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Scotty groaned, tossing a heavy limb over his eyes to shield from the sudden light.Now that was odd.He was in his quarters on the Enterprise. He didn’t have any windows and he hadn’t set the lights to turn on at his usual time because he still had a day left of his leave.Even if he had come back from the Starbase a wee bit early.Okay, so maybe he’d had some plans to go over the new retrofits to the engines that he’d been forbidden from helping with because – and to quote Doctor McCoy – “I swear to god, Scotty, you’re worse than Jim. If you don’t take a vacation, I will sedate you.”So.There shouldn’t be any light in his quarters.Tentatively, moving slowly so that maybe he’d aggravate his hangover less, he shifted his arm enough to squint out past it and into the all too bright light.Only now the light was being blocked by a black and white face with a wide grin on it.“Jaylah?” He mumbled. “What’re ya doin’ in my quarters, lassie?”“Montgomery Scotty! I did it!”“Did what?” Scotty’s head was pounding way too much for her bright eyed enthusiasm. “What time is it even? Is it morning yet?”“No. It’s still night.” She said.“Then, no offense, lass, but what are ye doin’ in my quarters in the middle o’ the night?” he tried to sit up but the room spun and he dropped back down in his bunk, something digging into his hip. He frowned, felt around on the bed before he pulled up a handful of datapads. Oh yeah… Scotty thought muzzily, dropping the pads again, which of course meant they fell on top of him.“I got in! Starfleet Academy accepted me!” she said excitedly, bouncing up on her feet and clearing away the datapads. “This calls for a celebration, Montgomery Scotty. A drink!” She grabbed his hands and hauled him off the bed and onto his not so steady feet.He tried not to be sick.Scotty didn’t want to admit it, but he may have gone overboard on his leave. He wobbled, stumbled back and dropped to sit on his bed, holding his head between his hands as he groaned.“Lass, why didn’t you com me earlier? When ya first found out? I’m afraid I’m no’ in any shape t’be celebratin’ right now,” Scotty groaned.“I did. James T. gave me the message himself and I came straight here,” Jaylah said, beaming proudly at him.“You only just found out?” Scotty asked, working through it slowly.“Yes. Now, c’mon!” she said, pulling him back to his feet again. “We’ll drop by Sickbay and get you one of the Doctors hypospray cures and then we can celebrate!”Her eagerness drew him out the door of his quarters and Scotty found he didn’t mind. He liked the lass. She was smart, plucky and a survivor and she’d been a goddamn lifesaver. He was absolutely proud Starfleet Academy had accepted her. If they hadn’t, he’d been planning on having a few words with their recruitment staff.Scotty wasn’t afraid of telling anyone off if they needed it. He’d done it before and he’d do it again and damn the consequences – even if those consequences sometimes landed him on ice planets in the backwater of nowhere.Still, he was glad he didn’t have to ream anyone out. Hungover or not, he had to admit, that that was one of the more pleasant wake up calls he’d ever had in the middle of the night, even if he was right now being dragged towards a thorough tongue lashing from the ships Chief Medical Officer about his overindulgence.Worth it.