A place for myself to post and reblog and head canon and etc. safe from my first, original, out of date tumblr. (Though I probably first followed you with that one 😄)
You can call me Andi, though I will also answer to whatever and prefer she/they.
If you absolutely don’t want to scroll this whole page to read my stories, nearly all of them are on AO3. I am HAMshotfirst. I update stories there from here as I see fit.
For stories on AO3 written under the Hummingbird and Scones pseud, know that I wrote those with my wonderful writing partner @hummingbird-of-light (I write McCoy, she writes Scotty.)
Ask or let me know whatever. If you need an adult supportive parental figure I can do my best. I’m a wee smidge older than I forget I am, and trying my damndest to continue to learn and be a safe and inclusive person.
(New avatar from @grayskiesgayeyes who is super awesome!)
McCoy had just slipped his comm back into his pocket when a hand rested on his arm. He startled, and looked over to see Jaylah walking next to him.
“Just Leonard.”
“Hey Jaylah.”
“Where are you going?”
McCoy smiled, then shrugged. “Just back to my room I guess. Was going to get started on my homework.”
Jaylah nodded, but continued looking forward.
“Did you need something?” McCoy asked gently.
“I am not confident about one of my classes,” Jaylah said quietly.
“Want to study together?”
“Yes please.”
“Scotty’s not going to be back for a while, so come on.” McCoy turned towards his dorm. The rest of their walk was quiet.
“Did he go to talk to Aporal?” Jaylah finally broke the silence when they were in McCoy’s room.
“I’m assuming so. He said he wouldn’t be back right away and he had something to do.” McCoy set his things on his desk and motioned for Jaylah to take one of the nicer chairs.
Jaylah sighed as she sat down. “They are stupid to argue. I told Aporal that.”
McCoy chuckled quietly. He settled into the other chair. “They didn’t mean to. They’re both just trying to look out for each other. Did Aporal tell you what it was about?”
Jaylah looked over at him. “He did not want to at first, but he did. Montgomery Scotty told you.” It wasn’t a question. McCoy nodded.
“I don’t think the commander would do or say anything on purpose…”
“Of course not,” Jaylah agreed quickly. “But just to see him, that may give Aporal bad memories.”
“I know.”
They sat in silence for a few moments, each lost in their own thoughts. Even though it was a positive that Raleigh had helped save Aporal, it was still a reminder of the terrible ordeal he had gone through first. McCoy thought of the trials for the Romulans and the augments. Both trials had gone well, with each group found guilty and locked up, but it had still been very hard to sit and see them. The memories of the trials were mixed up with good and bad emotions.
McCoy let out a soft sigh.
“They’ll make up and it’ll be alright,” he said.
“They will or we will make them,” Jaylah said fiercely.
McCoy laughed. Jaylah’s eyes twinkled even if her tone had been hard.
“Did you need studying help?” McCoy asked. “Or just an ear to listen?”
Jaylah blushed faintly. “Both.”
“Show me what you need help with,” McCoy smiled.
Part 750
Scotty
When Scotty came back, he found Leonard lying on the bed with a book in his hands. He seemed pretty engrossed in the text, but the Scotsman didn’t know the cover. It appeared to be something medical.
“Hey, mo ghràdh,” Scotty greeted his husband, who quickly looked up from the book and smiled at him.
“Hey, leannan. Took you quite a while.”
“Aye, sorry about that.” The Scotsman scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “I lost track of time. Aporal’s current project was just too exciting.”
Leonard’s smile widened.
“So you two made up?”
A shrug was Scotty’s answer. He wasn’t too sure himself.
“To be honest, we didn’t even bring yesterday’s conversation up. We talked about the project and… everything was just the same as always between us.”
“That sounds great. Then Jaylah and I won’t have to force you two to settle your argument after all.”
Scotty frowned.
“What?”
“Jaylah was here after class. She’d asked me to help her with her studies, but of course we also talked about you guys.”
“So Aporal actually talked to her?”
Leonard tilted his head back and forth, looking uncertain.
“Well, not entirely of his own free will, but… Jaylah got the truth out of him. You know her.”
A smile flitted across Scotty’s face. He knew Jaylah all too well. And he should have known she wouldn’t let up.
“I’m glad he talked to her. She’s good for the lad. And she’ll help him.”
“I think so, too.” Leonard nodded in agreement. “Do you still have a lot of homework, or can I have you all to myself now?”
Scotty smirked as he slowly crossed the room and crawled onto the bed.
“Aye, well, I do have some homework to do, but I guess it can wait until tomorrow. After all, it’s nothing too urgent.”
Slowly, Leonard put the book aside and allowed for his husband to climb onto him and kiss him.
“Mmm, I love it when you’re in a good mood.”
Scotty chuckled.
“Aye, me too.”
“Well then… let’s use the time we have until the call with our siblings.”
It was later that evening when both of the boys’ comms chirped. Scotty was closer to the nightstand and reached for his.
“A message from Jimbo,” he said.
“What does he want?”
“He said he wants to meet up with everyone tomorrow after classes to flesh out our plans for the party.”
Leonard just shook his head.
“We don’t even have the total go yet and he’s already one step ahead.”
Scotty laughed.
“Ye know the lad. When he’s excited about something, he can get quite energetic.”
“Well, for today I’m done with thinking about any plans. I just need some sleep.”
They said their good nights to each other and soon both of them were asleep.
You can have any animal for a pet. Any complications such as “keeping the animal healthy and happy” and “the time and effort it would take to keep happy and healthy pet” and “keeping yourself uneaten” and “the pet I want is kind of extinct” have all been solved perfectly. You don’t have to think of that.
McCoy listened as Scotty told him about what had happened with Aporal. Cmdr. Raleigh had been part of the team to rescue Aporal. That was a surprise. McCoy could understand why the Andorian would want to keep away.
But he also understood his husband’s reasoning.
“I may have made the lad angry,” Scotty said quietly.
“How?” McCoy asked gently.
“I said he should be telling Jaylah and not running from the past.” Scotty was looking down towards the floor.
McCoy kept a sigh to himself, he knew his husband had meant well.
“I’m sure it’ll all be fine tomorrow. You know how it’s been with him. He gets frustrated but he comes around. And—” McCoy looked thoughtful— “if he goes home looking upset, you know Jaylah won’t give in until he tells her what’s wrong. And she’ll help him too.”
“Ye’re assuming she’ll be at his room.”
“Well, I mean, I guess yeah. He’s in a single, I assume they spend their time together there. What I mean is, between now and when you see him, Jaylah will have seen him too,” McCoy said.
“I just wanted to help the lad.”
“I know love, and he knows that too. Don’t worry too much, you’ll see each other and be calmer and it will all be okay. Come on and let’s lay down. I can read my homework better if you're next to me.” McCoy smiled softly at Scotty until Scotty finally smiled back.
“Ok.”
The rest of the evening was quiet as they both read and studied. McCoy did his best to send quiet encouragement to his husband. He knew everything would be ok between Scotty and Aporal. They had spoken hotly to each other before and had made up after some time to each calm down. This would be no different. He hoped.
The sound of a comm chirping woke McCoy.
“Who’s?” he murmured as he felt Scotty shift next to him. It was too early to get up, their alarm hadn’t even gone off yet.
“Yers love,” came Scotty’s sleepy reply.
“I’ll deal with it later,” McCoy said and moved to tuck his head down against Scotty’s chest.
“Ye sure?”
McCoy nodded, knowing Scotty would feel his answer. He had an idea who was sending him a message that early. After Scotty had fallen asleep the night before, McCoy had sent a message to Jaylah. He really didn’t want to interfere, but he knew how worried Scotty had been and how bad he’d felt. He hoped Jaylah was being a voice of reason to Aporal like he was being for Scotty.
He also hoped he hadn’t made things awkward for Aporal and Jaylah. Scotty had told him that Aporal hadn’t told Jaylah about Cmdr. Raleigh yet. McCoy had debated back and forth with himself before sending his message to the alien girl, but had finally decided that just saying Scotty and Aporal had had words with each other wouldn’t give anything else away. If Aporal wanted to tell Jaylah what it was about then he could. Or not. Somehow, McCoy figured, Aporal and Jaylah would sort it out.
While Scotty was still in the bathroom after their shower, McCoy finally checked his comm. He had a reply from Jaylah. With a quick glance over his shoulder, he read the message.
Part 748
Scotty
“Morning,” Aporal mumbled as he sat down at the table. It was easy to tell that he wasn’t in the best mood. He only spoke at all, because Jaylah nudged his arm with her elbow.
“Good morning,” the others replied.
Quickly, conversations about the day got underway, however, Scotty stayed quiet and kept his focus on Aporal. He looked at him and tried to read the Andorian’s expression but failed in doing so.
When their eyes eventually met, Scotty felt his cheeks heating up. He really was sorry about what had happened. And if the others weren’t around, he would’ve told his friend right away.
Aporal stared at him for a short moment before he looked back at his food. It was clear to tell that they wouldn’t be able to talk everything out too soon. No matter how much Scotty wanted to.
With a sigh, the Scotsman also lowered his eyes. How was he going to sort this thing out?
“Everything will be fine,” Leonard whispered to him assuringly when they parted ways after breakfast. He must have noticed the tension between his husband and Aporal.
Scotty just nodded and forced a smile onto his face. It didn’t reach his eyes.
“Aye, I ken,” he answered, even though he didn’t have too much faith in those words.
Leonard squeezed his shoulder and gave him a quick kiss.
“So do I, leannan.”
After his last class, Scotty sent a quick message to Leonard, telling the prince that he didn’t need to wait for him. He needed to take care of something.
His feet felt heavy as the Scotsman made his way to the laboratories. He knew exactly where to find Aporal. Whenever something was bothering the Andorian, he kept his mind occupied with work.
And Scotty was right.
He found his friend in one of the engineering labs, tinkering around with a small device. The blue-skinned alien boy looked very focused.
Scotty knocked on the doorframe, however, he didn’t get an answer. With a soft sigh, he still entered the room and casually strolled over to where Aporal was standing. The Andorian didn’t seem to mind.
Curiously, Scotty took a look at the blueprints on the PADD which was lying on the table. He quickly took in all the information.
“Interesting.”
Aporal glanced at him sideways.
“You think so?”
Scotty nodded. The tension he had felt in his stomach earlier started to ease a bit.
“Aye. I’m… just a wee bit confused about this part?” He pointed at the sketch. “How will ye make it work?”
A smirk spread across Aporal’s face.
“The human who wants to be the greatest engineer of Starfleet doesn’t have an answer to that?”
Scotty chuckled softly.
“Well, one cannae know everything, right?”
Aporal huffed.
“I can.”
“Sure.”
They fell silent. And they stayed silent for quite a while. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence though. Scotty just watched his friend work away.
“Care to explain it to the human who doesn’t know everything?” he eventually asked and Aporal did.
They didn’t talk about their argument. They didn’t yell at each other. All they did was talk engineering. And in the entire universe, there was nothing better to soothe them than that.
McCoy entered their room and his eyes traveled to his desk. He sighed. Homework and studying. At least he had passed his flight test. Lt. Flores had already said he wouldn’t have anything more than that to end his class.
McCoy sat down at the desk and grabbed one of his medical texts. As he began to read he wondered what Scotty had wanted to talk with Aporal about. Probably whatever project the Andorian had been working on. He pushed the thoughts away and began to focus on the text in front of him.
The PADD beside him suddenly ringing caused McCoy to startle. He blinked to readjust himself from his studying and glanced to see who was calling. Surprised, he checked the time. Scotty must have lost track of time with Aporal. Trust engineers with new projects to get carried away. McCoy smiled to himself and answered the PADD.
“Hey guys,” he greeted Leah and Robbie.
“Hey Lenny.” “Hi Leonard.” The pair spoke at the same time.
“Scotty went to see something Aporal’s working on,” McCoy said as he could see Robbie beginning to look for his brother over McCoy’s shoulders. “I thought he’d be back by now.” He shrugged. “Engineers.”
“Hey!” Robbie cried, pretending to be offended.
“What were you doing on your lonesome?” Leah asked.
“Homework,” McCoy sighed.
“Keep getting assigned more and more before exams eh?” Robbie looked sympathetic.
“Exactly,” McCoy nodded.
“How’d your party meeting go?” Leah asked. McCoy and Scotty had told their sibling about the meeting when they had talked the night before.
“Good,” McCoy said, sitting back in his chair. “The commander seemed very receptive, even if we sort of overwhelmed him.” He chuckled. “Our whole group went except Aporal.”
“I guess that’s one way to get your message across,” Leah laughed. “Hope no one ever tries that on me.”
“Andre would stop them for sure,” McCoy said.
“He’d set Anthony and Averie on them for sure,” Robbie agreed.
McCoy turned as he heard the noise of the door. “Hey darlin’,” he said to his husband.
“Sorry,” Scotty said. “Didn’t mean to be so long.”
“Hey a bràithar.”
Scotty stopped at the words and seemed to finally notice the PADD set up on McCoy’s desk.
“We just started talking,” McCoy soothed the surprise and chagrin on his husband’s face. “You haven’t missed anything but hellos.”
Scotty grabbed his own desk chair and pulled it next to McCoy and sat down.
“Hello Robbie, Leah,” he greeted them.
“What’s Aporal working on?” Robbie asked.
Part 746
Scotty
“Why? What does it matter?”
Scotty opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. Was Aporal being serious? It was quite obvious that it mattered, wasn’t it?
“We… we could’ve helped ye. O-or we could’ve picked another commander,” the Scotsman replied and Aporal shook his head.
“That’s stupid. Your Prince knows Raleigh. It was the most obvious choice to talk to him.”
“But… ye are supposed to plan this party with us. And there will be more meetings. Ye cannae just skip them all, can ye?”
Aporal shrugged.
“Why not? I can plan in the background.”
“Y-yeah, I mean. Sure ye can, but it won’t be the same.”
Scotty looked sad and disappointed. He had wanted for his Andorian friend to be a real part of this project, just like everyone else. He didn’t want for Aporal to be an outsider.
“Does Jaylah know?”
The look on Aporal’s face was answer enough, even though he didn’t say anything.
“Does she know?” Scotty insisted.
“No.”
Scotty rolled his eyes.
“Oh, come on, lad. Ye should’ve talked to her at least. And don’t ye dare ask why! She’s yer girlfriend. Ye are supposed to talk about stuff that bothers ye with your partner.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t want to bother her with my stuff at a time like this. She has enough on her mind, studying for exams. You can’t imagine how much some of those tests stress her.”
“This is more important than tests though. And I’m quite sure that she would love to know the truth! And that she’d love to help ye!” Scotty protested. “Like all of us!”
“I just don’t want to make a big deal of this.”
“Well, running from yer past sure won’t solve things.”
The words were out before Scotty even knew it. And he immediately felt sorry about them. He knew how hard it was for people to face their traumas.
“Aporal, I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. Just… let us help ye. Please.”
Aporal’s face was dark.
“I don’t need any help. I can take care of myself.”
With that the Andorian turned around and walked away. At first, Scotty wanted to follow him, but he decided to leave him alone for the time being. They needed time. Both of them. And then they would talk again.
After a short walk to clear his mind, Scotty headed to the dorms. He found Leonard on a call with Leah and Robbie.
“Oh, uhm, we didn’t talk about the project, but… something else. But that’s not important right now. How are the two of ye doing? Leah, how was the meeting today?”
Scotty could sense Leonard tensing next to him. His husband immediately was able to tell that something was wrong, but he didn’t mention it. Instead, they both listened as Leah told them about the long, boring diplomatic meeting she’d had that morning.
“Being crown princess sure has its ups and downs,” she sighed and Robbie chuckled next to her.
“But ye’re the best at it.”
“I sure am. A thousand times better than Lenny.”
“Hey!”
Leah grinned.
“What? I’m right, aren’t I?”
Leonard rolled his eyes.
“Fine. You’re right.”
They talked a while longer before Robbie and Leah said that they needed to end the call. They were meeting with David and Eleanor to watch a movie.
As soon as the PADD went black, Leonard turned his attention to Scotty.
“Does he know how many of us are coming?” Jim asked as he lunged toward McCoy in self defense class Tuesday morning.
“I don’t think we mentioned it,” McCoy said with a chuckle as he dodged aside from Jim’s attack, before spinning around to meet him again. “I hope we don’t overwhelm him.”
“It’ll be fine,” Jim said, waving McCoy’s doubts away.
“Where’s Aporal?” Jim asked Jaylah as the friends gathered in the main hall before heading up to Commander Raleigh’s office.
“He said we could handle it without him,” Jaylah responded.
“I’m sure we can,” Sulu laughed good naturedly and he looked at the big group.
“Good, here comes Cora,” Jim said, looking past Jaylah.
“Hi,” Eugene said loudly next to Cora.
“Yeah, hi,” Jim told him. “Cora is a secret weapon cause her brother is an officer.”
“Hey!” Cora protested.
“We better get upstairs,” Scotty said.
At a desk upstairs, a lieutenant looked up in surprise.
“Can I help you?” he asked uncertainly.
McCoy moved forward. “We have an appointment with Cmdr. Raleigh.” He smiled his best princely smile.
The lieutenant looked around him. “All of you?”
“Yes sir,” McCoy replied.
“Uh huh. Well.” The lieutenant sighed, and tapped on a screen. “You may go in.” He pointed at a door behind himself.
“Thank you,” McCoy said with a nod. He led the way to the door, gave a quick knock and opened it when he heard a ‘come in.’
“Good afternoon sir,” he greeted Raleigh.
“Hello cadet.” Raleigh stood up behind his desk. “Come have a seat.” He waved a hand at the pair of chairs in front of his desk. His smile turned to a frown as the others entered behind McCoy.
“Umm cadets? I thought it was going to be you and your husband?” Raleigh looked at the friends in confusion.
“Hi sir, Jim Kirk. We thought it would empathize how much we want to put on this party if we all came.” Jim moved next to McCoy.
“Well I certainly don’t have enough chairs—”
“We’re alright standing sir,” Christine said quickly.
“Ok, tell me who’s who, and I’m sorry if I don’t keep your names straight yet, and then tell me about this party.” Raleigh sat down in his chair and looked towards the right hand side of the group.
“Pavel Chekov, sir!” Chekov said, straightening his posture.
They continued from Chekov until they had all introduced themselves. Then Scotty explained the idea they’d had and the others expanded on it in turns. Raleigh listened to them attentively, nodding along at points. McCoy was nervous, trying to get a read on the commander’s face, but it remained neutral.
“I must say,” Raleigh began when Uhura finished talking. “You all seem to have a clear vision. Let me talk with my fellow officers and I will let you know our decision soon. Who should I contact?” He looked around the group.
“Scotty!” Jaylah said quickly. “It was his idea in the first place.”
“Oh!” Scotty said quietly beside McCoy.
“Very well,” Raleigh smiled. “We’ll meet this week and let you know. Thank you very much cadets.”
“Thank you sir,” Uhura said and they all chorused the words behind her, before beginning to turn for the office door.
Part 744
Scotty
“That went quite well. And that commander seems to be a really nice guy,” Eugene said when they all had settled down at their table in the dining hall. “It’s so cool that he approves of our ideas.”
Sulu chuckled.
“Well, I mean, he couldn’t say no to it with all of us there, looking at him with our best puppy eyes.”
“Plus, our ideas are great,” Jim added, mouth full with food already.
“And we have an actual plan. I think that convinced him,” Uhura said. “Not everyone is as organized as we are.”
“Judging by the way you all talk, I’m assuming your meeting with the commander went as good as expected?”
Scotty turned around to see Aporal coming their way. He must have listened in just then.
“Aye. Cmdr. Raleigh will talk to some of his colleagues this week and then he’ll update us.”
“So far everything looks good though.” Leonard made space so that Aporal could sit next to him. “I doubt that the other commanders will have a problem with it.”
The Andorian nodded understandingly.
“Good to hear.”
“What did ye do in the mean time, lad?”
Aporal shrugged his shoulders.
“Nothing too important. I just… worked on a project,” he explained and Scotty narrowed his eyes only the slightest bit. Something was odd about his friend’s behavior.
But he wouldn’t ask him with everyone else around.
“I see. Maybe ye can show it to me later.”
“Yeah, sure thing.”
For the rest of dinner, they planned a bit more for the party.
“Ye can go ahead already, mo ghràdh.” Scotty gave Leonard a kiss when they left the dining hall. “I’ll have a quick chat with Aporal and will follow ye then.”
Leonard looked surprised for a moment, then nodded.
“Oh, okay. I’ll wait for you in our room then.”
They quickly kissed each other goodbye once more and then Scotty hurried off into the direction Aporal had gone.
“Aporal? Hey, wait a moment.”
The Andorian stopped and turned around when he heard his name being called.
“What is it, Scottish boy?”
Scotty came to a halt.
“Uhm, c-can we talk?”
“Sure. What do you wanna know?”
“Is… there any reason why ye didn’t attend the meeting with Cmdr. Raleigh?”
Aporal frowned.
“I told you I worked on a project, didn’t I?”
Scotty just stared at his counterpart with a knowing look. So Aporal sighed.
“Fine. Maybe there was another reason,” he admitted and the Scotsman nodded.
“Then… what is it?”
“I… might know the commander.”
“Wha- but… ye told us ye don’t ken him.” Scotty was utterly confused.
“I lied! Okay? I… I didn’t tell you that I know him, cause I didn’t want to meet him again.”
Scotty’s frown turned into a worried look.
“Again?”
Aporal’s eyes moved to the floor.
“Raleigh… was part of the crew… that saved me,” he quietly said. Scotty’s eyes widened.
“Oh… I… I didn’t know…”
“Yeah, well, you couldn’t know. It’s just… if I meet him again, I don’t know what memories it’ll bring back.”
“Aporal…” Scotty put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Ye should’ve told us.”
The recent hot VS cold polls have made me realise that a lot of people have no idea how to cool down.
As someone from a hot country that's regularly on fire, here's some tips:
WATER IS YOUR FRIEND! WATER! IS! YOUR! FRIEND! You can transfer SO much heat into this bad boy! You cannot cool down without water!
Wrists under the cold tap. Splash your face and the back of your neck. Fan yourself.
In some countries you can buy a little handeld fan with a water sprayer.
Damp tea towel around the neck. Stick an ice pack in there on hotter days.
Half fill a water bottle with water, stick in freezer. If you use a bottle with a straw, make sure it's lying on its side with the straw side up and out of the water. When frozen top up the rest of the way with tap water and off you go.
Desperate to cool off? Wet T-shirt. Sit in front of a fan. This will nuke it, just don't get hypothermia and don't fall asleep like this.
Cold showers are also your friend in summer. Some people get psyched up by these. Personally, I sleep like a baby, so I'm good to have them before bed. Just keep in mind that it takes a bit of time for the cool to circulate, so your body will tell you that you're colder than you actually are. I find that when I have cold showers I need to step out of the spray when I think I'm cold... I'll just wait, and thirty seconds later the temperature has evened out and I actually need to step under again. Rinse and repeat until you maintain coolness even after stepping out for a bit.
If you can't do cold showers, turn the cold shower on anyway and just stick your arms under. When they're cold, lift your arms up above your head. The sensation of cool blood draining into your body is fucking weird and kinda unpleasant but less unpleasant than being hot.
Feet in a tub of water with ice. Blood naturally flows to your extremities when hot, so take advantage of this. If you don't have a tub of ice water, sticking a wet rag on your feet in front of the fan works too, it's the less powerful version of the wet T-shirt.
Drinks lots of water but make sure that water has electrolytes as well. Stay in the shade.
Keep air circulating. Fans don't actually cool rooms down, they just help transfer heat from your body to the moisture on your skin or the air via evaporative cooling.
Block north facing windows early in the morning so the sun doesn't get in. If you're in the northern hemisphere, this is opposite for you. Keep in mind that if your home is brick, the bricks will still heat up and slowly release heat into your home even after the sun goes down so this will only do so much.
If it's hotter inside than outside, close all your windows but two, making sure they're on opposite sides of the house/unit you're in. Point a fan out of one window, making sure that the doors between the rooms with the open windows are all open. This will help create a mini pressure system in your home, pulling cooler air in and pushing the hotter air out via the fan. Bonus points if you can get that fan high up where the hot air rises; even within a single room the top is much hotter than the air by the floor. Adjust the amount of open windows based on how many fans you have, but generally you want more windows with fans open than windows without fans to keep the pressure correct.
Obviously, use your common sense for these. Not everything WILL work for you, just use the stuff that does and adjust what needs to be adjusted. Some of these will be impossible to use in the workplace but others you can still use. Others are best used at home. If humidity impacts your ability to use any of these, get a dehumidifier if that's an option, or use more ice instead of evaporation.
Also keep in mind that the skinnier you are, the faster these will work. More fat means more insulation, means more heat, so you may need to be more patient with some of these or use them in combination.
“So I’ve done some asking around,” Sulu started when most of the group was finally at breakfast. “And as long as we go to the right people, throwing a campus wide party shouldn’t be too much of a problem.”
“Even if we aren’t a club?” Chekov asked.
Sulu nodded. “A club makes it easier, but we can still do it.”
“But we want to make a club,” Jim protested.
“Aye, and we still could,” Scotty soothed. “But maybe this gives us more time to get that organized.”
“Did you get any names of who to talk to?” Christine asked Sulu.
Sulu nodded. “A couple commanders. Raleigh was one of them.” He stopped to think. “Gilbert and Crawford were the others. Any of them we should be able to go to.”
“I’ve met Raleigh,” McCoy said. “He’s tried to recruit me for the swim team a couple times.” He chuckled.
“Good!” Jim exclaimed. “We have an in! You set up a meeting and I’ll go with you.”
“Wasn’t this my idea?” Scotty asked, giving Jim an amused look.
“You spend all your time with Bones, let someone else borrow him for a bit,” Jim grinned back.
“Maybe we should all go,” Uhura said. “Then they’d see we really want to do this.”
“Even better,” Jim agreed. “Set it up.” He looked at McCoy.
The prince laughed. “Why me?”
“Cause you know Raleigh,” Jim stated as if it was obvious.
“I’ve talked to him twice,” McCoy protested.
“Have any of you met him?” Jim looked around the table. “Anyone know the other two commanders?” Everyone shook their heads. “See? There you go.” Jim sat back and looked at McCoy.
McCoy put his hands up in defeat. “Fine, I’ll do what I can.”
“Seriously?” McCoy said to Scotty when they were finally alone. “I don’t know how to contact a commander.”
Instead of sympathizing, Scotty began to laugh.
“Hey!” McCoy cried indignantly.
“Oh Len, I’m sorry,” Scotty got out. “Ye forget ye’re the one with an Admiral on speed dial.”
“Hey! I don’t- I mean, I guess, ok.”
“I’ll go with ye,” Scotty promised as he calmed from his laughter. “I’m sure there will be someone over in the main hall who can send us the right way.”
“Or…”
“What love?” Scotty asked when McCoy didn’t finish his sentence.
“It’s Sunday. The commander might be at the pool. He told me there’s an optional practice on Sundays. Maybe he’ll be there.”
Scotty shrugged. “Well, let’s go see. It’s something to do besides homework.”
Part 742
Scotty
“You really sure you wanna go take a swim?” Leonard asked while they were changing.
Scotty shrugged his shoulders. He glanced over at his husband.
“Sure, why not?”
“Well, I know you’re not the biggest fan of it,” Leonard started to explain, obviously sounding worried, but Scotty quickly interrupted him.
“Ah, nay, don’t worry about that, mo ghràdh. I’ve gotten used to being in the water. I mean, I’m still not the best swimmer, but I enjoy it, nonetheless. Thanks to ye.”
They exchanged a smile.
“Alright. Let’s get going then. I sure hope we’re gonna meet the commander.”
“Commander Raleigh?”
The man spoken to turned around and a smile formed on his face as he saw Leonard.
“Cadet, hello. I haven’t seen you in quite some time. How are you doing?”
They shook hands.
“Oh, I’m fine, sir. Thanks.”
“Ready to join the swim team yet?”
“Sir, I think we already talked about that.”
They both laughed before Raleigh’s eyes moved over to Scotty who had stayed one step behind.
“And who might that young man be?”
Scotty took the hand offered to him while Leonard answered.
“That’s my husband Montgomery.”
“Greetings, commander.”
“A pleasure to meet you, cadet. So young and married already, huh? Must be true love.”
Scotty chuckled softly.
“Aye, it is.”
“So, what can I do for the two of you?” Raleigh eventually asked, looking at both of them.
“We wanted to ask if we could get an appointment to talk to you, sir,” Leonard said and the commander raised an eyebrow.
“An appointment? Oh my, that sounds quite formal. What’s it gonna be about?”
“So, our friends and us, we plan on throwing a campus wide party to celebrate the end of this first year at the academy. We were told that we should talk it through with a commander,” Scotty said and Raleigh scratched his chin thoughtfully.
“A party, huh? That sounds nice. But you know it’s always easier to plan something like that for club members, right?”
The cadets nodded.
“Aye, but we heard it’s still possible?”
Scotty and Leonard looked hopefully at the man.
“I suppose I could listen to what you’ve planned. How about a meeting in my office on Tuesday? 5 p.m.?”
“That sounds great! Thank you, sir.”
“And, well, you know there’s always a club for you to join, cadet,” Raleigh added, winking at Leonard who laughed.
