Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or its character. I make no profit from this work of fiction.

Jim had had missions go wrong before. But this was probably the first one that had gone wrong on a boat.

Their hosts were gracious; the views had been great. But then they'd been attacked, and their hosts and Jim's crew found themselves fending off attackers in hand to hand combat. Phasers hadn't been allowed on the river vessel.

The good news was that they appeared to be winning. Jim took down his second attacker and looked up to see Bones grappling with another one of them up against the railing. He started to make his way across the deck to help when the two of them tipped over the railing and into the purple water.

Jim shoved people out of his way. "LEONARD!"

The two figures surfaced and then immediately began grappling again as the boat moved down river without them.

"Stop the boat!" Jim yelled over his shoulder, looking for anything he could use. He watched in horror at steel shined in the sunset; the attacker had a knife. Jim held his breath as they fought until Bones made a vicious jab under the water, and his attack went rigid. With a cry, Bones shoved him away, and his body floated listlessly on the water. He weakly started to swim back to the boat, but he was starting to sink with exhaustion.

Jim dove into the water and swam towards him, grabbing him as he started to go under. "I gotcha, Bones."

Bones coughed as Jim wrapped an arm around his chest and swam back to the boat, towing Bones behind him.

"You hurt?"

"No," Bones answered. "Thanks."

Jim felt himself smiling. "Anytime."

2.
It had all felt so surreal, like something out of a holovid. They had transported into an ancient temple only to be ambushed by natives and dodging booby traps on their way out.

Leonard breathed heavily as trailed after Jim, barely managing to pull himself to the top of the hill.

"Enterprise, five to beam up," he heard Kirk yell over the shouts of the natives.

Leonard saw the Enterprise materialize before him as he fell.

Jim caught him, shouting his name. He gasped for breath when Jim found the poisoned dart stuck in his side. He realized before he blacked out that Jim had actually called "Leonard" instead of "Bones."

3.
When McCoy awoke, Jim was slumped over on his biobed fast asleep.

Leonard smiled but it faded when Jim's brow furrowed, and he mumbled, "No, Leonard … no … wake up."

"Shhh," McCoy whispered, stroking Jim's hair lightly. "S'all right, Jim. I'm here. I'm all right."

He felt the tension melt away from Jim's body and allowed himself another smile. Damn kid. Never calls me by my name. Maybe it's only when he's worried?

That thought seemed to be confirmed as Jim smiled in his sleep and whispered, "Bones."

4.
McCoy and the colonists ducked and huddled together as the explosion nearby rocked the ground. "Everyone all right?" he yelled. When he got affirmatives, he urged the group onward to where the rest of the crew and colonists were gathering.

He could hear screaming and realized that the people standing out front probably hadn't seen them evacuate the building from the rear.

McCoy rounded the corner to see the building in flames and beginning to collapse. He could see Jim, orange firelight reflecting off him as he viciously fought against Sulu, Scotty, and Spock. What the hell …?

"NOOO! LEONARD!"

McCoy sprinted forward until he was closer to him. "Damn it, Jim, you sure know how to make one hell of a racket!"

Four heads swiveled to look at him in shock.

He waved uncertainly. "We made out the back. Everyone's all right." He gestured behind him to the relieved colonists hugging each other. When he turned back around, Jim hurled himself at him, nearly knocking him over. He wrapped his arms around Jim, burying his face against his neck.

"Shit, Bones … I thought you were dead," Jim whispered. He was shaking.

Leonard palmed the back of Jim's head. "I'm all right, Jim. We made it." He pulled back, taking Jim's chin firmly in his hand. "But if, God forbid, anything like that happens again, don't you try to kill yourself when there's no hope. You hear me?"

Jim's eyes were almost glowing blue in the flickering light. "But … you could've still –"

"Jim."

Jim's shoulder slumped a little as he looked at the ground. "All right."

McCoy pulled him close again. "I don't want to lose you either, darlin'."

Jim nodded and took a few deep breaths before pulling away with a watery smile. He turned to Spock. "All right, Commander. Let's get these people out of here."

5.
Of course, shore leave could never go normally either. Leonard had beamed down to the planet without Jim and gone shopping. He couldn't exactly have brought Jim with him when he was looking for a ring. But he was wishing Jim was with him now as terrorists took over the restaurant. He had slipped his communicator into his medkit and asked to keep it, in case there were any injuries.

The owner had already been hurt, so Leonard saw to his wound as their captors made ransom demands to the local authorities. When he was sure no one was looking, he signaled to the owner to stay quiet as he pulled out his comm.

"McCoy to Kirk."

"Kirk here."

"Jim, I'm in trouble. We've got a situation down here."

"What's going on? Where are you?"

"It's a hostage situation, Jim." Leonard gave the name of the restaurant and his location.

"Okay, we'll get you out of there. Just hold on."

Leonard's head jerked up as he realized that one his captors was watching him. "Fuck."

"Bones?"

The man reached down and snatched the communicator. "Who is this?"

"This is Captain James T. Kirk of the Federation Starship Enterprise. My officer tells me you've taken hostages. Identify yourself."

The man chuckled. "Well, Captain, I believe things just got interesting."

"I want to know that my officer is unharmed."

The man nestled his phaser under Leonard's chin, forcing him to stand. "Go on, tell your Captain."

Leonard tried to keep his voice steady. "Jim? We've only got one injury, but they're armed to the gills."

"Captain, if you try to beam anyone out of here, I will kill your officer."

There was a pause before Jim spoke again. "We'll sort this out, Leonard. Hold tight."

"Yes, sir." He tried not to audibly gulp; Jim actually using his name was probably not a good sign.

A few hours later, half of the ceiling collapsed; McCoy's legs were trapped under a pile of rubble, but he sighed in relief at the sounds of phaser fire. He recognized the uniforms of the local authorities as they subdued the terrorists. A gold blur came in front of him.

"Leonard! Fuck, we need to get you out of here."

McCoy closed his eyes as Jim's arms wrapped around him. "Jim. Did you drop the ceiling on me?"

"Well, it might've been my idea, but I thought we had it planned where it wouldn't hit anyone. Trust you to not be where you should be!"

McCoy chuckled. "Sorry."

"Shh, don't talk now." Jim pulled out his comm. "Scotty, I've got McCoy, and he's hurt. Beam us up."

"Aye, sir."

Leonard groaned as they materialized on the pad. His legs felt broken in about twenty different places.

Jim shouted for medical help and then kissed McCoy's forehead, running his fingers through his hair. "Shh, hang on, Bones. Help's on the way."

Despite the pain, Leonard relaxed. Jim had switched back to his nickname; everything was going to be all right.

+1

Jim realized that having a shouting match with Bones and then stomping off in the middle of a strange city probably wasn't the best idea he'd ever had. But it was ... well, he was too drunk to remember what had even started it off.

And too drunk to see four dark figures watching him.

They'd grabbed him and shoved him down an alley, yanking on his clothes. Jim had managed to get in a few good shots, but then one of them smacked him with a mean backhand, and Jim's head had snapped back against the wall. While he saw stars, they had managed to pin him to the ground and rip at his clothes.

Jim shook his head and tried to shake them off. "No! STOP!"

"Quiet, or it'll hurt worse," one of them growled.

Panic rose up in Jim's throat as he struggled and gasped. He was helpless. Foreign fingers and appendages probed his ass, and he violently tried to break free.

"Hold still, you little shit."

Jim's neck was grabbed and shoved against the cold pavement. "NO! GET OFF ME!" He could barely move and felt tears forming in his eyes as he was breached. "LEONARD!"

As if on cue, phaser fire erupted, and Jim was released. It seemed too good to be true as he looked up at McCoy standing there while his attackers either fell or fled.

McCoy holstered his weapon and knelt beside Jim. "It's okay. I've gotcha." He unzipped his jacket and helped Jim sit up and put it on. "C'mere."

Jim felt his chest heaving with sobs as Bones pulled him close and held him tight.

"Shhh, I gotcha. It's over, darlin'."

He slowly realized he was babbling – alternating between apologizing and recounting what had happened.

"No, don't be sorry, Jimmy. This wasn't your fault, shh."

He quieted and listened as Bones flipped out his comm and called for medical assistance. He felt so cold and couldn't stop shivering. Bones rubbed his arms.

"Help's on the way, darlin'. You're safe."

Jim sniffled against Bones's sleeve, swallowing down another sob. "Jimmy."

"What?"

"You never call me Jimmy."

Bones sighed. "Slipped out. Must be worried about you."

Jim smiled and closed his eyes. "Thanks for saving me, Bones."

Bones kissed the top of his head. "Always."