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[mintjulep]

This is Leonard McCoy, Chief Medical Officer aboard the USS Enterprise. Bridge, do you copy?

[ There’s a man in science blue standing next to the fountain, looking cold and grumpy as he shakes his device. ]

Damn interference… Enterprise, this is McCoy. I don’t know what the hell happened with those infernal transporters, but I’m damn sure I ain’t where I’m supposed to be. Scott, can you hear me? Jim? Uhura? Sulu? Chekov? Chapel? Anyone?

… Spock?

[ Nothing, not even the hobgoblin. Dammit. ]

Right, well. Looks like I’ll try and blend in. Christmas music and all...

[ Except since his communicator couldn’t reach the Enterprise, it broadcasted his conversation to the entire city instead… ]

Comments

audio )

[adamantined]

You should see us when Easter rolls around.

[That was a joke. Sort of.]

After so many times, you get tired of asking the same standard questions. Are you alright? Do you need help? What's the last thing you remember?

audio )

[mintjulep]

I don't want to know.

If I were hurt, I wouldn't be this calm. [ Yes McCoy, you're totally calm and not at all freaking out inwardly. Of course you are. ] It's damn cold out here, though, and the last thing I remember is being on the ship.

audio )

[adamantined]

Lots of ears.

Those questions were mostly just... examples. You didn't actually have to answer them. [It's taking everything she's got not to make some sort of pop culture reference. Where is Zach when you need him?] Do you need a hat? That is to say, help?

audio )

[mintjulep]

Rabbit ears?

Right. Sorry. [ He's tense (well, more tense than usual) and it's throwing him off, being in a place like this. It's the first time something like this has happened. It's not like everything that happened with Nero; at least there was some warning there, and he wasn't in it alone. ]

Wouldn't mind a coat, to be honest.

audio )

[adamantined]

No, human ears.

[Come on, McCoy, sheesh.]

You wouldn't believe the amount of guys' coats I've got just lying around. I can bring you one. Promise I'm not a psycho killer or anything.

[It's the first time she's really been social with anyone that she doesn't know overly well, and maybe it's the newness in his approach, his inexperience, that brings that out in her. No one should have to wander around the City on their own in the early days of December, especially when they're new.]

Uh, I'm Claire, by the way. Bennet.

audio )

[mintjulep]

You've got a lot of guys' coats lying around but you're not a psycho killer. What are you, then, a tailor?

[ He's not used to cold weather. Space is cold, but the ship has climate-control. Georgia and Mississippi and San Francisco, they're not cold. Not like this. ]

Leonard McCoy.

audio )

[adamantined]

[There is a pause and then a laugh - a short, sharp bark.]

I could be. The only thing you know about me so far is my name, but you're welcome to assume I've just had a few relatives from home pass in and out of here.

[Which is the truth, don't let the bodies under the stairs say otherwise.]

I caught that from your transmission. You'll probably blend in easier with a name like McCoy than you would with something like Sulu.

audio )

[mintjulep]

Sounds better than serial killer, at least.

[ Said as he doublechecks his med kit.

...wait a minute. ]

... Yeah. Not a very common name, is it?

audio )

[adamantined]

[She's definitely no serial killer. Too many of those hanging around back home for someone like her to ever seriously consider taking up the profession, after all.]

That depends on where you're from. Speaking of which, where are you anyway?

audio )

[mintjulep]

[ And of course one of them looks like Spock, if Spock didn't control his facial hair. ]

In front of the fountain. I've heard I'm lucky not to have fallen into it.

audio )

[adamantined]

With as cold as it's been? I'd probably be bringing you an entire snow suit rather than just a jacket.

[She's digging as she's talking, and as a consequence, the Network device, held like a cell phone, slips somewhere between her jaw and neck, her voice oddly muffled and close all at once.]

audio )

[mintjulep]

And I'd probably be a lot [ bitchier ] more upset.

[ It's not as bad as trying to talk when there are explosions, so he doesn't mention it. ]

audio )

[adamantined]

Some people freak out. I don't think anyone would blame you for having some kind of anxiety attack.

[It always says something about a person who can keep a careful leash on his panic, if there is any, when they first show up in the City.]

audio )

[mintjulep]

I have an anxiety attack and people die. I try not to have them.

[ He had to get over his fear of flying and of space to be in Starfleet. You can't have a doctor on a starship who's going to melt down at one glance at the stars. ]

audio )

[adamantined]

I don't think anyone is going to die because you let current circumstances get to you a little. You haven't got your hand in someone's chest cavity, do you?

[But she understands the implications.]

Not that you have to panic. It's not a requirement or anything.

audio )

[mintjulep]

If I were, I'd be swearing a damn sight more.

[ Good. ]

Heh. I'll keep that in mind.

[ He likes you, Claire. ]

audio )

[adamantined]

That must make for a colorful OR.

[But anyway -]

I've got your coat. Well, a coat. I can't promise the sleeves won't be too small. You could go into one of the cafes off the Square if you're desperate.

audio )

[mintjulep]

You had a reckless ass of a best friend and you'd swear at him every time you had to put him back together, too.

[ There's a snort. ]

Right, I'll do that. Thanks.

audio )

[adamantined]

Honestly, I think I'm usually on the reckless side of things. What's the worst he's ever done to himself?

[It's a genuine curiosity, even if she's not looking for specifics, necessarily. Talking while walking is better than trying to enjoy silence, the same way that it's better to walk with headphones in and music playing than not.]

Don't mention it.

audio )

[mintjulep]

Try and keep yourself out of the OR, would you?

[ There's movement on his end, the door to a coffee shop opening and closing and the sound of a chair being pulled out. ]

Fights, extreme sports, severe allergic reactions... You name it.

audio )

[adamantined]

Yeah, I'll do my best.

[Easy for the amazing regenerating girl. The return volley of sound on her end is a bit more open-ended, but there are rushing voices here and there, punching through the crisp blow of wind against the receiving end of her device.]

Were you guys friends before or after you decided you wanted to be a doctor?

audio )

[mintjulep]

Thanks.

[ He means it, too. The last thing he needs is for a nice girl like her to end up on the operating room table. ]

After. We only met about three years ago. [ There's a slight snort. ] He was a mess then, too.

audio )

[adamantined]

Well there are plenty of people here who are messes, if that's your thing.

audio )

[mintjulep]

I'm a doctor. It ends up being my thing whether I want it to or not. I'd rather they took care of themselves.

audio ) god, sorry, my weekends are consumed with work

[adamantined]

Fair enough.

[And she's moving with more noise this time, pushing through a door and shouldering through the inevitable crowd of people that always seems to appear just when she's trying to get somewhere while having a conversation.]

You said you were by the Fountain? It shouldn't take me very long to get there. Buy a coffee or something, I'll spot you.