Title: Learning As We Go, Part 9
Author: Caera1996
Rating: This part PG
W/C: This part 5,228
Disclaimer: Definitely not mine.
Summary: Sequel to The Basics of Primary Ed. AU. It is possible to read this story without reading TBoPE first, but it will make much more sense if you do.
This part: The end of the Disney trip, and Leonard realizes that Jim has something in his past that is affecting him today, and they look forward to the next stage in their relationship.


"I'm not wearing that shirt," Leonard said, eyeing the offensive item.

"But Bo-ones!" Jim whined, stretching his name out to two syllables expertly. Leonard rolled his eyes. "It's a luau! You have to wear a Hawaiian shirt!" he insisted.

"Yeah, Daddy!" Jo chimed in from where she sat on their bed, flipping through one of her books. "I'm wearing a Hawaiian outfit, and so is Uncle Jim, and you have to too!"

"Oh, I do, huh?" he asked. He looked at the shirt Jim had chosen and bought for him (without his knowledge). The very loud, very colorful, parrot and palm frond-adorned shirt – and sighed. There was no way he could deny them when they were both looking at him like that. He threw up his hands dramatically. "Oh, all right. You win."

"Yea!" Joanna exclaimed, standing on the bed to give Jim a high five. "I'm gonna go get my flip-flops. Hurry, Daddy – it's almost time to go! Get me down, Uncle Jim," she said, holding her arms out to him. Smiling, he swung her down and placed her lightly on her feet, wincing slightly at the movement and weight. "Can I call Janie to check on Samantha? Please?"

"Go ahead, darlin'. Use my cellphone – it's on the counter. You remember her telephone number?" Leonard asked her. He watched as Jim rolled his shoulder as if it were stiff.

"415-302-7614," she rattled off as she skipped out of the room. Jim turned towards Leonard, a question on the tip of his tongue that never made it any further when he saw the way he was looking at him.

"What?" Jim asked, smiling as Leonard put on the shirt he'd packed for him, just for this night. It really wasn't "Bones" at all…he'd have to remember to get a good picture of him. Possibly for blackmailing purposes.

"I've been watching you wince and pretend nothing is wrong since we first got here. And, seriously Jim, did you actually think I wouldn't notice you taking Advil at evenly spaced intervals? What's wrong with your shoulder?" Leonard demanded.

Jim rolled his eyes in fond exasperation as he fiddled with his camera. "Nothing, Bones. It's just stiff – and sometimes it bothers me a little more than others – maybe because of the humidity, and I slept on it wrong. It's no big deal. Are you – ow! Hey!" Leonard surprised him by coming to stand in front of him and Jim flinched as Leonard palpitated his shoulder. He tried to pull away, but Leonard was persistent, holding him in place and frowning slightly as his strong fingers probed the joint, focusing in on where it felt the most tender. "Bones…ow, man. Stop it." Jim pulled away and this time Leonard let him go.

"I can feel that there's inflammation, Jim. You been to the doctor for it?" Leonard asked, but already fairly certain of the answer. Feeling slightly annoyed, Jim did his best to keep it off his face and out of his voice and shook his head.

"Nah…it's not a big deal, Bones. C'mon," he said, heading out of the room and effectively ending the conversation. "I'm going to make sure Jo's not actually talking to China, and then let's go! I've never been to a luau before and I don't want to miss it. Hey, Jo…you ready?"

Leonard grabbed his wallet and made sure he had a room key before following Jim out. He may have managed to deflect his questions for now, but he wasn't going to let this go. Jim wasn't a complainer, and he wasn't really one to take medication…even when his allergies were flaring up…and the fact that he'd been making his way through a bottle of Advil was a pretty good indicator that the pain he was experiencing wasn't "nothing."

He resolved to revisit this with Jim later. For now, there was a Polynesian luau to attend.

Following the path from their guest house to the Main Lodge, Joanna walked between them, holding their hands and taking skipping steps. She was chatting happily about how much fun they had today. They'd gone to Animal Kingdom, getting there early enough to open the park, get to the Kilimanjaro Safaris ride and see a wide variety of African savannah animals before the heat of the day made them seek shelter. Jo had loved it, pointing excitedly to the animals as the driver narrated the story of the trail, and asking that Jim take a picture of everything they saw. He obliged her, even letting her hold the camera and take her own picture when the driver stopped to give them all a good view of a mother giraffe with her calf. The walked the Maharajah Jungle Trek, taking pictures of the tigers they saw. They also caught the train to the Conservation Station, and ended up spending more than two hours there, unable to pull Joanna away when she discovered the petting zoo – completely taken with the lambs and goats.

It started out as a perfect park day, the sky full of clouds that helped mitigate the sun, and though it was very humid, it wasn't as hot as it was the day before. That lasted until about two and then there was a sudden temperature drop, and it got windy, and moments later the skies opened, and it poured. "Monsooned" was probably a more apt description. They took shelter under an overhang of a snack shop, crowded in with everyone who'd had the same idea. Leonard stood there for a couple of minutes, with his two favorite people wishing the rain would stop, and shrugged. The rain had lessened slightly, and there was no lightning or thunder that he could see or hear. And contrary to popular belief, you could not catch a cold simply by getting wet.

Pulling away from them, Leonard left the shelter of the overhang.

"C'mon!" he said, laughing at their surprised expressions. "It's just rain – I want to see the show in the Tree of Life, and then we can check out Dinosaur!" Jim and Joanna looked at each other, clearly wondering if he'd lost his marbles. After a moment, after Jim secured his camera in a plastic bag that he buried in the depths of the backpack he was carrying, they darted out into the rain with him, obviously deciding it didn't matter. The weather hadn't stopped their fun, and Joanna felt bad for the kids stuck under the overhang, with parents who didn't know rain couldn't make you sick.

It did eventually stop raining, of course as they were boarding a Disney bus that would take them to their hotel. The driver was friendly and engaging, asking Disney trivia questions during the ride back, and they kept score among themselves, each managing to answer three or four questions.

Now they were heading to the Polynesian's Luau dinner. The rain had cleared some of the humidity out of the air, and though it was still warm, it was no longer stifling. They chose their seats at a long wooden table, Joanna sitting between Jim and Leonard, swinging her feet inches off the ground, and they settled in to watch the show and enjoy the dinner.


"You want an ice pack?" Leonard asked. Jim sighed and felt a surge of annoyance.

"Leonard – I'm fine," Jim insisted, hoping the emphasis and the first name would get the point across. "Could you please just drop it." Leonard eyed Jim as they got ready for bed. He didn't get it. He didn't understand why Jim was being so resistant to him.

"I just don't like to see you in pain. Especially if it's something that can be fixed," Leonard said quietly, turning away from him and trying to keep his tone even and unaffected. He pulled down the blankets, and slid into the bed waiting for Jim to join him. Jim sighed, hearing the note of discontent in Bones' voice, and immediately felt bad for acting like such a jerk. He didn't mean to dismiss Bones' concern in a way that made him feel like he was being shut out. He just…didn't want to dwell on it. But he also didn't want to fight, and he really didn't want to spend the rest of their vacation dealing with sidelong glances and concerned eyebrows.

Jim snapped off the light and lay down, fitting himself snuggly against Leonard, wrapping an arm around his midsection. He was relieved when Leonard unhesitatingly put his arm around his shoulders and held him tight to his side. Jim sighed and stretched up to kiss him before settling back down.

"I'm sorry…I don't mean to be an ass," Jim said quietly. "It's just…there's nothing I can do about it, but it's not crippling or anything, and I just don't want you to worry about it."

"But Jim…do you know there's nothing you can do about it? Because pain that's persistent enough for you to be taking ibuprophen regularly is usually pain that has a specific cause. Has your GP referred you to an orthopedist? Or have you had an x-ray or a scan?" Jim was quiet for a couple of seconds, knowing there really wasn't a way out of this. He certainly wasn't going to outright lie to Bones.

"No, I haven't," Jim said. Leonard was quiet, waiting for more of an answer. He felt like he was missing something here. Why was Jim being so evasive about something so simple? It just didn't make any sense.

"You haven't…what?" he asked, when it became obvious that no other information was going to be volunteered. Jim sighed and shifted against him.

"I haven't been to an orthopedist about it. I…well, I haven't really been to a GP either."

"Why not? Don't you have insurance? Are you telling me you're working under a fixed salary contract for seven years at a private school and they're not providing insurance?"

"Bones…no, that's not it," Jim said quickly, amused and touched by the quick spark of indignation on his behalf. "I have coverage. I just…don't use it." Leonard absorbed that, thinking it through. A while ago, Jim had made Leonard his medical contact and gave him access to his medical records by officially listing him as his doctor. At the time, it was for a fairly practical reason…Leonard wasn't willing to involve himself with someone who wasn't completely healthy…but beyond the results of the blood test that he'd drawn himself, he hadn't delved into Jim's medical history. There was no reason to, and he never looked to see how complete, or incomplete, they were. But hearing this now, Leonard felt he could probably guess. And to his reckoning, there was probably only one reason an insured adult wouldn't go to a doctor about something that was obviously giving him a hard time. As surprising as it was, it made sense.

"You afraid of doctors, Jim?" Leonard asked gently, careful to keep his voice neutral and sure of the answer. He wondered how long it'd been since he'd had even a basic physical.

"No," he replied quickly. "I'm not afraid of you," he said teasingly, looking up to catch Leonard's eyes, smiling slightly. There was no answering mirth, just obvious concern, so he gave up, putting his head back down. "I'm not afraid of doctors. I just…don't like them…or trust them. And I don't like going for medical procedures. Especially if I don't really need it."

Leonard's brow furrowed in confusion. He could understand, and hell, even wholeheartedly agree with, not wanting an unnecessary medical procedure, but to not even get something checked out? "But Jim…don't you want to know what's wrong? What if it's something simple that has a simple fix? Isn't the possibility of not having to live with pain, even if it is only a periodic issue, worth at least getting your shoulder looked at?"

Jim bit his lip and couldn't bring himself to answer. Because yeah, while it might be good to know what was causing his damn shoulder to ache like it does, that wasn't enough to make it worth it to him. It didn't hurt all the time, and it didn't stop him from doing the things he wanted to do, so why worry about it? Bones seemed to get it, though, because after a couple seconds of very telling silence, he tightened his hold around Jim, the one-armed hug comforting and comfortable.

"Would you go if I arranged it with someone I know and trust?" he asked after a few moments. Jim made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat and shrugged slightly. That was a little better…he may be marginally more inclined to go if it was to someone Bones knew. But he was still reluctant to commit himself, knowing if he did he'd be held to it. So Jim didn't respond, extremely glad for the cover of darkness as he felt himself flush, embarrassed because he was sure Bones must think he was being such a wuss. "Would you go if I went with you?"

"You'd go with me?" Jim asked lifting his head to look at Leonard, the surprise clear in his voice. Leonard smiled slightly and brushed a thumb across Jim's cheek.

"Of course, Jim," Leonard said. "Of course I would go with you if you want me there." Jim put his head back down, reaching for Leonard's hand. That was something that he might be more willing to do. Having Bones there with him was a pretty comforting thought. "So…can we make an appointment when we get back?"

"Yeah," he said eventually, sounding very put-upon. "I guess. But if I don't like something, I'm not doing it. And the guy better not try to force me into anything."

Leonard blinked, frowning slightly. He felt taken aback by not only what Jim was saying, but how he was saying it. As if…almost as if he were speaking from experience. "No one is going to force you to do anything, Jim. You don't have to worry about that." Leonard replied, wanting Jim to really believe that. He wondered what had happened to make Jim so…distrustful, and somewhat fearful, if he was being honest…of doctors. Maybe something when he was a kid…maybe it was just a personality quirk. And wouldn't that being the pot calling the kettle black if Leonard were to call him out on a personality quirk. But whatever. If his being there made Jim feel secure enough to go get evaluated, then he'd be there. They'd deal with the rest as it came.


Something was up. Leonard didn't know what, but the longer Jim and Joanna sat on the couch watching cartoons, the more suspicious he got. He could not, for the life of him, figure out why on this…their last afternoon at Disney…Jo seemed okay with staying in the hotel room at two o'clock in the afternoon, when it was beautiful and sunny outside.

Today they'd gone to Epcot, getting there as soon as the park opened, and spent a leisurely morning touring the front of the park, spending a lot of time in the Imagination Pavilion, trying out the interactive science stations, watching the shows and playing in the Kodak "What If" Labs. Jim had as much fun with that exhibit as Joanna did, and by the time they were done she had amended her birthday wishlist to include her own camera… "Like Uncle Jim's!" They'd done almost all of the other exhibits and rides there, too, and by three, they were done with the front part of the park.

"You guys want to take a walk around the lake? Visit some of the countries?" Leonard asked. Jim and Joanna glanced at each other before answering.

"Not really, Bones. Not my thing, you know?"

"I'm tired, Daddy. Can we go back to the hotel to relax?" Joanna asked. That stopped Leonard in his tracks, because Joanna wanting to go relax? Yeah, right.

"You're not getting sick on me, are ya Baby?" he asked, looking at her carefully. She didn't seem sick…but still.

"No, Daddy. I'm fine. Can we maybe go to the pool again?"

So, they'd come back to the hotel, Leonard feeling a little put out that they didn't walk around the lake to see the country exhibits, but willing to let it go and put it in the "on our next visit" list. At the hotel, he was expecting to go to the pool, or play on the lakeside beach, or do any number of the activities the hotel hosted for children and families throughout the day. He didn't expect to end up having Jim and Joanna sacked out in front of the TV.

Eventually he gave up on trying to figure them out, and set to the task of packing. Their flight home was at four, and they didn't need to check out until noon tomorrow, so there was plenty of time, but he figured if they were going to hang around the room, he may as well make use of the time.

Half an hour later, he joined Jim and Jo in the sitting room, determined to get them out and doing something, when there was a knock at the door.

"Would you get that Bones?" Jim said, sparing him a glance.

"You order something?" Jim gave a half-smile, but kept his eyes on the TV screen, totally engrossed in an episode of Phineas and Ferb.

"Kinda," he answered vaguely. Leonard looked at him suspiciously, but got up to get the door as whoever it was knocked again.

"Hi Mr. McCoy!"

Leonard blinked in surprise, trying to make sense of who was standing on his doorstep, across the country from where she lived. Jim chuckled, and got up with Jo to come to the door.

"Bones, let her in," Jim said, coming up behind him and pulling the door open wider. "Hi Sarah! How are you?"

"Hey Jo!" Sarah said as Joanna flung her arms around her waist. "Oof…quite a grip you got there kiddo. Hi Jim…I'm great. I'm not late am I? How are you guys? Having a fun time?"

"Nope, you're right on time. And it's been a blast…hasn't it?" Jim said, looking at Leonard and Joanna.

"Yes! Yesterday we went to Hollywood Studios and we saw a show of the Little Mermaid! And it looked like we were under water because of lasers. And then we went to a playground with huge grass and bugs! Everything was big to make it look like we were shrunk and you could slide down a piece of grass and crawl through ant tunnels…and come to my room…I want to show you…" Joanna led a laughing Sarah out of the family room by the hand, keeping up her running commentary on what they've been up to while they were here.

Leonard turned to Jim, a bemused expression on his face. "Jim…what…why is Sarah here? How is Sarah here?"

Jim smiled, thrilled that he'd managed to pull this off. "Well, she's on vacation too, and she'd mentioned that she was planning to be here for a week, meet up with some family and friends and do Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure – turns out our days overlapped by a couple, so I asked her if she'd mind coming to us for a few hours so she and Jo can have some girl time…and we can hit a park for a few hours." The smile on his face faltered slightly when Leonard didn't respond right away. "That – that's okay, isn't it? I asked Jo and…mmph-" Leonard cut him off by stepping up to him and kissing him, gently holding his face between his hands. He pulled back and smiled.

"You're amazing, you know that?" He said. "How did you manage to get Jo to keep it a secret?" Jim smiled and shrugged, pleased at the success of the surprise. They stepped apart slightly when the girls came back in the living room.

"Sarah, thank you so much for taking time out from your vacation to spend some time with Jo," Leonard said.

"Oh, no problem Mr. McCoy. I'm always happy to spend time with Joanna," Sarah said. "We're going to have a lot of fun swimming, maybe take a hula class, and I think there's a beach party for the kids tonight…right Jim?" she asked, looking at Jim for confirmation. He nodded, having chosen tonight because there was so much to do here, knowing that Leonard wouldn't feel comfortable having a good time separate from his daughter if she wasn't having fun, too, and certain that he wouldn't want them to leave the hotel either.

"Yeah," Jim said. "And guess who's going to be there?"

"Who?" Joanna asked, wide-eyed.

"Lilo and Stitch!"

"Oh, yea! I don't have them yet! Sarah…want to see my autograph book? I have so many autographs, and tonight we can get them too!" Leonard smiled at his little girl's excitement. The autograph book was his idea, as an attempt to get Jo to interact with the characters they saw, and it worked like a charm. At first, when a character came over to her, she'd shrink back and hide behind her father's legs, pressing her face against the back of his thigh. But when given the autograph book, and the challenge to get as many characters to sign as possible, Joanna had become more daring. Now she had quite the collection…everyone from Mickey and Minnie to the princesses to Rafiki and Simba.

"That's so cool, Jo! Let me just talk to your dad and Jim for a minute, okay? Why don't you go put on your bathing suit?" Sarah said, gently tugging on one of her pigtails.

"Okay!" Joanna said, and ran off to her room. Sarah turned to them.

"So," Jim said. "I thought we'd take the car so we can get around quicker. He paused as Leonard nodded, on board with that idea. "And I think we'll be home around eleven-ish, if that's not too late?"

"Nope, that's fine," Sarah said. "Even a little later would be okay. I drove myself, so it doesn't really matter to me." Leonard frowned, worried about the idea of Sarah driving around Orlando by herself. Universal Studios was just a few exits up I-4, but this was an unfamiliar area.

"You could stay tonight, if you wanted to, Sarah. This couch is a pull-out," Leonard said, but Sarah was shaking her head.

"No thank you…I'm going to be meeting up with some friends at City Walk. You guys take your time, and have fun!"

A short while later, Sarah and Joanna were on their way to the pool, and Jim and Leonard were waiting for the rental car to be brought to them at the front of the hotel.

"So, what's the plan, Jim?" Leonard asked as they slid into the car, Jim driving.

"Well, I thought we'd take that walk around the world at Epcot, and then I made reservations for us at Jiko's, an African restaurant in the Animal Kingdom Lodge…all the reviews say it's awesome…and we can check out what the hotel itself is like," Jim said. "You know…for next time." Leonard smiled and squeezed Jim's knee.

"That sounds absolutely fantastic, Jim. Do we have the time to add one more thing?" Leonard asked. Jim looked over at him and shrugged.

"Sure, Bones. We can do anything you want. Our dinner reservation isn't until nine…it was the only thing they had open…so we've got a good five hours."

"I'd like to go back to the Magic Kingdom first. There's one ride I want to do that we weren't able to." Jim glanced at Bones out of the corner of his eye, a slightly puzzled expression on his face, but nodded and followed the signs that led to the Magic Kingdom instead of Epcot. Bones hadn't expressed any real interest in any of the rides, excited about them only because Joanna was. He, on the other hand, had several rides on his to-do list…saved for when the munchkin was taller.

"Which one?" Jim asked, curious to know what had piqued Leonard's interest. He declined to answer, though, and it wasn't until they were in the Magic Kingdom, headed to Tomorrowland, that it clicked.

"We're going on Space Mountain!" Jim exclaimed. "This is the one ride I've always wanted to do! I didn't know…" he trailed off, taking in the expression on Leonard's face. "This is just for me, isn't it? How did you know?" Leonard slung an arm around his shoulders to give him a quick hug as they took their place in (a thankfully relatively short 30-minute) line and looked at him fondly.

"When we were waiting in line for the Barn Stormer you couldn't take your eyes off this building," Leonard said. It was dark inside the building, designed to look like a space station, and no one was paying them any attention as the line slowly moved forward. Jim slipped an arm around Leonard's wait, and leaned against his side, a smile on his face and feeling so lucky and content. They rode Space Mountain twice – and though Leonard really found it quite frightening, Jim's obvious excitement and whoops of joy as the cars hurtled down the tracks made it completely worth it.


"So how do you think we should tell Jo?" Jim asked, leaning close to Bones over the table for two. They were enjoying a quiet dinner, sharing the meals they ordered…Jim the steak and Leonard the halibut…and were thoroughly enjoying everything about their experience at Jiko. It was a beautifully decorated restaurant, with a quiet, romantic atmosphere. Their server was knowledgeable, polite and efficient, and the food was delicious.

"Well, I don't think we should make too big a deal out of it. I can't imagine she's going to have any problem with the idea…she loves you, and you two get along so well," Leonard said. He looked up at Jim, studying the expression on his face. "Why? Are you worried?" Jim shrugged and kept his eyes on his plate.

"No, not really," he said. "I just don't want…" he stopped and glanced up at Leonard, and Leonard understood. He pressed his lips together and reached to take Jim's hand.

"Listen to me, Jim. We've been together for nearly six months. You've become a part of our lives – and we are…I am…better because of it. Jo loves you. I love you. And I know you love us…both of us." He paused, holding Jim's gaze steadily, trying to make sure Jim was really hearing him. "I don't think she's going to have a hard time adjusting to the idea of you living with us. But she's always been a little more perceptive and sensitive about things, especially when it comes to families, and if does, we'll deal with it together, okay?" Jim smiled and squeezed his hand, grateful that Bones had understood his concern without making him spell it out.

At the beginning of this relationship, way back when they had that first date and Leonard was too nervous to even look him in the eye, Jim had known that if Joanna didn't accept him, then he really wouldn't have a chance. It was just difficult to believe that they were beyond that point now. That he had a secure, and apparently permanent, relationship with both of them…and more amazingly, that he actually, really wanted that. Still.

But he did. More than he'd ever wanted anything when it came to sharing his life with someone else. Despite the fact that it was counterintuitive to everything else he'd felt or known in his previous relationships. And that was still pretty damn scary if he thought about it hard enough.

Leonard watched the play of emotions across Jim's face, and frowned slightly. Jim had seemed genuinely excited and happy at the prospect of moving in with them, but maybe he was having second thoughts about it, and just didn't know how to broach the subject. "You look like you're got something on your mind Jim," he said. "You know you can tell me whatever you want, right? If…if you're not sure about moving in, if you think it's too fast…"

"No…no, Bones. That's not it at all. I-" he cut himself off, looking up at the server with a polite smile as she came over to their table.

"How was everything, gentlemen?" she asked, picking up the two empty plates.

"Hated it," Jim deadpanned, and Leonard chuckled.

"Obviously," he agreed. The server smiled and played along.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to try harder next time," she said with a defeated sigh. "We have a selection of freshly made desserts, excellent coffees and teas, and a wide variety of after-dinner drinks. Would you like to see a menu?"

Leonard glanced at his watch. They were still had some time. "Yes, please," he said, answering for both of them. She brought them a menu and they made their selections.

"I'm not having second thoughts about us moving in together," Jim said, picking up the thread from before the server came over. "It's just still so…I don't know…" he paused, looking for the right words. Leonard waited patiently. "I guess I just feel like I should ask someone to pinch me," he said. Leonard nodded.

"I know exactly what you mean," he said.


The next day everyone got up early and headed down to the cafeteria-style restaurant for a quick breakfast. They had some packing to do, and Joanna wanted to go to the pool one more time. They decided that Leonard would take her, since he'd not been to the pool yet, and Jim would finish what they started the day before.

The trip had been a success…for everyone. Leonard's presentation was so well-accepted by the attendees at the conference that he'd been asked to make his findings and write-up available for wider review, something that he was going to start working on when they got back to San Francisco. Joanna's autograph book was almost full. She'd managed to collect eighteen character signatures, and she'd had so much fun she decided to wanted to write it down in a story that she could share with Janie and Kim. Jim took her to the hotel gift shop and bought her a notebook so she could start working on it during the flight home. And Jim…Jim had never felt so much like he belonged with them. That he was a part of their trip not as the fun uncle, or the friend tagging along, but as a member of the family, taking part in a family trip.

"You ready to head home Baby?" Leonard asked, looking at her in the rearview mirror, as he pulled the car away from the hotel for the last time.

"I guess," she said. "Can we come back some day? And can Janie come with us? I think she would have fun with me here." Leonard and Jim glanced at each other with a smile.

"I'm pretty sure we can arrange another trip. Maybe next summer…you'll both be taller then, and able to ride some of the rollercoasters," Jim said, turning in his seat to look at her. "How's that sound?"

"Good!" she said. "I can't wait!"

"Me either," Jim answered. Silently, happily, Leonard agreed.