"Arlene said that this is for you," Leonard said when he walked over to the garage of the other house on the Kirk property with a container of really good meatloaf and mashed potatoes.

"Just sit it over there," Jim sighed, her hands inside the engine of a car. "Where's Joanna?"

"Asleep in my car," he chuckled and glanced back to take a look at his daughter before looking at Jim. "Thank you for today."

"No problem. It's what I do. Protect, serve, don't let little girls sit outside the school alone," she chuckled.

"I guess. Your family said she could come over after school so she's not at the clinic with me. And they're refusing to let me pay for it."

"Not surprised. They're all here most of the time. I'm the only one who doesn't actually work on the farm year round. I help out if can but I'm not here that much," Jim told him. "Can you hand me that wrench?"

"Yea," Leonard said as he grabbed the tool and gave it to her. "This is a nice car. A nineteen sixty-five Chevrolet Corvette Stingray?" She gave him a nod. "I haven't seen one of these in person, ever. May I?"

"Go ahead," she smiled. Leonard opened the door on the driver's side and sat down. For a car this old, she took really good care of it, not that he's surprised. Jim seemed like the kind of person that doesn't leave things undone. If he didn't have Joanna, he'd probably have time for a car that required this much attention. "It was my dad's car. My brother used to drive it but after he got married and had Pete, he switched to a more family-friendly vehicle and gave her to me."

"I know all about that one. Going family-friendly, that is."

"I'm sure you do," she said as she closed the hood and leaned against the front fender.

Every time he's seen her, she had a smile on her face and a pep in her step but not today. Leonard found himself wanting to fix whatever was bothering her. "Are you okay?"

"MVA... err, car accident on the southern edge of the county with fatalities. I wasn't even working today… End up having to tell a mother that her seventeen-year-old wasn't coming home. If there's anything about my job that I hate, it's dead kids."

"You and me both. I'm sorry, Jim."

"You know what's worse? It could've been prevented. He was drinking, he wasn't wearing his seatbelt, speeding. I'm usually pretty good about keeping my work and my life separate but I can't shake it," she told him. "It's why I skipped dinner. I can't deal with my mom and all the crap in my head right now."

"I've had a few of those; cases that just weigh heavy on your heart. Usually, it means that there's something you're supposed to learn about yourself and that's why it sticks with you," he sighed.

"I know. The kid… he just reminded me of myself a little over a decade ago. I keep thinking that if Chris hadn't pulled me from my ledge, I would've gone over."

"How so?" Leonard asked. Jim gave him a look. "I'm the only person in town who doesn't know anything about you."

"You didn't hear all the rumors?"

"I never put much stock in rumors. They tend to be wrong."

"Good point," Jim chuckled. "My dad and Chris were friends. When my dad died, Chris did his best to keep an eye on us but when I was like seven, my mom married this guy, Frank Bower. He threatened Chris and told him to 'stay away from his family'. Since Chris wasn't actually related to us, there was nothing he could do."

"Sounds like there's more to the story."

"Frank was abusive and that's putting it mildly. When my mom wasn't around he'd beat on us. My brother would usually get the worst of it because he stuck up for me but trust me when I tell you, I can take a hit. We tried to tell but he just came up with some crap about us getting hurt doing our chores and nobody believed us. Mom still denies it even though she saw it at one point. Anyway, one day when I was twelve, Frank tossed me against the barn's back wall, held me there by my throat. Mom found us, she fought him off, kicked him out, divorced him."

"But the psychological damage was done." He's treated more of his fair share of abuse victims since he was in medical school to know that everyone has their own reactions.

"For years, my brother was the only person who ever showed me any kindness. Frank just... My brother became protective and overly cautious, even to this day he's careful about who gets close to him and to me. I, on the other hand, became a loose cannon. I was reckless, got into trouble, drank way more alcohol than any teenager should ever have access to, had absolutely no respect for authority. I didn't care. The way Chris phrased it; the only genius-level repeat offender in the Midwest with a whole lotta brains and no fuckin' sense."

"So, how did you go from that to this?" Leonard wasn't an idiot. The person she's describing herself as would probably be in jail, not the second in command of the sheriff's office.

"When I was fifteen, I got into some trouble up in Cedar Rapids. Cop that arrested me knew my dad and instead of booking me, he called Chris. Found myself sitting across from him at this crappy ass diner. He didn't say anything, he just waited and eventually I started talking. I felt like I'd been screaming at the top of my lungs my whole life and he was the first person to just listen. I'll admit, I wasn't nice to him at first, as far as I knew, he was just someone else who left us with Frank. That night, he gave me his phone number and made me promise to call him whenever I needed anything, anything. He kept his word. Answered my calls at two in the morning and talked me through whatever was rolling around in my head. Let me stay with him for a few days every time I ran away. He figured out the problem with my living arrangements."

"What was the problem?"

"I never felt safe in the big house, not that anyone could blame me. Most memories I have over there are bad. My mom… she wasn't much help, which is why I ran. Chris got me a job after school at the police station, washing the cars and cleaning the cells. When I graduated from high school, top of my class to the shock of many, they offered me a full-time job. When I was twenty, I decided to become a sworn officer, he wrote a five-page recommendation to the sheriff's department and they endorsed my application to the academy. Last year, after five years on the job, I got promoted to lieutenant; youngest ever in the department. A week later, Chris was elected sheriff. Oddly enough, I was the one who ended up showing him around. I don't know what I'd be doing right now if it wasn't for him keeping me out of trouble."

"And the kid today reminded you of all that?" he asked.

"Yea. He was drunk off his ass but that's no reason for him to die. It could've been me. A few times when I was a teenager, I wished it was."

"Don't think like that."

"I don't… now," she sighed. "I wouldn't do that to my brother or Chris. It's just… heavy on my heart, like you said." Jim looked at him. "You know, you're a really good listener."

"I'm pretty sure my ex would disagree with you."

"She can if she wants but you're not the cheater."

"How could you possibly know that?" Leonard gave her a look as he got out of the car and crossed his arms over his chest. Jim's eyes watching him with a hint of caution.

"Don't get all bent out of shape near my car. Divorces are public record unless a judge seals them. You don't talk about her, neither does Joanna. If the split was amicable, you wouldn't clench your jaw at the mere mention of the former Misses McCoy. Besides, you don't seem like the type who would cheat. So, am I right?" He looked at her. "I'm right."

"You are," Leonard nodded and shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. "I was scheduled to do a fourteen-hour surgery one day. The patient died two hours before we were due to prep him and there was nothing I could do. I decided that since I wasn't on call and I had more time than I was used to, I'd go home and get some rest. Found Lyn in bed with one of the lawyers she worked with. She tried to blame her actions on my father's death. How it was so hard for her like I didn't lose the man who loved me my whole life. Then she tried to blame it on Joanna and how I didn't love her as much after our daughter was born. Then it was how much I worked like she didn't meet me when I was pre-med. The more Lyn talked, the angrier I got. I didn't say anything, I just packed a bag for me and Jo and we stayed at my mother's."

"Ouch."

"No shit. It's not like I didn't try. It's just…"

"It takes two people to make it work and she was banging her lawyer buddy, so she obviously didn't care too much about working it out."

He smiled, "That's what my mother said."

"Smart lady."

"She is."

"All of that still doesn't explain how you ended up in the middle of nowhere Iowa."

"That's simple; Jocelyn didn't like that I wouldn't talk to her after I found her with Clay. She showed up the hospital ranting and raving that I was a drunk who beat on her. It wasn't true but perception is everything. The family of the patient I lost starting asking questions, then the family of this little girl I'd been treating since I was an intern pulled me from her case and before I knew it, my name was being dragged through the dirt and the hospital was in CYA mode."

"Cover your ass."

"Yep. It was a nice severance package, if I do say so myself. Tried to find a new job but the damage was done and I was somehow blacklisted. Everyone said the same thing; a good doctor with a fucked up reputation," Leonard sighed. "Luckily, one of my professors from Ole Miss was still taking my calls. Doctor Griffin and Boyce went to school together and Griff knew that Boyce was trying to retire. A bunch of phone interviews later and here I am, in the middle of Iowa."

"Well, it could be worse."

"How's that?"

"Most of us are nice," Jim smiled.

"That is very true," he smiled back. "I should probably go. Sleeping kid in the car and all that. Besides, you should probably go inside, it's getting cold out here."

"October's not too bad. November is another story. It'll be snowing by Thanksgiving, though, just wait," she said, looking off in the distance. Leonard couldn't help but stare at her. There was something about the way the lights in her garage hit her eyes that made them almost glow.

"Get inside before you catch a cold. I already have enough patients and I don't need you coughing up a lung in my clinic," Leonard told her.

"What, you don't make house calls?"

"I've only made three since I've been here but for you, I would definitely make a house call," he smiled.

"Good to know."

"Get inside."

"I guess it's a good thing I'm done for now. You're worse than my brother," she chuckled. "Thank you for checking on me."

"I was just doing what Arlene asked."

"She asked you to drop off her meatloaf, not listen to my problems."

"I don't mind listening."

"I'll have to remember that," Jim smiled. "You should get that sweet girl home."

"Yes, ma'am. Goodnight, Miss Kirk." He didn't want to go but it was probably best that he did.

"Goodnight, Bones."