Who: Leonard McCoy and Jim Kirk When: During the Wonderland Plot Where: Starting in McCoy’s Living Room What: Visiting the Enterprise Rating: Low Status: Complete!
Jim beamed right into McCoy’s living room, and tossed him a tricorder. “You might want to look out the window.” This wasn’t how he wanted to show McCoy the Enterprise, but goddamn Wonderland!
McCoy jumped as the tricorder fell onto the book that was sitting open in his hands. He startled, looking up at Jim. “...what?”
He walked over to the window and opened it, to reveal the severely colorful and messed up …. whatever was happening …. to Orange County. “I can’t make heads or tails of it. It’s like magic.”
McCoy stood up, closed the book, and punched some things into the tricorder. It was just like the dreams, just like his other life. He moved to the window to take a look outside and gave another start.
“Jesus.” He said, leaning forward and looking around, through the window. His eyes were wide as dinner plates. “What the fuck?”
“So I’m not completely crazy? That’s great.” Jim ran his fingers through his hair. “You should see it from orbit.”
“No, you’re not.” McCoy said, shaking his head. He wished he had a drink. Drink with a capital D. “...from orbit, huh?” He asked, looking up and over at Jim. “That where this came from?” He asked, holding up the tricorder.
“Yes.” Jim grinned and put an arm around him. “I figure it’s time.”
And then, they energized!
McCoy hated beaming up. He winced when he felt it start, and then stumbled off the transporter pad, feeling weak in the knees. “Fuck, it’s just as terrible as I remembered.” Remembered, not dreamed. Because McCoy was absolutely convinced that this was some sort of strange, second life thing. He looked around, breaking into a grin. It felt like home to be here.
“Welcome to the Enterprise, Bones. I kind of wish I’d gotten a chance to show you before everything went nuts.” Jim chuckled, putting his arm around his friend. God, it felt a lot more like home now.
“I feel like we should commemorate this moment with a toast,” McCoy said, giving Jim a grin. He couldn’t even snark, he was so happy.
“There’s a replicator in the mess.” Without another word, Jim led McCoy to the lounge, and ordered two whiskeys from the replicator.
“Replicator. Damn, I love the Enterprise.” It wasn’t unusual in his dreams, but boy, what he wouldn’t give for a replicator in his apartment. Cooking was such a waste of time. He reached forward, took one of the two whiskeys, clinked it against Jim’s, and downed it.
“Live up here half the time. Only really keep the apartment for appearances, and because we put a lot of work into making it home.” Jim laughed.
“Are my quarters here? The... Sickbay? Is this... real?” Beat. “You haven’t touched my medical equipment, have you?” McCoy asked, almost accusing, as he was already headed out the door.
“Except a contraceptive shot for myself? Haven’t touched anything.” Jim followed after him. “I was hoping you could access the locked files in the sickbay. Could you imagine if we mass produced a male contraceptive? Or cures for the flu? Aids?”
“I’ll certainly give it a try.” McCoy said, giving a nod. He was leading the way down the corridor as if he was back in his dream world. This was second nature to him, he felt more at home here than in his own living room. “I can’t believe she’s here. It’s surreal.” He stepped into the turbo lift and called out the floor for sick bay.
Jim folded his hands behind his back. He looked so proud, and so happy. “I hope we can...It’ll help a lot of people.”
Jim had a reason to be proud. Happy. He had his ship. McCoy was happy, too. He was thrilled to be getting back to sick bay. “I’ll do my best. If it’s not letting us in... well, there’s got to be a reason for that, right?” Something about the space-time continuum?
“Prime Directive, probably. Or maybe we need more command crew.” Jim put his arm around Bones’ shoulders.
“Is that likely to happen?” McCoy asked. “I mean, you’re here. Scotty, too. Who else do we have?”
“I saw Uhura briefly, but I don’t think she remembered me. Or maybe she was avoiding me.” That, and he kept losing his Spocks.
“Damn. It would be great to have a communications officer on board.” The turbo lift doors opened, and McCoy led the way out into the hall. It was the first time he’d set foot in this hall, and yet he knew it like the back of his hand from the dreams. “What does Hermione think about all this?”
“She’s amazing. She already knows how to run a lot of the sensors and scientific instruments. And we’ve christened most of the ship. Just don’t tell Scotty about the warp core.”
McCoy was interested, until the bit about christening the ship. He chuckled, and shook his head. "You two are like rabbits. I'll have to get you a second contraceptive shot if you two keep this up."
"Assuming we don’t want kids," Jim replied with a shrug. He'd been thinking about it a lot lately, though he couldn't explain why.
McCoy blinked at him, his face falling a little in surprise. “...you don’t want kids. Do you?”
Jim looked over at McCoy, and shrugged his shoulder again. “I never said I didn’t want any kids, Bones. I know she does, some day.”
“Some day?” McCoy asked. “...wait, Jim, are you honestly telling me that you want kids right away?”
Eyes darting, Jim replied, “Maybe.”
McCoy simply stared at him. Not sure how to respond to that. “Have you told her that? What does Hermione think about chaining herself down right away?”
“Chaining herself down?” Jim asked, staring at McCoy like he was psycho doctor, MD.
“Have you ever seen a woman with a newborn child? An infant?” McCoy asked. “She’ll be tied down for at least a year. Probably more--and that’s just after the kid’s born. Not counting the nearly ten months of pregnancy leading up to it that she’ll have to deal with doctors appointments, tests, body change, hormones...” He said. “And if you’re going to have more than one, she’ll have to go through it all over and over again.”
“You act like I won’t be there for her.” Jim shook his head. “No reason I couldn’t be a stay at home dad.” He gestured around. “With the best playpen in the universe.”
“Even with your help, it’s going to be a lot on her.” McCoy said, turning to lead the way into the Sick Bay. “Physically, emotionally, mentally... hell, spiritually. I’m sure you two will share the load, but it’s still a lot to bear.” He inhaled deeply, then exhaled, looking around the room.
“God, it’s good to be back.”
“I appreciate your concern for my wife,” Jim said, quietly. Maybe it was a bad time. He clasped his hands behind his back. “Like coming home, isn’t it?”
McCoy sighed. "Listen. Jim." He clapped a hand on Jims shoulder. "I'm just... I know you'll be good parents. But shouldn't you just be man and wife for a while first?" He paused. "I shouldn't be telling you how to run your marriage. Talk to her. If that's what she wants. .. Well, sign me up to change diapers. "
He sighed, moving to the console to see if his log in worked. "Like coming home."
“You just signed your diaper warrant,” Jim replied, with a laugh. He leaned on the desk, watching Bones as he worked. Please. Please work!
“I’ve changed my share.” Not only was McCoy a father, but he was a doctor. He’d changed plenty of diapers in his day. It didn’t bother him in the slightest. He tapped the console, putting in his name and password, and the machine sprung to life.
“Sweet!” Jim pumped his fist in a cheer as the machine took McCoy’s access codes. “You’re in!” The ship felt a lot less lonely.
McCoy was exhilarated. He clicked in to the computers database and explored. No recent patients (save Jim’s contraceptive)... no current/pending projects... he had a clean slate. It felt both exciting and overwhelming at the same time. He had so many options. “This is incredible.” He said, looking to the ship’s stores of medicines.
“There has to be a way to help people,” Jim said. “Prime Directive be damned.”
McCoy nodded, frowning up at the computer. “It’s all here, Jim. All of it. Just like in my dreams.” They had cures for almost everything in this computer. They could replicate antidotes, vaccines, cures... the possibilities were endless.
Jim let out a whoop, and slapped his hand on the back of the chair. “We can change the world, Bones!”
McCoy was absolutely floored. “...we’re going to change the world. The whole world.” He said, clicking through screen after screen.
“Start here,” Kirk pointed at a cure. “We’ll have to be careful. There has to be a way to make a breakthrough without being obvious about it.”
McCoy nodded, and clicked on the cure to bring it to the forefront. He looked at the details. “Any ideas how we’ll bring this one to the general public?” He asked.
“I don’t want Pharma getting ahold of this and charging an arm and a leg. I think we need to find someone who can patent it, and then make it open source. Like software. Then everyone can make it.”
“You thinking there should be a... some sort of a front company producing these cures? Back on Earth?” McCoy asked, turning to look at his friend.
Jim looked at it. Then he nodded his head. “We’ll need to make it look really good, but I doubt many people are going to look too closely.”
“Except possibly the pharmaceutical companies. But I imagine their hands will be tied when the information goes public.” McCoy considered out loud.
“Exactly. Once the whole world knows... “Jim looked thoughtful. “If we patent it right they won’t even be allowed to make derivitives without our permission for several years. And if they want our permission they have to sell at our pricepoint. Which will be heavily discounted. We need to keep the production costs as low as possible.”
McCoy nodded. “You work out the legal details, I’m shit at that stuff.” Hence the huge alimony checks taken out of his check every month--on top of child support. “I’ll work with whichever scientists you hire on to make sure this can be manufactured cheaply and effectively.”
“Okay.” He clapped Bones on the back. “You figure out the medical stuff and the cost of manufacture. I’ll take care of the rest.” Jim got off the desk, and headed for the door. “We won’t get rich, but I don’t care about that.”
“Who needs riches when we’ve got the Enterprise?” McCoy said, turning to give his friend a smile. Then he turned back to the computer to continue working on this. Good. A side project is just what he needed to get his mind off of things.