Family Days at Joanna’s School
(a Star Trek AOS fic)
Fandoms: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (AOS) Characters: Leonard “Bones” McCoy, Joanna McCoy Rating/Warnings: None Tags: Leonard is a loving father, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, Daddy Leonard, Bullying Word Count: 2,170
This is actually a birthday gift for a lovely Trekkie friend, who happens to be a dedicated French teacher, but I hope you’ll enjoy it, too!
Summary: Leonard finally makes it to the Family Days, helps a little boy out, and has a conversation with Joanna about bullying.
Read it on AO3: Family Days at Joanna’s School
“Daddyyyyyyyy!”
The squeal could be heard all over the school’s sportsgrounds, and startled people turned their heads to see little Joanna McCoy racing across the lawn towards a man, who was just getting out of his hovercar.
“Daddy, daddy, you came! You came to our Family Days!” she cheered a little less loudly and threw herself at the beaming man, jumping right into his open arms.
“Good to see you, too, pumpkin,” McCoy laughed, squeezing her tightly, his heart soaring at his darling daughter’s boisterous greeting.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she pulled back after a moment to look at him with big, reproachful eyes, and it took all his self-control and then some not to burst out laughing at the outrage on her face.
It was like looking in the mirror.
She’s a mini-me, if ever there was one, the doctor thought affectionately.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart, I couldn't,” he answered gently. “I wasn’t sure I was going to make it here in time.”
“But now I didn’t get to look forward to having you here for the Family Days!” Joanna pouted, even as the big grin made its way back across her face. “Or register for all the competitions we could do together.”
“I’m sure they’ll make an exception for us, and we can still register, sweat pea,” McCoy kissed the top of her head and set her back down on the ground. “I really couldn't tell you before, you know. Because daddy only ever makes promises he can keep. You understand that?”
“Yes, daddy,” she sighed and, quickly losing interest in their discussion as she spotted her grandma waving at them from the cake and pie stall, grabbed the doctor’s hand to pull him along.
“Welcome home, Leonard,” McCoy’s mother smiled when they’d reached the stall, wrapping him in a big hug. “I’m so glad you made it!”
“Granny knew?” the frown was back on Joanna’s face. “You told her? Don’t you have to keep your promises to her?”
“Of course, I do, honey,” the doctor laughed, ruffling her hair. “But I never promised her I’d come. I just told her I’d try.”
Joanna seemed satisfied with his answer and turned around to search the sports grounds for a suitable activity they could participate in.
“Are you a fast runner, daddy?” she asked, looking at him appraisingly.
“That depends,” he chuckled. “If the cookie monster is threatening to eat the last piece of my favourite peach cobbler, I sure am fast as lightning!”
“You’re silly, daddy,” Joanna giggled. “There is no cookie monster, and you’re standing right next to a gazillion peach cobblers.”
“Oh, right,” McCoy feigned surprise, looking around the stall with all its cakes and pies. “So, what were you thinking of?”
“I want us to do the water bucket relay race over there. Can we, please?”
“Of course, we can,” the doctor smiled, winking at his mother and hurrying after his little girl to their first competition of the day.
x-x-x-x-x
Several activities and competitions later, an exhausted McCoy and his daughter were about to settle down on the grass near the cake and pie stall with cold drinks and an ice cream for Joanna, when a boy, looking close to tears, almost slammed into them, apparently trying to get away from four girls who were chasing him and laughing at him over something.
The girls came to stand right next to Joanna, and one of them pointed a finger at the boy, who’d sat down on the grass, face covered in his hands.
“My dad’s great,” he cried indignantly. “He just has to work, and he does love me!”
“Look at him, Jo!” the girl sneered. “No one likes him. Not even his own dad. Finn registered them for so many competitions, but his dad didn’t even show up today.”
“He can’t help it, if he has to pull an extra shift!” the boy, Finn obviously, murmured defeatedly, but the girls weren’t even listening, too busy taunting him.
McCoy was watching the scene closely, waiting for the right moment to intervene. It was clear that Joanna didn’t agree with the other girls who tried to get her to join in. He knew the outraged look on her face, when she was disgusted by something, only too well, and couldn't wait to hear her set those girls straight.
Joanna, however, just turned around and quietly walked away. The doctor was very disappointed to see his daughter abandoning the poor boy. He’d have to talk to her about this later. But right now, he had to put an end to the bullying. So, he went over to Finn and, crouching down next to him, disapprovingly fixed the girls, one after the other, with his eyes.
“Do you ever stop to think before you speak, girls?” he asked sternly. “Have you even considered that his dad might not have had a choice? That maybe he is needed at work more than other dads are? Some people have important jobs they can’t just leave at any given time.”
McCoy turned towards Finn and put a comforting hand on the boy’s shoulder. “What does your dad do, kid?”
“He’s a paramedic,” Finn answered shyly.
“Oh wow, that’s one of the most important jobs of all! Just like fire fighters and other heroes!” the doctor exclaimed, looking back up at the girls, who were awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other now. “Just imagine if one of your dads or someone else you love had an accident, and there were no paramedics on duty to help them, just because they’d all decided they’d rather spend time with their families.”
The girls looked away, adequately chastened by the doctor’s words. All but one, who spoke up, looking at him defiantly.
“But still, there are plenty of other paramedics. Surely his dad could have made time for the Family Days, if he’d really wanted to!”
“It’s not always that easy, my dear,” McCoy replied more gently now, grateful to have got the girls thinking at least. “Sometimes there are emergencies, and they always take priority over private engagements. I’m a doctor myself, and this is the first time I could make it to the Family Days.”
“But that’s different! You work in space!”
“How is that different? Saving lives is always important, no matter where – space, Earth, or any other planet!”
x-x-x-x-x
After the girls had toddled off, and Finn had run off with a grateful little smile, too, McCoy had gone to find Joanna, who’d been watching from around the corner of the cake and pie stall.
It had been evident that she was proud of him while clearly less than proud of herself, and since the doctor hadn’t wanted to spoil the rest of the day for her, he’d just hugged her to him, brushed a kiss on her hair, and smiled, “Let’s talk in the evening, sweetheart, shall we? Because right now, I want to have some more fun with my darling daughter!”
So here they were, sitting on Granny’s comfortable couch after dinner, when McCoy brought the issue up again.
“Now tell me, pumpkin, why did you just walk away from Finn this afternoon?” he asked, trying not to sound too reproving.
“Well, I didn’t join in, did I? I hate when my friends make fun of him!”
“So, those were you friends, eh?” the doctor raised a quizzical eyebrow.
“Yes. They can be really nice, you know, dad,” Joanna sighed. “But for some reason, they always have it out for Finn.”
“That sounds like they’re bullying him, Jo. Are they?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“So, you didn’t join in,” McCoy went on. “I’m proud that you don’t just follow your friends’ lead and make your own choices instead. But, Joanna, in this case, not joining in wasn’t enough, you know that, don’t you?”
“What else could I have done?” she asked, but he could tell that she knew the answer perfectly well.
“Stand up for him, of course!” he spelled it out for her anyway. “And if those are your friends, it should have been particularly easy for you to make them stop.”
“But I didn’t really know what to say, dad! After all, you’re not often around, either,” his daughter countered with a helpless little shrug.
Joanna was just trying to explain, of course. McCoy was aware of that. She didn’t even sound accusing, and knowing her, probably didn’t mean it that way, either. But it was still like a punch in the gut. Because she was right. He wasn’t there for his little girl nearly as much as he should. Or would like to be.
Joining Starfleet had seemed like the logical choice at the time, putting some distance between him and his ex-wife after giving in to Jocelyn’s demand of full custody instead of dragging Joanna through a long and ugly battle in court. But maybe he should have fought harder.
Suddenly, the meaning behind Joanna’s words struck home.
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart! Did they give you a hard time, too? Have you been bullied for not having your dad around?”
“No, never,” Joanna shook her head vehemently. “They’re my friends, and with you, it’s totally different. You’re a cele … a celeb … kind of really famous!”
“A celebrity?” McCoy couldn't help but smile at that, relieved that his daughter hadn’t been bullied because of him.
“Yes, that,” Joanna nodded. “And besides, Finn’s not even my friend!”
“So?” the doctor asked, the conversation back to the topic of bullying now. “If someone gets bullied, we stand up for them! That’s what we do! No matter if they’re a friend or not. We don’t just ignore it and hope it’ll simply go away again. You’d want someone to stand up for you, too, if it happened to you, wouldn’t you?”
“I guess so.”
Having made his point and knowing that Joanna was feeling bad enough about the whole thing anyway, the doctor moved on to the next question.
“Why are they bullying Finn anyway?”
“I’m not sure,” his daughter responded. “Probably because he’s such an easy victim.”
“I see,” McCoy said thoughtfully. “So, that’s where we have to start. Tonight, we’ll make a plan how to help him be less of a victim, all right? You can be quite bossy, sweet pea! I’m sure there’s a lot you can teach him about self-confidence!”
“I probably could,” Joanna grinned.
“Perfect!” the doctor smiled, holding up his hand for her to high-five. “And we’ll also figure out a way to convince your friends that bullying is a horrible thing to do.”
“Yes, daddy, let’s!” his daughter nodded enthusiastically, clapping their hands together, then proudly added, “We’re McCoys after all, we can make a change!”
“Where did you get that from?” McCoy chuckled, lovingly pressing a kiss to Joanna’s forehead.
“Granny always says that,” the girl explained, snuggling comfortably into her daddy’s arms.
Ah, good old mom! the doctor thought. She’d taught him all about values, and apparently, she was also making sure that Joanna got hers right, too.
“And, Jo,” McCoy returned to the subject of bullying one more time, “if your friends won’t listen to you, and the bullying goes on, you have to tell a teacher, ok? Bullying is a serious matter, and it often needs an adult to deal with it. You understand?”
“Yes, daddy,” his daughter nodded earnestly, “I understand. If I have to, I’ll probably tell my French teacher. I’m sure she’d be happy to help. And I promise I won’t just walk away again.”
“Glad to hear that, sweetheart!” the doctor smiled, immensely enjoying having this conversation with his daughter while holding her close instead of just seeing her face on a screen. “One more question, though. Why didn’t I get to meet the fabulous Ms. Annie, today?”
“Oh daddy!” Joanna giggled, playfully hitting his arm. “Why do you always get her name wrong? And you’d better not let her hear you calling her Ms. Annie – she hates that! Her name’s Ms. Anne. With a silent ‘e’.”
“All right, all right, pumpkin,” McCoy chuckled, impressed by his daughter’s linguistic expertise, and couldn't resist teasing her a little. “I’ll make sure to always call her Ms. Anne with a silent ‘e’ from now on.”
“Daddy!” his daughter exclaimed, rolling her eyes, “You’re so embarrassing!”
“Oh, am I now?” the doctor grinned, rolling his eyes, too, in perfect McCoy manner. “Well, maybe if I finally got to meet her, I wouldn’t get confused over her name anymore!”
“You’ll meet her tomorrow, daddy, I promise,” Joanna beamed. “She couldn't be there today. Something to do with her family. I think she had to go look at some colleges with her son or something. But after all the sports today, tomorrow is quiz day. And Ms. Anne always has the best quizzes! It’ll be quite a challenge for you to win them!”
“I can’t wait!” McCoy laughed, groaning inwardly at the quiz part, but looking forward to finally meeting this fabled teacher. “And make sure to introduce me!”
************ Disclaimer: Nothing of or associated with Star Trek is mine – it all belongs to Paramount / ViacomCBS (or whoever else is currently holding the rights). This is a work of fanfiction, no infringement intended.
