Disclaimer: I do not own BtVS, Doom and Star Trek 2009. I only own my twisted imagination!

This was written for last years twisted shorts competition. This story has been tidied up and now archived here.

Ancient History

The Klingon's had been taken care of and the away team were once again on the Enterprise. The crew were a little wary of Bones having seen him help the blonde security chief take apart a Klingon group. Still, the minute he started ranting orders to his medical staff, it just reaffirmed that he was still their Bones.

McCoy had ignored all Kirk's pointed questions, while he treated the injured captain's side. He simply quirked an amused eyebrow and continued to treat the injury. "Kid we'll answer your questions when I've healed the gaping hole in your side."

Kirk winced feeling the hypo stab his neck. He stubbornly held onto consciousness, "I'll hold you to that Bones."

Bones shook his head in amusement as he started to heal the wounds. Kirk was a lot like Buffy, in that he had managed to drag him out of a fit of depression. In Buffy's case, she had helped him get over his immortality. In Kirk's case, he had helped him get over Jocelyn and Joanna.

Buffy had gone to the Med-bay as soon as her shift was over. She had shared a quiet drink with Bones reminiscing over the past, because neither of them was prone to looking back too often.

Kirk had managed to sleep off his anaesthesia and overheard the quiet conversation at the foot of his bed. He could tell it was late as the lights were dimmed. Given the nature of the conversation, he thought it best to feign sleep for now.

He heard Buffy's voice, "Why did you do the academy again?" He could hear the blatant curiosity in her voice. It also beggared the question when had he gone before.

"Your father is a twisted man." Bones replied sarcastically as if that explained everything. It hadn't escaped Kirk's notice that Bones accent had disappeared.

"You did it for your sister didn't you?" Buffy asked softly.

Kirk couldn't see Bones but he could tell that he was rubbing his neck. "Sam always wanted me to look through a microscope rather than a sniper scope." It was news to Kirk that Bones even had a sister.

Buffy said nothing as she knew there was anything that she could say. After all, it didn't matter how much time had past, losing loved ones hurt. Buffy knew how lucky she was that Giles was still alive.

The spell that Willow had cast on her had made her immortal. It turned out that Giles was naturally an immortal. Over time, their relationship had grown and with each new identity they were father and daughter. Buffy had met John Grimm when he was going through his angry stage. His sister had just died and he was just waking up to the fact that he was facing eternity. It had been a bitter pill to swallow.

He chuckled, "Did I ever thank you for kicking my ass?"

Buffy smirked, "Hey you were young. I also knew exactly where you were coming from."

He willingly hugged her, "You know eternity doesn't seem so bad with you."

Kirk had opened his eyes in time to see Buffy sink into his embrace. He had watched the pair take out a Klingon attack party. It had been hard to watch, after all, he wanted to know why Bones had never said anything.

Kirk realised something, Bones had hidden who he was from everyone, including himself. Jim knew that tactic; it was one he had often employed himself. It was easier to live a persona than deal with your own demons. When he saw them hug, he snickered, "Hey where's my hug?"

Buffy broke free of Bone's embrace reluctantly; she smiled at Kirk, "Sorry captain Bones saw me first."

He raised an eyebrow, "When did you meet?"

Buffy and Bones shared a look before he spoke, "We met over two hundred years ago."

Kirk's eyes widened momentarily, "That's a long friendship."

Buffy grinned, "Well, yeah, but I've worn him down."

She could see that the men were unsure of where they stood. Buffy did a very Xande-esque thing; she went for humour to break the slight tension. She had a wry smile, "You know when a woman says that she is older than she looks?"

Kirk nodded a little unsure of where she was going. She leaned back against McCoy and with a wicked grin, "I'm not being coy."

Kirk was trying to wrap his mind around the fact that his best friend was immortal. He had so many questions that he honestly did not know where to start. He had a boyish grin, "I don't know where to start."

Buffy and Bones shared a smirk before they pulled up chairs. The two immortals patiently answered all of his questions. This just goes too show that given enough time anyone can learn new skills. It wasn't easy, to cover nearly three centuries of turbulent terran history, Olduvai and other things.

In truth, the questions had barely scratched the surface but it did help to rest, many of the fears that Kirk had. So he might have a C24 enhanced doctor/marine and the Slayer prime on his ship. As he fell asleep, once again he could not help but take comfort in that thought. After all, given the amount of predicaments the Enterprise found herself in. They really could use all the help they could get.

He had a cheeky smile as he got the last word in, "So it's not 'sawbones' but rather 'old bones'"

He drifted off hearing Buffy's melodic laughter.