The Cadet

Round Two

BONES POV

The bell rang, signifying the start of the match. I watched with anticipation as Evelyn and the other fighter circled each other. He was much larger than she was, and seemed to be very familiar in the ring.

"You think she'll be alright?"

I looked at her grandmother next to me, her old green eyes brimming with worry.

"She'll be fine, Evelyn is a fantastic fighter. I've never seen her lose a fight." I explained, resting my hand on hers. "Don't worry gorgeous, she's got this."

We both turned our attention back to the fight as they engaged each other. The male fighter had reach and size on her, but Evelyn was always faster thanks to her petite size. However, he was quick to recover as she parried his attack, and grabbed her neck to being a beating on her ribs. I stood up, angered at the scene.

"Come on, ref! That's illegal! Article ten, line four!" I shouted over the crowd who had grown displeased as the male fighter relentlessly punched Evelyn.

Finally, he let her go, his chest heaving from his attack. Evelyn was shaking, obviously shocked from his aggression.

"Is she alright?"

I looked behind me at Spock, who showed an alarming amount of concern considering his Vulcan heritage.

"She'll be okay. She's a tough cookie." I replied, surprised to see the colleague here as an audience member.

Round one ended, and every round after that was just as brutal as the first. The crowd grew more agitated with each illegal hit, and it became quickly apparent that there would be no calls from the ref. Evelyn held on, but her ribs were bruising and she had blood tricking from her brow. She looked tired, but she was obviously pissed.

The bell rang again as the next round started, and she wasted no time. Evelyn expertly tumbled around her opponent and shot several quick but powerful jabs at her opponent. He stumbled, obviously caught off guard by her sudden energy, which gave her an opening. She delivered a quick punch across his face, disorienting him while the crowd counted down. The ref called the match while the opponent struggled to stand back up.

I beamed at Nan, who looked relieved that the bloody beating was over.  "See? I told you she would come out on top."

"Of course she would, she's my granddaughter." Nan replies with a smirk. A commotion tore our attention back towards the ring. The male opponent had tackled Evelyn and they both when flying over the ropes.

I reacted quickly, vaulting myself over the short stadium wall to help break up the fight. I grabbed Evelyn from under the hulk of a man as someone pulled him off of her. She grabbed onto me as I pulled her closer to my chest.

"Listen pal, if you are gonna be a sore loser you can take it up with me and I'll show you some of my nice Southern hospitality." I yelled, hugging Evelyn close.

"Bones, I can't breathe."

I hurriedly released her, giving her face a once over before checking her ribs and such for any other injuries. "Are you okay? You took quite the beating in there, maybe I could-"

"Leonard." She said, making me meet her eyes.

She had kept her face well defended, so she didn't have many bruises, just a small cut on her brow that trickled down her face. Her eyes told me she was exhausted, and most likely in quite a lot of pain.

"Come on. I've got you." I said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and leading her back towards the locker rooms. I would be lying if I said I didn't care about Evelyn. She reminded me of myself when I was younger, brash and full of adventure. From the moment I met her I knew I would always look out for her. She was the sister I never knew I wanted.

"Really, Bones. I'm fine. A little worse for wear, but fine." She said, sitting down on the table in the locker room.

"You stop your fussin' and let the man do his jobs before I have to give ya another beatin'." An elderly voice said. I turned to look at Nan, who had a mean look on her face.

"Yes, Nan." Evelyn said, defeated the moment her grandmother spoke up.

I let out a hearty laugh as I prepped some ice. "Man, anyone who can put Sparkle here in line must be some spitfire." I said, gently applying it to Evelyn's ribs. She hissed in pain at both the pressure and the cold.

"Damn, Bones. A little warning." She said, giving me a playful glare.

I shushed her and began to clean up the cut on her face. As I did, Nan reprimanded Evelyn.

"Why'd you let that wanker beat you up so much? Yer lucky he didn't have a clean shot at yer face, or else you'd have a hard time lookin' fer a husband." She said, sitting down on a nearby bench.

"Nan, I'm about to be a certified starship surgeon. When am I going to have time for a husband?" Evelyn replied, rolling her eyes.

Nan didn't respond, but somehow I knew it wasn't the end of the conversation. I worked in silence for a few minutes until the door opened back up and Spock stepped through.

"I apologize. I was detaining the other opponent. He was quite the handful." He commented, coming to get a look at Evelyn.

She looked pretty rough. While her face was mostly clear of bruising, her body was not. She had deep purple bruising on all sides of her torso, and some scrapes from the rough leather of the gloves. By the way she breathed it was easy to tell her rib cage was sore.

"You're gonna need to take it easy for a few days, Sparkle. No stairs, no running, and no boxing." I said, taking a step back to help her off the table. She winced as my hand came into contact with a particularly nasty bruise. "I'll give you a ride home."

"No, you need to take Nan home. I'll walk." She argued not even bothering to hide herself as she took off her uniform. I quickly turned around, glancing at Spock who had a hilariously embarrassed look on his face.

"No you won't. Besides the physical strain on your body, if you get jumped you're as good as dead. Your body can't handle anything else right now." I said, taking off the gloves and disposing them in a nearby trash bin.

"Leonard. I'm fine, it-"

"Evelyn, it is futile to argue. I'll escort you to your dorm and Dr. McCoy will take your grandmother home." Spock interrupted, turning around to give her a stern look. Evelyn rolled her eyes but agreed, hugging her grandmother goodbye before heading out with Spock. I watched as they walked away, curiosity getting the better of me as they seemed to get closer.

My big brother instincts kicked in and I secretly vowed to figure out what was going on between them.