"Come on, daddy," Joanna said as she pulled him past all the people. Arlene had them park over by the main house but they had to head though the farm to get to everyone and everything else.

"Slow down, baby girl. It's not going anywhere," Leonard chuckled.

"I know it's not. Peter told me that there's a hayride and a bunch of pumpkins. And Miss Jim helps out during the Harvest and Halloween Festivals when she's not working on the weekends," she smiled. "So, come on."

"How'd I let you talk me into this?" he asked the little girl.

"I'm adorable and you love me and Miss Jim is gonna be here and you like her."

"I do not," Leonard lied. He might, might, like Jim a little but he was not going to encourage Joanna, she was already too excited about spending their Saturday with the Kirks.

"You do too, daddy. Ray Charles can see that."

"What do you know about Ray Charles?"

"Nana says he was the best," Joanna smiled.

"Well, nana is usually right," he begrudgingly admitted as they made their way through the people. "Don't tell her I said that, she'll never let us hear the end of it."

"I'll think about it," his girl said with a chuckle.

"Guys, over here," George called to them. There were some other people around but Joanna was moving before Leonard could do anything.

This wasn't the first time Leonard's ever been to a farm at the end of harvest season and right before Halloween. During the day on the weekends, there was stuff like a pumpkin patch, a petting zoo provided by another local farm, a giant haystack, farm tours, apple picking and bunch of other stuff. At night in October, they did the haunted hayride and other appropriately spooky stuff.

"Hey, Mister George," Joanna smiled. "Where are Pete and Miss Jim?"

"Pete is finishing up with his chores. You can go on over to the house if you want to help. Jim is by the maze," George smiled.

"Daddy, can I go?" Joanna asked.

"Yea. She doesn't need an armband, does she?"

"Nope. She gets a lanyard," the tall man said, pulling an employee tag out of his pocket and handing it to Jo. "May the force be with you, my young padawan learner."

"And with you, Jedi master," Joanna chuckled before giving Leonard a hug and running off.

"Star Wars? Really?" the southerner raised an eyebrow.

"Blame my sister," George chuckled. "I have one for you too. You don't have to do any work but you can go wherever you want without our seasonal guys giving you any grief." The other man handed Leonard his own tag.

"Cool. How long have you guys been doing this?"

"I talked mom into it like five or so years ago. She wasn't really sold on the idea because it's a farm town and locals aren't really into it but we get people from Cedar Rapids and further coming down here. We make a good profit, so it's worth it. Even Jim helps out with this one."

"I wouldn't peg her for the Harvest Festival type," Leonard admitted.

"Well, Jim's not exactly easy to read. She has this trait of only letting people see what they want to see," George pointed out. Someone called over to him and the tall blonde waved at the guy. "I gotta get back to work. Have fun."

"Yea," Leonard nodded and watched the other man jog away.

"You don't have to stand over there," Jim called over when she spotted him watching -read: staring- at her. "Come on up. Join me upon my throne of hay."

"Might as well, since I'm an employee and all," he chuckled as he hopped up on the haystack with her.

"Ahh, Sam got to you already. Can't blame him, it's always good to have a medical professional on the payroll," she smiled.

"You mean, I'm getting paid?" Leonard smiled.

"Maybe. If you have to patch someone up."

"Good to know. What are you doing?"

"Making sure people don't get too lost in the corn maze. Every year we have someone who does. I'm hoping that I don't have to go in there this year, so we'll see," Jim shrugged. "What are you doing here?"

"I made Joanna a promise to bring her. She ditched me as soon as your brother gave her an employee pass. Should I be worried?"

"No. That kid knows her way around and Pete carries a two-way when they're not by the house. That part of the farm is blocked off from customers anyway. She'll be fine."

"That's good to know," he smiled.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You got this look like there's something," she smiled. "Spill the beans, Bones."

"I think my kid is trying to hook us up," Leonard said.

"Joanna McCoy: Master Matchmaker," Jim laughed.

"That's not funny. I got enough to worry about."

"Like getting divorced and moving halfway across the country all within the last five months? You haven't gotten yourself figured out yet, there's no way you'd add a woman to that," she said.

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to. I'm right… but so is Joanna," Jim chuckled. "You like me, even though you don't wanna admit it."

"Someone's sure of herself," he looked at her and tried to figure out just how she knew that.

"One of my many talents," Jim smirked. Leonard raised an eyebrow. "Look, part of why I'm so good at my job is because I'm good with people. I solve most problems not by drawing my weapon but by talking and listening and paying attention. So, it's not that I'm sure of myself, despite the fact that I totally am and you dig me, I just know my way around people. As of late, that includes grumpy doctors from Georgia."

"We're a special breed, are we?" Leonard asked with a smile.

"Oh, yea. I'm thinking that I should institute some extra training at the department on how to deal with you," she chuckled.

"Really? What are you gonna call it, 'How to handle Doctor Bones one-oh-one'?"

"Hmm, that's not a bad title," Jim said, her hand on her chin like she was thinking about it. "I might have to run that by Chris."

"You do that," the southerner smiled.

"Maybe I will, Doctor Bones."

"You're a trip," he chuckled.

"I have my moments."

"I'm about to walk into church, mama," Bones said into his phone. He loves her to death but the woman calls him at the craziest times.

"You're still going to church?" his mother said.

"You asked me that last week and the week before that and the week before that one," he chuckled. "The answer is always the same."

"Well, how am I supposed to know if you're telling the truth?" she asked.

"I don't know. Why aren't you in church?" Leonard asked, even with the hour time difference, his mother still goes to service around the same time he does.

"Pastor and half the congregation are all out sick," his mama told him in her soothing southern draw while his daughter tapped his shoulder and pointed to Jim, who was getting out of her car. He gave Jo a nod and watched her as she ran to the blonde. "Are you gonna answer my question, Lenny?"

"Yes, mama, I still go to Sunday morning service. Everybody around here does. I gotta go," he said. "I will call you back later."

"Okay. You kiss Joanna banana for me."

"Yes, ma'am. Love you, mama," Leonard smiled, even though she couldn't see it, he knew she could hear it in his voice.

"Love you too, Lenny," his mother said before she hung up from her end.

"Hey, Bones," Jim smiled as she and Joanna walked over to him.

"Miss Jim," he smiled back. "Jo, nana said hi."

"We'll call her later," Joanna said with a mischievous smile. "Hey, Miss Jim, you should sit with dad so he's not by himself when I go to Sunday school."

"She probably wants to sit with her family…" Leonard started but Jim slowly shook her head. "No. Really?"

"If I'm not on shift, I usually sit with friends. If I sit with my mom, she'll take it as an invitation to talk to me, then it turns into this thing about my childhood and then we end up glaring at each other before my brother has to get in the middle," Jim shrugged. "That's not a can of worms I want to open."

"You guys ever gonna bury it?" he asked. Leonard realized that every time he's seen Jim and her mother in the same place, they don't interact with each other. He didn't think much of it before but it was a little odd. Both women seemed to have a good relationship with the rest of their family, just not with each other.

"Not the time or place for that conversation. Suffice to say, she doesn't think there's a problem," Jim sighed.

"Which is the problem," Leonard said, understanding just where Jim was coming from. "Would you like to sit with me?"

"I don't need a pity pew-mate," she chuckled.

"Maybe I just want to sit next to my friend," he shrugged.

"Are we friends?" Jim asked.

"I think we are," Leonard said. He might not be ready to date anyone but he could always use a good friend.

Jim smiled that beautiful smile at him. "I would love to sit with you."