Snippet 4d

"Sure," Jim smiled an almost identical smile, turning it on the two brothers before him after motioning to them. "This is Zach, and - ?" he left the invitation open for the older man, beside Zach, to reply.

The older man gave them both a cursory glance, before he gave them a small nod, almost without emotion. "Luke."

"Zach's here for therapy, same as me," Jim told Sam, before smiling back at Zach. "Is this where you usually come for it? Who's your doctor?"

"This is our first time here." Zach replied, giving Luke a small smile. "We came for the treatments offered and to just...get away."

Sam smiled over at Jim. "Sounds familiar."

"That's exactly why we're here," Jim chuckled, looking very intrigued and delighted at their new company. "I just figured out my doctor's name a second ago - I've got Dr. McCoy. Do you have the other guy, then? The one with the asian-sounding name?"

"Dr. Keanu Reeves, yes," Luke said with a small nod. "You're lucky to have Dr. McCoy. He's the other greatest name here."

"So Dr. Reeves is really big then, too?" Jim asked curiously. "Are they French? Like, hardcore with the accent and the mustaches?"

"No," Zach said, shaking his head in slight amusement. "They're American."

"Seriously?" Jim raised his eyebrows. "What are the odds? I mean, seriously, in America when I was there last, they gave me this Mongolian dude once, who I swear was out to get me. And he really had a crush on Sam - remember that?" he asked, craning his neck to smile cheekily back at his brother. "When he called you 'se'tula?'"

Luke's mouth twitched. "He called you 'dumpling'?"

Sam laughed awkwardly, looking down as he nodded reluctantly. "Yeah...yeah he did."

Zach looked amused. "That's adorable."

"It really was," Jim sniggered. "And Sam went all red when he said it, even though he had no idea what it meant. I think he could just tell. It does kind of sound endearing."

"You look like someone who would be called 'dumpling' by their girlfriend," Luke said, glancing up at Sam with a crooked smile. "Maybe it's the blonde hair."

"Yeah. The blond hair sells it all," Jim agreed at once. "Sam can't beat off the girls fast enough."

Sam cuffed him lightly, giving him a look before smiling at the two of them. "So where are the two of you living?"

"The complex on Jardins Arago," Luke replied simply. "And you?"

"1st and Louis." Sam said with a smile. "You should totally come over sometime."

"Yeah!" Jim said eagerly. "I know exactly where that street is! You guys are only a couple blocks away from us!"

"Zachary Kessler?" a nurse suddenly called from somewhere near the counter at the front of the room, coming in from the adjacent hallway with a clipboard. "Dr. Reeves is ready to see you."

"Time to go," Luke said, helping Zach up and glancing once more at Sam and Jim. "We'll see you both soon, I expect."

"Same time next week, if nothing else," Jim said, reaching over to pat Zach on the back. "Good luck with the other-best doctor, dude."

"Bye, Jim." Zach said with a smile and back-wave as he turned to follow the nurse.

Sam turned to give Jim a side smile before a second nurse walked in. "James Kirk?"

"Present," Jim joked, before straightening up to follow her into another of the examination rooms, glancing back once to make sure Sam was following him before walking down the clinic hallway.

A few minutes later, Jim and Sam were seated in the examination room awaiting their doctor - and Jim, as usual, took an immediate interest in the various medical instruments around the room. This time, however, he managed to talk to Sam at the same time.

"I like those guys," he commented as he peered at a small PADD on the desk. "Zach and Luke. D'you think we'll see them again here?"

"Maybe." Sam said, reaching over to take the PADD away from him. "I know you'll schedule an appointment for the same time just in case, but I wouldn't get your hopes up."

"Why not? D'you think they'll try to avoid us now that we've talked to them?" Jim asked, moving on to some viewing screens on the wall after Sam took the PADD away. "They seemed really nice. Maybe we can count them as the first friends we made in Paris. That'd be nice, wouldn't it?"

Sam smiled as he put the PADD down. "Maybe. We'll see if we can't get together with them this week."

"Seriously?" Jim said, turning toward him with a distinctly hopeful smile. "That'd be so awesome! We could totally - "

"All right, you two," a nurse suddenly poked her head into the room before Jim could get another word out, smiling at the two of them. "Dr. McCoy will see you now."

"Oh, right," Jim said, swiftly moving to hop up on the biobed. "Sorry."

The nurse gave him a smile before turning to open the door wider, and finally show the expected 'Dr. McCoy' into the room.

"I assume you're the two Kirks." McCoy said as he stepped in - a handsome doctor with dark hair and eyes, no more than 25 - and shook Jim's hand. "I'm Dr. McCoy, I'll be looking after you during your stay in Paris."

"Cool," Jim said, beaming back at him as he shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Doc. Thanks for having us."

--**-- (this one is pretty recent - but what do you think?)