The next morning found a crotchety Leonard McCoy setting out for his shift. It had taken him a long time to fall asleep, resulting in him getting up late. He didn't have time for breakfast and a shower, so eating fell by the wayside. The lack of food didn't help the throbbing headache behind his eyes or his mood. Grabbing a protein bar from his nightstand and hoping not to run into Jim on his way to sickbay, so his friend wouldn't find out and hold such actions against him whenever he attempted to lecture the younger man on skipping meals, Leonard exited his quarters and walked straight into Ge'Ha and Te'Bora. He had not noticed the two lingering in the corridor. In his defence, his mind was elsewhere and he still hadn't had any coffee, making it possible to miss a mountain, never mind two slender young aliens. He blinked at them confusedly, trying to figure out why the hell they were standing in front of his quarters in the first place.
Good morning, doctor, "Ge'Ha said, greeting him with her usual bright smile, "though is it really morning on a spaceship? It's not as if there are actual days."
"Try not to get off topic sister," Te'Bora scolded her. "He looks confused as it is."
"True," Ge'Ha agreed, giving Leonard a comforting little pat on the arm. "We just wanted to remind you that you are the only one who knows the original history of what happened on Vulcan. The others now have a new history."
'Huh,' Leonard thought to himself as he continued to stare at the two in a bewildered manner. 'Are they saying they actually pulled it off?'
"You might want to remind yourself of that from time to time to keep yourself from saying or doing something that will only end up upsetting you," Te'Bora offered as one who had witnessed such in the past.
"Not that there is too much risk of that happening in this case since the whole relationship was only known to the two of you," Ge'Ha sneered, allowing her disdain for the arrangement Leonard had with Spock to come through in her tone.
"And most other slip-ups could be written off as simply remembering incorrectly," Te'Bora noted with a shrug, "though it is a pity we will be departing today or we could have helped with the adjustment in your personal history."
"Unfortunately, we did not realize the best course of action until yesterday," Ge'Ha lamented, a slight frown momentarily crossing her usually cheerful face.
Leonard, who had been following the conversation much like one watched a tennis match, was about to ask what exactly she meant by that when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning in the direction of the distraction, he spotted someone he could snap at, something he desperately needed at this moment. "I know damn well my quarters are not along the way to anywhere you need to be this morning."
Jim Kirk smiled cheerfully at his best friend and the two very lovely besotted aliens he was standing with just outside his quarters. There was no doubt from the grin what conclusions the Captain had jumped to and not without some justification. The circumstances were incriminating, which did not help improve Leonard's already bad mood, nor did the words that his friend spoke in answer to his snappishness. "Hey, Bones, came to find out why you left me at the mercy of the cold front. I mean, I like Spock and Uhura, but they are not a fun start to the morning. But I can see you were otherwise occupied." Jim gave his friend what could only be described as a leer.
Leonard shot the two Abrbonians a hostile look before taking a deep breath and handling a changed life, one with a little more change or, maybe he should say, a little less change than he was expecting. Spock and Nyota had had a friendly enough break up, but they hadn't both shared breakfast with the Captain since it had happened, not unless the entire senior staff was present. Of course, Leonard hadn't really believed there would be any change, but it would seem that the Abrbonians might actually be able to do what they claimed. He really should have known, even after a relatively short time in space, that if any aliens could change history they would find the Enterprise. Pressing his fingers into the bridge of his nose to hold off the looming migraine, the doctor ignored the implications of it being Jim and only those two at the table and simply grumbled, "I am not your trained monkey, there to get your morning off to an entertaining start. Learn to amuse your damn self."
Jim laughed at the image of Leonard as a "trained monkey" that floated through his head before nodding in the direction of the twins and snickering. "But you're the one with the interesting tales to tell these days."
Leonard rolled his eyes at that. "There is no story, asshole. They, like you, just got here." Of course, they, unlike Jim, had put in a busy night of changing what was. And, oh,
"Yeah, yeah," Jim said with a wave, clearly not believing in his friend's innocence. As he turned to leave, Jim called back, "Try not to be late for you shift. Hate to have you reported to the Captain for being derelict in your duties."
Leonard muttered incomprehensibly for a few moments before redirecting his crappy mood at the two aliens who were at the root of most, if not all, of it, though, in fairness, he may have actually agreed with the actions taken. He was still a little fuzzy on that. In a voice dripping with anger, Leonard started in on the two. "I don't remember anything about getting his girlfriend back. It was his deceased mother. What the hell is that all about? Plus, there was the small matter of her dating someone else, though at least neither of them remembers that, right?"
Neither Abrbonian was perturbed by the outburst. They had experienced much worse in reaction to their assistance. Most species needed time to adjust to the changes, and they had not expected humans to be any different.
"And while we're on the topic of your changes, what did you mean by 'best course of action' anyway?" Leonard demanded. That phrasing was highly suspicious. "I thought this was about bringing happiness back into Spock's life. And how do I even know you actually did that? Bring back his mother, I mean. You're not exactly fond of him, so why do something nice?"
"The fact his mother did not die will be confirmed soon enough," Ge'Ha said as she rubbed the doctor's arm in a soothing motion. "You are the one who is undertaking an act of kindness for your friend. We were simply offering a way to correct a wrongness."
"A wrongness?" Leonard raised an eyebrow up to his hairline at that word. "And who decided there was a damn wrongness needing to be righted?"
"We did, of course," Te'Bora replied with a surety in what they had decided.
"And may I say you've done a peachy job so far," Leonard snarled, the sarcasm unmistakeable, even to two aliens not overly familiar with the concept. Turning on his heel, he stormed away from the two Abrbonians, who, despite their long legs, had to jog a little to catch up with him.
"There is always a little pain after such changes," Ge'Ha explained. "It was a sacrifice on your part, and sacrifices hurt or it would not be much of one."
"Oh, I got the pain part down pat," Leonard snapped as he headed to sickbay with the two aliens in tow. "I mastered that long before you two popped up in my life to help."
"This way allowed you to perform an act of kindness for a friend, not just experience the pain," Te'Bora reminded him.
The comment brought Leonard to an abrupt halt. The twins kept going for several steps before they realized he was no longer with them. Turning to look at the doctor, they saw eyes with raw pain shining through. "I may not have lost a whole planet, but I am down two parents, one marriage and have a daughter I never get to actually see. I think I deserve a little act of kindness myself. Did you ever think of that during your plotting?"
"Of course we did," Ge'Ha informed him as she stepped forward and placed her hand on his cheek. "Now that the events have been put into motion, you do not want to try to prevent them. The ramifications of interference are not pleasant. Accept things as they are and will be, and true happiness will come to you."
"Really? True happiness?" Leonard honestly couldn't see how their actions could lead to any such thing. He had lost one lover, even though he had had doubts about how long their relationship would last. Meanwhile, the other party in all of this not only got his mother back but was happily involved once again, or, more accurately in the minds of everyone else, still happily involved with someone who wasn't him. As Leonard resumed his short trip to sickbay, Ge'Ha and Te'Bora continued to inform him of the changes. Their comments were laced with vague warnings about the outcome of failing to accept what was now his reality.
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