Chapter 29
A/N: This is again a two parter, I know Jocelyn is a bit of bitch in this chapter but then I think if she can take 'the whole damn planet in the divorce' than I think she would be.
Jim is greeted at the door to his room by a rather mellow McCoy and his young daughter Joanna. Jim drops his bag and picks Joanna up and spins her around causing her to giggle uncontrollably, they hug and then she runs back to her daddy who gives her the biggest smile that Jim has ever seen on McCoy's face.
"How are you Jim?"
"I'm good."
"You look it. How was your first week of shore-leave? Was it too much to spend it with Spock?"
Jim flashes him a grin.
"No it was great, Spock was really nice. He bought me flowers and took me out to dinner, it was really nice. Chris and Syrek were great obviously. They have come up with a new design for the enterprise so that families can be taken on board which is awesome. I can stay on the ship as the captain and raise my daughter. It also means that we are getting another two weeks shore-leave, I've sent everyone a message letting them know."
McCoy gives Jim a hug and Jim dumps his bag by the end of one of the beds.
"How was your week? Been up to anything good?"
McCoy smiles and picks up his daughter.
"This week has been awesome and I'm looking forward to having another two weeks with my baby girl."
Joanna giggles again and both men watch she curls into her father, the smile on her face could re-ignite the sun, both men grin.
"We went to the zoo and saw all the animals, and we went to see the aquarium. She's really into animals at the moment."
Joanna nods her head at this and both men smile again. Jim watches the scene before him and cant wait until he can hold his daughter in his arms, he subconsciously rubs his stomach just over the place of where his daughter is growing inside of him. McCoy smiles when he watches Jim. Jim has gained weight in the last week and looks better than he has since before Spock's Pon-Farr. He can see how happy Jim is and he knows why; pike has being telling him everything that has been happening as neither trust Spock. McCoy sits down next to Jim on the bed. Joanna has fallen asleep in McCoy's arms so he makes sure not to let her go. His heart feels so full at having his daughter in his arms and is dreading the day that he has to go back into space and be parted from her again, he is glad that it wont happen to Jim. He looks at his best friend who is also showing signs of fatigue.
"Jim, you al-right? You look tired."
"Yeah, I've got a small headache that's all."
"Do you want something for it?"
"Nah I'm al-right. I think it's because I stayed up late last night."
"Al-right but let me know if it gets worse which it will as Jocelyn is joining us for lunch."
Jim looks surprised.
"I thought she was going to let you be alone with Joanna for the two weeks without interfering?"
"She was supposed to but..."
McCoy checks to make sure that Joanna is actually asleep before continuing.
"That witch has decided that she doesn't want to play fair. I don't want to give her any ammunition or she'll stop me from seeing Joanna for the remainder of my leave so I'll be good and you should be as well. She could cause us both problems considering as she is now dating Komack, I know he is no longer an admiral but he still has friends in high places, fortunately he is not coming with us to lunch."
"How could she date him? Even she should have better taste than that."
McCoy grins.
"I know but hey there's no accounting for taste."
There's a knock at the door so Jim gets up off the bed and answers the door, out in the hallway is Jocelyn. She brushes past Jim she doesn't even say hello, she immediately heads over to McCoy and Joanna. She strokes Joanna's hair and then looks at McCoy.
"Let's go because I've got a meeting in twenty-four hours on Andorra and we have to leave in an hour."
McCoy looks horrified.
"But I've got her for another week."
Jocelyn looks smug and not in the least bit sorry when she replies.
"I'm sorry but I'm not going to another planet without my daughter."
McCoy pulls Joanna a bit closer and kisses her forehead. Jim moves over to McCoy he puts a hand on McCoy's shoulder.
"You cant take her from me, we had an agreement that I would have her for the two weeks without any interference from you, you promised that we would have two weeks. I haven't seen her in six months, you didn't even bring her to my graduation."
"That doesn't make any difference Len I'm taking my daughter with me."
"You cant do that Jocelyn. I'm gonna get my lawyer on the phone. This is not fair she is my daughter too, I have a right to see her as well."
Jocelyn looks mad with rage.
"No she's not."
McCoy goes still, terror fills his heart and panic fills his mind.
"What do you mean she's not?"
"Exactly what I just said, she's not your daughter, now hand her back over and we'll leave."
McCoy clutches Joanna even closer, he doesn't want to parted from her.
"You cant just say something like that and then just leave."
Jocelyn glares at Jim
"This is none of your business Captain Kirk. Now hand over my daughter and you can forget about the meal I'm taking her with me now."
McCoy thinks long and hard before replying to Jocelyn, and then he stands up and glares at Jocelyn.
"No what we are gonna do is we are gonna head to the medical facilities in Atlantic City and we are gonna get a DNA test and then once that's done I'm gonna get my lawyer to sue for full access, I never fought on the access rights because I believed that Joanna deserved to know her mother but now I know that was a mistake and I do not want my daughter to turn into a miserable selfish bitch like you."
McCoy looks at Jim.
"Jim grab your bag, if Joanna is proved to be mine we will need to stay in San Francisco while we wait for it to go through Star fleets courts."
McCoy glares back at Jocelyn and then leaves the room and heads down to where Jocelyn has parked the air car and waits for the other two to arrive, he keeps pacing trying to work off his anger before Joanna wakes and sees. It's not long before he hears Jim and Jocelyn arriving he manages to catch the tail end of the conversation and hears Jocelyn call Jim a few rather nasty and disgusting words, he cant believe that he ever married someone who was so close minded and cruel as her, he is just grateful that Christine is nothing like her which is probably the reason why he was attracted to her in the first place. Jim is quiet when he heads over to McCoy, he wants to give Jim some comforting words but Joanna starts to waken in his arms and so he just smiles; it seems to work just as well as Jim looks more confident and at ease with himself. Jocelyn opens the car up and McCoy puts Joanna into the car seat in the back, Jim gets in beside her and she smiles at him, she looks very sweet as she is still half asleep. McCoy closes the door and gets in the front next to Jocelyn and they take off.
They head towards Atlantic City, the car is very quiet and tense, McCoy keeps throwing dark looks at Jocelyn, while Jim keeps trying to play games with Joanna, the road seems to stretch out before them for miles ahead. They are not driving long when something starts to go wrong with the engine, it begins to sputter and it suddenly stops working and they plummet from the sky and car crashes into a tree on the side of the road. There is no one around for miles and so no one sees it crash.
