Chapter 7: From woman to woman

Joanna's eyes went all big and a smile lit up her face when she opened the hotel suite door and saw Jamie Kirk. "Jamie! Hi!"

Jamie returned her smile. "Hi, Joanna."

"Is Daddy with you?" the girl asked hopefully and glanced into the corridor.

"No, I'm sorry. But you'll see him soon."

Joanna's mood sank a little, but she was still happy seeing Jamie and about the prospect of seeing her father soon.

"I need to talk to your Mom. Is she here?"

The girl nodded. "I'll fetch her." She gestured Jamie to come inside and walked away.

A few moments later she returned, accompanied by Jocelyn Treadway.

"Go and play in your room, Joanna", Jocelyn told her daughter.

Joanna hesitated and was tempted to protest, but then she nodded and headed to a door.

"So, Miss Kirk, why are you here?" Jocelyn gave her a cool glare and crossed her arms. She deliberately didn't use Jamie's Starfleet rank.

Jamie kept a neutral expression. "Funny, that's the question I came here to ask you. I'm wondering why you want Leonard back all of the sudden." She let out a short laugh. "Well, aside from what Commander Spock pointed out yesterday. I wonder if it's all. And since Joanna is expected at the press conference later, I wanted to make sure that you're not making a scene."

"I want my husband back."

"Ex-husband", Jamie corrected coolly.

"What do you know of love? Nothing. I've heard of your reputation. It's a miracle that he fell for the idea you could fall in love with him." She gave her an arrogant glance. "Maybe he loves you, but we were married. We have a daughter. And he wants nothing more than a family. I can give him that", Jocelyn declared.

Jamie snorted, but stayed calm. "You cheated on him. You left him and you divorced him. And you made sure he couldn't see his daughter. How in the universe could you ever think he would just like that come back to you if you wanted him to?"

Jocelyn huffed. "He will come back to me", she stated.

"No, he won't. You took everything from him and now you act as if that never happened."

"Why are you here?"

"To protect Leonard and Joanna and to help you not to embarrass yourself further."

Jocelyn laughed disbelievingly. "Help me? How could you help me? Or why would you? And who says I'm embarrassed of anything? I'm the mother of his daughter."

"The whole world, hell, the entire Federation saw your little scene from yesterday in the news – and what Spock said. So for your own sake: Don't show up today", she told her with a serious expression. "Don't try anything more on Leonard. I can imagine pretty well that you haven't given up yet. But I'll tell you: It's futile. He doesn't love you anymore. Not in a very long time. But he loves and misses Joanna." Jamie's glance got a little softer. "So, if you ever truly loved him – allow him to see her regularly. If you really want have a part of his fame, that's the only way you can get it. Let the world see that you don't keep his daughter from him. Start today. Let me take Joanna to the press conference and stay here."

"Why should I?"

"Haven't you listened to what I just said?"

Jocelyn pursed her lips and Jamie noticed her words were sinking in, Jocelyn just had a hard time letting it happen.

"I'd like to take Joanna with me so she can spend some time with her father today", Jamie repeated silently and gently. "After dinner we bring her back. Nine o'clock tops. But if you want, we can have her back at eight."

Jocelyn didn't answer right away. Her gaze fell to the floor for a moment and she slowly turned to a window, staring outside for a few moments. She had her arms still crossed.

Jamie waited and was confident that the woman only needed a little time.

"I have to think about the seeing-Joanna-regularly-thing." Jocelyn slowly turned to Jamie. "You can take her to that thing today. Being back at nine is okay."

"Okay…" Jamie replied carefully, expecting that this wasn't all yet.

Jocelyn pursed her lips again. "I want you to tell explicitly in that press conference how generous I was and that he will be able to see his daughter from now on. I will think about the details conditions today. I will discuss them with Leonard tonight."

Jamie nodded. She knew that would not be an easy conversation and that she would have probably some strong demands. But it was progress and she was confident that Leonard would find a way for an agreeable compromise. "Okay. The part about the conference is doable and Leonard will be happy to hear that he can see Joanna from now on."

Jocelyn exhaled heavily. "I want the best for Joanna. But even a mother needs to be selfish sometimes."

Jamie sighed silently. "As long as you're not hurting your daughter in the process. And I'm afraid you did, when you kept her from her father and made that scene yesterday."

"Maybe", she replied, but didn't sound convincingly.

Jamie waived trying to tell her that is was as she said. "So, let's tell Joanna?"

Jocelyn pointed to a door. "But don't make yourself any illusions, Miss Kirk." She ignored the Starfleet rank again. "If you don't mess this up yourself due to how you are, he will. He works too much and ruins everything with it. Your relationship won't last."

Jamie gave her a pitiful glance. "You don't know him at all. And you certainly don't know me."

The strange thing was – Jocelyn named a fear that Jamie had about herself. But if there was a man she could have a working relationship with - it was Leonard McCoy. She felt more than ever in this very moment how deeply she was in love with him.

Jamie Kirk never had given relationships, growing old together or having a family much of a thought because of her childhood wounds and the no really existing family of hers. But when she thought of Leonard she could picture herself with him in thirty years. And some other things she wasn't ready to consider yet.

She also realized that she hadn't told him yet that she was in love with him. Something had been holding her back until now. But she couldn't wait to see him and tell him.

Jocelyn opened the door and the two women saw Joanna sitting at the window and reading something on a PADD.

"Jamie!" the girl exclaimed. "There's a new article about you and how you joined Starfleet."

Jamie sighed, hoping the reporter had done proper research and not included too much about her father. Also she wondered how someone could write about that topic without contacting her. Maybe a fellow cadet wanted some spotlight?

"Really? Well, how about I tell you first hand? Because it also has to do with how I met your father." She made a mental note to keep it g-rated – so without booze and cursing.

The girl beamed. "Cool? After the conference?"

Jamie smiled. "How about now? I'm here to take you with me. We're meeting your Dad and go to the press conference later. We'll also have dinner tonight. You get to spend the day with your Dad."

"Really?" Joanna looked at her with wide eyes. She couldn't believe it.

"Really", Jamie confirmed.

"Yeah", her mother added reluctantly. "But you call me, if you want to get back earlier and I'll pick you up, Honey."

Joanna opened her mouth to say that she probably wouldn't, but she changed her mind. "Okay", she simply said.

"Come on, grab what you need in a bag and we'll head out", Jamie told her.

The girl nodded eagerly and took a PADD and a few other things. She told her mother goodbye and left the hotel suite with Jamie a few minutes later.

"Where are we going?" Joanna asked curiously.

"That's a surprise", Jamie said with a mysterious grin. She grabbed her communicator and typed a message to Leonard. Then she activated a com channel. "Kirk to Enterprise."

"This is Mathews."

"Two to beam up", Jamie replied.

"Understood."

She snapped her communicator closed and smiled at the nine-year-old whose jaw dropped. A moment later they were engulfed by the golden transporter lights.

Leonard got dressed after the shower and put on a fresh blue duty uniform. He decided to use the time alone checking with Doctor Boyce and calling his mother in Georgia.

He was relieved to learn that Christopher Pike was doing well. Boyce sent Leonard the new vitals and approved the request for visiting the captain with Jamie later the day.

Eleonora McCoy was overjoyed when Leonard appeared on the screen. "I was scared to death, Leonard. We heard about the destroyed fleet and that the Enterprise was apparently battling an unknown ship."

"I'm sorry that you were worried so much, Mama."

She sighed. "Well, the most important thing is that you are alive and uninjured. We felt the Earth shake all down to Georgia when that ship started its attack near San Francisco… Who were they?"

"I'm sorry, Mama. I'm not allowed to tell anything before the press conference. That's one of the details the brass will release later. We all wonder anyway how the press could get that much information about what happened at Vulcan so fast."

His mother shrugged. "So…" She tried something else. "Did you like the peach cobbler?"

He smiled. "It was pure heaven. No one can make it like you do, Mama."

She smiled happily. "And Jamie? Did she also like it?"

Leonard hesitated for a moment. He was prepared for his mother asking about Jamie and their relationship, but he knew answering her question wouldn't be easy. The relationship was so new, but everyone thought they were already together for a while, probably including her. "Yeah, she did."

Eleonora's smile grew bigger. "I always knew the two of you would end up together."

He blinked surprised. "You did? But you only met her that one time you visited me at the Academy."

She gave him a motherly all-knowing chuckle. "The way you looked at her and the way she looked at you told me everything I needed to know. When did you get together and why didn't you tell me about the two of you?"

He sighed. "That's a little complicated… I'll visit you in two or three days. I can tell you then. Today I have a lot to do. We got a few days off until we receive our news orders and postings. Apparently we're graduating early."

"Alright. But you're going to bring Jamie along, Leonard."

"Mama, she probably has a lot to do. I'll ask her, but I can't guarantee that she'll be able make the time."

"Well, she's not captain anymore, isn't she? So she can't be that busy. You bring her along. Period. I want to get to know her better."

"Mama…"

"No. That's not up for discussion, Leonard. After all she'll be my daughter-in-law some day, won't she?"

Leonard gasped and blushed. "Mama!"

Eleonora chuckled. "Ah, it's still that fresh, hm? Alright, you just tell me everything when you're here."

His com beeped and distracted him from answering. She gave him permission to take a look at his communicator with a nod. He sighed and opened to device. A slight smile immediately took over his lips.

"From Jamie?" his mother asked casually.

"Yeah. She left an hour ago to do something secretive. Now she's telling me to meet her on the Enterprise as soon as I can beam up."

Eleonora smiled. "So, go. Don't let that wonderful woman wait. We'll talk when you're here."

He returned her smile. "Yes, Mama. And thanks for the cobbler again."

"Your welcome. Take care of yourself. I love you."

"I will. I love you, too." He ended the connection and raised his communicator. "McCoy to Enterprise."

"This is Mathews."

"Beam me up. I'm meeting Jamie Kirk on the ship."

"Yes, Sir."

A golden swirl took Leonard away.