Joâs little gestures helped somehow, her fervent need to have attention was nice because Leonard loved givinâ it to her. She needed it like he needed it, he mighta guessed in hindsight. He smiled a fragile, slow smile as he watched her. But his shoulders never relaxed. All tense knots, and years of self-made stress.
She took a pose on his lap, and Leonardâs large hand braced her so she would fall over. She didnât even notice, going on like a train with the yearâs Hallows Eve plans. Leonard thought of all those years he missed, and all those shitty Halloweens as a newly-made bachelor. Leonard was apathetic about Halloween really, not really one to fixate on dark-stuff if he could help it, and Halloween is when all the weirdoâs came out and got themselves hospitalized, and Leonard usually booked himself overtime since so many other people had families. Also he thought of those intimate memories on Halloween that Joce and him had spent together, and again - Leonard tried, at the very least, not to put himself through too much self-pity and liver killing habits. The Doctor could say, however, he never went on a date around Halloween. It seemed weird somehow. Like a part of his heart he wasnât willing to share yet. Halloween some private holiday that meant more than it should.
And he realized he wanted to be there for Jo. He would have to get off on Halloween, and he didnât know how possible that was. Leonard worked so many years voluntarily, now that he was CMO, it may not be volunteer anymore. His heart tightened at the thought of missing out. And God, Jo as a vulcan was not something to miss.
âIf you want to be a goblinâer Vulcan, donât let your mom hold ya back. Iâll ask Doc Mâbenga and I bet he can get you some nice ears,â Leonard nodded, realizing this probably horrible ethically. After a second, his conscience got the better of him, and he relented, ââŚbut ask Mr. Spock first. If he says yes, then you can do it. Maybe if you ask him real nice, he will be a Human, and you can be Vulcan, and you can trade clothes,â he teased fondly. Â
Leonard felt the pain echo somewhere deep in him when he thought of all of those years sir-shit-head, Jocelyn and Jo went out for Halloween. Maybe just one or two Halloweens, but still - the idea of it he hated. It tangled up in his ribs, and threatened to take him apart again, feeling pale, but he didnât let it falter his face. His smiles were a little lack-luster, his shoulders wilted, but he didnât wanna think about that now. God, he just couldnât think about it.
âI dunno what I am gonna be, sorry darlinâ,â he frowned, trying to think. âHow about I get back with you on that, unless you got any ideas. Iâm usually a Doctor for Halloween.â
Jo sighed and shook her head slightly, her long blonde hair falling in her face as she did so. "Not a goblin, Daddy." She admonished in a manner that was much too grown up for her to pull off.Â
The young girl examined her father for a minute before replying with a sassy, "That's not a costume, that's what you are." She held up both hands in a motion that clearly meant "Duh, Dad." Her soft smile belied her tone.Â
"This year you should dress up. It's much more fun. And I bet Uncle Kirk will dress up too if I ask him. Everybody could dress up." She grinned at the idea.Â
It was the sound of familiar footsteps, the soft click of a well balanced heel that caused Joanna to freeze, her next thought stuck on the tip of her tongue. Her eyes swiveled in her head to find the purple smears that now bedecked the wall in place of the lines.Â
A quiet, "Uh oh," was all she had time for before Jocelyn rounded the corner.Â
Joanna was trying to get his attention, and at first Leonard didnât process it. Like someone banginâ on the door of a Southern mansion, for a second the Doctor just wasnât home to hear his daughter knockinâ. He peered down at her mechanically, realizing she wanted in his lap, and he nodded, helping her little body up, while the entire situation played over and over in Leonardâs head like a god damn nightmare.
He.. this bastard, hugged his daughter. Like he had any right. And Leonard felt it slice through him with a white, numbed fury. Because this was the guy that Jocelyn left him for. And Leonard couldnât even get angry, too rattled with an icy fear that shook his bones. Why would Jocelyn do this to herself? Endanger herself like this.. to get away from him? It didnât make sense, and the answer was probably lodged there somewhere in Leonardâs ribs â and he couldnât even get a proper gulp down to breathe.
âNah, darlinâ, oâ course you ainât in trouble,â he said, wrapping his large arm around her, feeling vulnerable; holdinâ her like she was keeping him together. The crayon on the wall long forgotten. He rested his cheek on her hair.
âYou and your momma weâre very brave. It mustâve been hard.. movinâ around like you did. I am sorryââ the words tripped him abruptly, and swallowed the painful lump in his throat. There was water in his eyesâand Goddammit Leonard, donât fuckinâ cryâ
âI am sorry I wasnât there with you, darlinâ.â He said steadily, before the words strangled him. And he grinned through it, shaking his head because he couldnât help but find this entire thing rather ludicrous. Being Chief Medical Officer of a Flagship didnât matter for shit compared to this. Starfleet? A hilarity. So god damned stupid. And he laughed suddenly, a dark snort of a laugh. Come on, keep it together, Leonardâ
If he didnât change the subject, he might not be able to do it. And so he wiped the tears from his eyes with his thumb and fore finger before she could see. He looked down at the top of her head then, saying the first thing that could possibly save him.
âYou know, I havenât seen you for a holiday in awhile.. how is Halloween lookinâ for you?â
"It's ok, Daddy." She tucked her head underneath his chin, hoping that somehow her presence would fix whatever was upsetting him.Â
"You don't hafta be sad. We're all right here now." She wasn't sure why this was all so upsetting. Especially when it was all in the past. Nevertheless she wanted to fix it.Â
He seemed to be changing emotions rather quickly, Joanna struggled to keep up. But as he looked down at her she saw what could only be hurt in her father's eyes. He was asking about her Halloween, and she frowned for a moment before nodding.
"Yeah, Momma said I could dress up an' all even though we're in space. I dunno if people trick or treat in space, but if they do, I'm sure we could go together." She smiled for a moment. "I'm not sure what I'm gonna be though." She slowly stood up of her father's lap, needing to demonstrate different poses to go with her different ideas.Â
"I usually go as a Captain. Mama turned on of her gold shirts into a dress for me, with Captain's stripes an' everything." She grinned and put her hands on her hips. "I look good."Â
"But this year maybe I was thinkin' of being a Vulcan cause you know they have cool ears an' green blood." She put a finger on top of either ear to demonstrate the points. "But Momma said Mr. Spock might not like that so much." She chewed on her lip. "What'd you go as for Halloween, Daddy?"Â
The horror of the moments before hadn't truly affected her. She was aware that she had shared a story, and that the story had truly upset her father, but not understanding why, she was ready to move on. And small children rebound quickly. She was happily dancing and describing Halloween costumes, because to her, it was all just a half memory of time before.Â
Leonard watched the minute facial expressions of his little girl, and knew this was something big. He was on one knee now, looking at her, and not realizing he was holding his breathe. He caught the foflorescent light on her hair, on her eyelashes â and for a second Leonard felt like he was floating. It was all quite odd when he listened to Jo speak, because at first - he couldnât even register what she was saying. His mind like mush as he frowned, took in the story â all static and audio.
It wasnât the first time he had, well, ambiguously asked his daughter for intel. Leonard really was in the dark about the marriage, only following the happenings of Jocelyn as much as his heart could take it. There was a dark part of Leonard that had been a bit obsessive, following her public records. He had found an address with an odd last name. Not Treadway, or McCoy.
Jocelyn Darnell. And something hardened and cracked in Leonard when he had read it. His mom was worried about himâ hell, even his Dad said he wasnât lookinâ too good. And sure, his mom worried about his health, and Leonard wasnât exactly living healthily, but instead he signed away eight years of his life to the government. Turned a blind eye away, and maybe put a few light years of space between him and that other last name. It hurt enough that leaving his parents didnât bother him. Tonia too. Even Jo. It was okay, just to get away.
She talked about Clay, and Leonard recalled the name. A tiny collapse happened beneath his skin, all slow and hairline fractures that didnât disturb Bonesâs face. He nodded to Jo, running a hand on her shoulder thoughtlessly, looking past her as she spoke, and listening quietly like a slow poisoning. Joâs guilt was endearing, and sad too, because the intimate knowledge shared, he didnât realize then, but would in hindsight â that this would probably be one of Joâs greater regrets. Telling her father what had happened to her mother.
And the truth came out. This guyâ Clay, Jocelynâs ex husbandâ the man she left Leonard forâhad hurt Jocelyn. Â
Leonard felt like he was going to be sick.
And Leonardâs racing, chaotic mind paused on Joâs wordâ Grandmama.
Ah, thatâs it. Analaise Treadway. Somehow she seemed to add some light to the situationâsomehow. The name Analaise equaled something ugly and cancerous in Leonardâs mind, and that new knowledge was somehow going to help him figure out the fatal diagnosis that killed his damn marriage.
âDarlingâ,â he said vaguely, his voice light, but dry of its warmth. He looked down at his daughter with new eyes, and he felt fragile when he touched her. She asked if she was going to get in trouble, and he didnât even register.
"Mister.. Clay, didnât bully you though, right? Did he touch you at all?"
Running his hand through her hair suddenly added new meaning
He had left his daughter, and his wife to god damn abuser. Yeah, Leonard felt like he was going to be sick. He covered his face then, the lights suddenly getting to him.
Joanna chewed on her lip, her large blue gray eyes stared up at her father with a trust so wholesome it could only come from a child. Her father seemed different, although she couldn't tell why or how. Perhaps her mother had been right, this was something he didn't need to know. Had she hurt him? The whole situation was a mess of confusion beyond understanding.Â
"No, he never even gave me a hug. I don't even 'member what he looks like." Joanna shrugged lightly. "Momma made me go to my room whenever he was in the house." She frowned, it had occurred to her that this was not normal behavior, however she wasn't sure why.
"She said it was a lot like a game. Like hide n' seek." She frowned further. Hearing these words out loud, out of her own mouth, they sounded wrong. She could tell that they weren't how things were supposed to be.Â
She walked closer to her father, bent on his knee, and carefully hoisted herself onto his lap. "Are you ok, Daddy?" She asked gently, peering at his face covered by his hands. Her stomach was sinking and she knew she had done something wrong. But now the bottle had been unstoppered and she couldn't help but let the rest of it pour out.Â
"We left right after Momma got her cast. We just packed everything up and left. We moved to a house that Momma used to live in with you. And then Grandmama wouldn't talk to us no more. But Momma was much happier. And we had a garden. And we lived there for a while and then we came here and you were here too." She tugged at his sleeve, "Am I in trouble?"
Disclaimer: I needed some fluff and decided to write myself some. This is in no way canon, it's simply me writing for fun. I thought you all might enjoy it, and because it involved so many of our characters I chose to share it here so that you could all see it. Â
-EÂ
"Captain on the bridge." The words rang out as the doors slid open and the crew hastened to their feet. Joanna McCoy lept onto the bridge with the confident stride of a woman who knows that everything she surveys is her territory. With a casual wave of her hand and a slight smile she dismissed the crew to their usual positions. The youngest captain in Starfleet she had a right to the cocky air she possessed, but she wore it well, and she wouldn't let anyone forget it.Â
Settling into the captain's chair she crossed her legs and glanced up to her 1st officer. "How are we doing?" She asked, although she clearly already knew the answer.Â
"Ready whenever you are, Captain." The reply was all she needed before a big grin split her face.Â
"Excellent. Full speed ahead." She leaned forwards just slightly, almost imperceptibly quivering with anticipation. And it was of course at that moment that a slight pinging interrupted the climax of her excitement. The young captain frowned and fumbled for her PADD. Hastily retrieving the device she flicked it with careful fingers and a face sprang into view. Swearing loudly, Joanna lept out of her chair and dashed off the bridge, leaving her 1st officer and crew to stare at her hasty retreat in confusion.Â
"Uncle Kirk, I was on the bridge!" She pouted at the mildly pudgy man on her screen.Â
"And it's Thanksgiving and your family misses you!" Came the reply, laden with all of the attitude she had given him, served right back. "Besides, do you think we would miss the chance to embarrass you? I can't have someone ruining my record as the coolest young captain to ever-" He was cut off by a hand reaching in from out of frame and snatching the PADD.
"Little one, listen to me, you be careful now, alright?" The thick voice boomed through the tiny speaker and its owner lashed his tail to make a point. M'Tau smiled through crinkled eyes at his little girl, so small even now she was grown. "The Delta Quadrant is much bigger than you imagine." He advised in his velvet voice.
Joanna wrinkled her nose in that way she had always done and smiled in return. "I know." She replied solemnly, her snark dissolving into a soft hearted smile. Another hand reached for the PADD and a gruff voice was heard.
"Give 'er here. Father's gotta right ta speak to his own daughter ain't he?" And as the image shook and readjusted Joanna saw the weathered face of her father in the center of the screen. He held the PADD out a bit further and she saw the unmistakable blur of red that could only be her mother's hair. Leonard clapped an arm around the quickly moving blur that was her mother, and the woman slowed enough that she became properly visible.
"Hi baby!"
"Don't baby 'er Joce, she's a Captain."
"Oh hush, Leo, she'll always be our baby."
"Don' listen to yer mother, well, listen to yer mother, but don'..."
"Happy Thanksgiving, Jo!"
"We love ya, darlin'."
Joanna could only grin like an idiot throughout the entire back and forth. "Happy Thanksgiving Momma, Daddy." She replied softly, just loud enough that they could hear.
The PADD was already being passed on and a rather drunk looking quartet of men came into view. Well, three of them were drunk, one was just bemused. Strathmore, Jesus, Sulu, and Jude sat together waving in a most jolly manner, their flush faces filled with pride. Joanna waved back, afraid that if she tried to speak she might cry a bit. All four were talking over one another, each offering bits of advice. None of it was really unintelligible until Jude shouted a, "Watch out for Gorn!" With a mischievous grin.  Joanna swore she heard a "Still not funny!" from somewhere off camera, but again the PADD was moving and she could only laugh at the sight that next came into view.Â
Piedad and Donnie sat on one side, Aurelan and Sam on the other, their sullen looking teenagers in between them. Both were clearly embarrassed by their respective parents and Joanna winked at them in a gesture that just meant, "I know the feeling."Â
The PADD was clearly being passed in a circle, and Joanna caught glimpses of the messy table they sat around as people waved and hollered at her.Â
The final pair of hands to take hold of the PADD were long and spindly, the graceful fingers covering the screen for a split second before pulling back to reveal the drawn and severe face of a Vulcan.Â
"Commander Spock." Joanna greeted him formally, despite the smile that was now beginning to hurt her face.Â
"Captain." And she swore to God she saw him smile as he called her by her title.Â
Spock nodded and instead of offering her advice, or holiday greetings, simply turned the PADD around and walked to the far end of the room, offering Joanna a view of her large, unprecedented, family as they sat gathered around a table, a meal spread between them. Laughing, eating, singing, and fighting.Â
Joanna felt her chest swell with pride, they were hers, and a better family she could not ask for. And as she waved silently at her loved ones so far away, knowing that while she belonged in the stars, her heart was at home with them.Â
A soft tap on her shoulder caused her to spin, tucking the PADD behind her back. A young ensign stood nervously bouncing on his heels. "Y-y-y-you're needed o-o-on the bridge." He stuttered, clearly shaking in his regulation boots. "I was asked to f-f-find you."Â
Joanna placed a hand on his shoulder. "Of course. Just let me.." She pulled the PADD out from behind her back to see the Starfleet screen staring blankly back at her. She laughed quietly. Good old Uncle Spock. She tucked the PADD under her arm and nodded at the crewmate. "Let's go."Â
Leonard couldnât be too mad at her, even if the tendency to bite was one he really wasnât all too familiar with. Lying he was used to. The entire ship had tendency to lie to their doctors, and his BS meter was pretty well tuned. This particular lie, however, worried him. Leonard touched her gently on the shoulders.
When she turned to him, he masked his concern, looking at her thoughtfully. He held out his much larger pinky to her, looking resolute. Leonard knew a serious promise when he saw one, and he took this just as seriously.
"Ah pinky promises⌠Power thingsâ pinky promises. Okay, if I have to." He cocked a brow at her, lifting his finger. "I promise, pinky promise," he reiterated regally, nodding to her as he did the deed.
Her little finger curled around his and she shook it once with a solemn nod in return. She didn't look particularly happy to be sharing the information, but the words tumbled out in a way that made it all to clear that the six year old hated having secrets from her parents.Â
"Jack said that his Momma said that my Momma got....bullied....beat up.... by Mr. Clay and that I should be taken away from her for it. Even though we didn't even live with Mr. Clay no more. I don't even remember him much at all, and Momma says it's cause I was a baby." Joanna spoke softly, almost as if she was afraid they might be overheard. "All I really 'member was Momma makin me stay in my room an be real quiet a lot whenever he came home." Her lower lip began to poke out, a bit of a pout clouding her face. She wasn't sure who she believed anymore. "I think we lived with Mr. Clay cause Grandmama and told Momma too. But I'm not s'posed to know that part either."
A bit of anger fell in with the confusion and she glowered at her father, "I don't know why everybody was so mean about it. We left after Momma fell down the stairs an' got hurt real bad. I didn't see it happen, but she was real sad about it." Joanna bit her lip, this was all information she wasn't supposed to share, let alone even truly know in the first place.Â
"But she let me sign her cast." She was determined to finish the story on a good note. "An' cause she couldn't write too well with it on, I got to help make grocery shoppin lists with my pictures." She paused and took a deep breath, "And that was after, when we lived in our own house and everything was super nice 'cept people were mean and Grandmama was real angry that we left."Â
Joanna scooted over and leaned into her father's ear, "But I told you none o' this. I don't wanna get in trouble!" She whispered in a hurried and worried voice.
"Ah, yeah," Leonard sighed, finally making some headway with his marker when he finally got out the alcohol. He wrinkled his nose as he rubbed off the purple streak easily. Obviously he needed some daddy-studying to do. Jocelyn would have probably gotten this off on the first try. He would mark this under - âlife skills they donât teach you in Starfleet.â
"Mommy told me about this," he confirmed, but didnât sound happy about it.
âNow you know you canât go chewinâ off peopleâs ears. But it was right to stand up for yourself, that you did right - kiddo. Violence isnât the answer, darlinâ, no matter how much of a dingbat this Jack was.â Leonard as he spoke, realized something. Leonard caught the discrepancy in Joceâs story to Joâs, and as far as Leonard knew, Jack only had one ear biting incident to speak of. He hoped.
âHeyâ" he looked over at her, not even noticing the crayon was now just a mess. He looked over her shoulder, thinking out loud. "What did this kid say to you? Your momma never said anythinâ about some kid talkinâ bad about you and your mom."
Joanna quickly became absorbed in her crayon scrubbing. She hadn't counted on her mother communicating her cannibalistic tendencies and their reasoning. She furrowed her brow for a moment and then side eyed her father.
"Uh, nufin." She scrubbed for a minute longer and then sighed. "You can't tell Momma." She held out a little pinky, "I'm gonna hafta make you pinky promise. Cause you can't break those."
She was as earnest as can be, a pinky promise was as fast and true as the laws of physics in the world of a six year old. Â
Leonard felt stiff in his knees, and readjusted to sitting criss-cross and approaching the crayon marks. Like some kind of great adversary, Leonard found himself both frustrated, but also galvinized in his resolve to remove the purple perpetrator. He rubbed even harder.
"You can draw me anythingâs you like, darlinâ," he said thoughtfully, using his fingernail to scrap off a layer of wax. "Actually.. would you mind drawinâ daddy some birds?" Leonard missed blue skies and clouds, but didnât tell that to Joanna. It felt weird complaining about something he left behind on earth, especially when he hated space when he could have stayed with Jo instead. She mentioned her new friends on the ship andâ
"Darn right they better be nice," he mumbled under his breath before throwing his daughter a look. She seemed pretty content in making the wall more purple, rather than white, and Leonard looked at his own cleaning - realizing his wall didnât look any better. He went back to trying.
He wilted slightly at the mention of âwhole family,â and felt a pang of guilt there. She at least seemed happy, which is what counted. It was only a miracle that brought the three of them together. Or a curse, if Leonard considered Jocelyn. Nothing had gotten better, he hated to say. To be honest, Leonard was more confused than ever, and of course Joce wasnât exactly an open book.
"âŚJack," he frowned deeply, eyebrows creasing over his eyes narrowly. Was Jack an adult? He better not be. "Who is Jack?" He had already forgotten the name. It sounded familiar.
"Oh yeah. I can draw all the birds. Ostriches, penguins, bluebirds, eagles, all the birds." Joanna was now making great sweeping motions as she 'cleaned,' happily turning the wall pale purple.Â
She smiled at the thought of her life on the ship. It was a child's dream. At least if you were a child like her. She had the entire universe laid out before her, and all the time in the world in which to take it in. Not to mention company that she enjoyed along for the ride.Â
The mention of her playground bully did bring her crashing back to earth. "He's a meanie, that's who he is." She growled. "He's in my class at school, but he had to miss two days after I bit his ear." She smiled, bearing her teeth. A pause and then she admitted, "I had to miss a whole week. And it didn't taste good either."Â
Joanna stopped scrubbing at the wall, lost in her own thought. It had never occurred to her to conceal her emotions from her father, but she was slipping dangerously close to territory that required lying. Yet he was a figure who seemed impervious to her tales.Â
"He....uh...he said mean stuff about Momma and me. A lotta dummies did." Joanna admitted slowly. "So I tried to bite his ear off." It had seemed like fair retribution to her.Â
"Terrarium?" He said, impressed, "Whereâd you learn a word like that?" He said with a smiled. God, he had a smart kid.
"You know darlinâ you have a point about the white walls. Maybe we can get them painted somethinâ else."
Stark whiteness, to Leonard, was at least better than the blackness. The Sickbay was the opposite to the darkness outside their fragile little tin can in space where nothing could survive. Leonard felt comfort in the coldness of the walls, but he knew not everyone did; knowing that they represented the enemy of death - and all that. Bright green might keep him up at night. Maybe some fake window holograms? Nah, he didnât wanna look out into space, or into some fake nature setting.
"How about you draw me some nice pictures to put up, hm? We could some sprucinâ up around here."
Leonard used anti-bacterial soap and squirted some into Joâs cloth before dong the same to his own. He turned to his own portion of the wall and started rubbing at the purple crayon, frowning when it smeared. He pressed harder and it seemed to come off. Kinda.
â..Do you miss home?â He asked her without thinking. He hadnât really gotten a chance to ask her much. Hell, it had been weeks since they had talked. The entire Gorn fiasco made them closer than the entire time on the ship. Leonard felt a strange awkwardness being next to his daughter, unable to get angry. He just saw the fuzz of her hair and the scrunch of her noes and the fondness and guilt built up in his belly.
"Mr. Sulu taught it to me." She beamed. She was also aware that she shouldn't say some of the other words she had learned in space, at least not in front of her father.Â
"Oh yeah! I can draw real good." Joanna scrubbed viciously at the wall, while nodding. "I can draw giraffes, and horses, and spiders, and all the animals." The purple seemed to be spreading, but JOanna didn't seem to mind. Instead she scrubbed faster, pushing the purple to new places.Â
Her father's question made her pause for a moment, but she answered after only a breath. "Some things. I miss my bedroom, and I miss playing in the yard, and I miss the toys that I forgot to bring with." She shrugged lightly, "But I like space a whole lot better. My whole family is here, I finally have lotsa friends, and everybody is nice to me, and the food is good, and nobody makes fun of me or is a stupid bully like Jack." She said the name with utter distaste, crinkling her nose as if it came with a sour smell. "And, I don't hafta take a bath every night when I'm in space! That's the best part!"Â
"Darn right you gotta say sorry." he sighed, "If you do somethinâ wrong you always say sorry. Apologizinâ isnât so bad. Youâll see. It only matters though, if you mean it." he said on his haunches. Helping her out of her skates. She looked like she had it though - so he didnât need to help her much. He was proud of her, really he was.
He hit the COMM on the wall, letting the little beep - he got a hold of someone (ânot Uhuraâ - was whom he dubbed the voice. Bonesâs memory of communication officers was slimâ).
(âDeck 17, how can I help you?â)
Leonard could have COMMed Jocelyn, but he really really didnât want to talk right now. He figured it would buy him some time anyway, before he had to give her up. If he COMMed her himself, Jocelyn would be there in two minutes flat. This gave him at least twenty. Butâ also, he didnât want her to worry.
"Chief Medical Office McCoy Here. Please inform, er, Lieutenant Treadway," god that sounded so cold in his mouth when he said itââThat Jo is with her father on shift. Please let her know that Joanna is fine, and that she can come get her in Sickbay. Thank you. McCoy Out.â
Leonard looked back at Jo, frowning, he couched down next to her. Getting comfortable on his knees, happy that he was still spry to crawl down on the floor with his daughter. He dug around in the back pocket of his scrubs, looking for something to wash the wall with.
âYou get to explain to your mother why you are down here,â he dampened though, looking at her thoughtfully, observing the socks. He tossed her a towel.
Joanna took the towel and climbed slowly to her feet. "I gotta?" She responded to the last part with trepidation and wrinkled her nose. She sighed a bit and nodded, recognizing that it was at least fair. "She won't be too mad if I 'pologize a whole bunch." Joanna reasoned.Â
Scrubbing at the first spot of purple she began with the first apology, "So I s'pose I'm sorry for coloring on your wall." She wasn't sure why she was sorry, but she knew she should be. "Though I don't know why you painted 'em white in the first place." She muttered.Â
A pause and then she offered, "Back home, my room is painted green, and Momma got bright yellow curtains, and it looks a lot like I'm livin' in a terra-rram. I mean a terr-irri-um. A terra, terrira, tellila....a terrarium."Â
Leonard ran his thumb and forefinger over his unshaven jaw, thoughtful. He hid the pointed tooth of a grin - because Jo was sly. Heâd give her that.
"Well, Jo, you might have a plan there. But to be honest, I wouldnât get in trouble at all if whoever did this just came forward. Donât wanna get caught cleaninâ up a mess that ainât mine, huh?" He sighed sorrowfully. He flopped his hands between his launches, not seeing the crayon behind her back, but not taking his eyes off her so she didnât get any ideas. He arched a very fatherly brow when she brought up her own guilt.
â..You coulda?â He asked. He wouldnât shame her. If she would admit she did it, it was a victory. He seemed disappointed though. Coming out about lying was always hard.
"Hmmm," he rubbed his chin. Really, Joce would be pissed if Jo was in skates, or out of supervision. Leonard figured he knew which would be worse. There were worse things than drawing on Deck walls. She was only five after all.
"How about thisâ if you can be brave and tell me exactly who colored on Daddyâs wall.â he looked at her poignantly, as if he knewâ
"I wonât tell mommy, butââ he raised a finger. He smiled.
"You promise that next time you wanna go colorinâ, or skatinâ or anything, you will at least call me, huh? If I canât come, my frienâ Jude will come. He likes colorinâ. He would be real sad if you didnât at least invite him. Really really."
Positive reinforcement. Because obviously the wrath of mommy wasnât enough to keep her indoors. He hoped this kind of guilt would do. Keep her safe. That was the main goal. Also, Jude was more on his shifts these days. He would make him go get his daughter if he had to. CMO had itâs perks.
"I promise, you can always call me, Jo. I donât want you walkinâ around in these halls by yourself, okay? Your mommaâs only worried that somethinâ like the lizards will happen again, you know?"
It occurred to Joanna that she could drop the crayon on the floor and feign surprise as to how it could have possibly appeared there. But she quickly dismissed the idea after a glance at her fatherâs face. Disappointment was the one thing that Jo couldnât handle. Be it from her Mother, her Father, or her self adopted half-Vulcan Uncle, she couldnât stand it even a bit. Her little pride demanded that she do the best she could to please each one of them.Â
One little fist came out from behind the overall clad back and presented the stubby purple wax with a shameful stare at the floor. âI didnât mean ta.â She started in a wobbly voice. âI just got so bored, and I saw my skates in Mommyâs closet cause I was playin dress up. And I had a crayon in my pocketâŚâ She trailed off, knowing that this wasnât exactly an acceptable excuse, merely temptation that had gotten the better of her.Â
"Mommy is always worried." Joanna retorted with a little sigh. "So are you. Grown ups worry all the time." She slid slowly down the wall and after dropping the offending crayon in her fatherâs palm, began un-velcroing the yellow and blue roller skates. With each rip of the velcro another little sigh escaped her lips. Soon the skates were off, revealing mismatched socks in fuschia and a rather ugly argyle pattern a size too large.Â
"We gotta clean this up, huh?" She glanced up and wrinkled her nose, knowing that if she got away with only that, she was lucky. "And I gotta say sorry?" The last bit was insult to injury, but she expected it nonetheless.Â
"Ahhh. I see." He nodded, taking the two hands presented to him very seriously. He scratched his chin. Give his kid a scholarship - she could work on Wall Street. He admired her cleverness, even if he really really shouldnât. God, Jocelyn was gonna have a conniption.
"I see, sweet heart. You were jusâ skatinâ," he recounted her story with understanding, though it was obvious he wasnât quite buying it. He wanted her to feel the heat. Lying was a hard lesson to learn.
He looked at her with a pleasant quirk of her brow. âI understand,â actinâ like he let her off the hook. He smiled. âYou were in this hallway, right? Yeah, darlinâ, I need your help with work, actually. I am glad youâre here.â
He stood up, walked beside her as she tried to step away. He looked worried. âThis is the Sickbay deck, and I am afraid I have a problem that only you can help me with,â He tucked his PADD behind his back, frowning as he took notice of the crayon on the wall. He kneeled down again, looking at his daughter with two brows raised.
"âŚDo you know what could have happened? I am afraid since this is my Deck, that I am in charge of keepinâ it clean," well actually it wasnât his jobâ but not the pointâ, "I know I didnât do it. Did you see who did..? Daddy could get in trouble."
Joanna shifted uncomfortably and pouted a bit. "Well see....." She started before trailing off slowly. Incriminating herself was not something Joanna planned on doing, but if her father was the one in trouble, her plan was flawed.Â
"Maybe we should just clean it up before anybody sees it and then you won't get in trouble." Joanna suggested after careful thought. However, this did still leave her with a crayon to dispose of. Not to mention the fact that she wasn't supposed to be roller skating.Â
Hemming and hawing softly, Joanna felt the guilt creeping onto her face. Her brow furrowed and her eyes lowered. "It coulda been me." She whispered quietly. "But if it was, you would hafta not tell Mom about the skates." She was willing to strike a bargain.Â
"Hey darlinâ," Bones got on one knee. Meeting eye level with the girl hardly hittinâ height at his hip. He helped her get the hair out of her face, with a sigh and comb of his fingers. All fuzzy blonde hair and rosy cheeks. He caught the pretty eyes of his daughter underneath the mess. Oh, yeah, and the glasses were too much.
Leonard couldnât help but deflate a bit. Well, there went his plans of discipline. You must be strong Leonard. Assimilate your facultiesâ
"And what are you up to this morninâ?â He asked, raising his brows thoughtfully at his daughter as if she hadnât just escaped the supervision of her mother.
He crossed his arms over his upturned knee. The voice almost did him in, the power was strong with his baby girlâ dangit. But his eyes didnât waver. He would soldier onâ
The way McCoy scared people with his eyebrows, his daughter had that power with her eyelashes, but exactly the opposite. It was undoubtedly a force upon the Enterprise. One that came with great responsibility. And he eyed her, acting like he didnât see the crayon undoubtedly behind her back. He gave her his complete attention, wondering if she would fess up.
Joanna fidgeted slightly as his eyes met hers. "I was just skating..." She bit her bottom lip for a moment and glanced sideways. Things could have been worse, chances were that Dad wouldn't take the skates away, whereas her Mother already would have. "I wasn't even going that fast either." She added as an after thought.Â
"I'm not even doing nuthin." She shrugged and held forward her left hand, palm up. "See?" The other hand clenched the crayon behind her back. Then the first hand slipped behind her back, and switching the hand which clutched the crayola, she held the right hand out, presenting that it too was empty. As long as he didn't ask to see both hands at once, she was fine.Â
"I'm sure you gotta lotta work to do." Joanna nodded sagely. A bit of guilt tugged at her stomach. "So I'll just be goin' then."Â
Leonard was walking down the hallways, newly thrown on white scrubs, bed head and fully immersed in his PADD. Another normal Wednesday, the Deck Nurse was COMMing the hell out of him for prescriptions, and Leonard was fumbling with god knows enough painkillers to medicate a fully grown grizzly bearâ why couldnât she just get Ava who was actually on shift today.
Scrraaaaaaaaaaatchhhhhhhhh
In his ear, like a buzz - annoying and insistent on his brain. The Doctor frowned, glancing over his shoulder only to catch a flutter of blonde hair in skates making her way down Deck 17 and just as quickly out of sight; a trail of purple crayon in her wake. Leonard almost ignored it, almost â but slowed his step as he did a double take at the hallway.
Yeah, that was purple crayon on the walls of the U.S. S. Enterprise. And that was his kid on skatesâ
Leonard rounded a corner, quiet wiith a dad-like grace he didnât realize he had, sneaking on his daughter before she rounded another svelte multithousand dollar corner, and swept her up in one fell sweep of long, hairy arm, undoubtedly surprising the heck out of the five year old.
"Gotcha!" He growled playfully. Picking her up under his arm, he spun around.
Joanna squealed in shock and delight, brandishing her crayon as if it were a weapon as she was lifted straight off her feet. The surprise made her jump, but the warmth and texture of the embrace was so familiar that she knew immediately that she was in her father's arms. Her curls fell over her eyes as she spun about and she shook her head at the tumble of hair obscuring her vision. Her mother had taken a good hour to comb it a few hours before, not that anyone would know by now.Â
Once her feet were back underneath her Joanna grinned at her father and sheepishly glanced to the floor, her gaze carefully avoiding the purple streaked wall behind her. The crayon slowly disappeared behind her back, her small fists clenched around it. The look on her face clearly read, "What crayon?" and she hastily tucked one foot behind the other in an effort to keep from rolling away.Â
"Good morning, Daddy." She chirruped in her most innocent of voices, batting long eyelashes up at him.Â
The sudden change in the childâs demeanour confused him. But he would not admit so, nor would he allow such an unacceptable demonstration. There had to be a rapid solution to all this.Â
He unclasped his hands, admittedly at a loss as to what to do with a human of her age and size. âUnderstand that I cannot allow you to continue here. It is a hallway.â
"Perhaps I may be of assistance to find another surface for you to decorate."
"I know. I'm not supposed to write on walls." Joanna sighed. "Or roller skate without somebody to catch me if I fall over." She looked down at the skates with a bit of resignation. "But I was bored, and nobody has time to play with all of this 'vestigation stuff going on."Â
"Do you have coloring books?" Jo asked, a bit of a smile creeping onto the corners of her lips.Â
The half-Vulcan suppressed a short exhale of air, his brow furrowing as, once again, the long and irregular purple line came into his sight. âMay I inquire as to why you deemed such a thing necessary?â
"You will have to remove it, of course."
Perfectly aware that boredom was not a satisfactory answer, Joanna's stomach sank. It was one thing when her Dad got angry, and another thing when her Mother got fed up, but the frustrated disappointment on his face was enough to make the seven year old sinner repent.Â
A deep sigh and then, "I know.....I'm sorry."Â
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