A/N: WOW! Thank you all who responded to my update about continuing this story. I'm so happy that you guys want more. I might change the flow of this story just a bit. I think I'm going to have it where we get Uhura's and McCoy's perspective instead of just hers. Who would've thought me meeting Karl Urban a couple of weeks ago would spark my passion to write again. Thank you, Karl! Ok, enough talking, let's get started.

Leonard woke up the next day with a slight hangover from the night before. After the first glass of wine last night, he felt like it was not enough to take the edge off with how the night ended. So they had snuck in and out of the kitchen to get snacks and a couple of bottles of wine. They also stayed up much later than planned as they had talked to each other on the balcony. Conversations ranged from her talking about her upbringing in Africa to adventures of them aboard the Enterprise.

Leonard signed heavily as he opened his eyes. To his surprise, Nyota was not in bed with him. Propping himself on his elbows he scanned the room for her. She wasn't in sight. He glanced at the clock on the end table next to him. It was just a little after seven in the morning. The sun was already up and filling the room with its warm beams of light. The gentle breeze from the open balcony doors was a good way to wake up. He laid back down on the bed and put his arms behind his head. Thoughts of yesterday were swimming in his head. He couldn't believe he was doing this. For what, money? Or was it that he genuinely wanted to help Nyota out? It was stupid of him to do this. What if her family found out the truth? Would her parents really make her stay and not come back to Starfleet? She was a grown woman, how could they force her to stay here? So many questions buzzed in his head that it made his headache worse. He wasn't going to lie to himself either. He was deathly afraid to sleep in the same bed as her. He knew nothing would happen between them, but a bed was so intimate. He made sure to give her plenty of space between them with his back towards her the whole night. It did not help that he has always had a liking for her, but never pursued anything because she was dating Spock. Even after they broke up, she still felt out of his league. Now he was spending more time with her and those feelings he tucked away were coming back.

The bathroom door on the other side of the bed opened to reveal Nyota in a towel wrapped around her body and another towel around her head.

"Oh!" Nyota jumped. "I didn't expect you to be awake. Was I too loud in the bathroom?" She asked.

"Nah, I just woke up a moment ago. Didn't know where you went." McCoy said. He tried not to look at her while she was in her towel as she made her way to her bag to look for clothes. She was undeniably beautiful and seeing her in a towel didn't help his situation.

"Just need to grab some clothes and I'll head back in the bathroom to change. You can get in once I'm done." She said with her clothes draped over her arm, heading back to the bathroom and closing the door. Now the image of a half-naked and wet Nyota Uhura was burned into his brain. A chime came from his personal PADD in his bag. He rolled out of bed to grab it. He looked on the screen and saw it was Kirk's name displayed.

"Damn." He huffed. He tapped the screen to respond. Jim's face lit up once he saw his friend's face. "Hey there Jim! Miss me already?"

"You know I do, Bones. How's Georgia treating you?"

"Uh, change of plans. I didn't go home. I'm in Africa." Leonard gave a nervous chuckle. Kirk's face turned into confusion.

"What are you doing there?" Kirk asked.

"You won't believe it."

"Try me."

"I'm here with Uhura." Kirk's eyes went wide with delight. For a moment Leonard could tell his friend was speechless.

"Bones, did you guys hook up or something? Did you finally tell her that you like her?" Leonard placed a finger to his lips to signal Kirk to be quiet. "Oh man is she in the room now?"

"No, she's in the bathroom, but you're so loud the whole damn planet can hear you." Leonard took a seat on the bed. "It's a rather long story, but basically she needs me to pretend to be her fiancé and show me off to her parents so she can return to Starfleet."

"YOU'RE MEETING HER PARENTS?" Kirk said loudly.

"Yes, dammit I am. You don't have to yell." The bathroom door came open again. This time Nyota was dressed in an orange sundress and her hair was in damp waves.

"Why are you yelling?" She asked.

"Hi Uhura!" Kirk said cheerfully. Clearly he could hear her in the background. Nyota went over to the bed and sat down next to Leonard.

"Kirk?" She said to him and then looked at Leonard. "Please don't tell me you told him?"

"Just the cliff note version." Nyota groaned at his admittance. "Jim is our friend. He's not going to judge or tell anyone."

"Bones is right. I have no clue what's going on, but if this thing is going to stop you from coming back to the Enterprise then I want you guys to do whatever you can to get you to stay, lieutenant." Kirk said. Nyota placed her hands on her face. Coming to the realization, Leonard probably shouldn't have said anything to his friend. He could see the embarrassment and frustration in her body language.

"Listen, Jim, I'll call you later. Ok?"

"Sure thing Bones." Kirk got the hint. "You guys take care." Leonard nodded and ended the call. The two sat there silently on the bed not knowing what to say next. He finally broke the tension and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry for telling him. I promise he's the only one I said anything to and I won't tell anyone else." He said. She wiped her eyes quickly to get rid of the tears that were forming. The one thing he hated to see was a pretty girl cry, especially if he caused it. He removed his hand from her shoulder and wrapped it around her back. "Hey, you ok?" When he asked it took her a moment to respond, but how she responded caught him off guard. She eased into him and leaned her head on the crook of his neck. His arm pulled her closer to give her more comfort. She took in a deep breath and relaxed.

"Do you think I'm a horrible person, Leonard?" She asked softly. Just the use of his first name caused him to smirk.

"No, of course, I don't."

"But all the lies. I don't ever tell lies. Plus I dragged you into this mess."

"I mean it's not the best thing in the world, but you panicked. Now you're in this situation with your ship's doctor." She laughed softly. "And don't worry about me. I'll survive."

"I know. It wasn't smart, but I love Starfleet. I can't imagine not being in it. I love the Enterprise and the crew. Losing that would be losing a part of me. It's home." Leonard could relate. After the divorce, he didn't have much to his name and Starfleet was the only thing welcoming him with open arms.

"I know what you mean about calling Starfleet home. Don't worry, I will help make sure you come back home."

-0-0-0-

Once Leonard and Nyota got dressed they made it downstairs to the kitchen where they found it was already buzzing around with commotion. The private cooks prepared a large breakfast for the family. Nyota's siblings were already sitting having breakfast with their kids. She finally met up with her many nieces and nephews. From what she remembered they were so small the last time she saw them, but now they are getting so big. She hugged and kissed them all and introduced them to Leonard as their new uncle. They had joined the table and started eating. The kids were really excited and started asking them about their adventures in space. Leonard was really animated about the stories he shared. He talked about when the Enterprise escaped a black hole and how he jumped off a cliff into the sea with Captain Kirk. He went even as far as taking his fork, jamming it into a sausage and pretended it to be a spaceship while making ship thrusters noises with his mouth. Leonard had the kid's full attention. This was another side of him she never knew existed. She's always known him to be cantankerous, but now he was relaxed and full of life. Who is this man and what did he do with Doctor McCoy?

"Did you know your aunt and I saved our Captain's life?" He said, taking a bite into his eggs. The kids gasped and looked at their aunt to confirm if it was true.

"Is that true?" Micah, her eldest nephew asked.

"Yup, we did." She smiled. Two pairs of footsteps from the hallway came into the kitchen. She looked to the kitchen's entrance to see it was her mother and father walking in together.

"Saving your Captain's life? Sounds like a pitiful Captain if he needs his crew to save him." Mr. Uhura said. "Nyota shot Leonard a look. He looked upset that her father talked poorly about his best friend. "Nyota, I thought you were out exploring space, not on a suicide mission."

"Baba, we do explore space, but other things come up. That's why I went to the Academy to train so that I could prepare myself for whatever is out there. Also, our Captain is one of the best Captains in the fleet and our friend. I would appreciate it if you didn't call him pitiful." She said with a little bit of annoyance in her voice. Her father sucked in a breath of air as though he was going to scold his daughter, but her mother stepped in.

"What your father is trying to save is that he didn't expect you would be having so many risky adventures." Her mother said.

"I'm off to work." said, placing a kiss on his wife's forehead.

"Baba, you're going to work? I just got here. You can't stay home?"

"I know Nyota, but a business doesn't run itself. I'll see you later on." Mr. Uhura said. He looked at his grandkids and children to give them a nod. "Kids, have a good day." His eyes met with Leonard's, but he didn't say anything to him. He grabbed his bag off the counter and left the room.

"Well, that wasn't awkward at all." Leonard grumbled when crossing his arms. "Didn't even say anything to me."

"Kids, how about you all go upstairs and get cleaned up so that we can go to the beach. Malik and Nyah, can I speak with Nyota and Leonard alone?" Mrs. Uhura said. The kids cheerfully rose from the table and left with their parents, leaving the three adults in the room. "Leonard, I'm sorry about my husband's behavior. He's just not accustomed to...change."

"It's ok I guess. I mean I'm a stranger to him." Leonard said, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. "These things take time."

"But he shouldn't pretend you don't exist." Nyota chimed in.

"I agree. Well, that's why I planned something for tonight." Mrs. Uhura said while pouring herself a cup of coffee. Nyota looked wide-eyed at her mother.

"Mama…" Nyota sighed.

"Don't worry it's nothing huge. I made reservations for dinner tonight at your favorite restaurant, La Parada. Just you, me, Leonard and Baba. That way we can fully get acquainted with Leonard." Nyota' s mother gave the two a gentle smile.

"Fine, that will be fine." Nyota sighed again. She just knew that moments with them together meant making sure they don't make any mistakes with their stories. She honestly was happy that her family was trying to make an effort, but just not under these circumstances.

"See darlin', everything will be alright." Leonard said while placing a hand on her hand and giving a gentle squeeze. A smile crept from her mouth. Something that American southern drawl and his warm embrace made her feel warm inside.

"I'm taking the kids and your sister to the beach today. It would be great if you kids would come as well." Mrs. Uhura said.

"Come on, let's go to the beach. I haven't been since we were on planet Risa." Leonard said.

Leonard and Nyota went with her family to their private beach. Besides her balcony looking out to the beach, Nyota loved going down to the water much more. It brought her so many memories as a kid when she and her siblings would play in the waves all day. Nyota was fortunate enough to find an old swimsuit in her room that miraculously somewhat could fit her from her teen years. Leonard on the other hand just wore shorts and was shirtless. She tried her best to not look at him without his shirt on as he walked ahead of her with the kids. She acted like she has never seen a man without a shirt on before, but something about him made her look at him differently. Of all the years she has known him, she's always seen him in uniform and rare occasions in casual clothing. She admired his lean build and straight posture. He was not too muscular or skinny, but enough she could tell he had some kind of fitness regimen. From his chest down to his navel he had sparse fine dark hair. Nyah who walked along the side of her nudged her arm and gave Nyota a smirk.

"I see you checking out your fiancé's body, little sister." Nyah said loudly.

"What? No, I wasn't." Nyota blushed. How on Earth did she notice that?

"Of course you were. You couldn't keep your mouth closed." Leonard, who was definitely in earshot range, heard Nyah. He didn't look back at Nyota, but she could see he was laughing to himself. If Nyota could she would have buried her head in the sand and stayed there all day. She never understood why her sister always had a big mouth. "You act like it's a bad thing to check your man out. That just means you like what you see."

"Ok Nyah thank you! I get the point."

One of her brother's kids ran up to Leonard and took him by the hand and led him to play with a beach ball near the water. While they played, Nyota found beach chairs and umbrellas and sat with her mom and sister.

"I will have to say Leonard does enjoy the kids." Her mother said.

"Oh yeah, Leonard loves kids." Nyota said. Even if it was a lie, it didn't seem that way.

"You did say he has a daughter. What's his daughter's name?" Nyah asked. Nyota's heart leaped by the question. How could she be this dumb? She never bothered to ask him about his daughter, especially her name. She tried to think back during their talks, but she didn't know such a simple answer. She couldn't make up her name, but what else could she do?

"Her name is Joanna." Her mother said. "He told me when we went shopping."

"Yes! Yes, her name is Joanna." Nyota said. Her heart at this point was beating very hard for her liking.

"Oh ok. So how does she feel about the whole engagement thing?" Nyah asked. Her sister just couldn't mind her own business.

"Uh...well she doesn't know yet, but we plan to tell her soon. I still have to meet her."

"Well Nyota, being a stepmother is not always the easiest thing in the world. Little girls love their fathers." Mrs. Uhura said while applying sunblock on her face.

"I know mama. Leonard and I talked about this. We know it won't be easy, but it will all go well." Nyota said. Actually she didn't know. She never thought about dating anyone with a child or to know what it's like for a new woman to come into the picture of a man's life who has a child. What is she even thinking about? She's not even dating Leonard. So why was she thinking about the well being of his daughter which she knows nothing about? All this talk about his daughter freaked her out. She got up from her seat and walked towards Leonard. He had just got done throwing the ball to the kids.

"Hey, you come to play?" He asked.

"I might as well so you can save me from my family. They were just asking me questions about your daughter."

"What did they ask?"

"Just about me being a stepmom. Also, you never told me your daughter's name. My sister asked me her name and I didn't know. Luckily you told my mom and she told her her name."

"That was close. Ok, maybe we can get some more alone time and we can just go over the basics."

"Good idea." She sighed. "I just want this to be over."

"Stop stressing and enjoy the sun. Come on and play dodgeball with us."

"Dodgeball? Never played it before."

"What? No way! You never played. Well, darlin' you're about to get taught by High Trail Middle School's dodgeball champion." He said as he gestured for the kids to throw him the ball. "Object of the game is to get as many people out on the other team as possible. So if I throw the ball and it touches you then you're out. Now if I throw it and you catch it then I'm out. Make sense?"

She nodded in understanding. Nyota's niece, Dora, walked over towards the adults.

"Can we play kids against adults?" Dora said while giving a toothless grin.

"Hmmm, 6 kids against 2 adults? That seems unfair, little lady." Leonard said.

"No, because kids are better than adults," Dora said while placing her small hands on her hips. Leonard and Nyota looked at each other with the mutual agreement that her logic didn't make sense, but they agreed with her team choice.

"Ok, fine kids against adults." Leonard said. Dora smiled and went to the kid's side. Leonard walked towards the kids but stopped halfway to dig his heel into the sand and created a defined line to separate the teams. He placed the ball in the center of the line and walked back to Nyota. "I'm going to count down and at one run and grab that ball."

"Got it!"

"3,2,1...GO!" Leonard yelled. To Nyota's surprise, the kids were fast and already grabbed the ball before she could. One of the boys grabbed the ball and came close to hitting Nyota, but Leonard caught the ball causing them to be out of the game. Leonard would at sometimes aimlessly throw the ball so that the kids would at least stand a chance. Nyota wasn't the best at catching, but she could dodge all day. One by one the kids were getting picked off. Eventually, Dora was left, but that didn't stop her from trying to win the game. Dora threw the ball and it smacked Leonard on the chest. Nyota knew that he did that intentionally for her niece. The other kids cheered on for Dora on the sidelines.

"Ready to give up, Dora?" Nyota playfully taunted.

"No way Aunt Ny!" Dora said confidently. Nyota picked up the ball and threw it, but missed her niece. Once Dora got up she grabbed the ball and charged toward her aunt. Nyota prepared herself to try and catch the ball until she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist, lift her up from the sand and move her towards Dora. To her surprise, it was Leonard that had grabbed her.

"What are you doing?" Nyota asked.

"Come on Dora, here's your shot," Leonard said. Dora tossed the ball hitting Nyota on her leg. "Looks like the kids win." All the kids got excited and praised Dora on her victory.

"That wasn't fair." Nyota said.

"Eh, I know I know. I just couldn't help myself." He said. When she went to move she noticed his arms were still around her. They weren't tight like before, but secured. She could feel the warmth of his chest against her back, his fingertips pressed gently on her skin, the stubble from his chin grazing her bare shoulder. He wasn't letting go and yet she was ok with this. As soon as she started feeling herself relax into him she stiffened up realizing what she was doing which caused him to let go. She turned to face him and noticed his cheeks were slightly pink in embarrassment.

"Um...sorry about that." He apologized.

"You don't have to apologize. It probably looks good that we show affection in front of my family."

"Yeah, you're probably right." He cleared his throat, picked up the ball and looked at the kids. "How about another round?"

A/N: Please let me know what you think. This was actually harder than I thought to finally get into the headspace of this story. Also with everything that is going on in the world I hope you are all doing well. I'll do my best to keep updating regularly so you have something to read. Take care all and please stay home! We need to kick this virus's butt.