"What are you doing?" Leonard asked Jim when he walked into her house. He'd give her some crap about never locking the door but he was sure she had more weapons in this place than she let on.

"Research on post mortem mutilation. Looking into Janet didn't get me anywhere so I'm trying to see if I can figure this guy out from the crime itself," she told him. "Don't worry, Jo's not here."

"Where is she?"

"She's with Arlene. Nancy is giving birth and Joanna is helping with the delivery."

"Wait. My baby is helping a cow deliver a baby?"

"Yes. Sam's recording it if you want to see. I think you might have a vet on your hands."

"Huh. Vets are still doctors, that works for me," he smiled. Leonard never tried to talk Joanna into being anything she didn't want but he hoped, like his father, that she followed his footsteps.

"So, how was it?"

"Other than getting airsick, it was okay. You were right."

"Ooo, say that again. I was what?"

Leonard groaned, "You were right."

"I usually am," Jim smiled. "You guys bury the hatchet?"

"Sorta. She's not as horrible as I remember her to be but we're not gonna be close or anything. We'll talk and try to keep each other in the loop about anything that might effect Joanna, though. I got some answers I needed and some stuff off my chest. It was better than expected. I told her about you," he shrugged as he sat next to her on the couch.

"Really?" she asked, closing her laptop and giving him her full attention. "This I gotta hear."

"It wasn't that big of a deal."

"You told your ex-wife about the hot blonde chick who hangs out with you and your daughter and you think it's not a big deal. That's adorable. Try again."

"She asked about where Joanna was if I was in Georgia without her. So, I told her about you. Lyn said it was good that I… had a friend," Leonard said. It was one hell of a lie. What Jocelyn actually told him was that Jim must be something special because he had no problem leaving Joanna in Jim's care and the way he smiled when he talked about her reminded Jocelyn of when they were together. He was not, under any circumstances, telling Jim that.

"You're such a horrible liar," she smiled.

"I am not."

"You are but I'm not gonna force you to tell me what she said."

"Thanks… I think. How was Jo?"

"Great. She did her homework and ate her veggies. Helped with the chores. She was the perfect guest. If you ever wanna get rid of her for a day, let me know and I'll take her," Jim smiled.

"You're trying to keep my kid."

"Of course I am, she's cooler than you," she chuckled. Leonard just looked at her. "That was a joke… mostly."

"I know. It's just…" The idea of Jim taking care of Joanna made him happy and he realized how easy it would be, the three of them. "Nothing. Never mind."

"If you say so," Jim smiled. "I uh… I haven't had dinner yet. You wanna stay?"

"Might as well. I bet Arlene already fed Jo," he chuckled.

"You would be correct. They ate already but I've been busy with this."

"You work too much," Leonard sighed.

"Never really had a reason not to work a lot. I mean, it's just me. Nobody cares if I'm not home because nobody's here."

"We're gonna have to change that," he told her.

"Are we?" she asked with a small smile.

"Yes, we are."

"Yes, you can borrow that skirt," Gaila said into the phone. "I gotta go. I'm still at work. Tell me what happens later." She laughed. "Okay. I'll talk to you then."

"One of your friends have a hot date tonight?" Leonard asked as he cleared his last chart.

"Jim. She's having dinner with this guy and she needed something to wear, so she's at my house looking," the redhead told him.

"Wait. Jim has a date?" he gave her a look.

"Yes. You're not mad, are you?"

"No, I'm fine. Why would I be mad? She's a good person who deserves every happiness in the universe," Leonard said around the gravel in his throat. He was not jealous. Maybe.

"Your voice is deeper," Gaila smiled.

"Does that sometimes," he shrugged.

"You're jealous."

"No, I'm not. She's my friend."

"Your friend that you like," the redhead pointed out. He raised an eyebrow. "Please, Stevie Wonder can see that you got a thing for her. What I haven't figured out is why you haven't gone for it."

"She's my annoyingly brilliant friend who works too much and I just got divorced."

"It's been eight or nine months, right? You need to have some fun before you end up old and alone, man."

"Should I really be taking dating advice from you?" Leonard asked with a playful smile. "Look, I'm fine. If anyone should go on a date, it's Jim. She needs to… get out a little." He said that as calmly as he could manage. Gaila gave him a look before she went back to getting the clinic ready to close up for the night.

"You're jealous," Gaila repeated.

"No, I'm not," he told her. "I'm not jealous at all."

"It's fine. I'm fine. We're fine. Who the fuck am I trying to kid? It's not fine," Leonard muttered to himself after Joanna went to bed.

Okay, he was a little jealous. Maybe more than a little jealous.

Who the hell was this person who swooped in on his Jim? She's his friend and he likes her and Joanna likes her and this new guy can't have her. Maybe he should track this guy down and threaten the hell out of him. Or call the sheriff and have him run a background check. He really should've asked Gaila to tell him who the guy was. Leonard was running all kinds of things through his head when there was a knock on his door. Who would be knocking at ten o'clock at night? He opened it to find his blonde, blue-eyed friend standing on his porch.

"Sup, Bones."

"What are you doing here?" Leonard asked around the lump in his throat. She was here. Why was she here?

"You gonna let me in? It's kinda cold and I don't say that very often."

"You didn't answer my question. Aren't you supposed to be on a date?" he asked, moving out of the way so that she could walk into the house. She gave him a look. "Gaila told me."

"I was on a date. It sucked. I decided that I would have more fun bothering you," she smiled. "You don't mind, do you?"

"How do you know I didn't have plans?"

"Dude, you're watching Netflix."

"You can stay," Leonard said. Jim hung her coat next to his before plopping down on his couch and stealing his beer. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really. It was that bad," Jim sighed before downing half of his beer. "What's wrong with me? Don't answer that."

"I don't think there's anything wrong with you, darlin'," he told her. She rolled her eyes. "I'm serious. I think that you are a special kind of woman and you need someone who understands that. Not… whoever this guy was."

"Benjamin Finney. He's the new guy who works in the records department down at the county clerk's office," she said before taking another sip of beer. Leonard knew he wasn't getting it back, so he grabbed a new one and sat down next to her. "He was okay until we starting talking about our jobs. He got that look that everyone gets when they realize that the Jim Kirk who is the second in command of the sheriff's department is also a pretty blonde girl."

"That's not your fault, Jim."

"Isn't it. I picked my job. I can't help that I'm really good at it. And…"

"You shouldn't have to apologize for it. Not to anybody," Leonard told her.

"Yea. I guess," she sighed.

"Hey, look at me," he said. When Jim didn't look at him, he sat on the coffee table and held her face in his hand. "You are… What's the word you always use? Awesome. You are awesome. One day, you will find someone to be awesome with you." And it will probably kill him but as long as she's happy, he'll let it go.

"You think I'm awesome?"

"You know you are. This Finney guy can go fuck himself if he doesn't see it."

"Careful, you're being sweet again. Might have to get you checked out," Jim smiled.

"You won't tell anyone."

"True. Can't have 'em all knowing that you aren't actually a jerk," she chuckled.

"Hey!" Leonard gave her a look. "I'm not a jerk." Jim raised an eyebrow. "I just don't like when people do stupid stuff."

"If you say so," Jim smiled. They sat like that for a minute before she sighed. "Your hand is warm."

"Your face is cold." And smooth and slightly flushed and smooth. 'Focus, Leonard.' "Are you okay now?"

"For the moment. Thank you."

"Anytime." He reluctantly let his hand drop.

"So," she smiled, "what were you watching before I showed up?"

"X-Files," Leonard told her. He was keeping the whole 'freaking out because she was on a date' thing to himself.

"No way. Are you a Mulder or a Scully?" Jim gave him an assessing look.

"What do you think?"

"Definitely a Scully. All skeptical and non-believing."

"Hey, I believe in some things," he chuckled.

"Uh huh. You believe in aliens and UFOs?" she asked.

"Used to. Believe it or not, I was once a teenage boy," Leonard smiled.

"Now, you're an old man."

"I'm only six years older than you. That doesn't make me old."

"If you say so," Jim smiled.

"Shut up. You wanna watch a couple of these with me or not?"

"Of course I would. You can't be Scully without a Mulder."

"Was your date fun, Miss Jim?" Leonard heard his daughter ask in the kitchen.

"It was okay," Jim said, Leonard could hear the sadness in her voice but he knew her well enough to know that she was probably smiling for Jo. "Ben is a nice man but not the one for me."

"That's because he's not daddy," Joanna declared. Leonard held his breath, waiting for Jim's response.

"Your dad is pretty great but he's not looking to date anyone right now," Jim said.

"But he should take you on a date. Or you could ask him."

"That's up to him. I think he has some stuff to work through with himself and he doesn't need me to get in the way."

"But he's happy. I just want him to stay happy. He used to be so sad and being around you… I've never seen him smile the way he does when you're here. And he laughs all the time, he never used to do that," his daughter said. He didn't realize that that's what Joanna saw. No wonder she was always trying to hook him up with Jim.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere," Jim told Jo. "I'll always be here for him and for you. Besides, I'm pretty sure that the person who makes him happy the most is you."

"You think?" Joanna asked.

"Of course I do," Jim said. "Would I lie to you?"

"No," Jo giggled. "You know he likes you, right?" His kid was such a traitor.

"I know. I like him too but don't tell him I said that. His ego doesn't need a boost," Jim chuckled. Wait, Jim likes him and he didn't even notice?

"Deal," Joanna said. The pair was quiet for a few minutes before Leonard heard his daughter again. "Miss Jim, do you think my mom misses me?"

"Of course she does," Jim said.

"She just left me."

"You wanna know what I think, Jo?" Jim asked. Joanna must've nodded because Jim started talking again. "I think your mom did the best she could do for you. You and your dad are really close, you would hate it if you didn't get to see him all the time, right?"

"I didn't look at it that way," Joanna said. "How do you know that?"

"My dad is dead but Mister Chris is kinda my dad and someone kept me from him when I was a kid," Jim said. "Made me really mad. All the time."

"You work with Mister Chris now," Joanna said. Leonard got up off the couch and leaned against the entryway to the kitchen. Jim glanced up at him for a millisecond before returning her focus to Jo.

"True but I didn't see him for eight long years. I was so mad that I did a lot of bad things and the only person who understood was Mister Chris," Jim smiled. "I think your mom doesn't want you to be like that. So, she decided to send you with your dad because he takes care of you and makes you happy. Don't be mad at her. I bet she misses you a lot. I know I would."

"Do you think my dad would let me call her? You know, just to check on her," Joanna asked.

"I think that could be arranged," Leonard smiled. "Good morning, ladies."

"Morning, Daddy!" Joanna jumped up and gave him a hug, which he returned with as more enthusiasm then he thought he had in him. "Miss Jim is here."

"Yea. We were watching TV last night and fell asleep," he told her. "Which reminds me, I need a new couch. That thing sucks."

"I told you," Jim chuckled. "Coffee?"

"I got it," Leonard said, walking around her. He did a double take. "You have to stop stealing my clothes."

"You saw that skirt I had on when I came over here. Your clothes are so much more comfortable. I think I might keep 'em," Jim said, give Joanna a wink.

"Anything but that shirt. It's my favorite shirt," he smiled. She had on a pair of his sweatpants and his gray Ole Miss t-shirt with the faded logo and a hole in one of the sleeves. The damn thing was older than Joanna but it was still his favorite. He never let Jocelyn wear it but it somehow looked perfect on Jim.

The blonde looked up at him, "Oh, you want me to take it off?"

"No. You can wear it. You just can't keep it," Leonard smiled as he poured himself a cup of coffee, willing himself not to think about her taking clothes off in his kitchen. Or anywhere else for that matter. "I plan on being buried in it."

"Write that down somewhere and I'll make it happen," Jim smiled.

"Yea?"

"Yea. It'll just go under the suit," Jim said. "Jo'll back me up."

"Yep. We'll make sure you get buried in your shirt. A long, long, long, long, long, long, long time from now," his daughter smiled.

"Thank you, ladies," he chuckled. "What are we doing today?"

"Buying you a couch," Jim rolled her shoulders. "I love Misses Thorne but that thing has got to go."