Other People's Sandboxes

Title: The Little Things
Recipient: sleepygoof8784
Characters: Chapel/McCoy
Word Count: ~1600
Rating: G
Summary: Sometimes, it was the little things that counted the most.
Notes: Written for the 2012 mccoy_chapel holiday exchange. Filling the prompt "The little things, something built around Chapel or McCoy doing little sweet gestures for the other after both a hard day and just because"

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( The Little Things )

Title: Follow Through
ST Ship Olympics Team: Team Blonde Ambition (Kirk/Rand), for Event #2
Universe: AOS
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~2800
Summary: Starfleet sought to make us a functional unit, a captain and his assistant; what we ended up as were partners.
Notes: Huge thanks to hellokatzchen for courageously throwing herself at all the awkward phrasing and errant commas that used to reside in this fic.
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( Follow Through )

Title: Say What?
Fandom: ST Reboot
Characters: Kirk/Rand
Word Count: 242
Rating: G
Spoilers/Warnings: None
Notes: Written for medie's 2010 fandom_stocking.
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"You will."

"Won't."

"Yes, you will."

"Won't."

"Yes you - you know what? I'm not arguing with you about this any more. This is non-negotiable. You will finish approving these departmental budgets, and you will submit a year end report to Starfleet."

"Aw, but, Jaaaaaaanny..."

"Don't whine, Jim. You're not five years old. For gods sake, you're a Starfleet captain. You have these little things called responsibilities. And some of those responsibilities involve completing paperwork, no matter how boring it is."

"Not gonna."

"Yes. You. Will. Or I'll - I'll -"

"Or you'll what?"

"I'll tell Christine that you're avoiding your physical with McCoy, I'll tell catering that you're looking a little pudgy around the middle, so no more late-night chocolate cake for you, and you'll be sleeping alone for the next week."

"...."

"Don't think I won't do it."

"You fight dirty, Jan. I thought we agreed no letting our personal relationship interfere with ship's business."

"It's a special occasion, Jim. And this isn't interfering. It's influencing. So are you going to start with the budgets or the report?"

"... mgpeirhrthdkjfth."

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite understand that."

"I said, I'll start with the budgets. Slave driver."

"Yup. And you know you love me for it."

"Well, yeah, I guess I do."

Title: No Choice At All
Author: velvetmouse
Recipient: valoscope
Characters: McCoy/Chapel, Kirk, Spock, Uhura and Joanna McCoy
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~2400
Prompt: Chapel or McCoy performs some kind of act of self-sacrifice for the other. How does s/he respond? Happy endings, whether suggested or blatant, would be nice. Fic, any rating.
Summary: For Christine, it's a no-brain decision. For McCoy, it's incomprehensible.
Notes: I took a few liberties with the "self-sacrifice" thing, so I hope you still enjoy this.
huge thanks to jules for helping me work out the medical details, and to seren for her usual awesome betaing. Any remaining mistakes are my own, despite their best efforts...
Written for the 2010 mccoy_chapel Holiday Exchange.

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( No Choice At All )

Title: Honor and Duty
Characters: Uhura, Scotty, & co.
Rating: G
Word Count: 300
Prompt: "they go rogue when Starfleet refuses to save Jim"
Written the daily theme of “Bonds” on comment_fic.
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“Officially, I have to tell you not to give chase. It has been 48 hours and Starfleet considers Captian James T. Kirk to be Missing In Action,” Admiral Pike said sorrowfully. “They need you to let this go.” He was a decorate admiral, one of Starfleet’s most highly respected officers. He would not flinch at the stony glare that Nyota Uhura was giving him. He would not. Well, not much anyway.

“With all due respect, sir, our captain is missing, our first officer is in a coma, and Starfleet wants us to let. it. go.?” Uhura asked from between clenched teeth.

“As I said, officially that’s what I have to tell you.”

“And unofficially, sir?” the communications officer asked without inflection.

“Unofficially, don’t get caught, Lieutenant. I am issuing the stand-down order for the Enterprise, Starbase 6 is expecting you to dock for general maintenance in 3 days time. I’m afraid I can’t give you any more than that to play with. If you can’t get him back within that time, I can’t know where you are or what you’re doing.”

For the first time since the conversation started, Uhura’s stance relaxed slightly and her eyes softened. “We’ll bring him home, sir. Don’t worry.”

With a nod, the view screen went blank, and Uhura turned to Scotty. “Well, Commander Scott, since you’re now the one in charge of the ship, it’s your decision.”

The engineer shifted uncomfortably in his seat on the bridge. By unspoken agreement, no one sat in the captain’s chair. “Aye. It’s not really a decision now, is it? Mr. Chekov, start recalibrating the sensors to find the Bird of Prey’s signature. Mr. Sulu, set course for that damned ship’s last known coordinates. We’re bringing our captain home.”

X is for Xenophobic
Characters: Reboot!Kirk
Word Count: 300
Notes: PGish for a couple bad words
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Standing in front of a disciplinary committee was not a new experience for Jim Kirk. Standing in front of a disciplinary committee where he was not the one in trouble? That was a new experience.

He tugged at his dress uniform uncomfortably and resisted the urge to shift from foot to foot. The hearing was almost pro forma, as there were multiple recordings of the. . . incident.

Jim always knew that Fitzby was a bigoted asshole, but hadn't realize he was stupid as well. Mouthing off about the Deletian ambassador at the reception celebrating that same world's entry into the Federation was a feat that dwarfed even the stupidest shit Jim had ever pulled. It had taken a great deal of verbal tap dancing and a healthy dose of the Kirk-luck to prevent the Deletians from summarily withdrawing from the Federation all together.

How that man had been allowed to become a Commander, Jim would never understand. But he wouldn't be for long.

". . . and so in conclusion, this panel finds your actions deeply disturbing and unbecoming of a Starfleet officer," the judge magistrate droned on, finally getting to the point. "As a result, this committee hereby demotes you to the rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade. You are ordered to report to Admiral Moritaka for a two week course of sensitivity training, after which you are to be assigned as a TA for all sections of the Academy's Introduction to Starfleet courses, for the period of two academic years."

Jim tried very hard to keep the smirk off of his face, but from the looks the judge magistrate was giving him, he wasn't really succeeding. It wasn't quite the punch in the face that he had wanted to give to Fitzby, but it would have to do.

L is for Lubricant
Characters: Gaila
Word Count: 400
Rating: G
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The only thing Gaila liked more than taking things apart was putting them back together again. And the only thing she liked better than putting things together was making them better than they were before.

When she joined Starfleet, becoming an engineer was never really a choice, more like a necessity. Nyota rolled her eyes at the spare parts that constantly inhabited Gaila's side of the room and frequently waged extensive campaigns towards hers. But she was appreciative when the comm unit suddenly had a search feature that could work across multiple language dictionaries at once. She was even more appreciative when their small shower unit began giving them unlimited real water.

By the end of her third year, Gaila figured she could take apart and reassemble just about any part of a starship, including the warp core. And do it blindfolded. Classes were more theoretical than practical, now, and her fingers itched for something real to do.

Salvation came in the unlikely form of an offhand comment from Jim Kirk, one evening when they were all out drinking. He knew, it seemed, a guy who ran a shop that restored old 20th and 21st century ground vehicles. After much pleading, and several rounds of persuasive sex, he finally agreed to introduce her.

The moment Gaila entered the garage, she thought she finally understood the meaning of the odd Earth phrase "love at first sight." She lovingly trailed her hands over the engine - a proper internal combustion engine, like the ones she'd read about but had never hoped to actually see, let alone touch - and ached to pick up the tools.

Steve, the guy who owned the shop, was skeptical at first, but after he watched her strip and rebuild the power source for a hovercar in half an hour flat, he unbent enough to allow Gaila to work with him.

She was hip-deep in a 1989 Bentley when the notification came in with the emergency recall of all Starfleet personnel. She swore quietly in Low Orion and looked apologeticly at Steve.

"Take care of my baby for me, will you? And don't use any of that synthetic crap on her! Real lubricant only, Steve. I mean it!"

He just laughed and chased her out, promising her the Bentley would be there for her when she got back.

Gaila certainly hoped so. She had plans for that car.

E is for Emergency Ops
Characters: Chapel/McCoy (because I am apparently incapable of writing one without the other)
Word Count: 300
Rating: G
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"You've got to. You're the only one qualified to do it."

"Qualified? I never finished my damned MD. I'm certainly not qualified to perform emergency surgery, let alone in these conditions!"

"Dammit, Chapel, you don't have a choice. I know you completed your surgery rotation. Dr. Blanchard showed me his write up of you - the bastard was practically gloating. He wanted to recruit you on the spot. Said you had the steadiest hands since Puri."

Christine Chapel flushed under the praise, but still shook her head. "I can't-"

"You can. And you will. Would you trust anyone else here to do it? None of them have any damned medical training besides first aid."

Christine looked around and her shoulders slumped in defeat. The security officer would be no help, and the pilot and the engineer were busy trying to rig up something to communicate with the Enterprise.

"That's my girl. I can talk you through it, but only if we do this now. If we wait much longer, the toxin will start to effect my speech and vision."

And therein lay the crux of the problem. Bad enough that their shuttle had crashed while delivering medical supplies to the colony. Bad enough that interference from the atmosphere had rendered all communication - let alone transporter function - impossible. But then McCoy had to go and get bitten by a helthinal, a venomous snake native to the world, with the charming adaptation of leaving its fangs behind in its victim. The anti-toxin could only do so much while the two needle-sized fangs were still imbedded in his thigh, happily pumping venom into his bloodstream.

Christine took a deep breath and willed her hands to stop shaking. She then gently caressed the doctor's face. "Alright, love. Tell me where to start."

Title: Burden of Command (The Captain Knows Best Remix)
Author: velvetmouse
Fandom: Star Trek (technically Reboot, but there's only a passing reference to distinguish it from TOS here)
Summary: Sometimes the orders he gives don't quite go as planned.
Characters: Jim Kirk/Hikaru Sulu
Rating: PG-13 for language
Word Count: 1274
Warning: Swearing, implied D/s relationship
Original Story: Five orders Hikaru Sulu hates by curiouslyfic
Notes: Many thanks to my beta, C.

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( Burden of Command (The Captain Knows Best Remix) )

Title: Emergency Recall
Characters: McCoy/Chapel
Rating: PG
Word Count: 423
Notes: Written as comment fic in mccoy_chapel
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"Oh god. I thought I'd never get out of there," she murmured against his lips.

His chuckle reverberated through her as his lips crushed against hers. "That bad?"

She broke away from the kiss and banged her head lightly against his chest. "You have no idea. I adore Gaila, but god. She was determined to give Ny the 'perfect' hen night. She must have gone through every brides maid handbook written in the last three centuries, and pulled out every. single. game or activity she could find."

"Quizzes? Advice? Drinking games? Making a fake bouquet out of all the ribbons from the presents?"

Christine looked up into her lover's face and blinked in astonishment. "Do I want to know how you know about all of that stuff?"

"I have a female cousin who's my age. We grew up more as twins than cousins. I was the one she called when half her bridal party was on the verge of alcohol poisoning after her hen night. I got to hear all about it."

"You never cease to surprise me. And I think I would like this cousin of yours."

Leonard winced slightly but did not lose the smile on his face. "Yeah, somehow I think you and Trish would get along just fine. Maybe the next time we're back on Earth. . ."

"So how was your night? Do we need to give Pike a heads up about any interstellar incidents?"

"Actually, it was one of the tamest nights out that Jim Kirk has ever planned. I was amazed. It was actually almost . . . pleasant."

"I'm sorry I dragged you away from it then."

"Don't be," he said, and kissed her again. "I'll take a night with you over steaks, cigars and strippers any time."

She pulled back again in astonishment. "You mean he actually got Spock to agree to strippers? How. . . illogical."

"Never under estimate Jim's persuasive powers. Especially when he trots out those baby blue eyes. Even the damned Vulcan can't resist."

"But - " She was cut off by a forceful kiss.

"Enough talking. I kept picturing you dancing up there, and I've been squirming in my seat for the last hour."

"Remind me to thank Geoff," she said several hours later, "for arranging those emergency recall notices for both of us."

"Already got him a bottle of that brandy he likes," Leonard said sleepily.

Christine snuggled up against his side, content that tonight at least, they would likely be able to share a bed without interruption.