Another new Star Trek story that has been beta'ed by J. Rosemary Moss. I hope you like it, and please leave feedback!
"Nice to see you actually relaxing on shore leave for a change Jim," Dr. McCoy said to his friend as he, Jim, and Spock strolled along the beach.
"It's been a rough couple of months Bones," Jim pointed out. "We all need a break. You too, Spock."
Rough is right,Jim thought to himself. In the past few months, Spock had had his brain removed from his skull, McCoy had contracted a deadly disease, all three of them plus Uhura and Nurse Chapel had become puppets to a planet of telepaths, and Jim, Spock, and McCoy almost became trapped in the past of a dying planet. The fact that they had emerged from all of this in one piece was a miracle. Hopefully the chance to relax would keep them that way.
"Agreed," said Spock. "Though I must confess that Risa would not have been my first choice," he added as a pretty red-haired humanoid female blew him a kiss.
"Come on, Spock," McCoy said teasingly, "Just because Risa's called 'The Pleasure Planet' doesn't mean you have to engage in sexual pleasure. There's plenty of other things you can do. We can just keep walking on this beach, there's rock climbing, hell, you can just stay in your hotel room and meditate."
"Why would I engage in activities on shore leave that I already perform while on active duty?"
"Good point," McCoy acknowledged. "As long as we're on vacation you might as well try something new."
Jim was only half listening to the conversation, having been distracted by the pretty girl who had flirted with Spock.
"Uh... yes. You gentlemen go ahead and have fun." He watched as the girl entered a bar. "I'm just going to get something to eat."
McCoy smirked. "Sure, Jim. Come on Spock, I think I remember hearing something about a nature hike earlier."
Jim parted ways with his friends and entered the bar. He lingered in the doorway for a moment, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dimmer light. He couldn't find any sign of the girl. The place was slightly crowded, but the wait didn't look as if it would be terribly long. Jim sighed. Oh, well. Long as I'm here I might as well order something.
He found a place to sit in the back corner, and while he waited for his order to be taken he watched the comings and goings of the other customers. To use Spock's favorite expression, it was quite a fascinating activity. It seemed as if everyone who came here, regardless of culture, felt an overwhelming need to wear loud, vibrant colors, preferably in a floral pattern and covering the most minimal amount of skin as possible.
A sudden commotion at the entrance drew his attention, and he got up to see what was going on.
A young human girl who could not have been much older than fifteen was arguing with the owner. Compared to the rest of her surroundings, she was dressed rather modestly, the colors far more subdued. Her chin length hair was a dark shade of brown, and her green eyes were almost glowing with anger.
"I'm just trying to find somebody, that's all!" She said insistently. Jim noticed that her voice had a slight southern drawl.
"I'm sorry but I need to see some I.D. before I let you in," the owner tried to explain. "If they found out I let a child in here I could lose my business! Look honey," he said in a more reasonable tone, "Why don't you just tell me the name of who you're looking for and I'll see if I-HEY!" he shouted as she tried to run past him. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back, causing her to yelp in pain.
Jim hurried over to intervene before things could get out of hand. He had at first been on the owner's side, but now he was starting to feel a little bit sorry for the girl, and he hadn't liked the way the owner had grabbed her arm.
Upon seeing Jim's Starfleet uniform, the girl calmed down somewhat.
"I... I'm sorry," she finally said. "I had heard that the Enterprise was going to be here for shore leave and-" she paused and rubbed her arm, which the owner had released. She swallowed hard. "My father is a member of the crew. I haven't seen him since he was assigned to the ship, so when I found out he might be here..." she shrugged. "I guess I got a little carried away."
"Lots of restaurants and tourist spots here honey," the owner told her. "Were you planning on checking every single one? Shore leave would be over before you were even halfway through! And so would your vacation, I would think."
"I dunno... maybe," the girl said softly, chewing her lip. "Like I said, I got so excited that I didn't really think things through."
"Does your mother know you're running all over the planet looking for your father? Seems to me that she might have a quicker and easier time of finding him for you," Jim said.
"She knows Dad's here, and she told me I could go look for him as long as I didn't stay out too late. She and him had had a divorce and... well," the girl's voice trailed off, as the thought of the divorce clearly gave her pain.
"Look, maybe I can help you," Jim said in an effort to change the subject. "Captain James T. Kirk, at your service," he gave a mock bow, which made the girl smile slightly. "Tell me your father's name and I'll see if I can track him down for you, and tell me your name so I can let him know you're here."
The girl swallowed. "I kinda wanted to surprise him... Don't tell him it's me, okay? I want to see the look on his face when he realizes it's me." She smiled, but it was a strange smile that did not quite reach her eyes. Jim assumed that it was probably just nerves.
He smiled back and said, "All right, I won't spoil the surprise, but I'd still like to know your name."
The girl nodded. "My father's name is Dr. Leonard McCoy, and I am Joanna."
Jim was shocked. Bones' daughter? He smiled. He's sure going to be surprised all right! McCoy had never spoken about his family much. From what little information he had volunteered, he and his wife Jocelyn had had a very ugly divorce, and she had gotten sole custody of their daughter. Maybe that was why McCoy didn't talk about it much, it was too painful.
Joanna spoke up again, interrupting Jim's thoughts. "Um... Can we meet up with him on the Enterprise?" she shot the bar's owner a nervous look. "It's just... I'd like to be able to see where Dad's been working these past three years and well..."
Jim nodded in understanding. She was no doubt still shaken from her argument with the owner, and was clearly nervous about seeing her father in person for the first time in years. Besides, it probably would be better if the reunion were conducted in a more private setting.
"All right, Joanna. Just stand here next to me please. Kirk to Enterprise."
"Enterprise here, Captain," Scotty's voice came in over the communicator. "How are you enjoyin' your shore leave sir?"
"Oh, it's going well. Listen, I've got a young friend here who happens to know one of our fellow crew members very well. We were thinking of meeting with him on board, so if you would be so kind as to beam us up..."
"Aye, aye, Captain. The galaxy keeps gettin' smaller all the time, doesn't it? So two to beam up then? Very well, I'll just lock your coordinates in now."
"Thank you, Scotty. Kirk out."
The bar's owner cleared his throat. "Enjoy your visit with your father, honey. And feel free to come back when you're old enough. Sorry if I hurt you before."
"It's all right, thank you," Joanna said softly.
"Energize."
Jim and Joanna were transported aboard.
McCoy was glad that Spock seemed to be enjoying the nature hike. True, the Vulcan wasn't smiling(he rarely did when in his right frame of mind.) but in the three years that they had known each other, McCoy had begun to learn to pick up on the more subtle cues that Spock gave. Right now, Spock was watching the scenery, paying close attention to it and the descriptions of the plant life given by the tour guide.
"Fascinating, isn't it?" McCoy asked teasingly.
Spock raised an eyebrow. "Indeed, Doctor."
"Just once I wanted to say it before you," McCoy added, as the guide shot him a dirty look. Apparently she didn't appreciate his lack of attention to her lecture. McCoy gave an apologetic shrug, and the hike continued.
Five minutes later, McCoy's communicator went off, which earned him another glare from the guide. With a sigh, McCoy stepped out of the group to answer the message. He was surprised when Spock joined him.
"Bones? It's me, Jim."
"What's going on? Some kind of emergency?" McCoy hoped not. He was more than willing to help if someone needed it, but he was disappointed to have his vacation come to an early end.
"No, no, no," Jim said hastily. "Nothing like that. I was just wondering if you would meet with me in the transporter room for a minute?"
"You mean, right now? If it's not an emergency, can't it wait?"
"Um, no." There was a hint of nervousness in Jim's voice, and a trace of mischief as well. "Trust me, Bones. You need to come up here."
"All right, all right. Have Scotty beam me up. Spock, you can go back to the nature hike, you don't have to wait for me."
Spock shook his head. "I need to retrieve something from my cabin, Doctor. I was going to wait until later this evening but since the opportunity has presented itself I might as well go now."
"What, are you my shadow now? Rhetorical, Spock! Okay Scotty, make that two to beam up."
A few moments later they were in the transporter room. McCoy took a quick look around for Jim. When McCoy saw who was standing next to the captain, his heart stopped beating all together, and he found himself grabbing Spock's hand.
"Joanna..." McCoy choked out, his voice hoarse.
"Hey Daddy." Joanna's voice sounded strange as well. Neither made any movements towards the other.
"I... I'm glad to see you," McCoy said in that same odd voice.
"Yeah, me too... Dad, can we talk? Alone I mean?"
McCoy glanced at Jim, Scotty, and Spock. All but Spock seemed confused. McCoy could almost guess what they were thinking: Why aren't they more excited about seeing each other after so long?
Jim nodded. "Of course. Come on, Mr. Spock, Mr. Scott."
Just before he left with the others, Spock gave McCoy's hand a slight squeeze, as if to reassure him. McCoy swallowed hard. It had been so long since he had seen Joanna. What in God's name was he supposed to say to her?
Joanna's voice shattered the silence. "It it true?"
"Is what true?" McCoy asked, hoping against hope that she was not asking what he thought she was asking. She couldn't know, could she? did Jocelyn finally tell her?
"I know you know what I'm talking about, I saw it on your face when you showed up. How come you never told me?"
"Never told you what?" McCoy tried to stall. More than anything, he did not want Joanna to say it out loud.
What composure Joanna had possessed until this point finally ran out. Her eyes welled up with tears. "Is it true that you might not be my real father? That... that I'm the reason you signed up for Starfleet?"
To be continued...