Leonard made his way down the beach, spotting his rebellious teenaged daughter standing in the surf. While Andrea warned him about his vicious attitude, begging him not to be cruel to her, Leonard couldn't allow Joanna to get away with her attitude. His entire relationship with Joanna changed when Jocelyn filed for divorce and kicked him out, making it impossible to see his precious four year old. Not only did she ruin his relationship with Joanna, she also ruined his name, forcing him out of Atlanta and out of Georgia. When he sobered up and started his studies at Starfleet, they managed to work together on his legal rights as Joanna's father; visitation and communication were finally granted to him, a year after he moved to San Francisco.

When he started dating Andrea and it became serious, to the point when marriage and children were a definite plan between the two, Leo was sure that his seven-year-old daughter would fall in love with the woman who captured his heart. And she did, for Joanna and Andrea became so close it made his heart swell and ache all at the same time. Not yet his fiancée, Andrea managed to get his ex-wife to lighten up on visitation and allowed their daughter to spend time with Andrea and Chris while he was up in space for a year.

"Daddy! Andrea and her Daddy took me to the aquarium! Did you know that a walrus weighs over three-thousand pounds?"

When they finally got married, the transition from Andrea to Mommy was quick, showing how fast Joanna came to accept the new woman in her father's life. When Jocelyn died, part of Joanna's childhood went with her. While she loved Andrea and called her "Mommy", Jocelyn was her Mother. The woman that carried her for nine and a half months and spent two days in labor with her. The woman who cared for her, tending to every illness, nightmare and injury. She was also the woman that sent her father away, though she tried to make it up to the little girl, giving her whatever she wanted.

Then Lillian came, bringing the responsibility of being a big sister, while permanently living on Earth, while they zoomed through starts, hopping from planet to planet, system to system. Being in space and working the jobs that they had, made it difficult for Joanna to come up and visit them, especially when they were in range from Earth or on shore leave. After Lillian's birth, came Christopher's and they were fortunate enough that it was during shore leave and when Chris was with Jim and Spock for a meeting. Joanna never met Christopher as the happy, wiggly baby that Leo carried around whenever he had the chance; nestling against his chest as he walked from room to room as Lillian trailed behind with her toys, or the late night walk to the observation deck when Leo couldn't sleep. Then there was Holly, their sweet baby girl who was a big surprise for her parents. All three of their children weren't planned, especially Lillian who was a surprise after Andrea's miscarriage. But they were no doubt wonderful surprises, as they grew within Andrea and flickered on the ultrasound screen every week.

"Joanna Elizabeth!" Leo shouted, as he made his way down to the water. "You better start explain' to me why your mother is in the house cryin' her eyes out!"

Joanna turned to look at him, "She's NOT my mother!" she shouted.

"You are being a goddamn brat!" Leo snapped, standing in front of her now. "After everything she's done for you! You have the goddamn audacity to tell me that she's not your mother?"

"She sure as hell did give birth to me!" Joanna hissed. "She is just the woman who took you away from me! You left me and started a new life with her!"

Leo shook his head, "Jo, what did you want me to do? When you first met her, you were all up for me marryin' her and giving you siblings!"

She rolled her eyes, "Yeah and I figured you would still care enough about me, to the point where you still gave a shit about what I did down here!" she yelled. "All you did after Christopher was born, was tell me how I wasn't working hard enough in school and how I spent too much time running around with friends!"

"Because we want you walk away from school with an education, Jo!" he pressed, as she scoffed. "You are so much smarter than you let others believe, sweetheart! Your mother and I don't want you to look back and wonder how life could've been, if you didn't try."

"STOP CALLING HER MY MOTHER!" Joanna screamed.

Leo grabbed her by the arm, "Listen," he hissed. "We are on this family vacation because we want to spend time with you! Joanna, we are trying so goddamn hard here to understand what you're feeling so we can make this transition easier for you and for your brother and sisters!"

"I don't want to fix anything with you!" she tugged away. "There's nothing to fix because you'll never understand!"

"Then tell me!" Leo begged. "Jo, tell me what you want me to know! Please! I am begging you to enlighten me on what I've screwed up on in the last fourteen years of your life!"

Joanna shook her head, "You should've just left me alone!" she whispered, as tears filled her eyes. "You should've just left me alone with Mama, instead of trying to contact me. And you should've left me with her parents when she died!"

Leo shook his head, "You're my daughter, Jo. You are my daughter! My flesh and blood!" he shouted. "I didn't just take you from Georgia because the goddamn will say so! I took you out of there and brought you to San Francisco because it's where you belong! Yes the timing was awful because I wasn't there, and god I really wanted to be there for you! But if we left right in the middle of that tour, they could've court martialed us or kept one of us on the ship. And that would've been me, because your Mother was pregnant."

"Stop calling her my Mother!" Joanna said, through clenched teeth.

"Joanna, I don't know what to tell you, other than that I love you so much," he shook his head, reaching up to cradle her face.

She flinched, backing away from him. The move alone made his heart break, as she looked at him with distrust and hatred. "Jo-Jo, please," he whispered. "Please."

"After this stupid vacation, I want to go back to Georgia," she said, swiping at her face.

Leo nodded, "We can go wherever you want, Jo," he said. "You and Me! If that's what you want, sweetheart."

But Joanna shook her head, "No, I want to go to Georgia alone," she spat. "I don't want to live with you and Andrea anymore."

"W-what?"

"I want to live with Grandma and Grandpa," she said, squaring her shoulders. "And I never want to see you or your family again."

Leo blinked as the world around him crashed down, burning and breaking into a million pieces; his heart shattering in his chest as she stared at him with cold eyes. His baby girl. His Joanna. The hate he could've learned to deal with, because of course he screwed up with his first born. But to never see her again? To never hold her in his arms and watch her grow up and get married and have children of her own; to become an Olympian or a doctor or whatever she wanted to do in life? It was an impossible thought that he could not comprehend.

"Joanna, you don't mean that," he said, shaking his head. "Please Jo. Do you know what this would do to everyone who loves you? To your Mother? To Christopher, Lillian and Holly? Think about Grandpa, Jo! That man has bent over backwards along with your Uncle Phil, to make sure you went to school and every gymnastics practice. To every meet and competition, cheering you on in the stands when you won all of those medals. What about your Uncles? Huh? Uncle Jim, who loves you so much that he would kill anyone, along with me and your Grandpa, who dared to harm a hair on your head? And Aunt Nyota, who worships the ground you walk on. Do you understand what this would do to them? How it would break their hearts and kill them?"

She stood quietly, looking down at the waves that lapped at their feet.

"What about me, Jo? Huh?" he asked, pointing to himself. "I was part of creating you, Jo. My blood runs through your veins! You are my pride and joy, and I worship the ground you walk on. It may not seem like I do to you, but I swear to god I do! Yes, I made a lot of mistakes when you were little. I was a horrible husband to your Mama and I was a horrible father to you, drinking and pushing you two away. But I got better for you. I knew I had to if I ever wanted to see you again, so I pushed myself to get better and to make a living just to prove to you that I was worthy enough for your love."

Joanna turned her head, allowing the curtain of dark hair, the same shade as his, to cover her face; but he didn't miss the tears that filled her eyes.

"Not only did I get you back, but I also met someone who helped and encouraged me to stay better," he continued. "I never expected to get re-married, Jo. You have to understand that. I never planned on getting re-married until I met Andy, and I didn't tell you about her until I was sure that I wanted to be with her for the rest of my life. You know why?" he asked.

The teen made no notion of wanting an answer. "Because I wanted to make sure that she would get along with you, because if she didn't, I wouldn't have married her. Now, she loves you so much Jo. Your Mother would do anything for you and you know it; she would risk her life, just like I would risk mine to keep you and your brother and sisters safe. We would fight a goddamn war if that meant you four would be safe and unharmed. You are our life, Joanna. So if you leave, it would look a hell of a lot darker. Please, please, don't say that you never want to speak to us again. I will do anything to keep you, because I cannot lose you again."

Finally, Joanna turned and looked at him, the tears streaming down her face. "Oh Jo-Jo," he shook his head, moving to step forward, only to have her step back.

"Then let me go," she whispered, before turning on her heel.

"JO!" he shouted, as she took off running. "JOANNA! COME BACK!"

But she didn't stop. She didn't turn back either, as she ran and ran until he couldn't see her anymore.

…..

Meanwhile, as Lillian and Christopher chatted back and forth on one edge of the bed; oblivious to the fact that only a few hours ago, they hated each other, Andrea sat with Holly.

"How are we doing in here?" Chris asked, knocking on the door. "Are we all playing nicely."

"Grandpa!" Christopher waved. "Mommy's feeding Holly!"

Chris looked over at Andrea, and saw the blanket that covered her, indicating that it was in fact lunchtime. "I can see that," Chris said, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Dad, you've seen me do this before," Andrea shook her head. "It's normal."

"But I'm your Father," he whined. "It's hard for me to stand here and watch you do.. that."

Andrea rolled her eyes, "You've seen them before, Dad," she sighed, before peering down under the blanket. "I remember plenty of times when I threw up all over myself during the wonder stomach bugs I had, when you had to clean me up. I remember having boobs then. And it was you who took me for my first bra, since Aunt Kitty was on a business trip in Japan. God, you act like you've never seen boobs before! You're my Father for crying out loud! Stop being so dramatic!"

Chris scoffed, "That's different! You didn't have a baby attached to them at the time!" he said, blushing furiously. "Andromeda, please! I don't want to get into this conversation right now! Especially with these two."

Lillian and Christopher looked up at him, "Why are you yelling at Mommy?" Lillian asked, frowning at him. "Don't yell at Mommy!"

"I'm not yelling at Mommy," Christopher said, mussing up her ponytail. "I see you two have made up since our little disaster earlier."

"Which Grandpa has told me about," Andrea said, fixing her stare on Lillian. "You, little miss, are this close to being grounded for life."

Lillian pouted, "But Mommy!" she whined. "It's old news!"

Chris chuckled, "Your Uncle Jim is a bad influence on you two," he shook his head, as Christopher stood up on the mattress.

"Uncle Jim is weenie head!" he giggled, which then made Lillian giggle. "A damn weenie head!"

Andrea gasped, "Christopher David!" she scolded. "Where in world did you hear that word?" she asked.

The four year old turned around quickly, "Daddy!" he answered quickly, taking note of the change in Andrea's tone. "Mama no yell!"

"I'm going to yell at your Father when he gets in," she shook her head, looking up at the ceiling. "God, why me! Whyyyy?"

Chris picked the boy up, "We don't say those words unless you're a grownup, Christopher," he said. "And your Uncle Jim is not a weenie head. He's a… silly goose."

He giggled, "Silly goose," he repeated, as his Grandfather nodded. "Silly goose! Silly goose!"

Lillian giggled from her spot on the bed, "Silly goose! Silly goose!" she chanted. "Mama! Silly goose!"

"Thanks Daddy," she glared at her father. "Now I'll have to hear this all weekend."

Chris sighed, "Who wants a late afternoon story?" he asked, looking between the two children. "How about we go get a book from the other room, that way Mommy can finish feeding Holly and we'll come back and read it to them?"

Lillian quickly stood up from the bed, "Me! Me! Me!" she yelled, jumping up and down. "Storytime!"

"Easy!" Andrea held her hand up, holding onto the back of Lillian's nightshirt. "Go with Grandpa and pick out a book."

Setting Christopher down on the floor, Chris turned and picked Lillian up, "Okay! Let's go get a book!" he said, as the kids ran out of the room. "Just shout when you're done."

Once they left the room, Andrea pulled the blanket down off of Holly. "Grandpa is a baby," she muttered, shifting the infant in her arms. "Goodness Holly girl, you sure have your Daddy's appetite."

Holly looked up at her through heavy lidded eyes, her tiny hand caressing her chest, while the other lay against her side. Andrea gently brushed the red curls away from her forehead and smiled, "You're getting so big, baby girl," she shook her head.

Once the infant was done, she pulled away from her Mother's breast and blinked up at her. Wiping her mouth with the edge of the blanket, Andrea sat up and placed her down on the bed, so she could pull her nursing bra up and her shirt down. Then, she carefully picked Holly up with one arm, while using her free hand to toss the burp rag over her shoulder.

"Here we go," she cooed, setting Holly against her shoulder. "I don't know how you can drink all that milk, baby. You're a peculiar little girl, crying all the time and eating like your starving. Mommy and Daddy wish there was a way to understand what you're feeling, that way we can make you feel better."

Holly cooed against her shoulder, as Andrea patted her back lightly. "Maybe it's all the bad energy in the house," Andrea sighed. "Can you sense all of that, Holly girl? Maybe crying is your way of telling everyone to shut up and start being nice to one another."

The loud burp followed by the babble of noises came quickly, as Holly wiggled against her. "All done?" Andrea asked, as she moved the infant away from her shoulder.

The baby gave her a gummy grin, when Andrea noticed it. The little white cap on the bottom gum, pushing up and out.

"You have a tooth coming in!" Andrea gasped, feeling idiotic for not realizing. "Is that why you've been crying so much? After all these months of diaper rashes, fevers and teething, you use crying as a way to communicate!"

Holly shoved the fingers of one hand into her mouth, while kicking her feet up at Andrea. "Mommy will have to buy some gel for you tomorrow," she said, bringing her free hand up to her mouth. "My little girl has her first tooth coming in!"

"Mama! We have a storyyy!" Lillian called out, as she ran down the hall. "Come on Grandpa! Storytime!"

"Easy kiddo," Chris laughed. "Mommy are you done?"

Andrea scooped Holly up into her arms and laughed, "Hurry up my babies!" she called out. "We're patiently waiting for you and your story!"

Feeling slightly relived, Andrea sat back against the pillows and smiled as her children ran into the room; her father close behind, helping them onto the bed. While things were relaxed in the beach house, as Chris sat down on the other side of the bed as the two eldest children sat between them, Andrea only hoped the same could be said for Leo and Joanna.