Jim and Bones were sitting with Joanna at a small café just outside the Academy grounds, eating lunch on the rare occasion that Bones could join him and Joanna for this mealtime.

Uhura had told him about it on Tuesday when they had sat together at lunch. Bones as it turned out wouldn't be able to join Jim for lunch on Tuesdays, Thursdays, or Fridays, and as luck would have it Uhura had the same basic schedule as he did, not with the same classes of course. The different tracks only overlapped on a few classes, perhaps ten in total from what Jim had been reading. However, just as in most high schools there were different lunches. On Mondays and Wednesdays, Jim and Bones shared the second wave of lunch, while Uhura had third wave. The other three days, Jim and Uhura shared the first wave, while the doctor had fourth wave.

Uhura, while often seeming unimpressed with him for several different reasons that mainly revolved around the amount of attention he received from most of the female cadets, seemed relieved to have his company. In the past week, he had come to realize that though many people would gladly talk to Uhura, she too seemed a little shunned. The other cadets in her track, and many from the other tracks, were intimidated by her cunning and natural ease in linguistics, and well they should be.

Uhura, he quickly realized, was a freaking genius when it came to languages. In fact, about half of the times anyone had interrupted them at lunch had been to ask Uhura about something they didn't understand in Klingon, Romulan, or Orion. Not only that, but she was really outspoken. She had no problem putting someone in their place, having done it to Jim a few times already, though Jim had only grinned cockily at her the way he had in Shipyard Bar. Put those two with her looks, and Jim could see why a lot of the other cadets would be hesitant to be around her.

He just thought she was really fun. Even when she was going into lecture mode, and tended to insult him just a little bit, she was so full of life, so different from everyone in Iowa, and maybe just a little like Bones. Most of the time, she was kind enough. She saved him a seat in their shared class and at lunch. She introduced him to the few almost-friends she had, and when he told her the story of he and Bones, she took a vested interest in how they were doing now. She even went as far as to ask how Bones and Jo were when asking how he was, knowing they spent most of their time together after Thursday.

Jo's squeals interrupted his musings about his new, if totally unexpected, friend. He looked over to her, to see that Bones was stalking her with a baby carrot, carefully moving it across the table towards her. She was leaning away from Bones, almost all the way out of her seat. It almost looked like she was going to fall right out of it.

"Papa! Make it stop!" she yelled, leaning further and further away from Bones, towards Jim.

Bones caught his eyes, a small smile on face, as he suddenly jerked the carrot back and popped it in his mouth. Jim smiled, looking back at Jo. "Papa made it all better, Jo-bear. It's okay."

She looked up to him. "I's okay now?" The sounds of crunching caught her attention. She quickly looked up to Bones, watching him swallowing, before looked at the remaining carrots warily. She made a cry of fear before she scrambled from her seat and into Jim's lap. "They're gonna get me, daddy! Don't let them get me!"

He put his arms around her, holding her closely to his chest and sending Bones a look over her French-braided hair as if to say, 'see what you've started?' Bones shrugged but quickly tucked his carrots into his napkin while Jo turned her face into Jim's chest. He twisted the napkin up and placed in on the far side away from his plate.

Jim bounced Joanna lightly. "Hey, don't worry. Papa got rid of the carrots. They're not going to get you."

He wondered how long it would be before she ate carrots again without having to sit in his lap. He kissed the crown of her head then hoisted her over back into her abandoned chair. She looked over at the plate again, and then at the napkin beside it, probably knowing that the carrots were wrapped inside. However, her logic dictated that if she could not see them, then obviously she was safe from them. She picked up one of her chicken bites and put it in her mouth, chewing happily with a smile.

She still wet her pull-ups, but it was on and off now, like a fifty-percent chance. Jim counted it as a win. She went to bed a little easier, staying up far later than she should, but he got her down at eleven instead of midnight on Wednesday and Thursday. She also had begun asking for their assistance in her games a little more, which was much better. Jim had missed being part of her fantasies, even if he was only substituting for an imaginary person.

When her attention was on her food again, Jim returned his attention to Bones again. Before his musing, and Jo's little terror, they had been talking about their classes, and Bones had been bitching about how it was like he was in college again. He didn't like that so many of his classmates seemed so uncaring about the material they were learning, more interested in parties and gossip. He also wasn't too keen on the fact that he was now the 'old man.' It had prompted some interesting questions, such as:

"What were you like in college? You went to Mississippi University, right? That's high class stuff from what I've heard," Jim said, leaning back in his chair.

Bones rolled his eyes. "Picture me now…only younger," he said.

"Oh, come on!" Jim said was a smile begging onto his face. "You can't tell me that you didn't party."

The doctor just nodded. "I went to a few parties, but I was usually the guy holding heads over the toilet bowl, or making sure the idiot in the tub didn't drown while he sobered up as quickly as possible so that he wasn't caught by his RA when he went back to his dorm. I did not set out to get hammered."

Jim's smile faded. He sized up his friend, wondering if he had ever just cut loose…well, aside from New Orleans. "So, what were you like as a kid?"

Bones seemed to be in deep thought for a moment or two, before he shook his head with a put-upon sigh. "I don't know. It was too long ago."

"You aren't that old," Jim said with a snort.

"Papa's old," Joanna spoke up around her chicken bite. She was nodding very seriously, looking at Bones with a sad look in her eye, like that was quite possibly the most depressing thing she had ever realized.

He started laughing while Bones looked at her with a betrayed look on his face. "Thanks, baby," he said dryly. Joanna would understand sarcasm within the next two months if he kept this up. He shook his head, before turning his bemused look on Jim, who still sat in his seat chuckling. Jim didn't even try to hush his laughter as Bones said dismally, "After that I don't think I should be forced to explain my childhood to anyone. Don't wanna be a burden to the young-uns."

Jim's laughter increased in volume, and just because he was laughing, Joanna started giggling too. Some of the other patrons were looking at them curiously, but none of them could be forced to care. Bones was even smiling a little.

He was glad that they were back to this point. While it wasn't perfect, and there were still more than their fair share of awkward moments, it was much more comfortable than where they had been last weekend. They could hang out just like this; Bones having been pacified about where their relationship stood made it easier to just chat. He liked this, and he thought that he could continue to.

+ststst+

Maggie Jay called him around Wednesday, just after he and Bones had picked Joanna up. They were both laughing at something Joanna had said, and Jim would admit that he had been staring at the way Bones' laugh lines enhanced his features. Then all of a sudden, his computer was flashing the alert that he had an incoming call. He knew without looking at the screen that it would display the name 'Maggie McCurdy.'

Bones' laughter died out as his did, and he stared at the screen with interest before his eyes landed on Jim, expectantly waiting for him to answer the call. The truth of the matter though was he wasn't sure he wanted to answer the call. He had told himself that he would answer if she was the one who called him, but he was still just a little pissed for sending Bones those pictures and basically meddling in his life. He also didn't want to have this conversation in front of Bones.

For a moment, the three of them stood in an awkward silence only broken by the pinging coming from the computer.

"You gonna answer that?" Bones asked, his look morphing into something that almost qualified as amused. Why he would be getting enjoyment out of the fact that Jim was not answering the call, Jim didn't quite understand, but it was better than getting angry about it, like a few of Jim's flings had when he refused to answer his calls in front of them.

Jim sighed. "I'm really not sure I want to," he said honestly. He looked back at the screen, getting irritated by the pinging. Of all the times she chose to call, it would be now.

After a moment of just staring at the call screen, Bones brushed passed him, saying resolutely, "I'll answer it."

"What?" Jim cried, reaching out at grabbing at Bones' arm. "No!"

He planted his feet, slowing Bones in his path to the computer, but not stopping him completely. They were both pretty evenly matched in height and muscle, Bones being just a touch broader at the shoulders. They both kind of struggled in a ridiculous cha-cha, two steps forward, and two steps back.

Jim really didn't want Bones to answer. He was unsure of how that entire meeting would go down, and more importantly he was terrified of what Maggie Jay would say. He loved the woman dearly, but she knew him better than anyone else, and, if in the right mood, would divulge it all with a treacherously happy smile on her face. Throw in the fact that this was Bones, and she was obviously making plans to get them back together, seeing the doctor could be a disaster waiting to happen.

And of course, there was the fact that he just didn't want to talk to her right now.

Bones was wearing a small smile, though, and his brow was pulling towards his hairline. He was determined to talk to her, and Jim suspected he may have been enjoying the struggle just a little. He gave a sharp tug combined with a step back, and Jim was pulled into him. Chest to chest, Jim grabbed Bones' wrists, trying to keep them from reaching the button even as they spun around in circles.

Jo's delighted squeals and the incessant beeping of the call line were loud, but he was able to hear Bones easily, hear the way he slipped back into that southern accent like he knew it was Jim's weakness. "I wanna thank her for sending me the pictures," he placated.

Jim still pinned between Bones and the computer console, told him "Call her from your place", keeping a firm grip on Bones' wrists.

Bones actually gave a short burst of laughter, moving his hands around in ways that could not be normal for a human being. He turned his hands around and grabbed onto Jim's wrists, using his grip on Jim to try wiggling out of his bind. "I don't have her number."

"I'll give it to you," he compromised, quickly losing his grasp on Bones. Man, that fucker was good.

The line was still blaring just behind Jim. Maggie Jay was a persistent woman; that was for sure. Bones freed his hands finally, and just as he went for to accept Jim grabbed him by his biceps, holding him just far enough away from the button.

Bones sighed, but his small grin was still there. "What if she doesn't answer 'cos it's a strange number?" he asked, looking at Jim with expectant hazel-green eyes.

"I'll tell her you're calling," he said with a nod. He realized for the first time that he wore a smile as well. His adrenaline was pumping through his system, and he was enjoying the proximity of their bodies, the sheer fun they were having with this struggle. Jo still laughed in the background, over the sounds of their struggling and the incoming call. He glanced at her to see her standing where they had left her, Sellit held closely to her chest, as if to contain her excitement.

Bones tested his grip while he was distracted, leaning his upper body into his effort. "You've have to accept her phone conversation to do that."

The doctor shifted, letting Jim readjust as well, and oh, God! That was a bad idea! Their bodies realigned and Jim thought that explosions were set off behind his eyes.

"Bones!" Jim moaned, and it sounded painful even to his ears. Bones took what was probably the smallest step known to the universe, removing his hips from Jim's. When their eyes met, Jim knew the excitement in Bones' eyes was mirrored in his. They were still standing relatively close, maybe two inches between them. Jim released Bones' arms and rested on his hands on the console behind him, leaning back on them.

They stood there for a moment in total silence. Jim had almost thought that Maggie Jay had given up. Jo still held her toy sehlat close to her chest but she had dipped her chin to rest on its teddy-bear like head. She stared up at them through her long, dark lashes, expecting them to jump back into play. Jim looked back to Bones, who regarded him in carefully, probably trying to anticipate whether or not Jim would react the way he had a week and a half ago.

Jim however just smiled triumphantly. He had stopped the dreaded meeting between Maggie and Bones. He would be spared until a later date, and he didn't even have to talk to her today. The air still felt light around them, just super-charged. They could get around that, though. Jim blamed it on the moment, on the enjoyment they had taken from horsing around.

His smile vanished, though, when the computer started pinging again. She was relentless! Jim's hand covered the accept button, trying to keep Bones from reaching it. "Thank her later," he told the doctor

"Why? Ya'll be having a fight or something?" he asked, his brow rising again.

Jim shrugged. "Undeclared."

"What over?"

"Unimportant."

"Fine," Bones said with a sigh, backing away from Jim. Jim hesitated for a moment, before he too moved away from the console. And that was probably the dumbest move ever! Bones moved fast, and accepted the call, saying, "Just want to say thank you."

Maggie Jay's face appeared on the screen, her sharp green eyes, automatically flying to Bones as she heard his voice. A little confused, and conveying that in her normal, brisk way, she said elegantly, not at all, "You're welcome. Now, who're you?"

"Miss 'Curdy!" Jo hollered when she heard Maggie's voice, she ran over to the screen, and the woman on the other side was momentarily preoccupied.

Bones looked over at Jim with a vaguely apologetic look. "Sorry."

Jim shook his head. He really wanted to be angry, and part of him was really irritated, but it was done now. He would try to take this with some grace.

He returned his attention to their daughter just as she yelled, "I caught a frog t'day!"

Maggie Jay's thin eyebrows shot to her hairline in an exaggerated show of shock. "Oh…do you still have it?" she asked, maybe just a little worried.

Jo shook her head wildly, her lopsided pigtails whipping wildly. "Uh uh. Mister 'Xander told me let it go."

"Its better that way, sweetheart," she placated. She grinned at the little girl, asking, "Let me talk to daddy?"

"Sure!" Jo said easily, taking her and Sellit away from the computer to play with her mostly dilapidated boxes. Jim would be throwing those out soon. Just to make sure she kept her attention occupied, he turned on the holoscreen, cartoons immediately springing forth before her vision.

"So…" Maggie Jay drew out the word, looking between them as Jim returned to her field of vision. "What kind of present did you bring me, Jim, and does he have anything to do with the fact you have neglected me for the last week and a half?"

Jim smiled at her thinly, "Ah, Maggie Jay, I wasn't neglecting you. I was ignoring you. And this…" He turned to the doctor standing silently behind him, "is Bones."

Her eyes lit up dangerously, and an evil smile lit up her face. He dreaded the idea of her ever meeting Pike and Archer. The universe would implode from sheer maniacal devastation. "Bones?" she said. "The Bones?"

Jim felt a sense of déjà vu.

"Leonard McCoy." Bones reintroduced, his southern charm on full. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, and thank you for the pictures."

"Oh, you're more than welcome for the pictures," she purred, glancing at Jim with a look that promised she would not be apologizing for the fact that she sent the pictures and he could get over than right now. Then, still staring at Jim, she said, "And you and I, doctor, are going to be more than acquaintances."

Yep, it was a good thing she was in Iowa. Otherwise, he might have been moved to murder.

He glared at her with all the petulance he had learned from his daughter, but remained silent. Her smile turned fond, before it disappeared altogether. She looked back to Bones, who had been looking back and forth between them curiously. "So, tell me about yourself," she demanded. "Jim was incredibly vague when it came to the details."

Briefly he wondered if she had done this with all the people she had set him up on blind dates with, but he didn't want to know. He tuned in to Bones, listening as he gave Jim's friend everything she wanted to know from him. Thankfully Maggie Jay kept it mostly clean and inane…at least for this vid conference.

+ststst+

Bones didn't have actual classes on Fridays. He worked a shift at the Academy's medical center, helping the other doctors teach the interns the basics of human surgery. As he advanced though this track, he would start interning every other night to learn more about xenosurgery. However, that probably wouldn't begin until their second year. Pike didn't want to overload him.

Such a sweet man.

Because of this shift at the medical center, Bones had sent Jim a message around lunch, while he had been chatting amicably with Uhura about the languages she knew and how they were related, saying that he would be staying late because everyone he worked with was an idiot! Bones' words not his.

He laughed out loud at that, picturing Bones' face as he glared at the padd. Uhura looked over, reading the message from her seat. Her brows crinkled and she looked up at Jim with curiosity. "I didn't think someone could have a job for less than a month and already hate everyone there."

Jim smirked. "You don't know the sheer awesomeness that is Bones' irritation. You are a young padawan in comparison to him."

She leveled herself back into her seat with, and he would never admit this to her, a huff. "I'm not sure what to be more insulted about. The fact that I have been equated to an outdated movie, or the fact that you think I'm irritated."

Jim smiled. "Aren't you? Irritated, that is. You only smile when it's at my emotional expense."

Uhura glared at him. "I smile a lot, thank you. Just because you're not funny…"

Jim interrupted her. "See? My emotional expense."

It was almost against her will, but there was a turn at the corner of her lips. Jim's grin expanded. He grabbed a few apple slices off his plate and leaned back in his seat.

"So, what are you doing after classes?" he asked, curiously.

She shrugged, moving the remnants of her food around on her own plate. Her almost-smile faded. "I don't know. My roommate is going out for some study group. Might just stay in the dorm and enjoy the silence."

She didn't sound thrilled about that. He could tell that she wouldn't enjoy the silence, probably because it was too silent when her roommate was there. He had met her roommate a few times. An austere looking woman called Elyria, who honestly made Klingons look cuddly. It was obvious that there was some contention between the two of them. Uhura for all of her privacy and tight-lipped demeanor didn't like complete strangers. She would have liked to have someone who cared at least a little.

His heart went out to her. He had lived a lot of his life the way she had. Nineteen long years of being alone even when he had people around him made it easy to see when others were feeling just as lonely as he was. It had to be even harder for Uhura, who had lived all of her life with friends and family. She was used to having love and affection. He couldn't, in good conscience, leave her alone for the night. He had to at least offer.

"Oh…we can't have that," he said with a generous smile. "Wanna come pick up Jo with me? Usually go with Bones, but as his associates are idiots apparently…"

He was happy when she smiled, giving him a slight nod. "Yeah, that'd be nice. Joanna is such a cute little girl." She gave her food one final stab before she pushed it away; leveling him with that same look she had given him in Shipyard Bar when she had called him a 'hick.' "It's kind of a miracle considering who her father is."

He laughed. "You are a worse blow to my ego than Bones is!"

+ststst+

By the time Bones entered Jim's apartment at nine that night, Uhura was sitting on the couch teaching Jo how to say different words in archaic Romulan dialect, which was smoother than the two modern ones and only used by the aristocrats. Jim had finally broken her of her need to talk with a baby-voice about two hours ago, after several 'you realize she will one day grow up to be like us' moments.

Uhura had also French-braided Jo's curls, and decided that being called 'U-hor-a' sounded way too close to 'whore' and that for now, Jo could just call her 'Aiya' which was apparently 'star' in Vulcan. He gleaned that it did have something to do with her name, but she wasn't any more forthcoming than that.

When Bones stepped in, Jim was at the computer console reading up for one of his classes. Jo was settled in Uhura's lap, and they were watching cartoons together. More to the point Jo was watching cartoons and babbling incessantly, while Uhura was undoubtedly wondering why Jim would ever let her watch such shows. She had the beginnings of an eye-twitch last time Jim had looked back at them.

"What's going on here?" Bones asked as he entered the living room. He put down his medical kit by the door, next to Jo's book bag, looking around curiously.

"Just hanging out," Jim said distractedly, paging over to continue his search for something relevant to his class.

Uhura looked up, as if broken from a trance as Jo yelled, "Papa!" She hopped off the couch and ran towards Bones. The doctor crouched down and picked her up as she collided into his chest, wrapping her little arms around his neck.

"Hey, princess," he said with a grunt as he stood upright. His eyes landed on Uhura, who smiled up at Bones graciously.

"Hi," she said, standing from the couch and gliding over with her hand outstretched. "I'm Uhura. I'm a friend of Kirk's."

Jo tapped Bones' shoulder, saying when she had his attention, "She's my Aiya."

"Really?" he said with a smile. He took Uhura's hand, giving a firm shake. "Nice to meet you, ma'am. Leonard McCoy."

Jim finally had enough of his researching. He closed down the link to his computer, standing with a tall stretch. "Did you eat?" he asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah, got something on my break," Bones said, ushering Uhura back into the living room and onto the couch. He tossed Jo on after her and she gave a shriek of joy.

"Fly again?" she asked, standing on the couch. Bones smiled and did as she asked, chucking her onto the couch.

After the fourth time, Bones smiled ruefully. "No more flying, baby. Papa's tired."

Jo made a noise of protest, looking to be starting one of her whining moments, as she was prone to do when she started getting tired. Jim cut her off, quickly. He didn't want her to start that when Uhura was over. Maybe after a few more visits, but for now, Uhura was having a good time and he didn't want Jo to start crying. "Jo, don't do that."

She quieted instantly at his tone, but hopped off the couch to play with the few toys she had brought into the living room for Uhura to observe. Jim took his seat closer to the couch where Bones was settling himself an entire cushion away from Jim's friend.

"So what did the idiots do to make you stay so late?" he asked.

Bones groaned. "I don't even want to think about it," he said with a sigh. "I can't believe that half of these people are in Medical Track. They know nothing." He looked over to Uhura, his brows scrunching. "What track are you in?"

She looked shocked that she had been addressed, but recovered quickly. "I'm in Operations. I'm going in for linguistics."

"That sounds interesting. How do you know Jim?"

Jim met Uhura's gaze for a brief moment before she was off. She told Bones exactly how she and Jim had met, in excruciating detail that had Bones glancing at him disbelievingly every so often. Jim said nothing, just closing his eyes tightly when she confirmed that, yes; he did in fact grab her breasts. Uhura was laughing at the memory, which sort of shocked Jim considering he had been positive that she would hate him for it after the fact. Bones even looked amused, if a little concerned for Jim.

"And you just randomly came over to Jim's apartment after that spectacular meeting?" Bones asked skeptically.

Jim interrupted before she could ruin his image anymore. "We have a class together, and she actually came up to me on the shuttle."

Bones made an understanding face, even though Jim was sure he was still just as worried for both of their sanity. Jim smiled at him from his place in the computer chair, going for calming and probably failing.

Uhura stayed for another hour and a half, chatting with Bones and Jim, while Jo mostly watched her show or randomly started handing all of her toys to one of the adults. It was pretty comfortable, and it was really a nice change of pace to the way the last two weeks had gone. It was fine and he thought if it always went like this it would be okay.

He knew it wouldn't. Just because he was fine with the way he and Bones were now didn't mean he always would be. He knew he would have bad days, but as long as they were outnumbered by good days, it was going to be fine. He held tightly to that belief. He really had no other choice.

After Uhura left, Bones stayed until Jo was put down for bed, which was mostly easy. She kept saying she wasn't tired as she tried crawling out from under the covers. It took Jim reading to her before she finally succumbed to sleep. When that was done and the lights were out, he and Bones chatted amicably for a while, before the doctor left as well, leaving Jim in his quiet suite, which seemed devoid of life with the adults gone and his daughter in bed.

+ststst+

(i like to move it, move it)

InnocentGuilt