This is my Christmas gift to my beautiful and wonderful friend from across the pond! Bandit-McCoy I hope this brightens your day and helps you have a relaxing and enjoyable break! Love you girly!!! 

"Bones they are coming!"

"I know!" the doctor growled as he tried to hotwire their land vehicle, his fingers fumbling with the alien tech. "It's not easy playing poker without any cards."

You rolled your eyes and shouldered him out of the way, placing the large bundle of medical supplies into his arms as you took control of the wires. 

"Then tap out and let the professionals play." 

Not a second later, the hoverbike came to life, it's yellow and blue lights flickering on before lifting a few centimeters off the ground. You ignored Bones and his grumbling as you took the supplies back and hopped on, nodding to the spot in front of you. 

"Hop on cowboy, we have a ship to catch."

Bones couldn't help but chuckle, shaking his head as he got on while placing goggles over his eyes. "You don't have to tell me twice." He revved the bike and looked back at the angrily screaming Tarivane locals getting closer. "Hold on, sweetheart. It's gonna be a bumpy ride."

You smirked, wrapping your arms around his middle, the medical supplies squishing between you but it didn't hinder you from feeling his strong muscles. "You don't have to tell me twice," you whispered under your breath.

With a low whine of power, the hoverbike took off across the Tarivane terrain, trees, bushes, and village houses zipping by in streaks of colors and shapes. But just as you thought Bones had lost the pursuers there was a crack of energy by a tree, just missing Bones' head. Looking back you saw four Tarivane rogues on hoverbikes of their own, their hands laden with heavy looking guns as the bikes steered themselves with some unseen technology. They shot at you guys again, making you hug the doctor a little tighter.

"Yeah, I see them," Bones called back to you, his head turning back to look at them too. "Keep your head down, we are almost at the checkpoint."

You pressed your face into his back, your eyes pressed closed as you prayed to no one in particular that nothing terrible would happen. 

But of course, something had to happen. 

The shooting continued, Bones not fully sure what else to do but keep driving as fast and haphazardly to the alcove where Sulu would be waiting with an escape shuttle. He focused on navigating a clear path in front of him as well as your thin arms around his waist. Looking back one more time he could see two of the four had broken off, one taking either side of him, their weapons fixed on the bike and you. 

Cursing under his breath, Bones reached down and pulled out his phasor, switching it to 'kill'. With a wobbly hand, he steered the bike as the other lifted the gun and fired at the rider to his left. The bike shook and he grabbed for the handles with both hands, his ears not missing your little shout of surprise at the slight tip of the bike. Shaking his head, Bones sheathed his gun, not willing to try that stunt again. He was a doctor, not a sharpshooter.

You looked back at the other two riders behind you, their shots firing far to close to their target for your liking. You looked around Bones to see where you guys were in relation to the checkpoint. Despite his reassurance that you were close, you were not, in fact, anywhere near the checkpoint. 

Suddenly you let out a horrid shout, the bike shaking and weaving as the sound of one of the Tarivane's guns going off nearly deafening you. But it wasn't the sound that took you by surprise or the erratic movement of the bike, but the immense amount of pain you felt in your back, just under your left shoulder blade. Searing pain coursed through you but you bit back another cry as Bones took a sharp turn, your eyes watering with the effort to stay on while straining your new wound. 

Bones looked back at you, calling out over the shots and the loud wind, "Are you alright?"

You nodded, not trusting your voice. But you noticed his phasor strapped to his leg, your own phasor having gone missing while you and Bones were fleeing the royal temple after leaving the Tarivane King and Queen's youngest on the porch all patched up and sleeping soundly, safe and home again. But the inner Kingdom turmoil didn't see the Starfleet as any sort of ally so the only fitting thing for them to do was to chase you out, your supplies and scientific findings all strewn about like Hansell and Gretel droppings, leading them straight to the two of you. 

Looking down at what remained of your supplies an idea popped into your brain. Squeezing Bones' middle, you got his attention, scooting closer to him to speak.

"Do you trust me?" You called out to him. 

He didn't hesitate in his reply. "Completely."

You nodded with a smirk. "When I say "now" change me places. I have an Idea."

You didn't need to hear his reply to know he understood because his hands tightened on the handles and the bike went faster.

Carefully, you detached your arms from around him and took hold of the supplies, a nice handful in each hand. with as much strength as you could, you twisted in your seat and chucked the two handfuls back at the two riders behind you. Bandages, vials, a surgical blade, some hypo needles and hypo tubes went tumbling back, ricocheting off the bikers and making one of them run into a tree. The other swerved, drawing closer.

With only two left you thought your odds still pretty good. Ignoring the pain in your back that now traveled up your left arm, you wrapped your arms around Bones again, but this time it was different.

"NOW!" 

Bones scooted back, his hands still on the handles but a gap where he once sat. With agility you weren't completely sure you had, you swung around his body so you were hugging his chest, your legs up on his legs and wrapped around him as your hand reached down and plucked the phasor from his leg strap. 

With your face close to his, you wrapped your arm under his arm and pressed your hand to his back to keep yourself stable as you shot down the last two riders. One went down instantly but you only nicked the other one, sending it spiraling forward at an alarming speed. You closed your eyes and hugged Bones as you felt the explosion of the bike hit something. You looked back and your eyes widened as you saw a tree erupt in flames and crash to the ground. 

"JUMP!" You yelled, detaching yourself from Bones and pushing him int he opposite direction of the fallen tree as you fell to the ground. 

Bones grunted, his head throbbing from the fall. He had been so focused on making sure you were safe on the bike that he wasn't paying close enough attention to the riders you were shooting down. He noticed the falling filled tree only seconds before you yelled to jump off. He fully intended to keep you in his arms and soften your fall but you were surprisingly strong.

 Pushing up from the ground, Bones watched as the bike the two of you were just on seconds before collide with the fallen tree and be consumed int he flames. But he couldn't see you anywhere. His eyes went wide as he looked around, his heart beating faster than it had the whole chase. His brows pinched as he felt something wet on his hand. Looking down,  he spied blood all over his hand and down his arm, but it wasn't his. He looked up wildly, his fists clenched.

"(Y/N)!!!!" He called, standing up with slightly shaking legs. "(Y/N)!!!"

There he spotted you, just a few meters away from the wreckage. In a stumbling haste, Bones ran to you, falling to his knees at your side. He gently pulled you to him, brushing hair from your face. 

"(Y/n), come on. You just pulled a badass move," Bones' grumbled under his breath.

You were unconscious. Your breathing, though shallow, was still strong enough to give the southern doctor some hope. He pulled you up into his arms, your head rolling forward, pressing against this chest. He pressed his cheek to the top of your head, his eyes closing against the worried emotion that was building up in his throat. 

Then his communicator went off somewhere next to you. On the ground was his comms unit, half bashed in but clearly still working. He walked over to it, kicking it with his foot. 

"Bones here. Please tell me you guys are on your way."

"Landing now." Came Sulu's voice, slightly broken up but Bones could hear the shuttle. "Hurry on, the Enterprise is ready to take off."

Bones stomped on the communicator and turned just in time to see the shuttle touch down. The side door was flung open to reveal Uhura and another medical officer. Bones tried to ignore how limp you were in his arms as he hurried to the shuttle, your blood seeping on to his shirt. Once inside he gently set you down, the medical officer getting straight to work looking at her wound. 

Only when Uhura placed a hand on his shoulder did Bones tare his eyes away from you. The linguistics officer offered him a reassuring smile. 

"She's strong. With you taking care of her, she will be just fine."

Bones didn't say anything as she left, the shuttle now in the Enterprise docking bay. Looking down at you he clenched his jaw and rubbed his face, letting out a low and long breath. The medical officer did what he could in the shuttle to which Bones thanked him with a curt nod and a grunt. 

Holding you bridle style like before, Bones took you to the Med-bay where he never took his eyes off of you, his hand either holding your limp ones or stroking your hair while he thought no one was around.

~~~~

You opened your eyes slowly, blinking away the fogginess that filled your head and covered your eyes. Slowly you got your bearings, looking around the room. You were in your room, in your bed, and in your favorite earth pyjamas. 

You let out a content sigh, closing your eyes again only to have them snap open again in sudden pain. A low growl of discomfort rumbled in your throat as you suddenly remembered all that had happened. You wondered how long you had been out, the last thing you remember doing was pushing Bones off the hoverbike. 

Another grumble of pain escaped your lips then suddenly you weren't alone anymore. A figure came to the side of your bed, their broad shoulders, dark hair, and kind eyes coming into the only light of the lap that was by your bed. 

Bones kelt down next to you and took your hand, rubbing his thumb over your knuckles gently. "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. More like evening really. How are you feeling?"

You blinked, your body shifting to find a more comfortable position to alleviate the pain in your back. "How long-" you couldn't finish as another wave of pain hit you. 

Quickly but gently, Bones procured a hypo and placed it on your left shoulder, instant pain relief coursing through you. You visibly relaxed and then even more so as he reached up to stroke your hairline. For some reason, it felt oddly familiar and extremely comforting. 

"Two days. But it was a nasty hit. Why didn't you tell me."

You rolled your eyes. "We had more pressing things than a mere flesh wound."

Bones shook his head slightly, real worry filling his gaze. "Their weapons attack at a molecular level. It's going to take some time to heal."

You reached up with your hand and cupped his cheek, smiling weakly. "Thank goodness I have you to take care of me."

Bones held your gaze as the two of you just sat there, not moving as you just stared at him. His gaze was soft as his brow was etched with worry and...and something more. Something you couldn't place. You let your hand drop from his cheek to land on his shoulder, rubbing it gently. 

"Leonard?" You whispered, your own brows furrowing in concern.

Then, right before your eyes, the strongest, most stoic man you knew visibly fell apart. A tear leaked out the corner of his eye as his chin all but trembled. Your heart broke seeing him like this. But what bothered you was you didn't know what it was that was that made him react this way. 

Therefore you did the best you could to pull him into the bed with you, pulling him close. He buried his face in your neck, pressing warm kisses on your skin making you shiver in delight. You stroked his hair as you leaned your head on his. You just held him, relishing in the feel of his arms around you, careful to avoid your wound, but warm and entirely wonderful. 

Bones was thankful for your silent invitation. He didn't plan on becoming emotional but hearing you inadvertently say you were glad to have him there to take care of you, he was suddenly hit with a strong and very real realization. One that his emotions clearly couldn't keep at bay any longer. 

After a time, Bones closed his eyes, finally relaxing in your arms as he pulled you a bit closer, his lips still pressed against your shoulder. But he pulled back, just enough for you to hear him speak in a low voice, his southern drawl coming out more than usual. 

"Not that you need someone to look after you but I would like to be the one in charge of looking after your wounds, inside and out, good days and bad days. I want to know your secrets and fears, dreams and wishes. I want to be the first person you think of when you wake up and the last person you see before you go to sleep. I knew I liked you had feelings for you, but I didn't know I loved you until I held you limp in my arms, imagining the rest of my life without you in it."

You stilled, your heart hammering as blood rushed loudly in your ears. Bones pressed another kiss to your shoulder before pulling away just enough to look you in the eyes. He wasn't teary-eyed anymore but timid was one way to describe him. His dark eyes pulled you in as you tried to make sense of everything he was saying. You opened your mouth to reply but your words were stopped with a kiss.

You had been kissed before but that paled in comparison. Taking advantage of our alleviated pain, you moved so you could hold him better, your lips never parting. It was sweet, loving, and not at all assuming. Warmth cascaded down your body with every beat your hearts made in unison. Slowly, he pulled away, his eyes dreamy as a corner of his lips turned up, the old Bones returning. 

"I had to make sure to place all my cards on the table so you wouldn't call it a bluff."

You smiled, kissing his cheek as you snuggled closer to him, your legs intertwining comfortably. "I am having a hard time believing you don't go kissing all your patience especially after nearly crying on their shoulder."

Bone's chuckled, his hand making nonsense shapes on your exposed arm. "Only the pretty ones."

You raised a brow, your mouth twitching. "Oh? So no wonder every woman on the ship conveniently gets hurt during your shifts or comes late during routine check-ups to-"

You smiled into the kiss that he pressed against your lips, shutting you up again. But you didn't mind. He held you tight, kissing you thoroughly until you groaned but not with pleasure. Instantly he released you, his expression worried. You shook your head and pressed your head to his chest. 

"It's just wearing off."

"Well good thing you have me here."

You felt two pricks on your shoulder before Bones' arm replaced hit'self around your body. You gave him a puzzled look as sleep suddenly pulled at your eyelids. 

Bones chuckled as he pressed a soft kiss to your forehead. "Try and get some sleep. You'll be on bed rest for a while, so let's hope you get used to this."

You yawned, nodding gently as you snuggled to him. "Oh yes. I could very much get used to strong doctors professing their undying love to me while in my chambers and laying in my bed."

Bones smiled as he watched you nod off, your breaths becoming slower, your breath tickling his neck. He couldn't stop himself from pressing another kiss to your forehead before tucking you close to him, his head resting on yours. 

"I love you too," you whispered, taking him by surprise.

Bones had never slept so soundly in all his life; his whole world wrapped lovingly in his arms. Someone who loved him just as he loved her.