dark_ages | landing party ( for thecanarylives )

landing party ( for thecanarylives )

[ He comes to with his head pounding, his vision blurred, and a persistent ringing in his ears. It takes him a while-- a good while, maybe seconds or maybe minutes, to even regain his vision properly, and to take in his surroundings. He's in a shuttle, which is completely wrecked, panels broken and burnt, wires hanging from everywhere, sparks going off and small fires here or there. They're also tilted forward slightly, so he can feel his weight pushing against the belts keeping him strapped to his chair. He looks beyond the window and he sees a lush forest just outside, trees and blue skies as far as the eye can see. It'd be pretty if not for the fact that they've clearly crashed on the planet they were supposed to land on.

Shit. Holy shit, they crashed. How the fuck did they crash? Leonard just wanted to gather some samples from the surface, it didn't even warrant a landing party bigger than two people, how the fuck did they end up like this?

That thought gets his brain into gear. Because he's not alone. He looks over to find Sara passed out, though at least thankfully still strapped to her seat. He lets out a shuddered breath, trying not to panic as he struggles to undo his own safety belt. ]

Sara!! Come on, you piece of shi-- [ His panicked grousing is cut off as his belt comes undone, and he just barely manages to brace himself against the controls rather than slam right into them. Head still spinning, he nevertheless forces himself to stumble towards her, looking her over briefly for possible injuries before he cups her face, trying to wake her up. ] Sara. Hey, can you hear me? Come on, open your eyes...

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[ Leonard purses his lower lip at the mention of a wine glass being thrown around. Yep, sounds like her sister had good reason to. You know, not that he'd want Sara to get hurt, but also he can sympathize with her sister. And all too well. ]

I'm sorry to hear. Family's always... well, it's good to be close to them. Sometimes it doesn't pan out that way, I know, but—

Maybe you and your sister still have time to patch things up.

[ Laurel had had plenty of reasons to be angry at her. Sara didn't blame her for her reaction - God knew she deserved all of it and more. ]

She couldn't even mourn us properly. Blamed me for mom and dad splitting up, which... she's probably right about... [ She frowns down at his shirt again, then looks back up to meet his gaze. ]

Yeah. Maybe. We had a couple moments before I left for the Academy. I think that's part of the reason I enlisted, you know? Show her I wanted to try and do some good.

[ He tilts his head a little at that. ]

Well— I don't know about your parents, but in my experience, there are always more issues behind a split up than what's happened with you. [ They thought she was dead. How can their break up be entirely her fault? Maybe it was the tipping point, sure, but he'd bet there were more issues in their marriage than that. ]

And you are doing some good. [ He looks over her features. ] Think you'll try and meet her, next time we're back on Earth?

Yeah. No, you're right. [ She nods, though she doesn't meet his gaze. ] Still. Didn't exactly help, you know?

[ She gives him a small smile when he tells her she's doing some good, tracing the line of his collar with her fingers. ]

Yeah. I check in on all of them whenever I'm on Earth. Hopefully this time she'll be happier to see me.

[ He can tell she's actively avoiding looking at him, but he says nothing to it. It's just something she needs to work through, he thinks; maybe a conversation she needs to have with herself, and with her family, more so than with him, much as he appreciates getting to learn more about her. ]

Well, you said things were getting better before you joined Starfleet, so I'm sure she will.

[ He'd even wager that she might miss Sara, but he doesn't know her sister at all to be saying that. ]

[ He's a surprise, over and over again. Underneath all that grumbling, he really does find a way to understand. A hell of a lot more calmly than anyone back home ever did.

She nods, meeting his gaze again and smiling a little. ]

Is that optimism coming from Doctor Leonard McCoy?

[ He lifts both eyebrows, feigning shock but mostly looking amused. ]

I know! Must've hit my head somewhere. I'll get that checked out in the morning.

[ She laughs at that, genuinely, shifting in closer and pressing a kiss to his chin. ]

Hopefully your new tricorder works just as well as the one I took apart.

Well, didn't have any hyped security officers messin' with it so I'm sure it's fine.

[ He chuckles, leaning down to return that kiss, lingering close for just a slow, tender moment before pulling away. ]

So, should I share something about myself, now?

[ She lets her eyes sink shut a moment, lips pressing softly, sweetly against his, lingering close even when he speaks again.

Nodding at his question, she cants her head up to meet his gaze. ]

Let's hear it.

[ He lets out a deep breath then, shifting slightly. There are a couple of things that come to mind, things that he knows she doesn't know about him. One particularly stands out, as it's important enough to mention, but not so heavy that it should ruin the mood.

God, he hopes it doesn't. He hopes it's not a deal-breaker somehow. ]

I have a daughter.

[ Other than what she’s learned from him organically, the things she knows from his file are all fairly normal. Nothing wildly unexpected, though there’s not a personality to be gleaned from a Starfleet record.

There’s a flicker of surprise in her eyes for a moment, and she tips her head at him curiously.]

How old is she?

[ Well, at least she's not freaking out or trying to run off, so that must be a good sign. He relaxes just a hint, letting out a sigh. ]

She's... about to turn eleven, actually. Her name's Joanna. [ Pressing his lips in, he drops his gaze briefly. ] I don't get to see her a lot. I was never very present, with work and everything, and Joce, my ex-wife, got the custody.

Doesn't help much that I pretty much just ran away after I lost everything in that damn divorce, does it? [ He heaves out a breath, putting a hand over his eyes. ]

[ Now he knows the mild sense of panic that spikes through her every time she tells him something. It's fun, right?

She's quiet as he speaks, brow furrowing when his hand drags over his face. ]

Hey... [ She reaches out for his hand, taking it in both of hers and pressing a kiss to his knuckles. ] It's not running away if you've got nothing left. [ She squeezes his hand in hers, looking up at him again. ]

Why'd you two split up?

Still had her left.

[ Granted, he could only see Joanna on occasion, and not even be able to have her stay with him until she was old enough. Sticking around was just going to be a source of suffering to him, especially when he had literally nothing else left. ]

It was... complicated. Mostly, we just drifted apart, after our first year of marriage. Absence turned to bitterness. Jocelyn is no easy person, but I also was to blame in good part for the way our marriage broke apart. And... she cheated on me, [ He says with a small shrug, not sounding particularly upset about it now. ] At the time it just drove yet another wedge between us. Pretty sure it's when I realized we were never going to work things out.

[ Sara's quiet, watching his features curiously as he speaks. One hand dropping down to rest on his chest, she props her head up on her other hand. ]

Do you get too see her? When you're back on earth?

[ As rocky as her relationship with her family is, it was still hard as hell for her to sign up for a life of deep space missions knowing it'd be years between visits back to earth. She can't imagine what it'd be like knowing he was leaving his daughter behind.

Her brow furrows deeper when he says his wife cheated, lips pulling into a frown. ]

I'm sorry.

Yeah, I get to see her. And we write, and sometimes call each other. It's just complicated. She's still a kid, and I know she likes me, but I can tell she doesn't understand why I'm not around.

[ And he can't really blame her. He's an absent father, at best. It's a miracle she even calls him that, honestly, that his ex-wife hasn't somehow tried to poison her against him. But he's not about to complain either. ]

Don't be, it's fine. [ He shrugs, offering a reassuring smile. ] Guess it just wasn't meant to be. Sometimes I wonder how it'd have gone if we'd decided to cut our losses early on, before we started usin' every little thing as ammunition in a war against each other.

[ But most marriages tend to fall apart like that, he's come to find. ]

What's not to like? [ She teases, fingertips stroking through his hair. Still, she gets it. Hard to build much of a relationship from deep space. ]

She'll understand soon enough. Kids are smarter than we give them credit for. [ She returns the smile, rubbing her hand idly over his chest. ]

That's why you enlisted? Chance to start over?

[ He lets out a soft chuckle at that. The sentiment is appreciated, but he'd argue there are plenty of people who don't like him, actually. Not that he cares about those people, but he does care about his own daughter. ]

Yeah. Maybe. [ On the other hand, she's about to enter a more complicated age, so he wonders how that might go. ]

In a way, yes. I just wanted to get away, at the time, and I needed a purpose, something to do with myself.

[ She wouldn't argue with that. She's seen his bedside manner firsthand, and there are definitely times when it's wanting.

He's still cute, though.

She quirks a small smile when he talks about enlisting, casting a glance down at her hand against the cotton of his shirt. ]

Sounds familiar.

[ Right. He does realize there have been a few times where some of his patients, or even his colleagues, forgive him his moods because they think he's cute. Or charming, that's a more appropriate word, he thinks. But hey, if it helps him get his job done, so be it. ]

Yeah?

[ He chuckles softly, leaning in to peck her nose. ]

Well, I don't know about you, but it's been workin' out pretty well for me.

[ Oh, he definitely knows how to put on the charm when it suits him. She's fallen privy to that much, despite her own stubbornness.

She quirks a small smile, wrinkling her nose at his peck and leaning up to catch his lips in a soft, lingering kiss. ]

Mm. I guess it hasn't been so bad. [ She nudges the tip of his nose with hers, smile widening a little. ] Might even stick around a while.

Oh, will you now? [ His lips curl wider too, and he leans in to kiss her again, the hand on her side moving around her to hold her closer, resting on the small of her back. ]

Guess that's my gain too, then. Lucky me.

[ She grins into the kiss, nipping playfully at his lower lip and shifting in closer so they're flush against each other. Head nestling into the crook of his neck, she presses a few kisses to the base of his throat. ]

Yeah, lucky you. [ She chuckles, slinging an arm around his side. ] Just as long as I get access to the fun pain meds. We both know that's the only reason I'm here.

Yes, obviously, [ He chuckles, knowing full well she doesn't mean that. No one goes to this much trouble for some simple pain meds.

Once she scoots close to him, he tugs the covers over them both, tucking them both in comfortably, his arm wrapping around her while his own head sinks to the pillow with a sigh. ]

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