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"Y/N.. Y/N.. Y/N..?"
The distant call softly echoed around you, purring against your eardrums with a gentle bounce, which only added to the soothing lull that you were amidst.
"Y/N!!!"
That was until a new, harsh bellow addressed you, accompanied with a firm shake of your shoulder, aggressively snapping you back into reality and out of what you discovered to have been a deep sleep.
"aH!" A sharp pain greeted you awake; your head had jerked with the sudden consciousness, and managed to whack itself into a large metal pipe that hung above, reminding you of exactly where you were: one of the ship's access tunnels.
"How are they Doc?" Scotty's voice brought all the memories of what you were actually meant to be doing flooding back, which was fixing an electrical circuit, rather than taking a nap. And to make your unintentional drowsiness worse, you'd been caught in the act by your close friend and colleague.
"Don't worry Scotty, just a small bump to the head, right Y/L/N?" Bones was awkwardly hovering in the cramped space above you, smirking directly down into your panicked eyes, as he lied to the Scotsman on your behalf.
"Uh-" Your mind was barely functioning yet, still half stuck in your dreams, and the other half numbed with the bruising that was already growing strong upon your forehead. "Y-Yea! I'm ok now!" You finally managed to say, whilst carefully reaching up to feel the sore patch on your head, but desperately trying not to accidentally graze your hand against McCoy (who was still squeezed in and struggling to hold himself above you) in the process.
Like the true fussy Doctor he was, Bones quickly restrained you from touching the injury, and begun to back down the tube, guiding you out with him as your now linked hands lead the way. However, the contact just made you all the more flustered, not helping ease your muddled mind one bit.
"Ah thank goodness fer that! When ye weren't responding, I could nae imagine what might have happened to ye!" Your boss let out a sigh of relief as he finally saw for himself that you were ok. The Highlander reached out and gave your shoulder a tender, loving squeeze to express his happiness to have you safely back out of the tunnel, but made you feel even more guilty for the hidden truth of why you really hadn't replied to him in the first place.
"They just gave their head a bit of a smack." Bones looked over at you as he exaggerated the previous lie. "I figure you must have knocked yourself out for a little while Y/N."
"Aye, I can see that! It's a nasty wee wound you've got there!" You went to reach for the patch Scotty spoke of, but once again were stopped in the process, this time Bones batting your hand away with a playful slap.
"It's nothing too ugly, but I'd still like to take Y/L/N to the MedBay for a proper check over, if that's ok with you Scotty?"
"Of course! Go ahead. Take as long as ye need Y/N."
"Th-Thank you Mr Scott." You found a smile and mustered it to your face before Bones' hand returned to your body, this time your back, prompting you to walk forward with him and head towards MedBay.
After you felt a safe enough distance away, for Scotty to be out of earshot, you decided to also offer your gratitude to the new accomplice you'd acquired in your sleeping charade. "Thank you." You spoke nervously, watching yours and McCoy's feet plod along almost in unison.
"What for?" He raised an eyebrow in your direction while continuing to stroll close beside you. He obviously knew what you meant, he just seemed to wish to hear you explain his heroics in more detail.
"For lying for me." You happily stroked his ego, thinking it the least you could do in return.
"Oh no, that was nothing. It wasn't a lie; not exactly." He shrugged humbly, the gesture causing his hand to softly shift against the spot it was still lingering at upon your back, sending an unexpected shiver up your spine. "Just a creative way of putting the truth 's all. What you really should be thankful for is that Scotty called me for help and not Spock; that green-blooded so-and-so wouldn't have even considered bending the facts like that for you."
Your lips curled at the corners, not only at his ongoing comedy like dramas with the First Officer, but at how bashful and denying of the compliment he was - even after having purposefully sought out the further explanation of it. The rare and adorable red tint to his cheeks that seemed to come with the denial of praise didn't go unmissed by you either.