bakerstreet | picture prompt meme.

Hey, you. C'mere. Got somethin' to show you.

[ bones doesn't normally do much with his shore leave. ( aside from imbibe as much alcohol as is humanly possible without poisoning himself. ) but this feels different, and it might just be the fact that they're about to head off on their five-year-fuckin' mission ~~and he still doesn't know how he got dragged into it, damn it all~~. it's a long damn time to be in space, and he figures somewhere along the way he'll get used to it, but for right this second he's going to try not to think about it.

which means.

he's got something lined up that he hadn't previously thought of sharing with anyone, but christine .. she was more than just his best nurse. more than the one that outwardly cared about their patients where he maintained a level of gruff professionalism. ( for everyone outside of jim and the hobgoblin, as it stood. )

leading the way to the transporter room, he nods to the engineer behind the console - it sure as hell isn't scotty, because that mad bastard is down in engineering making sure everything on his ship is operating at peak performance. the site he brings them to is one that he hasn't seen much of since he was a boy, running barefoot through his backyard and not giving a damn about stepping on anything sharp that might be laying in wait in the tall grass. the trees are taller than he remembers, though he supposed it goes without saying - which just makes the fact they form the perfect canopy overhead all the more fortuitous.

there's a two-person tent in the very middle of the clearing, complete with a small campfire that he'd nearly rubbed his hands raw getting to the right spot. ( fuck using a lighter, fuck using anything artificial because it would just cheapen the whole thing. ruin it. ) a blanket lays off to the side, large enough for the two of them to stretch out on and that's where he strolls to first, pulling his flask from his pocket and taking a sip before offering it to her.

bones peers up at the sky, raising a finger to point out the constellations that are bringing themselves into focus as their eyes adjust to the relative darkness. ]

Thought it might be nice to see the stars as they were meant to be seen before we're stuck watchin' 'em at warp for the next five damn years.

[His beckoning earns him raised eyebrows. But she's curious, and beyond that, she trusts him. He wants to show her something, and it's clear it's not something in medbay.

They're about to go spend five years in deep space together. She can indulge him in whatever this is.

Up go her eyebrows again as they cross to the transporter pad. They're... leaving the ship? Well. They are on shore leave, even if they never seem to do anything with it ~~besides him drinking and her checking every so often to make sure he hasn't keeled over from alcohol poisoning~~.

The electric blue hum of the transporter gives way to darkness and silence; it takes a few moments for her senses to adjust and register the soft sounds of crickets chirping and the breeze rustling through the canopy of leaves above.

And the stars. God, look at them all. She'd dreamed of them growing up in New Orleans, but she'd never really seen them. Not even in San Francisco, at the Academy, both cities too large and bright to let her see anything past the biggest constellations and brightest stars. But here, it seems the longer she stares up at the sky, the more stars she can see, as if they're quietly multiplying.

She drifts into the clearing in McCoy's wake, registering the tent, the blanket, and the offer of the flask with brief glances. She reaches for the flask with murmured thanks, but her attention has already returned to the sky. She winds up flailing slightly until she tears her gaze away from the stars, properly reaching for the flask with a sheepish little smile.]

Doctor, it's beautiful here. Where are we?

[ the trust will always be appreciated. he might not be asking very much of her right this second, but the fact that she goes willingly is something that pleases him. somewhere deep in his chest, there's a scant bit of warmth that rarely ever surfaces, and it's a good feeling.

he might grump at her for checking in on him as much as she does when they're on leave and he's busy drowning himself in fine kentucky whiskey. it masks how thankful he is for having someone that cares about him, in turn, enough that they don't exactly want him killing himself just because he occasionally doesn't know when to say when.

his grin is slow and easy as she takes in everything around them, knowing that he'll have a bit of explaining to do once she's torn her attention from the stars overheard long enough to ask questions. it's more than just odd for him to go out of his way like this, but it's a small bit of comfort before he surrounds himself with darkness and death and disease and all of that again - not to mention open himself up to the bothering of a captain that likes to make his days seem longer just by popping in at random intervals and giving him hell because he can.

there's a soft chuckle as she flails and finally takes the flask from him, hands settling on his hips as he continues to look skyward for a moment before answering. ]

Georgia. Not too far from where I grew up, actually. I always liked how clear it was out here.

[ a beat of a pause. ] Aw, hell. Drop the 'doctor' for a bit, huh? I'm Leonard down here.

All right, Leonard. I'm Christine.

[He knows her name, she's sure, but she offers it all the same. It's good manners, and she was raised as right as he was. But it's also something she's particular about. Christine. Not Chris, not Chrissy, not anything else.]

You grew up around here?

[That makes a little flare of warmth that has nothing to do with the whiskey in his flask rise up in her chest. This is something personal, almost private, this clearing so far out that the stars are clear and bright in the sky above, the fire, the fact that he's near his childhood home... and this is what he wanted her to see.

That thought earns him another one of those smiles as she hands back his flask. He must know them by now, the ones where her smile loses its professional edge and grows soft and warm, and where she can't quite look at him for a moment so her eyes drop. Her gaze shifts back up to the sky briefly, but then it levels out, and she takes in the rest of the camp site. The two-person tent, the blanket spread out by the fire (and it's a proper one, burning wood, not some fabrication.]

Are we staying the night?

I know, Christine. Always thought it was a nice name - though I gotta say Nurse Chapel has a sweet ring to it.

[ bones. don't you even start. you're not even drunk, you can't get away with that shit.

but if she wants to be called by her first name, he'll oblige her. he gets tired of the constant dr. mccoy all the time - especially since their first officer makes a habit out of calling him 'doctor' every other sentence, it seems.

he nods at her question, though. he doesn't often talk about life before the academy, because there are too many memories that he would just as soon forget - but this is pretty harmless. ] Used to run around barefoot through the woods, climb trees, that kinda thing. Contrary to what I'm sure is pretty popular belief, I was a happy kid.

[ he takes another pull from his flask when she gives it back, licking his lips thoughtfully. he does know her smiles, every single one of them, in fact, though it's yet again another one of those things that he would just as soon keep to himself. caring about people breeds trouble, and it's just .. easier to keep things in his own head rather than come clean about them.

she drops her gaze, and he looks skyward again. ]

I'm gonna, yeah. You're more than welcome to join me, if you want. I'd understand completely if you'd be more comfortable in your bed instead of a ratty old tent, though. No hurt feelings here.

Oh, I'd like that. Thank you.

[...Was that too eager? Oh, God, that was too eager, wasn't it. Cool it, Christine, just because he was cute about your name doesn't mean you need to get all eager.]

Sounds like a great childhood. I did my fair share of all that, but I was a city kid. I ran around in parks and the only "camping" I did was with my girl scout troop.

[Of course she was a girl scout.]

And we could never see the stars like this. Everything about this place is beautiful, I can see why you were happy here.

[He's still looking at the sky when her gaze lights upon him again. For a long moment she just watches him, content at the sight of him. He's an attractive man, no doubt, but something deeper than that settles in her chest, warm and weighted, as she watches him. It always does.]

[ you have got to be the most adorable human being he has ever come in contact with, miss. maybe, one of these days, he'll actually tell you that - but for now he opts to keep it to himself, tucked away in a far corner of his mind and of his heart, because some things are just better left unsaid until the precise moment.

her quick reply brings a soft, rumbling chuckle from the back of his throat. ] Well, then I'd be glad to have you. Peaceful as it is, it's always nice havin' somebody else out here with you.

[ never mind that he really does enjoy your company. he's glad to have you outside of the medbay for once.

.. and of course she was a girl scout. ] You were a girl scout? Really? Now, I'm tryin' to imagine you in one of those little uniforms and .. good lord. That's cute.

[ he moves to stretch out on the blanket, all long limbs and a soft grunt as he makes himself comfortable. when he finally looks away from the stars, he catches her gaze when it lingers, dark against dark, though he does see something else mirrored there. he wonders what, and his head tilts faintly to the side, contemplative as he is on asking about it.

but then he remembers that isn't exactly tactful, and keeps his mouth shut for now. ] It was always like this growin' up for me .. can't even tell you how often I used to come out here with just a blanket and sleep under the stars. Kinda why I wanted to come out here tonight.

[ pause. ] And it's always nice to want to share something with someone close to you, right?

Yeah, I was a girl scout. All the way up to Girl Scout Ambassador when I graduated from high school. They wanted me to be a Campus Scout, keep volunteering, but I was in the nursing program. I barely had time to eat or sleep, let alone do anything else.

[...of course she was an overachiever, too.

She follows his lead, lowering herself onto her back, ankles crossed, arms folded across her stomach. She looks up at the stars again as he talks, and she's ready to compliment his choice, his desire to come out her and enjoy it or relive old memories.

And then he says, basically, that he wants to share something with someone he's close to. ...Does he mean her? He must, there's no one else here.

For a moment, she's not sure how to take it. Impulse has her reaching over, lightly closing fingers around his wrist.]

It always is, yes.

Ever go around selling cookies? 'Cause that's about the only damn thing I know about that nonsense. That, and Samoas are delicious.

[ bones, really. only you.

he settles back on his elbows as he talks, more than comfortable with his surroundings and the company as he lets a little bit of himself be shown, something that happens to be a lot softer than the gruffness of the doctor that every other person on the ship knows him as.

but yes, it means her. for as much as he can't come right out and say it, it's as much of an admission as he can think to give.

when her fingers close around his wrist, it's light enough that he can slowly break her grasp and end up threading their fingers together. it's not something that he would have ever thought to do before now, but this feels .. different in so many ways that everything before it hasn't, and .. well.

why not.

his thumb brushes over the back of her hand absently as he rumbles something in response. something pleased. ] Glad you think so.

Yeah, I sold cookies. I earned almost every merit badge, too.

[She falls silent a long moment when his fingers lace between hers.

...Christine Chapel, you are a grown-ass woman, a registered nurse, a PhD twice over, and a Starfleet officer. Your heart should not be pounding in your chest like you are fifteen and the cutest boy in school just took your hand. Good lord, woman.

She rolls mostly onto her side, facing him, still holding his hand.]

How far is home from here? The house you grew up in. Is this part of your family's property?

[ before he can really keep himself from opening his mouth - ] That's adorable.

[ and then he stops, clearing his throat as though he's just realizing what he's just said, blinking and welp. there you go, leonard, taking a page out of jim kirk's book and not thinking before you open your mouth.

christine rolls over onto her side and he settles back fully against the blanket, chancing a sideways glance and allowing his mouth to curve upward at the very edges. how is it so easy to smile around you? ] It is, actually. We had a lot of land, not that we ever really did anything with it. Home's not all that far from here. Parents still live in the same house.

[This is his boyhood home. The place where his family still lives. The place where he played and ran and where he still comes to look up at the stars even though they're about to go spend five years out among them.

And he brought her here.

She's not sure she has words for how that feels.

She shifts closer, resting her head on his shoulder.]

Thank you for bringing me here.

[ it does mean quite a bit that he'd thought to bring her here; this is something that, quite frankly, he's never shared with anyone before. hell, it means a lot to be able to share this with her, and it shows in the way he lightly rests his head against hers when she leans against his shoulder, a soft, contented noise cropping up from the back of his throat.

there's a smile in his voice, if she cares to look up and catch it. ] S'nice to think I had someone to share it with. Thanks for indulging me and coming along.

[She does look up and catch that smile; it makes her own grow more warm and wide. It feels right that she should be here: Georgia, his family's home, here at his side under the stars as they get ready for her to be up there at his side out among the stars.

It all feels right in a way that nothing else has, for a very long time.]

It's my pleasure.

You ever need someone to share anything else with... I'm here.

picture prompt meme.

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