Chapter Three
The next evening after Donna and her family had returned to their hotel, the three of them sat outside on the porch. His mom sat beside him on the bench while Joanna took a seat beside her on a chair. It was a clear evening and it didn't look like it would rain as it had for the last two nights. There was silence between them for some time before Joanna stood and peered off to the distance.
"Do either of you know anyone who would ride a motorcycle? Or at least I think that's what that is, because a hover car doesn't leave a trail like that…" Joanna said as she pointed to the east. McCoy rose and looked in the direction she pointed.
"It could be Jim. I told you he might be coming, didn't I mom?" McCoy stated. She nodded. As the figure approached, McCoy's suspicions were confirmed when Jim stopped a motorbike on the other side of his hover car then walked closer to all of them.
"Hi Bones. You must be Eleanora McCoy and you're Joanna McCoy. I'm Jim Kirk. It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance ladies." Jim introduced himself. Both his mom and daughter shook Jim's hand.
"We've never met before Captain Kirk, but I've heard a lot about you. Leonard said you might drop by at some point. I suppose you want to stay for a few days? I do have a guest room free." Eleanora replied.
"Well, I'd like that Mrs McCoy. Thank you for the offer. Bones, sorry it's taken me this long to get out here. I wanted to get away to see you earlier. But after the debriefings, my mom insisted that we go out for dinner. Then I got buried under a mountain of paperwork that I just finished this afternoon. But I suppose that's what happens when you've been assigned to work at Starfleet Operations." Jim responded.
"They put you to work at Starfleet Operations during the retrofit Jim? I don't know whether to congratulate you or check on the mental health of Admiral Nogura for that." McCoy replied.
"Well, since you two clearly want to talk alone I think it's time for us ladies to say good night. Breakfast will be at eight o clock tomorrow morning, and if you're late it will be cold. Good night Leonard, Captain." his mom replied. Then she turned to go inside.
"Good night dad, Mr Kirk." replied Joanna as she followed her grandmother inside. McCoy gestured toward the bench on the patio and both men sat down.
"So why are you really out here Jim? You didn't drive from San Francisco to Atlanta on a motorbike just to catch up did you?" McCoy asked.
"I don't like being behind a desk Bones. From what Scotty said, the Enterprise A will be ready in six months. But he also said those estimates are always usually the best guess of the engineers more then anything else." Jim answered.
"My entire med bay will be different. I know what engineers are like." McCoy complained.
"So then you're coming with us on the next mission?" Jim confirmed.
"Yes. I've been ordered to come with you on the next five year mission, God help me." McCoy replied.
"Good. After all, if Mr Sulu can leave his husband and daughter behind on Yorktown, then you can do the same with your mom and daughter on Earth." Jim reasoned.
"Jim, do you not understand how hard that is for Lieutenant Sulu and how much he misses Ben and Demora? I've been the one who has been gone for years. Eleanora, Joanna, and I are still finding our feet again after that. I'll go back into space with you and the crew again but not without misgivings. Speaking of going into space, how many new crew members on the Enterprise are we going to have other then my two new medical staff?" McCoy wondered.
"Other then your new medical staff, we will have six other new crew members. Ensign Harper was transferred to Jupiter Station. Ensign Wong was transferred to Starfleet Science and his husband Ensign Henderson has been transferred to Starfleet Command. Lieutenant Yates has gotten married to her boyfriend Lieutenant Parker so they will both be serving on the USS Olympia once the repairs to that ship are complete in a month's time. Lieutenant Commander Giotto has accepted a teaching position at Starfleet Academy and promoted Lieutenant Umal to act as head of security with a promotion to lieutenant commander. Crewman S'nell resigned her field commission and went to work at the United States Institute of Exobiology. The rest of the crew is going back into space with us." Jim explained.
"I see." McCoy replied. He had mixed feelings about not continuing to serve alongside S'nell.
"Are you going to miss S'nell Bones?" Jim asked.
"Yeah but it's for the best. Now S'nell can focus on her career and find someone else who will be able to reciprocate her feelings." McCoy replied.
"Both of us know that's not the issue here." Jim told him.
"Jim, I told you that I won't turn into Pamela. I can't- I won't do that to Natira." McCoy insisted.
"You still care about Natira then?" Jim wondered.
"Of course I do. I wouldn't have married her otherwise. My feelings toward Natira weren't all because of my fatal illness." McCoy stated.
"Right. I just don't want this love triangle of yours to end badly." Jim told him.
"Well, so far so good. Now we should both get some sleep." McCoy said.
"All right. Good night Bones." Jim replied.
"Good night Jim. Let me show you to your room." McCoy stated. The two of them stood up then entered the house. McCoy made sure to lock the door behind them before they went upstairs.
The next evening they took Eleanora's hover car to go into Atlanta to watch a basketball game of the Atlanta Hawks. McCoy was accompanied by Jim, Joanna, Donna, and Fred. Thomas and Linda had stayed at home with his mom, who really wasn't a basketball fan.
"So Joanna, how did you get tickets to this game? I didn't know you were a basketball fan like Bones." said Jim.
"Oh, I got a season pass for my birthday last year from Matthew. Frankly I don't care for anything else he's given me. But I liked the tickets. Don't worry aunt Donna, I know the tickets were only given to me to win mom over. It's not like Matthew actually cares about me. But I pretend that I care about him when mom's around otherwise I'd never hear the end of it." Joanna replied.
"So you don't like Matthew either then Joanna." McCoy said.
"No, the man's pompous and condescending. I mean, look at how he treated Linda's drawing that she had given to dad at dinner. There was no need to insult her like that." Joanna responded.
"You're right Joanna. No one insults my children and gets away with it." Donna stated.
"Yeah I thought that was rude too. So then what does Pamela see in Matthew?" Fred wanted to know.
"Matthew has a lot of credits. That's indirectly how he and mom met three years ago. She was at a fundraiser for the theatre in Atlanta that she has a subscription to and he was one of the donors at the event. I guess the alcohol they were drinking that night did the rest. Though I'm sure that the authentic diamond bracelet he gave mom on their first anniversary helped too. The only reason I haven't shoved Matthew's gifts in the matter recycler is to avoid a fight with mom who likes what he gives her. I swear the moment I can move into a dorm at university to get away from them I will." Joanna explained.
"Well, it's only a few more months until that happens. Are you excited Joanna?" Donna wondered.
"You know I am. Though I will miss grandma and your family aunt Donna." Joanna replied. I bet Joanna won't miss me, McCoy thought.
"I'll miss you too sweetheart. But my comm line is always open if you want to talk. Just remember the time difference between here and Cerberus." Donna replied.
"So you're going to nursing school then Joanna?" Jim asked.
"Yeah, I'm going to Ole Miss this fall. Hey, if you're interested once I get settled in I'll track down dad's graduation photo from Ole Miss and send it to you Mr Kirk." Joanna answered.
"Call me Jim and we have a deal." his best friend stated. McCoy shot Jim a glare.
"Don't you dare Joanna." he warned his daughter.
"Why dad? Are you frowning or something in that photo?" Joanna wondered.
"Not at all. But your mom thought my smile looked more like a grimace." McCoy admitted.
"Pamela had a point about that Leonard. You'd just graduated from medical school. You could have looked more excited to become a doctor." Donna stated.
"I still had to pass the Georgia Medical Association accreditation test, take the Hippocratic Oath, then find a job before I became a practising doctor Donna." McCoy reminded her.
"Those were formalities given how easily you managed to do all of them and settle down to work in the hospital in Atlanta." Donna responded.
"Maybe so. So Joanna, who are the Atlanta Hawks playing tonight?" McCoy changed the subject.
"They are playing the Miami Heat tonight." Joanna said.
"Then this game should be pretty evenly matched." Fred stated.
"Do you follow basketball Fred?" McCoy asked.
"Donna's told me a few things about some of the teams in the NBA, but I don't tend to watch the games. I'm more of a baseball guy myself if I watch sports at all." Fred explained.
"In my opinion baseball consists of men standing around in a field and occasionally throwing or hitting a ball. My friend Cheryl claims that's the only reason to watch the game. But then she'd say that considering her boyfriend Josh is the short stop of the high school baseball team."
"I normally wouldn't have spent time with her, but we were paired together on a biology project in class two months ago. Cheryl was pretty smart, though my marks are better then hers in that class. I improved her grade with the project and in return she taught me how to wear makeup. I know you don't approve of it dad but I'm old enough to wear some. I've never done it around mom though. She warned me not to wear anything aside from nail polish before my eighteenth birthday. So she'd freak out if she knew I wore more then that." Joanna explained.
"Your secret is safe with me Joanna." he stated.
"Thanks dad." his daughter replied. They were silent the rest of the way to the arena and while they found their seats. The game started shortly afterwards and McCoy turned his attention to it. At half time, the Atlanta Hawks were ahead much to his delight.
"Bones, can you go and get us some food and something to drink?" requested Jim.
"Fine. What does everyone want from the food synthesizer?" McCoy asked. Everyone told him and then he made his way out of the room and walked to the room where the food synthesizers stood against one wall. He picked a line that seemed the shortest and began to wait. After a moment, it occurred to him that the woman in front of him in the line looked somewhat familiar. He cleared his throat and she turned her head to look around the room. She paused when she saw him and turned fully around.
"Well I'll be damned. It's Christina Wilson isn't it?" wondered McCoy as he looked at his first girlfriend who had agreed very gracefully in his opinion.
"If it isn't Leonard McCoy. Actually, it's not Wilson anymore. It's Stevenson now." she responded.
"Then where is your husband?" McCoy wondered. She had a wedding ring on but there was no sign of a man who knew her close by.
"Oh, he's not that big of a sports fan. So I'm here with our son Henry. John is probably in his map room." Christina stated.
"Map room?" McCoy asked, deciding not to address the fact that she had a son.
"John is a stellar cartographer who publishes navigational charts from data that civilian pilots bring to him. Many of those maps are used by cargo vessels, tourists, colony ships, and civilian scientists. I don't know if they are as accurate as Starfleet navigational charts but those aren't available in the public records. So someone has to map the galaxy for the rest of us." Christina explained.
"I suppose you're right." McCoy stated. Though that wasn't a subject he had given much thought to before now.
"So I heard you became a doctor which didn't surprise me. Though I was surprised that you'd enlisted in Starfleet." Christina changed the subject.
"Well, I had nowhere else to go at the time." he told her.
"Let me guess. You had just been through a bad divorce?" Christina speculated.
"How did you know that?" he wondered.
"Leonard, you are still easy on the eyes. But you weren't always easy to get along with when we were dating in high school. I doubt that much has changed." she replied.
"Not really." he admitted.
"Did you have any children with your ex wife?" Christina asked.
"Yes. I have a daughter Joanna." McCoy said.
"I see." she said then looked around the room again. She was now the first in the line for the food synthesizer.
"Well, it's been good to see you again but I should get some food for Henry and I. Take care of yourself Leonard." she concluded.
"You too Christina." he responded. She quickly ordered hot dogs and pop then it was his turn. He ordered what everyone wanted, put it on a tray, then wandered back through the crowd to his group.
"Took you long enough Bones. Was there a long lineup at the food synthesizer?" wondered Jim as he passed out the food and drink.
"No, but I ran into an old flame of mine and we got to talking. Sorry about that." McCoy apologized as he sat back down again.
"So you met Christina Stevenson? What did you think of her?" Donna wondered after drinking some of her pop.
"How did you know that Christina was the old flame I met Donna?" McCoy wanted to know.
"Because Emory Dax was a Trill and she went back to her home planet after your summer romance ended. As for Nancy Bierce she married someone else and went off planet with him. Those were the only girlfriends you had before Pamela. If it was someone after your divorce then they were likely in Starfleet. So they were less likely to be here tonight then in San Francisco." Donna explained.
"Fair enough." McCoy said. He began to eat his snack. A few moments later the basketball game resumed and he returned his attention to the court.