Fic: Que Sera Sera (12/15)
Fandom: TOS/TNG/ST XI -slight AU where there isn’t a 16 year gap between the events of Generations and Star Trek 2009.
Pairings: Kirk Prime/McCoy Prime/Spock Prime, Kirk/Spock/McCoy, Scotty/Uhura
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: minor character death
Summary: Spock Prime went to save Romulus from a supernova and failed, leaving him in a universe that is similar and still so different from his own. Meanwhile in another part of the galaxy Kirk Prime was freed from the Nexus by Captain Picard and survived. Not believing that Spock Prime is dead Kirk Prime goes in search of him, and travels to the universe created when Nero went through the black hole. In that universe Kirk and Spock are starting on their five year mission, determined to write their own destinies after their encounters with Spock Prime. Unlike them McCoy doesn’t trust destiny as far as he can throw it, and he has his own problems to deal with, like getting custody of the three year old daughter he didn’t know he had.
Que Sera Sera
With that sound rejection from Kirk and Spock Bones did his best to move on. He tried to tell himself that is was easier this time. There hadn’t been an actual relationship so there wasn’t an issue of command structure. He didn’t have to worry about Joanna getting attached to them only to have them leave. They would still be Uncle Spock and Uncle Jim. There weren’t expensive lawyers to pay, or painful memories being made while trying to split up items and money.
So why did this seem to hurt so much more?
Maybe it was because his divorce from Jocelyn came from a concrete place. It had been about two angry people who tried to take on the world. Only to have the world kick their asses when they realized they couldn’t make a marriage work. For this there hadn’t even been a relationship to fail at. Instead Kirk and Spock wouldn’t even give what all of them felt a chance because they thought it was more important to run away from the boogeyman they called fate and destiny. Well Bones didn’t trust destiny any further than he could throw it, and it was infuriating to watch the first real chance at happiness he had allowed himself, not counting Joanna of course, since the divorce be denied in its name.
So the day he huffed into his office glaring at everything seemed like it was going to be a regular day.
Until his nose started to bleed.
At first Bones thought nothing of it. The air had always been dry on the ship. Sure he had been tired lately but that was to be expected with a four year old. So he grabbed a tissue from the box on his desk, pinched his nose closed to get the blood to clot and waited for it to stop.
When there was a large pile of tissues, soaked in red, began taking over half his desk with still no end in sight he called for Nurse Chapel.
Chapel was nothing short of a complete professional as she got him out of his office and into a private exam room. Normally Bones would have put up a fight about going to a bunch of trouble for nothing, but not this time. He had Joanna to think about and he and Chapel both knew something was wrong. This kind of a strong symptom was not normal. When the bleeding had finally stopped they got his numbers back where they should be and started running tests.
His blood ran cold as he read the results and Chapel hugged him, saying that she was sorry.
Xenocpolycythemia.
He was terminal. There was no cure. Most patients got about a year to live after diagnosis.
Oh god his father might outlive him.
“Christine, please don’t tell anyone. I’ll let the captain know soon I…I just need time.”
“Of course.”
She left the room and Bones let his head drop into hands and he cried. God how would he ever tell Joanna? He had promised himself he would be there for her. That he would always put her first. What the hell was he going to do?
It apparently was a good thing Kirk and Spock didn’t want to pursue a relationship with him. That that Vulcan had spooked them by talking about fate and destiny and…wait they had said he was from the future! Maybe, maybe he would know something about this disease. A way to slow it down, maybe even a cure. Bones knew it was a long shot, but seeking out his help couldn’t be any worse than sitting around here and waiting for the inevitable. He had to try. He owed it to his daughter to have at least one parent to raise her.
As he started planning out his next steps Bones wondered for a moment if he should tell Kirk and Spock about all this. Bones quickly told himself no. They had made it clear what they wanted, this wasn’t any of their business.
***
A week later the crew of the Enterprise had two days of shore leave on a planet near the planet where the Vulcan colony was. Bones was expected to receive a new doctor from the colony; a man by the name of Geoffrey M’Benga. So no one was suspicious when he went ahead by shuttle to get the man from the space-port orbiting the planet. He took Nurse Chapel with him so M’Benga could get to the Enterprise, because Bones knew he wasn’t going back. Instead he planned to go down to the colony. Using his mother’s maiden name to try and avoid leaving a trail he secured passage down to the planet.
“If this doesn’t work, don’t forget that a lot can happen in a year, Leonard, please give yourself every minute.”
“Thank you, for everything, Christine.”
“Good luck.”
She and M’Benga left and Bones and Joanna headed down to the planet. When they arrived Bones headed for the administration building. After getting him and Joanna lunch at the small cafeteria Bones went to try and find someone to help him track down future Spock.
“Daddy, when do we go back to the ship?” Joanna asked as she looked up from her colouring books spread out on the floor.
Joanna knew how this worked. When it was shore leave time daddy or her babysitters would take her somewhere fun, and then they would go back to the ship so daddy could work again.
“Joanna, sweetheart, this time we’re not going back.”
“How come?”
“Because daddy is going to visit a friend.”
“Oh.”
Bones went back to the computer and his PADD filled with forms and notes the cool lady at the front desk had given him. Bones remembered what the Vulcan looked like pretty well, and he knew his name, how hard could this be?
Very hard was the answer Bones found out.
The only record of a Spock was the one onboard the Enterprise. Bones felt like an idiot, a guy from the future of course he would have picked an alias, and Bones didn’t have the first clue what kind of name he would pick. So he started checking age and dates of Vulcans arriving on the colony, trying to narrow down who this future guy might be.
When Bones had all the information he could get he went searching on foot in the supposedly residential area of the colony. Joanna had long since fallen asleep and Bones’ arms were cramping up from holding her and the bag of things he had packed for them as he kept searching.
After another two hours Bones found the dwelling that looked remotely like the one on file for the man he was pretty sure was the one he was looking for.
The house was nothing elaborate, it had the same plaster making up the walls, and the shape of the building was like the last ten houses Bones had passed, but there were more plants surrounding the house and a decorative touch to the door. Illogical touches that someone with a human half might put up. Also it was a bit further out from the main streets, good for a Vulcan that might not want people asking too many questions.
Bones made his way up the path to the home and knocked on the door.
A minute later it opened to reveal a Vulcan that looked the one he remembered in the shuttle bay, but that could have been the heat stroke talking so Bones wasn’t taking any chances.
“May I help you?”
“If your name is Selek then yes you can.”
“I am addressed as such.”
“At last! Look you don’t know me. My name is Leonard McCoy and I’m sorry to impose like this, but I need to talk you about something very private and I would love to be able to do it in a place with shade. I’ve spent the last I don’t know how many hours trying to track you down. Your administration here is useless.”
“I apologize for that, please come in.”
He stepped back to let Bones enter his home. Then he led Bones into a bedroom and they got Joanna settled on the bed.
They went into the small living room. Bones sat down on the couch while the elder Vulcan took a chair opposite him.
“What brings you here, Doctor McCoy?”
“I need help. Jim and Spock they talked about a Vulcan that came from the timeline that Nero did. You know I’m a doctor so you are him, aren’t you?”
“I am.”
“So, so you’re from the future. I know medical research is always moving forward, and I thought perhaps where you come from they might have a certain cure.”
“What specifically are you looking for?”
“Have you heard of Xenopolycythemia?”
Bones watched as that goddamned eyebrow went up and the elder Spock folded his hands together in his lap.
“Indeed, I know of it.”
Bones took a deep breath; his whole future was riding on the answer to his next question. “Do you know if anything can be done to cure it?”
“In my timeline there is a cure, but I can’t tell what you wish to know about it-“
Bones cut him off. “Look if you tell me you can’t tell me because this has to do with destiny or fucking up the precious timeline I swear on my dad’s pending grave I will forget every manner I was ever taught and punch you.”
Bones could swear the Vulcan was actually smiling as he leaned back in his chair.
“No, Doctor McCoy, it is nothing quite so existential. I cannot tell you because I do not know all the components of the cure for your disease. It never occurred to me that there would be a time when I would need that specific knowledge.”
Bones sat back on the couch and his shoulders slumped. Well he knew it was a long shot, a million to one odds, and at least he had tried.
“However, I can put you in contact with a man who does have that knowledge.”
With that the elder Vulcan got up and went into another room. Bones could hear murmuring voices and then approaching footsteps. It was a different man who came into the living room this time though, a human male who looked to be in his mid-seventies.
No one had to tell him who he was Bones just knew.
Bones felt his jaw fall open; he was shocked by the man. Not because it was like looking in a mirror, but because it wasn’t. They were so different. The first thing that shocked him were the eyes, so bright and so blue. Then Bones took in the withered face and the lighter hair colour. The man almost looked like he belonged on a horse with an old gun on his belt and a black Stetson hat on his head.
McCoy looked at the pup of a boy sitting on the couch, rolled his eyes, and held out his hand.
“Leonard Horatio McCoy I presume?”
“Yeah.”
Bones took hold of his counterpart’s hand and shook it firmly.
“Let’s skip the pleasantries and get right to business, Boy, why are you here?”
“I need help,” Bones confessed. “Jim and Spock they told me about a Vulcan they knew. They said he’s from the future I thought that he could-oh shit!”
Bones swore as he felt liquid suddenly start running down his face. He pressed one hand hard under his nose, trying to keep the blood from dripping on the floor.
McCoy’s eyes widened in shock and it didn’t take him long to deduce the problem. The blood was coming too much and too fast, his disease had come early.
Quickly McCoy got his younger self into the bathroom and worked to get the bleeding under control. McCoy sat him down on the ledge in the shower to have an easier time cleaning everything up. He grabbed a towel and pressed his fingers against his nose to try and get the blood to clot. Bones could only watch in awe as the man did his job. Those hands on his face were firm and sure, even if they trembled slightly, those were surgeon’s hands.
“Daddy?”
Both men jumped and turned to the door to see wide brown eyes looking up at them.
“Joanna!”
Joanna walked over to them slowly, looking at the blood.
“Daddy, are you hurt?”
“No, no, Sweetheart, I’m all right.”
“Daddy sick?” she asked, her eyes filling with tears.
Bones shoulders slumped in defeat. He couldn’t lie to her it wasn’t right.
“Yeah, but he’s going to make me better, Jo. He’s a doctor too.”
Joanna sniffled and flung herself at McCoy’s leg, gripping it tightly.
“Make him better! Please?”
“Of course, Darlin’, that’s what doctors do.”
Joanna’s eyes fell to the floor and she scuffed one foot against it.
“Not all the time,” she said.
McCoy knelt down, putting his hand gently under Joanna’s chin and looked her in the eyes.
“No, not all the time, but this time I will, I promise,” he said firmly.
Spock came to stand in the doorway.
“I am sorry I didn’t realize she was awake.”
Spock refrained from any further explanations as he caught sight of Bones.
“Are you all right, Doctor?”
Bones nodded even with the towel still pressed up against his face.
“Yeah, would you mind watching her, just for a bit?”
“Of course not.”
Spock took Joanna gently by the hand and they left the two men alone. McCoy quickly closed the door behind them and then leaned against the sink. His knees trembled, his chest heaved, and tears started running down his face.
He closed his eye as the memories of his first days out of the transporter began flooding his mind. He and Joanna were out on the hospital’s sunroom, he was sitting in a wheelchair because the children they let be doctors these days didn’t trust him to walk on his own yet. She was curled up awkwardly on his lap. He was trying to tell her through the tears that he was sorry this had happened. Joanna had responded by telling him the she didn’t give a damn, even if she died tomorrow, because she had gotten something she had only dreamed about for two years.
She got to be somebody’s little girl again.
Now just for a little while she truly got to be his little girl one more time. Would the wonders of the universe never cease?
Slowly McCoy got himself back under control, splashed water on his face and dried his tears.
“Sorry it’s just…it’s just unbelievable to see her like that again.”
Bones quirked his eyebrows at him and McCoy just shook his head. “Where I come from she is a great-grandmother.”
The nosebleed had finally stopped by then and Bones started cleaning up. Afterwards McCoy took Bones to the main bedroom and handed him a fresh shirt.
“I’m sorry to impose like this.”
“You’re not imposing. I’m a doctor, helping people is what I do.”
When he was presentable again they went back out to the living room. McCoy and Bones watched from the porch window as Joanna helped Spock out in the garden.
“I can’t believe you got custody of her. How did Jocelyn ever agree to it?”
Bones’ eyes widened as that statement made its full impact on him. That man had not had this. His counterpart’s life had been different, very different, from what Bones was currently experiencing. With all of Kirk and Spock’s complaining he had assumed, just as they had, that it was just a given that their counterparts were from the future. Therefore they had done it all, seen it all, and so they knew it all. Bones never thought that he would have something to tell his other self.
Bones recovered from the shock and shook his head. “Jocelyn never told me she was pregnant. She died in an accident nine months ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
McCoy’s words were sincere. She had been their wife once upon a time and no matter how time and circumstances had battered and bruised it some love still remained.
“Thanks.”
Bones turned so he could look at McCoy eye to eye.
“Spock, your Spock I guess, told me that you have the information I need, the treatment I need, and…I’ll get on my knees and beg for this, but can you help me? Please, I’m all she has now.”
“Of course I will.”
Bones smiled in relief. There was hope after all.
“Thank you.”
Just then the front door opened and the final member of the household was home.
“Spock, I’m telling you this is hopeless I-"
Jim stopped short as he saw they had a visitor.
Well shit, Bones thought of course he was here too the universe was cruel like that. Bones didn’t even bother to ask the man his name there was no point; still he tilted his head to the side as he studied the man before him. He was right Kirk’s metabolism was totally going to screw him over. This older version of Kirk carried the weight well though.
Jim crossed his arms over his chest defensively. “Dare I ask who you are?”
“McCoy, Leonard McCoy.”
Jim rolled his eyes.
“Of course you are.”
McCoy smiled and put on arm around Bones’ shoulders.
“I like him, Jim.”
Jim just glared at McCoy. “You would,” he said, and then turned that glare to the younger man.
“You had to go and complicate all of this didn’t you?”
Before Bones could think up an answer to that ridiculous question Spock came in, and Joanna came running into the room along with him.
“Hi!”
Jim’s eyes went wide.
“H-hello and what’s your name?”
“Joanna! I’m four and a quarter old, sir!”
Oh damn Jim knew he was going to love her.
Chapter 13
Pairings: Kirk Prime/McCoy Prime/Spock Prime, Kirk/Spock/McCoy, Scotty/Uhura
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: minor character death
Summary: Spock Prime went to save Romulus from a supernova and failed, leaving him in a universe that is similar and still so different from his own. Meanwhile in another part of the galaxy Kirk Prime was freed from the Nexus by Captain Picard and survived. Not believing that Spock Prime is dead Kirk Prime goes in search of him, and travels to the universe created when Nero went through the black hole. In that universe Kirk and Spock are starting on their five year mission, determined to write their own destinies after their encounters with Spock Prime. Unlike them McCoy doesn’t trust destiny as far as he can throw it, and he has his own problems to deal with, like getting custody of the three year old daughter he didn’t know he had.
Que Sera Sera
With that sound rejection from Kirk and Spock Bones did his best to move on. He tried to tell himself that is was easier this time. There hadn’t been an actual relationship so there wasn’t an issue of command structure. He didn’t have to worry about Joanna getting attached to them only to have them leave. They would still be Uncle Spock and Uncle Jim. There weren’t expensive lawyers to pay, or painful memories being made while trying to split up items and money.
So why did this seem to hurt so much more?
Maybe it was because his divorce from Jocelyn came from a concrete place. It had been about two angry people who tried to take on the world. Only to have the world kick their asses when they realized they couldn’t make a marriage work. For this there hadn’t even been a relationship to fail at. Instead Kirk and Spock wouldn’t even give what all of them felt a chance because they thought it was more important to run away from the boogeyman they called fate and destiny. Well Bones didn’t trust destiny any further than he could throw it, and it was infuriating to watch the first real chance at happiness he had allowed himself, not counting Joanna of course, since the divorce be denied in its name.
So the day he huffed into his office glaring at everything seemed like it was going to be a regular day.
Until his nose started to bleed.
At first Bones thought nothing of it. The air had always been dry on the ship. Sure he had been tired lately but that was to be expected with a four year old. So he grabbed a tissue from the box on his desk, pinched his nose closed to get the blood to clot and waited for it to stop.
When there was a large pile of tissues, soaked in red, began taking over half his desk with still no end in sight he called for Nurse Chapel.
Chapel was nothing short of a complete professional as she got him out of his office and into a private exam room. Normally Bones would have put up a fight about going to a bunch of trouble for nothing, but not this time. He had Joanna to think about and he and Chapel both knew something was wrong. This kind of a strong symptom was not normal. When the bleeding had finally stopped they got his numbers back where they should be and started running tests.
His blood ran cold as he read the results and Chapel hugged him, saying that she was sorry.
Xenocpolycythemia.
He was terminal. There was no cure. Most patients got about a year to live after diagnosis.
Oh god his father might outlive him.
“Christine, please don’t tell anyone. I’ll let the captain know soon I…I just need time.”
“Of course.”
She left the room and Bones let his head drop into hands and he cried. God how would he ever tell Joanna? He had promised himself he would be there for her. That he would always put her first. What the hell was he going to do?
It apparently was a good thing Kirk and Spock didn’t want to pursue a relationship with him. That that Vulcan had spooked them by talking about fate and destiny and…wait they had said he was from the future! Maybe, maybe he would know something about this disease. A way to slow it down, maybe even a cure. Bones knew it was a long shot, but seeking out his help couldn’t be any worse than sitting around here and waiting for the inevitable. He had to try. He owed it to his daughter to have at least one parent to raise her.
As he started planning out his next steps Bones wondered for a moment if he should tell Kirk and Spock about all this. Bones quickly told himself no. They had made it clear what they wanted, this wasn’t any of their business.
***
A week later the crew of the Enterprise had two days of shore leave on a planet near the planet where the Vulcan colony was. Bones was expected to receive a new doctor from the colony; a man by the name of Geoffrey M’Benga. So no one was suspicious when he went ahead by shuttle to get the man from the space-port orbiting the planet. He took Nurse Chapel with him so M’Benga could get to the Enterprise, because Bones knew he wasn’t going back. Instead he planned to go down to the colony. Using his mother’s maiden name to try and avoid leaving a trail he secured passage down to the planet.
“If this doesn’t work, don’t forget that a lot can happen in a year, Leonard, please give yourself every minute.”
“Thank you, for everything, Christine.”
“Good luck.”
She and M’Benga left and Bones and Joanna headed down to the planet. When they arrived Bones headed for the administration building. After getting him and Joanna lunch at the small cafeteria Bones went to try and find someone to help him track down future Spock.
“Daddy, when do we go back to the ship?” Joanna asked as she looked up from her colouring books spread out on the floor.
Joanna knew how this worked. When it was shore leave time daddy or her babysitters would take her somewhere fun, and then they would go back to the ship so daddy could work again.
“Joanna, sweetheart, this time we’re not going back.”
“How come?”
“Because daddy is going to visit a friend.”
“Oh.”
Bones went back to the computer and his PADD filled with forms and notes the cool lady at the front desk had given him. Bones remembered what the Vulcan looked like pretty well, and he knew his name, how hard could this be?
Very hard was the answer Bones found out.
The only record of a Spock was the one onboard the Enterprise. Bones felt like an idiot, a guy from the future of course he would have picked an alias, and Bones didn’t have the first clue what kind of name he would pick. So he started checking age and dates of Vulcans arriving on the colony, trying to narrow down who this future guy might be.
When Bones had all the information he could get he went searching on foot in the supposedly residential area of the colony. Joanna had long since fallen asleep and Bones’ arms were cramping up from holding her and the bag of things he had packed for them as he kept searching.
After another two hours Bones found the dwelling that looked remotely like the one on file for the man he was pretty sure was the one he was looking for.
The house was nothing elaborate, it had the same plaster making up the walls, and the shape of the building was like the last ten houses Bones had passed, but there were more plants surrounding the house and a decorative touch to the door. Illogical touches that someone with a human half might put up. Also it was a bit further out from the main streets, good for a Vulcan that might not want people asking too many questions.
Bones made his way up the path to the home and knocked on the door.
A minute later it opened to reveal a Vulcan that looked the one he remembered in the shuttle bay, but that could have been the heat stroke talking so Bones wasn’t taking any chances.
“May I help you?”
“If your name is Selek then yes you can.”
“I am addressed as such.”
“At last! Look you don’t know me. My name is Leonard McCoy and I’m sorry to impose like this, but I need to talk you about something very private and I would love to be able to do it in a place with shade. I’ve spent the last I don’t know how many hours trying to track you down. Your administration here is useless.”
“I apologize for that, please come in.”
He stepped back to let Bones enter his home. Then he led Bones into a bedroom and they got Joanna settled on the bed.
They went into the small living room. Bones sat down on the couch while the elder Vulcan took a chair opposite him.
“What brings you here, Doctor McCoy?”
“I need help. Jim and Spock they talked about a Vulcan that came from the timeline that Nero did. You know I’m a doctor so you are him, aren’t you?”
“I am.”
“So, so you’re from the future. I know medical research is always moving forward, and I thought perhaps where you come from they might have a certain cure.”
“What specifically are you looking for?”
“Have you heard of Xenopolycythemia?”
Bones watched as that goddamned eyebrow went up and the elder Spock folded his hands together in his lap.
“Indeed, I know of it.”
Bones took a deep breath; his whole future was riding on the answer to his next question. “Do you know if anything can be done to cure it?”
“In my timeline there is a cure, but I can’t tell what you wish to know about it-“
Bones cut him off. “Look if you tell me you can’t tell me because this has to do with destiny or fucking up the precious timeline I swear on my dad’s pending grave I will forget every manner I was ever taught and punch you.”
Bones could swear the Vulcan was actually smiling as he leaned back in his chair.
“No, Doctor McCoy, it is nothing quite so existential. I cannot tell you because I do not know all the components of the cure for your disease. It never occurred to me that there would be a time when I would need that specific knowledge.”
Bones sat back on the couch and his shoulders slumped. Well he knew it was a long shot, a million to one odds, and at least he had tried.
“However, I can put you in contact with a man who does have that knowledge.”
With that the elder Vulcan got up and went into another room. Bones could hear murmuring voices and then approaching footsteps. It was a different man who came into the living room this time though, a human male who looked to be in his mid-seventies.
No one had to tell him who he was Bones just knew.
Bones felt his jaw fall open; he was shocked by the man. Not because it was like looking in a mirror, but because it wasn’t. They were so different. The first thing that shocked him were the eyes, so bright and so blue. Then Bones took in the withered face and the lighter hair colour. The man almost looked like he belonged on a horse with an old gun on his belt and a black Stetson hat on his head.
McCoy looked at the pup of a boy sitting on the couch, rolled his eyes, and held out his hand.
“Leonard Horatio McCoy I presume?”
“Yeah.”
Bones took hold of his counterpart’s hand and shook it firmly.
“Let’s skip the pleasantries and get right to business, Boy, why are you here?”
“I need help,” Bones confessed. “Jim and Spock they told me about a Vulcan they knew. They said he’s from the future I thought that he could-oh shit!”
Bones swore as he felt liquid suddenly start running down his face. He pressed one hand hard under his nose, trying to keep the blood from dripping on the floor.
McCoy’s eyes widened in shock and it didn’t take him long to deduce the problem. The blood was coming too much and too fast, his disease had come early.
Quickly McCoy got his younger self into the bathroom and worked to get the bleeding under control. McCoy sat him down on the ledge in the shower to have an easier time cleaning everything up. He grabbed a towel and pressed his fingers against his nose to try and get the blood to clot. Bones could only watch in awe as the man did his job. Those hands on his face were firm and sure, even if they trembled slightly, those were surgeon’s hands.
“Daddy?”
Both men jumped and turned to the door to see wide brown eyes looking up at them.
“Joanna!”
Joanna walked over to them slowly, looking at the blood.
“Daddy, are you hurt?”
“No, no, Sweetheart, I’m all right.”
“Daddy sick?” she asked, her eyes filling with tears.
Bones shoulders slumped in defeat. He couldn’t lie to her it wasn’t right.
“Yeah, but he’s going to make me better, Jo. He’s a doctor too.”
Joanna sniffled and flung herself at McCoy’s leg, gripping it tightly.
“Make him better! Please?”
“Of course, Darlin’, that’s what doctors do.”
Joanna’s eyes fell to the floor and she scuffed one foot against it.
“Not all the time,” she said.
McCoy knelt down, putting his hand gently under Joanna’s chin and looked her in the eyes.
“No, not all the time, but this time I will, I promise,” he said firmly.
Spock came to stand in the doorway.
“I am sorry I didn’t realize she was awake.”
Spock refrained from any further explanations as he caught sight of Bones.
“Are you all right, Doctor?”
Bones nodded even with the towel still pressed up against his face.
“Yeah, would you mind watching her, just for a bit?”
“Of course not.”
Spock took Joanna gently by the hand and they left the two men alone. McCoy quickly closed the door behind them and then leaned against the sink. His knees trembled, his chest heaved, and tears started running down his face.
He closed his eye as the memories of his first days out of the transporter began flooding his mind. He and Joanna were out on the hospital’s sunroom, he was sitting in a wheelchair because the children they let be doctors these days didn’t trust him to walk on his own yet. She was curled up awkwardly on his lap. He was trying to tell her through the tears that he was sorry this had happened. Joanna had responded by telling him the she didn’t give a damn, even if she died tomorrow, because she had gotten something she had only dreamed about for two years.
She got to be somebody’s little girl again.
Now just for a little while she truly got to be his little girl one more time. Would the wonders of the universe never cease?
Slowly McCoy got himself back under control, splashed water on his face and dried his tears.
“Sorry it’s just…it’s just unbelievable to see her like that again.”
Bones quirked his eyebrows at him and McCoy just shook his head. “Where I come from she is a great-grandmother.”
The nosebleed had finally stopped by then and Bones started cleaning up. Afterwards McCoy took Bones to the main bedroom and handed him a fresh shirt.
“I’m sorry to impose like this.”
“You’re not imposing. I’m a doctor, helping people is what I do.”
When he was presentable again they went back out to the living room. McCoy and Bones watched from the porch window as Joanna helped Spock out in the garden.
“I can’t believe you got custody of her. How did Jocelyn ever agree to it?”
Bones’ eyes widened as that statement made its full impact on him. That man had not had this. His counterpart’s life had been different, very different, from what Bones was currently experiencing. With all of Kirk and Spock’s complaining he had assumed, just as they had, that it was just a given that their counterparts were from the future. Therefore they had done it all, seen it all, and so they knew it all. Bones never thought that he would have something to tell his other self.
Bones recovered from the shock and shook his head. “Jocelyn never told me she was pregnant. She died in an accident nine months ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
McCoy’s words were sincere. She had been their wife once upon a time and no matter how time and circumstances had battered and bruised it some love still remained.
“Thanks.”
Bones turned so he could look at McCoy eye to eye.
“Spock, your Spock I guess, told me that you have the information I need, the treatment I need, and…I’ll get on my knees and beg for this, but can you help me? Please, I’m all she has now.”
“Of course I will.”
Bones smiled in relief. There was hope after all.
“Thank you.”
Just then the front door opened and the final member of the household was home.
“Spock, I’m telling you this is hopeless I-"
Jim stopped short as he saw they had a visitor.
Well shit, Bones thought of course he was here too the universe was cruel like that. Bones didn’t even bother to ask the man his name there was no point; still he tilted his head to the side as he studied the man before him. He was right Kirk’s metabolism was totally going to screw him over. This older version of Kirk carried the weight well though.
Jim crossed his arms over his chest defensively. “Dare I ask who you are?”
“McCoy, Leonard McCoy.”
Jim rolled his eyes.
“Of course you are.”
McCoy smiled and put on arm around Bones’ shoulders.
“I like him, Jim.”
Jim just glared at McCoy. “You would,” he said, and then turned that glare to the younger man.
“You had to go and complicate all of this didn’t you?”
Before Bones could think up an answer to that ridiculous question Spock came in, and Joanna came running into the room along with him.
“Hi!”
Jim’s eyes went wide.
“H-hello and what’s your name?”
“Joanna! I’m four and a quarter old, sir!”
Oh damn Jim knew he was going to love her.
Chapter 13