Leonard was beginning to relax and find his footing on the Enterprise. Two weeks after they left behind the vanished village, he had begun having sessions with the counselor Jamie had recommended. He had dreaded a full on interrogation on the condition of his psyche, but it wasn't like that at all. Dr. Dehner had simply started a friendly conversation about his job and specialty and Starfleet, taking the time to get to know him before delving into the tough stuff. Instead of throwing up walls and tensing up, Leonard found himself relaxing and opening up like he hadn't in years.

He was still irritated about Starfleet's ambivalence on the whole issue of human/alien trafficking. Jamie was doing her best to change things, though it was like trying to move a mountain. After one particularly frustrating conversation with Admiral Komack, she had stormed to Leonard's quarters and raged for five minutes.

"I'm not in favor of war generally, but It might have to happen to show those people we won't tolerate this. And they pass it off as a "cultural tradition!" she practically spat. "Since when does that count as free reign for abuse?! Gaila herself doesn't buy that nonsense either. She left Orion to get away from all that!" She gave a frustrated sigh and added quietly, "I'm horribly afraid it's going to take something really tragic for Starfleet to get its head out of the sand. Pike's trying so hard, but Komack is an..." She bit her lip.

Leonard, who had been watching her tirade with respect and more than a little awe, came over and sat down next to her, wrapping his arm around her.

"Ass?" He supplied, "Stubborn old codger?"

She nodded, relaxing against him. There definitely was something going on between the two, but neither had put it into words yet. They knew they were good together, but they'd kept tiptoeing around the truth, holding their breath for fear of scaring the other off.

Jamie wasn't tiptoeing around other truths, however. After a few minutes of silence, she dropped another nugget of news.

"Bones, I've found out some things about your Ex's whereabouts."

He started. Honestly, he'd almost forgotten about Jocelyn's existence in the presence of this impassioned woman.

"What is it?" He asked warily, hoping Joce wasn't going on some sort of psycho rampage after the news of his continued existence came out. Jamie laid a calming hand on his.

"She went berserk and attacked her husband, Clay something or other. She's in jail now, and likely to be so for a long time. I guess it was pretty bad."

Leonard didn't know how to feel. On the one hand, he felt relieved that she was finally in custody, on the other hand, he felt bad for Clay. He wasn't a bad guy, just gullible. He'd fallen for Jocelyn's act and ended up hurt, like Leonard. The difference was, he had better lawyers who'd make sure she got put away and hopefully got meds.

"Doesn't surprise me. She could only hide her problems for so long before they showed up big time," he sighed. "She really thought she could power through on her own. Thought it would hurt her status if people found out she was on meds."

Jamie looked sympathetic and thoughtful. "That's what we all try to do. I would have ended up the same way without Pike intervening. I'm glad you started seeing Dr. Dehner, by the way."

"How'd you know, that?", Leonard asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Oh, clues here and there," Jamie said slyly. "I put two and two together. Isn't she great?"

She smiled that dazzling smile again. "You're Great," thought Leonard to himself. Out loud he responded, "Yeah. Wasn't at all what I thought, he observed, taking her hand, "More like a conversation between friends, not some weird probing questioning right off the bat about how everything makes me feel." Jamie nodded.

"That's exactly it. I'd tried other therapists and gave up pretty quickly, but she know how to ease you in to the difficult questions gradually. She can read BS a mile away, too."

He nodded in agreement, then startled when he realized their fingers were now intertwined. How had that happened?

He looked at Jamie, who was looking back at him rather intently. "You know I'm claiming first rights to ask you out once you're ready, Bones?"

Leonard chuckled at the possessive way she spoke. "I hardly think there's a long line of suitors waiting to court me," he snorted in disbelief.

"Oh, there is," she responded softly. "I saw that pretty Andorian nurse making eyes at you the other day, and Chekov clearly has a crush. There's quite a lot of admiration when you walk by."

He felt his face grow warm. "Yeah well, they ain't you. No chance. I've been sweet on you for awhile now," he admitted.

"Awww, Bones. That's the sweetest thing you've ever said," Jamie cooed. "You have such a good heart. I'd like to have you as CMO someday. M'Benga is probably going to get transferred one of these days. They need his skills on New Vulcan. You're going to be great, doing what you love again."

"You have a lot of confidence in someone you've only known a month, Jamie. I hope I can live up to it." He caressed her hand again. She gave him a steady look that made him kind of warm inside.

"You've given me no reason not to, Bones," she replied. Why was it that he suddenly felt he could defeat an army of Orions and Klingons?