Echo

Chapter 15: Three Years Later

Author's Notes: Hey all, it's 1:00 in the morning and I have to be awake in five hours, so sorry in advance for the delay in posting and lack of creativity in this edition of Sunny's bizarre "Author's Notes".

Enjoy!

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Leonard

"God damn it," the doctor lamented out loud as he gazed down at the tablet, "Only twelve?"

The staffing consultant across the desk considered him nervously as she replied, "That's all the budget can allow, sir, with all of the new doctors being added to the staff there are only so many additional nurses we can hire."

"My staff is buried and their solution is to give me a dozen Ensigns with no experience?" McCoy snarled, meeting her timid gaze with venom.

She sighed, took off her glasses and replied, "The five year mission was expensive, Dr. McCoy. I'm sorry you're displeased with the results, but you will be permitted to pick your own staff. There is also the veterinary sector to consider, they need more people as well and have only been approved to add on five."

McCoy clenched his teeth, wanting very much to rip this lady a new one, but if he only had a month to consider new candidates for his department, he would have to start the process soon to end up with half-decent nurses, and berating her would cut into that small window. Not to mention the fact that he would feel guilty later on considering how kind and patient she was, and he also knew how this really wasn't her fault. The way that she was eyeing him suggested that he was on the brink of ruining her day. He couldn't help that, though. He had a strange talent for wearing down anyone he came in contact with.

They had also decided to put him in charge of picking doctors to replace the ones they had lost over the course of the mission, including, he thought bitterly, his now ex-girlfriend who had gone as far as to transfer to a different ship.

He couldn't necessarily blame her, nor did he want to endure facing her every day now that their relationship was over. The last few months of attempting to avoid one another when they worked in close quarters had been awkward, but Leonard was thankful it hadn't lasted even longer than that.

Exhaling heavily and realizing he had plenty of work to do in the four week gap between now and their next trip into space, McCoy rose, thanked the staffer, and left her office with a dark cloud of anger hovering over his head.

Everyone who knew him in this region of Starfleet ducked out of his path, knowing better than to risk invoking his wrath since he looked like he was in a bad mood. He was planning to head straight to Kirk's office and demand the captain do something about this, but he realized as he walked that Jim probably wasn't there right now.

He and Carol were likely in the captain's fancy apartment screwing each other's brains out now that they were on solid ground. Jim had told him, in detail, the pros and cons of having sex on planet as opposed to in the open air. Leonard didn't really see too great of a difference, besides the fact that he had to work almost constantly when he was on the starship, which sort of got in the way of romance. That was part of what had contributed to his presently single status.

Same as it ever was, he supposed. Even when he lived on solid ground with every plan of that being permanent, he hadn't been able to hold a relationship together. His ex-wife was proof of that, although not all of the blame could be cast on either of them. He worked too much, and sometimes he drank too much. He was incurably cranky when he'd had a bad day, and his wife had taken that as a slight against her, assuming he was taking it out on his family when he was feeling unhappy.

That wasn't the entire truth. Sure, he could be withdrawn and a little snippy on occasion, but he didn't overreact to mistakes or blame his moods on her when the blame was undue. She was fussy and unpredictable, and required more attention than he was able to give. Things changed slightly after she had their daughter, and for a good time, they were an efficient team. The seed of doubt, of malcontent, and regret was still ever-present though, lingering just beneath the surface.