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Title: The Dog Days Are Over (The Dog Days Are Done)
Series: Star Trek XI
Rating: Slight R because of one thing Jim says
Summary: In which Waterpark Jim and Bones settle into their new life in San Francisco, and also acquire a dog.
Pairings: Kirk/McCoy of course, but there is background Spock/Uhura, Sulu/Chapel, and Scotty/Chekov
Betas:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
inugrlrayn and maypirate
Word Count: 18,551
Disclaimer: The only thing that's mine is Georgie. Everything else belongs to a whole host of people with lawyers.
Notes: This is set quite a bit in the future, to a little more than three years after the big wedding fic. We’re fast-forwarding a bit, because I just really wanted to write this.
Some of the things that happen in this story happened to me about three years ago. Not exactly the same way, but similar enough. I have enough distance now that I can find the humor in it instead of being just like OH MY GOD NO so here. Have something fluffy and ridiculous. Or something. I don’t even know anymore.
This is forsangueuk, who won fic from me in ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
help_japan! I really hope you like it!
The house is a real house that is currently for sale in the Presidio Heights neighborhood of San Francisco. Here are twenty-nine pictures including the floorplan, so that when I say things like “master level” none of you are confused.
Anyone who gets the Futurama reference is officially awesome.
A red eye is a drink consisting of coffee with a shot of espresso poured into it.
Pets Unlimited is a real pet adoption center and veterinary clinic near Presidio Heights in San Francisco. They seem to be a really wonderful organization. Their coffee shop also exists, it’s called the Blue Danube.
For the record, this is what Georgie looks like here. She weighs about 50 pounds. Here is a better full body shot. And here is a standing shot so the descriptor of “curly tail” makes sense.
Space psychology is a real facet of psychology, dealing predominantly with objects and how they react to space around us. It also studies space-related phobias such as claustrophobia, agoraphobia, and astrophobia. It is primarily studied in modern times by Gestalt psychologists such as E.S. Reed. It’s a growing field of psychology, but it’s a real thing. Again, I’m a psych major so do with that what you will. Memory Alpha lists that one of Bones’ areas of expertise is space psychology, which is why he’s teaching a class on it at Starfleet Academy.
The part of Cadet Randolph will be played rather unimaginatively by Alicia Keys.
Yes, it is THE Emma Frost that Jim meets while walking Georgie. I just saw First Class, and I’ve always loved Emma. And I mean, she’s had sex with Tony Stark, Namor, and Scott, is it really stretching it that she’d go for Jim? I don’t think so.
Fall was approaching in San Francisco, and this meant many things, not the least of which was the start of the academic year at Starfleet Academy. Classes began that day, and everyone was eager to get started.
The first year cadets arrived a week before everyone else because of things like orientation and meeting their advisors and petty officers. The fourth year cadets also arrived early for meetings about their dissertations and projects.
The faculty, however, had been back at work since three weeks prior to the semester, which meant that Bones had been working during much of the process of home buying, moving, organizing, and commute and coffee shop learning.
Fortunately, their new house was within Presidio Heights. The drive was practically insignificant, and they could walk easily to the Academy or Starfleet Command if they so desired.
House hunting had been a bit of an ordeal. Nothing had been good enough until their realtor stepped outside of the box a little and showed them the house that Jim immediately had fallen in love with. Bones loved it too when he saw it; it was clear by the look in his eyes, although he hesitated because of the size and price tag. Four bedrooms, four and a half baths was overkill, he claimed, and it was out of their budget.
Jim was quick to point out that with Jo coming to visit one weekend every month that one of the rooms was spoken for, and that Bones could have the master suite’s office since Jim couldn’t really bring his work home with him due to the highly classified nature of it. The third bedroom would become a guest suite, while the one on the ground level next to the garage would be Jim’s man cave.
Mostly because Jim just liked saying the phrase man cave.
And as for the price tag, well…what good was an inheritance that had been sitting doing nothing but accruing compound interest for thirty years if you didn’t use it on something nice, like a home to live in for the next two decades or more?
“Jim,” Bones called out towards their bathroom as he searched for something in the still mostly unpacked area known as his office. He had put it down only a few moments ago, how on Earth did he lose it that quickly?
“On top of the dresser,” came the call back from the bathroom.
Bones walked back towards the aforementioned new dresser with a slightly puzzled look. Yeah, that was his PADD with his syllabi and presentations. He had been up until three putting the finishing touches on them. With a fond smile, he picked up the PADD.
“Thanks,” he called, once again toward the bathroom.
“I got you,” Jim said as he came out in half of his uniform with a towel around his shoulders. “Of course you know what I’m going to say.”
“What’s that, besides stop throwing your shit everywhere Bones,” Bones said absently as he narrowly avoided tripping over a box labeled books and college memorabilia in his handwriting.
“Mmmm,” was Jim’s reply as he walked into the main part of their suite to his closet in order to grab an undershirt and his new gray jacket. It was going to take some getting used to, his not being in the command gold. “Remind me to send Lisette a thank you note, she did a fantastic job decorating this place.”
“You sent her a fruit basket,” Bones said as he put the PADD in his briefcase. “If that’s not a thank you, I don’t know what is.” He placed the briefcase on the bed before stepping into the bathroom. He was in the black teaching uniform, which would also take some getting used to. He straightened his jacket in the wall length mirror before running his fingers through his hair. Jim came back in behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Nervous?”
Bones scoffed loudly as he met Jim’s eyes in the mirror. “They should be.”
“You’re going to eat these kids alive, aren’t you?”
“Eat them alive? No.” Bones turned to face him, putting his hands on his waist. “I’m just going to make it very clear that I don’t have time for anyone who isn’t there to actually learn, or for people who think they already know everything about anatomical and forensic pathology or space psychology.” He planted a kiss on Jim’s cheek. “Because they don’t know shit.”
“I love it when you talk about the incompetence of others, tiger,” Jim said with a smile as Bones kissed his other cheek. “You need to finish setting up your office, it’s the last room we have left.”
“I do,” Bones conceded with a half-smile of his own. “I’ll do it tonight.”
“I get off before you today, I can start on it,” Jim said as he leaned in close to Bones. “I can at least put the books up on the shelves.”
Bones gave him a real smile. “That’d be nice, thanks.” He let go of Jim with his left hand to check the time. “We’ve got just enough time to swing by that coffee shop you like. Want to?”
“That sounds perfect,” Jim said with a grin. “I could go for a red eye.” Turning his back to his husband, he made his way out into the main part of their master suite. Bones quickly followed him, pausing for a moment to look around the room.
“On the bed,” Jim tossed back over his shoulder. Bones looked; sure enough, there was his briefcase. He chuckled quietly as he grabbed it and began to follow Jim down the stairs to the entry level of their home. It was a nice day, sunny and warm without being hot, so they were walking to their respective workplaces. “I wonder if they have bagels.”
“If they’re worth a damn they will,” Bones said with a shrug. He had caught up to Jim and placed a hand on his back. “Almost forgot to ask, are you nervous?”
“About which part? Pretending to be PR or learning a million highly classified things that I will never be allowed to vent to you about?”
“Either. Both.”
Jim waved a hand. “Nah. I’ve been talking to Pike a bit about it. It sounds pretty straight-forward, I just have to get used to smiling for the camera more.” He thought briefly before pouting. “Which means no more beating up the paparazzi.”
“We all have to make sacrifices,” Bones said with a sage nod. Jim gave him a mockingly annoyed look.
They made their way out of the front door of their house. Bones turned to the keypad and both locked the door and armed the alarm system. Together they began to walk down their street towards the coffee shop.
All in all, Bones thought as he reached out and took Jim’s hand in his, as far as new beginnings went, this one was easy.
-----
Okay, so maybe he was a little nervous.
Jim stood looking at his new office with a slight frown.
It was a beautiful office, actually. It was a decent size with large windows that over-looked the San Francisco bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. The desk was exactly as he requested; it was old-fashioned mahogany wood with drawers. The bookshelves matched. Jim had spent two days getting everything set up the way he liked it.
There was a knock at his door, and he turned. He smiled at the woman standing by it.
“Janice,” he said warmly.
“Captain,” Janice Rand said back with a smile of her own. “I’d ask if you needed help getting settled, but the answer’s pretty obvious.”
“We both know how much you hate stating the obvious.”
She shrugged. “And yet when I’m with you I find I have to over and over again.”
“Ouch.”
“Thank you.” She walked over and handed him a PADD. He pulled up the day’s itinerary. He pulled out his reading glasses and began to look it over as she looked down at a holo frame on his desk. In it was a picture of him and Bones on their wedding day; it was a candid photo taken from behind of the two of them leaning close together, and their hands were joined. Janice smiled at it.
“That’s a lovely picture.”
“Thanks,” he said without looking up. “It’s my favorite.”
“I can see why.” Jim handed the PADD back to her and went to sit behind his desk.
“Your assistant should be here around 1300,” Janice said as she went back to business. “Which, I have a message from Admiral Pike regarding Lieutenant Sonaxx.”
“Oh yeah?” Jim looked at her curiously over top his glasses. “What’s that?”
“Play nice,” she said with a grin.
“Oh come on, I was always nice to you.”
“When you weren’t out nearly getting yourself killed.” She shrugged. “Not to mention that ridiculousness with the things you ordered those first few months. Ten cases of ‘Pert and Popular,’ was it?”
“Never going to let me live that down, are you?”
Janice smiled. “Not a chance.”
“I feel I should point out in my defense that I was joking,” Jim explained as he pulled up a file on his computer. “But man, was I impressed that you went ahead and did it anyway.”
“You did mention that, yeah.” Janice began to make her way out the door. “You have coffee otherwise I’d offer.”
“Thanks, but I’m good,” Jim said as he took a sip of his red eye. “Actually, there is one thing you can do for me if you have time. If not, I’ll get Sonaxx to do it.”
“Oh?” She turned to face him.
He looked up at her with a grin. “It’s not urgent or anything, but if you could find me information on dog adoption agencies in this area, I’d really appreciate it.”
Janice grinned back. “Expanding the family?”
“Well, Bones said when we got settled, and the only room left to settle is his office. I think it’s about time.” He made a few keystrokes before pulling up a second file. “I plan on finishing his office for him and then us getting the dog this weekend.”
“I’m sure that will make him happy.” Janice turned again to head out the office. “I can make time to do that for you. I’ll message you with website links within the hour.”
“Awesome, thanks Jan.” Jim began to read in depth about Agent Honey’s recent exploits. It looked like her last mission had been a close call of sorts. “See you.”
“Bye, sir.” She pulled the door closed as she left, leaving Jim alone with his files. In another window he did a search for local dogs up for adoption. Wow, there were tons, and most were little puppies.
Puppies were out; Bones put his foot down about that. Jim readily agreed, because with their work schedules neither of them really had time to do any housebreaking or rudimentary training.
He continued to look through the pictures until one dog in particular caught his eye.
It was a reddish brown color with short hair and a cream coat on its stomach and paws. It had big pointed ears that stood up, and black markings around its eyes and mouth. It was grinning in its photo and its bright brown eyes were sparkling. It had a curly tail up around the side of its back.
Jim clicked on the link to make the image larger. The dog was practically staring at him right in the face. It, or rather she, he noticed from the caption under the photo, had a name, and it was Ginger. Shelter information was listed below her picture. It said she was about six months old, that she was a mix between something called a Shiba Inu and a German Shepherd dog, and that she weighed about forty pounds.
Unlike the first time Jim had fallen in love, this time he immediately recognized it for what it was. He clicked the link for sending the dog’s info to someone else and sent a short message to Bones. He checked the chronometer on the wall; it would be a while before he got it, since he was right in the middle of teaching his first class.
Jim picked up the phone and dialed the number he saw there. The vidphone rang a few times before a kindly looking man picked up.
Hello, Pets Unlimited. How can we help you?
“Hi,” Jim said brightly. “I’m interested in a dog you have on your website…”
----
“I’m sure you all think this will be easy,” Bones said from behind his podium. “At the very least, you’re assuming that this subject is going to be entertaining, if not outright funny.”
Approximately forty people looked back at him. Most of them were interested, although quite a few looked apprehensive.
He stepped out from behind the podium and took a few steps toward the center of the lecture hall. “After all, we’re all in Starfleet. Space is a part of the job. People who suffer from agoraphobia or astrophobia have no place in this organization. They’ll all just wash out in a few weeks, and you’ll never have to think about them from that point onward.”
Bones crossed his arms over his chest.
“Think again.”
He noticed that several students were diligently typing everything he said on their PADDs.
“The basic tenets of space psychology are no laughing matter, nor are any of the space related phobias. We use the concept of object permanence multiple times every day. You’re all using the Gestalt concept of amodal perception in this very room, and understanding and knowledge of treatment for space-related phobias can make the difference between life or death on a mission.”
A female cadet in the front row stopped taking notes to look up at him directly. They made eye contact before he turned his attention back to the room.
“I don’t have time for jokes. I don’t have time for games. If you’re planning on spending your time on either of those, there’s the door.” He paced back towards his podium. “If you think you’re going to skate by doing the minimum amount of work just to get the pre-req, there’s the door.”
No one got up.
That was a promising sign.
Standing once more behind the podium, he pulled up his PADD. “If you open up the directory, you will see that the syllabus for this class is now available to be viewed. There are four exams, plus one cumulative final. There’s also an extensive written project that I will be going over in more detail as it gets closer to that part of the semester.”
His students were all frantically taking notes.
“Now you’re all adults, and I’ll be treating you as such. Again, this means I expect you to work if you’re going to stay in my class. Starfleet isn’t an excuse to joyride around space, it’s a serious commitment where mistakes mean lives. I won’t settle for anything less than the best you have to offer, and neither should you.
“I also have an open door policy during my office hours. If there are any problems, come to me, and I’ll be as accommodating as I can.”
Several of the cadets looked at him warily.
“That’s not an open invitation to come cry to me about how you miss your parents or how you don’t get along with your roommate.” Bones raised an eyebrow. “There are people in Starfleet that are paid to deal with those problems. I’m not one of them. Anything that’s related to my class is fine, beyond that I don’t want to hear it.”
The students looked less confused by those words and went back to taking notes.
“Also, stop me if you have a question. I won’t be happy if I find out I was talking over your head, and you didn’t bother to get clarification on a point I’ve made. I’m not interested in steamrolling you all for time’s sake; I’m interested in you actually learning something. I don’t want any excuses come test time for why you didn’t know exactly how perception is relevant to self-preservation.”
He couldn’t help but notice that a few people looked relieved by that.
“If you pull up the syllabus,” and as he said this, everyone in the room frantically did, “you’ll see that next class we’re discussing some of the basic tenets of object permanence, or the concept of knowing an object still exists without seeing, hearing, or feeling it. Of course you all know about that, having taken a class in general psych, if not developmental. Just as I’m sure you’re all familiar with how Piaget felt that it was an infant’s most important milestone in the Sensorimotor stage.”
More than a few heads were nodding. More importantly, no one looked baffled.
Good.
“What your general class doesn’t go into are the specific six stages of object permanence. We’ll be beginning with reflexes the next class, and I anticipate that we’ll get through the co-ordination of secondary circular reactions.” He scrolled on the screen to an area labeled as content. “I’ve posted five articles for you to read by Thursday.” Bones folded his hands behind his back. “I’m going to go ahead and end things here for today. Do your reading. We’ll discuss it next class.” He scrolled back to the syllabus on his PADD. “Dismissed.”
The students all stood as one and saluted him before they began to file out of the classroom. Bones watched them go, again with his eyebrow raised.
So far, so good, he guessed.
He began to put his PADD back into his briefcase when the student he made eye contact with began to approach him. “Can I help you, Cadet…?”
“Randolph,” she said with a smile. She had long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, dark eyes, and an olive complexion. “I just wanted to tell you how excited I am to be taking your class, Doctor McCoy. I did a paper on the Gestalt principles of space for my developmental course in my undergrad. The material was fascinating, so I’m looking forward to studying it in greater depth.”
“That’s nice,” Bones said as he finished closing his briefcase. “Cadet, I don’t have time for jokers, but I also don’t have time for suck-ups.”
“Oh no, I’m not brown-nosing, I actually am that interested,” Randolph said in a hurry. “There was something that I was wondering that pertains to your class, though.”
“Sure.” Bones looked at her with a curious expression. “I wasn’t kidding about the open door policy.”
“Well, it’s just that I noticed on your syllabus it lists your teacher’s assistant position as ‘to be determined.’ I’m assuming that means you haven’t selected one.”
“I haven’t selected one because I don’t plan to,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone as he began to walk out of the lecture hall. Randolph got with the program and immediately tried to keep up with him. “I don’t have time to deal with some wet behind the ears kid giving out As like candy.”
“I’d like to ask you to reconsider,” she said after a moment. “I’d also like to throw my hat in the ring.”
Bones stopped short and looked at her. “If you need a job, Cadet, there’s a work-study program.”
“I’m working at Starfleet medical on their rotation in the clinical psych department, actually.” Randolph grinned at him. “I don’t need the job, but I want it.”
Bones was less than impressed. “I’m not getting an assistant just because you want me to.”
Randolph pulled up a file on her PADD. “McCoy Leonard at Starfleet dot EDU, right?”
“Congratulations, you’ve memorized my email address. It’s only at the top of the syllabus, so don’t think I’m proud of you or anything.” The PADD in his briefcase beeped, signaling he had a message. “What’d you just send me, your resume?”
“Among other things,” Randolph said with a shrug. “I only ask one favor, that you read the documents I just sent you. If you still don’t agree that I’d be the perfect TA, I will leave you alone for the rest of the semester.” She began to turn and walk in the opposite direction down the hall. “I swear. Have a good day, sir.” She saluted and walked off, ostensibly toward her next class.
Bones shook his head at her retreating figure. He’d been assuming that his problem would be indifference, laziness, and goofing off. Instead he had a run-in barely as class ended with a scheming over-achiever.
He made his way across the quad to his office. Fortunately, since it was the first day of classes the likelihood of a student actually needing him was slim-to-none, unless they were illiterate or something.
Bones sat his briefcase on his desk. He smiled for a second at wedding photo of he and Jim. Speaking of Jim, he saw the message from him pop up just as class was starting. He opened the briefcase and took the PADD out. Sure enough, there were two unread messages; one from Randolph, and one from Jim. He opened the one from Jim first.
From: Kirk, James T., Captain, Starfleet Command – Public Relations
To: McCoy, Leonard, Commander, Starfleet Academy
Subject: I FOUND HER!
Bones, tell me she isn’t perfect, and I’ll call you a liar. She’s exactly what we want!
Hope your day is going well. Love you, see you for dinner.
Jim
Bones opened the attached pictures. The dog, Ginger, was gorgeous, but Bones already knew that Jim had good taste. He had never seen another dog like her, actually. It was a bit worrying that she was apparently only six months old, but on the plus side it meant she was mostly full-grown. She at least had to be housebroken. Bones smiled again before looking with a fond expression at the wedding photo. Jim had a copy of this picture in his office, and knowing that made him happy.
From: McCoy, Leonard, Commander, Starfleet Academy
To: Kirk, James T., Captain, Starfleet Command – Public Relations
She looks good, but don’t get ahead of yourself. We have a deal, remember?
I’ll stop by the market on the way home; I feel like steaks. Love you too, Jim.
Bones
He hit send, and off the message went. He pulled up Randolph’s message. As she explained, her resume was attached.
So was her dissertation for her PhD, which apparently focused on treatment of specific environmental-based phobias, such as darkness, if the title was anything to go by.
The PADD beeped. He had a new message from Jim.
Of course I remember, but there’s only one room left, and it’s like…half a room, if that. We’re pretty much settled so there’s no harm in looking.
Steak sounds good. Can you make those awesome roasted vegetables you did last time too? Oh, and wine, get a bottle of red wine.
Bones snorted.
Yeah, I can do the roasted vegetables, and wine sounds like a good idea. We can eat on the deck.
Stop wistfully staring at the pictures of Ginger, Jim.
The PADD beeped again.
How did you know I was…you know what, never mind. It’s creepy when you do that, by the way. See you at home, ass.
Bones laughed out loud for a minute. He then moved the messages to a folder he kept specifically for correspondence with Jim.
He also moved Randolph’s email to the trash.
-----
Jim wiped his brow with the back of a hand and admired his handiwork.
Bones was due back any minute, and he couldn’t wait for him to see his office.
It was actually completely finished, and even organized to Bones’ unique specifications. Jim even found homes for all of his favorite photographs. He had a special frame on the desk for a holo of Jo’s most recent school picture. Everything was all set up, and he was sure Bones would love it.
And, okay, if he wasn’t entirely altruistic in having done this, well…hopefully Bones wouldn’t catch on.
Jim might have left out the part where he put a deposit down on Ginger, who really needed a new name by the way, over the phone earlier, or that they had an appointment to meet her and bring her home the next night. It wasn’t like he wasn’t going to tell Bones this, but he just planned on doing it over dinner after he had the chance to decompress for a bit.
He checked the chronometer on Bones’ desk; shit, he would be home any minute. Jim began to make his way down the stairs to the living level of the house. He went to the liquor cabinet and poured two fingers of Knob Creek, Bones’ special-occasion bourbon, in a rocks glass. Perfect timing, as he heard the front door open on the floor below.
“Jim?”
“Up here,” Jim called back with a grin. He fixed his hair briefly before grabbing the glass. Bones came up the stairs, packages from the market and briefcase in tow, as Jim began to move towards the front of the house to meet him halfway. He held out the drink, causing Bones to slow his steps before stopping all together. Bones raised an eyebrow at him. “What?”
“I should be asking you that,” Bones said with a shrug. “You’re greeting me with a bourbon. You never do that unless you want something.”
Jim sputtered. “I don’t…I don’t want anything.”
“Uh huh,” Bones mumbled as he took the bourbon from him. He began to make his way to the kitchen. Jim followed him, watching as he placed the bag from the market on the counter. He took a moment to take a wrapped package out of the bag. He then began to pull an assortment of peppers, broccoli, and zucchini out.
Jim sighed. “Okay, so, I might have went ahead and finished your office.”
Bones paused; he turned to face him. “You what?”
“Look, I know how you like things to be organized, and I kind of zenned out and before I knew it, it was done.” He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Honest, it just kind of happened.”
Bones stared at him with a considering expression. He grabbed the bourbon and took a sip; he then seemingly casually set it back down on the counter.
“What did you do?”
“Do? I don’t…”
“Jim.” It was a warning.
Jim sighed; this was the problem with being married to someone who knew you better than they knew themselves: the endless litany of them calling you out on your shit. “Okay. Remember that dog I sent you?”
“The one that we agreed we were just window-shopping with?”
Jim smiled. “Might’ve done more than just window-shopping.”
An alarmed look crossed Bones’ features as he walked out of the kitchen to look into their backyard. Jim hurriedly walked after him.
“No, she’s not here yet, I didn’t bring her home.” Bones turned to face him with a look of relief. “But I did leave a deposit over the phone, and we’re to bring her home tomorrow.” The look on Bones’ face became a glare. “Pending approval, of course! I told them if you say no then the deal’s off.”
Bones sighed. “Jim…”
“Look, she’s amazing,” Jim pleaded. “She’s amazing, and if we didn’t snatch her up someone else was going to. She’s beautiful, all the videos prove she’s incredibly smart, she’s a good age and size…she’s everything we want!”
Bones looked irritated, but not outright angry. That was something, he supposed.
“Come on, Bones,” Jim said, turning his big blue eyes all the way up to full puppy-dog. “We can walk if you don’t like her, they gave me their word. Let’s at least go and give her a chance?”
“You put a deposit down on her, Jim.”
“That’s refundable!”
Bones took another long sip of bourbon. “Is it?”
“Yeah, it was just in good faith to make sure no one adopted her before we get to see her.” Jim bowed his head a little. “I just, I didn’t want us to miss out. She really is something special, Bones, and I’d hate to lose her because we had to wait a day or two, and yeah, okay, I did the office and had the drink waiting to curry favor.”
“Thanks for admitting it,” Bones said as he sat the bourbon back down. “I should tell you to call them back and say we decided against it, I really should.”
Jim’s expression became unbearably sad. “Aw, Bones…”
Bones sighed. “But this is obviously important to you, and she does seem like a great dog.” He took another long drink of the bourbon as he grabbed a cutting board before washing his hands. He then pulled a knife off the metal strip above the sink and began to slice a pepper. “We’ll go tomorrow when I get out of my last class, but I’m keeping my veto privileges. If she pees on either of us, bites us, or barks uncontrollably, we’re not bringing her home.”
Jim immediately began to grin, before ramping it down into a simple pleased expression. “I understand.” He peaked in the bag where a bottle of Beaujolais sat. “Want me to chill this?”
“Should be fine now, if you want a glass,” Bones said off-handedly. “I’ll have mine with dinner.”
“Nah, I can wait. I’ll go put on some music though. Marvin or Al?”
“Otis.”
“Otis it is,” Jim pressed a kiss to Bones’ cheek. “Thanks for agreeing to meet her, it means a lot to me.”
“I know,” Bones said with a half-smile as he concentrated on his knife work. Jim took that as a cue to leave him to it, and he walked into the living room to the panel display that controlled their sound system. He cued up Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul. The music began to play throughout the floor. Jim looked around the corner to the kitchen; Bones’ back was to him as he cut up the broccoli.
Perfect.
He chose this moment to begin dancing. He even jumped up and down a few times for good measure.
Bones said yes!
-----
That night and the next day flew by, and before Jim knew it, it was time to go. He grabbed his car keys and made his way out of his office to the Starfleet command parking lot. He put the top down on his car and pulled on his sunglasses. He then backed the car out of its space and began to drive over to Starfleet Academy.
It was a short drive, as they were on the same basic campus. He made a right turn and parked right in front of April Hall. Jim got out of the car and made his way inside the building to Bones’ office.
The man himself was sitting at his desk, reading something on a PADD.
“Lesson plans,” Jim said with a knock on the door. Bones looked up, confused for a moment, before smiling back.
“Just checking my email one more time before I clock out,” Bones explained. “I’m all set to go.” He put the PADD in his briefcase, and stood up. Jim grinned.
“C’mon then, our destiny awaits.” Bones joined him at the door, and they paused so he could shut and lock it. At this moment, a female cadet came up to them.
“Doctor, a word?”
Bones had the look on his face that meant he was fighting off rolling his eyes. This made Jim raise his eyebrow in response. “Office hours are over, cadet.”
“I understand,” she said with a nod. “I was just curious to see if you read my dissertation.”
“I don’t need to,” Bones said with a shrug. “I’m not getting a TA.”
She didn’t frown, and her shoulders didn’t sag, but her disappointment was palpable just the same. Jim looked at Bones with a slight frown; being his TA clearly meant a lot to her, and Bones wouldn’t even take a glance at her paperwork?
“I understand,” she said after a long pause. “I’m sorry for wasting your time, sir.” She saluted, though it was half-hearted, and she turned and made her way back down the hall.
“What was that about,” Jim asked as they made their way outside to his car.
“Randolph approached me after class practically begging to be my TA,” Bones explained as he waited for Jim to unlock the passenger door. “Told her I wasn’t interested, and she sent me her dissertation and resume anyway. I moved the files to the trash because apparently she thinks when I say I don’t want a TA that somehow I’ll magically make an exception for her.” He pulled on his own sunglasses and rolled his window down to prop his arm on the door.
Jim frowned. “I don’t think she’s expecting special treatment, I think she’s just expecting a chance.” He paused in pulling out of the space to put the address of the shelter into the GPS. “I mean, it couldn’t hurt for you to have an assistant anyways. You’ve got what, two hundred students? Grading papers takes a long time, it could be good to have some help.”
“Or she could go easy on them, give everyone As, and mess everything up for the future of Starfleet medical personnel.”
“You don’t know that, Bones,” Jim said as he made a turn. “She could be even tougher than you are.”
Bones didn’t say anything to that but he looked thoughtful. “You think I’m being unreasonable.”
“Not unreasonable so much as taking on too much like you usually do,” Jim said honestly. He took another left. “You don’t have to do everything yourself, you know. That’s why professors have TAs in the first place. Hell, I was one, and I didn’t go easy on the cadets. My will was ironclad.”
Bones snorted. “This is true.” He ran a hand through his hair, which was pretty wind-blown at this point. “I’ll read her dissertation. If it’s any good, I’ll reconsider it.”
“That’s the spirit,” Jim said with a smile as they pulled into a parking space. A sign on the building proclaimed Pets Unlimited. Jim put the top back up on the car before they stepped out of it. Bones walked ahead and opened the door. Jim locked the car and followed him inside.
At the reception desk, a short redhead smiled at them. “Hi! Do you gentlemen have an appointment?”
“We do, actually, we’re here to see Ginger,” Jim said as he put his sunglasses on top of his head. “The Kirk-McCoys?”
She nodded as she highlighted something by touching the computer screen. “Your adoption counselor will be with you in a minute. Would you like to have a seat?”
They looked to their left; there was a cushioned bench across the foyer from them. “Yeah, that’s fine,” Bones said with a shrug. Jim took his hand and winked at the receptionist, who immediately blushed and smiled back at him. Bones rolled his eyes and tugged him over to have a seat.
“Is there anyone you won’t flirt with?”
“You’re asking this now?” Jim snorted. “I mean, have we met?”
Before Bones could retort, a woman came out to greet them. “The Kirk-McCoys?” Both men stood. “Hi, I’m Stephanie. I’ll be your adoption counselor. Come on back, it’s time to meet Ginger.”
She held a door open for them and led them back to a room. Stephanie opened the door.
Ginger sat in the middle of the floor with her ears up. She was just as pretty as in her pictures, her bright brown eyes shining with intelligence and curiosity. The curly tail at her back began to wag furiously at the sight of people.
“This is,” Stephanie began as the dog bolted upright, and bee-lined for Jim. He crouched down onto one knee as she plowed into him. Ginger emitted a kind-of high pitched almost screaming sound as she jumped onto her hind legs, placed her front paws on Jim’s shoulders, and immediately began to attack his face with her tongue. Jim burst out laughing.
Bones shook his head, but he couldn’t help grinning at the two of them. The dog continued to make that high-pitched noise as she knocked Jim onto his ass, still licking his face.
“Does she always do that,” Bones asked the counselor.
“When she’s excited or upset, otherwise she barks like a normal dog,” Stephanie answered. “It’s a Shiba Inu trait.”
Jim had his arms around the dog, and was trying to pet her as much as he could between the laughing and the licking.
“Ginger, stop,” Stephanie said in a commanding tone. Ginger paused to look at her for a second before immediately going for Jim’s face again. She sighed. “Ginger, that’s enough. Stop.”
Ginger stopped briefly, but only because she noticed Bones. She immediately left Jim, who wiped his face with the back of a hand, and tried to jump up on Bones. Bones wasn’t having it, however, and he put his knee up in the air to block her. Ginger ran into his knee and landed back on all fours with a slightly perplexed expression.
She tried again; Bones once again put his knee up and the dog landed back on the ground. Ginger shook it off and tried for a third time with the same result. She made a loud snuffling noise before turning back to Jim. For the second time she started climbing all over him and licking his face.
“You’re the sweetest dog,” Jim said with a lot of affection in his voice. “You’re seriously so sweet.” He scratched the spot just above the base of her tail. Ginger’s ears went flat, and she grinned up at Jim adoringly.
Bones looked at Stephanie with a serious expression. “She doesn’t seem to listen very well.”
“She does,” Stephanie said after a pause. “But she’s not always consistent about it.”
“Jim, you shouldn’t let her climb all over you like that,” Bones said down to his husband. He turned his attention back to the counselor. “She seems stubborn.”
“She is a bit, but she’s also still kind of a puppy. Her previous owners didn’t train her at all, we’ve worked with her a lot since we got her.”
“They didn’t train her? She’s six months old,” Bones said in an incredulous tone.
“No, they got her basically with the thought that a puppy is a toy. They didn’t even housebreak her, and they dumped her by the side of the road when she acted like a puppy. A neighbor of theirs brought her in, and we reported them to the authorities of course. Since we got her a month ago, we’ve housebroken her and have been trying to do some obedience training.” She looked down where Ginger had calmed a little; she was still rubbing up against Jim, but she wasn’t screaming anymore. She was also only licking Jim’s face sporadically now.
The same Jim who looked suddenly heartbroken.
“People really did that to her?” He was looking up at Stephanie and Bones with such sadness in his eyes that it made Bones’ heart ache in response.
“She’s not the first dog we’ve gotten with a similar story, and she won’t be the last, unfortunately.”
Jim was quietly petting her, scratching her behind the ears as she grinned and panted. Bones looked at the counselor.
“Could you give us a few minutes,” he asked, not unkindly. Stephanie nodded.
“Sure, I’ll let you three keep getting acquainted.” She opened the door and stepped out into the hall, closing it behind her as she went. Bones knelt down next to Jim; he reached out a hand and Ginger came over to him. She tried to climb on him like she did Jim, but Bones held her down to pet her.
“I can’t believe they didn’t even give her a chance,” Jim said as he watched Bones stroke her back. “Yeah, she’s got energy but…they just threw her away. Like she was nothing.”
“It unfortunately happens,” Bones said with a shrug. “She’s kind of a handful.”
“It’s just because no one’s worked with her. They didn’t try, so she’s rough around the edges.” Jim started to pet her too, opting to scratch her behind the ears. “I was too, and if my memory serves, so were you.”
Bones nodded with a smile. “Yeah, we were. It’s true.”
Ginger spotted a toy in the corner of the room and pranced over to it. She promptly picked it up in her jaws and trotted back over to Jim. She sat, wagging her tail against the ground as she looked at him imploringly. Jim wordlessly took the toy from her and threw it across the room; Ginger was eager to chase it and immediately brought it back to Jim. He did it again and Ginger continued to chase after it.
“You already love her, don’t you?”
Jim didn’t say anything out loud; indeed, he didn’t have to. The expression on his face spoke volumes. He tossed the toy again and Ginger chased after it.
“She needs a different name. I mean, I get why Ginger, that’s what color she is. But she deserves something more. Something better.”
The dog brought the toy back to them, dropping it from in-between her jaws. Ginger looked at Bones for a second before focusing back on Jim. She pushed her snout up under his arm. Jim laughed and began to pet her gently.
Bones sighed. “She’s less trained than what we originally said we’d get.”
“I’ll work with her.”
“Yeah, you will. This is going to be your project, Jim, no shirking her off onto me.”
“Wouldn’t dare.” Ginger had rolled onto her back and Jim was scratching her belly. She looked incredibly happy and content.
“I’ll have to get gates to keep her in the kitchen when we’re not home.”
Jim nodded, still scratching her belly. “Or she can stay outside.”
“And let her dig up my rose bushes? You’re dreaming.” Bones reached out a hand and began to rub her belly too. Ginger was ecstatic and started thumping her tail in time with the movement of their hands. “You’re really sure about this? She’s going to be a lot of work.”
“I like challenges,” Jim said as he continued to pet her. “There’s only one other time I’ve been this sure, and I got a husband out of it. I know what I’m doing.”
Bones nodded. “Okay then. I’ll get Stephanie so we can fill out the paperwork.”
Jim finally looked at him then, and a bright happiness shone in his eyes. “You’re the best, Bones.”
“I know,” Bones said as he pulled him in for a kiss. “I want you to remember that when you clean up after her going in the house.”
“She won’t do that, she’s perfect,” Jim retorted. He rubbed Ginger’s snout. “What do you think about Georgie?”
The dog cocked her head to one side with interest and looked at Jim seriously. Bones nodded.
“Georgie’s a better fit than Ginger,” he said without stating the obvious, that it was for Jim’s father. “I’ll get Stephanie. You two keep bonding.”
Bones stood, brushing the shedded fur off his knees, and turned to make his way back into the hall to find their adoption counselor. Jim immediately started talking in a low voice to the dog.
“What do you say, girl? Want to come home today?”
Georgie cocked her head to one side again, but something shifted in her expression as if she was saying yes. She panted and grinned, and after a moment, she rubbed up against Jim again. He hugged her in his arms.
“Okay, then it’s settled. You’re coming home.”
Georgie nuzzled her snout under Jim’s hand, and he scratched her behind the ears.
-----
After several pieces of paperwork, a few credits, and a care package including rawhide chews and toys, Jim and Bones packed their new dog, Georgie, into Jim’s car. Jim drove extra carefully on the way back to their house, and he kept an eye on her in the rearview mirror.
Bones kept assuring him that she was fine, but Jim was concerned for her safety and white-knuckled anyway.
After a brief detour to Petsmart, they pulled into their garage. Georgie looked around with a curious expression, although she started from the noise of the garage door closing behind her. She recovered quickly and jumped up to the center console in between Jim and Bones.
“Georgie…” Bones began, but the dog ignored him. She clearly wasn’t used to her new name yet. “Ginger, stay,” he tried again. Her ears twitched, but she continued to look curiously around her as she panted frantically. Jim opened his door and Georgie immediately climbed into his lap to get out.
“Ack,” Jim cried out as her paw dug into a sensitive area. Bones snorted. Georgie climbed out of the car first, tumbling out onto the concrete floor of the garage. Bones slowly opened his door and followed suit, Jim not too far behind.
The dog ran around the garage, sniffing everything she could reach. She stood up on her hind legs and sniffed Jim’s tool bench enthusiastically. Both Bones and Jim watched her fondly for a second before Jim whistled.
“C’mon Georgie-girl,” he called, and the dog loped on over to him. “Let’s see your home, okay?”
Georgie wagged her tail and investigated the door leading to the bottom level. She sat beside it expectantly before looking back to Jim. Bones shook his head a few times; she clearly had decided that Jim was her person, which he was fine with. That was how it should be, since Jim would be the one to train and discipline her.
Jim opened the door and they stepped into the bottom level of their home. Georgie ran ahead of them to investigate the Man Cave. Jim whistled a second time and she came loping back. The trio made their way up the stairs to the next level of the house. Once more, Georgie tried to investigate before Jim whistled, reigning her in.
Bones was impressed; she seemed unwilling to listen back at the shelter, but she was totally treating Jim like her alpha dog at Petsmart and now in their home. Jim had insisted on buying only the highest quality food for Georgie, as well as a new bed for the breakfast nook, plus toys, dishes, and a shiny new leash and collar. He was already spoiling her, much to Bones’ consternation.
Georgie bounded up the stairs to the next level, and he and Bones tried to keep up. She was in the kitchen, and she did that weird bark-scream thing she did at the shelter. Jim grinned at her as he showed his face over the steps, Bones right behind him.
“This is where you’ll be most of the time, Georgie,” he said with a smile as he walked over to her. She bravely advanced on him and jumped on him the way she did at the shelter. Jim rubbed behind her ears affectionately.
“You should push her down when she does that,” Bones said almost to no one in particular. “It’s bad manners.”
“She’s fine,” Jim said as he continued scratching her. “She won’t do it to guests, will you, Georgie?”
Georgie grinned up at him. She wagged her tail a few times before sliding back down onto all fours. She then went to the back door by the deck, sitting and thumping her tail beside it.
“She needs to go out,” Bones said as he made his way into the kitchen to wash his hands. Tonight’s menu was grilled tuna steaks and salad.
“What are you talking about?” Jim shot him a perplexed look. “She went to the bathroom when we were at Petsmart. She’s fine.”
“She’s a puppy, Jim.” Bones was done washing his hands, and he dried them on a towel. “They need to go out pretty frequently.”
“She’s fine, she’s just sitting by the door because she…”
Georgie was squatting in front of the door, peeing with a serious look on her face.
Jim stared blankly at her as Bones snorted once.
She continued to pee for a seemingly long time. An almost worringly long time, if Jim was being honest. She just kept peeing, almost forever. Finally she was done, and she panted and grinned up at them as she made her way into the kitchen to get affection from Jim.
Jim blinked down at her a few times before he grabbed the roll of paper towels on the counter. He also tried not to notice the fact that Bones was stifling laughter.
He was married to a dick. That wasn’t news.
Jim walked back to the deck door and knelt down to mop up the incredible puddle of dog pee that sat by the door.
Okay, so.
He would just have to make sure he didn’t ignore that sign again. Good to know that she was trained enough to at least sit by the door, he guessed. It took a lot of paper towels, but her mess was cleaned up, and she grinned at him. Jim smiled back instinctively.
It was one mishap. It didn’t mean she was a bad dog or anything.
He opened the door to let her out into the backyard, and Georgie immediately went out to explore. There wasn’t much in the way of grass, but Bones did have his rose bushes and gardenias, so Jim kept an eye on her to make sure she wasn’t digging anything up. Dimly, he heard the sounds of cooking behind him, and Bones put a hand on his shoulder. Jim gave him a warm smile as they watched their dog investigate her new home.
“Female dogs don’t tend to dig much,” Bones said by way of explanation. “Male dogs tend to be the diggers, but she may have anxiety issues which could cause her to dig or be destructive.”
Jim nodded. Something occurred to him then, and he gave his husband a sly look. “I thought your people had horses, not dogs.”
“Oh I had dogs growing up,” Bones said with a shrug. “Dad made me train Midnight when I was nine.”
“Midnight? Let me guess, he was black.”
“I was nine,” Bones snapped. “You tell me what you would’ve named a black Border Collie at nine.”
“You’re cute,” Jim answered. Bones scowled and went back to their dinner, leaving Jim to stare out the back door at Georgie, who had her front paws up on the edge of a flowerbed as she sniffed a bush. She jumped back down and ran to the grassy area of their yard, squatting to go to the bathroom again. Jim felt kind of creepy watching their dog pee, so he headed back into the kitchen to wash his hands and set the table for dinner.
A loud but muffled bark sounded throughout the house just as Jim finished filling glasses with iced tea for their dinner. Guessing that this meant Georgie wanted to come back inside, Jim went over to the backyard door. Sure enough, she was sitting there waiting for him. Georgie wagged her tail and bounded inside as Jim opened the door.
Bones had two plates full of food that he was carrying to the breakfast nook. He sat at a chair after placing his napkin in his lap; Jim and Georgie followed. Jim sat in the chair at the head of the table as he took a sip of iced tea. Bones liked his sweet, something Jim was still getting used to after four years of being together.
Georgie sat next to Jim, and her brown eyes were large as she looked up at him imploringly. Jim paused in the middle of cutting his tuna steak to look back down at her.
“If you feed her, you’ll never be able to eat in peace,” Bones said before taking a bite of salad. He looked completely unmoved by Georgie’s display.
Jim continued to look down at her. She just looked so sad, surely a little piece of tuna wouldn’t cause a problem?
He stared at her again for several seconds before putting a piece of tuna in his hand. He held it out to her, and she immediately it took it off his hand, munching on it happily. Georgie licked her lips and sat back, her tail dragging across the floor as it wagged. Jim grinned back at her as he went about eating his dinner.
“You gonna read Randolph’s dissertation after dinner?”
“Yeah, I’ll skim it,” Bones said in between bites. “I don’t have time to read the entire thing. I’ll be able to tell pretty quickly if it’s worth anything.”
Georgie made a strange huffing noise as she moved a little closer to Jim. Jim looked down at her with a bewildered expression.
“She wants more food. I told you that you shouldn’t give her any.”
Jim shrugged. “It’s fine.” They were finished eating, and Bones cleared the plates to wash them. Jim sat back in the chair as Georgie advanced on him. She grumbled a little and licked his hand. Jim patted her head with a fond expression. “Guess we should go ahead and feed her and set up her dishes, though.”
“Not a bad idea,” Bones called from the kitchen. “Food’s right here, we’ll have to store it where she can’t get to it.”
Jim got up from the table and went over to the thirty-pound back of food and bag of other things they got for her at the pet store. He pulled out the two metal bowls. Jim debated briefly before setting them in the breakfast area near the kitchen entryway. He opened the bag of food and poured some into one of the bowls; Georgie’s ears perked up and she immediately ran over to the dish. She eagerly began to eat. Jim took the other bowl into the kitchen, where Bones was drying his hands.
Jim quickly filled it with cool water and stepped back into the breakfast nook, placing it next to Georgie’s food. Georgie kind of hunched defensively, as if she was afraid he would take it away from her, before she relaxed. He scratched her behind the ears fondly before stepping back and watching her eat.
“Jim,” Bones said suddenly. Jim ran into the kitchen, where Bones was standing with the box that housed the gate for the kitchen doorway. “Help me set this up, would you?”
Jim looked back toward the breakfast area; he wanted to watch and play with Georgie. Bones cleared his throat.
“Today, Jim,” he said in an impatient tone. Jim sighed and looked back toward him.
“Fine, although I still don’t think this is necessary. She’ll be fine.”
“She’s a puppy,” Bones said as he got the tools down from where they kept them in the kitchen. “Puppies need boundaries.”
Jim shrugged as he held the gate in place while Bones started to attach it to the wall. Georgie trotted over to them, sniffing at the gate and wagging her tail. She quickly grew bored of watching them work and went back to the breakfast nook. Georgie had obviously discovered her new bed, as she curled up on it. She made a loud noise, almost like a long-suffering sigh.
Well, that was okay. Jim would just give her lots of extra attention to make up for it when they were done.
Things would be fine.
Part Two
Series: Star Trek XI
Rating: Slight R because of one thing Jim says
Summary: In which Waterpark Jim and Bones settle into their new life in San Francisco, and also acquire a dog.
Pairings: Kirk/McCoy of course, but there is background Spock/Uhura, Sulu/Chapel, and Scotty/Chekov
Betas:
inugrlrayn and maypirateWord Count: 18,551
Disclaimer: The only thing that's mine is Georgie. Everything else belongs to a whole host of people with lawyers.
Notes: This is set quite a bit in the future, to a little more than three years after the big wedding fic. We’re fast-forwarding a bit, because I just really wanted to write this.
Some of the things that happen in this story happened to me about three years ago. Not exactly the same way, but similar enough. I have enough distance now that I can find the humor in it instead of being just like OH MY GOD NO so here. Have something fluffy and ridiculous. Or something. I don’t even know anymore.
This is for
sangueuk, who won fic from me in help_japan! I really hope you like it!The house is a real house that is currently for sale in the Presidio Heights neighborhood of San Francisco. Here are twenty-nine pictures including the floorplan, so that when I say things like “master level” none of you are confused.
Anyone who gets the Futurama reference is officially awesome.
A red eye is a drink consisting of coffee with a shot of espresso poured into it.
Pets Unlimited is a real pet adoption center and veterinary clinic near Presidio Heights in San Francisco. They seem to be a really wonderful organization. Their coffee shop also exists, it’s called the Blue Danube.
For the record, this is what Georgie looks like here. She weighs about 50 pounds. Here is a better full body shot. And here is a standing shot so the descriptor of “curly tail” makes sense.
Space psychology is a real facet of psychology, dealing predominantly with objects and how they react to space around us. It also studies space-related phobias such as claustrophobia, agoraphobia, and astrophobia. It is primarily studied in modern times by Gestalt psychologists such as E.S. Reed. It’s a growing field of psychology, but it’s a real thing. Again, I’m a psych major so do with that what you will. Memory Alpha lists that one of Bones’ areas of expertise is space psychology, which is why he’s teaching a class on it at Starfleet Academy.
The part of Cadet Randolph will be played rather unimaginatively by Alicia Keys.
Yes, it is THE Emma Frost that Jim meets while walking Georgie. I just saw First Class, and I’ve always loved Emma. And I mean, she’s had sex with Tony Stark, Namor, and Scott, is it really stretching it that she’d go for Jim? I don’t think so.
Fall was approaching in San Francisco, and this meant many things, not the least of which was the start of the academic year at Starfleet Academy. Classes began that day, and everyone was eager to get started.
The first year cadets arrived a week before everyone else because of things like orientation and meeting their advisors and petty officers. The fourth year cadets also arrived early for meetings about their dissertations and projects.
The faculty, however, had been back at work since three weeks prior to the semester, which meant that Bones had been working during much of the process of home buying, moving, organizing, and commute and coffee shop learning.
Fortunately, their new house was within Presidio Heights. The drive was practically insignificant, and they could walk easily to the Academy or Starfleet Command if they so desired.
House hunting had been a bit of an ordeal. Nothing had been good enough until their realtor stepped outside of the box a little and showed them the house that Jim immediately had fallen in love with. Bones loved it too when he saw it; it was clear by the look in his eyes, although he hesitated because of the size and price tag. Four bedrooms, four and a half baths was overkill, he claimed, and it was out of their budget.
Jim was quick to point out that with Jo coming to visit one weekend every month that one of the rooms was spoken for, and that Bones could have the master suite’s office since Jim couldn’t really bring his work home with him due to the highly classified nature of it. The third bedroom would become a guest suite, while the one on the ground level next to the garage would be Jim’s man cave.
Mostly because Jim just liked saying the phrase man cave.
And as for the price tag, well…what good was an inheritance that had been sitting doing nothing but accruing compound interest for thirty years if you didn’t use it on something nice, like a home to live in for the next two decades or more?
“Jim,” Bones called out towards their bathroom as he searched for something in the still mostly unpacked area known as his office. He had put it down only a few moments ago, how on Earth did he lose it that quickly?
“On top of the dresser,” came the call back from the bathroom.
Bones walked back towards the aforementioned new dresser with a slightly puzzled look. Yeah, that was his PADD with his syllabi and presentations. He had been up until three putting the finishing touches on them. With a fond smile, he picked up the PADD.
“Thanks,” he called, once again toward the bathroom.
“I got you,” Jim said as he came out in half of his uniform with a towel around his shoulders. “Of course you know what I’m going to say.”
“What’s that, besides stop throwing your shit everywhere Bones,” Bones said absently as he narrowly avoided tripping over a box labeled books and college memorabilia in his handwriting.
“Mmmm,” was Jim’s reply as he walked into the main part of their suite to his closet in order to grab an undershirt and his new gray jacket. It was going to take some getting used to, his not being in the command gold. “Remind me to send Lisette a thank you note, she did a fantastic job decorating this place.”
“You sent her a fruit basket,” Bones said as he put the PADD in his briefcase. “If that’s not a thank you, I don’t know what is.” He placed the briefcase on the bed before stepping into the bathroom. He was in the black teaching uniform, which would also take some getting used to. He straightened his jacket in the wall length mirror before running his fingers through his hair. Jim came back in behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Nervous?”
Bones scoffed loudly as he met Jim’s eyes in the mirror. “They should be.”
“You’re going to eat these kids alive, aren’t you?”
“Eat them alive? No.” Bones turned to face him, putting his hands on his waist. “I’m just going to make it very clear that I don’t have time for anyone who isn’t there to actually learn, or for people who think they already know everything about anatomical and forensic pathology or space psychology.” He planted a kiss on Jim’s cheek. “Because they don’t know shit.”
“I love it when you talk about the incompetence of others, tiger,” Jim said with a smile as Bones kissed his other cheek. “You need to finish setting up your office, it’s the last room we have left.”
“I do,” Bones conceded with a half-smile of his own. “I’ll do it tonight.”
“I get off before you today, I can start on it,” Jim said as he leaned in close to Bones. “I can at least put the books up on the shelves.”
Bones gave him a real smile. “That’d be nice, thanks.” He let go of Jim with his left hand to check the time. “We’ve got just enough time to swing by that coffee shop you like. Want to?”
“That sounds perfect,” Jim said with a grin. “I could go for a red eye.” Turning his back to his husband, he made his way out into the main part of their master suite. Bones quickly followed him, pausing for a moment to look around the room.
“On the bed,” Jim tossed back over his shoulder. Bones looked; sure enough, there was his briefcase. He chuckled quietly as he grabbed it and began to follow Jim down the stairs to the entry level of their home. It was a nice day, sunny and warm without being hot, so they were walking to their respective workplaces. “I wonder if they have bagels.”
“If they’re worth a damn they will,” Bones said with a shrug. He had caught up to Jim and placed a hand on his back. “Almost forgot to ask, are you nervous?”
“About which part? Pretending to be PR or learning a million highly classified things that I will never be allowed to vent to you about?”
“Either. Both.”
Jim waved a hand. “Nah. I’ve been talking to Pike a bit about it. It sounds pretty straight-forward, I just have to get used to smiling for the camera more.” He thought briefly before pouting. “Which means no more beating up the paparazzi.”
“We all have to make sacrifices,” Bones said with a sage nod. Jim gave him a mockingly annoyed look.
They made their way out of the front door of their house. Bones turned to the keypad and both locked the door and armed the alarm system. Together they began to walk down their street towards the coffee shop.
All in all, Bones thought as he reached out and took Jim’s hand in his, as far as new beginnings went, this one was easy.
Okay, so maybe he was a little nervous.
Jim stood looking at his new office with a slight frown.
It was a beautiful office, actually. It was a decent size with large windows that over-looked the San Francisco bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. The desk was exactly as he requested; it was old-fashioned mahogany wood with drawers. The bookshelves matched. Jim had spent two days getting everything set up the way he liked it.
There was a knock at his door, and he turned. He smiled at the woman standing by it.
“Janice,” he said warmly.
“Captain,” Janice Rand said back with a smile of her own. “I’d ask if you needed help getting settled, but the answer’s pretty obvious.”
“We both know how much you hate stating the obvious.”
She shrugged. “And yet when I’m with you I find I have to over and over again.”
“Ouch.”
“Thank you.” She walked over and handed him a PADD. He pulled up the day’s itinerary. He pulled out his reading glasses and began to look it over as she looked down at a holo frame on his desk. In it was a picture of him and Bones on their wedding day; it was a candid photo taken from behind of the two of them leaning close together, and their hands were joined. Janice smiled at it.
“That’s a lovely picture.”
“Thanks,” he said without looking up. “It’s my favorite.”
“I can see why.” Jim handed the PADD back to her and went to sit behind his desk.
“Your assistant should be here around 1300,” Janice said as she went back to business. “Which, I have a message from Admiral Pike regarding Lieutenant Sonaxx.”
“Oh yeah?” Jim looked at her curiously over top his glasses. “What’s that?”
“Play nice,” she said with a grin.
“Oh come on, I was always nice to you.”
“When you weren’t out nearly getting yourself killed.” She shrugged. “Not to mention that ridiculousness with the things you ordered those first few months. Ten cases of ‘Pert and Popular,’ was it?”
“Never going to let me live that down, are you?”
Janice smiled. “Not a chance.”
“I feel I should point out in my defense that I was joking,” Jim explained as he pulled up a file on his computer. “But man, was I impressed that you went ahead and did it anyway.”
“You did mention that, yeah.” Janice began to make her way out the door. “You have coffee otherwise I’d offer.”
“Thanks, but I’m good,” Jim said as he took a sip of his red eye. “Actually, there is one thing you can do for me if you have time. If not, I’ll get Sonaxx to do it.”
“Oh?” She turned to face him.
He looked up at her with a grin. “It’s not urgent or anything, but if you could find me information on dog adoption agencies in this area, I’d really appreciate it.”
Janice grinned back. “Expanding the family?”
“Well, Bones said when we got settled, and the only room left to settle is his office. I think it’s about time.” He made a few keystrokes before pulling up a second file. “I plan on finishing his office for him and then us getting the dog this weekend.”
“I’m sure that will make him happy.” Janice turned again to head out the office. “I can make time to do that for you. I’ll message you with website links within the hour.”
“Awesome, thanks Jan.” Jim began to read in depth about Agent Honey’s recent exploits. It looked like her last mission had been a close call of sorts. “See you.”
“Bye, sir.” She pulled the door closed as she left, leaving Jim alone with his files. In another window he did a search for local dogs up for adoption. Wow, there were tons, and most were little puppies.
Puppies were out; Bones put his foot down about that. Jim readily agreed, because with their work schedules neither of them really had time to do any housebreaking or rudimentary training.
He continued to look through the pictures until one dog in particular caught his eye.
It was a reddish brown color with short hair and a cream coat on its stomach and paws. It had big pointed ears that stood up, and black markings around its eyes and mouth. It was grinning in its photo and its bright brown eyes were sparkling. It had a curly tail up around the side of its back.
Jim clicked on the link to make the image larger. The dog was practically staring at him right in the face. It, or rather she, he noticed from the caption under the photo, had a name, and it was Ginger. Shelter information was listed below her picture. It said she was about six months old, that she was a mix between something called a Shiba Inu and a German Shepherd dog, and that she weighed about forty pounds.
Unlike the first time Jim had fallen in love, this time he immediately recognized it for what it was. He clicked the link for sending the dog’s info to someone else and sent a short message to Bones. He checked the chronometer on the wall; it would be a while before he got it, since he was right in the middle of teaching his first class.
Jim picked up the phone and dialed the number he saw there. The vidphone rang a few times before a kindly looking man picked up.
Hello, Pets Unlimited. How can we help you?
“Hi,” Jim said brightly. “I’m interested in a dog you have on your website…”
“I’m sure you all think this will be easy,” Bones said from behind his podium. “At the very least, you’re assuming that this subject is going to be entertaining, if not outright funny.”
Approximately forty people looked back at him. Most of them were interested, although quite a few looked apprehensive.
He stepped out from behind the podium and took a few steps toward the center of the lecture hall. “After all, we’re all in Starfleet. Space is a part of the job. People who suffer from agoraphobia or astrophobia have no place in this organization. They’ll all just wash out in a few weeks, and you’ll never have to think about them from that point onward.”
Bones crossed his arms over his chest.
“Think again.”
He noticed that several students were diligently typing everything he said on their PADDs.
“The basic tenets of space psychology are no laughing matter, nor are any of the space related phobias. We use the concept of object permanence multiple times every day. You’re all using the Gestalt concept of amodal perception in this very room, and understanding and knowledge of treatment for space-related phobias can make the difference between life or death on a mission.”
A female cadet in the front row stopped taking notes to look up at him directly. They made eye contact before he turned his attention back to the room.
“I don’t have time for jokes. I don’t have time for games. If you’re planning on spending your time on either of those, there’s the door.” He paced back towards his podium. “If you think you’re going to skate by doing the minimum amount of work just to get the pre-req, there’s the door.”
No one got up.
That was a promising sign.
Standing once more behind the podium, he pulled up his PADD. “If you open up the directory, you will see that the syllabus for this class is now available to be viewed. There are four exams, plus one cumulative final. There’s also an extensive written project that I will be going over in more detail as it gets closer to that part of the semester.”
His students were all frantically taking notes.
“Now you’re all adults, and I’ll be treating you as such. Again, this means I expect you to work if you’re going to stay in my class. Starfleet isn’t an excuse to joyride around space, it’s a serious commitment where mistakes mean lives. I won’t settle for anything less than the best you have to offer, and neither should you.
“I also have an open door policy during my office hours. If there are any problems, come to me, and I’ll be as accommodating as I can.”
Several of the cadets looked at him warily.
“That’s not an open invitation to come cry to me about how you miss your parents or how you don’t get along with your roommate.” Bones raised an eyebrow. “There are people in Starfleet that are paid to deal with those problems. I’m not one of them. Anything that’s related to my class is fine, beyond that I don’t want to hear it.”
The students looked less confused by those words and went back to taking notes.
“Also, stop me if you have a question. I won’t be happy if I find out I was talking over your head, and you didn’t bother to get clarification on a point I’ve made. I’m not interested in steamrolling you all for time’s sake; I’m interested in you actually learning something. I don’t want any excuses come test time for why you didn’t know exactly how perception is relevant to self-preservation.”
He couldn’t help but notice that a few people looked relieved by that.
“If you pull up the syllabus,” and as he said this, everyone in the room frantically did, “you’ll see that next class we’re discussing some of the basic tenets of object permanence, or the concept of knowing an object still exists without seeing, hearing, or feeling it. Of course you all know about that, having taken a class in general psych, if not developmental. Just as I’m sure you’re all familiar with how Piaget felt that it was an infant’s most important milestone in the Sensorimotor stage.”
More than a few heads were nodding. More importantly, no one looked baffled.
Good.
“What your general class doesn’t go into are the specific six stages of object permanence. We’ll be beginning with reflexes the next class, and I anticipate that we’ll get through the co-ordination of secondary circular reactions.” He scrolled on the screen to an area labeled as content. “I’ve posted five articles for you to read by Thursday.” Bones folded his hands behind his back. “I’m going to go ahead and end things here for today. Do your reading. We’ll discuss it next class.” He scrolled back to the syllabus on his PADD. “Dismissed.”
The students all stood as one and saluted him before they began to file out of the classroom. Bones watched them go, again with his eyebrow raised.
So far, so good, he guessed.
He began to put his PADD back into his briefcase when the student he made eye contact with began to approach him. “Can I help you, Cadet…?”
“Randolph,” she said with a smile. She had long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, dark eyes, and an olive complexion. “I just wanted to tell you how excited I am to be taking your class, Doctor McCoy. I did a paper on the Gestalt principles of space for my developmental course in my undergrad. The material was fascinating, so I’m looking forward to studying it in greater depth.”
“That’s nice,” Bones said as he finished closing his briefcase. “Cadet, I don’t have time for jokers, but I also don’t have time for suck-ups.”
“Oh no, I’m not brown-nosing, I actually am that interested,” Randolph said in a hurry. “There was something that I was wondering that pertains to your class, though.”
“Sure.” Bones looked at her with a curious expression. “I wasn’t kidding about the open door policy.”
“Well, it’s just that I noticed on your syllabus it lists your teacher’s assistant position as ‘to be determined.’ I’m assuming that means you haven’t selected one.”
“I haven’t selected one because I don’t plan to,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone as he began to walk out of the lecture hall. Randolph got with the program and immediately tried to keep up with him. “I don’t have time to deal with some wet behind the ears kid giving out As like candy.”
“I’d like to ask you to reconsider,” she said after a moment. “I’d also like to throw my hat in the ring.”
Bones stopped short and looked at her. “If you need a job, Cadet, there’s a work-study program.”
“I’m working at Starfleet medical on their rotation in the clinical psych department, actually.” Randolph grinned at him. “I don’t need the job, but I want it.”
Bones was less than impressed. “I’m not getting an assistant just because you want me to.”
Randolph pulled up a file on her PADD. “McCoy Leonard at Starfleet dot EDU, right?”
“Congratulations, you’ve memorized my email address. It’s only at the top of the syllabus, so don’t think I’m proud of you or anything.” The PADD in his briefcase beeped, signaling he had a message. “What’d you just send me, your resume?”
“Among other things,” Randolph said with a shrug. “I only ask one favor, that you read the documents I just sent you. If you still don’t agree that I’d be the perfect TA, I will leave you alone for the rest of the semester.” She began to turn and walk in the opposite direction down the hall. “I swear. Have a good day, sir.” She saluted and walked off, ostensibly toward her next class.
Bones shook his head at her retreating figure. He’d been assuming that his problem would be indifference, laziness, and goofing off. Instead he had a run-in barely as class ended with a scheming over-achiever.
He made his way across the quad to his office. Fortunately, since it was the first day of classes the likelihood of a student actually needing him was slim-to-none, unless they were illiterate or something.
Bones sat his briefcase on his desk. He smiled for a second at wedding photo of he and Jim. Speaking of Jim, he saw the message from him pop up just as class was starting. He opened the briefcase and took the PADD out. Sure enough, there were two unread messages; one from Randolph, and one from Jim. He opened the one from Jim first.
From: Kirk, James T., Captain, Starfleet Command – Public Relations
To: McCoy, Leonard, Commander, Starfleet Academy
Subject: I FOUND HER!
Bones, tell me she isn’t perfect, and I’ll call you a liar. She’s exactly what we want!
Hope your day is going well. Love you, see you for dinner.
Jim
Bones opened the attached pictures. The dog, Ginger, was gorgeous, but Bones already knew that Jim had good taste. He had never seen another dog like her, actually. It was a bit worrying that she was apparently only six months old, but on the plus side it meant she was mostly full-grown. She at least had to be housebroken. Bones smiled again before looking with a fond expression at the wedding photo. Jim had a copy of this picture in his office, and knowing that made him happy.
From: McCoy, Leonard, Commander, Starfleet Academy
To: Kirk, James T., Captain, Starfleet Command – Public Relations
She looks good, but don’t get ahead of yourself. We have a deal, remember?
I’ll stop by the market on the way home; I feel like steaks. Love you too, Jim.
Bones
He hit send, and off the message went. He pulled up Randolph’s message. As she explained, her resume was attached.
So was her dissertation for her PhD, which apparently focused on treatment of specific environmental-based phobias, such as darkness, if the title was anything to go by.
The PADD beeped. He had a new message from Jim.
Of course I remember, but there’s only one room left, and it’s like…half a room, if that. We’re pretty much settled so there’s no harm in looking.
Steak sounds good. Can you make those awesome roasted vegetables you did last time too? Oh, and wine, get a bottle of red wine.
Bones snorted.
Yeah, I can do the roasted vegetables, and wine sounds like a good idea. We can eat on the deck.
Stop wistfully staring at the pictures of Ginger, Jim.
The PADD beeped again.
How did you know I was…you know what, never mind. It’s creepy when you do that, by the way. See you at home, ass.
Bones laughed out loud for a minute. He then moved the messages to a folder he kept specifically for correspondence with Jim.
He also moved Randolph’s email to the trash.
Jim wiped his brow with the back of a hand and admired his handiwork.
Bones was due back any minute, and he couldn’t wait for him to see his office.
It was actually completely finished, and even organized to Bones’ unique specifications. Jim even found homes for all of his favorite photographs. He had a special frame on the desk for a holo of Jo’s most recent school picture. Everything was all set up, and he was sure Bones would love it.
And, okay, if he wasn’t entirely altruistic in having done this, well…hopefully Bones wouldn’t catch on.
Jim might have left out the part where he put a deposit down on Ginger, who really needed a new name by the way, over the phone earlier, or that they had an appointment to meet her and bring her home the next night. It wasn’t like he wasn’t going to tell Bones this, but he just planned on doing it over dinner after he had the chance to decompress for a bit.
He checked the chronometer on Bones’ desk; shit, he would be home any minute. Jim began to make his way down the stairs to the living level of the house. He went to the liquor cabinet and poured two fingers of Knob Creek, Bones’ special-occasion bourbon, in a rocks glass. Perfect timing, as he heard the front door open on the floor below.
“Jim?”
“Up here,” Jim called back with a grin. He fixed his hair briefly before grabbing the glass. Bones came up the stairs, packages from the market and briefcase in tow, as Jim began to move towards the front of the house to meet him halfway. He held out the drink, causing Bones to slow his steps before stopping all together. Bones raised an eyebrow at him. “What?”
“I should be asking you that,” Bones said with a shrug. “You’re greeting me with a bourbon. You never do that unless you want something.”
Jim sputtered. “I don’t…I don’t want anything.”
“Uh huh,” Bones mumbled as he took the bourbon from him. He began to make his way to the kitchen. Jim followed him, watching as he placed the bag from the market on the counter. He took a moment to take a wrapped package out of the bag. He then began to pull an assortment of peppers, broccoli, and zucchini out.
Jim sighed. “Okay, so, I might have went ahead and finished your office.”
Bones paused; he turned to face him. “You what?”
“Look, I know how you like things to be organized, and I kind of zenned out and before I knew it, it was done.” He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Honest, it just kind of happened.”
Bones stared at him with a considering expression. He grabbed the bourbon and took a sip; he then seemingly casually set it back down on the counter.
“What did you do?”
“Do? I don’t…”
“Jim.” It was a warning.
Jim sighed; this was the problem with being married to someone who knew you better than they knew themselves: the endless litany of them calling you out on your shit. “Okay. Remember that dog I sent you?”
“The one that we agreed we were just window-shopping with?”
Jim smiled. “Might’ve done more than just window-shopping.”
An alarmed look crossed Bones’ features as he walked out of the kitchen to look into their backyard. Jim hurriedly walked after him.
“No, she’s not here yet, I didn’t bring her home.” Bones turned to face him with a look of relief. “But I did leave a deposit over the phone, and we’re to bring her home tomorrow.” The look on Bones’ face became a glare. “Pending approval, of course! I told them if you say no then the deal’s off.”
Bones sighed. “Jim…”
“Look, she’s amazing,” Jim pleaded. “She’s amazing, and if we didn’t snatch her up someone else was going to. She’s beautiful, all the videos prove she’s incredibly smart, she’s a good age and size…she’s everything we want!”
Bones looked irritated, but not outright angry. That was something, he supposed.
“Come on, Bones,” Jim said, turning his big blue eyes all the way up to full puppy-dog. “We can walk if you don’t like her, they gave me their word. Let’s at least go and give her a chance?”
“You put a deposit down on her, Jim.”
“That’s refundable!”
Bones took another long sip of bourbon. “Is it?”
“Yeah, it was just in good faith to make sure no one adopted her before we get to see her.” Jim bowed his head a little. “I just, I didn’t want us to miss out. She really is something special, Bones, and I’d hate to lose her because we had to wait a day or two, and yeah, okay, I did the office and had the drink waiting to curry favor.”
“Thanks for admitting it,” Bones said as he sat the bourbon back down. “I should tell you to call them back and say we decided against it, I really should.”
Jim’s expression became unbearably sad. “Aw, Bones…”
Bones sighed. “But this is obviously important to you, and she does seem like a great dog.” He took another long drink of the bourbon as he grabbed a cutting board before washing his hands. He then pulled a knife off the metal strip above the sink and began to slice a pepper. “We’ll go tomorrow when I get out of my last class, but I’m keeping my veto privileges. If she pees on either of us, bites us, or barks uncontrollably, we’re not bringing her home.”
Jim immediately began to grin, before ramping it down into a simple pleased expression. “I understand.” He peaked in the bag where a bottle of Beaujolais sat. “Want me to chill this?”
“Should be fine now, if you want a glass,” Bones said off-handedly. “I’ll have mine with dinner.”
“Nah, I can wait. I’ll go put on some music though. Marvin or Al?”
“Otis.”
“Otis it is,” Jim pressed a kiss to Bones’ cheek. “Thanks for agreeing to meet her, it means a lot to me.”
“I know,” Bones said with a half-smile as he concentrated on his knife work. Jim took that as a cue to leave him to it, and he walked into the living room to the panel display that controlled their sound system. He cued up Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul. The music began to play throughout the floor. Jim looked around the corner to the kitchen; Bones’ back was to him as he cut up the broccoli.
Perfect.
He chose this moment to begin dancing. He even jumped up and down a few times for good measure.
Bones said yes!
That night and the next day flew by, and before Jim knew it, it was time to go. He grabbed his car keys and made his way out of his office to the Starfleet command parking lot. He put the top down on his car and pulled on his sunglasses. He then backed the car out of its space and began to drive over to Starfleet Academy.
It was a short drive, as they were on the same basic campus. He made a right turn and parked right in front of April Hall. Jim got out of the car and made his way inside the building to Bones’ office.
The man himself was sitting at his desk, reading something on a PADD.
“Lesson plans,” Jim said with a knock on the door. Bones looked up, confused for a moment, before smiling back.
“Just checking my email one more time before I clock out,” Bones explained. “I’m all set to go.” He put the PADD in his briefcase, and stood up. Jim grinned.
“C’mon then, our destiny awaits.” Bones joined him at the door, and they paused so he could shut and lock it. At this moment, a female cadet came up to them.
“Doctor, a word?”
Bones had the look on his face that meant he was fighting off rolling his eyes. This made Jim raise his eyebrow in response. “Office hours are over, cadet.”
“I understand,” she said with a nod. “I was just curious to see if you read my dissertation.”
“I don’t need to,” Bones said with a shrug. “I’m not getting a TA.”
She didn’t frown, and her shoulders didn’t sag, but her disappointment was palpable just the same. Jim looked at Bones with a slight frown; being his TA clearly meant a lot to her, and Bones wouldn’t even take a glance at her paperwork?
“I understand,” she said after a long pause. “I’m sorry for wasting your time, sir.” She saluted, though it was half-hearted, and she turned and made her way back down the hall.
“What was that about,” Jim asked as they made their way outside to his car.
“Randolph approached me after class practically begging to be my TA,” Bones explained as he waited for Jim to unlock the passenger door. “Told her I wasn’t interested, and she sent me her dissertation and resume anyway. I moved the files to the trash because apparently she thinks when I say I don’t want a TA that somehow I’ll magically make an exception for her.” He pulled on his own sunglasses and rolled his window down to prop his arm on the door.
Jim frowned. “I don’t think she’s expecting special treatment, I think she’s just expecting a chance.” He paused in pulling out of the space to put the address of the shelter into the GPS. “I mean, it couldn’t hurt for you to have an assistant anyways. You’ve got what, two hundred students? Grading papers takes a long time, it could be good to have some help.”
“Or she could go easy on them, give everyone As, and mess everything up for the future of Starfleet medical personnel.”
“You don’t know that, Bones,” Jim said as he made a turn. “She could be even tougher than you are.”
Bones didn’t say anything to that but he looked thoughtful. “You think I’m being unreasonable.”
“Not unreasonable so much as taking on too much like you usually do,” Jim said honestly. He took another left. “You don’t have to do everything yourself, you know. That’s why professors have TAs in the first place. Hell, I was one, and I didn’t go easy on the cadets. My will was ironclad.”
Bones snorted. “This is true.” He ran a hand through his hair, which was pretty wind-blown at this point. “I’ll read her dissertation. If it’s any good, I’ll reconsider it.”
“That’s the spirit,” Jim said with a smile as they pulled into a parking space. A sign on the building proclaimed Pets Unlimited. Jim put the top back up on the car before they stepped out of it. Bones walked ahead and opened the door. Jim locked the car and followed him inside.
At the reception desk, a short redhead smiled at them. “Hi! Do you gentlemen have an appointment?”
“We do, actually, we’re here to see Ginger,” Jim said as he put his sunglasses on top of his head. “The Kirk-McCoys?”
She nodded as she highlighted something by touching the computer screen. “Your adoption counselor will be with you in a minute. Would you like to have a seat?”
They looked to their left; there was a cushioned bench across the foyer from them. “Yeah, that’s fine,” Bones said with a shrug. Jim took his hand and winked at the receptionist, who immediately blushed and smiled back at him. Bones rolled his eyes and tugged him over to have a seat.
“Is there anyone you won’t flirt with?”
“You’re asking this now?” Jim snorted. “I mean, have we met?”
Before Bones could retort, a woman came out to greet them. “The Kirk-McCoys?” Both men stood. “Hi, I’m Stephanie. I’ll be your adoption counselor. Come on back, it’s time to meet Ginger.”
She held a door open for them and led them back to a room. Stephanie opened the door.
Ginger sat in the middle of the floor with her ears up. She was just as pretty as in her pictures, her bright brown eyes shining with intelligence and curiosity. The curly tail at her back began to wag furiously at the sight of people.
“This is,” Stephanie began as the dog bolted upright, and bee-lined for Jim. He crouched down onto one knee as she plowed into him. Ginger emitted a kind-of high pitched almost screaming sound as she jumped onto her hind legs, placed her front paws on Jim’s shoulders, and immediately began to attack his face with her tongue. Jim burst out laughing.
Bones shook his head, but he couldn’t help grinning at the two of them. The dog continued to make that high-pitched noise as she knocked Jim onto his ass, still licking his face.
“Does she always do that,” Bones asked the counselor.
“When she’s excited or upset, otherwise she barks like a normal dog,” Stephanie answered. “It’s a Shiba Inu trait.”
Jim had his arms around the dog, and was trying to pet her as much as he could between the laughing and the licking.
“Ginger, stop,” Stephanie said in a commanding tone. Ginger paused to look at her for a second before immediately going for Jim’s face again. She sighed. “Ginger, that’s enough. Stop.”
Ginger stopped briefly, but only because she noticed Bones. She immediately left Jim, who wiped his face with the back of a hand, and tried to jump up on Bones. Bones wasn’t having it, however, and he put his knee up in the air to block her. Ginger ran into his knee and landed back on all fours with a slightly perplexed expression.
She tried again; Bones once again put his knee up and the dog landed back on the ground. Ginger shook it off and tried for a third time with the same result. She made a loud snuffling noise before turning back to Jim. For the second time she started climbing all over him and licking his face.
“You’re the sweetest dog,” Jim said with a lot of affection in his voice. “You’re seriously so sweet.” He scratched the spot just above the base of her tail. Ginger’s ears went flat, and she grinned up at Jim adoringly.
Bones looked at Stephanie with a serious expression. “She doesn’t seem to listen very well.”
“She does,” Stephanie said after a pause. “But she’s not always consistent about it.”
“Jim, you shouldn’t let her climb all over you like that,” Bones said down to his husband. He turned his attention back to the counselor. “She seems stubborn.”
“She is a bit, but she’s also still kind of a puppy. Her previous owners didn’t train her at all, we’ve worked with her a lot since we got her.”
“They didn’t train her? She’s six months old,” Bones said in an incredulous tone.
“No, they got her basically with the thought that a puppy is a toy. They didn’t even housebreak her, and they dumped her by the side of the road when she acted like a puppy. A neighbor of theirs brought her in, and we reported them to the authorities of course. Since we got her a month ago, we’ve housebroken her and have been trying to do some obedience training.” She looked down where Ginger had calmed a little; she was still rubbing up against Jim, but she wasn’t screaming anymore. She was also only licking Jim’s face sporadically now.
The same Jim who looked suddenly heartbroken.
“People really did that to her?” He was looking up at Stephanie and Bones with such sadness in his eyes that it made Bones’ heart ache in response.
“She’s not the first dog we’ve gotten with a similar story, and she won’t be the last, unfortunately.”
Jim was quietly petting her, scratching her behind the ears as she grinned and panted. Bones looked at the counselor.
“Could you give us a few minutes,” he asked, not unkindly. Stephanie nodded.
“Sure, I’ll let you three keep getting acquainted.” She opened the door and stepped out into the hall, closing it behind her as she went. Bones knelt down next to Jim; he reached out a hand and Ginger came over to him. She tried to climb on him like she did Jim, but Bones held her down to pet her.
“I can’t believe they didn’t even give her a chance,” Jim said as he watched Bones stroke her back. “Yeah, she’s got energy but…they just threw her away. Like she was nothing.”
“It unfortunately happens,” Bones said with a shrug. “She’s kind of a handful.”
“It’s just because no one’s worked with her. They didn’t try, so she’s rough around the edges.” Jim started to pet her too, opting to scratch her behind the ears. “I was too, and if my memory serves, so were you.”
Bones nodded with a smile. “Yeah, we were. It’s true.”
Ginger spotted a toy in the corner of the room and pranced over to it. She promptly picked it up in her jaws and trotted back over to Jim. She sat, wagging her tail against the ground as she looked at him imploringly. Jim wordlessly took the toy from her and threw it across the room; Ginger was eager to chase it and immediately brought it back to Jim. He did it again and Ginger continued to chase after it.
“You already love her, don’t you?”
Jim didn’t say anything out loud; indeed, he didn’t have to. The expression on his face spoke volumes. He tossed the toy again and Ginger chased after it.
“She needs a different name. I mean, I get why Ginger, that’s what color she is. But she deserves something more. Something better.”
The dog brought the toy back to them, dropping it from in-between her jaws. Ginger looked at Bones for a second before focusing back on Jim. She pushed her snout up under his arm. Jim laughed and began to pet her gently.
Bones sighed. “She’s less trained than what we originally said we’d get.”
“I’ll work with her.”
“Yeah, you will. This is going to be your project, Jim, no shirking her off onto me.”
“Wouldn’t dare.” Ginger had rolled onto her back and Jim was scratching her belly. She looked incredibly happy and content.
“I’ll have to get gates to keep her in the kitchen when we’re not home.”
Jim nodded, still scratching her belly. “Or she can stay outside.”
“And let her dig up my rose bushes? You’re dreaming.” Bones reached out a hand and began to rub her belly too. Ginger was ecstatic and started thumping her tail in time with the movement of their hands. “You’re really sure about this? She’s going to be a lot of work.”
“I like challenges,” Jim said as he continued to pet her. “There’s only one other time I’ve been this sure, and I got a husband out of it. I know what I’m doing.”
Bones nodded. “Okay then. I’ll get Stephanie so we can fill out the paperwork.”
Jim finally looked at him then, and a bright happiness shone in his eyes. “You’re the best, Bones.”
“I know,” Bones said as he pulled him in for a kiss. “I want you to remember that when you clean up after her going in the house.”
“She won’t do that, she’s perfect,” Jim retorted. He rubbed Ginger’s snout. “What do you think about Georgie?”
The dog cocked her head to one side with interest and looked at Jim seriously. Bones nodded.
“Georgie’s a better fit than Ginger,” he said without stating the obvious, that it was for Jim’s father. “I’ll get Stephanie. You two keep bonding.”
Bones stood, brushing the shedded fur off his knees, and turned to make his way back into the hall to find their adoption counselor. Jim immediately started talking in a low voice to the dog.
“What do you say, girl? Want to come home today?”
Georgie cocked her head to one side again, but something shifted in her expression as if she was saying yes. She panted and grinned, and after a moment, she rubbed up against Jim again. He hugged her in his arms.
“Okay, then it’s settled. You’re coming home.”
Georgie nuzzled her snout under Jim’s hand, and he scratched her behind the ears.
After several pieces of paperwork, a few credits, and a care package including rawhide chews and toys, Jim and Bones packed their new dog, Georgie, into Jim’s car. Jim drove extra carefully on the way back to their house, and he kept an eye on her in the rearview mirror.
Bones kept assuring him that she was fine, but Jim was concerned for her safety and white-knuckled anyway.
After a brief detour to Petsmart, they pulled into their garage. Georgie looked around with a curious expression, although she started from the noise of the garage door closing behind her. She recovered quickly and jumped up to the center console in between Jim and Bones.
“Georgie…” Bones began, but the dog ignored him. She clearly wasn’t used to her new name yet. “Ginger, stay,” he tried again. Her ears twitched, but she continued to look curiously around her as she panted frantically. Jim opened his door and Georgie immediately climbed into his lap to get out.
“Ack,” Jim cried out as her paw dug into a sensitive area. Bones snorted. Georgie climbed out of the car first, tumbling out onto the concrete floor of the garage. Bones slowly opened his door and followed suit, Jim not too far behind.
The dog ran around the garage, sniffing everything she could reach. She stood up on her hind legs and sniffed Jim’s tool bench enthusiastically. Both Bones and Jim watched her fondly for a second before Jim whistled.
“C’mon Georgie-girl,” he called, and the dog loped on over to him. “Let’s see your home, okay?”
Georgie wagged her tail and investigated the door leading to the bottom level. She sat beside it expectantly before looking back to Jim. Bones shook his head a few times; she clearly had decided that Jim was her person, which he was fine with. That was how it should be, since Jim would be the one to train and discipline her.
Jim opened the door and they stepped into the bottom level of their home. Georgie ran ahead of them to investigate the Man Cave. Jim whistled a second time and she came loping back. The trio made their way up the stairs to the next level of the house. Once more, Georgie tried to investigate before Jim whistled, reigning her in.
Bones was impressed; she seemed unwilling to listen back at the shelter, but she was totally treating Jim like her alpha dog at Petsmart and now in their home. Jim had insisted on buying only the highest quality food for Georgie, as well as a new bed for the breakfast nook, plus toys, dishes, and a shiny new leash and collar. He was already spoiling her, much to Bones’ consternation.
Georgie bounded up the stairs to the next level, and he and Bones tried to keep up. She was in the kitchen, and she did that weird bark-scream thing she did at the shelter. Jim grinned at her as he showed his face over the steps, Bones right behind him.
“This is where you’ll be most of the time, Georgie,” he said with a smile as he walked over to her. She bravely advanced on him and jumped on him the way she did at the shelter. Jim rubbed behind her ears affectionately.
“You should push her down when she does that,” Bones said almost to no one in particular. “It’s bad manners.”
“She’s fine,” Jim said as he continued scratching her. “She won’t do it to guests, will you, Georgie?”
Georgie grinned up at him. She wagged her tail a few times before sliding back down onto all fours. She then went to the back door by the deck, sitting and thumping her tail beside it.
“She needs to go out,” Bones said as he made his way into the kitchen to wash his hands. Tonight’s menu was grilled tuna steaks and salad.
“What are you talking about?” Jim shot him a perplexed look. “She went to the bathroom when we were at Petsmart. She’s fine.”
“She’s a puppy, Jim.” Bones was done washing his hands, and he dried them on a towel. “They need to go out pretty frequently.”
“She’s fine, she’s just sitting by the door because she…”
Georgie was squatting in front of the door, peeing with a serious look on her face.
Jim stared blankly at her as Bones snorted once.
She continued to pee for a seemingly long time. An almost worringly long time, if Jim was being honest. She just kept peeing, almost forever. Finally she was done, and she panted and grinned up at them as she made her way into the kitchen to get affection from Jim.
Jim blinked down at her a few times before he grabbed the roll of paper towels on the counter. He also tried not to notice the fact that Bones was stifling laughter.
He was married to a dick. That wasn’t news.
Jim walked back to the deck door and knelt down to mop up the incredible puddle of dog pee that sat by the door.
Okay, so.
He would just have to make sure he didn’t ignore that sign again. Good to know that she was trained enough to at least sit by the door, he guessed. It took a lot of paper towels, but her mess was cleaned up, and she grinned at him. Jim smiled back instinctively.
It was one mishap. It didn’t mean she was a bad dog or anything.
He opened the door to let her out into the backyard, and Georgie immediately went out to explore. There wasn’t much in the way of grass, but Bones did have his rose bushes and gardenias, so Jim kept an eye on her to make sure she wasn’t digging anything up. Dimly, he heard the sounds of cooking behind him, and Bones put a hand on his shoulder. Jim gave him a warm smile as they watched their dog investigate her new home.
“Female dogs don’t tend to dig much,” Bones said by way of explanation. “Male dogs tend to be the diggers, but she may have anxiety issues which could cause her to dig or be destructive.”
Jim nodded. Something occurred to him then, and he gave his husband a sly look. “I thought your people had horses, not dogs.”
“Oh I had dogs growing up,” Bones said with a shrug. “Dad made me train Midnight when I was nine.”
“Midnight? Let me guess, he was black.”
“I was nine,” Bones snapped. “You tell me what you would’ve named a black Border Collie at nine.”
“You’re cute,” Jim answered. Bones scowled and went back to their dinner, leaving Jim to stare out the back door at Georgie, who had her front paws up on the edge of a flowerbed as she sniffed a bush. She jumped back down and ran to the grassy area of their yard, squatting to go to the bathroom again. Jim felt kind of creepy watching their dog pee, so he headed back into the kitchen to wash his hands and set the table for dinner.
A loud but muffled bark sounded throughout the house just as Jim finished filling glasses with iced tea for their dinner. Guessing that this meant Georgie wanted to come back inside, Jim went over to the backyard door. Sure enough, she was sitting there waiting for him. Georgie wagged her tail and bounded inside as Jim opened the door.
Bones had two plates full of food that he was carrying to the breakfast nook. He sat at a chair after placing his napkin in his lap; Jim and Georgie followed. Jim sat in the chair at the head of the table as he took a sip of iced tea. Bones liked his sweet, something Jim was still getting used to after four years of being together.
Georgie sat next to Jim, and her brown eyes were large as she looked up at him imploringly. Jim paused in the middle of cutting his tuna steak to look back down at her.
“If you feed her, you’ll never be able to eat in peace,” Bones said before taking a bite of salad. He looked completely unmoved by Georgie’s display.
Jim continued to look down at her. She just looked so sad, surely a little piece of tuna wouldn’t cause a problem?
He stared at her again for several seconds before putting a piece of tuna in his hand. He held it out to her, and she immediately it took it off his hand, munching on it happily. Georgie licked her lips and sat back, her tail dragging across the floor as it wagged. Jim grinned back at her as he went about eating his dinner.
“You gonna read Randolph’s dissertation after dinner?”
“Yeah, I’ll skim it,” Bones said in between bites. “I don’t have time to read the entire thing. I’ll be able to tell pretty quickly if it’s worth anything.”
Georgie made a strange huffing noise as she moved a little closer to Jim. Jim looked down at her with a bewildered expression.
“She wants more food. I told you that you shouldn’t give her any.”
Jim shrugged. “It’s fine.” They were finished eating, and Bones cleared the plates to wash them. Jim sat back in the chair as Georgie advanced on him. She grumbled a little and licked his hand. Jim patted her head with a fond expression. “Guess we should go ahead and feed her and set up her dishes, though.”
“Not a bad idea,” Bones called from the kitchen. “Food’s right here, we’ll have to store it where she can’t get to it.”
Jim got up from the table and went over to the thirty-pound back of food and bag of other things they got for her at the pet store. He pulled out the two metal bowls. Jim debated briefly before setting them in the breakfast area near the kitchen entryway. He opened the bag of food and poured some into one of the bowls; Georgie’s ears perked up and she immediately ran over to the dish. She eagerly began to eat. Jim took the other bowl into the kitchen, where Bones was drying his hands.
Jim quickly filled it with cool water and stepped back into the breakfast nook, placing it next to Georgie’s food. Georgie kind of hunched defensively, as if she was afraid he would take it away from her, before she relaxed. He scratched her behind the ears fondly before stepping back and watching her eat.
“Jim,” Bones said suddenly. Jim ran into the kitchen, where Bones was standing with the box that housed the gate for the kitchen doorway. “Help me set this up, would you?”
Jim looked back toward the breakfast area; he wanted to watch and play with Georgie. Bones cleared his throat.
“Today, Jim,” he said in an impatient tone. Jim sighed and looked back toward him.
“Fine, although I still don’t think this is necessary. She’ll be fine.”
“She’s a puppy,” Bones said as he got the tools down from where they kept them in the kitchen. “Puppies need boundaries.”
Jim shrugged as he held the gate in place while Bones started to attach it to the wall. Georgie trotted over to them, sniffing at the gate and wagging her tail. She quickly grew bored of watching them work and went back to the breakfast nook. Georgie had obviously discovered her new bed, as she curled up on it. She made a loud noise, almost like a long-suffering sigh.
Well, that was okay. Jim would just give her lots of extra attention to make up for it when they were done.
Things would be fine.
Part Two
