"A little church ain't gonna kill us, Bones," Jim said to him before she went upstairs to find something to wear.

He should've known that his mama would insist on everyone going to the Christmas Eve evening service. He wanted to avoid it, if for no other reason than to avoid Jocelyn. He talked to her a little when he dropped Joanna off the last time and nothing with Clay had changed. He wanted to feel bad for her but he couldn't; he felt bad about the situation but his mama was keen on saying that you reap what you sow and Jocelyn had plenty of reaping to do. Jim and George didn't seem to mind his mother's request. Donna and Fred would meet them there.

"Go change, Leo."

He smiled at his mama. "Yes, ma'am."

When they got to the church, his brother-in-law was waiting outside. "Donna went in already. Heads up, Jocelyn and Clay are here. And I saw Edward Darnell." His ex-wife was bad enough; her husband and her dad were kinda worse. Edward wouldn't bother him too much but Clay was an asshole.

Jim took his hand, "It's cool, I got your back."

Fred chuckled, "Her, I like."

Fred grew up with Leonard and Donna. His father was a doctor who worked with their dad so Fred was practically family his whole life. He wasn't surprised when Donna and Fred started dating or when they got married. Fred never liked Jocelyn and his wasn't shy about it. Leonard kinda felt like an idiot for not listening to the guy who was essentially his big brother about her. He had warned him, more than once. When the whole thing fell apart, Fred didn't rub her infidelity in Leonard's face, he simply told Leonard that he was hoping that he was wrong. Fred's approval of Jim was just as important as his mother's approval.

They walked into the church together and Leonard was pulled into greetings with people he hadn't seen in years. They all asked about life in Starfleet but there wasn't much to tell, other than training cruises, he was still in school.

Jim let his hand go in time for his eight year old to jump into his arms, "Hi daddy."

He chuckled, "Hey Jo. Where you sitting?"

She looked at him, than Jim and George before she looked at him again, "Can I sit with you?" He nodded as the group made it to where Donna had saved them some seats. He saw Jocelyn when he walked past where she was sitting; she acknowledged that Jo was with him so she could stop looking around for her. Joanna stayed with him for about 30 seconds before she ended up sitting on Jim's lap, whispering to George.

They were all settled in time for the choir to sing a few carols. Then a duet of O Holy Night by a brother and sister that went to school with Joanna before everyone sat and listened to the pastor's message. He talked about the reason for the holiday and how important it was to care for others; stuff that Leonard –and Jim- could surely relate to. He looked at his girlfriend and his daughter, they were both paying attention to the pastor but Jim glanced at him and smiled. He reached over and held her hand before turning his attention back to the front of the room. After another song and a prayer, the service came to an end. Of course, his mother wanted to chat with people, which meant they had to stick around for a little while.

It would've been okay but his former father-in-law approached him, "Leonard."

He looked at the man, "Edward."

Jim touched his shoulder, "You alright, sweetheart?"

He nodded, "Yea, darlin'. This is Edward, Jocelyn's father and Clay, her husband."

She smiled at them, "Hi, I'm Jim."

Clay huffed, "What kind of name is that?"

She smiled, "It's short for James, which is derived from the Hebrew name Jacob which means to supplant. Or to gain the place of and serve as a substitute for especially by reason of superior excellence or power. I guess my father was just calling it like it is. It used to be a boy's name but it's popularity as a girl's name has increased over the last century. If memory serves, Clay just means mortal." He wanted to laugh at the look on Clay's face, that's what he gets for talking about her name.

Jim then turned her attention to Jocelyn, "How are you feeling?" Anyone else would've been a bitch but Jim genuinely wanted to know and Jocelyn could tell.

"I'm doing okay. My morning sickness isn't as bad as it was with Joanna," Jocelyn told her. The two men with her didn't seem to care one bit about the child that going to be the newest addition to their family.

"That's good. My first CO was pregnant during one of our short tours; she said that ginger tea helped." Jocelyn actually smiled and thanked her. It was good advice, especially from someone who's never been pregnant.

"So, you're in Starfleet too?" Edward asked.

Jim smiled at him, "Yes, sir, I am."

Clay looked her up and down, "What as a yeoman or something?" By now, George, Donna, Fred and mama were all standing with them.

"No, I'm a tactical officer with a PhD in Engineering, proficiencies in small arm and hand-to-hand combat, diplomacy, astrophysics and I speak fourteen languages." George and Fred both chuckled at the looks that Edward and Clay had on their faces, even Jocelyn smirked.

"Zergatik uste du denek zara lelo bat?" George whispered to her, not that any of them understood what he said.

She chuckled, "Ideia ez dut. Ez dut begiratu muda."

Joanna looked at them from Fred's arms, "What language was that?"

Jim and George both said, "Basque." Joanna nodded, her eyes the size of saucers.

"I'll teach it to you if your parents say it's okay," George told her. Joanna looked at her mom and then her dad but Clay spoke before either of them could.

"No. You can't."

George raised an eyebrow, "I know her father, you aren't him."

Donna touched his arm, "George, it's okay. He's a jerk. Always has been."

Clay looked at Donna, "You jealous, Donna?" Leonard looked at his sister, she looked like she was gonna puke.

"Not even close. I have standards and they would never be low enough for you."

Jim tried to intervene, "We're in a church, maybe we should go."

Clay looked her, "Why, so you can bang Leo and his friend?"

"Clay?" even Jocelyn knew that was too far.

Jim took a breath, "Just because you couldn't wait until Jocelyn left Len before you slept with her doesn't mean the rest of the world cheats. You need to watch what you say about people you don't know, especially with Joanna nearby. You want to play her daddy than have some respect for her. You should also have some respect for your wife and your unborn child while you're at it. For the record, I would never bang George, he's my brother. And I love Len too much to cheat on him. Last thing I would ever want is for him to get hurt by me or anyone else. My advice, say 'Merry Christmas' and take your pregnant wife home because she's exhausted." What? Leonard looked at Jim. She loves him.

Edward smiled, "It was nice to meet you, Jim, George. Merry Christmas everyone."

Jocelyn smiled and gave them all a tired wave, "See you tomorrow." Joanna was going with the McCoy's and Jocelyn would stop by at some point to spend part of the day with her. Clay just glared as his wife tugged him out of the church. Jim glared back.

"That was awesome!" Fred was looking at Jim like she just saved the world.

Donna chuckled, "Nobody can ever shut him up."

"Say it again," Leonard said to Jim.

She looked at him, "What?"

He smiled, "Say it again."

Jim chuckled, "I love you, you idiot. Can we go home now?"

Leonard smiled, "Yes, ma'am."

AN: So, Basque is a real language. I just picked something random on the translator, I wanted Jim and Sam to have their own thing. Here's what they said:

Zergatik uste du denek zara lelo bat?- Why does everyone think you are an idiot?
Ideia ez dut. Ez dut begiratu muda.- I have no idea. I don't look dumb.