Title: The Basics of Primary Ed., Part 34
Author: Caera1996
Pairing: Kirk/McCoy
Rating: This part G. NC-17 overall.
Disclaimer: Still not mine.
Summary: Kindergarten AU – Jim is a kindergarten teacher. Leonard is the parent of a student. This part: What happened after the attempted abduction.
A grape flavored snow cone had gone a long way towards calming Joanna down and putting a purple-stained smile on her face, her tears and fear from earlier all but forgotten. Unfortunately, there was no such quick fix for her father. Leonard wanted to get Joanna out of there, take her home, and keep her there. Preferably until she turned thirty. He stayed where he was, though, holding her in his lap, while they waited in the cafeteria as he'd been asked so that she could talk to the police. On one hand, he hoped she could help – the next child may not be so lucky. On the other, he just wanted this day to be over more than he wanted almost anything else at this point.
Besides still feeling the remnants of panic, Leonard was also heartsick, the look on Jim's face as he'd coldly sent him away replaying itself over and over in his head. He'd been so scared – and Leonard just didn't do scared well. Scared always turned out one of two ways. Either he would completely shut down and run, or he would lash out at the nearest target. In this case, Jim was the nearest target. And, at the time, Leonard had firmly believed that what had happened was his fault. That he'd taken his eyes and attention off of Joanna – that he'd forgotten about her. And he'd been so very angry. But now, after having the opportunity to calm down and take a step back from the edge, he was regretting what he'd done and how he'd acted. He was still angry – Jim should have been paying more attention – but the desire to assign blame to what could have been a tragedy was gone.
When the school resource officer arrived in the cafeteria, he quickly stopped Leonard from asking Joanna any questions about what happened to her.
"It's very, very easy to accidentally ask leading questions that might make a young child give details that aren't necessarily true. Let's wait for the police to get here – someone with experience in interviewing children will talk to her." Leonard nodded, but was concerned about whether or not Joanna would actually talk to them, or if her typical reaction to adults she didn't know – shyness and reticence – would be an obstacle. The police arrived just a couple of minutes later and two of them came over to talk to Joanna.
"Hi Joanna. I'm Lilly, and this is my friend, Tom. Can I ask you some questions about the things that happened this afternoon?" Wide-eyed, Joanna shrunk back against him, nervously fiddling with her hair. Lilly looked at Leonard in askance, and he just shook his head helplessly.
"Joanna," he said. "Can you be a big girl and answer some questions for Lilly?"
"Daddy," she whispered. "Where's Uncle Jim?" He sighed. In hindsight, it had been a mistake to dismiss Jim like he had. Not only had it been a knee-jerk reaction that had undoubtedly hurt him, it was also a stupid decision. Jim could have helped with this if he were here. He would know how to interview a child, and Joanna would talk to him.
"I don't know, Baby…but it's very important to help the police and answer their questions. Can you do that for me?"
As Joanna was prone to one-word answers and shrugs when she was feeling bashful, it had taken quite a while to pull the whole story out of her. In the end, though, Leonard had a pretty good idea of what had happened, and it made him feel even worse about how he'd treated Jim.
Standing right next to Jim, Joanna watched him throw two balls and miss both.
"What happened next?" Lilly asked, keeping her voice friendly and gentle. Tom stood silently by, unobtrusively taking notes as they spoke.
"He tried again," Joanna replied. Lilly smiled at her encouragingly as she fiddled with her father's watch on his wrist.
"And then what happened?" she prompted after a moment. Joanna shrugged.
"Did you see what happened?"
"No," she answered quietly, shaking her head.
"How come?" Joanna bit her lip and kept her eyes down. Lilly exchanged a glance with Leonard. "Joanna, you're doing so good, and being such a big help. It's okay to tell me everything that happened. You're not in any trouble and your daddy's not going to be mad at you for anything." Lilly looked up at Leonard, giving him a significant hint. He caught it immediately.
"That's right, Darlin'. You just tell Lilly everything that happened. Nothing that happened was your fault and you're not in any trouble at all."
"I'm sorry Daddy," she said quietly, leaning into his chest while keeping her eyes downcast. He stroked her hair gently, and dropped a kiss to the top of her head.
"About what, Baby?" he asked, ignoring the warning glance Lilly shot his way. He was supposed to keep quiet and not ask her questions. Screw 'em, he thought. She was his little girl – he'd do as he damn well pleased. And right now, he wanted to comfort her.
"I know I'm not supposed to go with strangers," she said.
"Is that what happened?" Lilly asked. Joanna nodded.
"But I didn't know it was a stranger. I didn't see. I was trying to watch Uncle Jim," she explained. Leonard felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. It sounded like this was even less Jim's fault than he'd even originally thought.
"What made you go with him?" Joanna shrugged again.
"I don't know…I just thought it was Daddy standing next to me and I just held out my hand," she said. Leonard sat numbly, rubbing his daughter's back gently. She was there for the first two throws, and had seen them both miss the target. She'd seen him throw the third, but didn't see what happened. Leonard came back just in time to see Jim throw and miss the fourth and final ball…how many seconds between the second miss and the third throw? Or what about between the third throw and the fourth miss? Leonard swallowed against a suddenly dry mouth as he realized he'd probably walked right by the man leading his daughter away.
When they were finally done, Leonard stood, holding Joanna in his arms. She rested her head on his shoulder.
"Are we going home Daddy?" She sounded tired.
"In just a few minutes, Baby," he answered. He could see Dr. Spock talking to another police officer. He headed over there – he needed to thank him for saving his daughter.
"Dr. McCoy." He stopped and turned when he heard Nyota Uhura's voice behind him.
"Ms. Uhura," he said. "Did you find him?"
"No, unfortunately. But Dr. Spock was able to provide a very detailed description. The police are canvassing the surrounding area and looking at all the footage from the security cameras. They'll find him." She paused, reaching a hand towards Joanna's back. She let it hover there uncertainly for a moment before pulling back without touching her. Nyota's tightly suppressed stress at the situation, and relief for her student's safety, was palpable. "I just wanted to say how sorry I am that this happened. Nothing like this-" she broke off, and Leonard nodded tightly in understanding. But it didn't matter that it never happened before. All it takes is for it to happen once for lives to be forever changed. The school should have been more careful – the entrance and exit to the field guarded more closely. He was tempted to give Nyota an earful…but now, with his daughter in his arms…was not the time. And, if the look on Nyota's face was any indication, it was a lesson very well-learned anyway. "There are no words to express to you how relieved I am that she's safe." Nyota said, emotion in her voice and her eyes.
"Thank you," he said sincerely. "If you'll excuse me, I need to talk to Dr. Spock."
"Of course," Nyota replied. She hesitated. "I hope you have a good summer."
"You too," he replied distractedly, already moving away. Gently, he shifted Joanna slightly in his arms. If she wasn't already asleep, tired out by the activity and stress of the day, she was going to be soon. She felt completely limp against him.
"Dr. McCoy," Spock said when he caught sight of Leonard. "I trust Miss McCoy is well?"
"She's fine – just tired. I just wanted to say thank you, so very much for intervening the way you did."
"No thanks is necessary. I did only what anyone else would have done in a similar situation," Spock replied.
"Be that as it may," Leonard said. "It wasn't anyone who stopped the guy from walking out of here with her. It was you. Thank you." Spock inclined his head.
"You are welcome."
"Hello?"
"Sam."
"Jim, you okay?" Sam asked, concerned. Jim never called his cell phone in the middle of the day when he was at work.
"I fucked up Sam. He's gonna leave me," Jim's voice cracked and he had to stop. He took a deep breath and wiped his eyes. Hunched over his kitchen table, head supported by his hand, Jim felt crushed by guilt and misery. "And I don't blame him."
Sam was alarmed by how despondent Jim sounded, and moved to the office, closing the door so he could talk to his brother in private. "What happened Jim?"
Haltingly, Jim told Sam about the events that had taken place that afternoon. How Leonard trusted him to watch Joanna, how he was more focused on the game than on the child. How someone had just taken her away, right from under his nose, and he hadn't even noticed. How, if Dr. Spock had arrived just a second before or after, this day could've ended as a nightmare.
"How could I do that Sam? How could I be so, so stupid-"
"Jim, man, come on. Stop it. You're not stupid. It was an accident – it could've happened to anyone. It could've happened to Leonard."
"No, it would never happen to Leonard. She's…Sam, she's his life. She's more important to him than anything," More important to him than I am, Jim added silently. "And I almost took her from him." Jim squeezed his eyes closed, and wiped his cheeks. "He was furious…he's never looked at me like that before."
"Jim, he was scared. But you listen to me. What happened was not your fault. It's not like you walked away or left her somewhere. She was next to you, and then she wasn't. Once Leonard calms down he'll realize that. Do you remember when Janie got away from me at Six Flags?"
Oh, yeah…Jim remembered. Two years ago, an otherwise fun family trip had been marred by two terrifying hours when Janie disappeared while Aurelan was in the restroom. Jim was with Kimmie on one of the water slides, and Sam lost sight of her in the crowd when she darted away from him. Sam had been frantic, and Aurelan inconsolable. Luckily, she was a plucky three year old, and she knew to go to a park employee and inform him that she lost her family. He'd taken her to the security office and there she played while park officials made announcements in the area where she asked for help.
"Aurelan was so angry with me," Sam said. "I thought we might actually be in real trouble. We weren't, of course. But it did take her a couple of days to get back to normal. It's the scariest thing a parent can go through. And this was, well, this was worse than what happened with Janie – but it still wasn't your fault. Give him a couple of days, Jim. He'll come around."
"What if he doesn't?" Jim asked. "What if I've lost him?"
"Then he's an absolute idiot who doesn't know how lucky he is." Sam paused, listening to his brother's hitched breathing on the line. It had been a while since he'd heard him so upset. Probably not since their mother died. Jim really loved him. "But Jim," Sam continued. "You know he's not an idiot. And, I've seen the way he looks at you as clear as day. It'll be all right." He injected as much assurance into his voice as he could. It wasn't difficult. He really believed Leonard would come around.
"So what should I do?" Jim asked. "How can I ever make it up to him?"
"Just give him some time and space," Sam advised. "It'll be okay."
Though it was still relatively early, Leonard was exhausted. After putting Joanna to bed, he'd stayed in her bedroom until she'd fallen asleep, and then he stayed longer, just watching her and thanking that god he was coming closer to believing existed for watching over his little girl today. Finally, when it was fully dark outside, he stood up and made his way quietly out of the room, his footsteps and the quiet click of the door closing inaudible over the sound therapy machine.
He collapsed on the couch with a glass of bourbon. He didn't drink often, but if there was ever a time it was appropriate, this was it. The rest of the day had passed in a blur. Undeterred by the events at the festival, Joanna had woken from her brief nap on the drive home, and immediately asked where Uncle Jim was. Originally, the plan was that Jim would spend the afternoon with Joanna so Leonard could go to the hospital. That wasn't the case anymore. Although he felt badly about how he'd treated Jim, he wasn't ready to talk to him yet. It was too soon, his feelings still too raw. That hadn't set well with Joanna, who'd been looking forward spending time with him, and didn't understand her father's need to keep her close to him right now. He'd managed to compromise with her by taking her to the community pool himself and having pizza for dinner with ice cream for dessert. But all afternoon and evening she'd asked why Uncle Jim didn't want to play with her.
"Is he mad at me Daddy?" she'd asked. "Because I left? I didn't mean to."
"No, Baby. Uncle Jim isn't mad at you at all. Nobody is. You didn't do anything wrong. He just…something came up that he had to take care of." Joanna had seemed to accept this answer, for which Leonard was grateful. He just didn't know how to explain what was really going through his head to a five year old. Even one as astute at Joanna.
He frowned into his drink, uncomfortable with the way things were left today. Jim was a part of his life, and Joanna's life. It felt wrong to not have him here, with them. Maybe he should call him, ask him to come over. He needed to fix this with Jim – but after he'd treated Jim that way, so dismissively, maybe Jim wouldn't be interested in hearing from him. That possibility made Leonard's stomach clench. And then there still the issue of what had happened. He knew know that it wasn't really Jim's fault, but his mind kept returning to the fact that he'd left Joanna with him…and he hadn't realized that she wasn't there until Leonard asked. Granted, they were talking about a matter of seconds, but still, this was his daughter. With all of this tumbling around in his head, the sound of the phone ringing startled him. Sighing, he reached for the handset on the side table. Glancing at the caller ID, he frowned. It wasn't Jim.
"Leonard McCoy," he answered.
"Mr. McCoy, this is Lilly Carmichael. I spoke to you and your daughter earlier today."
"Of course, officer," Leonard replied, immediately concerned. "What can I do for you?"
"Please, call me Lilly. I just wanted to let you know that we got him," she said. Leonard closed his eyes and his whole body relaxed from tension he hadn't even realized he was holding.
"Thank god," he murmured. "Where? How?"
"Dr. Spock was able to provide a very detailed description of him. He lived in a neighborhood a few miles away. Someone recognized him and called it in."
"So what happens now? Is Joanna going to need to testify?" Leonard wasn't sure how he felt about that.
"Well, it's still early, but I don't think so. There are other…victims…whose testimony is going to be more applicable. He's being charged with things more serious than kidnapping."
Oh, god.
"How many?"
"Mr. McCoy, I can't really discuss the case with you, but it appears he's done this before…used the confusion of fairs, field days, and other large groups to gain access to children," Lilly said. Leonard closed his eyes, swallowing around the bile that was rising in his throat.
"How?" Leonard croaked.
"I'm sorry?" Lilly said, not understanding what Leonard was asking.
"How does he just – walk in and get a child to go with him?" Lilly sighed.
"These predators are very, very good at what they do. They're good at appearing normal, friendly even. They're good at hiding in plain sight, and you wouldn't know what they were if you met one on the street. And…they're good at choosing the children they take. They look for kids who seem quiet, less assertive, less likely to make a fuss – easier to intimidate and control. They observe and make their selection carefully." She paused, remembering the other man she'd spoken to after the father and daughter had left. "The person watching Joanna-"
"Jim. Jim Kirk," Leonard supplied.
"Yes. He was extremely distraught over what had happened…blamed himself for it. I told him the same thing I'm telling you now. I've worked cases where children are taken out of the stroller their mother was pushing them in when she stopped to sneeze. It's disturbing. It's disgusting. And it's no one's fault but the criminal who spends his life perfecting his crime." Leonard nodded, then remembered she couldn't see him.
"Thank you," he said, voice hoarse. "For letting me know he's off the street."
"You're welcome."