The grounds of the Starfleet Academy were, as always, a hive of activity. New students, established students, support staff, instructors, and visitors were always on the move and it seemed like the only time that the underlying thrum of chatter seemed to dim was late at night, but it never fully stopped even then.

The dorm areas were definitely among the places where people could be found doing and discussing a variety of things regardless of the time of day. The students were in a perpetual cycle of classes, homework, studying, relaxing, eating and sleeping that was repeated daily. But even those routines were occasionally interrupted and this was the time of year that disruptions were common as some students were pulled away from their usual classes and into special projects that were geared to the particular career track that they were studying. One of those dorm rooms experiencing disruption was the one shared by Cadets James T. Kirk and Leonard H. McCoy.

The dorm room being shared by the two friends had a settled in feeling now. Their first year of study was behind them and the break between years had just started. Jim's plans were to forge ahead in his studies, since he still had every intention of finishing his Academy training in three years. That would put him graduating at the same year as Leonard - a sure sign that it was meant to be as far as Jim was concerned.

Right now though, studying wasn't at the top of Jim's 'to do' list. Sprawled across Leonard's bed, he was munching on an apple while watching his best friend pack, unpack and repack. He was trying not to dwell on how lonely the room would be without the grumbling, warm, and steady presence of the doctor.

"So, how long are you guys going to be gone?"

In the middle of debating over what he did or didn't need in the two bags he'd been allotted, Leonard refolded one of his tops as he answered.

"The full inoculation mission will take two years, but my class is only going along for two or three months of it. The medical team will drop us off at a Starbase and then we'll be hitching a ride back to the Academy. So three to four months total."

Glancing over his shoulder, Leonard growled, tossing a pair of rolled up socks at his roommate's head - which Jim gleefully swatted back toward Leonard like they were a ping pong ball.

"Jim, quit eating on my bed. You feel like getting a set of sheets all sticky with fruit juice - or any other substance, do it to your own sheets. Speaking of which, keep off my bed while I'm gone. I don't want to have to dip everything in disinfectant the moment I walk back through the door."

Jim seemed to contemplate that. Or maybe he was just studying the bite marks on his apple. It was never easy to tell with Jim. After another minute, his face lit up as if the greatest idea in the history of great ideas had just occurred to him.

"How about I promise to make sure everything on your bed gets laundered the day before you get back?"

With an exaggerated sigh and an eyeroll, Leonard went back to checking over his bags while grumbling.

"I have no idea why it is that I put up with your sorry ass, Jim."

Taking another big bite of his apple, Jim grinned hugely and spread his arms wide.

"Because as a best friend, I am awesome. I practically drip awesome."

"What you're dripping is that damn apple juice all over my bed. Infant. Can't you even try chewing and swallowing before talking?"

Most people would only have heard the grousing, but Jim knew his Bones well by now. He could hear all of the tension and worry that was hidden underneath it.

"Bones, you'll be fine. Just one little shuttle ride to the main ship and then you won't even be able to tell that you aren't in a building like the ones around here."

Leaning with his arms braced on the table, Leonard's head drooped as his bravado fled.

"What I'll probably do is throw up on the team leader. Won't that be the perfect way to impress them?"

Getting up off of the bed, Jim took a moment to sit his apple off to the side and wipe his hands off on his pants before moving over to drape an arm across Leonard's shoulders.

"You get way too fixated on upchucking, buddy. Besides, we've practiced some techniques these past few months that really seem to help you."

Eyes still closed, Leonard sighed.

"Those techniques all involved you distracting me. You won't be there this time, Jim."

Jim tightened his grip on his best friend.

"No, I won't be able to be by your side this time, but I made you something."

Taking a deep breath, Leonard gave his friend a sideways glance and managed a teasing half-smile to how he really did appreciate Jim's effort to cheer him up.

"Generally, the only thing you make me is insane."

"Well, this time I've made you a series of recordings. An awesome selection of me talking to the almost equally awesome you. Now, when you get on that shuttle, you will just have to close your eyes and listen to me. Do it every time you have to be on the shuttle. Pretend that I'm right there - but don't try to poke me or the person who actually is sitting next to you might get grumpy. Do that and you'll do fine."

Accepting the recording from Jim's hand, Leonard was touched at the time and effort Jim had taken to make it for him. Straightening up, he turned slightly to face his roommate.

"I will deny it to my last breath if you try to quote me, but sometimes? Sometimes you really are as awesome as you imagine yourself to be. Thanks, Jim."

A little embarrassed as he always seemed to get whenever Leonard tugged on his emotions, Jim leaned his forehead against his friend's and they remained that way quietly for almost a full minute before Jim pulled away grinning.

"Your shuttle doesn't leave until late tomorrow morning. We are totally hitting the bar tonight. You aren't likely to get another chance for a decent bourbon until you get back."

"You're probably right about that. Sure. We can hit the bar, but I need to be back before midnight. That reminds me, Jim. For my peace of mind, promise me that while I'm gone, you won't go looking for fights. I don't trust these other doctors to read your mile-long allergy list all the way through."

"I will do my best, Bones. I don't really trust anybody other than you to tend to me either."

It was, by Jim's standards, a very quiet night. The two of them had a few drinks, a few laughs and pointedly didn't talk about being apart for the next three to four months. They even left the bar early enough to walk back to the Academy since Bones wanted to get as much non-recycled air into his lungs as possible before leaving.

Morning arrived far too soon. He had already cleared it with his instructors, so Jim took the morning to help Leonard with the last-minute packing and went along to see him off. Once Leonard was onboard, Jim continued to hang around, watching as well as he could through the windows as the various members of the medical team greeted one another and made their way to their seats. He didn't make a move to leave until the shuttle had lifted off and even then, Jim kept looking until it was out of sight.

Onboard, Leonard had participated in the round of greetings before giving out a general warning that he had a little problem with shuttles, but believed he had a solution with him to deal with it. There was a little good natured teasing, but they all knew that phobias obeyed their own rules and that everyone had at least one area of squeamishness. Once in his harness, Leonard pulled out the recording, inserted the tiny ear buds, closed his eyes and started it. Even though he reflexively gripped the armrests tightly when the shuttle shuddered slightly as it lifted off, Jim's voice drowned out everything else around him and allowed him to imagine they were back in their room.

~So, Bones, remember that date I had with those Caitian twins? I know that at the time you said to spare you the gory details, but I figured that was because you were waiting for a time when you could give me your undivided attention. This seems like the perfect opportunity, so let me tell you about my unforgettable evening with M'kyss and M'kuya. . .~

A smile formed on his face, and Leonard didn't open his eyes until one of his fellow doctors tapped his arm to let him know the shuttle had landed in the docking bay.

From the minute Leonard set foot on the USS Farragut, he was too busy to even think about being in the black. The doctor in charge of the inoculation project, Doctor Ramsey, kept all of the group working with replicating the various serums needed and double checking both the purity of the serums and the dosages that would be needed for the different planets they would be visiting. The Starfleet cadets would be with the team for the visits to the Atalia, Capellan and Dramian systems before being dropped at Starbase 2 to be relayed back to the Academy.

It only took a week at Atalia to complete their mission there, because there was not a large population on Atalia, only one group of colonists. By the time the shuttle lifted off to take them back to the Farragut, there was already a running joke among the medical team regarding Leonard and the recordings that his roommate Jim had made him for the shuttle trips. Jim had made more than one, so unless more planet stops were added, there were enough of them for each of the outgoing and return trips. All it took was Leonard asking if they'd really prefer to deal with his fear of flying and its side effects to make them all agree that the recordings were an excellent idea.

Their second stop took longer. The population living on Capella IV was a warrior society that believed firmly in survival of the fittest and saw little use for medical knowledge and talked down to most of the doctors. Leonard proved to be the exception to that rule. When one of the warriors made an insulting remark toward him, Leonard snapped an insult right back. For a moment, everything went still, but then the Capellan warrior began laughing and with that, Leonard was welcome among the males of the Ten Tribes.

Doctor Ramsey made the call that they would remain a little longer to see if Leonard could make any headway, but she began to get a bit annoyed with Leonard's approach of inquiring about the social status of the women. Her annoyance ended when she put together the method behind his approach. To imply that the warriors might need assistance in fighting off disease was akin to an insult, but Leonard spoke to the High Teer and spoke of the inoculations as a way of strengthening their women, enabling them to bear stronger sons.

It wasn't perfect, but Doctor Ramsey conceded that inoculating the women and girls would help prevent disease from running rampant. It would take time, but the women and girls would pass their antibodies on to their children as well. It was far better than nothing. The only other hold up was that only the female members of the group would be allowed to administer the shots, but that was worked around easily enough and Leonard continued to spend time with the men, learning more about their society to add to the files of the Xenoanthropology Department of Starfleet.

The next system was Dramia, the first system with two inhabited planets - Dramia, the primary planet, and Dramia II, a colony world. Leonard and four other members of the medical team were sent down along with three security guards by shuttle to Dramia II while the rest of the team traveled on the more densely populated Dramia.

The residents of Dramia II were easily the most alien looking humanoids that Leonard had been in direct contact with to date. They didn't have hands, per se, but instead their lower arms thinned and branched off into long fingers that more closely resembled plant tendrils. With the adults averaging well over two meters in height, even the shortest of the adults were twelve centimeters or more taller than he was. Their flesh tone was golden and, if they had any body hair, Leonard had yet to see it.

Personality-wise, the Dramians were rather stand-offish at first, but gradually became more friendly as they became more used to the appearance of the humans in the group. It was on their third day of administering vaccinations that an older Dramian woman approached Lieutenant Okpara Minyawi, the security officer in charge of protecting the medical outpost. After listening to her story, he moved into the central area and asked the doctors present to come over for a minute. Indicating the woman, he explained the situation.

"She says her husband is very ill - too ill to be moved - and is asking for a doctor to come see him."

While the other three stressed that their mission there was to provide vaccinations and not other medical care, McCoy insisted on going with the woman.

"Y'all can carry on without me. I'll be back as soon as I can."

None of the other medical personnel on the team outranked Leonard, so they couldn't order him not to go, but they did remind him of their general orders. He was muttering as much to himself as he was to them as he gathered his kit.

"Didn't become a doctor to ignore folks that are ill. Me being gone won't stop the vaccinations, just slow things down a little."

Walking over to Lieutenant Minyawi, Leonard gave him a questioning look.

"You're the only one with real authority here. You got a problem with me going?"

Minyawi shook his head as he began leading the doctor to the anxious woman.

"If I had a problem, I would have told the woman 'no' myself instead of bothering your team. Dej-Tai, this is Doctor Leonard McCoy. He has agreed to go with you to see your husband."

All four tendrils from her left arm wrapped around Leonard's right arm as she smiled at him.

"Thank you, but please, we must hurry."

Watching until the two of them were out of sight, Minyawi wished he had an extra member on his team so that he could have sent one along with them, but his main priority had to be the outpost. Leonard was on his own.

It took Dej-Tai close to half an hour to lead Leonard to her home on the outskirts of the main city. Quickly heading inside, she gestured to the room where her husband was.

"Kol-Tai begged me not to enter. He is afraid that I will catch the disease he has."

"Then you stay out here and let me tend to him. You can get me any supplies I might end up needing."

Leonard headed into the sickroom without further hesitation. Even with his limited experience with Dramians, it was obvious to him that this one was very ill. Instead of the rich golden color of the others he'd seen, this male's coloration was a sickly yellow.

Pulling his tricorder around, Leonard confirmed what he already suspected from having read up on past medical cases on the various races that their group was going to interact with. The male was suffering from the Saurian virus - a sometimes fatal disease with no cure. There were vaccines to immunize against it, but if the virus was caught, fighting it became more a matter of keeping the patient alive long enough for their own bodies to develop the necessary antibodies. If the patients survived until the body's immune system was strong enough, the majority would go on to make a full recovery so long as no other illnesses developed while their resistance was down.

Now that the cause was confirmed, Leonard set up an area between the sickroom and the rest of the home so that Dej-Tai could leave things Leonard would need without further risk of infection. That evening, after he had sponge bathed the sick Dramian to cool him down, Leonard sat on one side of his makeshift barrier to explain what he was doing to Dej-Tai.

"Your husband was right to insist that you keep away as much as possible, but there's still a chance that you could be infected. If I was absolutely sure that you hadn't been exposed, I'd give you the vaccine to prevent you from catching it. But since there is a chance that you have already been exposed, the vaccine could do you more harm than good. So - I'll take care of your husband and we'll continue to limit your exposure. I won't come into this buffer area if you're in here, you don't come in if I'm in here - okay?"

She bowed her head slightly.

"I understand and will do as you ask. Is there anything I can prepare to eat?"

"Well, if you can make something nourishing, but mainly broth for your husband, I might be able to help him eat it."

"I will go and prepare it. As well as something more substantial for you, doctor."

"We're going to be seeing a lot of each other. Call me Leonard, please, ma'am. Oh - and if there's clean bedding available, that would be handy as well."

After that, time began to blur for Leonard, The home had an older-style refresher, but it would do well enough for killing the virus on the bedding. The problem with that was that Leonard didn't want Dej-Tai to come in contact with any of the potentially infected items, so he would wait until she left the room and then put them in himself. Not that it was a strain by any stretch of the imagination, but it was one more task added to an ever increasing list.

Dej-Tai helped keep him going and kept him company. Whenever Leonard took a break, she would pass him a snack of some sort and a warm drink over to his side then she would settle on her side with a snack and drink of her own. She would start speaking on whatever topic came to her mind and, once she found Leonard was curious about Dramian cultures, most of what they talked about centered on that with her taking her direction from whatever questions Leonard asked.

Twice a day, Leonard lifted Kol-Tai out of bed and settled him in a chair while he stripped and remade the bed. Then he would spend time trying to coax food and water into his patient before cleaning him off and resettling him in bed. Once that was done, he would begin an examination, looking for the signs that Kol-Tai's body was about to start fighting off the virus. After the examination, Leonard would inject whatever supplements or medications were needed.

Once the Dramian was resting again, Leonard would clean himself up a little and try to eat. Then he would set up his tricorder to give an alarm if any reading changed and attempt to nap. He rarely slept more than an hour or two at a time which meant that by the fourth day, he was ill himself with exhaustion. But the fourth day brought news good enough to help Leonard keep going - Kol-Tai's immune system was rallying and fighting back. Being able to give his wife that good news lifted the mood in the home immensely.

Watching from the other side of the barrier, Dej-Tai breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Leonard relax enough to sleep - this time for six full hours. She was grateful for all of the care Leonard had been giving her husband, but she'd grown fond enough of the human man that she worried about his health as well.

Three days later, Lieutenant Minyawi located the home he had been directed to and hesitated at what he saw there. He had learned some of the basics of Dramian customs and the symbols they used on their homes. The symbol freshly painted on this door said that there had been a death in the house. Softly, he knocked at the door and it was soon opened by an official looking Dramian male. The Dramian took a long look at Minyawi, then gestured for him to enter.

"You must be one of those of the group that the Earth doctor is from. I am Zo-Los. You have come to take him back to the others?"

"Yes. Forgive my asking, but the symbol on the door. Does that mean the man that Doctor McCoy came to help has died?"

"No. It was a tragic event. The doctor tended to Kol-Tai himself and brought him through the critical phase of the disease, but two days ago, Kol-Tai's wife left here to purchase supplies and was among several killed when a fire broke out in the market she was in. In his weakened condition, the shock adversely affected Kol-Tai's health, but the doctor has not left his side and our neighbor is again growing stronger. We will tend to his needs now, but your doctor is in need of assistance himself."

Remembering the trip Dej-Tai had made in desperation to find help for her husband, Minyawi was saddened to hear of her sudden death, but that emotion was pushed aside by the man's last words.

"What happened? Did the doctor catch the disease himself?"

"No. I suspect most of what troubles him is too much work with too little rest. Come."

Both Leonard and Kol-Tai turned their heads toward the door as Minyawi looked into the room. He immediately saw what Zo-Los had been speaking about. While Kol-tai was still looking weak, of the two of them, he looked healthier than Leonard did.

"Lieutenant Minyawi, guess it's time to head back?"

"Yes, Doctor McCoy. Zo-Los assures me that they can tend to the rest of Kol-Tai's recovery."

From his interactions with the other Dramians since Dej-Tai's death, Leonard knew that everyone in the small community had gone into mourning and considered that helping Kol-Tai through his grieving period was their responsibility. To suggest that the others couldn't take care of him now that he was getting better would be taken as an insult.

"I'm sure they can. All he needs now is good food and rest to rebuild his strength."

Turning back to his patient, Leonard offered Kol-Tai his hand.

"Don't rush your recovery - give yourself time and you should be back to full health in a week or two. I . . . I wish things could be different. Dej-Tai was a good woman and I know she will be sorely missed."

The long fingers of the Dramian male wrapped around Leonard's hand.

"That fault was not yours. You worked to prevent her from growing ill as I wished. The fire was nothing either you or I could have predicted or controlled. I owe you my life - and more. You tended to me as if I were family. I will never forget that or you. May good fortune follow you in your travels, Doctor and friend Leonard McCoy. You will always be welcomed in my house. You are as kin to me."

Leonard knew the depth of that in Dramian society and fortunately knew the proper response from some of his long talks with Dej-Tai. He gently lifted their joined hands and brought them up to press against his heart. From the grunt of approval that Zo-Los gave, he knew he had gotten it right.

The two exchanged a smile and Leonard moved away to join Minyawi. It didn't escape the lieutenant's attention that Leonard stumbled occasionally.

"I believe that it's a good thing that I've arranged transportation back to the main group, Doctor McCoy. I don't think you could walk all the way and I'm very sure I couldn't carry you."

Softly chuckling at that, Leonard nodded.

"I'm afraid you're right. I need to apologize to you and to the others. I honestly never expected to be gone as long as I was."

Guiding Leonard to the waiting transport, Minyawi gave an unconcerned shrug.

"You went to tend a patient and you pulled that patient through. I don't see anything to criticize - you're a doctor and I happen to agree with what you said about not ignoring the sick."

"Thanks - I might ask for you as a character witness if I get court-marshaled over this."

Minyawi braced Leonard as the doctor stumbled again before speaking.

"If you are concerned that they might consider court-marshaling you over going to treat that man without orders, then why did you go?"

"Like you said - I'm a doctor. I made oaths I intend to keep long before I put on the cadet reds. If Starfleet can't deal with a doctor that tries to follow the Hippocratic Oath, then we'd come to a parting of the ways eventually, so why not sooner than later?"

"One day, you're likely to give your Captain an ulcer, Doctor. Fortunately for him, you'll also be the man he can trust to fix it."

Snorting, Leonard smiled, already sounding half-asleep as he responded.

"You may have a point there. And since you already seem to know me so well, call me Leonard."

Partially waking back up when he was dropped on one of the seats, Leonard recognized the Dramian waiting to take them back to the main group and greeted him.

"Hello, Tir-Vor."

"Doctor McCoy. I see you were correct to have me bring the transport, Lieutenant Minyawi. If you can keep the doctor inside, we will be back shortly. I know you and your group must leave soon, but it is a shame you could not be here for a bit longer. There will be a sight soon that will not be seen again for fifty more of our solar cycles. Around when our seasons change next, our system's aurora will encircle this planet. None of our people have ever been able to witness this phenomena first hand. Our scientists are very excited to have the opportunity to study it."

Curiosity woke Leonard up enough to want to know more.

"I know what you call an aurora isn't the same thing as what we call an aurora back on Earth, but your scientists don't think it will be dangerous, do they?"

"Not at all. Our colony has only been here a few years and is still rather small - were there signs of danger, we would be evacuated until the aurora passed. However, the radiation has been measured by our probes and is non-lethal. If someone were to remain exposed to it too long, their skin might become overly sensitive, but even that would take a rather lengthy exposure period."

Minyawi settled to where he could steady Leonard if he needed to.

"It is a shame that we're on a tight timetable since this event is so rare, but duty comes first. Does the aurora ever reach Dramia?"

"No. The aurora forms and wans periodically in different areas of our system, but the closest it has ever come to the home world is halfway between Dramia and Dramia II."

As the transport started moving, Minyawi reached over and gave Leonard a tug to keep him upright.

"If you ever think about us after it passes through, send us a few pictures at the Academy. I'd like to see what it looks like."

The talk turned to other items of local interest, but Leonard missed most of it as he dozed.

As it turned out, Leonard wasn't being paranoid - there was talk about disciplinary action until Lieutenant Minyawi demanded to have a private talk with Doctor Ramsey. Leonard was never privy to what went on during that meeting, but the talk about any repercussions against him for leaving the base camp to treat Kol-Tai dried up. There was no question that the two things were connected, so after that, Leonard spent far more time socializing with Minyawi and the other members of Security than he did the other doctors.

The amount of time he spent with the Security personnel didn't sit too well with some of the other doctors, but as Leonard had a hard time giving a damn about their opinions, it didn't have any effect on him. He had found most of his colleagues were more in the line of researchers - which he had nothing against. Sure, he did a fair amount of research himself, but they were researchers that could do some doctoring while he was a doctor that researched on the side. They would never approach a problem in the same way.

When they were on their way to Starbase 2 to catch their ride back to Earth, Leonard was more than ready, though he was going to miss Minyawi. The muscular Egyptian had proven to have a wicked sense of humor that Leonard could appreciate, plus his tales about raising his daughters were always entertaining. He personally wouldn't want to be a young man being vetted for a date with one of the Minyawi sisters.

Leonard had saved one of Jim's recordings for the trip between Starbase 2 and the Academy. The others had been listened to several times, not only when the shuttle was their transportation, but also whenever he had been feeling somewhat lonely and in need of an obscenely cheerful voice. Now that they were so close to being back, he wanted to see Jim's face and hear his goofy voice in person so badly that it was close to an ache. He wondered, not for the first time, what he'd do if they didn't end up on the same ship. He didn't know if anyone other than Jim could keep him sane in the black.

When they finally touched down and the doors were opened, it felt like it had been the better part of a year that they'd been away instead of only three months. Leonard knew it was unreasonable to think that Jim might be there waiting - he not only had his own classes, but was doing them at an accelerated rate, after all - but as he exited, he started to laugh. Not only was Jim there, he was beaming and waving like a fool. Jim pounced him the second he was through the gate, gaining him more glares from the other doctors. It was actually good that he had his hands full of Jim otherwise he would have been sorely tempted to give them a symbol of his own distain right back.

"Bones! Man, it's good to have you back. I've missed my number one wingman and here you are, arriving right on time for the weekend! We are so going out to celebrate you being back on good old Terra Firma. How was the trip? Did my recordings help? Meet any ladies to help you pass those lonely hours without me? Hey, let me grab your bag. No worries, I did remember to wash all of your bedding when I heard you were on your way back. Did you get any rest or do you need to grab a nap before we hit the bars?"

Laughing even harder, Leonard swatted Jim.

"For pity's sake, breathe before you pass out. I've missed you too, you infant, but we don't have to cram catching up with each other into five minutes."

Jim started chuckling himself.

"Sorry, Bones. I've been thinking for days what I wanted to say when I saw you again and I guess it all came spilling out all at once. Hey, did you remember to make those recordings that Uhura wanted? Because if you forgot them, you are in major trouble and take it from me, that is one woman that can hold a grudge."

"Samples of speech from each of the three planets as per her request. But I need to be careful that I don't accidently give her one of your recordings instead."

"In that case, let's head to our room and you can sort everything out."

Once they were moving away from the main crowd and could speak in a more conversational tone, Leonard nudged Jim with his elbow.

"They really did help. Your recordings, I mean. It was kind of like you were still there in my corner even though you weren't around."

"I'll always be in your corner, Bones. Count on it."

Jim's tone was sincere and the conversation had ventured onto ground that neither man was completely comfortable with, so Leonard cleared his throat and changed the subject.

"So - manage to make any headway into finding out Uhura's first name?"

"Not yet - she's a tough nut to crack. Say . . . how about letting me deliver those language samples for you? Maybe that would butter her up."

"The cream from all the cows in Wisconsin couldn't make enough butter to get her to give up her name to you. You made it into a contest, Jim - and I'm pretty sure she intends to win."

Shifting Leonard's bag to his other hand, Jim seemed to be considering what Leonard said carefully.

"In other words, if I hadn't made a big deal out of knowing, she wouldn't be making a big deal out of keeping it from me and even though she really might not care anymore, she's going to keep it up because I started it?"

"Yeah, I think that pretty well sums it up."

They walked in silence for a little over a minute before Jim spoke again.

"I almost forgot to tell you. Guess who's back in town?"

"You mean other than me?"

"Of course other than you. But I won't make you guess. It's M'kyss and M'kuya."

"The Caitian twins?"

"That's them. I found out from M'kyss that M'kuya thinks you're cute, so we're going to meet up with them at the bar."

Leonard opened his mouth to argue, then paused before laughing again.

"You know - why the hell not? But I need a shower and clean clothes first."

"Didn't throw up on anyone while you were gone, did you, Bones?"

"Naw. I saved all of that for you."

"That's disgusting, Bones."

The other cadets in their building chuckled while watching the bickering pair passing by as they headed to their room. The building had been too quiet while Leonard was away.