#jim gets into SO many fights and bones just patches him back up

[apastrek]

teen AU: guess who has to fix jim up… again.

[who-dat-homeless]

Okay sibs there's an almost 2k wip that I will never finish because I suddenly felt like I don't like the idea at all and I really really don't want to finish it. But I guess I can put it here bc it's not bad for a wip imo Dunno how you usually put wips so.

Spock accidently experiencing death whilst in a mind meld with a dying creature

For lack of a better metaphor it feels like a fourth degree burn.

Not in a sense of a great pain, more like in a sense of a great loss of any sensation. Layer after layer losing any ability to feel anything at all, be it an agonizing pain or a soft touch of a spring breeze. 

What’s even worse – he’s vulcan. Oh how he prides himself upon being one, but with pride goes its coast – he’s too well aware of what’s happening in his body. He can shut off any pain, he can stop impulses from running up his brain to disturb his precious mind, he meditates, he knows over a dozen breathing techniques, he can pinpoint a source of pain down to millimeters. 

And now he feels how senses in his body die. One after another. He feels as all five layers of epidermis from stratum corneum down to stratum basale all one after another lose their functions, lose their sensitivity. It is painful, of course it is, but more than painful it’s frightening. He’s not in control. He can’t stop it. He can’t even take another breath to hold himself together. He screams. His mind is a mess but a little part, the smallest little patch of logic, stoicism and everything he likes to call *vulcan* feels ashamed of such a pathetic show of pain. He must control himself.

Even though it’s impossible.

He’s dying.

There’s nothing to control. Only to accept. 

Even though he can’t. He has no right to accept it. 

He’s on duty. He’s a valuable officer. And he must protect himself. 

Pain worsens with every second and he can’t feel his legs, he can’t feel his forearms, his head cracks and big sweat droplets run down the neck. So ticklish. Such a strange sensation amidst the pain.

He’s dying surprisingly fast but not fast enough to relieve him of this pain. He must fight back, he must survive, but how? How?.. His mind is not his own anymore, his mind is suppressed by fear and pain and it doesn’t seem to rebel in the nearest future.

It’s not even cold. He thought it would be cold, how many times he heard about how cold death is, how many times he touched a corpse only to find it considerably cold, but now neither cold nor warm. It's an absolute nothing and he can't comprehend it. The small part of his brain, the one that fears, the one that bare teeth as a stupid display of happiness, the one that screeches and slither around like an ancient reptile, the one he calls *human* screams and tries to take another breath.

It’s useless.

There’s no need for oxygen for a dead brain. 

Vulcan shuts his mouth – he must not show any fear or any pain. If he must die he must die in a vulcan way – with dignity and cold certainty of what is awaiting for him.

Human bares his teeth – he must survive at any cost. He must try until he runs out of breath. If he must scream – he will. if he must roll in dust – he will. If he must cry – he will. The horror of non-existence is incomprehensible so he must live. In agony, in pain, filled with fire, filled with cold, but he must live.

But then he dies.

And there’s nothing he can do.

***

– Spock!

He can’t stop shaking him even though he knows it’s useless. The creature died while Spock was still in the mindmeld with it and now his eyes are rolled backwards and he inhales and inhales but he can’t exhale. If nothing is done soon enough Spock will just suffocate. 

Kirk stops shaking him, puts him back on the ground and lightly slaps his cheeks. No response. He clenches his teeth and withdraws his arm to slap Spock across his face when Bones finally comes and grabs his hand midst air. 

– Jim, for god’s sake, snap out of it! Step back.

It takes Kirk two seconds, no more, to blink and process what's been said to him. He gets on his feet and lets McCoy work. For a moment in the darkness of this enormous cave shines the metall of an ampul. Second later a quiet sound of injection, so loud in the cold silence, died down. Kirk didn’t feel an ounce of relief. He's been friends with McCoy long enough to know that no injection, no pill or mixture is a total cure for all. Especially now, when Spock isn’t even hurt, not actually, not physically. McCoy can help when it's a physical injury. But when it’s mental…

Spock finally takes a long inhale and loudly exhales, all the muscles in his body loosens and for a moment it seems like he’s going to be okay.

McCoy leans back. He takes Spock’s wrist, adjusts his hands and then…

And then he furrows his brows. Kirk remains quiet but he already knows – Bones will find no pulse at the wrist. Nor at the neck. Nor at any other point. Yet still he’s silent. He’s not a medic after all, just some stupid little captain with a professional deformation called “Hope for the best, expect the worst”.

McCoy tries to find a pulse at the wrist but at some point his hand races to the neck. Same deal. Seconds past. Kirk flexes his jaw. He’s useless now. He tries not to think about it.

McCoy's face flashes fear and he leans on the Spock’s chest. His mouth agape. He licks his lips waiting for anything. The scariest part is anticipation. He waits for anything – for him to respond, for him to not respond, for literally anything.

McCoy’s eyes racing – ancient brain tries to find the source of the sound he’s looking for, not understanding that it’s hidden beneath meat and bones. Kirk clenches his fists, nails sinks into the flesh. He wants this pain to distract him but his eyes ache from how much he focuses on Spock’s lifeless figure. 

Moments passes by.

A single droplet of unknown liquid drips from the cave’s ceiling.

Kirk bites his lower lip.

And then McCoy takes a sudden loud breath, squints his eyes and sits straight.

– I swear to god, – he whispered on the exhale, – one day I’ll kill him with my bare hands…

– Bones-

– He’s alive, okay? It’s just that his heart decided it would be oh so funny to slow his pulse to the point it almost doesn't exist and call it a day.

– But it’s… bad, isn’t it?

– For humans – yes. For vulcans – a regular self-preservation measure. He’ll be fine.

Finally Kirk’s tensed shoulders drop. He lets out a tired exhale.

– Would it be dangerous for him if I “transport” him myself or should we wait for a gurney?

– There’s no physical injury as far as I can tell so you can get him up. Besides I don’t want to spend another minute in these caves, not only can we be killed any other minute but it smells absolutely horrendous in here.

Kirk paid no attention to the remark. Right now, the moment they speak, dozens of Enterprise personnel beamed up injured from caves collapse and creature’s assault. Actually it’s better than the operation on the Janus IV. But only in the matter that almost no one died. But injured… Kirk knows McCoy already thinks how to arrange people – sickbay of Enterprise is spacious by comparison to other ship’s but at the end of the day it can accommodate oh so many people. And then he has to decide and decide quickly – who can wait for help and who needs it right away, what injuries he has to inspect himself and what he can delegate to nurses. 

McCoy is on edge and it does no justice to his temper.

Kirk knows to ignore it.

He steps closer to Spock, squats, takes Spock’s one hand and in one swift motion get’s him on his own back. Spock is much taller than Kirk and weighs accordingly, it takes Kirk a second time to stand up. It still fascinates him that the unconscious body seems to weigh more. He tries to entertain himself with such a silly lil thought rather than thinking about how his friend is lying on his shoulders unconsiouse because he just quite literally experienced death in all of its glory.

– Can we beam up from here? 

McCoy got the empty ampule and was ready to go.

– No, we gotta return to the station. For some reason the ship can’t get to us down here.

– Oh mother of-, McCoy started but quickly aborted, – Okay, let’s waste no time I have a job to do.

– Get your phaser ready. Don't hesitate to use it.

– Is it of any use?

Kirk stares at him. He gives McCoy a little smile. 

– Get your phaser ready. 

McCoy wants to shout at him, Kirk can tell from just one look at him, but he draws his phaser and doesn't ask any further questions. 

Of course phasers are useless there, but what else could've Kirk said? Of course McCoy would've appreciated it if Kirk just finally admitted that they're helpless in this situation, but how could he admit it when his whole career is based on him looking confident enough for people to not get into a state of maddening panic every time something goes wrong? Of course Kirk himself would've like to show this little pathetic, yet still very human, fear – his first officer is out for good, almost third of his personnel injured, almost third of miners is dead, they all being chased by unknown creature that still showed no sign of being injured or at least tired –but he's not a human, not on duty, he's the symbol, the beacon, people look for him for guidance, more than guidance, they look at him for reassurance. He's a glacier, he's stoic, he keeps on smiling in a dire situation. He can't just say “it's useless”. He's the last hope for people around him. If captain James T. Kirk still smiles, it means it's not that bad. They'll figure it out somehow. They'll be fine. 

They start to walk. McCoy paranoingnly turns on each sudden sound he hears and the only thing Kirk can do in this situation is to pray to whoever listens that this little walk be uneventful. McCoy is a healer, he's more than useless with a phaser. 

Creatures lure in the dark seeking revenge for a killed brother but are too scared of the barbaric humans to come closer. Kirk is scared. Not in a typical sense, not like usual people are. Sometimes he feels like his gland in charge of fear atrophied long ago – you can’t be scared in the middle of operation, you can be either before it or after, never in the midst – and instead there's a mechanic substituted in its place.

“Hey, Jamey, don't want to bother but this shting is pretty shpooky to me and if I were you(which I'm obviously not) I would've been pretty damn scared. But you're your own man, I mean, do what you think is right, I'm by no means telling you how to act. So, here's your adrenalin, cortisol, lactic acid and some other chems, you know what to do with them  too-da-loo~”

And this one silly thought keeps him focused. Imagining your own fear as a friendly machine that just does things it's programmed to, as a separate from you entity, makes it easier to manage. He's not his fear, and suddenly he can think logically, and suddenly his mind is in control.

Spock's tunic brushes against his cheek. Ticklish. Such a strange sensation amidst the chaos. 

[daydream-believin]

Hi, so... for some reason, I'm a big fan of the coffee person is dating tea person trope, and I was wondering how you think Douxie would react if he was dating a coffee person (He's obviously a tea person.).

Personally, I could see them having fun jesting arguments over whether tea or coffee is better, but then one day it weirdly becomes personal. Whoops! Now it's a whole competition! The whole gang gets roped into it. He's already got Barbra, Strickler, and Ms. Nomura on team tea, but team coffee has Krel, Eli, Blinky, and Arrrgh (who really is supporting Blinky). Toby and Jim don't want to decide and put a target on their back. Claire refuses to take sides. Aja runs on sugar and adrenaline, and Steve exclusively drinks sports shakes, so they don't participate.

ahem, as a coffee person myself...

• this is one of the most major fights you two ever have

• douxie is taking this very seriously. very.

• not only is his honor on the line, but like the entirety of britain and academics wearing jackets with patches on the sleeve alike

• he just can’t believe he could fall for a person with such bad taste. breaking his heart, truly.

• ofc i’m kidding

• nevertheless, the war is on

• the sides have been taken, the stakes high

• you’d like to argue that the way douxie makes tea, with cream and sugar, isn’t even real tea

• douxie is insistent that that’s bullshit and he’s being traditional

• he’ll counter-argue that your black coffee is masochistic bean water and maybe you just hate yourself

• mornings in the casperan household are spent staring each other down and making joking remarks to each other on this front

• tbh douxie, being the playful spirit he is, is finding this rather entertaining. he thinks it’s charming how into this you’ve gotten over the course of the little war.

• and like, you’d both like to think you aren’t competitive, but you’re wrong. that’s okay, it’s a lot of fun. especially over such a little thing, no ones actually ever gonna get hurt in this fight.

• now, jim and tobes are fair game. let the influence begin

• jim quite enjoys blinky’s sock filtered coffee, as he’s still retained a bit of his trollish preferences with all the magic in his bones, but he also has so many fond memories of his mother making him a cup of tea when he was sad, so he’s conflicted

• tobys just an indecisive little bugger

• you’ve stepped in, bringing the boys special coffee drinks before their early morning training, making a fresh pot whenever they stay up strategizing, taking them on little excursions to coffee shops whenever things get slow. you’ve got blinky in on it too >:) and he has no chill

• douxie has called you out on it, you’re not that slick.

• shhh he and strickler do the exact same thing whenever you’re not around, but you don’t have to know that

• and claire’s neutral front is mainly because she can’t decide between you or douxie, her two mentors. also this is stupid guys

• nari is not someone who does well with caffeine. you tried to introduce her to decaf, but alas, she preferred douxie’s leaf water. a crushing blow to the coffee faction

• all in all, this little game is keeping things interesting around the castle. and douxie’s pretty happy to have a partner he can have fun with during these hard times.

[illogicalpunkwrites]

Drive Me Crazy

Hi everyone! So this is a part 2 to The Cave (click the link to read!) that someone asked about (for some reason it won’t let me tag you but I’ll message you!). Thank you so much for reading!

Pairings: Leonard McCoy X Kirk!Reader

Rating: T

Words: 2.1K

Warnings: Angst, injury, comfort, confessions, cursing

Tagss; @theweepingvulcan91 @bloodangelballerina

You could tell that Len was tense as you and Jim sat on biobeds. You clutched at your side that was still bleeding, spreading pain throughout your entire body. You’d gotten hit by a rival tribe arrow trying to take over a peaceful settlement between the main tribe on the planet and Starfleet studying the flora for medicinal properties. Jim suffered from a sprained ankle that got twisted in a trap set, something he know you’d never let him live down.

It all happened so fast and you didn’t have any time to think, just act. Even with an arrow impaled in you, you had to grab the explosive they made so it wouldn’t kill anymore of the villagers or other Starfleet members. You grabbed the device and threw it just in time so it hit the enemy. It made them retreat and it also made you pass out.

You hissed and Len pressed down on your wound before he quickly hit you with a hypospray, the whispering sound being one that you had been used to for quite some time. He quickly got to work as Christine ran vitals on Jim. 

“Bones, what’s wrong?’ Jim asked and you thought Len’s forehead was going to pop out of his head. It reminded you of when the two of you refused to get along.

“Nothing.” He got to work suturing you up, making you lay down. It had barely pierced your large intestine but your blood rushing with the adrenaline made you bleed out faster back on the planet. 

“Len, I’m fine.”

“The hell you are.” 

Christine and Jim looked at each other as she put away her tricorder and turned off the machine behind him.

“Just rest for a few days, Captain. Keep your ankle elevated and you���ll be fine.” She replied and he nodded. 

“Bones, we had everything under-”

“Don’t you are say you had everything under control, Jim! She could’ve died! She went after a live explosive!”  Leonard snapped. 

“I knew what I was-”

“She did what she had to do to protect the village! I was out for the count and she stepped up!” Jim replied.

“She should’ve-”

“Hey! I’m right here so talk to me!” You snapped. “I did what I had to do, McCoy! If I hadn’t then the entire team would be dead! I did what I was supposed to do, I did my goddamn job. Now it’s yours to patch me up.” That reminded him of an argument you two had not too long ago. With a grumble under his breath he quickly finished you up.

“You’ll be fine soon. Take it easy if that’s somewhere in your job description.” He walked out of the room to care for other patients on the other side and you and Jim looked at each other. 

“Alright, we’ve been in scraps like this before but he’s never acted like this.”

“I know. I think it’s been a stressful day for everybody.” Christine sighed and went ahead trying to sterilize some equipment. 

“That’s for sure. Good work down there but next time we need to be more careful.” You laughed but winced and grabbed at your side.

“Sure, we’ve been saying that since we were kids. Go get some rest.” He walked out of medbay as you put your regulation uniform back on to get back to your room.

“He was upset, y’know.” Christine said, making you spin around. “You scared him when they told him you were unresponsive. He thought you had died, Commander. After he found out what you did and that you had a pulse, that’s when he got angry.”

“He’s always angry.”

“Not with you anymore. I know he enjoys the time you spend together after the cave incident.” You looked down at your boots pensively. Your job was dangerous, what you did was dangerous, but it ultimately ended the fight and saved everyone that you were trying to protect. But maybe you had been too harsh on Leonard. However, it wasn’t helping that he was talking to Jim about you rather than talking to you directly. It made you feel like a child again, like Jim was supposed to be your keeper. “Just take some time to heal. Maybe while you’re doing that you can talk to Dr. McCoy.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

XXXXXX

You sighed down at your PADD as you wrote the report for the previous day. After being stitched up, you pretty much all but passed out on your bunk. When you came back to reality, you knew that talking to Leonard had to be on your agenda but You couldn’t bring yourself to him. It was weird though. You usually talked every day but it had been over 24 hours at this point. 

Taking one last sip of your liquor, you put on some flats and slipped out of your room. His room wasn’t too far away, but you also knew that he stayed in his office when he was stressed so he might not be there. You gave a soft knock on the door and you had wished you put on some pants instead of shorts with your baggy academy crewneck. 

He opened the door but he didn’t look excited to see you like every other time you would visit. 

“Hey, can I come in?” He moved out of the way for you and closed the door. “Can we talk?”

“Are you going to apologize?” You sighed and he took a sip of his bourbon. “Then there’s nothing to talk about.”

“Leonard, what do you want me to do?” You sat down in one of his chairs as he walked to the opposite side of the room.

“I just told you.”

“If I hadn’t done what I did then everyone would be hurt or dead! I’m sorry that I snapped at you. I shouldn’t have done that. But I’m not going to apologize for doing what I was trained to do.”

“To kill yourself? That’s what they trained you to do?” You felt your blood boiling over and you wish he would just understand. 

“To maximize the probability of my team living is what I was trained to do, Len!” You flinched when his glass harshly hit his desk as he spun to face you.

“Do you have any regard for yourself whatsoever? Do you ever think about your own well-being? I’ve said it  before and I’ll say it again, you get injured more than anyone on this damn ship! Do you even care about what happens to you?”

“Of course I do but one life is not as important as twenty others!” His brows furrowed at you. 

“What?”

“My life isn’t as important as-”

“WELL IT’S IMPORTANT TO ME!” He yelled and your eyes widened. He breathed out slowly and sat down at the foot of his bed. “It’s important to me. When they told me you were unresponsive, bleeding out...I didn’t know what to do with myself. I kept thinking about all the things that we hadn’t done yet, all the things I hadn’t told you, never gotten the chance to tell you. All the things you would have never known.” You were quiet, sheepish even. You searched around for the right words to say but you thought they might never come. He had his face buried in his hands, no doubt embarrassed by his outburst.

“My job is dangerous, Len. It’s hard knowing every time that I leave this ship it could by my last time seeing everybody. But I do it because I want to keep everyone else safe.”

“That doesn’t always have to come at the cost of you.” He replied and you nodded. 

“It often does. It kills me every time someone on my team gets hurt or dies. I always think about what I could’ve done or...” You shook your head and sat down next to him. “The worst times are when I’m away from the ship and...something happens when I’m not here but you are.” He lifted his head from his hands to look at you but you couldn’t bring yourself to look at him. “If something were to happen to you and I wasn’t there I don’t know what I would do. It fucking kills me thinking about that. I know that I need to be more careful and I’m sorry for scaring you. I’m just tired of being scared, of feeling guilt. But now I know I’m just making everyone else feel scared.” 

“I forget how many people you’ve lost on this mission.”

“And I forget how often you have too.” You were both silent but the room didn’t have the same energy. Tense? Yes. Anger? Not anymore. 

“I just...I can’t imagine not seeing you every day. You’re always on my mind and you drive me crazy. You’ve driven me crazy since the day you stepped aboard with your stubbornness and quick one liners.”

“Pot calling kettle black.” You sniffed and he chuffed. 

“But you’re courageous, funny, thoughtful. I’ve never met a person as caring as you. Even though that often comes out as suicide missions. I...darlin’ I can’t let anything happen to you.” He cupped your cheek and forced you to look at him. “You mean...you are...I’m not good at this shit. I haven’t done it in a while.” You smiled softly and leaned into his hand. 

“I promise I’ll be more careful.”

“That’s all I’m asking.” He replied.

“You’re not too bad yourself, y’know? Yeah you’re stubborn and sarcastic but you care. You’re an amazing doctor, strong-willed, funny, have excellent taste in liquor. I know it’s pathetic but I hated that we didn’t talk at all yesterday. I missed seeing your handsome face.” He laughed and got a smug grin. 

“Handsome, huh?” You rolled your eyes. “Lemme try this again and I hope this is what you’re trying to say too. I like you, a lot. Honestly I liked you even when I hated you. I want to be with you so you can drive me crazy all the time.”

You swore your breathing stopped but your heart kept beating rapidly. You felt like you might implode or pop your sutures. You couldn’t respond with words, so you did the next best thing.

You threw yourself at him, sutures be damned. You arms wrapped around his neck as you pressed your lips against his, His lips were a little chapped and still had the taste of the bourbon he was drinking but he was soon kissing you back with the same intensity. His fingers threaded through your hair as his other hand went to your lower back, sliding a little underneath you crewneck to caress the skin there. Even though you initiated it, you were tense but you soon melted against him.  

“Len...”

“I shoulda said it sooner, before I thought you were dead.” You rested against him, your head against his chest to feel his heartbeat. 

“I...Len I’m so sorry. I just want to do my best.”

“And as long as you do your best to stay alive, that’s all I need.” He replied, his fingers digging into the small of your back. You couldn’t fight back the tears in your eyes anymore and a few dripped down. 

“I love you, Leonard McCoy.” 

Now it was his turn for his breathing to stop. His grip tightened on you and his eyes closed. He’d been wanting to hear that for so long. 

“I feel like I have for a long time, even when I was supposed to hate you. I mean, you’re Jim’s best friend.” He chuckled against you.

“A forbidden fruit?” Somewhere he thought that Christine’s head was probably exploding.

“In a sense.” You smiled. “But I can’t...I can’t do this anymore. I can’t pretend that I don’t feel this way. When I woke up today in medbay all I could think about was you, our nights together, the cave. I promise I’ll be better, I’ll do better to take care of myself. Even if you can’t say it back, I’ll do better because I know what I’ve caused you to feel. What I’ve caused others to feel.”

“I love you too, darlin’. Have for a while.” You smiled and looked up at him, making him lean down and give you another kiss.  He wiped away the tears silently rolling down your cheeks. “I’ll always be there to patch you up, to do my job. But just make it less of a habit.” You nodded and rested your forehead against his. 

“Is it alright if I stay the night?”

“Your sutures-”

“Leonard McCoy! I’m a lady! I simply want to spend time with you and fall asleep in your incredibly comfortable bed.” You gasped mockingly, making him chuckle. “I just need to be with you right now.” He maneuvered you both so you were comfortably on the bed and under the covers, Your head was still on his warm chest and you looked out at the small window he had at the stars. You remembered how in the cave you told him you didn’t see yourself settling down. Well perhaps it was written in the stars that it would actually happen with the man you once detested. 

“So, when are we going to tell Jim?”

“Um...”

(Part 3 of Jim finding out and the ensuing chaos?)

[prophecy-is-inevitable]

Tourniquet - Part 1

Jim Mason x Named Reader/OC

(Jim is in his 20s on this fic. I know most people prefer Y/N or second person, but this one is hard for me to write and hits very close to home, so I gave the reader a name in order for me to feel some distance when writing. It also didn't feel right to wish any of these feelings on "you". Adding it under a Read More because of the possible triggers.)

Summary: While in an appalling rehab hospital, Jim sees another person struggling to deal with life, emotions, and the crushing desire to leave it all behind. She ends up adding a little spark of excitement to his usually mundane day and drawing his interest.

Word Count: 1, 888 (is a baby intro chappy!)

Warnings: SO. MANY. WARNINGS. Please heed the warnings, loves, and don’t read if anything will upset you or make you uncomfortable. If I have missed anything, please let me know so I can add it as soon as possible. Thank you!

Angst, Poor Medical Practices, Rehab Setting, Trauma, Drug Use, Drug Overdose, Withdrawal Symptoms, Suicidal Thoughts, Attempted Suicide, Severe Depression, Self-Harm, Scars, Language, Violence.

Tourniquet - a device which applies pressure to a limb or extremity in order to limit – but not stop – the flow of blood. It may be used in emergencies, in surgery, or in post-operative rehabilitation.

It had been a while since he’d been brought to this place. The plain walls and terribly uncomfortable cot of his room greeted him day after day. Jim had lost count of how many days that had been. He remembered there were at least a couple days where Medina had come to visit and wished him a happy birthday. It should have been a day for them to celebrate together, and instead she was here with him in this awful place.

“I’m so sorry, Medina,” he would whisper as they laid on his cot together, nearly nose to nose. A slight burning sensation tickled his nose every time, but his eyes were too tired to release any more tears. He simply stared at his twin, or through her more like, and let the guilt eat him inside.

“Jim, it’s okay. Don’t be sorry. There’s nowhere I’d rather be than with you. You’re my best friend, my other half. It’s just you and me, remember?” Medina always pulled him close and whispered comforting words to try and quell the storm inside of him. It just made him hate himself more. She should have been outside, free and living her life, enjoying the waves she loved so much. Of course, that wasn’t something he would ever share with his loving sister. He didn’t know what he would do without her.

Jim was just...confused. His best memories of the place were the days Medina would visit. She would bring magazines and articles on surfing or the places they had talked about visiting someday. Envisioning a life beyond this mundane and monotonous existence always brought him a fleeting joy, but that feeling always left with his sister. It was exhausting to have his emotions swinging back and forth inside of him like a tangled yo-yo. He wanted to see her, to feel happy for even the smallest moment, but was it worth the inevitable and painful crash that followed? The guilt that he was holding his sister back and the fear that she resented him?

“Perhaps we should limit your sister’s visits. We could see if that helps improve your mental state.” The doctor had made the suggestion one day after one of Jim’s episodes following Medina stopping by. He’d bruised his hand and nearly punched a hole in the wall in his frustration as he’d spiraled once again. Jim did not take the suggestion well. Orderlies were called in to restrain him while he cursed out the doctor, screaming that his sister “was all he had left”, and he’d been put under heavy sedation for at least a day until his mind and body were too numb to fight back anymore.

Rehab. A place where he was meant to heal and recover and lose his dependency on drugs and stolen medication. All he found was that they used his problems to load him up with all new drugs and all new problems. Most of his day was spent laying in the same spot on his cot, as close to the wall as possible, and counting the flecks of dirt that had gotten stuck in the paint on the wall. He found it hard to sleep after the episodes requiring sedation. His hands trembled and his heart raced. More often than not, his nights consisted of pacing the short distance of his room and clutched his chest in fear that his heart would burst through his ribcage. He couldn’t breathe and swore he was suffocating, panicking, crying for someone--anyone--to help him and make it stop. Please!

It was a day like any other the first time he saw her. They’d forced him into the common room where some patients played games together or watched whatever sitcom rerun showed on the shitty cable tv. Jim sat by the window, tired, empty eyes staring at the palm leaves swaying in the breeze as he dreamed of the ocean waves he’d surfed with Medina. He wondered if she was out there at that exact moment. His thoughts were interrupted by an unusual silence filling the room. Everyone turned to look at the doorway where a nurse was giving a tour to a slightly smaller young woman. Her hair curtained her face as she stood with her arms wrapped tightly around her middle. A sense of holding the shattering pieces of herself together, most likely. Not once did she look up to see who else was stuck in this place with her.

Jim didn’t blame her. Most of them came and went, only to come back again if they didn’t manage to find the eternal freedom they all chased at some point. Jim knew the mark of defeat she wore so obviously; it was identical to his and everyone else that was forced to be here. “Danger to themselves or others” they called them. Her shoulders tugged her upper body down to the ground, her steps slow and aimless as she shuffled over to sit at the far end of the window. Her legs tucked up to her chest and she shrank into the chair in an attempt to disappear. Jim’s eyes widened at the slow droplets of tears slipping down her cheeks. The dark circles beneath her eyes mirrored his own. She was sedated, too. He wondered what had happened to her, why she was here, and then he noticed the thick gauze bandages wrapped around her wrists. Oh.

Her eyes caught his staring at her forearms, and she quickly tugged the sleeves of her sweater down. He couldn’t tell if the look in her glassy eyes was hurt, embarrassment, or anger. Maybe all of the above. She wasn’t sure either. She curled in on herself and turned sideways to rest her forehead against the window. Her chest rose and fell with the jagged breaths she tried and failed to control. Jim forced his gaze back to the world outside, but the quiet sniffles from the armchair a few rows away brought his eyes back to her. She looked tired. So tired.

And she felt tired. So tired. It hurt to feel her heart beating. Each miserable thump inside of her chest continued to pump blood and forced her to keep breathing when all she wanted was for it to stop. Why couldn’t it just stop?! A soft sob parted her lips, and her distress only made her heart beat stronger. There was no more room for her to hide within herself. The muscles in her body shook for exhaustion and the effort she put into trying to will her body into an implosion. Weren’t the meds supposed to help them feel better? Now the guy across the room was staring at her like he didn’t have the same dead eyes and weight inside his soul. Asshole. Fuck him and his gorgeous crystal eyes that shone like the ocean in the sun.

One of the other patients that had been playing cards came over and sat down in the chair next to her. Her eyes remained glued to the outside, and that didn’t seem to sit well with her visitor. He wanted to know her name, why she was so sad, why she was there. Jim knew the guy, Harry, meant well, but he just didn’t know when to leave things alone and call it quits. It wasn’t going to end well for Harry. You never made someone already on edge feel interrogated and pressured. The biggest mistake came when he reached for her arm to see the bandages peeking out from under her sleeves. She jumped up quickly, ripping her arm out of his grasp, and cradled her arm protectively against her chest again.

“Don’t you fucking touch me!” Her scream filled the room, and she let loose a right hook that landed on his nose. 

“Oh, shit!” Jim’s eyes widened in surprise and an unusually bright smile lit up his face. The crunch of bone on bone let anyone within earshot know the guy’s nose was broken. He crumpled to the floor with a cry, holding a hand to his bleeding face, while she stood and panted over him with panicked eyes. A nurse rushed over quickly and looked between them, and two orderlies came running in. one of them bent to help Harry while the other held the girl firmly by her shoulders to keep her back.

“Samantha! What did you do?” The nurse glared at the young woman, Samantha, who opened and closed her mouth while trying to calm herself enough to form words in her defense. Her arms were wrapped around her middle again, and Jim could see her nails digging into her palms from where he sat. Large, fearful tears trickled down her cheeks as she looked up with wide eyes at the nurse towering over her.

“Harry grabbed her arm. She was just defending herself--I saw it. It looked like it hurt a lot.” Jim decided to help her out. Seeing her knock Harry on his ass had been the best thing he’d seen in months, if not years, and he still had a lazy smirk on his face from replaying it over in his head. Samantha stared at him in confusion. He had no reason to defend her, and yet here he was, trying to get her out of trouble. There had to be some ulterior motive, and that made him dangerous. She shrank back against the burly orderly holding her upper arms, even more so when the nurse reached forward and pulled her hand to move her sleeve up. Small patches of red had begun to blossom on the gauze, and the nurse sighed.

“Thank you, Jim.” The nurse nodded at him and quickly turned her attention back to the girl before her. One orderly was already taking Harry to get cleaned up and away from everyone else. “Come on, Samantha. Let’s get you looked at. You know you won’t be allowed to socialize with others if you can’t control your outbursts.”

“What a fucking loss,” she muttered under her breath.

“Samantha! Language!”

They walked past Jim, and he watched her go. Her eyes were trained on her slippers until she stepped next to him and gave him a sideways glance through her hair. He smiled softly only to be met with a teary glare. Jim lifted his hand in a weak attempt at a salutation. Samantha’s brow furrowed and she quickly turned away. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she owed him for stepping in on her behalf. The orderly pushed her forward and broke their eye contact. 

Jim wondered when he would see Samantha again, if she was going to be punished. Samantha hoped she didn’t have to see Jim’s blue tourmaline eyes peering into her ever again. It felt like he could unravel her from the inside out, and she didn’t need any help in that department. She glanced back at him once to see that he was back to looking out window, tired, empty eyes staring at the palm leaves swaying in the breeze as he dreamed of the ocean waves he’d surfed with Medina.

------------------

This one is a bit different and not for Michael. If you’d like to be removed from the taglist for this fic, please let me know!

@guiltyfiend @drasangel @michaellangdonstanaccount @jimmlangdon

[startreckobsessed]

You want request? How about Bones, or his girlfriend, or maybe both of them, being suspicious about the fidelity of the other. Like really suspicious, make em look like they are really cheating (but they are not). Then they fight, like really fight, borderline breakup. But at the end, they make up. You can make it smut at the end, where partner A (the one who we thought was cheating) says to partner B that everything he/she has is hers/his. EVERYTHING. 😉😉😉😉 I’ll be waiting, love.

The road to the relationship had been rocky from the beginning, you both bickered constantly, but he had this deep seated fear down to his bones that he wouldn't be good enough for you. It was bad enough that there was a good chunk of an age gap, but you had to be witty, charming and you held a kind of beauty that attracted every kind of attention.

Now, Jocelyn never exactly cheated on him, but she did little things that would chip away at his self image; the way her eyes would linger on other men and act dissatisfied with him when they went home at the end of the night, not to mention how her lawyers raked him through the coals claiming he was an absent partner when in reality he had made long drives and days at a time without sleep to spend time with her during medical school and his residency.

Sometimes his past experiences colored the way he saw your actions, his imagination going crazy with how bad the situation looked, even of you acting suspicious didn't help any.

You had grown... Distant, lately. You would get up earlier and return extremely late. You were also careful with your words, thinking more before you spoke. Your mind was always elsewhere when you were together.

The implications he came to made his stomach turn. You were more than just his girlfriend, you were his best friend, his confidant. He would feel so lost without your support.

A little like he was feeling right now.

It wasn't until his weekly drink with Jim that his fears were confirmed.

Jim had been late, which wasn't abnormal but he was really late. Leonard was tired, eyelids heavy and his body ached, he decided to go back to your shared quarters to get some shut eye.

As he was making his way down the long winding hall he heard a bump coming from one of the many medical supply closets. He rolled his eyes, pausing for a second debating if he even wanted to go bust a couple of ensigns about to get it on. With a huff he turned, twisting open the knob and-

His breath caught, heart stuttering painfully.

It was you. Sitting up on the counter, ensign Hennricks standing between your legs. One of his hands was resting on your knee, the other was pushing the hair away from your face.

A strangled noise escaped his lips, he turned on his heel and sped down the hall. "Len!" You call, hopping off the table and chased after him, just catching a glimpse of him disappearing around the corner.

You shot forward, skidding around and finally catching up, grasping his bicep and spinning him around, but he wouldn't look at you. His eyes looked toward the ground, nostrils flared and mouth turned in a deep frown. He ripped his arm away from your hold. "Leonard,-that wasnt-" "don't." He growled. "Don't try to lie to me." His accent thickened with emotion. "How could you?" You shook your head "I'm not lying Len. If you would just-" "no." He hisses "I'm done with you. You knew how hard it was for me to- to trust again. You knew it and you still-" he pinched his eyes closed, a tear dripping down his cheek. You felt a pang of guilt go through you. And you felt like you couldn't breath. He turned away from you, and in a moment of clarity you reached for his head and turned it toward you.

"Leonard! Look at me!" You demand. His red eyes met yours for a brief second but it was enough for him to finally see the gash that traveled over your eyebrow and just shy of your eye. "What happened?" He asked in a gravely tone before he could think better to. Your other hand came up to cradle his face as his teary blood shot eyes roamed your face, now seeing a fresh bruise on your jaw. "Hennricks was patching me up, using a tissue regenerator so you wouldn't worry. I-ive been in training to become SSO." His eyebrows shot up incrediously "Why didn't you just tell me?"

You bit your lip. "I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. And.." "and what?" "I uh, I didn't want you to be disappointed if I couldn't do it. I know it bothers you that were not exactly on equal ground, that if our stations were level mabey you would feel more secure and.. people would stop assuming I'm sleeping my way to the top." He huffed slightly, one brow arching "who's been assuming?" You shake your head at his protectiveness, swallowing thickly. "It doesn't matter." You say.

He sighed " did you get the promotion?" You shrug "won't know till tommorow." He nods, avoiding your eyes again. "I'm sorry." You say. "For... Making you think I would ever want

Anyone but you Len. Your it for me, your everything for me." He blinked away a new onslaught of tears. You smile sadly, leaning in and pressing a kiss to his lips.

He sighs into the kiss, the stress melting from his body as he winds his arms around you, pressing lips more firmly to yours as your hands ball up in his uniform shirt, pulling his body closer to yours.

When you both stumble into your room, the lights are out, only the faint blue glow of the rooms control panel allowing you to see the faint outline of the bed.

The matress dipped as you fell back onto it, Leonard's hands roamed under your skirt, the other cradled your jaw as your lips collided over and over.

Your hands slipped under his shirt, fingers trailing over his heated skin. He shivers, hands leaving you to rip his shirt up over his head. You bite your lip, your neck getting hot as he does the same with yours. Slower, gentler and almost reverently as he underssed you until you were both bare.

Your hand traveled down his abdomen, brushing against the tip of his erect cock. His nostrals flared as your hand drifted further, wrapping around his shaft. Your thumb swiped over his tip, spreading his pearly white precum. You pumped him gently, your right hand focused on the tip as you massaged him. He was somewhat hunched over you, arms caging you in on both sides of the bed. You let go of him for a moment to steer him onto his back on the bed with you on your stomach between his legs. You wrapped your hand around his shaft.

You looked straight into his glazed hazel eyes as you took the base of his shaft into your mouth. Your tounge swirling as you sucked. A gutteral sound escaped his throat and his hands gripped the sheets,heels digging into the mattress. You smirked slightly, you always loved pulling sounds like that out of him.

Your mouth traveled up and down until his cock was slick and shining from your spit, his body growing tenser and tenser as his orgasm built. Suddenly he pulled you off of his cock, pulling your lips to his again with a growl, manuvering you to roll under him as he hovers above you. He gripped his wet cock, rubbing it over your clit and entrance teasingly. You moan and buck your hips as he rubs the tip up and down between your folds. Half of you wanted him to never stop doing what he was doing, the feeling of his cock dragging over your clit felt amazing, the other half wanted him to plow into you. You whined at the intensity of the sensations. "You like that?" He murmured. You nodd franticlly. "Have to remember that." He murmurs before slowly sinking into you. Your breath caught, savoring the feeling of being filled so deliciously. Your eyes squeesed shut. His fingers caught your chin. "Feel good darlin'?"

You nodded, brain too hazy to form coherent words. You opened your eyes and shuttered as he shifted inside you. You gripped his shoulders and pushed him to sit back against the wall as you sat on top of his lap, cock still buried deep inside of you. Your hands rest on his shoulders, one of your hands coming to rest against his cheek as you slowly started to move your hips, milking his cock.

His mouth drops open slightly, hands landing to rest on your hips and all he can do is watch your breasts move along with your labored breathing. After a few minutes his head bangs back against the wall, hands gripping your hips tighter as his eyes clench shut, and hot streams of cum exploding inside of you. You gasp, the twitching and warmth of his cock paired with your thrusts causing your orgasm to rip through you, almost violently.

As you both come down from. The high, You both still, your breathing stilling as he softens inside you, and you climb off. He lays down beside you, arm wrapping around your waist as he presses a kiss to your brow.

"Im sorry." He says into the darkness. You shake your head "your everything to me, Len. Everything." You say before you both settle in, falling asleep.

Fin.

[anotherstartrekimagineblog]

In These Arms of Mine

(not my gif)

Read on AO3!

Pairing; Bones x Reader

Notes; One of these days I’ll be able to actually bloody stick around, summer and the new semester absolutely drowned me. I love writing, and yet I hate everything I write. @bahharrington28 I am sincerely sorry this took me so long, hopefully, it is not too disappointing, and I’m sure I’ll get round to your other request when I can! 

Bones comes to patch up the reader after being injured on an away mission. Warning for ever so slight gore, and a bit of a sexual reference.

________________________________________________________________

You wanted nothing more than to focus on the soothing sound of dripping water falling from the stalactites hanging from the cavern ceiling. You remember admiring the wonderful formations when you first entered the cave - but unfortunately, the sharp prickling feeling all over your entire right side drew all of your focus and attention.

The away mission had gone terribly wrong.

You had only entered ever so slightly ahead down one of the passages as you’d picked up interesting sensor readings on the tricorder -  your curiosity had gotten the better of you as soon as you heard the promising beeps of the device. As you ventured further a distant rumbling alerted your senses before an unfortunate cave-in sent rocks tumbling behind you and on top of you - wounding you and throwing you to the ground. 

Now you were trapped alone and injured behind a mound of fallen rocks you couldn’t hope to clear with your current impairment; the world was slowly dimming and the echoing splashes were becoming quiet and dull. 

And then, nothing.

You finally come back to consciousness when you hear more crashing at the entrance of the passageway you previously entered. 

Someone had managed to lift away and clear some of the rocks, and had climbed through the small opening - just before more of the cave came tumbling after.

“Good god.” He sighed, as he came closer toward you - his medical tricorder beeping in a way that was now deeply unpleasant in your ears. “McCoy to Enterprise, I’ve located (Y/N). Unfortunately, now we're both stuck.” The sigh in his voice is heavy.

The reply on the other end, presumably the Captain, was barely audible but you assumed a rescue team was on its way. 

“I’m gonna have to turn you over. What in the hell did you think you were doing?” Bones scolds, taking a firm hold of you and moving you slowly, then opening his medkit beside you without much of the same tenderness.

“My… job” you reply, barely above a whisper. You finally look up to the doctor, and whilst his expression is concerned, it’s far softer than the usual one adorned when treating other patients injuries. He was less irritated and more terrified. 

“Something to help the pain.” He says as the hypospray is administered to your neck. “Gotta stop the bleeding.” 

Even just seeing Leonard brings you a sense of calm that seems to slow your heart rate  - either that or the blood loss he just mentioned. His scent soothes you too, a mixture of something medical and something distinctly him - it made all the difference from the damp, earthy smell of the cave. You watch him work diligently - unable to keep your attention from the literal tear in your side. You try to focus on him, and only him.

You love the frustration that knits his brows together and the slight mumbles under his breath falling from those beautiful lips. You know he’s holding back from lecturing you further, instead centering all his attention on making sure you will actually be alive to admonish later. 

At the beginning of your relationship, Leonard had barely been able to contain himself when learning about your injuries - now, he tried to keep some of it to himself. 

His hands move quickly and with purpose, and you have so many different thoughts about them, it is enough to distract you temporarily from the wound he’s working on.

You think back to a few nights previous when you looked upon those same digits wrapped around a whiskey glass as Leonard sat in your shared quarters and unwound after a long day. 

The feeling of those long fingers inside you is the next image to fight its way to the forefront of your mind. You wished that was the kind of magic he was working right now. 

Your mind settles on the memory of placing the ring on his finger during the wedding ceremony you had back when you were last on Earth. 

Your attention is snapped back to the present, as a sharp pain sets your nerves alight - you notice that the symbol of your husband’s devotion was now covered in your own blood. 

He switches to the emergency surgical kit. “Think it’s best if you keep your eyes on me.” He mutters. 

“You think you’re that handsome?” You quip, and you would laugh if you weren’t in such agony. You oblige him anyway and tear your eyes away to look at him instead of what he’s working on.

“I know you think I’m that handsome.” He smirks before refocusing on his work with the auto suture. “You’re doing good.” 

“The hypo certainly helped.” You sighed, now reflecting on the numbness that had replaced much of the pain. 

“Sweet, sweet Anesthizine. God knows what I’d be putting you through without it.” Leonard finishes quietly - you know you’ll be due more scans and treatment once you’re back on the ship, but for now, the crisis is averted. “All done for now.”

As Leonard packed away the various medical items, you slowly begin to sit yourself up. 

“Thank you for saving me,” you say with sincerity. 

“Always.” He replies, moving to press a soft kiss to your forehead. “Try not to move around too much.” 

The whirring of phaser fire cutting through the rocks and the rumbling as they displace captures both of your attention. 

“Structural support is up and we’re almost through.” Came the voice from the communicator. “Should have you out of there in a minute or two.”

“Thank the Lord, let's get you back to the ship.” Leonard throws your arm around his shoulders and helps lift you to stand. 

“Oh, are you gonna make Jim not assign me to any more missions?”

“Dammnit, I’ll be with you. I’m gonna keep you safe, come hell or high water.”

[ratisnotcrying]

first words

Summary: should i give a fuck who you are?

Pairing: pre slash sebastian moran & jim moriarty 

Warnings: mild violence but otherwise just a soulmate au

Word count: 2.5K

A/N: this is crossposted on AO3

~~~

In a neat, cursive script, running smoothly around Sebastian's left wrist were the words 'Do you know who I am, Tiger?'

He can't remember the first time he was told what it said, or even who told him, though he suspects it was his mother. She had always loved the idea of soulmates and destiny; Sebastian had never understood how she could feel like that when she had been 'destined' to marry his father - her mark read 'who the fuck do you think you are?' The earliest memory he has of his own mark is from when he was seven, two days after his mother died and his father drank so much he still reeked the next morning. He had grabbed Sebastian's tiny arm, leaving thin red marks sitting over small purple bruises, and just stared at the words - obviously they had reminded him of something because, thirty minutes later, Sebastian was left to drag himself to bed and unable to move without feeling a soul-deep pain radiating from each and evey place his father had struck him. From that day on, he covered his mark with plasters, long sleeves and ratty brown leather bracelets.

As he grew up he decided that he really didn't want to think about what kind of situation would warrant someone asking if he 'knew who he was' but then he started to think that his habit of getting into fights is what would be the exact reason for someone saying that. He had honestly been a well behaved child, and then a snotty prick by the name of Cyril - fucking Cyril - had made a snide comment about his mum and it all sort of went tits up from there on out. Four years and three schools later, he got kicked out of school altogether. And kicked out of his house because he got kicked out of school, and because his dad was a bastard. He didn't cover his mark anymore, not overly bothered by who saw it.

Living on the streets turned out to be a lot harder than sixteen year old Sebastian had expeted so he decided that building a reputation for himself was the best way to survive, and he was still a kid so at the time beating the shit out of people seemed like a good idea. Until he got arrested for assult. He's not sure what happened but somehow he ended up leaving the police station the next morning with no charges against him and a not-quite 'discussion' about the pros of him joining the military.

"Listen, mate, I get you've had it rough but I have to make sure that you get fighting isn't the answer. You got lucky this time but next time you won't. You need to take control of your life and make something of it ,yeah? I got you this leaflet and I want you to read it, alright?" The officer was barely older than him and the idea of actually accepting life advice from him was laughable so he just grunted as he walked out.

Four years later, at aged twenty-one, he was one of the most skilled snipers Her Majesty's Armed Forces had ever seen, and one of the luckiest too. It was sort of a running joke in his unit that he could get away with anything because good god did that man know how to push his luck. His superior officers had never met anyone who could talk back like Sebastian could and they had definitely never met anyone who could go from nought to a hundred with his fists so quickly, either. But, if being an asshole and getting away with it wasn't proof enough of his luck, the story behind Sebastian's soon to be nickname is a true testament to it.

It was mid-afternoon, the sun was hammering down and Sebastian was just trying to do some exercise when he heard a quiet noise above the hum of the heat and when he looked around, he saw a tiger making it's way cautiously into the encampment. It's stripes seemed distorted as they hung off of it - it was too skinny, he didn't need to be a genius to know that, but it was still a big fucking animal that was slowly approaching the sleeping form of Benny. If asked, Sebastian would tell you he had no idea why he did what he did next, because he truly does not know what possessed him. Picking up a hefty rock from beside him, he hurled it towards the tiger and, obviously, the tiger turned to him, moving faster now, gathering speed as it pounced.

When he opened his eyes he saw the tiger, limp-running away and Benny coming to drag him to his feet - all the others who had gathered around him still seemed shocked by the fact he had fought off an actual tiger. He didn't stay standing for long though and slumped back to the floor, wiping blood repeatedly out of his left eye and spitting some into the dirt next to him. He went to wipe his face more but a firm hand gripped his wrist, pulling it away before tugging at the open wounds on his face.

"You're lucky - it just missed your eye but you're going to need a lot of stitches. You will have some nasty scars, too," he said, guiding Sebastian over to the medical tent and getting to work.

Over the next few weeks he started to find his nickname very fucking annoying, particularly when his mates chorused 'tigers don't care about the opinions of sheep' every time one of their superior officers gave him a talking to and singing Eye of the Tiger at every opportunity. And the worst part was that he couldn't even get away because he wasn't allowed to do shit. So, really, if you took into account all of this, it was only logical that he would end up breaking his lieutenant's nose and find himself back on the streets with nothing to his name except a dishonourable discharge and three scars running from his left temple to the right side of his jaw.

---

'Should I give a fuck who you are?'

Jim had always worn his soulmark like a badge. No one ever told him what it said, for obvious reasons but he was a clever child, he could read and articulate way beyond his years so when seven year old Jim walked into the dinning room, looked his mother in the eye and stuttered out, 'should I give a f-fuck who you are?' before grinning at her, no one should have been surprised. That had been an interesting and pointless conversation because despite his mother telling him, 'Good boys shouldn't use such bad words,' he still continued to say this well into his early teens.

He was thirteen when he pulled off his first heist. It was in a corner shop, he lead a team of four and they got away with a new box of ready salted pringles, a case of red bull and, of course, a box of own brand chocolate bars because they're way better than the expensive shit. They so very nearly got caught, a brawl in the pub opposite bringing two police cars screeching to a halt in the road, but they somehow managed to slip away and made a fairly good profit on their goods. His second one was a year later and went a lot better. Him and four others again, this time a small shop in the high street from which they successfully took two cases of cigarettes to sell; two boxes of lighters because he was a good businessman and knew how to make a good sale; three cases of wine carefully stacked in a shopping trolley, and a nice new set of knives for himself.

By sixteen he has heard the phrase 'should I give a fuck who you are?' several times - not surprising when you looked at his life. He had the beginnings of a small network, maybe twenty or so people in place around his neighbourhood and it was slowly growing. Whilst those on the outskirts of his web mainly just roughed people up a little or pulled off the robberies that Jim no longer did himself, those higher up dealt with anyone who tried to take over Jim's patch. They would find themselves face down on the concrete, a muddy black boot on their neck until Jim sauntered over and crouched down, saying in a teasing voice, 'do you know who I am?' He started giggling childishly every time they responded with the words inked on his wrist.

Two days after he turned seventeen, his second in command got arrested for being a stupid prick who deserves everything coming to him - who would leave a gun in the front seat of their stolen astra? And who would steal a fucking astra? He almost grassed but somehow the evidence against him got lost so he walked - Jim has no idea how that happened, and when his second was found bloodied and bruised in an alleyway, well, it certainly couldn't be traced back to Jim.

The first time he killed a man was a week after his mother had died - or been murdered during a break in, to be specific. It had been a rough week to say the least. The police had been poking around, working off a tip some fuckwit had decided to bestow upon them. He's sure that if he spoke to the many councillors he was directed to they would say something about having time to grieve or process or 'work through it'. But he didn't speak to them because he had his own way of 'working through it', which was good for Jim, but wasn't quite as good for the imbecile who had not only come into his town, but had hurt his mother. He got a call late on the Thursday.

"We've got 'im, boss." "I'll be five minutes. If he has so much one broken bone, I will make you regret it." "Yes, boss."

When he arrived, two of his men were standing a little too rigidly whilst the third was stood with a foot on the neck of a crying prick.

"Hmm, a broken finger. Too bad. I apologise..." he trailed off, crouching down and looking expectantly into teary eyes.

"David," he choked out.

"David. Do you know who I am, David?" The look of horror, the colour visibly draining from his face and the way he physically gagged caused Jim to laugh sardonically before he continued.

"You might know my mother too - you were acquainted just a few days ago. Do you remember that, David?" he hissed as he used one gloved hand to pull a knife from his inside pocket.

He managed to avoid getting blood on most of his clothes, only a few drops landed on his coat but he would still have to burn it. He threw the knife on the floor and tossed his coat to the man closest to him, the gloves shoved in the pocket.

"Burn this. Do not touch that knife - it's going to get the cretin who snitched arrested. The only reason I'm letting you off today is because you're not worth the trouble it'll take to scrape you off the pavement."

In the following years his business expanded to include blackmail, kidnapping and assassinations. The only problem was there the unfortunately small pool of assassins to choose from - something about not wanting to kill innocent people or kill for money or other equally boring excuses.

And that's when he discovered recently discharged - sorry, dishonoably discarged Sebastian Moran.

---

Sebastian was not having a good week. It was nothing specific, really, it was just that being homeless is fucking shit and all of his stuff was set on fire; now all he wanted was to treat himself to a new pack of fags and maybe a drink. The route was familiar, the shadows, the dripping of the drains, so the two, quiet sets of footsteps he heard on his way back sounded loud and clear as an alert he was being followed, which was not doing anything to elevate his mood. He stopped walking and rolled his shoulders.

"What do you want?"

He spun around, arms raised in defence when he heard them run forwards, blocking the initial attack before launching himself forwards. He managed to knock one bloke on his arse just as he heard two, maybe three more approaching from behind. So, yeah, over all it hadn't been a great week but seeing all five of his attackers unconscious on the ground made it a little better. That was until he heard a sixth person approach, clapping slowly. Sebastian growled and pivoted, grabbing the condescending fuck by his collar and slamming him up against the damp brick work.

"Do you know who I am, Tiger?" the man said, eyeing the scars on his face and the bodies on the floor, and Sebastian very nearly punched him in the jaw because he sounded like he needed it and no one had ever obliged. Sebastian's eyes scanned the body in front of him, taking in his short, almost wiry frame, his vey expensive looking suit, and his shit eating grin. Sebastian put a cigarette between his lips, ignoring the sting of his split lip, and blew the smoke into his face.

"Should I give a fuck who you are?" he said through another exhale.

"The names Moriarty, and you should really show me more respect. You can start by letting go of me." The man - Moriarty - looked pointedly at where Sebastian still had his arm firmly pressed to his chest and Sebastian shrugged, letting go and taking half a step back.

"Much appreciated, I do hate wrinkling my suits. You'd do well to remember that, when you work for me."

"When I work for you?" Sebastian laughed incredulously.

"Naturally. I know all about you, Sebastian Moran. You have a skill set that I can use and, in return, I can offer you the opportunity to not be homeless." Moriarty slid his hands into his pockets and rocked on his heels, which seemed to be his equivalent of twiddling his thumbs in boredom.

Sebastian flicked his fag butt away. "Suppose I don't want this job, what then?"

"Seeing as you do want this job I think it best not to waste my time. You'll soon learn that I'm not a very patient man." He turned on his heel, walking back the way he came, only pausing briefly to call out, "Come along now, Tiger. Work to do."

[mlm-writer]

Names

Pairing: Leonard H. McCoy x fem!Reader

Keywords: Pregnancy, injuries, drama, Dammit Jim you were supposed to look after her

Summary: You always used protection, but got pregnant anyway. Afraid that Leonard thinks you cheated, you keep it a secret, but in your line of work, secrets don’t hold out that long.

Words: 812

Note: I am the writer and I don’t care what canon says regarding medical stuff.

One moment you were dodging literal balls of fire, the next you tripped over rubble and landed beyond painfully on your back. You cursed as you tried to move, but found yourself unable to. Every muscle contraction in the area of your lower spine hurt like hell. Therefore, you decided that this rubble was actually more comfortable than it was initially. “Now is not the moment to take a rest, ensign,” captain Kirk commented in his passing.

“I am afraid I am unable to stand up, sir,” you called over the sound of fighting. You heard him return. As he hung over you, he looked down at you with an expression that begged you to be kidding. You held his gaze, until he put his phaser away and dragged you by your shoulders behind cover. You cried out in pain, breathing going shallow.

“Scotty, I need emergency extraction at my location. Ensign L/N is unable to move. Leave me here for now. I don’t want to face Bones now his girlfriend got hurt on my watch…” he let out a chuckle, “and I need to find the others. Have medbay on standby.” He covered for you, patting your shoulder, before watching you disappear. You found yourself materialising in the transporter room. Medical staff placed a stretcher below you, which hovered above the ground in seconds.

“Still with us, ensign?” You gave a pained smile to the nurse that rushed you towards medbay. You told him that you’ve had worse. You vaguely heard that your heart rate and blood pressure were normal. Apparently you were not bleeding. That was a good thing to hear. Now was really not the time to almost die.

The doors to medbay opened and your boyfriend was hanging his head over you in no time. “Dammit, can you not be careful for at least once?” You laughed in spite of the pain and told him no. “Of course you can’t, it’s like dating a female Jim... Can’t move either, can you?” You shook your head. “Let’s get you an X-Ray.”

He was already moving your stretcher, when you reached out and placed a hand on his wrist. “Wait, I need to tell you something.”

“Whatever it is, it can wait. We have to patch you up first.”

“No, this cannot wait.”

“As your doctor, I am telling you it can.”

“I am pregnant.”

You had expected for Leonard to be shocked, but you did not expect him to scream ‘what’ as he gripped the stretcher so tight, you suspected he would have fallen if he wasn’t holding it. Everyone was looking at you. You knew it, even without raising your head to look around medbay. “I swear if you make a scene now…”

“How long?”

“Can we do this elsewhere?”

“It is still important if I want to do any kind of imaging.”

You sighed, making a wild guess. “Somewhere between one and two weeks, I guess.” He raised a brow at you, looking like you were supposed to know the age of the fetus down to the minute. He did not say much else to you. He was so quiet during the whole process, it worried you. You found yourself in a wheelchair in less than an hour, ready to roll out to your quarters. “Are you going to say anything?” You asked your boyfriend as he was gripping the handles of the wheelchair.

“I am still processing,” Leonard replied as he rolled you forwards. “Why did you not tell me sooner?”

You shrugged. “We always had safe sex. I was afraid you’d think I cheated.” He laughed. The sound behind you made you feel warm inside. Leonard had many good features, but his laugh was always special to you. Given how annoyed he was to be in space, it was rare too. “What? You think I’m not hot enough to cheat?” You joked.

“Darlin’, you hardly have time to see me daily, let alone have the time to cheat on me.” He patted your head. “Besides, I know all contraception measures are not 100% foul-proof and…” You nearly smiled your face in half as he kissed the top of your head in the empty hallway. “I know you love me as much as I love you. You would not cheat on me, would you?”

The doors to your quarters closed behind you. Leonard crouched down in front of you and gave you a proper kiss, before helping you out of the chair. “The fact that you say I am not capable of doing it, makes an attempt very tempting… ouch.” He chuckled as he put you in bed. Your spine was fine, but the muscles around it still hurt.

“You do intent on keeping the kid, right?” He looked so hopefully at you that you couldn’t help but laugh yourself.

“Better start thinking of names.”

Note: Please inform your health care professionals, if you’re pregnant. Even if you’re just going for a dental X-Ray. Also, remember that even condoms are not 100% efficient in preventing pregnancies. If your name is Mary, even abstinence might not be able to keep you safe.

[labyrinthof-fan-fiction]

Security Part 1: Breaking Down

Might be a one shot, might become a series, we’ll see. 

Summary: Leonard McCoy never wanted to be cut off from the world. He wanted to heal, but the world had other plans for him. So he locked his heart up and ventured into space. And it was all to plan, that is until a certain captain broke through his walls. Followed by a security officer who keeps ending up as his patient.

I do not own Star Trek or their characters.

Original Character: Avery

Mentions of injuries.

Most likely messed up timelines somewhere, but look I love Karl Urban as Bones far too much. There's a solid chance I have screwed up all these medical things, if someone wants to teach me how to Star Trek medical please help.

Leonard “Bones” McCoy was a sensible man, he had his heart broken, so he locked it far away, in space. His past kept him from opening up to people, friendships and romance were the last thing on his mind. Then James Tiberius Kirk entered his life. The kid wore a weakness into the walls Leonard had put up for so long, actually who was he kidding, he knocked a huge hole in them that Leonard just didn’t have the time to patch up. Mainly because he was patching Jim up.

Adventure, wonder, the final frontier! These were the selling points of Starfleet, at least to most. Leonard had one point that sold Starfleet for him: get off this damn planet ‘cause you don’t have anything keeping you here. The irony of his life was maximized by him being stuck on a damn ship, and he hated flying.

All of that aside, he was content in his life as it was now. He had become CMO of the Enterprise, not under the best of circumstances, but it was a step. He could dedicate his time to his mission, healing. His purpose, to heal people. This was his one place he found peace, at least until Jim decided to avoid his routine checks or got himself into a kind of trouble that ended with him lying in a medical bed. Which was more often than not. Leonard knew that he at least would never be bored as the CMO of the Enterprise.

While the majority of his time was chasing down the Captain for injuries, his other time was spent treating the mass of red shirts that came in. Engineers flowed in on the daily for cuts, burns, and the occasional crushed limb. The security officers were frequent flyers in the sick bay, that was if they stayed alive long enough. Leonard had seen more than his fair share of space funerals. Each new planet meant he would sign at least a dozen death certificates. Each certificate signing day was marked with a prescription of scotch that sat in the bottom drawer of his desk. The scotch was hardly a secret, at least from those on the ship. Leonard often wondered how many more planets he could take. Sure, he wasn’t ordering the planetary exploration or writing the letters home to families. So many sons and daughters who would not return home. He knew this was the hardest part of Jim’s job, often Jim received a dose of scotch after a difficult planetary excursion.

There were a few who somehow always managed to come back, typically in one piece. And this is where the secondary destroyer of walls came in. Leonard had made a point of keeping his distance from the security personnel. No doubt they were all decent people, but Leonard was growing tired of watching decent people die for Starfleet. And that was where Avery came in.

She was rolled in on a stretcher, bleeding profusely from her abdomen. She looked up at him and said, “Make this one quick doc, I have a date tonight.”

“Tell that to the hole in your stomach.” He grumbled, running the tricorder over her body to get the full extent of her injuries, pressing a hypospray into her neck.

“Jeez, buy me dinner….first.” She said before falling unconscious. He watched her skin grow paler as Nurse Chapel handed him the autosuture. He began working on closing the wound, keeping his eyes on her injury. All that mattered was closing the wound, he was not filling out more death certificates today. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the skin close cleanly, leaving a tiny scar, but he was proud of his work, even more, he could add a life saved to his small list of things that had gone write today. He stepped back and handed the auto suture to Chapel and took a seat in the chair next to her bed.

He had spent so much time of his day staring at wounds of security officers he had not taken the chance to look at the people he saved. Leonard looked up at the unconscious face of the woman on the bed. She was pretty, he would admit that, at least to himself, not to Jim. If Jim knew he would have them married within the week. Her chestnut hair was wild around her face, ripped out of the tight bun the female security officers. She was new to the Enterprise, a transfer added to replace the security officers lost at the last planet. She looked young to Leonard, too young to die.

He pulled her personnel file up on his pad, a beaming face stared up at him the green eyes lighting up the screen.  She had been born in a small insignificant town in the states the same year as Jim. Leonard figured there must be a death wish among the people born in that year. She had graduated as Salutatorian of her Starfleet class, several academy awards were displayed, particularly those in marksmanship and combat. Leonard found himself wondering about the woman on the bed in front of him, who obviously could kick his ass. He set the pad aside and ran the tricorder over her again.

“Am I going to live to fight another day, doc?” She asked softly.

“It would seem that way.” He said, removing the tricorder from her. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I’m not going on a date tonight.” She said with a smirk, she began to pull herself up into a sitting position. “Although, the company isn’t too bad here.”

Leonard felt his face warm against his will. “I would like to keep you overnight for monitoring, that was a nasty wound.”

She nodded, a spark in her eyes flickered, she opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by Jim entering. “How’s the patient, ‘doc’?” He asked, obviously he had been waiting for his chance to interrupt.

“Healing.” Leonard answered, rolling his eyes at the Captain.

Jim turned to Avery in the bed, who had sat up taller at the Captain’s entrance, “At ease Ensign.” He said, her shoulders fell as she sunk back into the bed. “That was impressive work today.”

She lowered her eyes to her hands as Jim continued, “Thanks to your actions, the entire planet team from today made it back to ship. You’ll have to teach me your ways with the phaser.”

“It was nothing, I was just doing my job.” She answered, quickly adding, “Captain.”

“It was a damn good job.” Jim said, “Which is why I am promoting you to Lieutenant. Congratulations.”

A small smile graced the woman’s lips, “Thank you, Captain.”

Jim nodded. He turned to Leonard and winked, “As you were.” And made his exit.

“Congratulations, Lieutenant.” Leonard said, looking into the green eyes in front of him.

“Thanks, Doc.” She said, a smile gracing her lips. “So what’s a girl got to do to spend a night with you?”

It was that moment that bricks started to fall off Leonard’s walls. “It would appear that getting stabbed is a good start.”

“I’ll keep that in mind for next time.” She said, closing her eyes and falling asleep.

Leonard knew that there would be a next time and damn did he need a drink.

[karlurbanthirst]

Names

Pairing: Leonard H. McCoy x fem!Reader 

Keywords: Pregnancy, injuries, drama, Dammit Jim you were supposed to look after her 

Summary: You always used protection, but got pregnant anyway. Afraid that Leonard thinks you cheated, you keep it a secret, but in your line of work, secrets don’t hold out that long. 

Words: 812

Note: I am the writer and I don’t care what canon says regarding medical stuff.

One moment you were dodging literal balls of fire, the next you tripped over rubble and landed beyond painfully on your back. You cursed as you tried to move, but found yourself unable to. Every muscle contraction in the area of your lower spine hurt like hell. Therefore, you decided that this rubble was actually more comfortable than it was initially. “Now is not the moment to take a rest, ensign,” captain Kirk commented in his passing. 

“I am afraid I am unable to stand up, sir,” you called over the sound of fighting. You heard him return. As he hung over you, he looked down at you with an expression that begged you to be kidding. You held his gaze, until he put his phaser away and dragged you by your shoulders behind cover. You cried out in pain, breathing going shallow. 

“Scotty, I need emergency extraction at my location. Ensign L/N is unable to move. Leave me here for now. I don’t want to face Bones now his girlfriend got hurt on my watch…” he let out a chuckle, “and I need to find the others. Have medbay on standby.” He covered for you, patting your shoulder, before watching you disappear. You found yourself materialising in the transporter room. Medical staff placed a stretcher below you, which hovered above the ground in seconds. 

“Still with us, ensign?” You gave a pained smile to the nurse that rushed you towards medbay. You told him that you’ve had worse. You vaguely heard that your heart rate and blood pressure were normal. Apparently you were not bleeding. That was a good thing to hear. Now was really not the time to almost die. 

The doors to medbay opened and your boyfriend was hanging his head over you in no time. “Dammit, can you not be careful for at least once?” You laughed in spite of the pain and told him no. “Of course you can’t, it’s like dating a female Jim... Can’t move either, can you?” You shook your head. “Let’s get you an X-Ray.” 

He was already moving your stretcher, when you reached out and placed a hand on his wrist. “Wait, I need to tell you something.”

“Whatever it is, it can wait. We have to patch you up first.”

“No, this cannot wait.”

“As your doctor, I am telling you it can.”

“I am pregnant.” 

You had expected for Leonard to be shocked, but you did not expect him to scream ‘what’ as he gripped the stretcher so tight, you suspected he would have fallen if he wasn’t holding it. Everyone was looking at you. You knew it, even without raising your head to look around medbay. “I swear if you make a scene now…”

“How long?”

“Can we do this elsewhere?”

“It is still important if I want to do any kind of imaging.”

You sighed, making a wild guess. “Somewhere between one and two weeks, I guess.” He raised a brow at you, looking like you were supposed to know the age of the fetus down to the minute. He did not say much else to you. He was so quiet during the whole process, it worried you. You found yourself in a wheelchair in less than an hour, ready to roll out to your quarters. “Are you going to say anything?” You asked your boyfriend as he was gripping the handles of the wheelchair. 

“I am still processing,” Leonard replied as he rolled you forwards. “Why did you not tell me sooner?”

You shrugged. “We always had safe sex. I was afraid you’d think I cheated.” He laughed. The sound behind you made you feel warm inside. Leonard had many good features, but his laugh was always special to you. Given how annoyed he was to be in space, it was rare too. “What? You think I’m not hot enough to cheat?” You joked. 

“Darlin’, you hardly have time to see me daily, let alone have the time to cheat on me.” He patted your head. “Besides, I know all contraception measures are not 100% foul-proof and…” You nearly smiled your face in half as he kissed the top of your head in the empty hallway. “I know you love me as much as I love you. You would not cheat on me, would you?” 

The doors to your quarters closed behind you. Leonard crouched down in front of you and gave you a proper kiss, before helping you out of the chair. “The fact that you say I am not capable of doing it, makes an attempt very tempting… ouch.” He chuckled as he put you in bed. Your spine was fine, but the muscles around it still hurt. 

“You do intent on keeping the kid, right?” He looked so hopefully at you that you couldn’t help but laugh yourself. 

“Better start thinking of names.”

Note: Please inform your health care professionals, if you’re pregnant. Even if you’re just going for a dental X-Ray. Also, remember that even condoms are not 100% efficient in preventing pregnancies. If your name is Mary, even abstinence might not be able to keep you safe. 

[gunmetalgrey-trashpile]

morons united group chat with @diabolicaltendencies @epiitaphs @theasteriae

ALEX SMS [ trash pile ] : whos hosting this weekend? Bagsy not me, only just got the window fixed from when Bash tried to escape through it. BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : tried? i think you mean succeeded.

SMS [ do not answer ] : anyway, yeah, no, i can't. sorry. ALEX SMS [ trash pile ] : if you mean you went though a closed window and got covered in glass, sure, you succeeded. BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : you're just bitter because you lost the bet. word to the wise, alex, never ever bet against basher moran ALEX SMS [ trash pile ] : it’s fine, I put the window repairs in your card. BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : that's fine too; "my" card is actually august's card. ALEX SMS [ trash pile ] : should have known going for your wallet was a liability. BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : i mean, probably, yeah. you're fingers are so sticky, i'd have to be stupid to carry my real wallet when i'm meeting up with you. AUGUST sms [ clusterfuck ]: And my card is really the inheritance fund so you might as well do something useful with it, Alex. sms [ clusterfuck ]: I'm out of town until Sunday. But if you need a place to crash I'm sure you'll find your way in.

BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : you could have told me! if i'd known it was dear old dad's money i was spending, i'd have blown the whole lot a long time ago SMS [ do not answer ] : where out of town, exactly?

AUGUST sms [ clusterfuck ]: which is exactly why they wouldn't give it to me all at once. sms [ clusterfuck ]: what? you looking to come along?

BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : killjoys SMS [ do not answer ] : nope, not if you're where i think you are. just seeing if you'll tell me the truth.

ALEX SMS [ trash pile ] : dammmmmn well seeing as I’ve had to put up with you shitheads for so many years I’m glad your daddy’s finally paying up SMS [ trash pile ] : better get me a fridge magnet from wherever you are BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : oh yeah, i heart surrey, just what you've always wanted. not. ALEX SMS [ trash pile ] : at least August gets me stuff rather than BREAKING MY FLAT SMS [ trash pile ] : I have a lot less anger towards your dad now he’s going to pay for my MOT SMS [trash pile] : is this what rich kid life is like?? BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : oh yeah? why don't you get august to bring you daddy's ashes back as well then, so you can bow and scrape before the urn, really say thank you? AUGUST sms [ clusterfuck ]: I'd happily tell you but you could just as easily ask your boss. Your passive aggressive shit must be rubbing off on him. sms [ clusterfuck ]: but seriously, by all means, spend away. BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : alright, well, i  guess saturday night's on me after all then SMS [ do not answer ] : jim asked you to work? why did he ask you and not me? AUGUST sms [ clusterfuck ]: because he actually gives a damn about you and I'm still expendable, apparently.

sms [ clusterfuck ]: Don't have a fridge magnet, Alex, but I got a pretty nice knife off the bitch who tried to stab me with it. ALEX SMS [trash pile] : bash calm down, it’s probably better not to be mr. Narcissistic fucks favours? SMS [ trash pile] : JUST CHECKING but was this bitch very short and in a blonde wig?? AUGUST sms [ clusterfuck ]: No...? ALEX SMS [ trash pile ] : okay that makes me feel a whole lot better SMS [ trash pile ] : shall we do another weekend if August can’t make it?? We need someone with more than one brain cell. AUGUST sms [ clusterfuck ]: Yeah, no. It was a man with a death wish. You'd know if you tried to stab one of us... right? ALEX SMS [ trash pile ] : I mean you’d really hope so but it’s not unheard of SMS [ trash pile ] : I stab a lot of people AUGUST sms [ clusterfuck ]: Fair enough. ALEX SMS [ trash pile ] : if you’re not in Berlin right now you’re probably safe SMS [ trash pile ] : probably AUGUST sms [ clusterfuck ]: Just stick to the plan. I'll be there Sunday to pick you all up off the floor. sms [ clusterfuck ]: Or bail you out. ALEX SMS [ trash pile ] : I’ve got brunch with Sam Sunday SMS [ trash pile ] : if we survive AUGUST sms [ clusterfuck ]: You really think you'll make that date? I'd reschedule that if anything. ALEX SMS [ trash pile ] : ITS NOT A DATE BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : yeah, but does sammy know that? ALEX SMS [ trash pile ] : I need coffee and avocado toast to fix the hangover SMS [ trash pile ] : we. are. not. dating. BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : yeah, but, again ... does he know that? AUGUST sms [ clusterfuck ]: I have coffee and a toaster. Just tell Sam to bring your avocado and something for the rest of us. We can interrogate him then. BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : shall i ask jim if he still has those thumbscrews lying around? i mean, it's better to do these things thoroughly, wouldn't you say? ALEX SMS [ trash pile ] : I wish I had stabbed you AUGUST sms [ clusterfuck ]: I was just thinking about questioning him. But you know, now that you mention it. How well do you think he'd hold up? Hypothetically. ALEX SMS [ Trash pile ] : this is a conversation we are not having AUGUST SMS [ do not answer ] : yeah, it's pointless -- so much easier just to find out for real ALEX SMS [ trash pile ] : if we were dating, which we very much aren’t, why would you need to interrogate him? It’s SAM SMS [ trash pile ] : he’s stitched you ALL up BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : yeah, but are you not dating in the way jim and i aren't dating, or are you not dating in the way that august isn't dating anyone at all? AUGUST sms [ clusterfuck ]: A fair question. BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : fair point. you know, though, sammy's pretty steely. i think he could go at least a couple of rounds. AUGUST sms [ clusterfuck ]: With his background I'm honestly just curious if he can take it as well as he dished it out. SEB sms [block]: oh are we talking about torturing sam? im down sms [block]:  im with august think itd be interesting BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : yes, aha, 3 against 1, alex, sorry -- you've been outvoted! ALEX SMS [trash pile] : trust you to show up when we discuss torture SEB sms [block]: i only have time for important things ALEX SMS [trash pile] : anyone lays a hand on my not boyfriend and I will break bones SEB sms [block]: hah you said the word boyfriend BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : methinks the lady doth protest too much SMS [ do not answer ] : just kidding, alex isn't a lady SEB sms [block]: she could barely pretend to be ALEX SMS [trash pile] : IM NOT A LADY FUCKING TAKE THAT BACK SMS [trash pile] : listen just cause I’m the only one who hangs around with people who aren’t psychotic murderers SMS [trash pile] : speaking of, how is jimbo? SEB sms [block]: lady moran. weird ring to it. ALEX SMS [trash pile] : yh bash ur mum is WEIRD SEB sms [block]: really shouldve seen that response coming sms [block]: anyway alex you cant break all our bones at once so really just be ready for ur boy to disappear for a while BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : don't talk shit about my mother SEB sms [block]: dont take it personally, petya has some mommy issues BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : unless you want to get into all your mummy issues, you two? SMS [ do not answer ] : precisely, back the fuck off SEB sms [block]: or what BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : or i will show you why it is my nickname isn't seb, but basher SMS [ do not answer ] : got that? SEB sms [block]: loud and clear sms [block]: still, you'd better pick on alex first, since shes more ur size BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : fuck you SMS [ do not answer ] : i could take you down any day of the week and you know it SEB sms [block]: sounds like a challenge to me BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : bring it then SMS [ do not answer ] : i dare you SEB sms [block]: see u this weekend then sms [block]: keep an eye out BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : i've beaten bigger men than you blindfolded SMS [ do not answer ] : so i think i'm good to sleep, thanks SEB sms [block]: if you say so BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : i could take you and alex on and once and still come out without a scratch on me SEB sms [block]: well now thats just bragging sms [block]: but this is 1 on 1 you can fight alex another time BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : gladly, mate ALEX Alex Moran has left the chat SEB sms [block]: oh perfect we can plan the torture without worrying she'll tattle to sam AUGUST Sms [ clusterfuck ]: Oh hey Seb. How's it going? SEB sms [block]: just another day of making sure my sister doesn't murder me AUGUST Sms [ clusterfuck ]: I see you two ran Alex off again..  yep pretty much what I was about to guess. SEB sms [block]: these things happen when we're left unsupervised AUGUST Sms [ clusterfuck ]: Understandable. Unfortunately we should probably keep Sam in one piece if you're out picking fights. BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : it's a shame, but ... he kind of has a point, you know SEB sms [block]: it really is sms [block]: as much as i also hate to agree sms [block]: and i dont think sticking him in a basement overnight is going to do much BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : we could always try the interrogation tactics they taught us in the army? SEB sms [block]: well. thatd probably be logical BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : that way he'd be physically fine afterwards, hopefully mentally competent enough to patch you back up as well SEB sms [block]: ur so smug about assuming there wont be one single mark on you sms [block]: but as long as he can hold a needle and use it properly then yeah should be alright BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : ah no, i'm not that arrogant, i just know i can cope with a couple of cuts and bruises SMS [ do not answer ] : i know i'll have had worse SEB sms [block]: fair enough sms [block]: we'll see if you can do enough damage to actually make me get stitches or whatever BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : if you end up needing stitches, i'll buy the first round SMS [ do not answer ] : fair's fair, yeah? SEB sms [block]: yeah thats fair BASH SMS [ do not answer ] : excellent, well then, i'll see you saturday SEB sms [block]: sounds good. ill be ready

[imperiuswrecked]

A fanfic idea I don't have enough plot to make work is Namor and Spock swap places in time and space. So Jim Hammond finds himself with a completely different pointy-eared, black-haired, half-human. And Kirk is completely baffled when what appears to be Spock's buff shirtless cousin is running around loudly bellowing "Jim! Jim! Where are you?"

(art by Nick Perks)

The Trouble with Transporters (and Sorcerer Supremes) 

Jim Kirk turns to his first officer after Jim finished materializing on the deck of the transporter room aboard the Enterprise, his mouth already partway open to ask a question but instead of the cool Vulcan science officer in his blue uniform Kirk is surprised to find a man, with dark hair, pointed ears, and unusually impressive eyebrows. Oh the man was also nearly naked, his well muscled body showed off a strong body and glistening abs as though he had just popped out of the nearest ocean. Only the small green scaled swim trunks preserved any modestly. The other difference between his Vulcan and this near look alike was the sheer unrestrained anger on the man’s face.

“STRANGE. YOU SON OF A- the universal translator was unable properly reference the language the man’s tongue slipped into, it sounded like a siren shrieking with the bass rumble of whale sounds aiding by clicks like a dolphin would use. It seemed the man knew English as well as this foreign language. Kirk reasoned that the words were insults but he was more concerned with where Spock was and who this man was. The man in question stopped his angry speech and gesticulating to finally noticed his surroundings.

“You are not Strange.”

Jim gives Scotty a look and then turns back to the man, “No, but it would seem you are... very strange. Tell me, who are you and where is Spock?”

The man ignores him and instead looks around, “Jim!”

Startled that the man knew his name though he could swear that he had never seen him before Jim responds, “How-”

Too late, the man was walking away, calling out “Jim” over and over again, Kirk hurries after him followed by Scotty and it’s only then that he notices the small white wings on the strangers ankles. Catching up to him in the halls Jim puts his hand on the man’s shoulder, “Say just wait-” the next thing Jim knows he is looking up at Scotty’s face from the floor of the hallway, stunned he wheezes a bit before taking Scotty’s hand and standing up to find the almost naked alien, for surely he must be one with those features, ranting at him.

“You would DARE to touch a Prince of the Blood?!”

“I would dare that and a lot more if you don’t tell me where Spock is you pointy eared bastard.” Jim yells back at him, his blood racing. 

The alien was strong and could probably snap him like a twig but if Spock was in danger then Jim would do anything to find him and bring him home. Jim rushes the alien, intending to give him a quick punch in the face but Namor meets him and they fight. Bones arrives on sight and stuns the both of them. Jim goes down, but Namor roars “Imperius Rex!” before turning to face the new threat to his person.

- Meanwhile on Earth, some distant time in the past -

“Fascinating. You say that your magic, the magic that has brought me here through time and space, was intended for another? Somehow the Enterprise’s transporter and you drawing on the energies of the universe have collided and yielded unexpected results.” Spock contemplates his tea and the two men he was sitting with, one called Strange, a doctor and a magician, and the other called Jim, an Android and a hero. The similarities between this Jim and his own were their names and that they both had fair hair, yet their demeanors were entirely different. He was in a place called the  Sanctum Sanctorum, where Jim had come to find Namor after Stephen was supposed to have magically transported him to the Sanctum from Jim’s side.

“Very much so,” Stephen Strange replies, “Oh the studies I could do with this. Learning how to switch others’s places could come in handy when dealing with the dark forces of the multiiverse.” The Doctor sips his own cup of tea.

“As intriguing as this is, don’t you think we should work on switching them back?” Jim says, the slightest unease hinting his words, worried about what mess Namor would have gotten into during the time they were puzzling this out.

“I suppose I must work now to return you Mr. Spock, to your place and Namor to his, he won’t be very happy about this.” Stephen sighed, “It will take a few hours for my magical strength to return.”

“Indeed, I would imagine that my Jim would not be welcoming to what he would perceive as an intruder aboard the Enterprise.”

- Meanwhile aboard the Enterprise some distant time in the future -

War raged on as Jim and Namor fought over the captains chair.

“I say that I should sit here, I am a Prince!” Namor crosses his arms and stays sitting in the chair.

“Prince or pauper, that is the captains chair and you are not the captain, nor are you one of my officers, so move before I-.”

Bones pulls Kirk aside, “Jim for once in your life THINK, we need his cooperation. You saw what happened when we tried to stun him it only made him angrier. If Uhura had not calmed him down and spoken to Namor in his language then we might still be trying to patch holes in the ships hull. We’ll find Spock and get this sorted out, so what if he wants to sit in the chair!”

“Principle of the matter Bones, its the principle of the matter!” Jim hissed. Bones gives him a look and Jim presses his lips together before turning back and speaking to Namor, “Since you are our... guest, I suppose you may have the chair.”

Namor smirks, Kirk calculates how many ways Namor could hurt him if Jim were to haul the smug sea bastard from his chair to the nearest airlock. Chekov groans and hands over some units to Sulu, losing the bet they had made. Uhura rolls her eyes before returning to her console trying to find a way to get a message to Spock. Bones sighed, wishing he had a drink. 

After the pair had been calmed down from their earlier fight, and taken to the medical bay to be checked over Bones had found that while Prince Namor wasn’t human, he was not fully alien either, or rather Atlantean, he was a half of both much like how Spock was a hybrid of Vulcans and Humans. He wished he could have studied Namor more but the Prince’s patience was short and Uhura was needed on the command deck. Namor followed her here and now he sits in Jim’s chair and flirts with Uhura, she seemed to be flattered by the Prince’s words, the man wasn’t hard to look at either. Uhura intercepts a message from Doctor Strange claiming that he had Spock and was going to attempt to switch them back, Strange’s voice was verified by Namor and a few moments later Scotty’s voice crackles on the intercoms, “Captain! Something is happening in the transporter room, I would suggest you all get down here.” 

In the transporter room Uhura bids a farewell to Prince Namor, whom had already pledged his undying love to her with promises of her becoming his Princess in Atlantis with a marriage proposal and promises of all the riches in the sea, she refuses politely and his dejection is clear. Namor presses her hand to his lips in a gentlemanly manner, brushing a soft kiss across her knuckles, “My Lady, if you should ever find yourself in my time then do not hesitate to come find me, and if you should ever find yourself in any peril merely call upon me and I shall come to your aid.”

“I can take of myself, my star crossed Prince, but do take care of yourself.” Her voice stern but not unkind.

“My lady, I apologize if you feel I have offended you. I can see you are a very capable and beautiful woman. However it is the time for me to leave... alone, unless I can convince you to join-”.

Jim cuts in and steers Namor towards the teleporters, “Yes, yes, yes, good bye Prince Namor, let’s hope you never have issues with teleportation again.” He shoves Namor into the shifting lights, unspoken is the words “good bye and good riddance”.

As Namor’s form is replaces with Spock’s, Jim breathes a sigh of relief, then throws his arms around the Vulcan in a hug, “SPOCK.”

Spock’s eyebrows rose with surprise, “I was barely gone a few hours, I would not think my presence would be that missed.”

The crew laughs, Kirk’s voice is muffled against Spock’s shirt, “You have no idea.”

[ghostofviperwrites]

Terms

Requested by anonymous

Pairing:  Jimmy Havoc/FC

Category:  Smut

Warnings:    

32.          “You can’t escape my affection” Summer Bummer – Lana Del Rey

It’s never too late

To leave if you wanna leave

Or to stay if you wanna stay (better not)

But, baby (yeah)

There was blood dripping down his face and a beer can in his hand, but that was normal for Jimmy Havoc, so you didn’t bat an eye.   You had long ago come to terms with his violent career and complete lack of self-preservation.   You had tried to walk away so many times.  Still thought about it to be honest, but you never did. Stuck around to patch up his wounds and keep him functioning.   Jimmy himself had told you to go so many times.   Warned you that it wasn’t going to get better, that this was him.  

He wasn’t going to change, so you had to come to terms with that.  If you wanted to be in his life, if you wanted to love him, you had to accept him.   You weren’t quite able to accept it fully, but you didn’t let it bother you as much as it did in the early days of your relationship.  Jimmy loved you, you knew he did, and that was all that mattered to you for the time being.  

I got a feeling in my bones

Can’t get you out of my veins (yeah, yeah)

You can’t escape my affection (yeah, yeah)

Wrap you up in my daisy chains

So it was with a welcoming smile on your face and bandages at the ready that you greeted him backstage, losing yourself in the kiss he planted on your lips and ignoring the blood that was rubbing onto your cheeks.   With a sigh you broke the kiss, wiping your face with the towel in your hand before sitting him down on some old crates backstage and setting to work cleaning him up.  It wasn’t the easies of tasks as Jimmy was always handsy after his matches.  

When the adrenaline was pumping through his veins and he was amped up from a fight Jimmy always wanted to fuck.  And you were willing, but first you demanded he let you clean him up.   He may not mind the blood dripping all over the place but you weren’t overly fond of it so you put your foot down. No sex while he was actively bleeding.

So Jimmy conceded to your demand and let you clean him up and stop the blood flow, but he refused to keep his hands to himself in the process.  He liked to grab a handful of your ass as you tended to him.  Liked to nip playfully at your fingers as you bandaged him up.  

White lies and black beaches

Miles in between us

Is this love or lust or some game on repeat?

It’s like making me crazy

The alcohol was just as much a part of Jimmy as the blood, so you were well used to beer tinged kisses as he pulled you away to some dark corner in the venue and pressed you against the cold concrete wall.   It was always quick and dirty after a match, Jimmy not messing around as your skirt was hiked up and panties pushed the side as his cock rammed into you.   Your moans were captured by his lips as Jimmy’s hips rocked into you, his hands locked almost painfully on your wrists keeping them pinned to the wall.  

He liked to be in control, liked making you helpless as he took from you what you were all too willing to give.  You were happy to cede control to Jimmy, loving when he took so violently what belonged to him.   You were sure to have bruises in the shape of his fingers later and you would wear them proudly.   The scrapes on your back from the concrete wall would serve as a reminder to you and you would relish the sting of pain until the wounds healed.   Or until you received new ones.  

You bit harshly down on Jimmy’s lip as you came, legs cinching around his waist as he fucked you through the orgasm, chuckling quietly as your body melted against him as he finished, slowly pulling from you as he helped you stand.    

“Thanks baby.”  He said kissing you firmly as he pulled your skirt back into place. 

“Anytime.”   You told him leaning into his embrace.  

“You’re too good for me.”   Jimmy said. “But I love you, so I’m gonna be selfish and keep you.”  

“Love you too Jim.”  You responded, linking your hands together and walking back towards the venue locker room so Jimmy could get his things together.   As you waited outside you realized for the first time in a while you were content with your relationship, and you hoped that meant there was hope for the future.  

[incorrigiblyhuman]

@sagaiisms replied to your post:

Gimme those sweet stats.

okay so i copied parts of what i put in response to an earlier meme, but i added a BUNCH of extra explanations and stats so HERE WE GO:

LEONARD HORATIO McCOY, VARIANT HUMAN, TWILIGHT DOMAIN CLERIC.

variant human:

extra language:  elvish, a.k.a. vulcan, which is as close as i can get to acknowledging his unique knowledge of half-vulcan half-human physiology. i’ll count it as comprehension of mannerisms, too.

ability score improvement x2:  dexterity, intelligence - he’s excellent with his hands (DEX), and a brilliant medic who has on multiple occasions come up with cures on the fly, in imperfect conditions, for never-before-seen illnesses and plagues. (INT)

additional proficiency:  intimidation, because he’s king of the curmudgeons and if you think you’re leaving sickbay before he wants you to then fuck you, you’re wrong.

feat:  war caster, because he serves on a starship that is expected to run into combat, he has to be ready and able to perform while under attack. and is, always. also, being able to use the somatic components of a spell even if holding a weapon or shield is so useful when people in sickbay keep fucking ATTACKING YOU.

twilight domain cleric:

proficiencies:  insight, medicine - medicine is obvious, insight is because the enterprise doesn’t technically have an onboard psychologist, so he frequently fills that role, and has the degree for it. also because he’s learned to read the people he sees day in and day out like the medical textbooks he studied in college, he just Knows Things.

eyes of night:  gives you darkvision with no maximum range, and allows you to give that darkvision to other people around you. okay so it’s a bit of a stretch, but i like to apply this class feature to the surgical procedure mccoy invented involving grafting neural tissue to the cerebral cortex, SPECIFICALLY because they ended up using it in st: voyager, which is like passing off the ability to see in the dark because mccoy himself saw through the dark to create that procedure years before.

vigilant blessing:  gives one creature you touch advantage on the next initiative roll. how many times has kirk been about to move only to pause because of mccoy’s warning “jim!” and then proceed again, more cautiously? that vigilance keeps his friends safe.

channel divinity : twilight sanctuary:  can refresh allies by granting temporary hit points and ending one effect that causes one to be charmed/frightened. not only is mccoy a damn doctor, but he’s also pretty DAMN good at taking the piss out of someone, or making light of a heavy situation.

ability score improvement x2:  charisma, wisdom - man is scary, charming, and sympathetic in equal measures (CHA) and he’s been around the block a few times, he knows how to handle people and he knows what he’s doing, even if he doesn’t always act diplomatically. (WIS) i chose ability score over a feat because so far he’s a DEX and INT focused build but CHA is a super important part of his personality so we can’t lose out on that, and he needs WIS to be a cleric with a decent spell save DC.

steps of the brave:  at 6th level, you get advantage on saving throws against being frightened. mccoy’s instinctual reaction to fear is to throw it back in someone’s face, outwardly he gets pissy far before he gets scared. and it’s an effective reaction, just look at the khan scene. this feat also gives you a flying speed in darkness but i don’t know what the hell to do with that except to say that he can and will come out of nowhere if he senses you’re being a dumbass on this ship.

feat:  tavern brawler + increase in strength score - how many times have he and other away team members ended up in prison/captured/stranded/under attack? so many. tavern brawler gives him proficiency with improvised weapons ( see: the mattress in “bread & circuses” ), a stronger unarmed strike ( see: his takedown of the transporter operator in “city on the edge of forever” ), and a bonus action to grapple a target when attacking with an unarmed strike/improvised weapon. ( see: restraining eleen so that she wouldn’t alert the guards when the triumvirate were trying to break out of captivity in “friday’s child.” )

divine intervention:  at 10th level, can call a deity to intervene on your behalf when your need is great. “angels and ministers of grace defend us” from st: voyage home. need i say more?

prepared spells:   CANTRIPS - GUIDANCE  -  kirk goes to him for advice a LOT. - MENDING  -  the man can sew. let him patch some shit up. - TOLL THE DEAD  -  a single “he’s dead, jim” seals your fate. - SPARE THE DYING  -  perfect for a miracle worker. - WORD OF RADIANCE  -  he’s a master of offhanded insults, i’d give him cutting word if it was an option. 1ST, 2ND, 3RD, 4TH, and 5TH LEVELS - COMMAND  -  he’s CMO, if he’s talking you’re listening. - DARKNESS  -  he can project his depression like a dark cloud i guess? this one’s always prepared for twilight clerics, idk. - DETECT EVIL AND GOOD  -  he’s got good gut feelings, like in “dagger of the mind”. - FAERIE FIRE  -  useful for picking a problem out amongst the cluster of human internal organs, and especially amongst alien internal organs. - SLEEP  -  he can knock you out with a hypospray at any moment. - INVISIBILITY  -  where’s that post like MCCOY EXISTS YOU ASSHOLES. that. it’s a triumvirate goddammit. - SPIRITUAL WEAPON  -  hypospray. that’s it. - AURA OF VITALITY  -  tell me you don’t just light up seeing him bounce on his toes. he brings vigor to the room and joy to the heart. - BEACON OF HOPE  -  “my god bones. what have i done?”  “what you had to do. what you always do: turn death into a fighting chance to live.” - CREATE FOOD AND WATER  -  he can pull alcohol out of his ass. - FEIGN DEATH  -  amok time. that’s it. - LEOMUND’S TINY HUT  -  another one that’s always prepared for this class. he just makes any place feel like home, i guess. also ‘leomund’ looks like ‘leonard’. - REVIVIFY  -  i mean it’s a staple for any cleric, but also he’s a miracle worker who will bring you back to life no matter what. - AURA OF LIFE  -  it’s like what he gave everyone in “wolf in the fold” to keep them from succumbing to the killing terror of the jack the ripper spirit. - FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT  -  he’s a healer, so i imagine he’s pretty free to do whatever the hell he wants by the laws of most societies. especially if there’s a chance he can help someone. likewise, he can grant it to others by just saying ‘doctor’s orders’. - GREATER INVISIBILITY  -  MCCOY EXISTS YOU ASSHOLES!! but the movies version. - CIRCLE OF POWER  -  this is just a metaphor for vaccines. he can grant everyone advantage on saving throws. - CONTAGION  -  this is the “mirror mirror” nod, the acknowledgement of that potential for darkness should it need to shine through. you think he’s not capable of weaponizing his medicine when pressed? try him. try mirror leonard horatio mccoy. it’ll be the last thing you ever do. - DREAM  -  this is just a nod to the dreams of the raven novel tbh, he can affect ya dreams. - GEAS  -  if you’re nearby and he needs an extra set of hands, you’re an orderly now, period. likewise, if you’re fucking around in his space, all he needs to do is give you The Eyebrow and you will immediately stop. - LEGEND LORE  -  campfire stories baybee! he’s got ‘em! also a thousand and one stories about some great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great someone or other.

i only went up to level 10 stats for the time being because look at how damn long this got already agshdjk but IN SUMMARY!

twilight domain is TECHNICALLY unearthed arcana and untested, so it’s not “legit” yet, but the description of it fits mccoy to a T:

“the twilight domain governs the transition and blending of light into darkness. it is a time of rest and comfort, but also the threshold between safety and the unknown. clerics who serve these deities tend to be brave, delving into the dark to hold its dangers at bay and to bring comfort to those lost far from the light.” 

like what could possibly better suit a space-traveling, bullheaded doctor who joined starfleet after losing everything?

[creativenicocorner]

78 Stricklake

Thank you so much for being so patient! AAAH! This ended up being MUCH longer than I anticipated. And yet, it was an idea I kept circling back to as a concept. I’ve always wanted to explore Barbara taking responsibility for being a bit reckless sometimes, and what that could mean for not only others but herself as well. 

There were so many many drafts, but honestly sometimes you just got to walk away. And that’s okay. 

I like how the scene turned out, there are moments I think I can explore and flesh out more, but like I said, I gotta walk away a bit.I hope I stuck the landing though

78) Where is the first aid kit?

Rated: MatureFeaturing: Hurt/Comfort, Blood, Mature Language Japanese language translations used with this engine (EDITED with the lovely help and guidance of @illahmae Thank you again for reaching out to me!!)Please read responsibly, & enjoy!

//

Anna was expecting a lot of things that night. A quiet evening, a well written finale for her favorite fantasy tv show, and her package finally arriving were on that list of things.

It was a list that never came to be.

The instant the local coroner, and occasional forensic analysis for the Arcadia Police Department, heard her doorbell ring there was trouble. A trouble that arrived unannounced. 

Anna groaned as she made her way to the door, and checked if her armpits smelled before opening the door. 

It felt like a morbid set up to a joke. Except there was no chest to cut open. 

Not yet at least. 

For in her doorway was her best friend, her (supposed?) ex, and his friend. All of whom looked as though they went through a VIP tour through a slaughter house. 

“Hey Anna,” said Barbara feebly through a busted lip. The good doctor winced through her attempted smile “we…ah, well, first I can explain..but um-”

“That’s not corn syrup, is it.” Anna’s question rang like a statement. “Hello again by the way.” she added dryly to the badly bruised Nomura who carried an even worse off Walter Strickler. 

The strength of Nomura’s arms to carry a full grown man was duly noted.  

Nomura looked away, and readjusted her hold Walter. Clicking her tongue when she noticed the amount of blood on her dress. Human, and changeling. Which gave a surreal effect to the fabric of her dress. Nomura didn’t even want to begin to think about the clean up job she’ll eventually have to do for her car seats. 

Walter’s attempt at a salutation made it as far as turning his head. 

“You’ve met??” asked Barbara, adjusting her dangerously cracked glasses.

“Looks like we all have some explaining to do.” Anna said rubbing a hand over her recently washed face. She sidestepped to give Nomura more room. 

“At this rate Strickler’s going to bleed out.” mumbled Nomura. She made no effort to hide her impatience as she passed Anna’s threshold. 

Anna’s brows furrowed, and quickly looked Barbara over again. Her eyes analyzing her best friend. To see if she was in a worse off state than Anna initially looked over. 

Barbara’s lip was swollen, her hand clutched at her side that might have a broken rib, and there were cuts along her collar bone and arms and legs. 

“I’m fine.” assured Barbara. Able to catch Anna’s analyzing eyes. “Fine enough to be sure Walter was patched for transport. Nomura’s worried. Then again, they’re like family-”

“Did he do this to you?” steeled Anna, remorselessly. 

“What? No. Nooo-”

“I’m not touching anyone until I know he didn’t do this to you. And so help me God if he did. Cause I have no obligation to help the living Barb. And I can make that shit look like an accident.” 

“I love you too Anna.” Barbara shuffled forward to hug her, wincing all the while. “I promise you he didn’t do this. I’ll…” Barbara tightened her hug with a guilty exhale. “I’ll explain as you patch me up. Please Anna. We can’t take this case to a normal hospital…and I need an extra steady hand if Walt’s going to make it past stable.” 

“Alright. I believe you. Still stand by my statement though.”

“Terrifying as always. You’re going to be the primary suspect to so many of my ex’s.” 

“Better believe it.” said Anna, kissing her best friend’s hairline. 

“Hey, uh DOCTORS, he’s bleeding again!” called out Nomura from Anna’s living room. 

Barbara frowned, and rubbed her eyebrow, smearing some of the drying blood, “We need to hurry Anna. Where’s the first aid kit?”

“I’ll get it. Can you walk to the kitchen?”

“I was able to walk to your door, wasn’t I?” snarked Barbara, trying to ignore the rising panic Nomura’s pacing over Walter was inspiring.

Barbara tried not to look into Anna’s living room. At how Walter’s hand hung off the couch. The way his breathing looked shallow. How Nomura’s pacing would slow to a stop to gently, and fearfully, adjust Walter’s hand. 

All the same, Barbara’s frown deepened. 

Bravely she tried to scrub her hands clean in Anna’s sink. Ignoring the pain in her side as much as she could. Barbara couldn’t tell if her shaking hands was from potential unchecked nerve damage, or the still lingering adrenaline. 

“Okay.” went Anna, popping open the first aid kit on her kitchen island. “Spill.”

Barbara continued to examine her own arms as she turned to Anna. “It happened on the outskirts of the VONS’s parking lot. Wait…how much do you already know?”

“Changelings and trolls are a thing. There’s a million year war that’s been going on.” shrugged Anna. She motioned for Barbara to sit “I don’t know all the details, but Nomura there gave me a decent enough cliff-notes version last time.”

“Last time??” exclaimed Barbara with a wince. She wanted very badly to rub her eyebrow. “What do you mean last time??”

“One story at a time Barbara.”

“I can’t believe you kept this from me.”

“It happened before you started, remembering…”

“Oh.”

Anna grasped one of Barbara’s shaky hands. “I didn’t know how to bring it up, and…I’m sorry.”

“It’s a shit theme that’s been happening with me Anna…I’m not happy.”

“I can imagine.”

Barbara kissed Anna’s cheek. “Still not happy, but I’ll forgive you.”

Anna gave a sheepish smile, and nodded. Awkwardly Anna returned to the first aid kit. “He didn’t mention it?”

“We’ve been…slow catching up. I’ve been distant, if it wasn’t for Jim I’d probably be even more distant than I am now…”

“That’s understandable.” Nodded Anna as she sat a utensil down. “Shirt.”

Barbara obliged, and struggled with lifting her shirt as she continued, “And he’s been…hard to read, as always. One second looking like a wounded puppy following me, the next,” Barbara grunted and felt her eyes tear up as a searing pain shot through her side, “Shying away parts of himself..sometimes disappearing. But then I see him with Jim. Talking, explaining, and I feel myself relieved to sigh ‘Oh there’s Walter’. There’s my son’s favorite history teacher. The principal I dated. But he’s more than that now. I know he isn’t human…” a realization crept over Barbara. Slowly she vocalized it, “You know since remembering, Walter hasn’t been in his troll form around me..” her eyes grew broodier, “not if he can help it.”

Anna frowned as she helped Barbara lift her shirt up. Gently she pressed her fingers against the skin. “..I’m not liking what I’m seeing here Barb.”

Barbara sucked air through her teeth, her nose crinkling with a cringe “Your bedside manner sucks as always.”

“Quit squirming. My last patient didn’t complain.”

“Your last patient has a TOD.”

“The dead don’t have much to fidget over anymore.” 

Barbara grew still, and looked down at Anna’s bloody work. “Jim told me about what happened to the other changelings…how they’re viewed..do you think-?”

Anna cursed under her breath and threw some blood speckled gauze on her floor. “I’m still waiting on your explanation as to what happened! That could have been you on my couch! Not some half stone near immortal person who can blast through molecular reconstruction with a single fucking magical thought!”

Barbara winced again, and wheezed a cough under Anna’s more passionate application of antiseptic. If Barbara’s nails weren’t as well groomed as they were, they’d be digging into her own palms. 

“He’s not immortal.”

“And neither are you! Jesus, you look like someone dragged you down the road for fuck’s sake.” 

“It was my fault.”

Anna gave Barbara a harsh disbelieving look. 

“I was…Okay…Jim’s off doing some sort of scavenger hunt…and I haven’t heard from him in a while. Jim’s explained this can happen but, I was worried…like frustratingly worried. All the same I went to Vons, tried to get groceries, normal…mom things…and then the power went out.”

Anna looked up from her work. Watched as Barbara’s eyes looked around as she re-lived the play by play of what happened. 

“I was in the car when it happened. At the edge of the parking lot I saw them, those…green Gumm-Gumm trolls? There were like…two of them. And thank goodness the parking lot was nearly empty for a Thursday. Cause, fuck, Anna. What if they attacked people? And so…so for the four other people in the parking lot. I..I tried to ram my car against one of them. To…do something. Slow them down I guess.” 

“Barbara.” Anna stood up to get more gauze. “You’re the dumbest smart person I know. That must have been like driving your car into a wall.” 

“My son is out there fighting these things all the time. I, I couldn’t just do nothing!”

“A. WALL.”

Barbara winced her eyes shut, her lips becoming a thin line. “Well..it didn’t work.”

“No shit.”

“Things…got dangerous…”

“Again. No shit Darkwing Duck.”

“Luckily Walter was shopping there too. He stepped in..and kept putting me out of harms way while taking on these two trolls. They’re like twice our size put together!” Barbara held back a sob. “But..but stubbornly I kept trying to help. I…I pulled a baseball bat from my trunk..and…all I did was put him in more danger than necessary. I mean it was kind of fun at first,” Barbara exhaled a strained bitter laugh into her hand, “It made me think about if Jim has as much fun with danger as we were having. 

“There was even banter Anna! Christ, it was the most he talked to me since Merlin came back. And together we were able to take one troll down!…but..then when Walter wasn’t looking I..I tried to push him out of the way of a blow. I..my body acted on its own, and I, I didn’t want to see him hurt” Barbara shamefully covered her face, “If Walter didn’t bounce back and shield me when he did I’d be a pile of putty, never able to walk again, and stuck to a car with a Barbara shaped cartoon indent. It only got worse from there.” She shook her head, and her hands dropped away from her saddened face, “The other troll got back up, and, and Walter’s shoulder…” Doctor Barbara Lake winced. “Nomura said it’s a wound that has never fully healed.”

Anna nodded, “Guess we’ll see that callus soon.”

“I shouldn’t have tried to play hero without knowing what I was doing. Not like that. Not by risking his life and the lives of others.”

“And your own.” underlined Anna while she guided her pair of scissors to cut a stitch. 

“If Nomura hadn’t called…if I hadn’t narrowly been able to answer that phone…”

Barbara winced again, though this time it wasn’t due because of any physical pain, but from remembering when Nomura arrived. 

How hopeless the situation seemed. How ghastly Walter’s arm and shoulder looked. How his limp worsened with every step. 

The sheer wave of relief when Nomura arrived. The way Nomura cursed after her initial surprise attack. The back and forth between Nomura and Strickler about poisoned blades. 

Until Walter Strickler couldn’t speak anymore, and collapsed. 

How in that moment of collapse Nomura became distracted. Looking so much like that lost young girl Barbara had seen in an old 1800’s photo displayed at the museum. And the backdraft of rage that followed. 

“I don’t know what would have happened.” came Barbara’s voice, hoarse and hushed.

“I’d be cashing my service as Jim’s godmother is what.” roughly Anna pulled down Barbara’s shirt over her newly dressed side. “You’re going to need X-rays after this.”

Barbara’s hand floated to her side, gently pressing her fingers against Anna’s work. Slowly, she nodded. “Thanks Anna.”

Anna kissed into Barbara’s hair as she moved towards her sink. 

Steadily, Barbara moved to join Anna to scrub their hands. 

The water matched the static whirlwind of Barbara’s thoughts. Of how this was essentially all avoidable if it hadn’t been for her brashness to intervene. 

“Hey.” went Anna after several glances into Barbara’s darkened face, “Just cause you’re a klutz of a hero one way, doesn’t mean you’re not a hero in other ways.” with a little hip check Anna smiled, “Doctor.”

Barbara managed a smile, her lip still swollen, “Doctor.”

“Now save the pity party for after we operate on your ex.”

Barbara snorted a chuckle and nodded, “Alright.”

The two doctors re-entered Anna’s living room to find Nomura sitting beside Walter. Her hand slid into his. Her face despondent, lost in another time that was similarly too close for comfort. If it wasn’t for the way Nomura’s eyes shifted with each new panicked thought, Barbara would have thought she was a statue.  

Barbara gave herself a moment to breathe with one long exhale. Something she tended to do before any operation. Level heads were needed now. 

“It’s going to be alright Nomura.” 

Nomura didn’t seem to hear her.  

Barbara crouched down beside the changeling, leaning to catch Nomura’s shifting eyes. “Hey, Nomura?”

The changeling’s eyes snapped predatorily. 

Barbara had to gulp to re-find her bearings. “I need you to show me where you saw him bleeding again.”

Nomura silently nodded, and lifted Walter’s shirt. Seams from from his already torn turtle neck snagged on to a protruding bit of stone that stuck out of his abdomen. The remains of a broken off spear tip. 

Barbara squinted. As bloody as the ghastly sight already was, she struggled to find any new openings or ways her impromptu stitches might have opened. 

“Anna, can we get some more light in here?”

“Yeah, I can up the brightness.”

“Max it please.”

“Copy.”

Nomura winced at the sudden brightness. And Barbara was able to see the bleeding Nomura managed to see in such a dim light. It was minimal. Small beaded bulbs of blood that grew like poppies between the stitches. 

“Thank you for bringing that up Nomura.”

Nomura didn’t answer, and stared as Anna placed a cloth over her coffee table. With the changeling’s help they were able to move Walter to lay on top of it. 

That way both doctors could work on opposite sides, and not be obstructed by the limitations of just one side.  

The air conditioning started to kick off, its setting now lower than the usual comfortable 75°F (24°C), and now a 43°F (7°C). It was the best they could do to imitate the cool air of a Hospital. 

“Should..I go?” Nomura asked tentatively as Barbara started her first incision. 

“We’re going to need your help still.” said Anna. “Incase we need to change out the water. Dab our foreheads now and then. You’ve seen Gray’s Anatomy. Maybe keep your eyes on the clock.”

“What for?”

“So we’ll have an accurate time of death.” said Anna with monotonous mirth. 

Nomura stared for the longest time. Her chest started to rise and fall rapidly.

“She’s joking.” Barbara said finally. Distantly. “But we will need your help again. Anna? Suction.” 

Nomura marveled at the improvised use of a turkey baster.

“Can you keep track of his pulse for us?” 

Nomura nodded and sat on the floor, pulling her legs up and wrapping an arm around them. Trying to make herself as small as possible. Nomura placed a shaky hand at Walter’s neck, and counted with her eyes on the clock. “So far normal.”

Barbara nodded as she worked.

“Thank goodness for little miracles.” went Anna dryly, squeezing the turkey baster to spew blood into a basin. 

Nomura watched holding her breath. Fearful any wrong breathing on her part might ruin the two doctors’s work. 

The changeling expected the rest of the operation would pass on quietly. With the occasional, “Hold that.” or “Do you see what I see?” “Suction.” 

The last time Walter and Nomura had to visit Anna (that time with the help of Jim), Anna was exceptionally talkative. She didn’t expect the same level of distant talkative-ness from Barbara as well. But it helped keep the doctors’s own pulses low. 

“So the finale.”

“Don’t get me started.” 

Barbara laughed. “Alright. We’ll save the passionate rant for later.”

“You guys are so lucky I have that on pre-record.”

“Otherwise you’d watch it while we operate?”

“Hell yeah.” snarked Anna.

Barbara glanced at Nomura, and noticed her serious furrowed brows. “She’s joking.” explained the doctor. 

“Oh Nomura should know that by now.” smiled Anna.

“Well while we’re here…”

“What? We give him a vasectomy? Harvest a few organs?”

Barbara jokingly paused and pretend to consider the options. “Nah. My black market organ dealings are done.” 

“Ah well.” shrugged Anna, using the turkey baster again. She grinned towards Walter’s unconscious face. “Better luck next time, bud.”

“I actually want to know about how you guys already know each other.”

Nomura tensed, pressing her forehead against her knees. “Strickler got hurt. Jim mentioned Anna. So we operated at the morgue.”

Barbara glanced between Nomura and Anna. Then frowned into her work. 

“It was a difficult night.” Anna started to explain. 

“And that’s that on that.” Snapped Nomura. Finalizing any further discussion. Fearful any deviation might distract the very well trained doctors. 

Nomura hated feeling this helpless. But then, one couldn’t punch a wound better. Not realistically speaking. 

The silence grew thick. Barbara took a long breath “Another time then.”

The silence continued for a short while. And to the surprise of no one, it was Anna who spoke again. “So is he still smoking?”

Barbara chuckled, “Oh boy.”

“No I’m serious.”

“Yes.” said Nomura, resting her chin on her knees.

“You can’t traumatize a, what, 800 year old man?”

“Older maybe.” shrugged Nomura, looking at Strickler’s face. She knew his age. But age was always something a changeling either generalized or poked fun of. 

“Not with that attitude.” snarked Anna.

“Good gravy. You know what she did to my son?”

Nomura shook her head ‘no’. Then remembered neither of the doctors were looking at her, and said, “No, what?”

“At a tender young age of six, Anna showed my son pictures of smoker lungs, and lung cancer.”

“Has he ever thought of smoking?” leaned Anna with a smirk. She didn’t have to wait for Barbara’s answer to continue, “No. He hasn’t. And you’re welcome.” 

Nomura found herself able to gently chuckle at that. But the smile didn’t last long when she noticed the beads of sweat on Strickler’s face. “I…uh…he’s sweating? His face is really warm.”

“Ice.” went Barbara with a detached medical calm. “Nomura go get ice. Stat.” 

Anna lifted her eyes to see Barbara’s expressionless face, and Nomura still as death, staring. It was as if everything shut down around the changeling. Her irises thin cat like slits. Her lips a tense thin line. 

“Nomura.”

“Why isn’t she moving?”

“Anna hold this. Clamp it tight.” Barbara turned and stared straight into Nomura’s face. “Hey. Hey…look at me. He’s going to be fine. You spotted the sweating, now we can do something about it right?”

Nomura’s eyes fluttered, jerkily the changeling nodded. 

“Look, it’s not a battlefield, I know. But I know what I’m doing here.”

Nomura inhaled deeply, and slowly her legs became less stiff. Less rooted to the spot. 

“Right now Walter needs ice before things get feverishly dangerous. You’re with me?”

“I..”

“Nomura. We can do this. It’s going to be okay. And it’ll be better with ice.”

“Ice…right.” Nomura gradually got to her feet, and forced her eyes to look away. 

“There’s already a bucket by the freezer.” Anna said without looking up. 

Barbara leaned back into Nomura’s line of sight, “He’s going to be okay.”

Nomura nodded, and headed towards the kitchen. When she retuned with a hefty load of ice the changeling was directed to place it on him. It would have been better with bags, but (like the turkey baster) they had to work with what they had with the time they had.

For the rest of the operation Nomura returned to her detached state. Speaking only when asked about Walter Strickler’s pulse. 

Barbara and Anna returned to their detached conversations.  

They worked well into the night.

With a final sigh, and a cut of a stitch, Barbara sat back on her legs. Anna groaned and rolled her arms. 

“That’s it?” Nomura asked. 

Barbara gave an exhausted smile. She adjusted her glasses with a nod, smudging them with blood in the process. “That’s it. All he needs is some sleep.”

“More than this?” snarked Anna. For Strickler was unconscious for the majority of the whole ordeal. “It’d be eternal.”

“Not yet I’m afraid.” went Barbara looking into Walter’s slacked face. Most of the ice were now puddles. “Come on. Lets dry him off and get him on the couch.” the air conditioner went off for the millionth time that night. Roaring in the silence in that intrusive buzzing sort of way. Tiredly Barbara rubbed her eyebrow. “Anna?”

“On it.”

Barbara moved for one of the clean hand towels, “I..Oh, I need to wash my hands.”

“That’d be great. Less blood on the furniture is, essentially, ideal.” went Anna from the thermostat.

Nomura quietly dabbed Strickler’s brow, neck and chin, as the doctors walked off to scrub the blood off and disinfect their tools. 

By the time the doctors were done, Strickler was on the couch. 

His return to consciousness was gradual. The first thing the changeling felt was pain in his shoulder, his head, and then his stomach. But what caught Strickler’s attention first, was the feeling of warmth around his hand. And the sensation of someone’s hair on his already hairy arm. 

With slow blinking eyes he saw the source of warmth, and feebly squeezed Nomura’s hand. 

Nomura, still sitting on the ground, gradually lifted her head from beside Walter. And exhaled a breath she felt like she was holding the whole night. 

At Strickler’s attempt at a smile she clicked her tongue and punched a pillow, “Oi, Jiji!” (Hey you old geezer!) sternly Nomura wagged her finger. Her red eyes burning with the attempt to not cry, “Kowagarashinaide! Buchinomesu yo.” (scare me like that again and I’ll kill you.) With the smallest sniffle Nomura muttered, “Taku.” (damnit) though it was obstructed with the way Nomura rubbed her damp cheek. 

Strickler’s shallow laugh turned into a shallow grunted cough. “Douzo, yatte minasai.” (I’d like to see you try.) he gave her hand a paternal squeeze, thumbing her bloody knuckles. His neck giving him a double chin like affect as he looked down at Nomura’s lowering head. Coyly Strickler continued,“Shiranai no? Gokiburi mitai. Ganbare yo.” (Don’t you know? I am like a cockroach. Good luck.)

Nomura clicked her tongue again with a little sniff. Rubbing her eyes before lifting her head again, “Baka.” (Idiot.)

“Dan da heddo.” (Dunderhead.) Strickler feebly attempted to flick Nomura’s forehead. She laughed at his pathetic attempt, and lowered his hand away.

Barbara entered on the tail end of their conversation, and breathed a sigh of relief seeing the two changelings interact. Even if she didn’t understand a word they were saying. Yet It was clear they saw each other as family. 

Only for Barbara to realize, Walter being awake meant having to face Walter as well. 

This time it was Barbara’s turn to freeze where she stood. She bit her lip then winced when she remembered how swollen it still was. 

It caught Strickler’s eye, and slowly the changeling blinked his eyes her way. 

“Hey Barb, Nomura, you want some wine?” Went Anna walking over from the kitchen, “Lord knows I need some. We can watch Game of- oh!” Anna stopped in her tracks lowering the bottle of red. “He’s up.” 

“He is.” went Walter with a painful smirk. 

An unsettling frozen silence set. No one really moved aside from Barbara who fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. Walter licked his lips, wincing as he pointed to Nomura, “Anna, can you see if you can get her to eat?”

“Uh…sure.”

Nomura clicked her tongue indignantly. 

Strickler stared at her knowingly. And, as if on cue, Nomura’s stomach grumbled. 

The changeling hissed and thumbed her nose. Strickler gave her hand a final squeeze before she got up to follow Anna.

Nomura nodded her head at Barbara, “Thank you.”

Feebly Barbara nodded back a lip swollen smile. She winced, and Nomura nudged her arm in a good natured way. 

And then it was just Barbara and Walter alone. 

Barbara never noticed just how loud Anna’s living room clock was. It was practically cacophonous in that shared silence. 

“We found the rest of the spear. Three guesses as to where we found it.” blabbed Barbara like a bubble of nerves. Immediately cursing at herself for the poor attempt at a joke. 

“Can I have a hint?” 

“Look down.” went Barbara inching closer to the changeling. 

Walter did so, and made a ghastly comical face.

“Not that far down.” smirked Barbara rolling her eyes. 

“Can I still get that appendectomy?”

“It might be a bit harder for you now. Seeing as you,” Barbara started to frown as she spoke “don’t.. have an appendix.”

“Ah well. Who needs them anyways. Thank you for saving my life.” 

Barbara removed her glasses and tried to wipe them on her shirt. Sniffling while doing so. “I wish you’d yell at me.”

Strickler, on instinct, tried to sit upright to earnestly say his rebuttal and winced with a groan. “What on earth for?”

“For..for this!” she gestured wildly at him, then around Anna’s living room, and herself “All of this! This is my fault!”

“You didn’t know those Gumm-Gumms would be there.” 

“I kept getting in your way. You, you told me to hide-”

“You wanted to help. And in some moments you did.” Walter smiled. 

“Aren’t you mad? I, I don’t understand.”

Walter closed his eyes tight and exhaled through his nose. Silently counting. When he was done, he motioned Barbara to sit a little closer. “I am mad. Yes. Furious at your lack of self perception for your own safety when it comes to moments of danger like this.”

“Oh God.” went Barbara lowering her head into her hands. Her hands didn’t hide the wince from her side as she leaned forward. “I know-”

“But much more than that, Barbara,” Walter stretched to meekly lower Barbara’s hands from her face, “I was afraid. I’m still afraid. Afraid what that selfless impulse you have could cost you.” 

Barbara’s shoulders started to jerk. Her voice cracking as she voiced the horror that had been lingering heavily in her heart. “I could have gotten you killed.”

“Instead you saved my life.”

“You wouldn’t need your life saved if I’d just…just listened.”

“Perhaps. And if you did run when I told you to, and things still ended up as bad as it did, who would have answered my phone? How would Nomura know where to find us?”“I’m sure I would have tried to call her.”

Walter smiled again and nodded slowly, “I know you would have. This is just how the dice fell.”

“It’s not okay though.”

Walter sighed, but nodded yet again. “You’re right. It isn’t okay.” an encouraging warm grin spread over Walter’s face, “But how can I forget I’m dealing with Doctor Barbara ‘I’m going to hit an un-dead troll with a broom to save my son’ Lake?”

Barbara threw her head back with a groan, then doubled over with a painful wince grasping at her side. Forgetting her own stitches. “Uugh if I’d known about the freezing barrier thing.” 

Cautiously Walter said “Barbara I think you’re missing the point.”

“Oh I get the point loud and clear!” she snapped with a small spark of anger. Futility staring back at her from the reflection of Anna’s television. “How can I help my son when I..I’m useless when fighting-”

Strickler groaned, and an arch of green electricity illuminated the couch and living room. “Barbara.” came a voice of low velveteen gravel. Calm like a hidden spring in a dark cave. “Look at me.”

Barbara held her breath, her eyes sliding towards him first before the rest of her body followed. 

She wasn’t sure how, but the bandages carried over from his human to troll form. A troll form that manifested without the bladed cape. They were going to have to pay Anna for a new pillow set as one of Strickler’s horns pierced through it. 

“Barbara, what am I made of? What do you see?”

Barbara lowered her hand. A finger hesitantly hovering over Walter’s stoney forearm. An urging curiosity to touch.

Though as Walter’s questions registered more in her head, her brows furrowed. And a defensive insecure response was born. “Don’t patronize me. Stone, Walt. You’re made of stone.”

“I’m not trying to patronize. I didn’t mean for it to come across that way.” The changeling pushed himself to sit up, ignoring the pain that carried over from form to form. It felt like tectonic plates raking against him inside. And before Barbara could pull her hand away completely, Walter caught it. “I’m sorry.” he rasped, “I’m trying, my best, to explain.”

“Explain what? You’re part stone? I’ve grasped that.”

“I’m part stone. Nomura is part stone. Yes. And we can take more damage because of it. We can anticipate heavier hits because of it. But you’re not Barbara. You’re..” Walter looked over his bloody friend. The nicks, the bruises to be, the bloodied lip. The cut above the brow that may or may not turn into a scar. How fidgety she could get. How, because of her side, she favored leaning and nursing it with an arm. His eyes looked wishful and forlorn.“Flesh, bone- carbon, blood. Incredibly breakable. With a will so fearfully strong I’m scared to learn what your iron levels are in your blood. 

“But will isn’t everything Barbara. You could have the strongest will in all the land. But that doesn’t change the fact that,” Walter lifted her hand in his for her to draw attention to it. His eyes piercing and glowing just above the knuckles. “if I squeeze your hand hard enough like this, I could break your bones. Fracture them to say the least.”

Barbara gasped on instinct. Like an impulsive flinch when hearing a dog’s bark close enough that made someone blink. Even if that dog was one you knew would never hurt you. It struck at something primal. Life preserving.

Yet Walter continued to hold her hand like the brittlest of crystal. After resting her hand back down, he retracted his own clawed hand carefully away. Not wanting to risk so much as a scratch on her already scratched up hands. 

“The point I’m…I’m struggling to make, Doctor Lake, is…you’re terrifying. Terrifying with how, when other people’s lives are on the line, you’re not even minimally self aware of your own mortality.”

“I’m not going to do nothing. Not when my son is facing those dangers every. single. day.” she steeled. 

“I’m not asking you to do nothing. I’m begging you to be more self aware. And Barbara,” Walter leaned to the side with a wince of his own. His arm close enough to just barely graze hers. “I know you know better than to say healing others is doing nothing. Saving my life was certainly not nothing. If I didn’t know any better I’d think I was in a M*A*S*H tent.”

Barbara screwed her eyes shut, and nodded. Wringing her hands together, she continued to nod. “You’re right…” she sighed and released her hands, “you’re right. It’s just, in the face of everything else that’s been happening it feels so passive. I can patch Jim up for sure, but…I want to fight too.” 

Suddenly she gasped as an idea struck her. She turned towards Walter who had a fearful look on his face. Struck speechless.

The changeling shook his head, already anticipating the question Barbara was about to ask. A low “no, no, no,” rumbling in his throat.

“You can teach me! You’ve been teaching Jim. Can’t you teach me?”

Walter looked into the good doctor’s eyes, how they twinkled hopefully. “Do you know what you’re asking me? The gravity-?”

“Jim’s been trying to keep me out of this for so long. But I want to be part of this. I want to help.”

“Why?”

“Why? Walt, that’s my son out there.”

“No, I mean…why would you want to learn how to fight?” 

Barbara quirked her head to the side. Feeling her reason was obvious. Not understanding why the changeling looked so downtrodden. With a frown so heavy it was nearly sinking off his green face. 

“Why?” he asked again almost on the verge of tears. Just unable to grasp Doctor Lake’s request. “Why would you want such healing hands to learn how to fight? After years of learning how to save lives. Why would you want to start learning how to take it?”

“Take..?” Barbara looked into the pained expression on Walter’s face. 

“You’re under oath, Barbara.”

And finally, it hit her. She was talking with a trained assassin after all. An assassin who knew the best way to fight was until there was only one person standing. Gently she explained, “No. Walt. I want to be able to protect. To defend myself, and others.” She moved to push the hanging lock of hair from Strickler’s forehead, “I’m not asking you to help me break my oath. I’m not planning on breaking it anytime soon.” 

Walter gazed at Barbara, and felt his lungs fill with air and relief. He exhaled a smile, which turned into a winced wheeze, and sniffed a few times before saying. “Right. Of course. Very,” he shook his head with a self scrutinizing smile, “very foolish of me.”

Barbara hummed her head side to side, thoughtfully.

“You have an orange belt in Krav Maga for Pete’s sake.” his voice sounded drawn. A mirth like rumble in his throat as he repeated, “Very foolish.”

Barbara cupped his stoney cheek. A show of tenderness so unexpected Walter nearly flinched. Instead he practically melted into the warmth of Barbara’s fleshy palm. “Maybe. Though, you are still recovering. But I’d say that’s, very kind of you to worry about.”

“I…have my moments.” Walter’s eyes fluttered. His face feeling very warm.

When did their faces get so close?

“Will you help me?”

“I’d move heaven and earth for you if I could.” 

“A bit dramatic. But I’ll take it.” Barbara smiled.

When did the distance between their lips become so small? The changeling’s breath hitched at the feel of her other hand on him. 

“If I didn’t know any better, Doctor. I’d say you’re trying to seduce me into helping you.”

“Is it working?” she asked sultrily. Playing off Walter’s mirth. 

“It’d work better if your hand wasn’t on my stomach.”

“What?!” She looked down at the bandages wrapped over his green stoney body. Her blood pressure spiked. “I, oh, Walt I’m sorry.”

Walter exhaled a sound that was more rubber chicken than troll. Tried as he might to power through the pain just before a potential kiss. His wound was still incredibly tender. In a way, the changeling thought it was for the best. For now. 

“Does it hurt? Even like that?”

“Well it’s no tickle I’ll tell you that.” Walter tried to undermine bravely over Barbara’s worried rambling. 

“I mean you were going on about being made of stone. I didn’t think.”

“Stone. Yes. But still living stone. And recently cut into.”

Barbara leaned, and winced at her side as she tried to check under the bandages without fully undoing them “God, I can’t tell if the stitches opened.”

“Hang on.” Walter steadied himself and grasped the nearest pillow. Trying to think past the pain, and the anticipated pain to come. “You’ll want to close your eyes for this.” he offered before grunting into a shine of green electricity. 

Steam billowed off him slightly as the human form of Walter Strickler slumped into the couch. 

“Walter?” went Barbara waving her hand, “Geeze, if you didn’t have a fever before.” 

“I’m fine.” he tried to assure, despite looking far paler than before. “Changing, when wounded, can be, a, tiring affair.” 

“THen wHY-”

“You wanted to check my stitches. I thought it’d be, easier, as a human.”

“At the cost of exhausting yourself!? You’re still recovering.” Barbara shook her head at him, and brushed back some of Walter’s spongy hair, “And then you say I don’t think. Honestly.” 

Walter gave a haggard laugh, “I suppose we have quite a bit to learn from each other.”

Barbara snorted a laugh. She pressed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Only to sigh. “We’re going to have to re-do a few stitches.”

“Bugger.”

Barbara apologized with a quick, almost chaste, soft kiss against his cheek. A kiss that caused a goofy curly smile to grow on the changeling’s face. He rubbed it as he watched Barbara push herself off the couch to wash her hands and fetch the first aid kit again. 

When she came back Barbara guided Walter to sit up, and untie the gauzy bandage that was wrapped around his stomach. Now speckled with beads of blood. 

As Barbara tended to the changeling, yet another realization among many came over the doctor. It wasn’t as though they were working with morphine this whole time. And although conscious this time, the most Walter made as a sound was a grunt or a wince.  

“Should I be worried about your high tolerance to pain?”

“Probably? But-” Walter exhaled slowly. He bit his lower lip as he felt the needle pass through his healing skin tissue, “-not today. Please. I wouldn’t mind a- ah- conversational distraction.” 

A pause of silence followed. And then, in unison, they both spoke over the other. 

“Do you want to continue our question game?” asked Barbara, referring to the long night when Jim, while away, found Merlin. To reconcile over not fully knowing all of Walter, the question game was invented. 

“Have you ever learned how to fight with a bow staff?” asked Walter, referring to the moments he saw Barbara fight, rather well, with a broom. 

They both laughed for a short while. The air filled with bubbly nerves. Until Barbara, with a deadpan, said, “No laughing while I’m stitching. Or you’ll lose your bellybutton.”

As much as the changeling wanted to, Walter knew better than to contradict Barbara. “Doctor’s orders.” he tried to say seriously. 

In the end, with Walter’s stomach patched again and re-dressed, and Barbara’s hands cleaned with the aid-kit put away, the two shared the couch. 

They were found by a glowing Nomura and Anna. But that’s another story, for another time. 

//

Thank you so much for reading!!