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[chasedthestars]

"This still feels weird," says Jim, pen tapping anxiously against his papers spread out on the kitchen table. He's put his foot down on not reading into actual medical files, but even just making a list of potentials seems kind of skeezy.

"It feels like we're reducing them to their working body parts," he sighs, eyeballs aching as he scrubs a hand over the stubble on his cheeks. "All these women." Jim looks across the table at Bones. "How the hell are we gonna go around asking, hey, do you feel like getting knocked up?"

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[leftwithmybones]

Given that he has nowhere to be for the next few hours, McCoy has decided that pajamas pants and a black tank-top are as dressed as he plans to get for a while. He pours himself a cup of coffee before he wanders back to the table, pausing to brush a kiss against Jim's stubbled cheek. "First, we narrow it down to likely willing candidates before that awkward talk. And then, you ask. As professionally as possible," he says, dragging his chair over with his heel. "I'm ruling out Rachel and Dairine right now," he says. "And Madelyne."

[chasedthestars]

Jim gapes across the table at him. "Okay the first two were never on the table, because - because. And Madelyne is a whole extra dimension of uncomfortable that I refuse to think about. And also."

Jim throws down his pen. "There's no way of knowing who's likely willing without asking questions that're bound to get me punched. Or slapped. Or kicked in my favorite places."

[leftwithmybones]

He drapes his arm around Jim's shoulders, scritching a comfortable path absently, like sometimes he remembers that he married this idiot and he gets to do these things. "Medically speaking, the best bets are women who have given birth before, since it reduces complications," he says. "Which gives us a smaller list of candidates, but one's currently pregnant and there's a few I barely know," he says, staring at the sad number of candidates. "And she's married," he says, poking a name at the bottom of the list. "Which is a damn shame, because with her genes, I could definitely try and isolate the genes for blonde hair and blue eyes."

[chasedthestars]

"Who?" asks Jim, leaning forward to skim down the line. "Jane Redman?" It's true - physically she and Jim already have a lot in common, but Bones is right, she's married.

"Her husband seems pretty old-fashioned, too," he says, smiling a little. "Take me out behind the hut and shoot me, old-fashioned. And she's..." About as sweet as they come, and kind. He'd almost feel like he was taking advantage of her if she even looked like she was considering it.

[leftwithmybones]

"Lipton now," he says distractedly, sipping at his coffee. "He's running for Council along with me, since you're focusing on this," he points out, and Jim's not wrong about Lipton seeming more than a little old-fashioned. When you consider that they're from the future by hundreds of years, it's even more of a jump. "We can take a risk and ask someone else. Rogue?" he offers.

[chasedthestars]

Jim eyes Bones over the table. "Why do I feel like me being the one on Council sabbatical means I'm the one who's going to be collecting all the punches from angry women and their significant others?"

[leftwithmybones]

"Well, now, darlin', you could've run with me," is his reply, but he doesn't intend to let Jim go out there on his own. "Besides, you're better at doing this without getting punched, anyway. I'm not great with people, remember? Something about the bedside manner." He leans that little bit forward so his forearms are on the table. "You want me to ask Rogue? I will," he offers. "She and I had that almost thing, anyhow."

[chasedthestars]

Jim arches a suspicious, albeit interested eyebrow. "Well now I'm just jealous," he says, "And tentatively turned on. And you are great with people. They just have to realize what's beneath the bark, that's all."

Sighing, Jim lays his head down on his folded arms. "Why's Jane got to be from Georgian times?" he laments. "How many years do you think you've gotta live on this crazy island before you start accepting semi-indecent proposals?"

[leftwithmybones]

"Joce made me read a lot of Austen when we were dating," McCoy says. "In a way, her being from the past is almost a good thing. The culture was damn different and her carrying a kid is pretty much the expected thing. It wouldn't be her I'd worry about," he says. "It's the husband. How open would you be if some woman showed up asking if I'd contribute to her baby-making plans?"

[chasedthestars]

Jim narrows his eyes. "So basically," he says, "I'm figuring out what I'd say to convince myself if some woman showed up and did that, or what I'd say to convince you if the situation were reversed."

[leftwithmybones]

"If we decide she's the best viable option," he agrees, stretching out arms and legs and curling his toes as he does. "We've still got some single women on this list we can go through. "I was thinking we should think about women slightly on the older side. Again, not Jess," he says. "But there's a few others? Don't know if we know them very well, though."

[chasedthestars]

Jim exhales, rubbing the heel of his palm against his itchy eyeballs. "I still think it's worth putting up a sign. You never know, a willing party might come to us."

Not to mention, it might significantly reduce potential bodily harm done to Jim if he didn't have to run around the island, looking for willing wombs.

"What would convince you?" he asks. "If a woman showed up on our door, asking for a DNA donation from your husband?"

[leftwithmybones]

He sighs, at that, not entirely sure. "I guess knowing that there'd be no expectation once everything was done. Maybe a contract?" he offers, because it's not the most trusting thing, but it would probably rest it at ease. "Maybe an honest plea of why they wanted it. Hell, maybe some kind of compensation."

[chasedthestars]

Jim laughs. "The hell do you give someone in exchange for a baby?" he asks, though of course he knows it's done. He just has no idea how he'd ever provide anything of equal value.

"Well," he says, "We're not without our talents. You could do house calls for the rest of our lives, give them the best medical care they'll ever see, I could build them some kind of solar powered mansion...whoever they are."

[leftwithmybones]

"It's not a bad thing to offer," he admits, feeling a little blossom of hope in his chest. "What do you say? You want to post something asking for volunteers? Or you want to start the door to door requests asking for a womb and maybe some eggs."

[chasedthestars]

"Hard to say," says Jim. He trusts his own powers of persuasion, but there's something that sits weird with him about going door to door after everyone's had a chance to offer and didn't.

"Maybe I'll just go right to the Liptons. Just patch me up if he shoots me, okay?"

[leftwithmybones]

"You know I'd patch up every inch of you," McCoy says tenderly, setting his food aside so he can reach over and slide his hands over Jim's, giving them a firm squeeze to reassure him. "There's no such thing as a no-win scenario, right?"

[chasedthestars]

Jim takes a breath, showing Bones a smile that's only wobbly at the edges. He grips Bones' hands and asks, "How's it that commanding a starship is way less terrifying than the thought of letting you down?"

[leftwithmybones]

"You couldn't let me down, Jim," he promises, softening up somewhat. No one really gets to see this besides Jim, now, but it's McCoy stripped of all the showy bitterness. "Nothing you ever did would or could do that."