Chapter 2
The ride home was long and quiet. The kid fidgeted next to him on the bus. Leonard spent most of the ride dozing against the window. The glass was cold to the touch. Raindrops drizzled down the glass pane.
It was only as he was inputting the code to override the security system to the ranch house that Leonard realized he forgot to send a message to Jocelyn that he had spontaneously hired a new ranch hand. Jocelyn rarely cared about the ongoing duties that were necessary to maintain the ranch. She only cared that her horses were well looked after. As he pulled open the door, he heard laughter coming from the family room. Company. He had forgotten about the weekly Friday dinner parties. Jocelyn had insisted that was part of being in high society. He found them ridiculous. They involved him wearing dinner jackets, which he believed made him look like an overdressed penguin. Jocelyn would just roll her eyes and say he looked fine.
"Leonard?" Her voice carried through the mostly empty hallways. His wife appeared from the family room moments later. She was dressed in a dark red evening gown.
"Joss?" Leonard asked confused.
She hurried towards him. She lightly kissed his cheek before hastily pulling away. She looked a little flustered. "Hurry and get changed. We have guests."
"Joss." He had been hoping for a quiet dinner, a long soak in the tub and an equally long night's sleep before he returned to the hospital. He had not planned on entertaining guests. He suddenly felt ridiculous in his ragged jacket and rain drenched hair. He absently wondered how long it had been since he had last shaved.
"Please."
Leonard sighed. "Okay." He was too tired to argue. Their guests were already here. His mother would be horrified if she ever discovered he had been an ungracious host.
"You brought a guest." Jocelyn shifted her look to the kid behind him.
Leonard had long grown accustomed to Jocelyn's method of assessing people. In Jocelyn's mind, there were only two types of people in the world: the useful and the useless. She claimed they only had so much time on this world. It did not make sense to associate with the useless when there were so many useful people in the world. He wondered if the kid would pass Jocelyn's scrutiny. He suddenly realized that Jocelyn's attitude grated at him. He wondered if it was just that he was tired.
"Jim Kirk." The kid stepped forward. He gave her one of his award-winning smiles that Leonard had come to expect. "Bones offered me a job."
"Bones?" She asked perplexed.
Leonard rolled his eyes. "Long story, I hired him to replace Martin."
Jocelyn nodded. She seemed satisfied with the answer. "Leonard please, the guests are waiting. Join us for dinner Mr. Kirk. I'm sure Leonard can find you something suitable to wear."
"Jim's just fine ma'am. Thank you ma'am," the kid parroted, ever the diplomat. He watched Jocelyn retreat into the family room. He was surprised that Jocelyn had invited the kid to dinner. She rarely associated with their ranch hands. 'They should not be seen Leonard.' It seemed the kid had already won Jocelyn over.
"Sorry." Leonard said sincerely.
The kid shrugged. "Dinner party sounds fun." The kid said cheerfully.
"Fun my ass." Leonard grumbled. He worked his brogues off. He reached behind Jim and pulled the door closed.
"You really need to lighten up Bones." The kid clapped his hand on his shoulder. Leonard shook the kid off.
"Come on."
The kid's bright jovial disposition managed to brighten the normally pompous and stuffy dinner party. The kid was a damn natural at cutting through the uncomfortable silence that Leonard frequently experienced during Jocelyn's dinner parties. Leonard was extremely grateful the numerous times the kids gracefully steered the conversation away from Leonard. He knew it was no secret to their guests that he had been spending long hours at the hospital. Leonard knew the people Jocelyn associated with. They rarely worked. In some ways, Georgian high society seemed to have never advanced past the 1800's plantation era. They all lived on the fame and achievements from the generation pasts. They never understood Leonard's drive to build something out of his own name. They found it tiring.
As the night wore on, Leonard vaguely wondered if in a different life the kid had been an ambassador for the Federation. He found his tongue loosening, and genuinely laughing at the kid's jokes. For once, he found himself sincerely enjoying himself. It was only later that he realized that not once had he thought about his tedious molecular structure that he was no closer to solving. He couldn't help but feel guilty. Once their guests finally left, Jocelyn had invited the kid to all of her future dinner parties. The kid as charming as ever happily agreed.
"You have no idea what you just agreed to kid. High society Georgian men and women are like vultures." Leonard warned.
"Guess you'll just have to save me from them, Bones." The kid smiled. He playfully slung his arm around Leonard's shoulder.
"Damn it Kid. I'm a doctor not a socialite." Leonard snapped back.
The kid smiled, his blue eyes dancing. "Lighten up Bones. It'll be fun."
"You have a strange definition of fun, Kid."
He woke up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and a child's laughter. His head felt strangely light. He could not remember the last time he had slept so well. Normally, when his stims wore off before he had time for another injection, he woke up to a stiff neck and equally stiff back due to passing out on his office desk. When he turned his head, he found Jocelyn resting peacefully next to him. The Georgian summer sunbeams framed her hair.
The laughter awoke him further. He suddenly realized that it belong his daughter. What he could not comprehend was what or who was making her laugh. He groaned when he saw the time blinking tauntingly at him. Fuck.
He rolled out of bed and grabbed his bathrobe. He padded towards the direction of the laughter. He found Joanna sitting on the kitchen counter. She was swinging her legs. She was cradling a large mixing bowl in her arms. She seemed to be sneaking glances behind her before tipping her tiny fingers into the bowl then licking them clean. Then there was Jim Kirk hovering over the stove. He was wearing one of Jocelyn fluffy pink aprons. It looked like the kid was cooking up a storm.
Joanna noticed his presence first. "Daddy!" Her voice shrieked through the air. Joanna immediately hopped down from the counter. The bowl wobbled when she set it down in a hurry. She ran to him and immediately threw her arms around his waist. Leonard pulled her close. Her voice seemed to alert the kid to his presence.
"Morning." The kid smiled.
Joanna pulled away. "Jim is making pancakes." She beamed at him.
"Jim?" Leonard raised an eyebrow. "Joanna, manners."
"But Jim told me not to call him Mr. Kirk," Joanna protested.
"That's right, Bones. I ain't one for formalities." The kid turned around. He was holding a plate of pancakes. "Pancakes?"
"Jim makes the best pancakes!" Joanna added.
"Even better than Mommy's?" Jocelyn's voice carried from behind them.
They all turned. Joanna hid behind his legs. She looked as if she had swallowed a canary. "They have chocolate chips." He saw the slight twitch of the kid's lips. He seemed to be trying his hardest not to laugh.
Leonard became further convinced that the kid had long perfected the art of diplomacy when he immediately stepped forward and presented Jocelyn with the plate he had been holding. Leonard could still see the steam wavering from the stack. He handed Jocelyn a fork. When Jocelyn accepted and delicately cut off a slice before taking a tiny bite, a smiled appeared on her face. "They really are good, Mr. Kirk." Leonard let out a breath he had not realized he was even holding.
"Thank you, ma'am. Jim's fine, ma'am."
"Okay… Jim." She smiled.
Joanna stuck her head from between Leonard's legs. "See Mommy." She chimed in. She pulled away from Leonard and ran over to Jocelyn, who handed the plate back.
"Are you sure you didn't hire Jim for the cook position, Leonard?" Jocelyn accepted a hug from Joanna before retreating into the family room. She had always been a 'half a grapefruit and a cup of warm tea for breakfast' woman.
"You really didn't have to Kid."
The kid shrugged. "I found Joanna wandering through the kitchen, and the chores didn't take too long."
Leonard blinked. "Christ Kid, how early did you wake up?"
Joanna gasped. "Daddy, don't stay the lord's name in vain."
"Yeah Bones." The kid smirked.
"Daddy, will you play with me?" Joanna tugged at his pant legs. He mentally cursed when he caught sight of the time that was constantly flashing from the clock face on the wall.
He lightly stoked her chocolate brown hair. "Daddy has to go to work."
Joanna looked like she was about to cry. Her chocolate brown eyes became teary. He wondered if the kid had also noticed. He knelt down, so he was at the same level as Joanna. The stack of pancakes was still in one hand. He gently turned her around. "Want to help me with the horses, Joanna?"
"Mommy…" She tugged at the hem of her dress. The kid looked up at him as if seeking permission. Jocelyn had always been hesitant to allow Joanna near the horses without supervision. She loved them. Jocelyn seemed to have no qualms about the kid from their latest interactions. He had expected Jocelyn to be horrified at finding the kid in her kitchen. Leonard nodded. The kid winked at Joanna. She beamed back at him.
Somehow, before Leonard knew it, the kid had wormed his way into his life. With his pretty blue-eyes, charming smile and sunny disposition, the kid was like a giant ball of sunlight that seemed to rival even the Georgian summer sun.
The kid's presence did not keep him from spending long spans of time at the hospital. The mornings when he did wake up at home, he always found the kid in the kitchen with a cup of coffee and a plate of whatever breakfast he had decided to whip up. Sometimes Joanna was in the kitchen 'helping' as best as she could. Jocelyn never let Joanna help in the kitchen. Joanna always found a way to make everything take twice as long, but it seemed besides his diplomacy skills the kid also possessed an incredible amount of patience.
The kid's explanation was always that he was a morning person. He liked watching the sunrise over the Georgian mountains. The kid would sit next to him and watch him eat. Once he slid a fork to the kid. He would immediately shake his head and say he had already eaten.
Initially, Leonard had tried to explain that he did not have to cook for them. It was not part of his job description. The kid would always laugh and shrug his shoulders.
"I like cooking for you and your family Bones." There seemed to be a forlorn expression on his face as he spoke.
"I know Jocelyn really appreciates it, and you already won Joanna over with your pancakes."
"What about you Bones?" The kid smiled at him. He lightly nudged Leonard on the shoulder.
"I ain't getting slimmer that's for sure."
The kid laughed.
The days when he did not return home, the kid seemed to find a way to wander into his office. He always came bearing gifts consisting mainly of Leonard's lunch and dinner. They would talk about mindless things: the weather, Joanna's latest escapades and sometimes Leonard's research. Leonard was never certain if the kid was genuinely interested or if he just liked to hear Leonard talk. Whichever was the case, the kid always seemed to ask the appropriate questions at the appropriate time. Leonard found he genuinely liked talking to the kid. He might not have the medical background, but he was clearly brilliant. He seemed to soak up everything like a sponge. Leonard found he could bounce ideas off the kid better than most his colleagues who were more interested in surgery than new discovery.
However, every Friday night, Leonard and Jim were present at Jocelyn's dinner party. The kid was as sunny and bright as always. Leonard would just roll his eyes and be grateful he was there to make them more bearable.
After one particularly tiring dinner party which left even the kid tired, they found themselves on Leonard's porch swing each nursing a iced tea. The cicadas chirped in the distance.
"You ain't meant for Georgia, Bones." The kid whispered. He thought he had heard wrong.
"How did you figure that?"
"You're bored. You're meant for excitement and adventure. You aren't like the other people here."
"I'm just a simple country doctor trying to live a perfect life."
"You aren't just a simple country doctor, Bones. You're meant for more."
They heard the screen door closing. When Leonard turned away, he saw the quick retreating form of Jocelyn. The kid looked a lightly guilty.
However, other things did not change. Leonard felt the chasm between him and Jocelyn grew larger and larger as the days went by.