One

"Hold on tight a little longer, What don't kill ya, makes ya stronger, Get back up, 'cause it's a hard love You can't change without a fallout, It's gon' hurt, but don't you slow down Get back up, 'cause it's a hard love..." - Hard Love, NEEDTOBREATHE

Classes at the Academy had been going surprisingly well since the second year began. Unsurprisingly, Emily and Jim had most of their classes together. She shared one or two classes with Leonard. So, it wasn't a surprise to anyone who was familiar with the 'terrible trio' that they were usually together either at the mess hall, or the library. Though, it was Jim who always seemed to make the best of situations by either studying or laughing his ass off at random pictures found on his data PADD. Things weren't any different today. Unless Emily counted the brooding mood Jim was in.

She cast Jim an uneasy glance as she noticed his face was buried in some notes that were sent to them via data PADD. Their classes weren't exactly what they considered challenging. Which was why Emily knew something was up the moment Jim let out a sigh. Jim was usually the optimistic one, always scheming up a plan for the weekend. Unfortunately, that also meant he was usually the one who dragged either herself or Leonard into whatever schemes he came up with.

"Something on your mind?" she asked nonchalantly after brushing aside a week's worth of studying like it was nothing.

Classes at the Academy were tough for the average student. When she first started out, she had little to no idea what they were like, and had struggled the first few weeks. But, once she had figured it out, and when she had a little help from Jim and Leonard, she was able to adjust quickly enough. She often found herself wondering what her life would have been like had she chosen not to enlist. She could have just as easily turned down Pike's offer, and they never would have met.

"What makes you think something's on my mind?" Jim muttered, refusing to look up.

Emily rolled her eyes and leaned forward, noticing that Jim wasn't reading the notes. Instead, he was reading a dissertation on the USS Kelvin and the events that had led to its destruction. Emily rose an eyebrow as she remembered hearing about it in class. Jim hadn't been around that day, and later she and Leonard found him at the bar. It wasn't until after hearing that story that she realized Jim's father had sacrificed himself to save not only the crew, but his son, in the process.

"Jim, I know you. You're usually not this broody unless something's on your mind," she pointed out.

She couldn't help but remind him of the evening when she and Leonard had been there for him for silent support. Neither of them had said a thing about it, but they'd made a mutual agreement to never speak of that moment again. And Jim had been more than happy to go along with it.

He finally looked up, and she could see that something had been on his mind.

"It's my birthday," he sighed irritably.

That explains it, Emily nodded in understanding. She wasn't the first to admit that she hated birthdays for a reason. It's not like they were worth celebrating. Well, hers never was, anyways. Her parents never went out of their way to do anything special for her, even for the milestones. When she turned sixteen, the first thing she did was fake an ID to go drinking. By the time she was twenty-one, she was a seasoned alcoholic and didn't give a damn what anyone else thought.

"And that bothers you because…?"

"It's the day my dad died."

Emily sucked in a breath as realization dawned on her. Well, that was a good reason to hate one's birthday. She couldn't imagine what that must have felt like. Though she lost her own parents thanks to being taken from another world, she never had a healthy relationship with them in the first place. She swallowed back the sudden unease and, without warning, took his hand and squeezed it gently.

"You blame yourself for what happened to him, don't you?" she asked quietly, and Jim finally looked at her seriously for the first time.

"I don't know… I guess I'll never know if he'd be alive if it wasn't for the Romulans, or if my mom wasn't pregnant at the time," he explained with a shrug.

Emily bit the bottom of her lip, already going through all of the possible scenarios that could have happened. She realized that no matter what, things would have worked out the way they had. Whether his mother had given birth aboard the ship or not. The only consolation he could have was the fact that his father hadn't died in vain.

"You know, I could use a drink," she sighed, throwing her arms around her back as she stretched out.

Jim threw her a knowing look as he realized this was just a distraction for himself as well as her. But, he was willing to take the bait. They usually went out for drinks on the weekends anyways. She and Leonard had a tendency to try and find a place where Jim wasn't around so that they could get to know one another better. So this wouldn't have been any different.

"You sure you wanna go with me?" he asked with a coy smile.

Emily only rolled her eyes at that before nudging him playfully as they stood up and grabbed their things.

"This isn't a date, and consider it a birthday gift," she retorted.

Because, dating wasn't something that she had on her mind at the moment. Especially since she and Leonard were sharing rooms. It would lead to all sorts of awkwardness if she ever agreed to go on a date with Jim Kirk, of all people. She'd already sent the message to Leonard, hoping he'd get there after his shift was over and join them.

Once they'd arrived at the bar, that was when the fun began. Jim had already ordered two shots of tequila, while Emily was working on her third shot of vodka. It was oddly satisfying to be there that night, especially with the weekend coming up. There weren't any classes Emily was scheduled for over the weekend, but since he was on the Command Track, Jim would have to get up early the next morning. Either way, she didn't plan on holding back that evening.

…

Leonard McCoy had never seen Emily Hayes drunk before. So, he was in for a nasty surprise when he'd found her at the local bar. Her being at the bar wasn't much of a surprise – they'd go regularly every weekend and fester off the hangovers that followed. However, he wasn't expecting to see her with Kirk. Neither said a word when he joined them, but from the looks of it, she'd already had her fair share of drinks.

"You've got cute eyes, you know that, Hayes?" Kirk asked, winking at her suggestively as she recoiled in disgust.

Leonard shook his head in amusement – only Emily was capable of brushing off Kirk's attempts at flirting with her. Even when she was drunk. One of the many qualities he admired of her.

"You're not the first man to try and charm me with my eyes," she muttered, her voice slightly slurred by the alcohol. "When did you get here?"

She finally noticed Leonard sitting beside her, bearing a lopsided grin.

"Just now," he replied with a shrug before ordering a shot of whiskey.

"Ya know, I've got my eye on a couple of women over there," Kirk nodded to a group of women who were lounging about nearby.

They'd been eyeballing the trio for the last few minutes, now. Or, more specifically, Kirk. Leonard had no doubt one of them would be dumb enough to follow Kirk back to his dorm, or their apartment. Either way, he knew he would eventually get the full scoop whether he wanted to hear about Kirk's sex life or not.

"Ten bucks says they'll punch you," Emily remarked with a sly grin.

"I'll take you on that bet," Leonard replied without missing a beat, while Kirk just rolled his eyes and sauntered off towards the woman, almost stumbling in the process. Emily broke out into a fit of giggles while watching. "How many shots have you had?" Leonard asked after noticing that she wasn't usually this carefree.

"I lost track after number six," she shrugged, the volume of her voice becoming increasingly loud.

Leonard could only wince at the tone, realizing he probably didn't sound much better himself when drunk.

"Christ, Em, are you trying to give yourself alcohol poisoning?" he griped.

"Don't know… I tried it once, and it didn't end well. I wouldn't recommend it," she explained as Leonard rolled his eyes.

It took a lot to get Emily drunk. Seeing her like this was just another reminder of that, and as she began shouting random things, Leonard let out a sigh of frustration.

"Come on, Em, let's get you back to your dorm," he suggested as she finally started poking him.

"You're very pokable," she noted with a mischievous look.

"That's not even a word, Emily," Leonard muttered.

By now, even the bartender looked as if he'd lost his cool with her behavior. Leonard mentally scoffed at himself when the bartender asked if she was his girlfriend. Nope. She was just a woman he happened to have a crush on, and had turned down any sexual advances. She also happened to be the same woman who drove him up the wall, most of the time.

Of course she started struggling against his grip, acting as if this was some sort of punishment. Though, it might as well be for him. She had surprising strength, and Leonard had learned to duck after the first time she'd broken his nose. So, he opted to carry her out bridal style instead.

"Anyone ever tell you that you have a cute ass?" she suddenly asked, and Leonard's breathing hitched from the sudden question. He rose an eyebrow and looked at her skeptically. "Or a cute smile, for that matter?"

"Glad someone thinks so." For all the short two-years of marriage, his ex-wife had never once made such a comment. Then again, he'd only seen her get drunk once, and she was scary as hell when drunk. Now, Leonard wasn't sure whether to find the comment insulting or take it as a compliment. "Come on, darlin', we're going back to the dorm."

"But the night's still young!" she protested, squirming in his arms. "And you're carrying me bridal style!"

Leonard stopped halfway in his tracks on the campus at the suggestiveness in her tone. On any normal occasion, Leonard would have jumped at the opportunity to continue this conversation and see where the hell it went. But, seeing as she was drunk, the last thing he wanted was to take advantage. Tempting as it was.

"Emily, you're drunk. Now, as a doctor, I'm ordering you to get some rest and sleep it off," he snapped as they reached his dorm.

"Then why are you taking me to your dorm?" she asked teasingly.

Leonard merely glared back as she brushed a hand across his hip.

Good Lord, she was making it difficult not to make a sensible decision.

"Lord knows how your poor roommate would react to seeing you drunk," he rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time.

"Screw my roommate, I'd rather be with you."

Leonard blinked in disbelief as he dragged her into his dorm, trying to ignore the fact that she was touching him in a most pleasurable way. Good God, if only she wasn't drunk. He would've taken her right then and there. But, the doctor in him took over.

"Do not make me pull out a hypo on you," Leonard groaned when she continued her advances, knowing he'd regret losing control if he allowed it.

To his relief, she chose to crash at that moment.

She's gonna feel that in the morning, he sighed after carefully moving her so that he'd have room to sleep. Though, that wasn't gonna be easy considering how damn hard he was for her. This was gonna be a long night.

…

Her head was pounding the following morning. She couldn't recall much of what happened last night, other than leaving the bar with Leonard. Just thinking hurt like hell. She bit back a groan as she turned, only to feel someone shift beside her.

"Couldn't stop with the drinking, could ya?"

Emily winced at the southern drawl as she turned and saw a familiar face smirking back at her. She promptly glared and threw a pillow at his face before using his arm as a pillow. Her head was throbbing too much for her to care whether or not she was using his arm as a pillow. Besides, she was far too comfortable to feel like grabbing it again.

"Was Kirk's birthday," she griped, ignoring the fact that Leonard was probably getting a kick out of this. Usually, she was the one who dragged his sorry ass back to the dorms, along with Jim's. "Couldn't just leave the guy hanging."

"You know, this is the part where I'd say Karma's a bitch, but I think you get that picture," Leonard chuckled as she refused to let go of his arm.

Her head was spinning as she finally looked up, glaring back once again when she noticed the cheeky grin he wore.

"Ass," she muttered under her breath.

"Darlin', that title's been reserved for you when you're drunk," he reminded her. Emily bit back a spiteful retort when he finally managed to wrench his arm free, leaving her without a pillow. "You know, there's a great cure for hangovers," he added, the suggestiveness in his tone enough to make her want to puke.

"Nice try, cowboy," she retorted as she grabbed the pillow she'd thrown at him. "Not gonna happen." She couldn't hide the smirk that followed when he scowled in annoyance. "I might not remember much of what I said, but you had your chance last night," she added cheekily.

"Now who's being the ass?" he griped as she brushed a hand softly across his well-toned chest.

"Something tells me the wait'll be worth it," she murmured, ignoring the fact that he'd practically groaned from her touch. "Besides, it's fun watching you squirm."

"Dammit woman, you really are going to be the death of me," he snapped as she gave him a coy smile.

Some things never got old. And, as much as Leonard hated to admit it, he knew she was right. The wait would be worth it, especially if she had this much fire in her now.

AN: So, I've been thinking of writing my own one-shots for a while now ^^ I've kind of had these short-stories written out long before even thinking of posting them... kind of before even thinking about writing a full story. And I thought it might be fun to do a whole series of them. At any rate, I feel like Hard Love is the perfect song for either Jim or McCoy... kind of fits their personalities a bit if you give it a listen to ;) Please let me know what you think, and, if you have any ideas, please let me know! (PS: This was my attempt at writing something humorous... Hopefully I did it justice XD)