Title: Preparations
Author: Caera1996
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Not mine.
W/C: 1,037
Note / Summary: One-shot within TBoPE series (no need to read anything else to get this). This is the result of andromeda05's request: "Joanna going to college...um something with more Kirk and Joanna and with Bones maybe at the end." I hope you like it!
Language note: oide (pronounced "itta") is the Irish-Gaelic equivalent of "stepfather"

"Oh, look at this!" Jim exclaimed, indicating a small clip on lamp with a flexible neck. "This'll be perfect for reading in bed."

Joanna laughed and rolled her eyes at Jim as he pulled something else she didn't really need off the shelf and added it to the cart. Joanna looked at everything they'd amassed, thinking about the small space she would be calling home pretty soon.

"Oide…I'm not going to have room for everything," she said. "It's a small dorm room."

Jim looked at her with a smile. "Good point, sweetie…let's get some of those storage bins that slide under the bed."

Joanna just shook her head at him, but decided to just go with it. There was no changing his mind, she knew, when he was set on something. And after having seen the dorm room she would be living in on campus, he'd decided that there were things she was going to need to make it livable, and that they were going to decorate it together. So, today, while Daddy worked, they'd spent the afternoon walking through stores, picking out odds and ends, ending with Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

"Okay..." Jim said. "Can you think of anything else you're going to need?"

"No," Joanna replied. "I really can't. I think you thought of things I didn't even realize I would need."

"Alright then…and if you do, you just let us know, okay? We have time to get it before school starts…or we can always send it to you."

"Okay, thank you…it's already so much, though…I feel bad-"

"Hey," Jim said, cutting her off and putting his arm around her shoulders. "You're our only one. We get to spoil you." He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head and she gave him a hug.

"Well, thank you," she said again, looking up at him. They got in line and then took their bags out to the car.

"Where are we going now?" Jo asked.

"Someplace for dinner. Where do you want to go?"

"Umm…Dad's meeting us, right?"

"Yup…we'll just call him and to let him know where to go."

"Okay…how about that Japanese place?"

Jim looked at her in amusement as he pulled his seatbelt on. "For a second I thought for sure you were going to ask for Chik-Fil-A."

Joanna grinned. "Well, it's Sunday. They're not open today."

Jim laughed and reached over to gently tug on a lock of her hair. She smiled, her hazel eyes bright.

"Call your Dad," Jim said. "Let him know."

A few minutes later, Jim and Joanna were sitting across from each other in one of the booths at the restaurant, waiting for Bones to join them. Jim ordered edamame to snack on while they waiting for him.

"So, you excited?" Jim asked. He watched the young woman sitting across from him, still able to see the child she'd been. Joanna rolled her glass of ginger ale between her palms, keeping her eyes down as she considered that question.

"Yes," she said. "But…" she glanced up at Jim from under her long lashes and shifted slightly. She felt a little embarrassed to admit this. She'd argued, successfully, to be allowed to go to school away from home, to be able to live on campus…something her father hadn't wanted her to do…yet. She was younger than most freshman would be, and he wanted her to do her first year close to home, and stay with them. In the end, he'd agreed. And Jo knew it was in large part because of oide.

"But you're nervous," Jim filled in eventually. Jo sat back against the booth and looked up at him.

"A little," she admitted. "What if…what if I can't do it? What if the classes are too hard, or I just don't make any friends? Or if I don't like it there? Or maybe I'll just be too homesick."

Jim listened as Jo finally admitted to the doubts she had about the next step in her life…all of them understandable.

"Well," Jim said, "I have no doubt you'll be fine academically. And you should know that, too."

Jo shrugged slightly. "I guess."

"And I know you'll make friends," he continued. "I know that's a little harder, Jo, but all you have to do is be yourself and do the things that you like doing. Join that service club we learned about, for example. I think you'll find making friends is easier than you think it's going to be. And if you get homesick…" he reached across the table and took her slender hand. "We're just a phone call away. And I think you're going to love it there. I'm sure you will. But…if not, you can always transfer. But Jo…" he squeezed her hand gently.

"I really think you're going to be fine. I think you're going to fit in and make friends…I think you're going to love the challenge of your classes. And I think you're going to surprise yourself."

Jo was quiet for a moment, idly twirling her straw in her glass. "Thank you," she said. "I…needed to hear that."

"Anytime kiddo."

Joanna looked up, and looked over Jim's shoulder, breaking into a smile.

"Hi Daddy," she said.

"Hey Baby," Leonard replied. He came up to the table and leaned down to give her a kiss. "Darlin'," he kissed Jim and nudged him to slide over and he sat down next to him. "You two find everything?"

"I think we got everything," Jim said.

Jo nodded her agreement. "Wait till you get the credit card bill," she added.

Leonard laughed. "That's okay…we get to spoil you every now and then." He snagged an edamame from the plate in the middle of the table, looking between his two favorite people. "Everything okay?" he asked, picking up on the slightly subdued mood.

"Yeah," Joanna replied, after just a moment. "Everything's good."

"Okay…" Leonard said, aware that he was missing something, but he completely trusted Jim with his daughter. If there was something he needed to know about, he'd tell him. "So what'd you get?"