Because I love the Joanna McCoy I created in Salve. So this will be a series of drabbles based on her experiences once she's aboard the Enterprise with our favorite doctor and his new wife. No, I can't let go. It was either this or commence with Salve again.

Disclaimer: They still don't belong to me, but I enjoy the inspiration.

A is for Annabelle Lee

When Uncle Jim, he smiled just thinking of the name, handed the tribble to Joanna. She bubbled over. Pulling it close to her chin and lightly petting the fur. When it began to purr, Joanna made her mouth into a perfect little 'o' in response to the awe she felt. "I'll call her Annabelle Lee."

"Jim you are insane. The damn thing is born pregnant."

Nyota shot the doctor a reprimanding glance and he ended his tirade. Kneeling down before Joanna, he delivered his most comforting look, "Joanna having a pet is a big responsibility."

"I love her daddy. I promise I'll take care of all of them."

She was so sincere and the doctor found that he was unable to say no. Things went well at first. The tribble purred whenever Joanna was around and hadn't reproduced after the second week. Where Joanna went the cage went.

To dinner…

To tutoring sessions…

To sickbay…

To the bridge…

Then one day the tribble didn't purr anymore. It didn't respond to Joanna's touch. There were no readings on the life scan. The little girl cried herself to sleep for over a week. For the first time Dr. McCoy felt helpless. He wanted nothing more than to bring a smile back to her face. So grudgingly he sought out Scotty and managed to get another tribble for Joanna.

"Thank you daddy," she said between giggles and hugs she showered on her new pet.

B is for Bedtime

"2100 hours is a perfectly acceptable bed time Joanna."

"I'm not sleepy and I don't want to go to bed." Her arms were crossed and Joanna's cheeks were flushed from anger.

She was screaming now and McCoy was wondering why he continued to have this fight every night. Why didn't he just cave and let the little one do what she wanted? Oh, because he was the parent and she was the child.

"You need your rest. We'll be here in the morning. No one is going to leave you Joanna."

As if it wasn't near impossible, Joanna managed to make her lips pout even more. McCoy gathered her into his arms along with her favorite blanket and carried her into the room he shared with Nyota. He placed her carefully in the middle of the bed. Nyota gathered Joanna into her arms and the nightly ritual began.

First they covered the alphabet in Swahili. Then Nyota would quietly hum her favorite lullaby to Joanna. The whole affair only took ten minutes and in the end the little girl would be fast asleep safely between her father and her Ny. He watched his wife, the words were still humbling even silently said to himself, play with the curls of his daughter's head and peace enveloped him. Unable to close his eyes for fear of losing the image in front of him, he watched Nyota drift to sleep and made a quiet wish that every night for the McCoy family could be this beautiful.

C is for Chulu

"Chulu" Her heart shaped mouth struggling to make the word.

"No, Sulu." The helmsman was maintaining calm as he worked with youngest crew member.

"Chulu" Again was the response that he received. Joanna's bottom lip began to quiver and Lieutenant Sulu quickly picked her up and placed her in his lap. "I'm sorry."

"You can call me Chulu, anytime."

A wide smile broke across her face and Joanna turned her attention back to the helm.

Sulu found that he was relieved that there was no longer a threat of tears falling from her eyes. He worried that Dr. McCoy would find a reason to inject him with a hypo spray if he returned his daughter unhappy.

"Chulu, what does this do?"

Now that he thought of it, Chulu had a nice ring to it.