You Can't Be Too Careful [Star Trek/Leonard "Bones" McCoy Love Story]

[6.] A Little Ray of Sunshine

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's taken so long to update; this week has just been awful and I've been seriously busy with NaNoWriMo. But, here is chapter 6! Dedicated to my wonderful friend Yassi for helping out so much with this chapter! Love ya girl!

[6] A Little Ray of Sunshine

October slipped by quickly. I continued to do well in my classes. Jordan continually shot me dirty glances, but he hadn’t gone as far as physical abuse again, which I was extremely grateful for. The wound on my forehead healed completely, the welt went away, and my fingers didn’t look like blue, broken toothpicks anymore. I learned to survive on my own. I spent my free time writing letters to Astrid, watching movies, and reading books, but I found that with all the extra classes that I was taking, I didn’t have much free time on my hands. In all honestly, I was glad that I had all the work; it kept me busy, which meant that I didn’t have to constantly fret about being lonely and anxious.

November trickled by more slowly, but I figured that it was because I was excited for Astrid’s arrival. Every day seemed longer than the last, and the work started to become overwhelming. I often found myself staying up through the night, cramming for tests and finishing up projects. In fact, I’m pretty sure there were only a few nights a week when I was lucky enough to get even four hours of sleep. Coffee became my best friend in the whole world.

No word had arrived from my father yet. I had taken to calling him every afternoon and leaving a message with updates from school, but he never responded. I made sure all my messages sounded happy, though, because I knew that even though he wasn’t answering, he was receiving all of them. I left out my encounters with Jordan and Bones, as well as my trips to the sickbay for my clumsiness. Instead, I focused on my good grades and how well I was doing at the Academy. I filled him in on details of the classes and living quarters, and of Astrid’s crazy letters that I received once a week. Every time, after hanging up, I sat and held my cell phone sadly, wanting to hear his voice again.

I had somehow managed to avoid any further trips to the sickbay now that I was on my own. I had a few close calls (a nasty run in with a metal door and a gash on my finger from trying to open one of Astrid’s letters), but I was able to patch up the small damages on my own and get on with what I was doing. Even avoiding the sickbay, though, I had run into Bones a few of times. Usually I would walk away so quickly that no conversation would happen, but there were a couple of times when he asked me how I was doing and if I had gotten myself hurt at all. My answer was always, “Fine, and no. Goodbye.” Truthfully, I always felt rude after walking away from him. But at the same time, I couldn’t bring myself to have a regular conversation with him. Maybe it was the way he looked at me, or the fact that he towered over me that made me so uncomfortable when he was around. I knew he was probably a decent guy; I really did. But no matter how hard I tried to be friendly with him, I just could not do it.

November finally ended, and December arrived. It was two weeks out from Astrid’s arrival, and I was beside myself with excitement. It had been much too long since I had last seen my best friend. It was finally a Saturday, and I had stayed up finishing all of my work for the weekend, so I decided to go and do my Christmas shopping. After slipping on a thick sweatshirt, jeans, boots, and brushing my hair out, I gathered my things and left for the city. The cold air nipped at my exposed cheeks and nose, but I didn’t mind too much. Even if it was freezing, it was beautiful outside.

As I crossed the street, I pulled my hood up so as to shelter my ears from the biting wind. People were everywhere, filling the sidewalks and streets with their chatter and laughter. Christmas lights had been strung along the buildings in the large shopping center so that warm, colorful light still shone even against the cloudy sky. Shop windows advertised their holiday specials with signs and mannequins and people dressed as elves. The smell of roasted chestnuts and peppermint reached my nose, prompting me to suck in a deep breath and smile. I loved the flowers of spring, and the warmth of summer, and the leaves of autumn, but nothing compared to the Christmas spirit in the winter.