Title: Feed the Flame (#22, The Drabble Bin)
Author: klmeri
Fandom: Star Trek TOS
Pairing: pre-Kirk/Spock/McCoy
Summary: McCoy is far from thrilled at the moment, but his reaction seems to be the symptom of a very different problem.
Previous Drabbles: The Old Four | Those Neighborhood Hoodlums | Trapped | A Cage of His Own | Of Perky Starfleet Bottoms | An Hour Past | War of the Bots | The Best Substitute | Surprise Meeting | Little Help | Dreaming | The Tower | Brother | It’s Complicated | With Close Friends | Not As It Seems | Vulcans Can Be Grumpy Too | Upsetting the CMO | A Romantic Venture | When Your Blues Have a Gold | Show Me the Money (or Not)

Leonard isn’t happy with Jim and Spock. At all.

In fact, if either of them so much as dares to present himself to Leonard in the next several solar days, Leonard cannot be held accountable for the fallout.

From the doctor’s flame-eyed stare to the angry set of his jaw and the rough treatment his handheld scanner is made to endure, this strong sentiment must be evident to every individual misfortunate enough to be stationed in his vicinity. However, one of them clearly misread the memo boldly titled DO NOT ENGAGE THIS PERSON, because a hand lands lightly on Leonard’s forearm, followed closely by a quiet baritone near his ear.

“I believe that instrument had no part in this morning’s incident, Doctor.”

McCoy’s gaze slices sideways. “Same can’t be said for present company,” he half-growls, half-rumbles, but the dry reminder of the scanner’s innocence does halt his unkind squeezing of it like a stress ball.

M’Benga just looks at him.

Leonard sighs through his nose and reins in agitation on the verge of snowballing to a meaner verbal jab. Forcing his attention back to the medical cart in front of him, he deftly retrieves a laser pen, rolling it between two fingers before saying with a serenity he doesn’t feel, “It’s not your fault.”

“Thank you,” comes the solemn response. M’Benga adds after a pause, “I had wondered if you blamed me.”

“Could of happened to any of us. They’re tricky.” Leonard’s need to seethe reignites, doubled in intensity. He swears, “Next time I won’t let my guard down.”

Though dutifully nodding along to this declaration, M’Benga inquires, “Have you considered telling them why they’ve upset you?”

“They know,” he mutters.

But M’Benga’s mild counter of “Do they?” gives Leonard pause.

McCoy turns to face his Assistant CMO. “You think they don’t? But that’s… that’s not logical!” When McCoy’s words ring in his own ears, his face burns briefly with embarrassment, but thankfully M’Benga’s steady expression remains unchanged. “What part of ‘doctor’s orders’ isn’t unclear?”

M’Benga stares silently at him a second time.

Leonard curses under his breath, then, feeling his shoulders tense with the unspoken implication.

“If it helps at all,” M’Benga says suddenly, “I suspect the Captain and Mr. Spock meant no harm in their decision to return to their quarters.”

“I don’t care what those knuckleheads thought! I wasn’t ready to let them go!”

M’Benga’s eyebrows go up, his only reply being a hum of interest.

“What?” demands McCoy.

“Nothing.”

“Don’t give me that look.”

“What look would that be, sir?” questions the younger man, tone dryer than ever.

“The one that implies I just said something damning!”

“You said it, not me,” M’Benga murmurs.

Leonard waves his laser pen and his scanner threateningly at the man. “Stop distracting me, Doctor. Back to work.” When M’Benga is slow to react in a properly intimidated manner, he makes a sound like a teakettle boiling over, fairly bellowing, “Go on, git!”

“Tell them,” M’Benga advises before finally yielding and taking his leave as ordered.

“Bah,” harrumphs McCoy when he is alone again. He purses his mouth and slams the laser pen back onto the cart, making the entire metal structure shudder.

He shouldn’t have forgiven M’Benga, he thinks. That man is tricky too. Who knows, maybe Geoff let Jim and Spock walk out of Sickbay without stopping them not because the pair was all patched up and bored out of their respective minds, but because the man knew Kirk and Spock’s sneaking out would make Leonard blow up.

Tell them, M’Benga had reasoned.

What Leonard’s going to tell those lunk-brained fools, he decides, overcome by a sudden, inexplicable twitchiness to be nearer to them, is how idiotic they are to think they know better than this ship’s senior-most medical officer!

McCoy divests himself of the scanner as well and angles around the cart with a determined gait, heading for the department’s nearest exit. He ignores the sensation of eyes on his back as he crosses the main ward, a gaze which can only belong to one person in particular. Glancing back would simply confirm there is approval on M’Benga’s face, and seeing that would leave Leonard feeling like he isn’t capable of making his own decisions. Besides, he isn’t going to tell the errant Captain James T. Kirk and Commander Spock anything more than they deserve—that being a piece of his mind, delivered at considerable volume.

Yes, that’s exactly Leonard’s game plan.

The Sickbay doors slide shut on the doctor and this firm resolution, his earlier ire at the thought of seeing his closest companions’ faces long, long forgotten.

Related Posts:

• Stay With Me (#29, The Drabble Bin) – from December 29, 2023
• An Ominous Setting (#28, The Drabble Bin) – from May 4, 2021
• Beyond the Call of Duty (#27, The Drabble Bin) – from September 24, 2020
• Have You Heard…? (#26, The Drabble Bin) – from September 20, 2019
• Who Wants to be a Doctor? (#25, The Drabble Bin) – from May 13, 2019