A/N:Here's the next chapter, I would have had it up sooner but we're having trouble with the internet.
As always a HUGE thank you to Bookdragon01 for beta-ing!
Once Joanna was settled between himself and Jim McCoy pulled out his old communicator and made a call to a friend.
"Charlie? It's Leo, you're still at General right?" he asked with a worried glance at Joanna
"Leo It's great to hear from you. Yes I'm still here. How's Starfleet goin'?" The man on the other end of the call replied.
"Been doin' ok. Charlie I hope to God you're at work today, cause I'm gonna need a favor," McCoy said the worry and anger seeping into his voice as he glanced at Jim and his daughter.
"Yeah, I'm off in about 30 but I think I can squeeze you in. What's wrong?" Charlie asked hearing the change in McCoy's voice.
"Jo's been hurt by the bastard her Mama was seein'. I need ya to document everythin' for me. I'm tryin' to fix the Klingon shit divorce that I got stuck with, and get custody of Jo. Can you help?" McCoy asked grimly as Joanna wrapped her arms around his, resting her head on his bicep.
"Bring her in Leo and we'll get this sorted." Charlie replied grimly.
"Thanks Charlie. We'll be there shortly. I have a group from the ship with me and a cop followin' to get copies for APD. We're less than two out." He warned.
"The more the merrier Leo you know that. I'll meet you at the ER entrance. Pierce out"
"Who's Charlie?" Jim asked as Bones hung up.
"Charles Benjamin Pierce. One of the best pediatricians at the Hospital; we started workin' there 'bout the same time. I trust him to shoot straight and not to go shootin' his mouth off." McCoy replied gently disentangling Joanna's arms as they pulled up to the ER entrance.
As they approached the doors a tall man stepped out, messy black hair looking like he'd run his fingers through it multiple times, his blue eyes somber, he greeted McCoy with a brief grin, then became serious as he got a look at Joanna in her father's arms.
"Leo, right this way. I've got a room for us in the back, and I told Beej that you were coming so she should have it ready for you," Dr. Pierce said leading them to a small side door marked 'Employee Entrance. "I figured that you'd want to attract as little attention as possible."
"Thanks Charlie, I'll do the introductions after we're in there that way this stays quiet." He gently shifted Joanna in his arms as they followed Charlie through the busy hallway.
Once they were all inside the exam room with the door shut, McCoy began the introductions as he settled Joanna carefully on the biobed.
"Ok Charlie this is Jim Kirk, Cmdr Spock, Nyota Uhura and Lt Cmdr Rhymer from JAG. These are two of the best here at Atlanta General, Dr Charles Pierce and his wife Nurse Bethany Jean."
"Most folks just call me BJ or Beej though saves a bit of time and there are several Bethany's and Jean's in the pediatrics unit. It's also a family nickname," The pretty brown haired nurse explained starting the first of the scans as the cop knocked on the door.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, though I wish it wasn't like this," Jim said letting the officer in.
"I agree with you there, Captain." Charlie replied, his voice a pleasant mix of New England crispness and Georgia drawl as he pulled the curtain around the bed. "It's not often we get celebrities through here," he added bringing eye rolls and chuckles from the group.
McCoy watched anxiously as Charlie and BJ started the tests and scans, praying that there wasn't anything wrong that he hadn't already found. As they worked, both Charlie and BJ kept up a quiet chatter to keep him and Joanna distracted and calm while they worked and waited for the results to come back.
As the results appeared on the various monitors they were what was expected, other than being more detailed than tricorder readings. McCoy breathed a sigh of relief as he held Joanna's hand while Charlie got started on treating what he could of her concussion and mending her black eye. McCoy found himself relieved beyond words when Joanna stopped squinting up at him.
It took about twenty minutes to treat her various injuries though it felt longer. Everyone seemed to release their breath when BJ pulled the curtain back and they could see that Joanna was looking better; the swelling was down in her face and the bruising several shades lighter, and her hazel eyes clear again.
Dr Pierce held out two disks. "Officer, Lt Cmdr here's your evidence. I hope you can put the bastard away for a long time," he said grimly as Bones lifted Joanna down.
"Uncle Jim, thank you," she said as she came slowly over, limping slightly, and gave him a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. Jim just buried his face in her dark hair for a moment, wrapping his arms around her as tight as he dared, more moved than he really wanted to admit.
"You're welcome JoJo, anytime," he whispered to her as he let her go.
Jim shared a smile with Bones as Joanna went around the room giving the crew a hug and shaking Rhymer's hand. Spock obviously wasn't sure what to do for a second, most children avoided him like the plague. But he gave her a hesitant embrace, and Jim had to bite his lip to keep from laughing at the look of surprise on his face. That had to have been a first for his friend, having a little girl he hadn't met before that afternoon give him a hug. A quick glance at McCoy and Uhura confirmed that they were having as much trouble as Jim keeping a straight face. It wasn't till later that they learned that Joanna had given him a kiss as well. Charlie snickered a bit at their expressions as he and BJ cleaned up, until his wife smacked him on the back of the head making the rest of them laugh at his antics.
"Ok Jim your turn," McCoy announced once things quieted down.
"Bones I'm fine." Jim started to protest as Bones walked over to him.
"Kid I just wanna make sure of that. From the amount of bruisin' I can see and from what you, Spock and Rhymer said back there that was a hell of a fight. I'm gonna make sure that bastard didn't do anythin' serious to you especially that left side of yours," Bones growled at Jim.
"Bones, it's nothing serious. I have been in fights before you know. Anyway one punch isn't gonna do anything to my ribs," Jim retorted scowling up at McCoy. "You used enough of that bone stuff two years ago to make sure of that."
"No I didn't, just enough to repair the two ribs that bastard damn near shattered not to mention the four others that were either fractured or broken. How the hell you managed to stand that for almost five hours I still don't know," McCoy explained with a sigh. "Get on the bed Jim. 'Sides I know your neck and head hafta be botherin' ya if nothin' else is."
"Fine Bones," Jim huffed as he got up and climbed on to the biobed.
A couple of minutes later the scans were finished. "See Bones, just a bunch of bruises" Jim remarked as the results came back.
"Yeah but now we know that for sure Jim. I used as much calcium as I dared after your fight two years ago but there's no real way to tell if it'll stay repaired after repeated hard blows; and you manage to get hit there often enough, so excuse me for worryin' 'bout punctured organs," Bones snarled back, but Jim could see the relief in his eyes. "Rhymer, you're next, then Spock. I want all your bruises on record, for my own piece of mind if nothin' else."
Rhymer and Spock proved to be more cooperative than Jim about the scans. Once they were finished and handed over to the cop, who left quickly, everyone started gathering up their things.
"We'd better be going; we still need to get Spock and Uhura off on their trip," Jim said looking at the clock, as McCoy picked Joanna back up.
"My folks will be surprised that we made the Cairo connection. We were going to just miss the last one originally" Uhura said looking at her watch.
"I think we need to make some calls," Jim suggested. "Bones I think you'd better call Pike, that way I don't get the medical stuff wrong; let Rhymer handle Archer. Let them know what went on and see if they have any recommendations for going from here."
"So where did Bones come from?" Charlie asked with a grin
"The Kid here thinks he's funny. It stuck after we met on the shuttle to the Academy," McCoy explained with a slightly exasperated look at Jim
"Yeah, He'd tried to hide in the bathroom, and when they drug him out he ended up next to me. Told me the only thing he had left were his bones. Hey I could have used the first thing you said to me Bones, ever think of that?" Jim added grinning at his friend.
"And what was that?" Charlie asked a glint of mischief in his eyes as McCoy rolled his.
"'I might throw up on you.'" Jim replied with a devilish grin at his friend, while Charlie, BJ, and Joanna burst out laughing.
"You definitely came off the better, Leo. Let us know how things turn out, please?" Charlie chuckled.
"I will. Charlie, BJ, thank you, for everything." He shook Charlie's hand and gave BJ a quick hug at the door, before heading out of the ER and back to the car.
It was after 3:00 as they left the hospital so they decided to eat then head for the shuttle terminal. Joanna requested her favorite restaurant, an old fashioned little café in the old city center. After a good meal in the charming old building, they headed to the Atlanta shuttle terminal to see Uhura and Spock off.
As they waited for the shuttle to board Jim found a couple open vid-coms and called to let his mom know he'd be later than planned, while Rhymer called the Atlanta PD and Adm. Archer.
"Hello? Jim? Adm. Archer said you were sick, are you alright? How's your stomach?" Winona asked rapid fire. Jim chuckled at her. She looked almost the same as when he was a kid. Her blonde hair was shorter and highlighted with grey now; and a few more lines had appeared around her eyes and cheeks but she was still pretty.
"Mom I'm fine. That was a cover that Admirals Pike and Archer came up with to get us out of there early," Jim said rolling his eyes. "We're in Atlanta right now."
"What happened?" Winona asked worriedly.
"We had to come early and get Bones' girl, Joanna. It's a long story but I probably won't get there till later tomorrow sometime. The flights are screwed up cause of a storm near Chicago," Jim told her, a trace of anger still in his voice.
"Can you give me the highlights?" she asked as her worry shifted from her son to the girl she'd heard about for the last two years.
"Bones got a call that Joanna was in trouble so we ended up flying out as the Ceremony started. Got down here and found out that she was hurt pretty bad by the bastard-" he paused to clear his throat, blinking hard. "She's gonna be ok, but it was serious for a while, right now she's sitting with Uhura and her dad, talking to Spock. Bones' lawyer, Rhymer is talking to Archer and the APD to find out if she has any restrictions on her movement, you know the old line: don't leave town. Then Bones has to call Pike to fill him in too. I would have but I don't think I could stay calm enough. Plus Pike needs to hear it from him" Jim explained quickly.
"If they can leave why-why don't all of you come up here? You know we have the space. And I'd like to meet the friends you talk about so much," she asked a bit hesitantly. She knew that he'd been eager to come home but wasn't sure if he'd want to bring his friends yet or not.
"I'll ask them Mom - just a minute." Jim could see she was worried that he'd refuse, as he turned and yelled at the group. "Uhura, Bones? Need to ask you something." Bones rolled his eyes as he helped Joanna settle in the seat next to Spock and follow Uhura over. Jim leaned out of the booth slightly and asked "How does moving our get together to my Mom's sound? She offered and there's more than enough room."
Uhura thought a moment and smiled "Let me ask Spock," she said, hurrying off to ask.
"Joanna can leave the state right?" Jim asked Bones.
"Yes the cops know how to find us. From what Rhymer just found out from Capt Logan, she was on the comm. almost as soon as she got back to the station callin' Pike and Archer. They vouched for us so we're good to go. It's still a bit of a mess but it could be worse. Hi Mrs. Kirk," Bones said as he stuck his head in the booth. "Jo and I'll be there. Uhura's askin' Spock. But you'll at least have the two of us."
"Good, it'll be nice to have a child around the place again." She smiled.
Uhura tapped Bones on the shoulder and squeezed around him enough to see the screen as he backed up to let her in. "Excuse me Len. We're in too so that makes four. Kirk, the next ones open again so I'll start calling the others. Bye Mrs. Kirk, see you soon." She ducked out with a wave and a smile. "Len don't worry about calling Adm. Pike. Rhymer caught him in Archer's office." Jim heard her say as they separated and McCoy headed back to their seats.
Jim shook his head grinning. "I hope you're ready for a hyperactive 19 year old Russian whiz kid , a perpetually hungry Scott, Sulu practicing fencing in the back yard and cataloguing the flower beds, Uhura and Spock still trying to act like they aren't in love and babbling in some alien language all over the place, and Bones worrying about someone getting hurt." He said with a laugh.
"Sounds wonderful actually Jim, I'm going to enjoy having all of you," Winona said chuckling at his familiar descriptions of his friends. "Let me know who's coming when you know. I love you Jim," She told him softly.
"I love you too Mom. Talk to you later. Kirk out." He quickly stuck his head in the next booth. "Uhura, who do you need to get a hold of yet?"
"Just Scotty," she said breaking off whatever she was saying in Russian.
"Ok I'll call him. Pavel I'm sorry for interrupting," he said and quickly slid back into his booth. It took Scotty a while to answer; Jim had almost given up and was going to leave a message when he picked up slightly out of breath.
"Sorry Cap'n Ah was in th' hall and didnea hear it at first. Wha's goin' on? Did ya manage ta git the Lass?" Scotty asked looking worried.
"Yes we did, she's hurt but going to be alright. Right now she's with Bones, Spock and 'Rhymer. I called my mom to let her know I'd be late and she offered to let us use the farm for our last week of leave. Are you still going to be able to make it if we do?" Jim explained.
"O' course Cap'n, Ah wouldnea miss it fer th' world. She makes sandwiches righ'?"
Jim just laughed at Scotty's obsession. "You might have to put them together but I know she'll have the stuff," He replied still chuckling.
"It's no' funny Cap'n," Scotty protested.
"I know Scotty, it's the fact every time we go anywhere that's the first thing you ask," Jim explained as he managed to stop chuckling. "Same date as before but its Riverside Iowa."
"Riverside! Tha's where they built th' Enterprise!" Scotty exclaimed awed.
"Yep, I more or less watched it go together; though I didn't pay any real attention to it till I enlisted. Don't worry I think Mom's got holos of it. So we'll see you in a week?"
"Ya bet yaer ass ya will!"
"See you then Scotty. Kirk out," Jim was still laughing as Uhura stuck her head in again.
"What?" Uhura asked puzzled by his laughter.
"Just Scotty, his sandwich obsession and the fact that the Enterprise was built in Riverside. So who's coming?" Jim asked.
"Well both of them so there'll be 8 of us all together. I'd left a message for Sulu and he came barging into Chekov's room to make sure he got a hold of me," she told him with a grin.
"Thanks for calling them I appreciate it. Now to get back to Mom," he told her with a grin, keying in the number as she went back to their seats.
McCoy settled back in his seat with Joanna in his lap discussing what Rhymer had learned from the Admirals and Captain Logan. Neither Jocelyn nor Victor was talking yet, but the results of the scans that Charlie had done at the hospital had just arrived and were being examined before being used to confront either of them.
Uhura arrived just as Rhymer was going over what Adm. Archer had said when he's heard what happened and his attempts to clean up the Admiral's language because of Joanna were amusing.
Jim joined them a few minutes later still laughing. "My Mom's reaction to my telling her about Scotty's obsession with sandwiches, I thought she'd fall out of her seat laughing," he explained still chuckling.
Just then Uhura and Spock's shuttle was called; everyone stood up and helped them gather their bags as goodbyes were said. Uhura gently hugged Joanna, and McCoy, and shook hands with Jim, and Rhymer. Joanna managed to corner Spock as he paused to pick up his suitcase and gave him another hug; he took this one in better grace. Amid the chaos Rhymer reminded them to send their statements to Captain Logan and him as soon as they could.
After they were gone, Rhymer turned to Jim, and McCoy, who had Joanna yawning on his shoulder, "Captain, Doctor I found a shuttle for San Francisco in an hour and will be taking it to get started on all the paperwork and give the Admirals a thorough brief on everything that has happened."
"Well goodbye, have a safe trip. Let us know what happens," Jim said as they shook hands.
"You should be hearing from me regularly, and I'll comm. you first with any new developments. Take care Joanna I'll see you soon," Rhymer replied and headed for the shuttle gate as Joanna waved sleepily. Then the three of them left the terminal to see about finding a hotel for the night.
"Why don't we just go back to your place Bones? If we need to get anything for JoJo that she forgot to pack its right there,"Jim asked as they headed for the car.
"And what do we tell her 'bout why she's back there and why her Mama isn't?" Bones whispered back, trying not to wake the girl dozing on his shoulder. That was the last thing he needed right now, having Joanna panic on him because of being back in that house right now, with or without Jocelyn there; though he could see the logic in Jim's suggestion too.
"We could say that since things went the way they did she didn't want to stay there. Or we could just tell her the truth that her Mom's in trouble for letting him hurt her, and the cops needed to have a long talk with her about it. And we don't know when she'll be back or if they'll let her because of the divorce being looked at. C'mon she's a smart girl Bones she can handle the truth or at least a watered down version. This kinda thing makes you grow up fast," Jim replied adding the last almost under his breath as they reached the car.
Hearing Jim's last sentence made McCoy pause; he'd never pried into Jim's past but he'd managed to put together a pretty good picture of it, and that last remark filled in several blanks and explained a lot about his reactions today as well as confirmed his suspicions about some of the older scars and injuries he'd seen while patching Jim back up after some of his stunts.
"Ok Jim we'll try it. But if she gets too upset it's on your head." He sighed as he gently buckled Joanna into her seatbelt, praying that he wouldn't regret it.
"Alright Bones. Part of the reason for this too is the fact I hate sleeping in hotel beds. They're good for some things but sleeping isn't one of them," Jim said with a straight face that dissolved into a chuckle as Bones shot him a dirty look before pulling out of the parking lot.
"I'll bet Jim. You're the only person I know who could or would make that statement with a straight face," McCoy groused as they headed back towards his old house.
It turned out they couldn't get to the house though; there had been a bad wreck over one of the main streets that led to at least two more and with all the traffic being rerouted it would have taken more patience than either Jim or McCoy possessed right then to get across the city. So Bones drove to a hotel that he remembered.
It took Jim a few minutes to arrange for rooms them while McCoy and Joanna waited in the car; they ended up with a suite because of needing three beds. Once in the rooms, Jim retreated to the second bedroom to change while Bones got Joanna awake and helped her change in the other bedroom. Jim had to shake his head at the room; it looked a lot like the bedroom of the dorm they'd shared, only a different color scheme. But he almost automatically claimed the bed away from the door, knowing both his friend and what might be happening with Joanna.
Dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, he finished getting ready for bed then peaked in the other bedroom to see Joanna in bed talking sleepily with Bones, hugging the bear he'd found on her bed.
"Ok your turn," he said quietly from the doorway as they looked up.
"Thanks Jim," Bones told him giving Jo one last kiss and hug before standing up.
"I love ya Daddy," she murmured as he stood.
"I love ya too Darlin'," he murmured as he turned to leave, smiling at Joanna.
"G'night Uncle Jim," she added a moment later holding out her arms for a hug.
"Night JoJo, sweet dreams," he whispered back as he released her and moved to the door smiling back at her as he turned off the light and pulled the door partway shut, before heading for his own bed. Slipping out of his shirt he suddenly froze, remembering that he'd had a date with Carol tonight. 'Oh well, I'll make it up to her' he thought before crawling in and closing his eyes.