Aviophobia (Leonard McCoy)

28. Surprise

Four Years Later
It didn't matter that they were three years into their five year mission and that she had experienced standing in the transport room waiting on Jim to get back countless times now, it still put Kate's stomach into knots waiting on Jim to get back on board the Enterprise safely after going down to a new planet.  He was currently down speaking to the Tenaxi, trying to broker a peace deal between them and the Fobonese.  However, the two planets had a long history of violence against each other, so it was unlikely that Jim's message would be well received.

Her stomach did seem to be in an unusual amount of knots today, though, as she sat down next to Scotty and put her head in her hands and let out a sigh.

"You good, lass," Scotty asked her.

Kate took a deep breath and nodded her head before sitting up and saying, "Yeah, I just haven't been feeling well.  I always start feeling a little stir crazy after being on the ship for so long.  Getting to Yorktown today will do me some good."

Scotty laughed before saying, "Don't let your dear husband hear you say that."

Kate laughed again, stopping quickly as it unsettled her stomach too much, before she said, "It still shocks me that he ever joined Star Fleet, as much as the man hates flying.  You think he'd get use to it by now."

Scotty chuckled before saying, "Aye, lass, but you think you'd be use to it as well."

Kate nodded and said, "Touche, Scotty.  Touche," and continued to think about how unwell she was feeling.  It had to be more than just going stir crazy and being worried about Jim.  Something just felt too off, so she made a mental note to give herself a scan and do a quick blood test once Jim got back on ship before she, Jim, and Leonard met up at the ship's bar this evening.  She wanted to make sure she wasn't sick, especially before they got to Yorktown and she and Leonard got to celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary.

Thinking of the past three years of working with her husband brought a smile to Kate's face.  Some people say that it's better to not work with your spouse, but that couldn't have been further from the truth for the two of them.  She and Leonard were good doctors separately.  Working together, it's like they were unstoppable and there wasn't a medical mystery they couldn't figure out.  And being around each other in such close quarters all day sure had it's benefits of building up romantic tension.  Sure, the first several years of marriage were the honeymoon phase, but Kate wasn't convinced it was ever going to end for them.  She thought she was in love with him before they got married and the day they got married.  The extent to which she loved the man now, though, was almost unfathomable to her, and she was so grateful every single day for the opportunity to be with her husband as much as she was.

She was pulled from her reverie by Jim calling in saying, "Scotty, get me out of here!"

Scotty sat forward in his seat, seeming surprised, and said, "That was quick!"  Frankly, Kate was surprised too.  There was no way the Tenaxi agreed to peace that quickly.

The unease in her stomach increased when she heard the anxiety and stress in Jim's voice as he screamed, "Scotty!"

Scotty began working on locking in on his signal, but said, "There's a lot of surface interference, sir."

Jim, still sounding like he was under a lot of stress said, "Scotty, get me out of here now!"

Kate added to his pressure by saying, "Scotty, Jim sounds like he's in trouble."

Scotty waved her back and said, "Alright, alright.  Locking in on his signal," then pressed a button and Jim began to appear on the transport pad.