Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“What’s that about hocus-pocus?”

Leonard shook his head, the corner of his mouth quirking up. He should have used a different term to talk about the bullshit Jim was spouting instead of Molly’s favorite classic Earth movie. Mentioning anything related to the holiday of Halloween got her attention faster than...well, anything other than Andorian spirits. She could drink him under the table if they stuck with those. “Jim is saying there’s this place near the wharf with a fortune teller who actually tells the, and I quote, ‘honest to all that is holy truth.’ I call bullshit.”

“You mean there are still fortunetellers?” Molly asked, sitting in between him and Jim. He knew Jim wouldn’t care that she’d wedged herself in the middle of their conversation; since Carol was still in San Francisco at the Academy Molly had quickly taken her place of “favorite female on the medical crew” while they were on the Enterprise. Not that he fancied her, but he enjoyed her company, uptightly British as it could be sometimes.

Liar, the voice in the back of his head he generally ignored said. Ever since Yorktown the crew had had a bit of a shake-up, and it wasn’t a bad thing, he supposed, but it was still taking some getting used to. Chekov had left for a promotion on another ship, Sulu had left to be in more of Demora and Ben’s life, and Spock and Uhura were married now and, obviously, still in their honeymoon stage even a year later.

But all things changed, and he just rolled with it. So did Jim, for better or for worse.

“Well, it’s not a human. Some alien race that has premonitions. But this one...” Jim picked up his beer and waved it at her. “Look. When we make it back to Earth, I’ll take you both. You’ll see.”

“I still call bullshit,” Bones said, taking a sip of his own beer, which was promptly stolen by Molly. “Give that back.”

“You can’t even have a proper pint?” she asked, looking at the bottle. “At least have a bottle of Scotty’s moonshine.”

“And how do you know that exists?” he asked.

“Because Scotty snuck me into your shared bar last week when I told him I could acquire Klingon firewine,” she said with a smirk. “You keep your loo a shambles, by the way.”

“I’d have invited you eventually,” he said as Jim tried not to laugh.

“To quote your favourite word, bullshit,” she said, taking a sip of his beer.

“That’s not my favorite word, darlin’.”

“Oh?” Molly asked. “And just what would it be?”

“Look, I hate to interrupt this game of one-upmanship, but I’ve got captain’s logs to fill out,” Jim said, and Bones was almost sure he’d be talking about the relationship between him and Molly to someone. Probably Sulu. Maybe Chekov. He kept in touch with them. “Have my beer, Molly. It’s at least Irish lager.”

“Thank you, Captain. Someone has taste,” she said, taking his beer.

Bones shook his head. “Good night, Captain,” he said.

“Don’t do anyone I wouldn’t do!” Jim said with a smirk as he clapped Bones on his shoulder just as he took a sip of his own beer again, nearly spitting it out.

“One day I’m going to murder him in his sleep with a dozen hypos,” he muttered.

“No, you won’t. You like my company too much to be locked up, and we’re almost home.” Molly had some of Jim’s beer. “You’d miss freedom too much.”

He pointed to her new beer with his. “How many of those have you had?”

“Probably too many,” she said with a laugh. “The mission is almost over! Cause for celebration, don’t you think?”

“I suppose,” he said. He clinked his bottle against hers. “Just promise things won’t change too much when we get back to Earth, okay?”

“Promise,” she said. She drew a cross over her heart with her finger. “Cross my heart and...well, let’s leave the rest unsaid.”

Among other things, he thought to himself before taking a sip. Probably too many other things, but he liked what he had with her and he was afraid they’d do something stupid and change the status quo.

And that was precisely what he hoped never happened.

Chapter Text

It didn’t take much longer for them to arrive back to Earth, and he had to admit, he was almost going to miss the ship. He’d spent so much damn time on the various Enterprises that had existed that it really had become his second home. And...well, not that there was much for him on Earth, to be honest. Joanna had gotten old enough to stand up to her mom and had gone to San Francisco for the Academy to follow in her dad’s footsteps, so that was something. But there had been so many changes and so many friends had left that it wasn’t the same.

But there was at least one other person happy to see him, he saw as Carol was there when the shuttle touched down in San Francisco. Not only was she there, but she was also very much not pregnant anymore, as was apparent by the bundle in her arms.

“You had the baby!” Jim said his eyes wide as he made grabby motions.

“I did,” Carol said with a nod. “A very healthy baby boy named James Leonard Marcus. I hope you two don’t mind?”

“Not at all, darlin,” Leonard said, giving her a hug as soon as Jim had taken the baby out of her arms. “It’s an honor to have my name go on like that.”

“I should hope so. I know I had wanted to be on the Enterprise with you all, but...” She shrugged. “It’s easier to be a single parent on Earth than it is on the ship.”

“I’ll smuggle you both in on the next voyage,” Leonard said as he kept an arm around her shoulders. “You aren’t going to get that baby away from Jim, you know that, right?”

“Yes, I am fully aware of that, but perhaps I can get some rest.”

Doctor mode switched on as he looked his friend over. “How much sleep are you getting, Carol?”

“Leonard, really, it’s not that bad. James sleeps so well and more often than most babies his age.” She leaned her head against his shoulder. “And I may have made the acquaintance of one Joanna McCoy who was happy to find someone who knew her dad while he’d been on the Enterprise. She babysits as often as she can.”

“Now why didn’t the little sneak tell me?” Leonard said, shaking his head but still grinning.

“Because she’s gathering blackmail from Carol,” Jim said. “Isn’t she, James? Yes, she is!”

“He’s a natural,” Leonard said.

“Yes, he is,” Carol said softly, seeing something in her gaze and hearing it in her tone that the sight of Jim with her baby might be a sight she’d like to get quite used to. The two of them had flirted once but he’d had the feeling Jim and Carol had bonded in an entirely different way. He’d almost wondered if Jim was the baby’s father, as close as they were, but now he was wondering if Carol would like Jim to be the father.

Could have picked a worse choice, he thought. Actually, Jim, as he was now, could probably be a good dad, and maybe a good husband to boot.

“Carol!” Nyota’s voice broke him out of his thoughts and he saw Spock, Molly, and her approach them. Carol moved away from him and gave Nyota a big hug, and then nodded to Spock. “Jim, hand the baby after.”

“My godson, not yours,” Jim said. Then he looked up. “Right?”

“Well, Jim, you’re the godfather but Nyota is James’s godmum, so share.” Carol smiled at the only person she didn’t know. “Hello, I’m Carol Marcus,” she said to Molly.

“Molly Hooper,” Molly said with a wide smile. “I’ve heard so many good things about you.”

“And a bit not-so-good, I’m sure,” Carol said with a chuckle. “And I’ve heard much about you.” She gave Leonard a glance that was accompanied with a smirk that made him feel uneasy. He couldn’t have possibly have indicated he had an interest in Molly when he was talking to Carol, had he? “I’m inviting everyone for supper tonight and you’re more than welcome to come. I think Pavel said he’d try and message me tonight so we can all talk.”

“I’d love to join you,” Molly said.

“I can bring you,” Leonard said. “I know where Carol lives.”

“Well, why don’t you escort me home and then you’ll know where I live too,” Molly said. Leonard did not miss the glance between Nyota and Carol or the smirk on Jim’s face. Dammit, this did not bode well...

Chapter Text

Molly had invited him inside after he had taken her back to “her flat away from home,” as she called it. He knew she was from London and had had a place there near where an old hospital had been, St. Bartholomew’s, and it had been learning about the history of that hospital when she was a girl that had made her want to get into medical science. She’d almost decided upon teaching at the Academy but the chance to join the crew of the Enterprise had come up and she’d decided the chance to work with him was better than teaching.

He’d been flattered when she’d told him, of course, but had intended to keep her at arm's length. But when he realized most of their support crew were younger and all pairing off amongst themselves, he’d found himself drawn to her. She was a very serious doctor, but get a bit of her free time and she was a delight to be around. He appreciated her as both a colleague and a friend, but even though he wanted more he was loathe to jump on the chance to change their relationship, no matter how much she flirted.

He just didn’t want to hurt her, even if it meant hurting him.

He wasn’t surprised that her apartment was full of flora from all over. Her specialty was xenopathology, and she’d spent quite a bit of time around the dead to learn her skills. So to have all this life in her flat wasn’t surprising, especially considering how often the time they had spent together was in the ship's botanical garden when it wasn’t at the bar.

“Sulu would be in awe of your place,” he said, looking around.

“Rather like living in the middle of a tropical forest, isn’t it?” she said with a smile. “Want a cuppa before you go see your daughter?”

He nodded. He really did want to see Joanna, but it would be nice to have a moment to just relax from everything they’d been doing to get the ship ready for docking until the next mission. It was going to mean at least six months planetside, but it would be nice to reconnect with his daughter and get to know his godson.

And, perhaps, continue his friendship with Molly. She had said she had plans while they were in San Francisco but if she could squeeze him into her life here in San Francisco, he’d like that. He’d like that a lot, actually, but he wasn’t about to tell her so.

She seemed to use an electric kettle rather than a replicator, which was nice. As much as he could make himself enjoy replicated food, it was so much better when it was all the real thing. He was a damn good cook and enjoyed doing it as a way of destressing. It had been a learned skill by enforced bachelor life, but it was something he was damn good at and liked to show off whenever he could.

Soon he and Molly each had a cup of tea. He thought it was Earl Grey, her favourite, the one she had every morning when she was on the Enterprise before she started her rounds for the day. Most mornings she brought it herself but sometimes she forgot and he’d make sure she had it and she always took it with a smile on her face. Kind of like the one she had on now.

“Carol is nice,” she said before taking a sip.

“Yeah. She’s a weapons specialist, but after...certain events, she went to work with me on upgrading the medical technology on the ship. I’ve missed her since she left.”

“May I ask what happened? Just so I don’t speak out of place tonight.”

“I don’t think she’ll mind,” he said after thinking a moment. “Carol was with us until Yorktown, when we had the incident with Krall. She had been withdrawn and sad for a while, and it turned out she was pregnant. The father was a man who had been killed in an away mission that she’d had a one night fling with before the mission and she didn’t know what to do. She wanted to stay on for the rest of the trip but also wanted more stability for herself and the baby, which was understandable, so she came back to Earth and...”

“And then I came on the crew when the Enterprise went to continue its mission, so I just missed her,” she said. “Does she fancy the Captain?”

“You noticed?” he asked, surprised because she had been farther away when it had been apparent to him.

“I could see it in the way she looked at him while he held her son,” she said. “I think he could settle down with her and be happy.”

“Are you a matchmaker?” he asked.

She tapped the side of her nose. “I have a nose for that sort of thing, I suppose. I’m usually quite good at guessing who will work out well together and who won’t.” Then she had a rueful smile. “At least aside from my own love life. There, I have a pitiful track record.”

“Eh, you can’t be worse than me,” he said.

“I was engaged when I was in London,” she said. The amusement dropped off his face because he realized she hadn’t told him anything about this before. “Consulting detective, named after the old Earth consulting detective. You know, Sherlock Holmes? And we were happy, I suppose, but...it wasn’t enough. He would always be chasing the next case, trying to expand his reputation, and I just felt forgotten. I left the ring on the nightstand and came to San Francisco to teach before getting the opportunity to go to Yorktown and join the Enterprise crew. So I took it and I’ve never really looked back.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, and he meant it.

“Oh, it’s alright,” she said, taking one hand off her cup and waving it. “Really, it was the best decision. He’s gotten involved with an opera singer named Irene, according to the news I saw before we left the Enterprise. I don’t even think he missed me. Maybe we’d fallen out of love and were just holding onto the familiar, I don’t know. But my leaving was what needed to be done.” She had some more of her tea. “And now I’ve gone and spoiled the whole mood.”

“I think I can cheer it back up,” he said, giving her a warm smile. He got one in return and then made a mental note to send a message to Joanna that he might be a little late seeing her today...

Chapter Text

He was about an hour and a half late for getting to see his daughter. Not all of it had been because of Molly; she had suggested his daughter might like a gift of flowers and they had gone to a florist nearby to pick something out for her. Molly said roses were best, and so now he had a dozen white roses for Joanna as a belated congratulatory gift for getting into the Academy.

He was more nervous than he wanted to admit, to be honest with himself. While he knew Joanna had gone against her mother’s wishes to join him in Starfleet, and also knew that she was helping Carol while they had been gone, it still made him nervous because he had missed so much of her life, between her mother keeping them apart in Georgia and the time he’d been on the Enterprise and in San Francisco.

But when she saw him she had a wide smile on her face and stood up, arms open wide as she moved closer. “Daddy!” she replied before hugging him, being careful not to crush the flowers.

“Hey, sweetie,” he said, his voice thick. She was nearly as tall as him, maybe just a few inches shorter, and she’d turned out to be a lovely young woman. She was in a dress in the same sort of style Nyota liked to wear, floral on a black background, and it was paired with a black cardigan. Her hair was long but pulled back into a high ponytail, and he saw at some point she had run red highlights through her black hair, giving it a rather distinctive look. “You look beautiful.”

“Aww, thank you,” she said as she pulled back. “Are those for me?”

He nodded. “Sort of as a congratulatory gift for getting into the Academy.” He handed her the flowers. “I’m sorry I’m late. I was taking a friend home so I would know where to pick her up for dinner at Carol’s tonight.”

“Well, I’m doing double duty with medical school and the Academy and helping Carol with James, but today was one of those rare free days so I have all the time in the world.” Her eyes were sparkling. “This friend of yours, Dad...was she the one Carol said Jim said you’ve been making goo-goo eyes at?”

He rolled his eyes and muttered a curse under his breath. “I’m going to kill him,” he said a bit louder.

“Don’t you dare! That would make Carol real sad,” she replied. “But it’s fine. Mom’s a bitch--”

“Watch your language,” he said almost automatically.

“Well, she is. She had no right to keep us apart all those years. I mean, I know your time on the Enterprise and all that you wouldn’t have gotten to see me, but I could have come to visit!”

“Yeah, I know,” he said, putting an arm around her shoulders. “But you’re here now, so that’s something.” He turned and gave her a grin. “Med school, huh?”

“Figured if I was going to follow in my Daddy’s footsteps I should go the whole nine yards,” she said with a smile. “Plus it pisses Mom of more.”

“You aren’t just doing it out of spite, are you?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I was a volunteer nurse back home at the hospital. I liked it a lot but I wanted more. Took the nurses training at a vocational school while I was finishing my high school education, and so I’m a Licensed Practical Nurse. I’ll tell you, it’s helped with the stuff in med school. Some of my classmates know nothing about how to treat patients.”

He stopped and hugged her, not caring who saw them. “I’m so proud of you, sweetie.”

“Thanks, Dad,” she replied. When he let go she nodded to the restaurant. “Let’s go eat. I’m starving and we have so much to talk about.” He nodded and they headed towards the restaurant she had picked out. All in all, this had gone much more smoothly than he had ever anticipated it would, which was nice. He just hoped having Joanna and Molly together at the dinner tonight wouldn’t be awkward. That was the last thing he needed.

Chapter Text

A few hours after he was done seeing his daughter it was time for Carol’s dinner party. He was not at all amused to find he was seated between his daughter and Molly, but he was pleased the two of them seemed to get along well. Molly had been quite impressed that Joanna was a nurse, and Joanna wanted to know all about England. He had the feeling she was planning a trip at some point, maybe with the boy she’d talked about that he had yet to meet. But really, he had no right to be an intimidating dad, even though he wanted to; he was in his daughter’s good graces and he wanted to stay there.

Soon the dinner was winding down and everyone was moving into conversations in trios or duos. The only exception was when Carol had Chekov message them, and all of those who knew him crowded around, saying hello and catching up. He noticed Molly and Joanna went off and had a conversation between themselves, and it looked as though it was going well.

When it got obvious he was done chatting with Chekov he went over to the two of them. “Having fun?” he asked.

“Oh, quite a bit,” Molly said with a smile. “Carol is quite sweet, and it’s nice to do something like this without it being in the mess.”

“Yeah, it is kind of nice not feeling like we’re in high school or something. Though this does kind of feel more like the conversations in the bar, where we had booze.”

“This wine is excellent,” Molly said. “But you’re right, it does remind me of those times.” She turned to Joanna. “You father shares a loo with Scotty and they have the most amazing selection of alien spirits in there.”

“Oh, do you?” Joanna asked. She wasn’t having wine, but she had a faux cocktail that Jim had whipped up for her and seemed happy enough.

“Yeah, well, it’s more Scotty’s stuff than mine,” he said with a grin. “Hence why he invited Molly in and I didn’t.”

“You should have, Dad. That’s not cool.” Joanna gave them both a grin as he went to take a sip of his wine. “He doesn’t know how to flirt.”

That led to him choking on his drink, and Molly looked at him with alarm. “Leonard?”

“Fine, I’m fine,” he got out, giving his daughter a glare which she returned with a smug smile. “I do so know how to flirt. I just feel I shouldn’t flirt with co-workers.”

“Why not?” Joanna and Molly asked almost in chorus, with Joanna adding, “It’s not like you two aren’t friendly.” Molly blushed at that, but before he had to say anything else, it appeared the conversation with Chekov was over and Jim was clearing his throat. Leonard suppressed a groan at whatever idea Jim might have.

“So, I thought we could all go down to the wharf,” Jim said. “Just kind of look around, enjoy being home...we could all visit the fortune teller that I was telling Bones and Molly about the last time we were at the ship’s bar together...”

“Jim,” he said, but the others seemed enthusiastic about it, even Molly. Joanna was offering to watch James and Carol was looking at him with a hand motion saying he should go, and he sighed. “Fine, fine. But if it’s crap, I’m going to crow that I was right.”

“Who knows, Bones?” Jim said, coming up and clapping his shoulder. “You might get some news that puts a smile on that face of yours.” He motioned for Carol to come over and offered her his arm. “Our chariot awaits, milady.”

“Motorcycle?” Carol asked, her eyes bright. He nodded. “Oh good.” Spock and Uhura soon followed the two of them to the door and that led Leonard to turn to Molly.

“Do you want to go?” he asked her.

“I think it could be fun, yes.” She reached over and took his arm in his and then patted it. “Live a little, Leonard. Have some fun for a change.”

“Only because you want to go, I’ll go,” he said, not missing the triumphant look his daughter gave him. “Come on. Let’s make sure Jim doesn’t get himself in trouble.” Molly chuckled at that and they headed towards the door. He had a sinking suspicion that tonight was going to make things very difficult in the future for him and Molly to simply stay friends, but there was no way he could voice that when everyone seemed to want them to be more.

But what did she want? That’s what he wondered most of all.

Chapter Text

He wondered how Jim had heard of this supposed fortune teller because the entrance to their place was down the smallest alley in San Francisco, he reckoned. They all had to go through in a single file line to the other end of the alley, where there was a garden that was well lit and covered with a terrarium-type roof. There was a door there and a small group of people waiting around the various seats and whatnot. “This looks rather like a garden party,” Carol remarked, still holding Jim’s hand from their moving down the alley.

“Not everyone gets picked their first time here, but I get the feeling we will,” Jim said with a grin. “I got told to bring my crew.” Then he pointed at him and Molly. “Especially you two. They said they had something to say to the skeptic.”

“Hell, Jim, you are such a fool,” Leonard muttered, shaking his head. “That could have been any number of people.”

“No it wasn’t, Leonard McCoy,” a voice said from behind the door. It had a musical lilt and sounded multi-tonal. “Bring your female friend to the room behind the door.”

A small path parted between the people crowded nearest the door almost to his feet, but before he could say anything Molly had grabbed his hand and began to walk towards the door, and all he could do was follow her as the rest of their friends made their way to seats to continue conversations or start new ones with strangers.

Molly got to the door and opened it, and there was a warm amber light-filled room with a slight smoky haze smelling of peach. He felt slightly lulled by that, as peaches reminded him of home, but the minute he thought that he felt his hackles go up. “Not going to be tricked by the smell of fresh peaches,” he muttered.

“Peaches?” Molly asked, and he saw in the dim light she was frowning. “I smell cinnamon and cardamom and apple, like spiced cider.”

That was...unusual, but soon they were greeted by a veiled alien. The only way Leonard could tell they weren’t human was the blue skin. “No one smells the same thing when they enter the room,” the fortune teller said with a gesture indicating they should sit. “But those that have their fates tied smell similar things.”

“So us smelling food means we’re fated to be together?” Leonard asked.

“Perhaps,” the fortune teller said. “Let us see, shall we?” They sat and Leonard crossed his arms across his chest. “It’s a good thing I need not touch you in any way because I doubt you will give me your hand, though perhaps Margaret will be far luckier.”

“Oh, Bones doesn’t like me like that,” Molly said, ducking her head down, and he almost wanted to say the hell with it, yes he did, can we go on a proper date now? But he stopped himself and looked away.

“Perhaps that is a closely held secret, it seems,” the fortune teller said. “But your fates are destined to be tied together, and soon the universe will make you well aware. Serendipity & coincidence, it will seem, but it will be more than that. And perhaps...happiness and mended hearts. But only together, not apart.”

“You tell Jim something similar?” Leonard asked.

“I told him he would be happy with his family of his choosing, and they would be happiest if they saw me. I will speak to all of your friends tonight. No sad news, not after all that you have been through, all that you have lost. Only happiness in things found and things regained.” The fortune teller lapsed into silence and it stretched out long enough that he knew it was their cue to leave. He stood up first and, as a gentleman would, offered his hand to Molly to help her up. She stumbled slightly, though, and fell into him as he caught her. After a moment she looked up at his face and smiled before slowly disentangling herself.

“Thank you,” she said before brushing down the front of her dress to smooth it.

“Welcome,” he murmured. Molly went to the door first and opened it, stepping outside, and as Leonard left he heard the fortune teller tell him one last thing:

“It has begun.”

He scowled slightly and made his way out. It was all bullshit, obviously, but he didn’t want to discount how right holding Molly had been. But was he going to credit a fortune teller for putting the idea they were fated to be together in his head?

Hell no.

Chapter Text

Carol had been convinced by the fortuneteller, as had everyone else, and he seemed to be the sole skeptic. It was not fun to be teased about it when they had all left to see what else San Francisco could offer to them at night, but at least Joanna hadn’t gone and he could be the level-headed one in this.

He and his daughter had arranged to have lunch at the same place, and he found out that was because there was a guy who worked there that she fancied, according to Carol, and no, she would not divulge who it was. Joanna had sent a message that she was running late with her class and to get a table for them and she’d meet them there, but twenty minutes after he sat down he got another message from her that a friend had an emergency and she needed to stay over at the dorms for a bit, she was so sorry, dinner tomorrow?

He’d just sent his reply and looked up to get ready to leave when he saw a familiar high ponytail and side of the face. Couldn’t be, he thought to himself, but then she stopped and he was absolutely sure it was Molly. She looked in the general direction of the interior of the restaurant and he managed to catch her eye, causing a wide smile to blossom on her face as she backtracked to the entrance.

Coincidence, that’s all it is, he thought as she got over to his table. “You look rather alone,” Molly said.

“Joanna was supposed to be joining me for lunch but one of her friends had an emergency. I’m sure I’ll hear all about it at dinner tomorrow if she shows up. She’s got a life here so she’ll fit me in when she can.”

“Oh, I’m sure she will fit you in as often as possible, all things considered.” She gestured to the empty seat. “May I?”

“Of course,” Leonard said with a nod. She sat down and set her bags next to her seat. There was a shopping area nearby; while most things could be made in a replicator, it was nice on occasion to have handmade things from places, and the credit system in place to use worked wonders. He was sure Jim would go on and on about the old evils of capitalism in the past, but if Jim could also get himself more of that vinyl he loved so much he sure Jim wasn’t going to complain. “I’m starved and I’ve just been browsing for so long I suppose I forgot to eat. It was good that I saw you here.”

“It was,” he said. “What were you looking for?”

Her demeanor seemed to go sad for a moment. “A wedding gift,” she said. “I was asked by my friend to send something to...Sherlock. He’s gotten engaged to the opera singer.”

“And what, you need to be happy about it?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, but it just seems to be the proper thing to do. I was looking for something simple but nice, and I got caught up in shopping for myself and getting a few things for your godson. Carol seems so nice, and with us in space when she had the baby, who knows if she got a shower? So I got some clothes and some other things, and a gift to thank her for inviting me to dinner last night.”

“You really are too nice,” he said, giving her a warm smile. “And Carol’s going to love it all. After everything, she didn’t have a lot of friends for a while, not even on the Enterprise.”

“Well, I can imagine,” she said. “But that’s not fair to her. She’s absolutely lovely and her father...well, she doesn’t deserve repercussions from that.” She took the napkin at her place setting and set it in her lap. “She deserves the world, as do you and everyone else involved in that mess.”

“You really do have a big heart, you know, and I hope you know it’s a rare thing,” he said.

“Well, I may be a bit of a minx, but I appreciate everything I have and...everyone,” she said with a smile. “After Yorktown you and James and the others made me feel quite welcome, and if Carol is in that group of a close-knit family, I want to make her feel as though I’m thankful for her company as well. I mean, my time on the Enterprise is done, so at the very least I’ll have the chance of building a friendship with her here.”

Leonard blinked. “You aren’t going back up with us on the next mission?”

She shook her head. “My specialty in pathology is being used at the Academy. I was offered a position the last time we were in a Federation port and I’ve decided to take it. Why?”

“I’ll miss you, that’s all,” he said.

She reached over and put her hand over his. “You know, there are ways for us to keep in touch, even if you’re all the way in Yorktown again and I’m here. It just won’t be quite the same.” Her smile seemed sad, but he took comfort in the warmth of her hands. “But let’s talk of happier things, alright?”

“Alright,” she said with a nod, squeezing her hand before she pulled it away. She launched into a conversation about the things they had done on their time together on the Enterprise, bringing back fonder memories, and he sat back thinking about the fortune teller for a moment. Why say they were meant to be if they were just going to be apart again in a few week’s time? Once the repairs and upgrades were made to the Enterprise, it was going back out into the great beyond of space and Molly would be here.

Didn’t seem fair, dammit, and it just proved the fortune teller was bunk. He’d prove it, he would. Just wait and see...

Chapter Text

After lunch Leonard offered to go do the rest of her shopping with her, even carrying the bags. They went in and out of a lot of stores, and he found a few things to give to Joanna and Carol and the baby on his own that Molly had said would be perfect, but they were still having trouble finding something for her ex’s wedding. It was a few hours later when the shops were looking to close and it would be harder to find a place to eat dinner if they kept shopping that she gasped. “Oh, those are lovely,” she said.

She pointing to two champagne flutes in an antique shop. The two of them moved closer and he saw initials etched in them. LM and MH. He scowled for a moment and wrote it off as another stupid coincidence, but Molly was inside in a flash and talking to the shop attendant. Soon enough they were being wrapped carefully for her as well as another set of unetched flutes that he assumed were going to go to the ex.

“So why did you get those?” he asked as they exited the shop with Molly holding the bag with the glassware.

“Because I am going to make you dinner tonight, Leonard McCoy, and we’re going to drink out of our flutes and be silly and...I don’t know. Have a good time. Enjoy ourselves a bit. And you’ll take one home for us to have champagne when you come back from your next mission.”

He shook his head. “Who says I haven’t been having a good time so far?” he asked, the corner of his mouth quirking up in a smile.

“Well, I’ve run you ragged through downtown San Francisco and you’ve not said a word about weary feet or boredom so I had thought you were just humoring me,” she said. “It’s not as though this is a date or anything. You didn’t have to stay so long.”

“So you want me to go?” he teased, forgetting about the fortune teller’s words for a moment. Molly stopped and turned so fast he nearly crashed into her, and he reached out to steady her. They were close, and her mouth was opening and closing for a moment almost like the fish he’d caught as a kid by the Savannah River when he’d go visit his aunt and uncle up there. Suddenly the image of settling down with her and a young kid in some shade with fishing poles in the water flashed in his mind and he took a step back.

Feelings. You’ve got them bad, he thought to himself, but even as he stepped back he still didn’t let go, and neither did she, at least for another moment. “No, I don’t really want you to go,” she said quietly. “Dinner? I’ll cook.”

“Anything that isn’t replicator food is good food,” he said, trying to give her a reassuring smile to say that even if they’d just had a Moment, it shouldn’t be awkward between them. Dammit, awkwardness between them was the last thing he wanted between them, because what he really wanted was to close the space between them and kiss her.

But he was a coward and he wasn’t about to do that.

She gave him a warm, bright smile in return and turned back around. He stepped in step next to her instead of behind like he had before, and the conversation flowed into something easy until she stopped again. “I know I promised you dinner, but...” She gave him a set of puppy-dog eyes at the kiosk near the exit, one where portraits could be etched on a strip of paper like the old fashioned ones. “It’d be nice to have a picture. I’ll even get a copy for you if you want.”

“Why not?” he said with a shrug.

They went into the line waiting to pay for the privilege of having their picture taken and when they got to the front of the line the person manning the machine gave them a smile. “You’re our hundredth couple today! Congratulations.”

“Oh, we’re not--” Molly said but he sidled next to her and put an arm around her shoulders, pressing a kiss into her hair.

“Did we win something?” he asked while Molly blushed.

“You did. The deluxe package. Not just the strip of photos, but all of them put on two photo cubes as well,” he said.

“Then we’ll take that deluxe package and an extra strip of the photos, won’t we, darlin’?” he said.

“Absolutely,” Molly said. They set the packages of things they’d gotten next to the booth and got in, seating themselves on the bench.

“So there are three pictures a strip, but two strips worth should make for nice photo cubes. Just look at the screen and wait for the light.” The curtain closed between them and the operator and Molly looked at him.

“You kissed me,” she said.

“Your hair,” he replied. “I panicked.” He noticed the screen was giving them instructions but he was ignoring them and so was she.

“Well, I might be inclined to be...I mean...” She reached up and gently touched his face. “Could you panic again?”

The light went off and he leaned over, letting his forehead touch hers. “Your wish, my command,” he murmured before kissing her forehead as the light flashed again. She nudged her head up and the next flash caught them as their lips hovered above each other’s and then they kissed and his mind shorted out at the thought that he was actually being brave for a bit and kissing the woman he cared about.

He got so into it, as did she, that the curtain pulling back caused them to jump apart. “You’ve got some nice photos, but there’s a few that look blurry. We can do a set again if you like?” the attendant said, and Molly laughed and snuggled into him.

“Yeah, sure,” McCoy said, putting an arm around Molly’s shoulders, feeling lighthearted for the first time in ages. “Take as many as you want, we’re good here.”

“We certainly are,” Molly said, reaching up to touch his face again. So maybe there was something to all of this after all, but the niggling thought in the back of his head was that it was all temporary. He’d go back into space for months or years, and she’d stay. But if anyone could make it work...could it be them?

Chapter Text

The coincidences didn’t stop, even as their relationship started to bloom more. He got a bouquet of flowers for free after pulling the florist’s kid out of traffic and saving his life. The day after that, the only chocolates in the area were in a heart-shaped box and they were Molly’s exact favorite. The space opera she wanted to see was sold out but he won a pair of tickets during the poker game Jim hosted. It was like the universe was bending over backward to make the relationship work, and while he couldn’t be happier about that, it didn’t help that within a month, they got the orders to go back to space in two weeks time.

He was at his apartment, looking at the champagne flute she’d made him take and trying to figure out what the hell to pack when Jim let himself in. One time in the future he was sure he was going to regret giving his best friend a key but today wasn’t it. “Carol’s gotten leave from the Academy to come up with us,” he said as he came into Leonard’s bedroom. “So she and the baby are going to be there.”

“Molly won’t be, though,” he grumbled, carefully setting the glass up on the mantle. “She’s already started her post at the Academy.”

Jim was quiet for a moment as he sat on the bed. “I never expected that you know. I mean, I know she went to Yorktown to join us, but she seems to like...normal. And the Enterprise isn’t all that normal.”

“You don’t have to remind me of that,” Leonard said.

“Well, I’m just saying...you like normal, too. And Jo’s here. You could stay.”

His head shot up as he looked at his best friend. “And who the hell is going to keep you out of trouble if I stay here, Jim?”

“Considering I’m thinking maybe things might be different with me and Carol, there’s her, Spock, Nyota...Sulu can check in from time to time and...no, Chekov would just encourage me. Scotty left the ship once because he disagreed with me, he can keep me in check.” Jim looked up at him. “You know, you’re not getting any younger. You deserve to spend time with your family since you were robbed of so much of it. And you deserve to be happy.”

“But is she going to want me to stay?” he asked.

“You’re an idiot if you think she wants you to go,” Jim said. “Trust me on this. If there is one thing I know, it’s women.” Leonard snorted out a laugh and Jim grinned shaking his head. “I mean, it’s true, even if I’m not as much of a horndog as I was in the Academy. I can see it clearly: Molly loves you, and you love her. So whenever you want to put in your resignation for being on board the Enterprise, I’ll see what strings I can pull to get you a good position at the Academy.” He stood up and gripped Leonard’s shoulder for a moment, squeezing it in comfort. “Things were always going to change, you know. It couldn’t stay how it was forever.”

“And we’re still going to be friends?”

“Who the hell else am I going to have as my best man when I inevitably tie the knot?” Jim asked, shaking his head.

“Keenser?” Leonard joked.

“You have an awful sense of humor,” Jim said, letting go of his shoulder. “Give it some thought, talk it over with Molly, and you’ll see I’m right.” He walked out of the room and eventually Leonard heard the front door close, and his gaze drifted to the glass. Maybe Jim had a point...

Chapter Text

With what felt like one last coincidence he’d scrounged up a bottle of champagne before his dinner with Molly, so he’d brought his flute with him to her place. She opened the door in a rather gorgeous on her red dress, her hair a bit out of place. “Oh my,” she said, looking at the champagne. “I’m having trouble with the stove. I’m sorry, I’m going to have to cancel the cooking for you part.”

He could smell smoke and shook his head. “We can get something else. But I have a question for you and...I don’t know, maybe we’ll have a reason to drink this.”

She nodded and smiled as she let him in. “I wanted it all to be perfect because I had news.”

“Oh?” he asked as she shut the door behind him.

She nodded again and then smoothed her hair back. “The program I’m a part of, or was going to be a part of, had the plug pulled on it. They want a research lab unaffiliated with the Academy to run the program, so there’s no sense of favoritism. Bollocks if you ask me, so I was going to try and get back on the Enterprise’s roster.”

His eyes widened. “I was going to leave the Enterprise.”

“What?” she asked.

“Yeah. Jim said I could request a station at the Academy, he’d try and pull some strings. Then I could be here with Jo for awhile while she’s studying, get some of my time with my family back, and be here with you as well. But...” He used the hand holding the flute to run his fingers through his hair. “This is a pickle.”

Molly started laughing and laughed so hard until she nearly doubled over. When she was done, tears were streaming down her face. “Oh, this is like ‘The Gift of the Magi’ in some ways,” she said. “This would happen to us, wouldn’t it?” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and moved over to him, taking the champagne flute and bottle out of his hands and setting them somewhere safe before framing his face. “Leonard, what do you want?”

“What do you mean?” he asked, moving his hands to her waist instinctively and pulling her closer.

“Do you really want to stay here in San Francisco? Or do you want to be on the Enterprise?” She was smiling widely up at him. “Because wherever you want to go, as long as I’m with you, I’ll be happy in either place.”

He thought back to the image that had flashed when they were shopping, the day they had their first kiss, of her and what he thought now would be their child on vacation somewhere. “I think I want to stay here,” he said. “Build a life that doesn’t require us to be worried that Jim or someone else will blow up the goddamn ship.”

She laughed again but then pulled him in for a kiss, and he melted into it, happy that she was so open to anything, just to have a future with him. He didn’t deserve that kind of happiness in his life, but he had it, it seemed.

Soon the kiss became hungrier, and he was lifting her up and she was wrapping her legs around his waist, neither of them giving a damn about dinner it seemed. They were going to skip right to the dessert, it seemed, and honestly? He couldn’t have been happier about that...

Chapter Text

“You didn’t tell him, did you?”

“No. You didn’t tell Carol, right?”

“Not a word.” Leonard brought up their joined hands and kissed his wife’s knuckles. The marriage wasn’t new by any means but he loved doing or saying anything with the word “wife” in reference to Molly. And as often as she said “husband,” she must have enjoyed the change in title as well. It had been quick, done before their friends had gone back up in the Enterprise, and they’d settled into a life in San Francisco with Joanna and some peace and quiet. Jim chatted him up often enough via video link that he never really had a chance to miss his friend, but he’d wanted to keep the news of Molly’s pregnancy a secret until he could tell everyone in person.

Not like they could really hide it, with her being due nearly any day now.

“Now we just have to hope Jo here didn’t say anything,” Leonard said, looking over at his daughter.

“My lips were zipped, Daddy,” she said with a smile. The Enterprise was going to be on the ground for six months this time, so there would be plenty of chances for them all to spend time together, but he knew the next time it went up in space, Jo would be on board in the medical bay and he couldn’t be prouder. Jim and Carol and everyone had been sad to miss her graduation from the Academy, but it was worth it to be commissioned onto the Enterprise upon its return.

The shuttle landing bay opened and Leonard saw many familiar faces among those leaving the Enterprise, but he knew Jim and the others were going to be on the last shuttle. After getting their fair share of good wishes on their upcoming blessing, the last shuttle unboarded and finally Jim, Carol and James came walking out…

...and it was obvious they had their own secret.

“Okay, this is just serendipity or something,” Carol said with a laugh as she touched her own expanded belly as they approached Leonard and Molly and Joanna. “We wanted to surprise you!”

“Trust us, we’re surprised,” Leonard said, leaning over to kiss her cheek. “Jim’s doing?” She nodded and then he spotted his friend’s hand. “Dammit, I was supposed to be the best man!”

“Trust us, when we tell you the whole story, you’ll wonder how we got into that predicament in the first place,” Jim said. “But congratulations! When are you due, Molly?”

“Any day now,” she said. “So you’re just in time.”

“I call dibs on godfather,” Jim said.

“That was already the plan,” Leonard said, rolling his eyes. “We’ve got a lot to tell you, and I’m sure you’ve got a lot to tell us. We’ve got reservations.”

Spock and Uhura came up to the five of them and Spock’s eyes widened a bit. “Fortuitous blessings have taken place, it seems.”

“Oh boy, do I have news for you,” Uhura said, and if it was at all possible, Spock’s eyes got even wider. She scooped up James and balanced him on her hip as the assorted friends shared a laugh before heading to have a proper reunion. Leonard took Molly’s hand again and realized that the fortune teller had been right all that time ago, and damn if his life wasn’t still full of serendipity & coincidence these days.