USS Enterprise-E, 2372

The small gathering aboard the Enterprise-E commenced. As was tradition, speakers went from those who knew the deceased least to the one who knew and loved him best of all.

Will Riker began.

"I never really met Leonard McCoy. But I almost feel like I didn't need to. He is there in the tradition of cantankerous Chief Medical Officers. He is there in the battlefield surgeon who never lets a patient go without one hell of a fight. He is there in the compassion that is a hallmark of Starfleet Medical. He is there every time a hand is held or slapped in the name of healing. I will now never know Leonard McCoy in any meaningful way. But again, maybe I don't need to have known him, as he always been with us, and will continue to be with us in so man very real ways."

 He sat down, and Deanna rose.

"I remember when my cousin, also a doctor, got married on Betazed. Leonard McCoy was one of her instructors at the Academy. Needless to say, he refused a certain well-known aspect of the wedding ritual. He later made a toast to Garline and to all the women of Betazed. He said "The fine ladies of this world are among the brightest in the universe; If you wanna see their knockers, you have to say 'I Do'!--or get someone else to do it. So here's to 150 lovelies--and the 75 ladies they're attached to!' Needless to say, only my mother laughed at the joke. I was horrified. My mother then stood up and shouted, 'Oh, he's the only honest non-Betazoid in the room! You all have that same fixation---well, they do.'That, then, is Leonard McCoy to me. Brutal honesty that knew no false protocols. I later regretted having been too young at the time to be among those he gave the eye to. It was the first time I can recall Betazoid women actually covering themselves with their arms! I'm told that many Boobs in Starfleet Command ran for cover, as well, rather than face his honesty about backward-thinking policies. That kind of honesty was already rare in his time. I will miss it."

As Data rose to speak, he again felt the grief of Captain Picard's passing. A nod from Captain Kirk made him feel like he had leave to speak. This helped the android only a little.

Data found emotions a greater challenge with each passing day.

"My encounter with Admiral McCoy was brief. He inspected the Enterprise-D before we left for Farpoint and all that happened there. Among the things he told me was---"
 
Perhaps not realizing how disconcerting it was, Data spoke with McCoy's voice as it had been eight years prior.

 "Take care of her, my boy--and she'll always bring you home."

Upon seeing Captain Kirk almost jump up in surprise, Data realized that this ability might be a good one to restrict outside of the responsibilities of his duties aboard the Bridge.

"Until I had the emotion chip, I never understood why he called The Enterprise a she. Then, when I saw my ship wrecked, and my Captain dead--I knew what a home really was. More, I knew my home was gone. When I saw Admiral McCoy again, I was still very unsteady, and unsure of my new emotions. I blurted out an apology for not taking care of 'her'. As I am told was his custom in such grim circumstances, the Admiral told a joke. In this case, a quote from Ambassador Spock. He said, in the style and manner of Spock, 'Data, you must control your emotions. They will be your undoing.' He then thanked me for being among those who brought Captain Kirk back, and asked of my last conversation with the Ambassador. It was a conversation without direction or practical purpose. And so, for the first time, in the company of Leonard McCoy---I felt human."

As a shaking Data descended, his new Captain proved once again he would never be Jean-Luc Picard--by publicly embracing him.

"Captain--I am not what you would call--a hugger."

Jim smiled through unashamed tears.

"S'okay, Data. Neither am I."

They both sat back down as Hawkeye Pierce took the podium. His wife and fellow CMO, Margaret Houlihan, walked up beside him. Pierce started.

"We're a team, her and I. We figure that, together, we can get through this without cracking wise or crying our eyes out."
 
Doctor Houlihan took over.

"An accident in time caused the creation of the 1701st during Earth's Korean War. I still don't understand precisely what went on, then--and I have a mind that can consciously think 500 paces ahead. But I and my future husband got to meet some extraordinary people we now know were the crews of the Enterprise, A and D both. Women I admired for their strength. Men who didn't make me feel like a toy, or an accessory. One such man was Leonard McCoy. I was a good deal more 'promiscuous'---what a word---400 years ago. So yes, Len was one, just as Nyota Uhura, who left us only weeks before this, was one for my Hawkeye. But they were more than lovers. They were alive. In the midst of that war--being alive meant everything. Leonard showed me how to shake off the crust of a bad divorce and at long last wake up."

Clearing his throat, Hawkeye found more words.

"Len McCoy once or twice, went on a drunken tirade about how we were butchering our patients. Trapper laughed, the first time. BJ punched him, the second. Both times, I found him strident and annoying--life has its ironies, after all. I didn't know he was from the future. Consciously knowing that wouldn't have helped me deal with the truth of what he was saying. Unconsciously, though, I started paying better attention to things like scarring, and limb mobility. and dexterity recovery. I became a better surgeon, even within the confines of that meatball environment. I did this for me, and I did this for my patients, and I did this to shut McCoy's voice out. Around him, people—whether me, Jim, Spock or whoever--people were at their best. Because Leonard McCoy was always at his best, the rest of the universe just had to learn to compete. That's all I have to say."

As before, Kirk stopped the mourners as they descended.

"You two--were among his idols."

Knowing a one-liner would follow, Pierce merely nodded at Jim, and sat back down with his wife. Margaret held a traditional Christian crucifix gently in one hand, and prayed silently.

Now it was Scotty's turn. He hoped that everyone would hear his words fully before judging him.

"Ye are a bunch o' wee babies! Leonard McCoy would nae want so somber a remembrance! We are not telling stories of a statue, people! I will not be a part of this dead history lesson. Rather, I am going out on the decks and assault every crewman with tales of McCoy's ribaldry, bigotry, and if the mood should strike me, his flatulence after a meal o'beans! His ghost curses ye all right now for this wetworks festival. Me---I am nae here!"

Waving off Kirk and shaking his arms, Captain Montgomery Scott did as he said he would. That left only McCoy's very best friend to speak. Captain James T. Kirk, Captain Of Three Enterprises, moved uncertainly towards the podium, not wanting the words to come. For if they came, then Bones was truly dead.

Refusing further replacements, enhancements, or extraordinary measures, Admiral Leonard H McCoy had left the universe for the last time. The Sovereign-Class USS Enterprise-E, commanded by his friend of two lifetimes, Captain James T. Kirk, was holding a small memorial service involving the senior staff. So far, it was a mixture of awkward release and heartfelt nostalgia. But none of the speakers thus far had known McCoy like the Captain himself.

His mind was clear, suddenly, and he knew exactly what to say. It was as if he always had.

"This past year has been one of many changes. Just 15 months back---I didn't exist in this continuum. Then, Soran played a deadly, selfish game with the lives of the stars themselves. Bringing me in as back-up, Jean-Luc and I managed to put paid to that game. As you know--he didn't come back. Poor Beverly Crusher did what people do--blame the messenger. That would have passed, but one of our many 'friends' from the Dominion chose then to kidnap her and take her place. We got her back-and someday soon I will get the Dominion back on her behalf. At a friend's insistence, I came back to this job and with a superior crew at my side, averted a war."

Kirk paused to keep the flow of his thoughts consistent.

"Beverly, Worf, and Geordi chose not to come back, each for reasons of their own. As our new Chief Medical Officers can tell us, new faces can be a plus--if they are the right faces. Besides those two old cutters, I have one of my dearest friends acting in the job he was born for—Chief Engineer. Happily, I also have three returning stalwarts. Will, I ask you to remember Jean-Luc, for I will need his wisdom as well as yours as I struggle with the new time and place I have found myself in. Data, keep right on growing, and don't be afraid to stumble. Where I can, I'll be there with a hand up and an ear to listen with. Deanna, you are so much more than your title suggests, and in so many ways remind me of Uhura, whom we also lost so recently. Don't accept your job's limits, Deanna. You are both an extraordinary woman and the daughter of another extraordinary, quite fetching woman. I am blessed to have you all here."

Deanna Troi blushed a little, both from the praise and her still awkward feeling sabout the Captain's surprising affair with Lxwanna. Not to mention the fact that she still had her own childhood crush on the historical legend now alive again before her. Kirk resumed.

"But this gathering is for Bones. He is dead, now."

Jim's next words struck like a thunderclap.

"And I am glad that he is dead."

Even the returning Scotty, who had denounced the Memorial as too maudlin, was flabbergasted at hearing this. The room was all gasps. Kirk repeated.

"I am glad that my old dear friend is at long last dead. Because—that is what he wanted. At our last meeting, after my rescue, he told me how each time his health had come to crisis, he quarreled with himself and his family over whether to extend his life by all means possible. This Life had no meaning for him, any longer. He was functional, but in some pain and drifting in spirit. He said to me, 'Jim, I hope to God next time I have the guts to let it happen'. I told him I had developed a gut, and that he could have some of mine. We laughed, but when he failed to follow through on the opening I had given him---I knew. Now I know, though, his pain is done. He moves on, and will doubtless argue with the angels. I will not grieve for him again. Rather, as I contact Pavel, Hikaru, and of course, Spock, I shall joyfully recount what a stubborn pain in the ass he could be! And if you think that shows disrespect---then you did not know Doctor Leonard McCoy at all. He was a Doctor--Not a Martyr. Today-We Celebrate One Hell Of A Life."

As hearts lifted, and the memorial became less formal, many forgotten stories were dredged up, some of them not favorable to McCoy's dignity. When all was done, Kirk bade a moment of silence, and asked that an old recording of McCoy's voice be played before their resumption of duties.

"Well--it seems I finally got The Last Word."

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I have nothing special to say, here. DeForest Kelly was an able actor who brought a beloved character to life, and living he shall remain. This unique Au allowed him to die without tragedy and permitted Jim to grieve, as well. Though I am fond of 'revival' storylines, in future installments of 'Starting Over', Leonard McCoy's death shall remain a fact. Elsewhere, though, I shall see him as he always is - alive and kicking.