LAST CHAPTER! I'm going to miss this... It was fun while it lasted. I hope you all have enoyed it, too. Anyway, here's Scotty's chapter. He's a fun character to write.

Dedication: This is for WinchesterSmile. I used her nickname "Scotch Tape" for one of his segments.

Disclaimer: Star Trek's not mine. I'm just borrowing it. Also, Glynnis is not an original character of mine. She's from TOS comic: Retrospect. Which is the saddest thing ever. I wanted to cry. Anyway, I stole her character from the comics and tweaked the circumstances a little for the fic. Because, hey, alternate universe is alternate. Anyway, I like to think that "You are My Sunshine" is their song. I might expand their relationship in another story. We'll see...

Engineer Montgomery Scott

The name we give to something shapes our attitude to it.
–Katherine Patterson

Everyone calls him the best damn engineer.

The first thing Scotty learns about the Enterprise is that dreams really do come true. Such beauty really does exist in the world.

The second thing Scotty learns about the Enterprise is that the captain enjoys the occasional drink.

That spiky ship, the Naradu or something, has been destroyed and there have been causalities, but the members of the bridge are celebrating their own survival with plenty of Romulan Ale, whiskey, and scotch. Captain Kirk gallivants about the Bridge, drunken tears of mirth and relief clearly evident on his face.

He slaps his hand down on each officer's shoulder and is met with various degrees of exasperation and amusement. In slurred, happy tones, he praises each one for their services while sloshing more alcohol down in commemoration. Ignoring the dark haired lass's rolling eyes, he waggles his eyebrows and says something about talented tongues.

Then the young captain practically skips over to Scotty and wraps a warm arm around his shoulders.

"And here, here we've got the best damn engineer! Best. Damn. Engineer!" He nearly shouts and crows, and Scotty cheers him, swinging back some more of his favored whiskey. The whole Bridge laughs, minus that Vulcan who hasn't even so much as sniffed his glass of ale.

Yet, they all raise their glasses in cheers to Scotty.

"Best damn engineer!" They all cry out before taking large gulps of their drinks. The captain's joy is contagious and they all find themselves laughing and thanking the gods that they haven't been pulled into a black hole or scattered across the universe in tiny, blasted pieces.

Best damn engineer. It's not the most eloquently spoken title he's ever had, but he holds it with more honor than anything else he's ever amounted to before in his life.

Glynnis calls him Scotch Tape.

He held that red candy tight in his little seven-year-old hand. Whenever one piece dissolved in his mouth, he popped a new one in. They were salty from the sweat on his hand but soon turned sweet as he sucked on them.

"Can I have one?"

He turned around to see a girl a little younger than him with a big smile on her face, revealing missing front teeth. Her hand outstretched towards him and his initial response was to ignore her. His father nudged him, and he begrudgingly gave the little girl a piece.

"Thanks." She put it in her mouth then rubbed the hand that had touched his against her pink pants. "You're sticky."

"No, I'm Montgomery Scott," he answered, annoyed. There was something about her that made her seem like she might be more fun to spend time with at the fair instead of his younger siblings. She giggled pleasantly at his indignation and he liked that, so he added, "My friends call me Scotty."

"I'd rather call you Scotch Tape," she announced, flashing him her gap once more. "'Cause you're so sticky and Scotch sounds like Scott." She explained in clipped tones that made his father chuckle.

Scotty looked up at his father who gave him a nod, and the two young children walked off to see more of the fair.

"My name is Glynnis Campbell," she chirped, slipping her hand into his sticky one.

"I'd rather call you Grinnis," he replied with a smile to match hers.

x

When he returned home, the vase of flowers he had gotten her last week was missing from the table. That was the first sign. He looked around and saw that the bookshelves were empty save for his own engineering books. Suspicious, he peeked in the bedroom to find that the drawers lacked her brightly patterned shirts that he was so used to seeing.

Attached to his pillow with a pin was a note.

Scotch Tape,

I saw you got the confirmation tape of admittance to Starfleet. Congratulations! I know it's what you've wanted for years.

And that's why I left. I know we talked a few times about what would happen if you got accepted. And every time, you promised me you'd stay on Earth with me. Well, aren't you just the sweetest guy? Thank you. I never deserved anyone as good as you.

Call me selfish, but I'd hate myself if I deprived Starfleet of someone who's sure to be their best engineer ever. I don't want to be guilty when something goes wrong that you couldn't fix because you were stuck on Earth with me.

You'd be miserable on Earth. You know that, I know that. I'd hate for you to be miserable, just for me. So go to Starfleet. Go to space. I'll love you no matter where you are in the universe. Sorry it couldn't be a better goodbye, but I thought if it was in person, I'd never have the heart to leave.

Love Always,

Grinnis

The divorce papers lay next to her note with her signature scripted at the bottom. He sighed and signed them himself. It was for the best, he supposed.

Uhura calls him Monty.

A flick of a slender wrist and suddenly the sparks are flying and previously cold panels are whirring with energy. Uhura hands back the wrench with a small, satisfied smile on her face. Scotty grins back with pride clearly evident on his face.

"Ye did a good job, lass," he beams as he continues connecting wires. She wipes her hands on the rag laying on the floor beside them, glancing occasionally at the grease under her nails with an excited expression.

"You flatter me," Uhura answers, laughing.

"I cannae deny what is true," he answers with all the air of a gentleman. Scotty feels a glow when she laughs charmingly at his mannerisms. There's a break in their conversation as he attaches the last two wires.

"I love this ship, I love the Enterprise," she breathes almost to herself. She rested a semi-clean hand on the panels as though to transfer her love through osmosis.

"Do ye now?" Scotty teased, bringing her from her reverie. "Ah'll bet I love it more."

A challenge sparked in her eyes and suddenly, they found themselves engaged in a battle of words, each trying to outmatch the other in their love for the fair ship.

"I pulled the angry girlfriend bit and convinced Spock to assign me to the Enterprise when I was supposed to be on the Farragut."

The words blurt out of her mouth before she can even think about what she just said. The stunned look on Scotty's face makes her freeze as she realizes what she's just announced.

The laughter that erupts from his mouth shook her. He wipes the tears from his face and she's smiling sheepishly.

"It sounds pretty bad when I say it that way," she tries to explain, weakly gesturing her hands around her.

"Lass, trust me. Ah understand," he reassures her, patting her comfortably on the knee. "Ah know you're meant tah be here."

"Thanks, Monty." It's a gentle smile and her eyes met his for a moment before looking away shyly.

The nickname warms him. It's her name for him and hers alone. The growing warmth spreads through him as strong as the proud, brotherly glow he felt when she succeeded in her first bout of engineering just minutes before.

"It's our secret."

Sulu calls him Scotty.

"Scotch was inwented by a little old lady from Leningrad, Mr. Scott."

Silence surrounded the tiny table in the cafeteria as Scotty blinked rapidly in the direction of the much younger man beside him. Sulu sat with them, chuckling behind his hand at the absurdity of the comment.

"Laddie, there is so much wrong wit' tha' statement," Scotty finally replied, drinking the said beverage. He smacked his lips and looked at the offended youth before continuing. "An' ah've told ye before. My friends call me Scotty."

"You'll have to forgive him," Sulu cut in with a lopsided grin. "He's Russian." He looked deliberately at Chekov. "And seventeen."

The two men laughed as the blushing teenager picked up his tray from the table. He looked at them both with a stony stare.

"I do not like you anymore. I am leawing."

Sulu called out an apology to his friend's retreating form, but his laughter nullified it. Sulu and Scotty calmed down after a few more bouts of chuckling and resumed their friendly debate over the best pick-me-up beverages.

A tiny alarm buzzed on Sulu's wristwatch, indicating his need to return to the Bridge.

"Sorry to cut this short, but I have to go," he paused. "Scotty."

A nod and then he was gone, walking down the hallway to the Bridge. Scotty beamed to himself. It was good to be off that Godforsaken planet and with other people again. More friends, less ice.

Spock calls him Montgomery.

"Beam us up, Montgomery."

Scotty visibly winced at the signal as he transported the landing crew back onto the Enterprise. Kirk, Sulu, and Spock rematerialized, the former two donning wide grins on their faces.

They informed Scotty of their findings on the planet. Apparently, the trip went well without significant problems. Unfortunately, as with most trips, there was an injury involved. It was nothing too significant, but Sulu had twisted his wrist through some strange turn of events that had also led to Kirk's shirt ripping. Scotty had learned not to question such matters anymore. Still, it was an injury and Doctor McCoy was needed for that area of expertise.

"Join us on the Bridge when you finish your work here, Montgomery. There is much that needs to be discussed before we chart out our next course of direction," Spock stated as he exited the room.

Sulu and Kirk both grinned again as they headed to Sick Bay.

"Montgomery?" Kirk mouthed silently before he disappeared behind the doorway.

Scotty shook his head as he finished punching in numbers at his console. He blamed the captain entirely for this one. For months, he had been attempting to establish a friendlier attitude to their resident Vulcan. He insisted that Spock call him Jim instead of Captain. Whether it was meant to establish friendship or it was just for Kirk's own sick amusement, he convinced Spock to call all the crew members by their first names.

Rumor had it that it had something to do with Uhura and a running joke from the Academy. It made Spock green in the ears, so Scotty never questioned the gossip.

For one reason or another, Spock complied with the captain's wishes and had begun calling everyone by a more casual name rather than by their official title. Scotty knew Sulu was so thankful the day the commander stopped referring to him as solely helmsman.

But Montgomery?

Of all the names to name your child, that's the name you give when you don't really love it. He's hated his name since he could pronounce it and has been asking people to call him Scotty ever since.

But try as he might, he can't convince Spock to call him Scotty like all his other friends do.

Scotty sulks for a moment at his console before heading towards the Bridge. He never should have refused to answer Spock's questions when he and Kirk first beamed aboard the Enterprise.

"Ah'd rather not take sides," Scotty murmured under his breath as he walked down the hall, regretting those words from months ago. "Ah should have taken his side. All this Montgomery business. Ah know wha' this is. It's ongoin' punishment."

Integrity: A name is the blueprint of the thing we call character.
You ask, "What's in a name?" I answer, "Just about everything you do."

–Morris Mandel

And that's that. Thank you everyone who has read, reviewed, and lurked. I appreciate it all. Thank you. I hope you have all enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Please review and let me know what you think. I want to know what your favorite parts were!