at all helpful. But he knew that Jim wouldn’t cross that line, not without an excellent reason. “All right. I’ll report back to Admiral April. But if there’s anything you can tell me, it would be helpful.”

“I am sorry. I cannot,” Spock said and stood. “I will return to the bridge.”

And he walked out.

“Did you find that strange?” Jim asked as the door slid shut.

“No more than usual. He’s pretty devoted to Captain Pike,” Len pointed out, just like everyone else who ever served with the man.

“I know. I’ve always admired Pike a lot,” Jim said.

That was something of a surprise. “I didn’t know you’d ever served with him,” Len said.

“I worked with him over the years when he was Captain of the Enterprise. I met him when he was temporarily promoted to Fleet Captain. This was years before that happened for real. I met Spock and Uhura then, as well. I always felt like he chose me as his successor for the flagship. I admire the hell out of him,” Jim said. His tone was reverent in a way that Len rarely heard it.

“Everyone seems to love the guy,” Len said.

“Well, probably not his ex-lovers,” Jim said with a laugh. “He had a terrible track record. Worse than mine, and he was older. I used to think I was looking at my future in him.”

Len laughed at that. “If he is really that good a guy, he’s probably stayed friends with most of them.”

Jim just shrugged. “Anyway, I get the feeling there’s something we’re missing here. I’m going to talk to Mendez today. Do you know who is running the hospital?”

“No. I should look into that. But I’ve got surgery all day today. And only Dr. Swender-Vance and Christine, and so far, I’ve only found three base nurses to help me,” Len said. “On the plus side, the operating rooms are top-notch. They’ve all been upgraded and clearly haven’t seen much use. I won’t have to open up the auxiliary unit in Sickbay.”

Which was great as far as Len was concerned. Len stood. He needed to get back down to the hospital.

*****

Jim watched Bones go through the door. He sensed, even with the added workload, that Bones wasn’t stressed by it. Maybe the last trip to Risa did as much good as it seemed like it did. And maybe the results would last longer.

“Lieutenant Uhura,” Jim said. “Can you get Admiral April for me?”

“Yes, sir,” she said, ever efficient.

A few minutes later, she routed him through to his comm unit. “All privacy protocols in place.”

“What can I do for you, Captain?” April asked.

“I wanted to update you on what’s going on here. Basically, it’s a mess. My CMO says the hospital is filled with incompetent doctors. He’s pretty grumpy about it,” Jim said.

“I’ve heard he’s quite brilliant but often cranky.” April laughed. “But since he and Joseph M’Benga saved Captain Pike and the other cadets, that will keep them both in my good books for a long time.”

“I’m sure he, they were both happy to do it,” Jim said.

“That’s not the only reason you’ve called me, rather than just writing a report,” April suggested.

“Very good, sir. It’s starting to look like there might be some level of conspiracy going on –”

April’s eyes widened. “You’ll need to explain that.”

“I mean, there are just too many coincidences right now. Have you gotten a report back on the Republic and what happened there? I think you should look for sabotage. I know it’s an old training vessel, but how likely was it to have a catastrophic baffle plate rupture? I know we maintain those ships pretty well if we’re putting our future crews on them.”

April nodded. “You have a point. A baffle plate rupture like that speaks of lack of maintenance over the course of years.”

“We should start there, and then we go to the hospital where apparently everyone is incompetent. So, had Pike and the injured cadets gone to Starbase 11, no one would have gotten proper medical treatment. It’s only luck that had the Yorktown and Enterprise in range to help them.”

April nodded again. “And the Republic was more damaged by the rupture than could have been predicted. Also, the explosion on Starbase 11 didn’t allow them to get there at all.

“Have you read Scotty’s report on that?” Jim asked. He was sure it had been submitted right after he told Jim about what he’d found or hadn’t found.

“Yes, and that is deeply disconcerting,” April said.

Jim cleared his throat and said, “It’s almost like two different forces working against each other. Neither one of them was for the good. But it also presupposes that someone knew that the accident would happen. Because this had to have been planned.”

April didn’t look surprised. “It sounds like it was. Do you think your team can figure out what happened?”

“We’ll see. Bones can’t do anything about the hospital right now because he’s still working through the backlog of patients who need surgery. He’s only got the doctor from the Yorktown and a couple of nurses to help him.”

“All right,” April said. “Keep me up to date.”

“Will do, sir,” Jim said. “How is Captain Pike doing?”

“He’s awake and talking. Doctor M’Benga tells me he’s going to be okay. It’s going to take a few weeks to a month for him to completely recover. But he’s got family on Earth, and they are going to take care of him.” April sounded pleased about that prognosis.

And so was Jim. “That’s good to hear. I’ll convey that to the crew.”

But Jim still had the feeling there was a piece missing in all of this.

*****

Chapter Three

On The Yorktown
Three Days After The Accident

Chris Pike woke with a start and tried to sit up.

“Easy, Chris,” Joseph’s gentle voice said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t strain yourself.”

“What happened? Where are we?” Chris’ mind was fuzzy. The side of his face was still wrapped in the protection skin wrap. And he touched it, as he remembered what happened.

He’d woken up on the Yorktown after the accident and had been stunned to find himself mostly whole. That wasn’t what the future vision he’d lived with for almost a decade had said was going to happen.

And since he knew that Spock and the Enterprise had already had an encounter with the Romulans near Outpost 4 and had survived it, it was possible that he’d escaped the worst of the vision.

“We’re on our way to Earth. About a day out. We’ll be beaming you to the ‘fleet hospital in San Francisco.”

Chris nodded. He did remember some of that. “How badly am I injured?”

“Bad enough,” Joseph said seriously. “Not in danger of dying or being disabled, but with some work ahead of you to get back to where you were.”

It was great that it was even possible to consider getting back to what he was. “Thank you,” Chris said, heartfelt. “I appreciate it.”

“It wasn’t only me. Doctor McCoy was the real star here. He’s been working on therapies for radiation poisoning for years. I’ve read all of his papers on it. Starfleet has instituted many of his suggestions for mitigating it. That said, it was quite a long procedure.”

“I hadn’t heard that anyone was researching radiation poisoning. Not that I know Doctor McCoy, either.” And why would he know about that, anyway? After Chris had accepted what would happen to him, he’d never considered there were any other ways to mitigate it besides not being there, and that wasn’t an option for him.

“McCoy’s a brilliant doctor,” Joseph said. “Top notch. If I was lying on an operating table, I would want him standing over me.”

Something about Joseph’s tone said he was impressed by McCoy. At this point, so was Chris.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“I’ll get the captain in here to talk to you about that. I don’t really know. I’ve been focused on my patients.”

“Are there more than just me?”

“No one was as badly injured as you were, but yes, there are three more who are still here,” Joseph said.

“I’ve lost track of time. How long has it been?” Chris asked.

“Three days since the accident and the procedure to mitigate the radiation.”

Chris nodded and closed his eyes. Why was he so damned tired?

*****

When Chris woke again, Una was sitting beside his bed, reading on her padd. She looked up as he opened his eyes. “How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Better than I had any right to expect,” he said. “Kinda worried about that, too.”

“You shouldn’t be. It’s starting to look like this was a set-up,” she said. Her tone conveyed just how serious she was.

“How would that work?” Chris asked because this was already not what he thought would happen going in. And now, something else?

“Not quite sure yet, but too many things happened in too short a time to be entirely random,” Una said and looked at him. “Too many coincidences.”

What the fuck? “That needs some explanation, please,” Chris asked. “What else happened other than the baffle plate rupture?”

“Let’s start with the baffle plate rupture supposedly taking out all the ship-wide communications,” Una said, “Which you know as well as I do, doesn’t make a bit of sense since it should have been localized in engineering.”

“And?” Chris prompted. Because there had to be more.

“Add to that an explosion on Starbase 11, as well as a contingent of incompetent doctors and nurses there, that had to have taken years to put together. Their incompetence would have ensured you either died or were disabled completely by what happened to you.” She looked at him. “Rather like what you described in the vision.”

This just kept getting more bizarre. Why would anyone do that to him? “What are you saying,” Chris asked.

“I’m saying that I think this was a set-up. As I said at the time, I believe what you saw in the crystal might have been a possible future, not the unchangeable fate you accepted,” Una said with almost the same look of determination on her face that she’d had when she was telling him this, nearly a decade ago.

“And the second crystal vision?” Chris asked. Because that was what sold it to him that he had to die for Spock to live.

“I don’t know about that one. It’s inconsistent with the rest of this,” Una pointed out.

“Unless it was part of it,” Chris guessed. “Although, how could they have constructed something that elaborate and arranged for it to have taken only a few minutes to witness when it felt like hours of time, is beyond me.”

“I’ve always thought the first vision only lasted a couple of minutes,” Una said.

“It did,” Chris said. “After I touched the crystal, I witnessed the accident in engineering, and then the result, which was me in a great deal of pain and confined to a life-support wheelchair.”

“And the second one? You seemed to have been there for several hours, working through a series of events,” Una said. “Am I wrong in that assessment?”

She wasn’t wrong. He spent what felt like several hours in the second vision. “That’s an interesting point.” And Chris needed to think about it.

Una nodded. “We’ve got evidence that the explosion on Starbase 11 was created by a device that no one can identify. And the baffle plate rupture was much worse than what it should have been from a weakness that would not have been picked up on routine inspection or maintenance.”

Chris breathed out. He could see where the thought of a conspiracy came from. “Who’s investigating?”

“Bob has Jim Kirk doing it. Along with Spock, Scotty, and Doctor McCoy,” Una said.

“Joseph said Doctor McCoy saved my life.” For which he was damned grateful.

“You were fortunate to have two such skilled doctors working on you,” Una said. And she smiled at that part, looking relieved.

“I’ll make sure to send him a thank you note,” Chris said, smiling.

“I’m sure Doctor McCoy will appreciate that,” Una said, standing. “But I have to get back to the bridge. I’ll come by to see you later.”

“Thanks. When do we get to Earth?”

“About three hours,” Una said.

*****

Chris was transferred to the Starfleet Hospital in San Francisco. Joseph accompanied him for the intake process and the complete physical Chris got, but he needed to get back to the ship, which was going back out to Starbase 11 to help with what was happening there.

He woke again and glanced around the room. It had been a long time since he’d been in an actual hospital. It wasn’t that different from a starship. The biobed had an integrated panel displaying his vital signs, which looked surprisingly good to his uneducated eye. He liked that the walls had subtle illumination with recessed lighting and that he could control it from the bed.

The door to his room pinged, and Chris called, “Come,” pressing the button to raise the bed slightly.

Bob April came in. “How are you feeling?”

Chris laughed. “About like you’d expect from someone who was caught in an explosion and a radiation leak.”

“Your prognosis is excellent,” Bob said. He sounded relieved, too.

“I’ve been told. A few days here and then into rehab for a few weeks or so. McCoy and M’Benga did a good job on me.”

“They did,” Bob agreed. “I’m very pleased with how well this turned out.”

Chris snorted. “You and me, both. So, are you going to tell me what’s going on with all of this?”

“I wish we knew more,” Bob said with a deep sigh. “But truthfully, we aren’t exactly sure. It looks like a conspiracy. But the question is why.”

“I don’t know. It has to be something to do with me and my future,” Chris guessed.

“I agree with that,” Bob said. “Speaking of that, I know you’ve had no real plans for the future. And you’re due for promotion, so you need to think about what you want to do from here, going out.”

He supposed that he did. “I’ll think about it.”

“You do that,” Bob said and then looked at him. “I don’t want you to resign.”

“I hadn’t considered that as an option, so probably not. I like the structure of Starfleet,” Chris said honestly. But now that he’d survived, he’d also have some time to consider that last night at William Carson’s club. Maybe find the brother-in-law and see if —

No. Just no. Chris had too much else to worry about to think about him. But the thought niggled at him. He already knew he wasn’t going to let it go, even if he should.

“Good enough,” Bob said. “I’ll keep you updated on what’s going on, but I want you to work on getting better and out of here.”

“Sure thing, Bob,” Chris said.

*****

Chris’ resolve to let the encounter go lasted a few days, and then, he just couldn’t help himself. He had to know. He pulled William Carson’s entire record. Chris knew that William had been a psychologist, and from all that he’d seen and read, he was considered to be quite a good one. He had written several well-received papers on treating trauma.

At least until the trauma had been his own. He’d been married to Elizabeth McCoy for nine years. They had married right out of high school. She had died of Messores’ Syndrome, which was a rapidly moving wasting disease that had no cure at the time. After that, William disappeared for a few years, then surfaced on Risa with a specialty club.

Elizabeth was survived by her brother, Leonard McCoy. He and a colleague developed a cure for Messores’ Syndrome while he was at the Academy. It was too late to save his sister, but they’d won several galactic medical prizes for it. He was also the doctor who had saved Chris’ life.

How could that be anything other than a coincidence, Chris wondered. But like everything else in his life lately, that was a little too close to statistically insane for him to completely believe that.

Something about McCoy had touched him deeply, and he wasn’t sure what it was. But he wanted to taste that again. More and better than their encounter without a single kiss.

He wasn’t sure what he was going to do with that. McCoy was a Starfleet doctor, and there probably wasn’t any way to avoid meeting him again. Not only that, but Chris would also like to thank him in person for saving his life.

The door chimed. “Come,” Chris called.

Bob came in. He’d been a frequent visitor, as was Chris’ family. His parents had come by a couple of times already, along with his sister, Emma. His brother, Jon, was still living on the New Dawn Colony, which made coming back to Earth more complicated. He’d called a couple of times.

“Have you thought about what you want to do?” Bob asked.

“I have a feeling that you have something you want me to do,” Chris guessed with a laugh. He was probably going to be good with whatever Bob wanted him to do. “Why don’t you tell me about it?”

“After rehab, I think I will send you back to Starbase 11. Jim Kirk and his crew found nothing conclusive. But I think something is going on there. We’ve questioned Commodore Mendez, and he’s clueless. Or, more likely, an accomplice. When you’re ready, I think that you should take a closer look into the situation there.”

That wasn’t a bad idea, Chris acknowledged. He could probably figure out what was going on there. “Sure. What are you doing about Mendez? Is he still in charge?”

“We can’t pin anything specific on him. He says he had no idea what caused the explosion. And no one has found anything that proved that wasn’t true,” Bob said. “You’re also going to be promoted so that you don’t have to worry about Mendez outranking you.” Bob looked at him. “Not that you would care about that if he was complicit anyway.”

“True. I would not. But thanks. It’s always nice to be appreciated,” Chris said. “Anything else I should know?”

“Not until you’re ready to go. I will do a complete briefing. I’ll probably send the Enterprise back with you.”

That brought Chris’ head up. McCoy was on the Enterprise.

“I know you’d like to thank Doctor McCoy in person. Plus, Jim Kirk is a good backup. His security team is top-notch.”

“I agree about the security team.” But he would probably never be ready to see McCoy again under those circumstances. Maybe on Risa someday, but not at work. That was a little too close. “Why aren’t you sending someone else in now?”

“Whatever is going on out there will wait until you get there,” Bob said. “You’ll be ready to go in a few weeks. I doubt any of it is going anywhere.”

“All right, I’m not sure that waiting is the best idea.” Chris wasn’t the one making those decisions.

“What’s going to happen? Right now, the station is in dire need of repair. We’ve got several teams there working on it. We’ll revisit how and why everything else happened after we get it back up and running.”

“What do you have in the way of evidence for the explosion?” Chris asked.

“The Enterprise crew collected as much as we’re going to get,” Bob said. “Which, unfortunately, wasn’t that much.”

Chris nodded. “Thanks for the update.”

“Now, would you like to get out of here for dinner?” Bob asked.

Chris smiled. “Yes, thanks. I’m always willing to get out of here for a while.”

*****

Chapter Four

Risa
Three Weeks Later

The walk through the streets to Billy-Ray’s club was so different from the last time, Len thought as he moved along. Now, he could enjoy the mixes of music and lights and colors that spilled into the streets. It felt like something shifted in him, and he wasn’t sure what it was or how it had changed things, but he felt steadier than he’d been, more settled, maybe. There had been something about Chris that had made a difference. Perhaps it was his touch that first time that had given him a taste of oblivion, or perhaps it was letting Len in that close the second time. He didn’t know.

Given how he felt now, Len understood that he’d been dealing with his emotional pain wrong for all these years. What he’d done had worked, but it had come at a cost. Why had it taken a stranger to ask him that question? He should have asked himself it long before that.

The bouncer waved him through without talking to him. It was a quiet night. He wasn’t even sure why he was here, now. But as soon as he’d heard that he was getting shore leave before they reported to Starbase 1, he’d made arrangements to come back. Maybe Billy-Ray could come up with a name for Chris.

The door to Billy-Ray’s office hissed open, and Len went in without thinking about it. Billy-Ray was standing in front of his desk, and a man Len did not recognize was sitting on it with his arms wrapped around Billy-Ray, kissing him deeply. They pulled apart when Len made a surprised sound. He knew that Billy-Ray had been involved with someone for years, but he’d never said who, and Len hadn’t asked.

The man was tall, with graying hair and light blue eyes. Good looking in an appealing rather than a beautiful way. Although he didn’t look like anyone Len had ever met, he felt familiar. And that was a little disconcerting.

“Apologies, Billy-Ray,” Len said, taking a step back. “I didn’t know you’d be busy.”

“Lenny, meet Jonathan Pike, Jon, meet Leonard McCoy. My…” Billy-Ray hesitated.

“Your best friend from back in Atlanta, maybe?” Len suggested.

“That’s true. But also, my brother-in-law,” Billy-Ray finished.

“Yeah, that too,” Len said. “Apologies again for interrupting.”

“It’s not like I didn’t know you’d been married if that’s what you’re worried about. I know who you are, William. Actually, who both of you are,” Jon said, seemingly amused.

“How would you know me?” Len asked. Because that was a little too random for him.

Jon looked at Billy-Ray, who shook his head.

“What is going on here?” Len snapped because not telling him something was never the way to go with him.

“You saved my brother’s life,” Jon said. “Christopher Pike. I’m deeply grateful to you for that.”

Len relaxed a little. Then, thought about it. “How the fuck is that even possible?”

“I guess you don’t believe in coincidence?” Billy-Ray asked. “Because that’s all it can be.”

Len wasn’t sure about that. But, “You’re the person Billy-Ray has been involved with for all these years.”

“Billy-Ray?” Jon looked at Billy-Ray and smirked at him. Like he might tease Billy-Ray about it.

“William Raymond Carson,” Billy-Ray said with a laugh. “I told you I was from the South.”

“I guess so,” Jon laughed, too, and glanced at Len. “And yes, quite a number of years. Surprisingly, we have a lot in common.”

Len was not going to ask about that. “I came here to say hi and ask you something privately.” He looked at Jon. “I can come back later.”

“Why don’t you wait for me upstairs, Jon?” Billy Ray asked. “I’ll join you in a couple of minutes.”

Jon nodded. “Sure,” he said and looked at Len. “It was nice to meet you.”

“And you,” Len said as Jon went out the door.

“What do you need tonight, Lenny?” Billy-Ray asked. “It seems soon for your usual fair, though.”

“Not that,” Len said with a sigh, and he could see Billy-Ray pick up on it.

“What happened?” Billy-Ray asked. “Because I can tell that something did.”

“The last time, it didn’t work out the way it had in the past.” He paused and looked at Billy-Ray, who surprisingly nodded.

“Tell me,” Billy-Ray said in just the right tone.

Len looked down and sighed. He could never keep anything from Billy-Ray. “That man, he gave me another option, and that worked as well, if not better than what I’ve been doing. And well, that’s why I’m here tonight.”

“I’ve always thought there had to be other ways to deal with what haunts you,” Billy-Ray said.

“You might have mentioned something –”

“It wasn’t my place to do that,” Billy-Ray said patiently. “I also didn’t think you’d take my advice.”

That was probably true. He still had no idea why he’d let Chris even try. “Fair enough. I wanted to ask you about Chris, the man you set me up with the last time. I’ve thought about him a lot. I got the impression you knew him.”

“I know everyone who comes here. That’s the whole point of it,” Billy-Ray said. “What specifically do you want to know?”

“His full name, for one thing,” Len said.

“Why now?”

“As I just said, I’ve thought about him. He was so…I don’t even have words for what he did for me, and I would like to see him again.” Oh, it was a lot more than just wanting to see him again, but Len couldn’t get into that with Billy-Ray. Not now, anyway.

Billy-Ray was quiet for a while and then said, “As it happens, he’s here tonight. And he asked after you. Both before he left last time and again tonight. But Lenny, he had enough information about you to find out who you are. Are you ready for that?”

“I realized that if he knew you, he could find me. But he hasn’t in the time since then. So, I don’t know. Depending on who he is, it could be awkward.” Len looked at Billy-Ray, but he had the best poker face of anyone Len had ever known. “You know who he is, don’t you?”

Billy-Ray nodded. “He’s at Bar Two. And I’m sure he knows who you are.”

“And you’re not going to tell me who he is?” Len thought that was pretty unfair.

“No. That’s on him,” Billy-Ray said.

“Okay. I guess I will go ask him then,” Len said, annoyed that he was going into this blind, even if it was his own fault.

An impressive mix of fear and anticipation roiled in his belly as he made his way to the bar.

*****

Chris was as healed as he was going to be. There were some scars and some muscular weakness, neither of which bothered him that much. And exercise would probably mitigate the weakness. He had a thick scar from over his right eyebrow down across his cheek. But he’d never cared that much about his looks, and his one nod to vanity was his hair, and that was still all there.

He’d taken a few days of leave to visit Risa before he was going to meet the Enterprise at Starbase 1. He’d seen William and Jon earlier for dinner. After dinner, he and William talked briefly about McCoy, but it hadn’t had a satisfactory conclusion because William didn’t know where McCoy was tonight. Then, Chris had gone to the bar he usually went to. But he wasn’t sure what he wanted tonight.

No, that wasn’t true.

What he wanted was to see McCoy again. He hoped that they would be able to forge something new between them that probably wasn’t on offer, nor how it was going to work with McCoy, especially without seeing him tonight. And that was too bad.

It was probably going to be on the Enterprise when he saw McCoy again. Chris had no idea how that was even going to work out for them.

With a sigh, Chris sat back and took another sip of his drink. The drinks here weren’t replicated, and they were quite good. He was content to sit and enjoy it.

Something made him look up, and he smiled as he watched Leonard McCoy walk determinedly toward him. Their eyes met. And Chris could feel a connection hum between them, something strong and powerful. But even as he thought it, his mind dismissed the idea as ridiculous.

“Hi,” Chris said, smiling, stupidly happy to see him. “I am going to guess that William knew where to find you after all?”

“You know who I am, don’t you?” McCoy asked bluntly. “There’s something happening between us. So, tell me, who the fuck are you?”

Chris could not help but smile at the angry response. “Are you sure you want to know?”

“Damned sure. I dislike being at a disadvantage, even if I did it to myself.” McCoy’s tone was indignant.

“You did give me enough hints,” Chris said, amused. “But I still managed to wait almost a week before figuring it out.”

“Why did you wait?” McCoy asked.

“Part of that wasn’t my choice. I was in an accident right after I was with you,” Chris said and turned towards McCoy so that he’d see the side of his face with the scar. “Someone had to save me from radiation poisoning.”

“Well, isn’t that just typical of my fucking life?” McCoy growled, not even blinking at the scar. “It makes sense now. Christopher Pike.”

“At your service.” Chris smiled again at that bad temper. He was adorable. And fuck, Chris wanted him so badly. “Are you always so cranky?”

“What if I am? It’s not going to matter to you,” McCoy snapped, but there was a hint of amusement in his tone.

“It might. I’d like for it to matter.” He wanted to pull McCoy into his lap and kiss him deeply and repeatedly. But no, sadly, there would be no touching or kissing without permission, and from McCoy, it would have to be explicit permission. Chris just looked at him longingly. Damn.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” McCoy grumbled, and now it definitely looked like he was trying not to smile.

Chris licked his lips. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He was a terrible liar. Well, except when he had to be good at it. But that wasn’t now.

McCoy let out a long, slow sigh. “I have thought about you. A lot.”

“I have as well,” Chris said truthfully. “I wasn’t sure what to do about it. But I had a few days of leave and decided to come back to talk to William about you.”

“He’s busy right now,” McCoy pointed out.

“I did know that and who he was busy with, as well.” Chris wondered if he should mention having dinner with them earlier.

“That’s the connection, isn’t it? Your brother somehow got involved with Billy-Ray after he bought the club here.”

“Yes. Jon recommended this place to me,” Chris said. “He knew William. I’ve come here over the years.”

“Okay. Where does that leave us?” McCoy finally asked.

“Where would you like it to leave us?” Chris asked.

“I hate it when someone answers a question with another question,” McCoy complained, sounding annoyed, but his lips twitched.

“I was thinking before that I wanted to pull you into my lap and kiss you for a while. And see if you’re always this bad-tempered.”

“I can pretty much promise you that I’m always bad-tempered,” McCoy said and finally smiled.

He was that perfect combination of spicy and sweet, and that pleased Chris so much. “And the kissing?” He couldn’t hide how hopeful he probably sounded.

“Not here, and not in public like this,” McCoy said thoughtfully.

“Not here, okay. I can work with that. I have a room,” Chris said.

“Let’s go,” McCoy grunted.

*****

Chris had the same room as last time, and he ushered McCoy inside and then sat on the bed.

“What do you want to do about the rank thing,” McCoy said. Standing in front of him, but just out of arm’s reach, his arms were folded over his chest.

Chris closed his eyes for a minute. If he brought it up, Chris had to address it, and he wasn’t ready for that. But the rules existed for a reason, so, “You’re a full commander, and I just got promoted to commodore. That’s two rank levels. We probably don’t have to file consent forms since we had a prior relationship.”

“Is that what you’re going to call it?” McCoy asked with a snort.

“I fucked you, and then you fucked me. As far as I’m concerned, that counts as a prior relationship,” Chris said. “Unless you want to fill out the forms for some reason.”

“No. It’s none of anyone’s business what we do together,” McCoy snapped.

Chris cleared his throat. It needed to be said. “If we had done what we started out to do, it would have required consent forms, even with a prior relationship.”

“Yeah, but we didn’t do that. And truthfully, after what you did do with me, I don’t think it’s going to happen that way now,” McCoy said.

That was a relief. Chris had no idea why he’d agreed to what Len said he’d wanted in the first place. Hurting someone, even when they enjoyed it, wasn’t something Chris liked doing, and it was clear that McCoy wouldn’t have enjoyed that part either. Although, looking at McCoy now, if he felt it was something he needed in the future, Chris would be hard-pressed to turn him down. McCoy was right. There was something happening between them.

McCoy shook his head. “I won’t need that again, but I will need what you did to mitigate the pain and stress when it starts to overwhelm me.”

“Explain it now in detail. I think I need to know,” Chris said.

McCoy glanced at him for a moment and then looked down and sighed. “I want to argue with you about talking about it, but I feel like I should tell you.”

That surprised Chris, but there was definitely something happening here. “Tell me what triggered you this last time.”

“It’s usually a series of things. So, I had a patient die who shouldn’t have. It was also the anniversary of my daddy’s death, and I had a mission go very wrong. All in about a week’s time.”

“Which mission?”

“Did you read the mission report with the Vians and the empath Gem?” Len asked. “The Vians captured us and then tortured Captain Kirk, Spock, and me. They required that Gem sacrifice herself to heal each of our injuries. Finally, I was so badly damaged from what they had done to me that it would have killed her. I could not allow that to happen.”

“Yes. I’ve read most of the Enterprise’s mission reports since I left the ship. But was there something more to what happened? I did have the impression that Jim downplayed the torture on the mission report.”

“They –” Len paused. “I would have died from what they did to me, if Jim hadn’t convinced them to save me.” He sighed and met Chris’ eyes. “I will hold you to your promise to help me in the future.”

Chris met his eyes and nodded in acceptance. “What is happening between us?”

“I don’t understand this at all. It feels like maybe…” McCoy trailed off. He seemed reluctant to admit it.

“Like a soul bond?” Chris suggested. “I was thinking that. Except, I have no idea how that would work. Usually, these things happen between younger, more innocent people.”

McCoy snorted. “We are anything but that. But how could it be anything else? I want to touch you so much, and I want you to touch me.”

“Yes, please,” Chris said. “I want to kiss you so badly. I wish we’d done that last time.”

“I do, too,” McCoy agreed. But he didn’t move any closer. There seemed to be a reluctance in McCoy to move this forward.

“Before we do that,” Chris said, pausing for a second. Something was telling him that they needed to slow this down. He let out a breath slowly. “Do you have a preferred way to be addressed?”

McCoy raised an eyebrow, but he also nodded, seeming to understand. “Billy-Ray calls me Lenny. He has known me since high school. Most people call me Doc, doctor, McCoy, or Len. Jim calls me Bones. If my daughter were speaking to me, she’d call me Daddy. That one is not an option you have.”

Chris bit back a laugh. That was the last thing he’d call McCoy. “Why does Jim call you Bones?”

“I do not have a clue. We met in the Academy, and when he moved into my dorm room, he started to call me Bones, then, and it hasn’t ever changed.”

“What do you prefer?” Chris asked.

“Len, probably,” he said.

“You don’t know?”

“I don’t care,” Len snapped. “I’ll answer to most things if I know you’re talking to me. I think I might even answer to commander.”

“I’ll probably have to call you doctor onboard the ship,” Chris said.

“Yes. And you’re easily distracted,” Len pointed out and stepped closer, within arm’s reach at last. “But right now, I was promised some kissing. I like kissing.”

Chris smiled and reached out for his hand, tugging him forward so that he was standing in front of Chris. “Tell me yes and tell me what you want. Tell me no, and you can leave.”

“Damn it, man. I just told you what I wanted. Don’t you pay any damned attention,” Len complained.

“Oh, I pay attention, but also to the rules of this. And you were the one who mentioned the rules to start with. So, explicitly, yes or no.”

“Yes. Please,” Len said. “Kiss me now, damn it.”

Chris tugged him forward again and then into his lap with his knees on the outside of Chris’ thighs. Len’s fingers were in his hair and on his neck.

Chris tipped his head up, and Len’s soft, soft mouth finally came down on his, giving him the sweetest kiss imaginable. He sighed into it, already loving the feel of Len’s lips on his. His belly tightened appreciatively. One of his hands moved down Len’s back and under his shirt to touch the skin of his bare back. The other slid around Len’s hip and onto his ass.

Len’s mouth was pure bliss. He’d known that it would be this sweet as soon as he saw him coming towards him tonight. He already knew that Len was going to be passionate and messy. God, Chris loved the contradictions of this man already. “More?”

“Fuck, yes,” Len said and pulled Chris’ shirt over his head and ran his hand over Chris’ scarred chest, seemingly not noticing them any more than he had the one on Chris’ face. Len slid to his knees in front of the bed and started on the button and zipper of Chris’ jeans.

Before Chris could say anything more, he was stripped of all his clothes, and Len’s mouth was sliding down, taking him in. Chris leaned back on his elbows and watched Len let him move in and out of his mouth. He moaned, and then again, the pleasure intensifying each time Len’s mouth descended on him. Finally, he couldn’t hold back any longer, and Chris let himself go, feeling every extraordinary second of it as he succumbed to the pleasure.

“God, you are magnificent,” Chris panted out when he could finally speak again.

And didn’t Len look pleased with that. “Now, I’ve got a problem that needs some attention.”

Chris leaned up on his elbow. “As you may remember, I’m good at giving someone my undivided attention.”

“Well, let’s see, you put your credits where your mouth is.” Len was still dressed and folded his arms over his chest, looking very skeptical.

“Apologies,” Chris said as he got off the bed and stood in front of him, taking the bottom of his shirt and lifting it over his head. He divested Len of his pants and underwear and socks and boots. “There that’s better, isn’t it?”

“For whom? I’m standing here shivering,” Len complained.

“Let me warm you up,” Chris said, sliding his arms around him and kissing him deeply, and then again, before turning him to ease him down onto the bed.

Len spread his arms and legs apart and closed his eyes. “Have at it.”

Chris trailed his fingers and then his mouth down Len’s chest.

“You could move this along, you know,” Len murmured.

“I could, but where’s the fun in that?” Chris answered. He wasn’t in any hurry, despite Len’s complaining about it.

He took his time, learning the taste of Len’s skin, deciding which caresses Len liked the best. All good information for the future. But the task at hand required finishing, and he bent his head to do that.

Len’s head went into the pillows, and his back arched. “FFUUCCKK!” He groaned out, panting.

Chris gathered him into his arms and held him for a few minutes, just enjoying the feel of Len in his arms and his response.

“Damn,” Len said. “Been a long time since anyone had done that for me.”

“What exactly,” Chris asked.

“Made me feel anything like that. It was fantastic,” Len said.

Chris cuddled him a little closer. He put his head on Chris’ chest, and Chris rubbed his back.

Len sighed. “Does it feel like a soul bond to you?”

“It feels very good to me. I don’t know what a soul bond is supposed to feel like. Once I got past my late thirties, I stopped thinking about it at all.”

Len turned his head and kissed Chris’ chest. “I did, too. I always thought it would happen, but it never did. Do you think we’ve developed the soul marks?”

“We’ll need to check in the morning,” Chris said. “I understand that they appear after the first kiss.”

“Which we didn’t do until now,” Len said. “Why didn’t you kiss me?”

“Why didn’t you kiss me?” Chris asked. Len stiffened in his arms, but Chris rubbed his back, and then he sighed and relaxed again. “I wanted to, especially after we had sex the first time, but you didn’t seem receptive to it. And then, after the second time, I had to leave.”

“I don’t know why you thought that,” Len said. “Where does it leave us?”

“I don’t know that either,” Chris said. “I have to leave in the morning to go back to Starbase 1 and get ready to meet the Enterprise.”

“Jim told me we’re picking you up in a few days to take you back out to Starbase 11 for more cleanup duty.”

“You know, I was looking forward to meeting you and thanking you for saving my life,” Chris said, smiling a little at him.

“I wanted to meet Starfleet’s Boy Scout.” McCoy laughed. “I didn’t know I already knew him. Or that you really are such a Boy Scout.”

“I hate that,” Chris complained. “Someday, I’ll explain why.”

“People call you that to your face, don’t they,” McCoy said, laughing at him. “But I should probably mention that I don’t take orders well or at all.”

“How have you not ended up in someone’s brig for being insubordinate?” Chris asked, but he could guess the answer to that question.

“I’m an excellent doctor. That gets me a lot of leeway.” McCoy glanced at him. “Also, I saved your life, and Admiral April is very grateful to me for it.”

“That’s so true. You know, he loves me like a son,” Chris said. Bob April had been a mentor to Chris when he’d been coming up the ranks, and Chris had served as his first officer when Bob had been captain of the Enterprise.

“I knew that as soon as he thanked me for the hundredth time,” McCoy said. “And you love him as well.”

“The closest thing to a father I ever had. Well, I had a father, but let’s not talk about him. Not now, anyway.”

“Daddy issues?”

“Oh, you bet,” Chris agreed. Way too many issues with that. And he wasn’t going to try to explain his other father now, who also loved him as a son. “But another time. There will be time, I think.” Chris looked at him and grinned. “I think we should go to sleep now. We can talk more in the morning.”

“I’m not sure how this will work,” Len laid his head back down on Chris’ chest. “But I want it, and you. I like the feeling I get when I’m with you.”

“What feeling is that?” Chris asked softly.

“The warm, safe one. But you need to shut up so I can go to sleep,” Len ordered.

Chris just smiled at him. Yeah, he was good with that.

*****

Chapter Five

Starbase 1
A Few Days Later

Chris stood in front of the transparent panels at the end of Starbase 1’s main corridor, adjacent to Admiral April’s office. The glass panels rose up from the bottom floor of the main concourse to the very top of the starbase in a wide, outward-curving arch. Each panel could either shield or allow the sun’s light into the station below. One of many upgrades that were made about a decade ago when the starbase had been rebuilt after nearly being destroyed by the Klingons during the war with them.

As always, thinking about the war brought a familiar pang. He and the Enterprise had been kept on their five-year mission and hadn’t been recalled to help with the fighting. In theory, they were the weapon of last resort, but what good was surviving if everyone in his and his crews’ families did not. It never made sense to Chris.

He sighed and glanced out into space. It was a long time ago. Now, though, he needed to talk with Bob April. He’d wanted to give him a heads-up about his new relationship with Len. Chris was still trying to figure out what to say.

After being with Len again, it had been so hard to leave him the following morning. Even knowing they’d be seeing each other in a few days hadn’t made the separation any easier. Chris had told himself that even if it were a soul bond, which they hadn’t confirmed, they could be apart for a little while. The Enterprise was due to pick him up in a few days. He shouldn’t be counting the seconds like he was.

“Are you going to come in,” Bob said, standing in his doorway, looking somewhere between amused and exasperated, which wasn’t surprising. They had completely different management styles.

“I’m thinking about it,” Chris replied, smiling.

“I’ve been watching you pace back and forth for fifteen minutes. Come in and tell me why you’re here,” Bob ordered.

Chris sat in front of Bob’s desk and tried to collect his thoughts on what to say. He hadn’t discussed this with Len at all beyond deciding they didn’t need consent forms.

“So, I went back to Risa this past weekend and met someone. I should say I met them again since we’d met before, although we didn’t know who the other person was at that meeting –”

Bob raised an eyebrow. “You’ll get to the point soon?”

“Yeah, so I think it might be a soul bond.”

“What do you mean you think it might be?” Bob asked, sounding, well, pretty shocked. “That’s something you know pretty much immediately.”

“That’s what I’ve always heard. But we’re both so much older than the norm. We think so. But by the time we’d woken up on Sunday morning, both of us had to catch shuttles back.”

“You didn’t have a chance to look for a mark? Really? Why didn’t you do that first thing?” Bob asked.

Chris shrugged. “Because there were other things to do and to talk about, and that was sort of an afterthought.”

“Wait. An afterthought? Are you sure it’s a soul bond?” Bob asked, shaking his head.

“We think so. We’re definitely drawn to each other. Like I’ve never been to anyone before.” Chris shrugged. “But there seems to be other issues, and I’m not sure why, but we’re both reluctant to even talk about it.”

“Who is it?” Bob asked.

“Doctor Leonard McCoy.”

Bob was silent, looking as surprised as Chris had ever seen him look. “I’m not sure what to say to that. You left him Sunday morning. I’m going to assume you’ve been intimate with him and that you could leave.”

“Each time. The first time was before the accident,” Chris said. “Since our relationship started before I was promoted, consent forms are not required.”

“No. Of course not,” he said. “But I’m still wondering about how this works with the both of you. I’ve never heard of someone your age finding your soulmate and then not having it be cataclysmic in terms of the meeting. Like being unable to leave each other’s company for days after.”

Now, Chris was surprised. “I had no idea it should have been like that. We’ve met and parted twice. It was significantly harder this time. We’d talked about the possibility of a soul bond. But –”

“That may have been taken as your acceptance of it,” Bob suggested. “But that still wouldn’t negate the need to be together.”

“I don’t know,” Chris said with another shrug. He had no idea it was supposed to work that way or why it hadn’t with them. “This question is probably too personal, but how did it work with you and Sarah?”

“It was what I described. We were younger than the norm, both about twenty-two. We met at our graduation from Starfleet. My plans changed because I was going to have to wait for her to go to medical school. But even then, we spent a week together right after we met.” Bob smiled at that. “She barely let me out of bed to eat.”

“It wasn’t like that with us.” Chris wondered if the circumstances of their first meeting had anything to do with it. “Is there anything written about this? Especially for those of us who are older than the norm?”

“There’s a lot of research, but most of it concludes that every couple is different. There are some things that happen. The initial intense attraction and soul mark after the first kiss are the two things that don’t seem to change from person to person.”

Bob was silent for a moment. “There are other things, too. Like the complete acceptance of your partner’s family as your own. More than being married, even. Legally, any children are automatically considered your children. Your brother is his brother, his is yours. Parents as well. It’s very instinctive. I call Sarah’s mother mom, just like she does. Ellen, Sarah’s mother, feels like she is my mother, and Sarah has said that my mother and father feel that way to her.”

“I like that. I think he mentioned a daughter,” Chris said. But he was all in on having more family. “He and I will need to check for the mark. I can’t believe we didn’t do it this weekend.”

Bob nodded. “Are you okay with this?”

“I think so,” Chris said honestly. “It already feels like he’s going to mean everything to me. And how could I not want that? We will have to work out the details when we see each other again. I will meet the Enterprise in a couple of days.”

“Speaking of meeting the Enterprise,” Bob said. “You should tell Jim Kirk about your foreknowledge of the accident. I haven’t said anything, but it makes the whole conspiracy idea more credible. If you knew, and others knew, which they did, then it was possible that someone you hadn’t told knew as well.”

“True,” Chris said. When he wasn’t thinking about seeing Len again, he’d been thinking about what was happening with Starbase 11 and what he needed to do about it. “I’ll speak to Jim. I should probably tell Len as well.”

“I have a feeling that this is much more complicated than we realized when it happened,” Bob said and then looked at him. “You and Captain Kirk are both going to need to keep me informed about what’s happened, more so than either of you normally would,” Bob told him.

“Of course.” Chris would do that. It was probably a good idea, if only because there were so many moving parts already, it would be good to have someone else looking at the information.

*****

On The Enterprise
A Few Days Later

Jim, Len, and Spock were waiting for him in the transporter room when he beamed aboard. Although it had been upgraded since he was captain, the room itself looked about the same.

“Permission to come on board, Captain,” Chris said politely.

“Granted,” Jim said, smiling. “Good to see you looking so well, Chris. Appologies, I mean Commodore.”

Chris laughed as he stepped off the transporter platform. “If you called me Chris when I was captain, you still get to do that with whatever else I get promoted to.”

“Are you planning for more promotions, sir?” Len asked, smirking. “Unlike Jim or Spock, I actually don’t have permission to call you by your first name.”

“Bones, have you two met,” Jim asked, glancing at Len with a surprised look on his face. “Because I thought you told me that you didn’t know Commodore Pike.”

“I do, in fact, know him,” Len said, staring at Chris and then giving Jim a stern look. “And no, we are not going to discuss this now.”

Jim looked like he was going to choke on that. “Of course not.”

Spock was standing there looking as surprised as it was possible to look without actually having his eyes widen and his mouth drop open.

“I think we can explain everything later,” Chris suggested. He breathed out, trying to hold back the need to put his hands on Len. “Doctor McCoy, please call me Chris informally.”

“Yes, sir,” Len said without any inflection and without looking at him either. That was probably a good thing.

Back to business. Chris cleared his throat. “I’d like to meet with you, Jim, Doctor McCoy, and Spock before we meet with anyone else who is working on what’s going on with Starbase 11.”

“Sure, why don’t we meet in my ready room in about an hour. That will let you get settled,” Jim suggested with a smile. It was clear he already suspected something was going on between him and Len.

“Thanks. That sounds very good,” Chris agreed. “I’m going to assume I’m in the guest quarters, and they haven’t moved?”

Jim laughed. “Yes and no.”

“I’d be happy to show the Commodore to his quarters,” Len volunteered.

“Thanks, doctor, that would be very kind of you,” Chris agreed, his pulse picking up at the thought of being alone with Len for even a few minutes. It had been too long since the weekend.

Both Jim and Spock looked surprised by the offer, and Spock probably only looked surprised to Chris. He was going to have to explain. But not right this second.

*****

As hard as it was, he and Len made it to Chris’ quarters without touching each other. But as soon as the doors closed behind them, Len pushed him against the wall and proceeded to kiss him thoroughly, one of his hands sliding into Chris’ hair and the other moving around his waist. Chris leaned into the kiss. God, he’d missed Len so much in the few days they’d been apart. Something inside him relaxed as soon as Len touched him.

“We don’t have time for what you’re thinking about,” Chris said against his mouth, his hands wandering down Len’s back to cup his ass and pull him closer. He just loved the feel of Len’s body under his hands, even with his clothes on.

But that wasn’t enough. He wanted those clothes off. Now.

Len put his hand on the back of Chris’ neck and urged him forward until their mouths pressed together again. Chris’ eyes closed and he pressed into the kiss. They eased apart slowly, but then the separation was too much. He leaned in again, kissing Len harder this time.

Something deep in Chris responded, wanting more and needing to be closer. He had to touch Len. One of his hands pressed against the front of Len’s uniform shirt, while the other slid under his shirt and undershirt to put his hand flat onto the bare skin of Len’s lower back, his fingers moving in a slow caress. Chris felt the resonance of Len’s longing slide through his body.

His back made contact with the wall as Len turned him and then leaned into him, his hand fisted in Chris’ uniform jacket, the other back in his hair.

Yes. This was what Chris had needed for the days they’d been apart. This feeling. This incandescent moment of Len being back in his arms.

Len trembled under Chris’ mouth and hands. He pushed further into Chris. His thigh slid between Chris’ legs, pressing into him. The touch spiked his arousal hard, fast, and Chris pressed into it, pushing his own thigh between Len’s legs, and they rocked against each other, panting.

The hand he had on Len’s shirt pushed downward as he slid it across Len’s stomach and under the waistband of his pants. Gasping, he managed to get his hand around Len and stroke his thumb over the top a couple of times, and Len swore as he came.

Len’s hand wrapped around him and stroked him once. That was all it took. He groaned into Len’s mouth as he let go.

The kisses gentled as they panted into each other’s mouths. They were still leaning on each other, Chris’ back still pressed against the wall. There was a part of him that wanted to hang on to this feeling as long as he could. He’d never felt anything like it before, never been awash with such deep emotions or expansive pleasure as what they’d just done.

“Oh God, what just happened?” Chris asked, even though he knew, knew, and reveled in it. “I’ve never done –”

“Anything like that on duty before? Me neither. This has to be –”

“I think it must be.” But again, even as Chris said that there was still some doubt or something trying to deny it forming in his mind. He couldn’t address that now. “And we need to clean up and get to Jim’s Ready Room,” Chris said, still unable to let Len go. “All I want is to hold onto you.”

“Me, too,” Len said, and his arms tightened and then loosened. “I think we need to –”

“Yeah, we do.” Chris leaned in and kissed him. And then, with more reluctance than he could express, he stepped back. He closed his eyes, not allowing himself to move back towards Len, even though he wanted to, so damned badly. Chris took a deep breath and then a second. “I’m usually better at this.”

“Since I think this is probably the soul bond, we are going to need to cut each other and ourselves some slack. However, I think we’ll need to let Jim know. Sooner rather than later. I doubt Jim is going to forget that we somehow met between when I did the procedures on you and hadn’t met you and now –”

“You actually had met me,” Chris pointed out.

“Yeah, but I didn’t know that when I talked to Jim,” Len snapped.

Chris smiled at Len’s annoyed tone. He couldn’t resist leaning in and kissing Len one more time. “Let’s clean up and get to that meeting.”

Len just nodded.

*****

Both Spock and Jim were at the table when Len and he came in. Jim grinned gleefully at them. And it was clear he knew what was going on.

But aside from grinning at them, he said nothing. And realistically, it was on Chris to let him know as a courtesy. Chris sighed and looked at Len, who shrugged. “Of course,” he said. “Given everything, I’d tell him myself now anyway.”

“It’s pretty obvious. I’ve known Bones for years, and I have never seen him volunteer to do anything like what he just did,” Jim said and then cleared his throat. “Also, you’ve both changed uniforms.”

Chris wasn’t going to ask how he knew that.

“Indeed, Commodore,” Spock said. “Your hair does not have its usual stylish appearance. In fact, it appears to have had someone running their fingers through it.” And damned if Spock didn’t look pleased with himself.

Chris sighed. “Fine. Yes. We’ve met before.”

“Is that what we’re going with, Commodore?” Len said, sounding annoyed.

“What would you say?” Chris asked because he’d never been in this situation before.

Len smirked at that. “Something more than that. Like, I don’t know, we’re involved with each other?”

“That’s true,” Chris said. More than involved. But he wasn’t ready to talk about that now, not until he and Len confirmed it.

Jim glanced between them. “How did you two meet? Because before you and Doctor M’Benga saved his life, you said –”

“Yeah, about that. We had met,” Len started, and then was clearly thinking about how to phrase it.

But Jim was one step ahead already. “I get it, Bones. You don’t need to give us any more details,” Jim said, but he was smiling. “I’m very happy for you. Maybe you won’t be so cranky all the time.”

“Don’t count on that. He likes the cranky,” Len said smugly.

Jim looked at him, and Chris nodded. He adored the cranky. It made him want to cuddle Len close and see what he could do to soothe him. And the thought of cuddling him made Chris want to do other things and hadn’t they just already done that? God, what was wrong with him? Wait, was this part of the soul bond? No. It couldn’t be. Could it?

Spock’s voice brought him out of his thoughts. “As interesting as all of this is, I believe we have a meeting to attend in ten point seven minutes.”

“Before we do that, I’m going to tell Jim and Len some of the background to the accident. Spock already knows this, but after reading your report, Jim, you speculated that it all had to be a coincidence because if it wasn’t, then someone knew what was going to happen.” Chris met Len’s eyes. “I knew what was going to happen to me in that accident for almost a decade before it happened.”

Len put his hand on Chris’. “How,” he asked quietly. All the amusement and fun were stripped out of his voice.

Chris closed his eyes and breathed out. He hadn’t talked about this in years. “In 2257, I needed a time crystal. I went to the Klingon world of Boreth and asked for one. When I touched it, I saw and felt the accident happen. I was told that to take the crystal, was to seal my fate forever, but I needed it badly enough to agree to that by taking it. Or so I believed. I had not counted on Len and Joseph being there to save me from the delta radiation.”

“Why let it happen at all? I mean, why not try to change it,” Jim asked, and Len nodded.

“I did think to try, but I was told that should I manage it, I would have doomed someone else to my fate. And that was never going to happen to anyone on my watch,” Chris assured them. And it especially was not going to happen to Spock.

Jim nodded and glanced at Spock. Who said nothing and was staring straight ahead.

“And why did you need the time crystal,” Len asked, his eyes wide and sympathetic. They would need to talk about this later.

“Most of the reasons are classified, but suffice it to say, it was needed to avoid a catastrophic world-ending event. That’s all I can say about it,” Chris said. “And I’m going to ask that you don’t give this information to anyone. But I thought it was pertinent for you to know it. If I knew about my fate, there was a possibility that someone else, someone I hadn’t told about it, knew it as well. And possibly beings not friendly towards Earth or the Federation might also have known.”

Jim nodded again. “Thank you for telling us this. It makes some of my crazier theories sound less crazy than I thought.”

“We’re going to continue the investigation on Starbase 11 that Special Ops started a week ago. Apparently, there have been some reports that have gotten through to Starfleet HQ about some irregular happenings,” Chris said.

“What are you talking about?” Len asked. “Irregular, how?”

“I got a report about that,” Jim said. “But it was vague. Special Ops sent someone out there, and they found that Mendez had something going on, but since we were coming out anyway, all they did was take Mendez into custody.”

“I knew that Mendez had been removed as Commodore,” Chris said. “I’d still like to question him, but Special Ops transferred him back to Starbase I and wouldn’t let me near him until they’d processed him. And, of course, I left today. They said that something was going on in the hospital, too. But they hadn’t had time to even begin an investigation for that situation.” Chris glanced at Len.

“At this point, I’m pretty sure that you’re going to need to wait in line to talk to Mendez,” Jim said. “And I heard Admiral April was outraged about the hospital.”

“Yeah, I’ll be looking into that as soon as I get there,” Len said.

While no one had explicitly said Chris would be replacing Mendez, he thought that was probably what was going to happen. He was surprisingly okay with that. It would keep him in space and give him something meaningful to do. Because of the hard stop on his life after the accident, he’d never thought beyond it, especially, in terms of what he might be doing. “So, when is the next meeting?”

“Right now. We’ll have a regular status meeting with the rest of the crew that are involved,” Jim said. “Later tonight, there will be a reception for you in the Port Galley.”

“Thanks, Jim,” Chris said. Sometime in there, he wanted to get his hands on Len, but that might have to wait until the day was over.

*****

The reception was lovely. Chris got to speak to some of his old crew, which was delightful. Uhura seemed to be flourishing and had recently been promoted to full Lieutenant. Scotty had also been promoted to full Lieutenant. He and Scotty had talked briefly about the incendiary device, which Scotty now thought was Romulan. That would require further review and investigation. Scotty said he planned to go over the engineering department on Starbase 11 with a fine-toothed comb.

“May I join you, Commodore?” Spock asked.

“Of course,” Chris said, smiling. “Pull up a chair.”

“I wished to ascertain how you are doing? You seem much more like your old self,” he said.

“I’m good. A lot is going on right now,” Chris glanced at Len, who was talking to Jim. He could watch Len move all night.

“Congratulations,” Spock said with a nod to where his eyes were right now. “I have to say that I found that to be a surprise. On the surface, at least, you and Doctor McCoy do not appear to be very compatible.”

“Yeah, Spock, it was a surprise to me, too. But not an unpleasant one,” Chris said. “I am finding we are surprisingly compatible.”

“May I ask how you met him?” Spock asked curiously.

“Risa. Apparently, I know his brother-in-law,” Chris said. “Who is dating my brother.”

“That is very coincidental. I find that fascinating,” Spock said, sounding thoughtful about it.

“Yeah. Very. But how could it be anything else? There are a lot of coincidences between us,” Chris said. “I’m not sure I believe it’s fate, especially given what happened with my supposed fate.”

“I believe your fate may have been more carefully planned than we were led to believe a decade ago. I do not believe this was left up to chance,” Spock said. His expression was without any animation, but Chris could tell he was troubled.

“What do you know?” Chris asked, wondering what he’d missed. “I have been going with sheer dumb luck that Joseph and Len were in the right place at the right time to help me.”

“Doctor McCoy has been working on therapies and mitigations for radiation poisoning nearly his entire medical career,” Spock pointed out.

“Joseph mentioned something about that but never said what the reason for that was. Do you know why?” Chris asked. He should probably ask Len about it.

“I understand that early in his career, he lost a patient who was quite young because there was nothing he could do for her, and that set him on his path,” Spock said. “The coincidence of that is remarkable.”

“How do you know that?” Chris asked. “I didn’t get the impression you and he were that close.”

“I would not categorize my relationship with Doctor McCoy as close as I am to you. Or as I’m becoming with Captain Kirk, but it is more friendly than it would appear. I do care about him, and I believe he also cares about me as an individual rather than just a colleague. Also, I have a need to know who I am working with. It is not difficult information to come by.”

Chris could understand that need, but at this point in the proceedings, he wanted to get whatever information he needed from Len himself. He glanced across the room again and saw that Len was talking to someone Chris didn’t know. But just seeing him there was a comfort. “No, it’s not. I still don’t see how it could be anything other than chance.”

“I suspect we will find it to be something more elaborate. I do not say that with absolute certainty. However, it seems unlikely that all of those chance happenings were actually all chance.”

“Do you know something specific?” Chris asked.

“I do not. However, I know the statistical probability of it being completely chance is very low.” Spock met his eyes. “Low enough to be close to zero.”

“And yet, here we are,” Chris said.

“Indeed, Chris,” Spock said and stood. “I will see you in the morning, sir.”

“Thanks, Spock.” Chris watched him leave.

*****

A little while later, Len was standing next to his table. “Are you ready to go?”

“Of course,” Chris said, standing. “My quarters or yours.”

“Mine,” Len said and held out his arm.

Chris slid his arm through Len’s and let him lead him out. They walked slowly back to Len’s quarters with his arm still through Len’s, and he didn’t care who saw them. When the door finally closed behind them, Len pressed him up against the wall again and kissed him deeply. Chris let Len lead him where he wanted him to go. It was almost too easy with Len.

They wrestled each other’s clothes off and rolled around on Len’s big bed, kissing, licking and sucking. Something inside him just reveled in each touch and kiss. To say it was like nothing he’d ever experienced would be underplaying the effect that Len had on him.

Despite what happened this morning, Chris had needed this all day and had managed to tamp it down enough to get some work done, but now, now he was breathless with it. He leaned into Len and kissed him deeply.

After a little while, Len rolled on top again, smiling down at him. “I want you,” he said playfully.

Chris laughed. “Anything you want, Sweetheart. Any way you want it.” Because Chris didn’t care at this point, he needed whatever Len was offering. No matter what it was.

Len leaned in and kissed him, his hands stroking down Chris’ chest and over his belly. Len’s mouth and hands made their way along his body. After a while, Chris’ head pressed farther into the pillow, and his fingers tangled in Len’s hair as his mouth took him in.

Oh, God, that mouth.

He tried to control his movements, but soon, his hips had a mind of their own, and he was sliding in and out of the wet heat of Len’s mouth. There was no control left in him. He closed his eyes and gave in, moaning loudly.

When Chris caught his breath again, he looked at Len, and he had a satisfied look on his face. “What can I do for you,” Chris asked.

“Just about anything you want to,” Len breathed, turning onto his back. “Watching you get off is apparently quite the turn-on. I’m very close.”

Given free rein, Chris moved down his body slowly, sucking kisses into his skin, tasting his chest and belly, easing his legs apart and taking him in, and letting him move. It didn’t take long to finish him off. Len whined as he did, quite loudly, in fact. That was satisfying for both of them.

Len snuggled against him and kissed him one more time. “I’m done,” he murmured against Chris’ mouth before promptly falling asleep.

*****

Chapter Six

The Enterprise

The next morning, the work started early. Len had been called away at about 0500 for an emergency and he hadn’t come back. Eventually, Chris got up, took a quick shower, and then replicated a new uniform. He missed waking up with Len’s arms wrapped around him, but someone else needed him this morning. Maybe he should check on that.

As he stepped out of Len’s quarters, he nearly ran into Christine Chapel, who smiled at him. “I’d heard you were on board. How are you, Chris, I mean Commodore?” she asked, smiling.

“Chris is fine. I’m good. Recovered from what happened,” Chris said.

“I would not have thought that you and he –” she waved her finger between the door and him.

Chris smiled. Well, he wasn’t going to deny it. “Yeah, that was kind of a surprise for me, too.”

“I’ll bet,” she said. “The whole crew will know by the time you get back to your quarters.”

“I’m sure most of them already know. I left the reception last night on his arm.” Chris knew what living on a starship was like. There were no secrets.

“I missed the reception,” she said. “I had some other things happening.”

He wasn’t going to ask what since it was clear that she didn’t want to say. “I’ll be around for a while. We can catch up then.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.” She moved down the corridor. Sickbay was on this level.

*****

Starbase 11
Later That Morning

Len beamed down with Chris, Spock, Scotty, and Jim. They split up. Chris and Jim went to talk to the temporary base administrator. Spock and Scotty went to engineering, and Len went to the hospital to speak to the hospital administrator. Even though he’d said they were fired, he didn’t actually have the authority to do that, and at least some of them knew that.

Others of them had requested transfers or just left after that. They might have known he was coming back. He still didn’t really have any authority to fire someone in Starfleet, but he could and would get rid of some of the people working for Starfleet. And write scathing reports on the rest.

Len glanced around the entrance to the hospital. The lobby was an expansive, open atrium filled with light, its ceiling a high, translucent dome that filtered natural sunlight, giving the space a soothing glow.

As Len walked across the lobby, he noted that the floors were made of some kind of material that seemed to absorb sound, creating a hushed feel to the room.

Unfortunately, the information desks were not staffed. In fact, there were very few staff people around at all. There was a line of about five or six beings, who he could only assume were patients, waiting to check in at self-service kiosks. What the ever-living fuck, he thought.

He went upstairs to the office where the administrator was supposed to be, but there was no one there. The outer office was empty, and the door to the inner office was open. He walked in and looked around. There were paper documents on the desk. Printouts of patient information. That was actually illegal. He stepped back, pulling out his padd and taking a few pictures of the mess.

This kind of incompetence infuriated him. Maybe he’d find someone downstairs at the nurse’s station.

*****

Len was unsurprised to find that there was only one person at the nurse’s station. She didn’t look pleased to see him when he’d cleared his throat. “Can I help you?” the nurse asked in a tone that conveyed her absolute unwillingness to be of any help at all.

“I’m Doctor Leonard McCoy –”

“Fuck,” she growled, looking around. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m looking for the damned administrator for this place. I had an appointment with him ten minutes ago,” Len said, annoyed as fuck. “Get him in here, now?”

“Who do you think you are trying to order me around?” she asked, folding her arms over her chest.

“I’m the Starfleet doctor that is doing a review of this facility. And you just failed it. Now, page Edward Collins for me,” Len ordered.

“We’ll see about that,” she said. She got up and went through a door into the back. Len walked right around the counter and followed her. By the time he found her, maybe two minutes later, she was on her comm, complaining bitterly that he was there. There were half a dozen people milling around doing who knew what, but clearly not working.

“What the fuck is going on in this place. You people are supposed to be helping the patients, not hiding back here. Get the fuck out there and do your jobs,” Len ordered.

A pale humanoid being, who was not in a hospital uniform or any uniform at all, and was enormous, said, “Who the fuck are you to be telling any of us what to do. I should teach you a lesson on manners,” he said, looming ominously close to Len.

But Len had never learned to back down. “I’m the Starfleet doctor who will fire all of you for being fucking incompetent. Or not caring enough about the people you’re supposed to be serving.”

The being had fists like whole hams, and he clocked Len right in the face with one of them. Well, that hurt. He’d probably just broken Len’s nose since blood was streaming out of it.

“Fuck,” Len said. He snapped open his communicator and said, “Red alert,” which set off the red alert in the hospital. That also didn’t stop Ham Hands from hitting him again. By the fourth or fifth blow, Len was pretty sure he had enough broken bones in his chest to kill him.

Well, Damn it all.

At some point, he’d dropped his communicator, and then, he was on the ground, too. At least Ham Hands had stopped hitting him, although someone seemed to be kicking him in the side right now. It was all vague and painful. It was probably a good time to pass out.

*****

He came to with Christine kneeling beside him. He guessed that Ham Hands had been subdued. But he was having trouble breathing.

“Hold still, Len,” Christine said, putting a hand on his shoulder to keep him from moving. “He’s crushed your chest. Let me get you stabilized. Then we’ll beam you into sickbay.”

“Felt that,” Len muttered, trying to remain still. It was pretty hard to breathe, but he managed to gasp out, “They are all incompetent and complicit. They should be fired.”

“I’ll see to it,” Chris promised, kneeling next to him.

What was he doing here? Before he could ask, he was passing out again.

*****

When Len woke again, he was in sickbay and feeling much better. Or at least he could breathe properly. “What happened,” he croaked out.

“You nearly died,” Chris said, looking pretty upset by it. He took Len’s hand, and his hand was bandaged.

Why wasn’t it treated yet? “What happened to your hand?” Len asked.

“I might have punched the shit out of that being who tried to kill you,” Chris said, sounding proud of himself. Which wasn’t like his Boy Scout.

“No way,” Len said and looked at Chris and he nodded. “Really?”

“I can’t remember ever being that enraged. Or out of control,” Chris said. “Even as well trained as I am, I shouldn’t have had the sheer physical strength to take that being down. It took Spock, Jim, and Scotty to pull me off him. And I struggled enough against them that finally Spock used a nerve pinch to make me stop trying to get at him.”

“Wow. That sounds like a soul-bond reaction. The need to keep a soulmate safe or avenge them when someone hurts them is primal to a true soul bond,” Len said thoughtfully. They’d discussed the possibility more than once. Len knew that would be the only explanation for the power of what was between them.

“Yeah, it would,” Chris said. “Except we haven’t even looked for the soul marks on our bodies.”

“That has to be what is going on with us,” Len said, waving a finger between them. He was pretty sure that they both had matching marks now. “Soul bonds aren’t supposed to happen like this. Why haven’t we had any of the known signs.”

“I don’t know,” Chris said. “It’s probably time to stop avoiding this and look for the marks. That will confirm what we already know. And it’s going to change everything.”

“I know,” Len said. “I am looking forward to making a complete inspection of your body.” Len leered at him playfully. “Every inch of it. If it’s there, I’ll find it.”

“Give it a few days, Sweetheart,” Chris said, laughing and leaned down to kiss Len’s forehead. “I think we’ll find the marks.”

“How would two old guys like us end up with a soul bond,” Len asked. It seemed so unlikely that it could be true, but no more so than Chris practically killing a mountain of a being who had hurt him. Len slid his hand onto Chris’. “Are you okay with this?”

“I have never thought myself capable of that level of violence and then to be completely without remorse about it. I don’t recognize myself. I literally wanted to kill him for what he did to you,” Chris said and glanced at him. “You seem very calm about it.”

“I am good with having a soul bond. I like you a lot. I think I’ve mentioned that. It’s going to be a lot more than that when we get to know each other.” Len was actually looking forward to that. More than that, he could see his future with Chris in it, and it was so much better than what he’d been expecting. There were still a lot of details to work out.

“Just like that?” Chris asked. “Well, the thing about a soul bond is that we won’t be able to be apart for a while.”

“The idea of being apart from you already seems wrong to me. I missed you like hell for the few days we were apart at the beginning of the week.” Len had been miserable, much more miserable than he’d expected when they left each other on Sunday morning. The only thing that made it slightly more bearable was that he knew he’d see Chris in a few days.

“Same for me,” Chris said. “I think that’s why we reacted as we did when we saw each other again. ” Chris cleared his throat. “While I can hitch a ride on the Enterprise now and then, it’s Jim’s ship, and he doesn’t need a superior officer living on it.”

“Which means I’ll have to give up the CMO position and leave the ship,” Len said, but he wasn’t upset about it. He had no problem with trading the Enterprise for a soul bond with Chris.

“Yes. I’m sorry. I know that’s going to –”

“It’s going to be okay,” Len finished for him. “I have a profound love-hate relationship with deep space exploration. I love my crew and the work I’ve done on this ship and other places, but I detest having my atoms scattered to hell and gone every damned time I want to leave the ship. Not to mention the darkness, and constant danger and a hundred other things I don’t even want to think about.”

“Seriously? I loved it out there. I wish I was still captain of some ship –”

“You could leave Starfleet and get your own ship, explore and travel all you want,” Len suggested. If that was what Chris wanted, he’d be okay with that. But, “That would not be my first choice of things to do. Maybe you could leave me on a Starbase and come back to visit once in a while.”

“There’s the whole not being able to be apart for more than a few days that would make that difficult. Truthfully, I paid a steep price to even go to the Academy, so I’d probably never leave Starfleet,” Chris said. “At some point soon, I’m going to have to tell you about that. And you’re going to have to tell me all those things you’d rather not. With a soul bond, we’re probably going to be compelled to talk about it. I think we’re going to need to do it before then.”

“Probably,” Len said and yawned. “God, why am I so tired suddenly?”

“You had the stuffings beat out of you by a huge being, and they crushed your chest. You’re going to be off duty and tired for a few days.”

“Maybe tired, but not off duty. I have a lot of reports to write and generally a lot to do,” Len said. He wanted to get back down to the hospital and find out what the fuck was going on there.

Chris smiled at him. “Nope. You’re off duty for at least forty-eight hours.”

“What? No.” Len yawned again. “You do not get to make medical decisions for me.”

“I’ll make it an order,” Chris threatened.

Len just glared at him for a moment. There was a part of him that said he should be outraged by Chris trying to order him to do anything, but really, he was kind of charmed by the care. Damn. “I told you before, you can’t order me around on Jim’s ship. Or at all.”

“Sure, I can,” Chris said and stood. Then, he leaned down to kiss him, and for a second or two, the kiss held. It was so sweet.

But he was so tired. He leaned up and let Chris kiss him a few more times. God, he just loved the feel of his mouth. But he was falling asleep.

*****

Chris wanted to keep kissing Len for a long damned time. But no, he needed rest. “Sleep. I’ll be back soon.”

As he watched, Len’s eyes closed, and his breathing evened out. Chris leaned over and kissed Len’s forehead again, and stood up straight.

When he turned around, Jim was standing there with Spock, probably having heard at least some of their conversation. Well, he wouldn’t have to explain, then.

Jim motioned him through the door into Len’s office. “I guess you heard that,” Chris said.

“Yeah, I could have guessed the first time I saw you both together,” Jim said. “Congratulations.”

“I could sense the bond on you,” Spock said.

“Thanks, Jim,” Chris said. “But one of you might have mentioned something. We had discussed the possibility of it being a soul bond, but even so, I was surprised by my reaction today.”

“I was not,” Spock said. “It is a typical reaction of a soulmate to a threat to their partner.”

“You still might have said something,” Chris said.

“And spoil the surprise,” Jim said, smiling. “It isn’t either of our places to tell you something you should have known when you met him.”

That was probably true, Chris conceded. “Who thinks of finding a soulmate at our age.”

Spock raised an eyebrow at that. “You both are not that old, even among humans. You could easily spend another fifty or sixty years or more with him.”

Well, that was a nice thought, wasn’t it. “I’m sorry, Jim,” Chris said. “I know this will be hard on you.”

“Yes. Losing Bones will be hard on the whole ship,” Jim agreed and then smiled. “But personally, I am so happy for him and you, too. He hasn’t had it easy.”

“No, I know that. And I don’t know any of the details yet,” Chris said and sighed. “I mentioned the possibility of a soul bond to Admiral April last weekend. I know they can’t do anything to me about what I did to, what was his name, anyway?”

“I submitted a status report to him after we knew that Bones would be okay,” Jim said. “His name is Mal Farquhar. He’s half human, half BarTier. That’s what made him so huge. The actual meaning of BarTier is bear-animal. Though they aren’t related to bears in any way. They’re just very large humanoids.”

Chris snorted. “It was like fighting with a bear or an animal of some kind.”

Jim nodded. “He’s part of a group of contract security personnel who have been terrorizing everyone. We think we’ve gotten most of them. At least some of the human-looking personnel we’ve arrested have turned out to be modified Romulans.”

That was surprising. “So that would explain why we hadn’t seen anything like the incendiary device,” Chris guessed.

“That is the working theory,” Spock said.

“You don’t sound like you believe it,” Jim said.

“I am uncertain that present-day Romulans could produce something this sophisticated,” Spock said. “It is not made of advanced materials by today’s standards, but the design is advanced for our time.”

Jim nodded. “So, you’re saying this came from the future?”

“And was planted here to make sure Starbase 11 was disabled?” Chris speculated. He could not imagine what they were hoping to accomplish. On the other hand, the explosion was why they were here, looking at the whole operation. Which was a mess in every single way possible.

“Have we gotten a report on what happened on the Republic?” Chris hadn’t seen anything, but he still felt there should be a clue there.

Jim nodded. “We actually did a couple of weeks ago. But there wasn’t much there. I’ll forward it to you.” Jim picked up his padd and typed something into it.

“Thanks,” Chris said. “I need to get something to eat. And then I’m going to sit with Len for a while.

“Why don’t we join you for dinner in the galley,” Jim said.

“That sounds like a good plan to me,” Chris agreed. “When are you going back down there?”

“0900 hours, tomorrow. I’m going to send Christine in since Bones is off duty for forty-eight hours.” Jim just laughed as he said that.

“What do you think, maybe eight to twelve hours?” Chris asked.

Jim laughed again. “If you’re lucky. He’s going to be up and out in six, if he has his way.”

“Not if I sit on him,” Chris said.

“I wish you good luck with that, sir,” Spock said dryly.

*****

Len opened his eyes to see Christine sitting by his bed in sickbay. “Don’t you have anything better to do?” he asked.

She laughed at him. “I promised Chris that I’d sit with you until he got back. I sent him to your quarters to sleep for a couple of hours. He’s been here all night.”

Stubborn Boy Scout. “I should just go get into bed with him. I feel like I need to be near him to get any more sleep.” Len slept so much better with Chris in his bed.

“I guess it’s true, then, a soul bond?” she asked, sounding surprised.

“What else could it be? You were there. He became enraged after he saw how damaged I was and went after that BarTier. That says soul bond to me.” Len could not be more delighted about it, either. It felt like something was settling inside him.

“Yeah. In all the years I’ve known him, he’s never done anything like that. In fact, he’s more likely to talk his way out of trouble than to use physical violence. He’s a cunning fighter, but under normal circumstances, he couldn’t take out a BarTier like that.” Christine shook her head. “So, yeah. Gotta be a soul bond.”

Len sat up and moved his legs over the side. “I’m going to walk to my quarters. You said that’s where you sent Chris.”

She nodded and helped him to stand. “I’ll walk you over. But you’re not coming in here tomorrow.”

“You don’t get to tell me what to do,” Len snapped. “You work for me.”

Christine laughed at him again. “I work for Starfleet. And you’ll do what I say on this.”

“No. If I don’t listen to Chris, then I’m certainly not going to listen to anyone else. He tried to order me to stay in bed,” Len said, not nearly as annoyed about it as he should be.

“Yeah. I’m sure that went over big with you.” Christine looked at him indulgently. “You need to work that out with him. He’s a good man, Len.”

“I know that,” Len said and palmed his door, swaying a little as he went inside. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Chris woke up when Len got into bed with him. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I’ll have you remember that it’s my damned bed,” Len snapped. “And you’re the guest.”

“Not a guest anymore. I’ll be moving in here,” Chris muttered.

“Don’t you think you should wait to be asked first,” Len said. But really, he had been thinking the same thing.

“Have I overstepped?” Chris asked, and his tone had that earnest feel to it.

God damn it. Len was hard-pressed not to smile at him. “No. I was teasing you. I can’t sleep without you anymore.”

Chris cuddled him close and kissed the top of his head. That was why Len had made the trek back to his quarters when he hadn’t wanted to move. He needed that, to feel Chris’ arms around him, holding him, keeping him safe. Len put his head down on his chest and went back to sleep.

*****

 

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