A/N: So I thought "Yay, week-and-a-half long break, I'll get loads of writing done!" I was wrong. I'm writing just as fast (or maybe slower) as if I were stuck in school seven hours a day. Oh well, as long as I still write and post, eh?
Leonard adjusted the dosage on a hypospray. "This is gonna sting a bit, Jane, but it'll help you feel better, ok?"
She nodded. Holding her damp blonde hair out of the way, he injected the medicine into her neck. Jane winced but didn't make a sound. "Congratulations, Jane, you're officially braver than your Uncle Jim. He always whimpers when I do this to him."
Jane's chuckle turned into a yawn. Aurelan, sitting on the other side of Jane's bed, stroked her hair. "I'll come back later with some soup, all right sweetie?" she murmured. Jane nodded, and was fast asleep in moments. Leonard packed up his medkit and stood, quietly slipping into the hall followed by Aurelan.
"Thank you," Aurelan murmured sincerely.
Leonard waved dismissively. "It's just my job."
"Yeah, but…" Aurelan said, glancing at the guest room door. "You left Jim to do it. Alone with Sam. From what I've heard, you don't leave him for just anyone."
"True," Leonard conceded.
"So is it just because she's Jim's niece, or…?"
"Daddy, my scratch hurts. Kiss it better?"
"Daddy, can you read me a bedtime story?"
"Daddy, can I ride on your shoulders?"
"I love you, Daddy."
God, there were a million reasons. All named Joanna.
"Yeah" was all he said. Because Jim was why he was here, after all. Not his little girl whom he hadn't seen in seven years.
Aurelan clearly saw right through him. Women had a way of doing that – sensing when someone was lying about emotions. Flashing a reassuring smile, she pointed at the guest room door. "Just put your stuff in there. I'll see what I can do to calm Sam down a bit."
"Why does he hate Jim so much?" Leonard asked.
Aurelan opened her mouth, then shrugged. "I don't know, honestly. I never heard much about him before Winona visited the Enterprise, and Sam still doesn't mention him."
"This is going to be next to impossible, isn't it?"
Aurelan quietly closed Jane's door. "Yeah, it is. But, for better or for worse, we both chose to be part of the Kirk life."
Leonard sighed, stepping back towards the door. "Yeah, we did. What the hell were we thinking?"
Aurelan laughed. "Probably something like 'Look at this lost soul who needs my help.' Or nothing at all. Either way, good luck to us both," she called as she headed downstairs.
"Yeah, we'll need that," Leonard muttered, half to himself. Shoving thoughts of Joanna to the back of his mind, he entered the guest room.
It was a bit cramped, a king-sized bed comprised of two separate mattresses shoved into the far corner taking up most of the available space. A closet sat to Leonard's right, and between that and the bed was a nightstand below a small window, adorned by a small digital clock. Aside from that, it was pretty Spartan. Like the rest of the house, it was wood.
Jim sat hunched over on the floor, his back against the bed, his face in his hands, his elbows on his knees.
"Jim?"
He lifted his head. "Is it time to go down?" he asked. His voice lacked emotion, the sign of a man resigned to his fate and trying not to hurt anyone. The last time he'd sounded like this, Leonard and Spock had been left behind in a jail cell while guards escorted Jim to his execution, something he'd actually agreed to just to keep Leonard and Spock safe.
Leonard crouched down beside him. "Hey, don't talk like that. Don't. This isn't an execution, it's family. Sure, sometimes you'd rather be executed, but hey, you'll get through it. I mean, how often does Spock drive you up the wall with all his logic? How many arguments have you had with your mother since you two reconnected? How often does Uhura want to slap you for being an idiot? How often do I want to stab you with a hypo to make you shut up? How often-"
"Is there a point to this?" Jim interrupted.
"Family isn't supposed to be easy. They're supposed to make you miserable – that's why they're family. Granted, nowhere near as miserable as they've made you, but the boys are already fascinated by you and Aurelan's a great woman. Get to know them, get close to them, and you and Sam will gradually fall into place. Trust me."
Jim glanced away. "How do you know?"
"Well, I wouldn't put up with the hobgoblin if you weren't friends with him, and look how far I go to protect him."
"Bones, that took years."
"It only took a few months, Jim – we're just really good at arguing like we hate each other. And I never said it would be instant, or even remotely fast. But proximity is key in forming relationships, and I have a feeling that if Aurelan likes someone, Sam will eventually follow her lead."
"Bones, you haven't even seen them together for more than a few seconds."
"That's how it was with Jocelyn. I thought some of her friends were annoying, but the more time they spent with us, the less I hated them."
"That's so reassuring, Bones."
Leonard clapped Jim on the shoulder. "You've gotta try something, and I just can't see you two talking it out like level-headed human beings."
Jim mock-glared at him. "Really?"
"Yes. Now, time for dinner. Come on, kid," he urged, standing and extending his hand.
After a moment's pause, Jim took it.
-LLAP-
Aurelan descended the stairs, leaving McCoy to take care of Jim. She had seen him pass by, undoubtedly shaken by Sam's anger. It was a rare sight, Sam losing his temper like that, but when it did happen, she pitied the person suffering his wrath. Although, he normally had a much better reason for yelling than just the person's presence.
She found Sam already sitting at the table, alongside Winona and their sons, silently waiting the others. "Sam, can I talk to you outside?" Aurelan asked in a tone that left no room for argument.
"Aurelan-"
"Now," she added sharply. Grumbling, he stood. Turning on her heel, she led him through the living room and to the front porch. As he started to say something, she slapped his cheek.
"Ow!" he yelped. "What was that for?
"Your brother," Aurelan snapped. "That is just the teensiest fraction of everything he has suffered, both at the hands of this family and of other people. He does not need you adding to it by insulting him purely because he was brave enough to agree to stay here."
"It's not my fault he's fragile," Sam hissed.
"The hell it isn't," Aurelan shot back. "You've shunned him for seventeen years for no reason he can control, and God only knows what you did when you were with him every day. I know you're a different man now, Sam, but you're not acting like it. Stop acting like the douche I knew in high school, and be the kind, caring man I fell in love with. And he's not fragile."
"Then what is he?"
"I don't know him and I'm not a psychologist, but I'm guessing that looking up the definition of PTSD will answer that question pretty nicely. Now, get rid of your attitude and then come to dinner. I won't have you yelling at him in front of our kids. Understood?"
Sam sighed. "Yes."
After taking a calming breath, Aurelan returned to the kitchen, once again a smiling mother. "Now, who wants meatballs?"
-LLAP-
Jim followed Bones downstairs, blinking when he greeted Aurelan with a bright grin. Seriously, how friendly could you get after spending a few minutes together worrying about a sick little girl?
"Did you guys, like, talk a lot while taking care of Jane or something? Cause you never smile at me like that, Bones."
Bones clapped him on the shoulder. "We took a moment to bond over our ridiculous decision to stick around the Kirk men. That kind of craziness brings two people together in a special way."
Jim rolled his eyes. "Love you, too, Bones."
Bones grinned, then turned to the table that Mom, Peter, and Henry already sat at. "Are those meatballs? Awesome."
Aurelan set down the dish she was carrying and stepped up to Jim. "Hi," she greeted, smiling in a way that soothed Jim's nerves despite everything. She stood about a foot shorter than Jim but carried herself with an air of caring authority. "I'm pretty sure you already know this, but I'm Aurelan, your sister-in-law."
Jim managed to smile back. "And I'm Jim, your… brother-in-law."
Aurelan chuckled. "It sounds weird, doesn't it? A few months ago, we merely knew of each other's existence, and now we're here."
"Yeah," Jim murmured. "I'm here."
Her sunny expression faltered. Glancing towards her sons, she lowered her voice. "I'm sorry about Sam. He's normally more… rational than that. He's outside until he calms down a bit."
Jim glanced at them too, observing as they argued over which fork was whose. "Don't worry, I'm used to it."
She reached out, taking his hand for a brief moment. "You shouldn't be."
He struggled to keep his bitterness out of his voice. "People always say that, but I am. There's no changing that now."
Aurelan sighed contritely. "I'm sorry – I don't want to be one of those people. I guess I'm just trying to apologize for my husband."
"Don't. It's not your fault. Heck, it's probably not even your job to help fix this."
"It's as much my job as it is McCoy's," she pointed out. "Yet here we both are, determined to do everything in our power to pull you two together without tearing everyone apart. This isn't between two boys anymore – it's between all eight of us. And while that statement does mean I accept the kids being caught up in this, do try to keep it PG around them, all right?"
Jim laughed. "I do know how to take care of kids, you know."
Aurelan blinked, her head tilting. "Really?"
"You know, people always seem surprised about that," Jim commented in mock-surprise.
"From what Winona has told me, I can't possibly imagine why they would react that way," Aurelan retorted, her voice dripping with playful sarcasm.
"Yeah, you should've seen my communications officer's face when she saw me with one for the first time. Her shock was priceless."
"It doesn't really fit with the confident, reckless persona Winona's tales of your exploits have described. Is there a reason, or…?" Aurelan began to ask, trailing off as Jim's expression changed.
Jim swallowed back memories of Tarsus IV. "Not PG," he murmured.
Aurelan winced. "Sorry-"
"No, you didn't know. Besides, I should've seen the question coming. Anyway, what's for dinner? Smells delicious," he added quickly, not giving Aurelan a chance to discuss the matter further.
"Your mother's famous curried pumpkin and peas," Aurelan replied, maybe a bit too brightly.
"Awesome."
"Oh!" Aurelan exclaimed. "I nearly forgot – well, I guess it wouldn't have mattered much, since I have a week to remember anyway. Um, hold on a moment." She darted upstairs, returning after a minute with a blue box, small enough to fit snugly in his palm. "Merry belated Christmas, happy early birthday."
Focusing on the Christmas part, Jim flipped open the lid, revealing a powered-off, cube-shaped silver projector. Flicking the tiny switch on the side started a slideshow. First, Aurelan and Sam holding the newborn twins, followed by Aurelan holding the newborn Jane. More pictures flashed by, depicting the aging of all three kids.
"It's not much, but I figured you'd like a little window into the past you missed."
Jim grinned, pausing it on a picture of a two-year-old Jane holding a tea party with some dolls. "It's perfect, Aurelan."
Maybe, just maybe, he could do this.