Sand, Sun, and A Grumpy Doctor 1

're famous and just got asked whether you were ever in love. This should be good-wait wHAT? (Fem! Kirk/Bones)

"Please welcome our very special guest and star of the recent blockbuster hit Starship, Jenna Kirk!"

The enthusiastic voice on the television startled the half dozing man from his slumber on the sofa. Rubbing his face blearily, he reached for the remote to turn off the television he wasn't really watching anyway.

His movements were arrested with the sight of the lovely blonde woman striding confidently on stage to join the talk show host. His jaw dropped. It was her. His mind finally connected the name with the star and he swallowed as the wave of memories crashed over him. She was just as beautiful as he remembered, if less bubbly than he'd known her. Time changed everyone, he reflected, even movie starlets. How many years had it been since he'd unknowingly encountered her leading to an ill-fated, but passionate romance?

"Oh, Jen," he sighed under his breath. "I'm glad you're happy."

Despite his better judgment, Leonard McCoy kept watching the interview, wanting to see Jen in her native habitat. He wondered if she was still dating that famous producer Spock she'd been rumored to be head over heels for a couple years ago, not that he cared or anything. She could do what she liked.

Jen answered the question's smoothly and graciously, charming the host and the audience with her easygoing humor. That was one quality public Jen and private Jen both had and had been the undoing of Leonard "Bones" McCoy.

He'd been sent on a forced vacation after he'd had a health scare brought on by the stress of working in the ER. Despite the sun and sand, he'd sat in the beach chair well covered with sunscreen, sun hat, and sunglasses sulking and grumbling under his breath about interfering head nurses and how it was all Christine's fault if he got skin cancer. His rather unjust musings were interrupted by a female voice from nearby.

"I've never seen anyone so unhappy to be relaxing on one of the nicest beaches in the world."

He looked up and squinted as a stunning blonde appeared in front of him, wearing a very floppy sun hat, expensive looking sunglasses and a breezy coverup over her swimsuit.

"I don't like to be idle," he grunted. "But they made me take a vacation because they thought I'd keel over. My old bones are much happier fixing people than lounging on a beach."

"Wow, that's a statement you don't hear very often," the woman commented, running her sandal clad foot through the sand with a delighted expression on her face.

"Prob'ly not," he admitted. "Most people actually WANT to come here. I'm wired differently."

"Workaholic?" She asked.

"You could say that," Leonard sighed, averting his eyes as she plopped her bag and towel down a few yards away and began shimmying out of her cover up. Oh, great. He strongly considered picking up and moving to another location as he caught a glimpse of hot pink and skin. He pulled his hat down lower and buried his face in a medical magazine to avoid temptation. Goodness knows he didn't need to get involved in some random flirtation or make himself look like a creep.

He smelled suntan lotion as a spray can hissed. Good, she had basic common sense. A lot of beachgoers were more obsessed with getting tan and didn't care about what UV rays really did.

"You wouldn't mind spraying my back, would you? I can never get enough there," the mysterious woman implored, shocking Leonard by the request.

"Umm, sure. That's uh...very trusting of you," he babbled, taking the can thrust into his hand.

"Oh, I pride myself on being a good judge of character," the blonde said, turning her back to him so he could apply the sunscreen. "You definitely aren't giving off creepy vibes; you just want peace and quiet. I promise I'll leave you to it, doctor."

He thoroughly coated her back and handed back the Can, face turning a bit red, but not from the sun.

"Thank you, kind stranger!" She said, bestowing another beautiful smile on him before waving and sauntering away.

"You're welcome, ma'am. Don't forget to reapply often!" He called after her, quickly returning to his reading. (Good night, she had LEGS!)

Fortunately, or unfortunately, that random encounter was not the only time Leonard met the blonde.

Two days later, he was swimming in the unbelievably beautiful water when she reappeared, a blur of blue and gold that shot by him and popped up beaming.

Startled, Len stared wildly before he remembered her.

"Your face is priceless!" She giggled. "I've never seen such a great bugged out expression. Your eyes look like they're about to pop out of their sockets!"

"I'm glad you're so amused," he spluttered, shaking water out of his eyes. Today, she had on what looked like a short sundress made for the water. It was light blue and unbelievably cute on her.

"Having fun?" He asked indulgently.

"You betcha, Doctor. I'm Jenna, by the way."

"Leonard McCoy," he responded. "Pleased to meet ya. Even an old grump like me had to admit this water is awfully fine."

"Old? You?" She said in a tone of disbelief, looking at him like he was the best thing since sliced bread. "Hardly! I find it difficult to believe someone hasn't snatched you up already."

He shrugged, trying to hide under the water as much as possible.

"Been there, done that. She took everything but my bones in the divorce. No desire to ruin anyone else's life."

This came out somewhat more bitterly than he'd intended, but Jocelyn had made no secret of the fact she considered her cheating on him was HIS own fault.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Leonard," she said. "Won't you let me be your friend, though? No lives need be ruined, I promised. What could it hurt?"

Well, he hadn't been able to resist her imploring look and had agreed, thus changing the course of that summer.

He snapped out of his daydreams as the host asked Jenna a question.

"In your new movie, your character has a very delightful banter-filled relationship with the chief engineer. Have you ever had a real life relationship like that?"

Jenna smiled thoughtfully.

"Oh, yes I have. It was the best one of my life. We knew each other so well, and would practically finish each other's sentences. He was one of the glass half empty type and I'm the opposite, so we balanced each other out. I don't think I'll ever had a love quite like I had with Bones."

Leonard's heart stopped. She'd basically name dropped him on national television. Guess she had been more affected than he thought.

"Why do you call him Bones, if I may ask? The host inquired, looking intrigued.

"Oh, it was a nickname I gave him when he was grumbling about having nothing But His bones," Jenna explained a touch nervously. "He pretended to be such a grouch, but really wasn't."

"Don't go blowin' my cover," he muttered, a smile tugging at his lips.

"What happened?" The host asked.

"Oh, you know, our career paths were on opposite sides of the country in addition to the fact that I kind of blew it by not being truthful about who I was right from the start." She looked right at the screen and pointed at the audience.

"Kids, take a lesson from me, if you fall for some nice person, honesty is a key part of a relationship. Leave the acting for drama class and the movie cameras. Hi, Bones, if you're out there. Hope life is treating you well!"

Leonard sighed longingly as the interview returned to questions about the Starship movie. Jenna probably didn't even know about his relocation from Georgia to San Francisco. She was much closer now, but completely out of reach.