Chapter 6

He was in full uniform, his face flushed with shame as he waited for his fate to be decided.

Do they have tae drag these things out like this? he thought, miserably, If I'm goin' tae be expelled, they might as well get it overwith.

Something told him it was part of his punishment.

Stupid fecking beagle, he thought, Should've caught a rabid squirrel instead. I wouldn't fecking be here if I had.

Of course, he hadn't been thinking. He had been angry at his professor for humiliating him in front of the other students. The old bat had no appreciation for new ideas. None. And yet, he, Scotty, was the one at fault.

Suddenly, the door before him opened and a very young cadet with curly, light brown hair poked his head out. "Zey are ready for you," he announced, in a thick accent.

"Thanks, lad," he said, quietly, standing and walking towards the hearing room.

Later that evening:

He stood on the Golden Gate Bridge, staring down into the depths of the ocean below.

"You will depart in the morning at 0700 hours, Cadet Scott, and not a minute later or your sorry ass will be shipped back to Scotland faster than you can say 'haggis'."

It was almost amusing, the way the Admiral had put it. The idea, at least.

But not quite.

Scotty stared at his hands, cupped over the ocean.

Resting in them was a silver ring.

He had read between the lines easily enough when his sentence had been read. It hadn't taken much to do so. The fact that a specific time limit had not been put on the punishment didn't bode well for him.

Dammit, what is it with you and long distance relationships?! screamed his mother's voice in his mind.

You were gone for five years, Mary! Five years! What did ye expect me to do?! Ye jes' up and got yerself arrested, for no damn reason! his father yelled back.

Fine! Your own damn affairs are your own damn business, but I came tae see my son!

Get out of this house! Now!

Please, no more, Scotty thought. The figures faded.

Swallowing, he made his decision, and hurled the ring off the bridge.

It glinted in the setting sun for a brief moment, then disappeared into the ocean.

Scotty cursed himself and rested his head on his arms on the railing, his vision filling with tears.

0650 hours, the following morning, Starfleet Academy Shipyards.

The morning was warm, but gray and quiet. Humid. Miserable. Melancholy. Morose.

He approached the shuttle, a large duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He was wearing civvies instead of his uniform, jeans and a white, sleeveless shirt, not giving a damn about protocol, at least for the moment.

"Scotty!" a voice called from behind.

He stopped in his tracks, his heart sinking. Shit, he thought.

He turned to face Susie.

"…Are you…going…somewhere?" she asked, hesitantly, staring at his duffel bag.

He stared at the ground for a few seconds, then nodded. "They threw th' book at me, love," he said, sadly, "Animal mistreatment, theft, illegal animal testing…helluva lot more things havin' tae do with animals…" He managed a slight laugh at this. "I'm bein' transferred to a research station on Delta Vega."

Susie's expression of confusion and sadness became instantly horrified. "For…how long?" she questioned.

"No less than a year, love, probably more."

"Were you…planning on telling me about this?"

Scotty sighed. "Yes," he lied. No. Not in person, at least. "I left you a letter on your bed. Listen, Susie, I've got tae go. I love you."

He took her face in his hands and kissed her for a last time, then turned and walked away.

***

Bones stared at Scotty, open-mouthed. "You're kidding," he said.

"Pardon?" Scotty asked, quietly.

"You broke up with the woman you wanted to marry in a letter?!"

"I…"

"Scotty, you coward!"

"ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT, I GET IT!" Scotty shouted, his voice cracking, "IT WAS A STUPID, IRRATIONAL THING TO DO! YES, I LEFT HER! YES, I BROKE IT TO HER IN A GODDAMN LETTER BECAUSE I COULDN'T STAND TO SEE THE LOOK ON HER FACE WHEN SHE FOUND OUT! YES, I AM A BLOODY COWARD, AND YES, I'VE FOUND OUT SHE HATES MY FECKING GUTS, AND YES, I REALIZE THAT I DESERVE IT!"

Bones involuntarily took a step backward, his heart pounding, instantly realizing he'd gone too far. He had never seen Scotty this upset before.

The engineer took a deep, shuddering breath and fell to his knees, sobbing quietly.

"Dr…McCoy?" asked a tentative voice nearby.

Bones whirled around to see Nurse Chapel standing nearby, holding a PADD.

"OUT," Bones snarled.

Hastily, she left, her footsteps echoing in the empty room.

Bones waited until he heard the slam of a door, then put a hand on Scotty's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean that. I was kind of…shocked. At you of all people."

"Don't apologize for that," the engineer said, shaking, "She'd've said the same thing."

"…There's something you should know," Bones began. "Susan Wright was under the influence of heavy, heavy painkillers and lucratives when you woke up, not to mention the fact that her brain activity was being hindered by—"

"Oh, sure, blame the fecking cancer on what she said to me! Ye think it'll make me feel any better?!" Scotty burst out, furiously.

"No. But you might be a little interested to know that before you woke up, she asked me about you."

"…What did she say?"

"Well…she was a little out of it, but she said to me, 'Is that guy an engineer?' And I told her yes. And she answered, 'If he doesn't wake up before I go, tell him I'll see him at the shuttleport with two tickets to Loch Ness.'"

Scotty began to cry again.

Flashes of his time on Delta Vega swept through his mind.

Screaming at the sky when he'd first arrived: "WOT! YE LEAVE ME ON THIS BLOODY PLANET, AND ALL THERE IS TAE EAT IS FECKING PROTEIN PACKS?! FINE! I SEE HOW IT IS, YE SORRY BASTARDS!!!"

Meeting Keenser for the first time. Teaching the little alien how to play poker. Getting beaten by the little alien in poker.

Drunken rantings about Susie.

More drunken rantings about that beagle.

Slowly losing it from hunger and loneliness.

Learning how to cope.

And the day that Kirk and the old Vulcan came and got him out of there for good.

Bones stood next to the engineer in silence, waving any passerby away with a sharp glare, waiting.

After what felt like an eternity, Scotty's flow of tears stemmed. He stood, wiping his eyes on his sleeve.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, sniffling, "that I had tae go all emotional on you."

"Don't worry about it."

"Is it possible for you tae keep this…between us? Please? I mean, I understand if it's got tae go on record or somethin', but—"

"My lips are sealed."

"…Thanks. You're a good friend, Bones."

Bones grimaced. "Don't disillusion yourself there, Scotty. I'm no saint."

"As if my track record's any better." The engineer gave a short, hiccupy laugh. "Sorry bastards should stick together, eh?"

"Yeah. Guess so."

"…Well, better get back tae work, I suppose."

"Want to get somethin' to drink, afterwards?"

Scotty's tiny smile returned. "Sure," he said, quietly.

FIN

A/N: Poor, poor, Scotty. *glomps* I felt like exploring his past, seeing as how he gets practically no love. Figured it'd be cool to show a side of him that wasn't all comic relief. Yays. Um. Yea. I gotta go now.

I LUVES YOU, SCOTTY!!!!!