I Almost Lost You
A/N : The first thing I saw when I opened Tumblr was a Star Trek meme sooooo... Star Trek story! It’s been a really long time since I’ve watched it so this is based of the script of Stark Trek 2009 and movie clips. Might do a Sulu one later, same part of the movie but slightly different plot, we’ll see.
Day 2 of Writer’s Block Challenge
Pairing(s) : Leonard McCoy (Bones) 2009 x Reader
Summary : You, Bones’s girlfriend and James’s best friend, sustain a near-fatal injury during the rescue mission to Vulcan resulting in a lecture from him about how he almost lost you.
Warning(s) : Injury(not graphic), says “thank fucking god” once, swearing (it’s Bones and Kirk).
Word Count : 2,897
“I need officers who have been trained in advanced hand-to-hand combat.” Captain Pike states, two hands going up, yours and Sulu’s. Sulu was the pilot and you were another ensign working with Chekov, you were an unlikely pair. While you hadn’t fought in a few weeks, your training was muscle memory, you could repeat the movements in your sleep if asked to.
“I have training, Sir.” You both state in unison.
“Then come with me. Kirk, you too, you’re not supposed to be here anyway.” He then turned to Chekov.
“Radio the engine room, have Chief Engineer Olsen meet us at Shuttle Bay Five.” He directs.
“Aye, Captain.” Chekov responds back, turning to his computer after received a peace sign from you.
“Let’s go.” With the orders given, you four, plus Officer Spock, hurry through the Enterprise to the shuttle bay. It’s chaos all around you, officers running back and forth along the corridors trying to get to where they needed to be, trying to transport what they needed to transport, and the likes.
“Without transporters, we can’t beam off the ship, can’t assist Vulcan, can’t do our job. I’m creating an opportunity. Mr. Kirk, Mr. Sulu, Mx. L/N, and Mr. Olson will space-jump from the shuttle. You’ll have chutes, you’ll land on that machine they’ve lowered into the atmosphere that’s scrambling our gear, you’ll get inside, disable that thing, then beam back to the ship.” As he says that, you, Kirk, and Sulu share a look, one saying “oh shit.”
Neither of you three had expected what you were about to do when you stepped onto the ship, not even under the circumstances that it was in response to a distress signal. But you hardened your resolve and nodded, accepting your given orders.
“Mr. Spock, I’m leaving you in command of the ship. Once we have transport capability and communications back up, you’ll contact Starfleet and report what the hell’s happened here. Something you’ve got only precious few minutes to figure out. If all else fails, fall back and rendezvous with the fleet in the Laurentian System.” He commands, Officer Spock for once not looking so compiled together for a split second before it’s once again masked by the emotionless Vulcan exterior.
“Kirk, I’m promoting you to First Officer.” You quickly grab his hand, giving it a squeeze when he reacts with shock. This was what he’d been waiting for, longing for since he stepped onto that shuttle those years ago where you’d both first met bones. He’d strutted past Commander Pike telling him that the four year plan he’d put forth, he’d do in three.
Spock tries to argue with the Captain but he puts it to a stop with a quick rebuttal.
“While I’m gone, we need to keep the chain of command. And you two make a swell team.” You couldn’t tell if he was joking, but you really didn’t think he was. Maybe a part of you even understood what he meant. The two men were polar opposites but everyone always said “opposites attract” and how they “cover each other’s weaknesses” for a reason.
You’re interrupted from your train of thought by a shoulder nudge from James, helping you tune back in to what people were saying.
“Once we knock out that machine, Sir, what happens to you?” James asked, the billion dollar question everyone was dying to ask.
“I guess you’ll have to come get me,” he responded, then to Spock, “Careful with the ship. She’s brand new.”
With the plan formulated, you have nothing else to do but what Captain Pike said, “Suit up.”
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You stand on the loading dock, zipping up your suit when James speaks up.
“Have you told Bones you’re dropping with us?” To which you shake your head, gaining a dirty look from him that’s cut off as you put on your com set, followed by your helmet.
“No,” you responded, “I didn’t. I don’t need him worrying about me right now, he’ll be busy enough with everything else going on.”
“He’s your boyfriend,” James fired back, “he deserves to know.” “And I deserve to not have my love life discussed over comms where other people can listen in. No offense, Mr. Sulu, Mr. Olson.” You finalizes, pulling the parachute pack over your shoulders, tightening the straps, and focusing on the thin lines along the wall between you and the shuttle you’d would be taking.
When the doors finally open, you step inside, Mr. Olson grinning like he’s about to go on a rollercoaster. You however, don’t share his enthusiasm. Actually, you were dreading it. When Pike asked who had hand-to-hand combat training, you assumed you’d be stepping onto the Romulans ship with him, not free falling onto their drill. You were dreading it because you have a fear of falling.
You knew James wanted to comfort you, knowing your fear of falling quite well due to some childhood accidents, but he was still too disappointed in you for not telling bones to actually do anything comforting.
“I am pumped to kick some Romulan ass. No joke. Bring it on.” Olson exclaimed, Kirk, Sulu, and you once again sharing a look, one that said “this guy’s a fucking idiot.”
“So, what kind of combat training do you have?” James asked, turning to Sulu, choosing to ignore the Engineer who obviously had an incorrect impression of what this mission required you to do.
“Fencing.” Sulu stated proudly.
“You do remember that he said ‘hand-to-hand’ combat, right?” You chimed in, giving Sulu a grin to say that you fully supported his complete disregard for that part of Pike’s statement.
“Didn’t pay much attention,” Sulu grinned back.
With that, the shuttle shoots out of the ship with a lurch, sending you towards the drill’s cord. Despite your disagreement, you and Kirk do the handshake you’d started when you were seven, neither of you being petty enough to not do it considering the circumstances.
“You ready?” He asks you as you take a deep breath in, the point of no return long since over if you had wanted to chicken out.
“No,” you respond softly, quietly, “but it’s now or never.”
Pike’s voice pipes up over your headset, cutting off your conversation, “You have one shot to land on that platform.”
“They have defenses so pull your chute as late as possible.” He tells you, furthering your terror as it means you’ll be breaking your fall much later than you would like.
“Pre-jump on one : Three, two, one.” The second he said one, the four of you slammed into the ceiling of the shuttle, the gravity in the shuttle dying instantly.
“Remember, the Enterprise won’t be able to beam you back up until you disable that drill,” he states.
“Good luck.”
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A few seconds later, the bay doors open and the free fall begins. You feel panic rising in your chest but you shove it down deer, choosing to instead position your body so that you have the least amount of drag.
You spend a few seconds, the only seconds you have to spare, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath to pull yourself together. You’re okay, you’re going to be okay, Len is okay, James’s going to be okay. Pull it together. Your team needs you.
“Away team’s entering the atmosphere.” You hear Chekov’s voice as you reopen your eyes, staring at the drill hurtling towards you at a velocity you never wanted to experience again. You could make out the general shape of the drill, from this distance, a circle with lots of cutouts and outcroppings. As you were coming in from one side, you could see the blinding plasma beam peeking over the other edge.
You angle your hands and feet for control, guiding yourself towards the drill, following the cord connecting it to the Romulan’s ship. You were waiting for the moment to pull your chute. In the background you can hear Kirk and Sulu telling the Enterprise the distance between you and the platform. At 3000 meters, Sulu pulls his parachute first, followed by you and then Kirk. You jerked upwards hard, something that would definitely leave bruising under your arms.
You shake off the thought as Mr. Olson shoots past you, still not deploying his parachute. You wondered if it was a malfunction but you knew it wasn’t when you heard the sound of his excitement through the coms.
“Pull your shoot Olson.” You yell into the headset, hoping, praying that he does what you say. Something in you however knew that he wouldn’t, he was enjoying himself too much.
50 feet, 40 feet, 30 feet, finally his chute billows out behind him but even you, someone who’s never used a parachute before, knew it was too late. The result was you watching in horror as he slammed harshly into the drill, his body being dragged by his parachute over the edge and into the plasma beam, his scream ending suddenly as he was instantly incinerated.
“Olson is gone sir.” You hear Chekov say over the intercom, panic once again rising in your chest as you continue falling towards the platform, your fear of falling worsening as you neared impact.
Kirk makes contact first, slamming into the platform before being pulled out of view by his parachute. In your panic, worried for your best friend, you turn your head to try and find him, ignoring the obstacles hurtling towards you. A bad choice. A very bad choice.
You slam into one of the many outcroppings, a sharp piece of metal piercing your side and keeping you connected to the drill. You gasp out in pain, vision going black as you hit the button on your chest that slits your parachute and pulls it back into your suit. You don’t waste a second more as you notice Kirk fighting with three Romulans.
Pulling yourself off the piece of metal that impaled you and yanking off your helmet, you lunged for the closest Romulan, wrapping your arms around their neck and dragging them backwards, away from Kirk.
Your adrenaline kicked in as they unsheathed a knife, widely stabbing around them, trying to hit you. You twist their other arm behind their back with one hand while blocking the swiping arm with the other. You twist their arm painfully before using one of your legs to kick the back of their legs, making them buckle at the knee. They fall to the ground and you manage to pry the knife from their hands, stabbing it into their neck and letting them fall to the ground.
You turn around to see James dangling over the edge of the drill with a Romulan overlooking him, the strong feeling of fear causing you to falter as you run towards him. Luckily for you, and James, Sulu makes it in time, running his sword clean through the Romulan, killing him before he can kill James.
As the Romulan tumbles over the side, you and Sulu reach down, pulling James back up onto the drill. You’re all gasping for breath when Sulu manages to point out that Olson had the charger.
“What do we do?” You yell over the wind, watching as James dives for one of the 3 blasters still on the drill. Catching on to his plan, you and Sulu follow suit, the three of you shooting at the drill, destroying it enough to disable it.
A few seconds later, as your still catching your breath, a device hurtles past you. It’s heading straight for the hole the beam had drilled.
“Kirk to Enterprise. They just launched something toward the planet.” James spoke into his communicator, alerting the crew on the Enterprise about what had just happened as you all look over the edge, waiting to be beamed up.
Right as they’re beginning the process, the drill lurches sending James to the ground and you and Sulu tipping over the edge. You let out a scream as James yells your name and then nothing.
You can see Sulu falling just below you as you begin to get an idea, the adrenaline from before paying off. You bring in your arms to reduce drag as you maneuver your body towards him, slamming into him in mid-air.
“I’ve got you, Sulu. Pull my chute.” You yell, to which Sulu does. You feel it open behind you but before the feeling of relief can sink in for either of you, the chord snaps due to the velocity at which you’re falling.
“Enterprise, we’re without a chute. Beam us up. Beam us up now.” You yell into your communicator, closing your eyes as you hurtle towards the surface of the planet, doing your best to come to terms if this is where you die.
“You’re moving to fast-,” the Transporter Chief starts before she’s cut off by the most beautiful voice you’d ever heard, besides Len’s of course.
“No, I can do that. I can do that.” He shouts before you begin to hear movement.
“I can lock on. Give me manual control. Quick.” Chekov commands, and if you made it out of this alive, you’d hug the boy the second you saw him regardless of the time and consequences.
“Enterprise, where are you?” You ask into you comm, your franticness building inside you as you continue to fall towards the planet, getting closer and closer. To the side of you, a large wall of lava shoots up from the planet’s core, so close you can feel the heart.
“If you’re going to do it, do it now.” You scream.
“Compensating gravitational pull and, gotcha,” Chekov stated, and right before you slam into the ground, you slam onto the transported pads with a laughing Chekov in front of you and a worried Jim standing beside him.
“Chekov,” you breathe out, “thank fucking god for you.” Without a second thought, you drag him, James, and Sulu in a bone-crushing hug, happy to be alive. As you hug them, you begin to feel your side aching, giving way to the most agonizing feeling you’ve ever felt.
“I’ve got to find Len,” you mutter, weaker than you thought as you begin to collapse.
“Y/N,” is the last thing you hear out of their mouths before your vision goes black.
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You finally regain consciousness with the fluorescent lights of the Enterprise’s Med Bay glowing above you, a blanket pulled over you, and a pillow underneath your head. To your left was your boyfriend sitting hunched over in a chair, his hand gripping yours, to your right was your best friend.
“What happened?” You ask the two men, watching them frantically stand up when they realize you’re awake.
“Easy now,” Kirk told you, Len and him both helping you to sit up, passing you a glass of water to sooth your parched throat.
“You, missy, passed out from the wounds you received during the rescue mission,” Len told you, his voice turning harsh, “a rescue missing you didn’t tell me about.”
“Len, you were busy,” you begin to explain yourself.
“Fuck being busy.” He cut you off.
“I’m your boyfriend. You’re my girlfriend. We’re partners. It’s not a thing where one person rushes off to do something dangerous while the other person stays in the dark. We do things together.” He continued, emphasizing the word “together.”
“I told you,” James said smugly. But you knew that underneath his smug exterior, he was hiding the fact that he was extremely worried about you.
“James, shut the fuck up.” Len states, not playing any games.
“Next time, tell me. I don’t care if I’m busy, I don’t care if you’re busy. You fucking tell me.” He states.
“But,” you tried to argue.
“But nothing. You almost died, Y/N, you almost fucking died.” He exclaimed.
“We all did.” You fired back, defending yourself, your confrontational side showing.
“I’m not talking about fighting Romulans, I’m not talking about the freefall, I’m not talking about any of the shit I can’t control. I’m talking about the fact that you got impaled and could have fucking died on this table.” He yells and you finally realize what this is all about. It wasn't about risking your life for the team, he knew you’d do it again without hesitation, this was about what happened when you slammed into the drill.
“I almost couldn’t save you,” he whispered, so lowly that only you and James would ever hear him.
“Your wound was infected and you didn't even realize it, James and Sulu didn’t even know you were injured,” he continued, his anger fizzling out.
“I almost lost you.” With those last words, you moved forward, getting up off the table and wrapping your arms around him.
“I’m sorry, Len,” you mumble into his chest as his arms wrap around you, letting him hold you for a few minutes, just so he could feel you breathing, to solidify that you were there, alive and well.
“Really, I am,” you say as you pull away just barely, giving him a loving smile.
“You know who else you should say sorry too?” James said, finally speaking up when he knew it was acceptable to crack jokes. He may be terrible with reading the room most of the time, but with his two best friends, he always knew.
“James,” you start.
“Yes?” He responded.
“Fuck off.”
