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“What’d you say?” Bones asked as he, Spock, and Jim took their positions on the transporter pad.
“I didn’t say anything,” Jim said, looking at his friend from head to toe.
Bones flinched when he heard the voice again but Jim’s mouth didn’t move.
“If this is your idea of getting out of this mission, it’s not going to work,” Jim said, giving Bones the once over before returning to his position.
“Perhaps Doctor McCoy should stay behind,” Spock said. He, like everyone, was aware of the doctor’s mistrust of the transporter. This time was different, he couldn’t sense Bones’ emotion, but the alarm in his eyes was palpable.
“Normally, I’d agree with you, but we need him to make an assessment of what the medical crew will need on the surface,” Jim said. “I’ll make it up to you, Bones.”
Bones didn’t hear him or the order to energize. The voice, Jim’s voice, as distant sounding as it was, also whispered directly into his ear. Whoever this Jim is, was not having a good night. In fact, he sounded like he needed a hug. Bones sent off a silent prayer, hoping for just that as the twinkling lights engulfed their bodies. Seconds later, only Jim and Spock arrived on the other side. The captain spun around, hoping Bones, and Scotty were playing a prank. Scotty promised they weren’t and confirmed Bones was transported somewhere else. His signal was practically nonexistent.
“Shit,” Jim huffed, kicking himself for not listening.
Heat. A wet summer’s heat, thick with the smell of oncoming rain is what Bones felt first. It was a lot like home. Bones took a minute to bask in the warm embrace until he realized the scenery did not match the planet their mission had taken the crew of the Enterprise.
“Shit,” Bones rolled his eyes, flipped open his communicator, and snapped it shut. “No service. Typical.”
“Who’s there?”
Bones whirled around thinking the small landing party was in trouble. Doing a double-take because this wasn’t his Jim. This man was unkempt, scrawny just like his best friend, maybe thinner due to a poor diet. His dirty blonde was longer, it needed to be washed, and really fucking handsome with the beard and mustache combo.
“I won’t ask you again,” Not Jim said, aiming his shotgun at Bones. “Who the hell are you?”
Bones ears tingled hearing the deep Southern accent. It was strange and oddly arousing coming out of the doppelganger’s mouth. Bones raised his hands in the air and kept eye contact with the stranger. “My name is Dr. Leonard McCoy. I’m not a threat to you mister.”
“You don’t look like a doctor.” This man refused to put down his gun. He was a hard one, like Jim but different. He was willing to kill on-site if he was left with no choice. Sure, the man standing before him looked like death warmed over. Actually, if Jim were here, he’d probably say his look-alike reminded him of Bones when they first met.
“I was at a, uh, costume party,” Bones cringed at his own lie but he had to say something.
“In August?”
“Yes?” Bones shifted on his feet, widening his stance. “I’m not armed. You can search me if you want.”
“Alright.”
“Since you’re gonna be close to my family jewels, can I get your name?” Bones asked.
“Toby.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Toby,” Bones said, trying and failing to keep himself from blushing when Toby patted between his legs. Toby didn’t look convinced but at least he wasn’t pointing his gun at Bones anymore.
“What’s that?” Toby glanced at Bones’ communicator.
“It’s my phone,” Bones replied, flipping it open and shutting it before Toby could notice there wasn’t a keyboard where there should be one.
“Jesus fucking Christ? A flip phone? I know we’re in the middle of nowhere but that doesn’t mean you gotta carry around a fossil,” Toby said.
“I’m not big on change,” Bones said.
Toby put all of his weight onto one hip, tilted his head to the side, and considered the doctor with those gorgeous blue eyes.
“You from around here?” Toby asked.
“Atlanta,” Bones replied.
“You’re a long way from home, Dr. McCoy,” Toby said, motioning for Bones to follow him up the dirt path.
“What brings you to the great state of Texas?”
“Medical convention,” Bones replied. It was always the safest answer because it never warranted follow-up questions.
“How did you end up out here?”
“Would you believe that I was kidnapped?” Bones asked because it was technically true.
“No, I would not,” Toby smiled but it was nowhere near reaching his eyes. It was haunting to see a person with Jim’s face look so sad. “But you’re entitled to your secrets. Like every man is.”
“Thank you, Toby. Lovely place you have here. I’m sure it looks better in the daylight,” Bones teased. He was determined to make this guy smile. The way Jim used to when they first met.
“It’s not much but it’s home. Come on inside, get you changed out of that costume ,” Toby said and held the door open for him.
“Thank you.”
The inside of the house was nice. Like it had just been remodeled. Bones followed Toby through the modest-sized home until his eyes caught the newspaper on the kitchen table surrounded by empty beer cans. The familiarity twisted Bones’ stomach into knots. He pushed the feeling down and searched for the date. He squeezed his eyes shut and rapidly blinked because what he was reading couldn’t be true. No. Fucking. Way.
“Hey, Toby. What’s today’s date?” Bones asked, hoping the armed man couldn’t tell how freaked out he was by the sound of his voice.
“August 13, 2017,” Toby replied, disappearing into a room.
Bones’ situation slapped him hard in the face. The doctor wasn’t just in a different universe, but he was also 243 years into the past. Twenty-first-century tech wasn’t going to get him home. Whatever hope he desperately held on to took a swan dive into a heaping pile of shit. He staggered into the room Toby was rummaging in.
“You okay?” Toby asked when he saw the doctor’s pale face. “Leonard.”
“What?”
“Do you need another doctor or something?” Toby asked.
“No, I’m fine. My blood sugar crashed is all,” Bones replied, it technically wasn’t a lie. His hands shook and his forehead dotted with sweat.
“Get changed. I’ll be back with some orange juice,” Toby said, placing the change of clothes next to Bones and then left. Closing the door behind him.
Bones covered a sob with a hand and doubled over in pain.
“How in the hell are you gonna get out of this one, Leonard?” Bones shuttered as he fought off the panic attack. Because how was he going to get home? He couldn’t magic something up as Spock or Scotty could. He didn’t have Jim here to keep his spirits up. To rally him through this crisis until they returned home. Bones quickly disappeared into the adjoining bathroom when he heard Toby returning. The last thing Bones wanted was for his host to think he was completely off his rocker.
Bones felt a little better after splashing his face with cold water and changing into actual clothes. He hid his clothes and communicator at the top of the closet behind several shoe boxes. Toby hadn’t bothered him when he dropped off the orange juice. Something Bones appreciated. Jim would have kicked down the door at the thought of Bones crying alone. He downed the glass, taking those few seconds to collect himself before leaving the room.
Toby knew Leonard was lying, not about everything, but enough to keep him from prying. Still, though, Leonard was quite the looker. Dark features, a solid build like he’s worked on a farm his whole life, and a killer accent. It wasn’t exactly safe to have these sorts of thoughts about another man in West Texas. But who was there to judge? Everyone who would give him hell was either dead or a couple of hundred miles away. Leonard looked like all of those men who he let fuck him in the bar’s bathrooms in his early twenties. Just thinking about those nights was enough to get him semi-hard.
Leonard cleared his throat, making Toby jump, and damn it if he didn’t want to take the supposed doctor out of the clothes and ride his cock until the sun rose. The figure Leonard cut in the jeans was a god sent. The pants were snug on his thighs, and the shirt he tucked into his pants brought attention to his slim waist, broad chest, and shoulders.
“Feeling better?” Toby asked, drowning the groan that almost escaped his lips with his beer. He needed to get laid that was for sure. He was never good with people, he wasn’t outgoing like Tanner was. His confidence had been destroyed by his divorce, the death of his mother, and then the death of his brother. Fuck his father, he deserved to get shot by Tanner.
“Yes, thank you,” Leonard stood awkwardly by the sofa until Toby shifted his eyes to the empty spot.
“Did you call your friends?”
“I tried but I don’t have service and my phone died while tryin’,” Leonard told a half-truth but Toby was too buzzed to care.
“Welcome to the dark ages.”
Yea, no kidding.
“Do you want help in the morning?” Leonard asked.
“Whaddya mean?”
“With the mini farm you have outback. I know I may not look like it, but I grew up on a horse ranch,” Leonard said. Fawned memories of his family spending time in the sun came rushing back.
“You’re kidding?” Toby asked, surprise shooting his brows halfway up his forehead.
“I’m not.”
“How in the hell did you become a doctor?”
“My daddy was one and so was his. We did our fair share of work when we weren’t busy. I actually kind of miss it,” Leonard explained.
“I don’t have horses,” Toby said, but now he really wishes he did. He’d love to see what kind of miracle this man could perform on a horse.
“I’m comfortable with anything. Even delivering babies should the need arise,” Leonard smirked.
Toby smiled thoughtfully. He couldn’t remember the last time he had a decent conversation with anyone. The bar flies wanted to jump his bones, the drunks wanted to fight him because of the crimes Tanner (and him) committed last year. The blowback from their crime spree was half the reason why Debbie took their sons and moved to Florida. The other half was her new man. Someone ten times better than him and could give her whatever she needed and wanted. Leonard was surprisingly easy to talk to.
“I welcome the help. Thank you,” Toby finally said, handing Bones a beer.
“Thanks for letting me stay here.”
“You can stay as long as you like,” Toby said. He heard Mulan’s grandmother in the back of his head saying Leonard could stay forever.
“You may come to regret that,” Leonard said.
“Oh, I doubt that,” Toby flashed a lopsided grin and gave Leonard the elevator eyes. Was he flirting? Maybe. Was he coming on too strong? Also, maybe. But he was feeling good in his skin thanks to the alcohol.
“Is it just you here?” Leonard asked after taking a long drag of his drink. Looks like every version of Jim could flirt their way into his bed.
“Yea,” Toby replied sadly, his vision disappearing into the past.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t pry. It’s rude,” Leonard said. Did every version have to have a tragic backstory? Just once, couldn’t Jim (and his lookalikes) have a loving family?
“Cool it with the manners, will yah? It’s fine,” Toby said. “Why do you ask?”
“I saw a photo of two boys in the room. Your sons?” Leonard asked.
“Yea, Justin and Henry. They’re good boys,” Toby said.
“I have a daughter. Joanna. She just turned fourteen. I rarely get to see her because of my work and because her mom has full custody,” Leonard said, dumping his purse out. He didn’t want to come to terms that he may never see her again. Not yet and not sober either.
Toby huffed a laugh, “Well, Dr. McCoy. That is something we have in common.”
“Sucks, doesn’t it? Not being able to see them all the time?”
“Never thought I could miss a person so much,” Toby swallowed hard, the lump in his throat fighting him. Breaking down in front of a stranger was beyond embarrassing. Even worse when they left you to your sorrows after leaving a box of tissues on Toby’s lap and patting him on the head. Toby laughed cried into his hands, hunched forward once Leonard’s door shut. If Tanner saw him like this, he’d laugh at him and call him a pussy. All in good fun. Their dad, however, would have beaten the guy out of him. Asshole. Toby wasn’t even gay.
He didn’t remember going to bed but he had fallen asleep on top of the covers, which tracked. Sleeping underneath blankets was for closers. For once, it wasn’t the pounding headache and nausea that woke Toby. It was the smell of eggs and bacon, and for a split second, he had forgotten that he had a house guest. A devilishly handsome house guest who he dreamt about like night. Fucking him roughly into the mattress and leaving marks all over his body. He quickly changed into work clothes, brushed his teeth, and combed water through his hair. He really should wash it. An Irish bath could only do so much.
“Good morning,” Leonard greeted. “Hope you don’t mind. I helped myself to your garden.”
“Help yourself to anything,” Toby said, starstruck. He hasn’t had the energy to make a proper breakfast in months. If he was feeling spicy, he’d make eggs to go with his toast. There was even fresh coffee. Maybe Leonard wasn’t a doctor at all, that had to be a cover story. Leonard was more like a guardian angel. An angel Toby was considering fucking.