Two

"Tori is so nice, dad, you'd like her," said Joanna matter-of-factly as she dug into her second piece of cake. "She has the coolest books on doctors ever."

"I think you mean books on medicine, Joanna," said McCoy, his normally gruff voice indulgent as he wiped his daughter's mouth with a napkin and allowed her to continue eating her second slice of cake. "And I can't imagine a little girl havin' books like that."

"They're for kids," stressed Joanna. "She gave me one too! I put it in Auntie Nyota's bag."

"That was nice of her," McCoy smiled. "I'm glad you made a friend."

"She's pretty too, daddy," Joanna continued to shovel cake into her mouth. "Uncle Jim said –"

"Bones!"

"Talk of the devil," McCoy groaned and turned to face his friend. "What is it, Jim?"

"You sound grumpier than usual!" Jim sat down next to him heavily, eyeing Joanna's cake with interest. "How's the cake, Jo?"

"Delicious," Joanna informed her. "Do you want some, Uncle Jim?"

"Nah, I'll get some later," he patted her head affectionately, then turned his eyes to McCoy. "How mad would you be if I hung around this place for the night?"

"For God's sake, Jim," McCoy rolled his eyes. "Just once, leave the damn single women in this place alone."

"That is a highly illogical request to make of someone with the captain's temperament, Dr. McCoy," said a flat voice from behind them. McCoy groaned as Spock and Uhura joined the group, but Spock didn't even blink. "We all know the captain will do as he pleases with the willing females available at this gathering."

"What will he do?" asked Joanna curiously. Spock opened his mouth to respond, but Uhura nudged him softly and shook her head, while McCoy hastily changed the subject.

"You were talking about your friend, Joanna. Isn't she around somewhere?"

"She said I could go find her after the ceremony," replied Joanna, previous conversation completely forgotten. "Can I go, dad?"

"Stay inside the garden," said McCoy, helping her down from her chair. "Don't get lost, okay?"

"I won't," she darted off into the crowd. Fortunately, there were less than fifty people present, so he could keep an eye on her easily. When she stopped near a group of little girls, he figured she'd found her friend, and allowed himself to join in the conversation with his crew-mates.

"Mr. Sulu's sister-in-law is a science officer aboard a ship, is she not?" were they still talking about the elusive woman he had yet to see?

Jim nodded at Spock's question. "Yeah, she was with the Omega up until last year. I think she's taken a ground assignment now, last I heard."

"I am assuming the colour-changing petals were her creation," said Spock.

"You'd assume right, Spock," grinned Jim. "She's a whiz with plants, but she– you can ask her yourself, actually. I see her." And he promptly ran away.

McCoy sighed. "Why do I feel like we're raising him as the years go by?"

"You and me both," said Uhura, sitting down next to the CMO and offering him a grim smile as Spock excused himself. "Victoria will take him off our hands, though."

"You have met Dr. More?" asked Spock curiously.

"Not personally, but I've heard Jim talk about her. He says she can shut him up like no other."

"That's a flattering picture," said an amused voice from behind them. "What have you been saying about me, Jim?"

"All good things," replied Jim easily. His friend appeared in his line of sight and gave him a look that told him to be social. Grudgingly, McCoy turned around.

The first thought that came into McCoy's head was that he was glad he wasn't as young and reckless with his reactions as Jim. Though it got the captain into more trouble than either of them would like to admit, McCoy did sometimes envy his friend's carefree attitude. However, at this very moment he was grateful he could school his expression into one of indifference because Jim, for once, hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said Victoria More was beautiful. She really was. Her build was athletic and she was tanned, but it was clearly from working outside rather than artificial. Her green eyes were the colour of moss, matching her emerald coloured dress. McCoy had never paid any attention to what women wore – a fact his ex-wife had loved highlighting – but he found himself unable to look away from her body in that dress. It had one of those tight waists and flaring hems that just brushed her knees, the perfect mix of modest and sexy. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen a woman that Jim was interested in wear a dress that didn't look like it was bursting at the seams. To top it all off, she had a mane of dark red hair that was twisted up into a bun, and the single curl resting against her cheek made the rest of her skin glow in contrast. She was mesmerising.

Almost as if she had caught him staring, her gaze shifted from Uhura and Jim to his face, and he saw she was still smiling. The look in her eyes was expectant. Damn it, now he'd have to talk to her, and in proper sentences too.

Jim unknowingly rescued him by clapping a hand to his shoulder and grinning. "Don't tell me I forgot to introduce Bones to you, Dr. More."

"Bones?" Victoria's perfect eyebrows shot up at the name, and she gave McCoy a look. "The Bones? You're Bones?"

Now what was that supposed to mean? He wondered if Victoria had realized how she sounded. Clearly, she had, because a second later she turned red. McCoy snorted. Women. "Don't say it like that, darlin'," he drawled out, deliberately turning back to his drink and giving her a slightly cold look over the rim of the glass. "You might hurt my feelings."

There was silence around them for approximately ten seconds after his words. Only Jim was grinning, as if he knew something nobody else did. Victoria had looked embarrassed before he had spoken, and McCoy had expected a mumbled apology, if that. However, her reaction to his reply threw him off. One minute she was blushing and avoiding eye contact, and the next she was laughing, one hand covering her mouth to hide her smile and the other holding out for him to shake. He took it, slightly confused by her reaction.

"I like this one, Jim," she said, her eyes never leaving his face. There was a wicked smirk on her face. "Try not to get him killed."

Oh, she was funny. On impulse, McCoy tugged at her hand slightly so he could press a kiss to her knuckles, matching her smirk with one of his own when he looked back up. Something in her eyes told him she appreciated his reaction. "He tries to do the opposite," he told her.

The tension was effectively broken. Only Jim was paying attention to them now. He leaned back against the table and nudged McCoy with his elbow. "I only try to keep him young, Tor."

"If by that you mean giving me more grey hairs than necessary, it's a successful mission," replied McCoy dryly.

Victoria shook her head smilingly. "I don't envy you," she said to McCoy, sipping her own drink. "He was the most difficult kid I've ever seen, and I used to be a teacher."

"You taught Starfleet cadets!" protested Jim. "There's no comparison!"

"Honey, you were a handful at seven as much as any of those kids were at twenty with a phaser-gun in their hands," Victoria rolled her eyes.

"You're a weapons specialist?" asked McCoy in surprise. Hadn't someone said she was a scientist?

Victoria grimaced. "Hell no. I'm a scientist. I just like shooting things. Targets," she said quickly, as if realizing how that sounded. "Not people. Definitely not people. Or animals. Or plants. I love plants," she took a deep breath. "Sorry. It's been a long day. I must sound insane."

"You don't," McCoy tried to reassure her, but even he wasn't so sure. Jim had wandered away, as had the others. However, he found himself unwilling to follow them. Victoria seemed nice enough – though clearly her small-talk skills left much to be desired – and he was reluctant to let go of a somewhat sane woman who clearly didn't mind an intelligent conversation, and one that Jim wouldn't sleep with. It helped that she was gorgeous. He gave her a few seconds to try and escape herself, and when she merely sipped her drink and politely looked the other way, he finally spoke. "What field?"

There was a smile in her eyes when she turned to face him, as if she was relieved he hadn't questioned her sanity further. "Alien ecologies. I graduated with a minor in exobiology," she tilted her head to the side. "And what do you do?"

McCoy raised an eyebrow. "Jim's told you about me, but he hasn't told you what I do?"

"Well, he's Jim," Victoria said it like it was obvious. "He hadn't told you what I did either until one of you asked him, I bet."

Despite himself, McCoy chuckled. "Fair enough," he acquiesced. "Leonard McCoy, at your service. CMO of the Enterprise."

"Oh, you're a medical doctor," she sounded delighted. "That makes so much more sense. No wonder he's always going on about you saving him."

McCoy winced. "What exactly has he been saying about me?"

"Nothing too awful," Victoria waved a hand idly, sitting down in the empty seat next to him without invitation as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "I haven't seen him in ages, last time I did was before Admiral Pike's death," she grimaced. "That wasn't a good time for any of us, was it? But I suppose I should explain why I laughed at you," the switch in topic threw McCoy off for a second, but then her cheeks turned pink again and he lost his train of thought. "Please don't be offended, it had nothing to do with you or that atrocious name Jim calls you," McCoy snorted in appreciation of her disdain for his hated nickname. "It's just that whenever he talks about you, he makes you sound so old!"

Ah, that explained it. McCoy snorted. "Darlin', I am old."

"Hardly," Victoria rolled her eyes. "I was expecting a man in his sixties at least, but I should have known Jim would exaggerate. I can't blame you, I got my first grey hair two weeks after I started babysitting him, and I was all of thirteen."

McCoy chuckled. "Can't beat that."

"Don't even try," she winked at him, the action clearly not at all meant as flirtatious and yet McCoy was aware of just how flirtatious it could be. Victoria returned to people watching, her drink almost gone. She was swirling the ice in her glass absently when a large smile broke out over her face, and McCoy followed her gaze curiously to see what was making her look so happy.

It was Joanna.

Victoria laughed as the little girl threw herself at her, and patted her hair. McCoy was about to apologize for her behaviour – he figured that would be the polite thing to do even though he personally thought the way Joanna had greeted her was adorable – but he was thrown off when his daughter ignored him completely and looked up at Victoria with worship in her eyes. "I looked for you everywhere!" she said dramatically, already climbing up into the woman's lap and settling herself comfortably. "I even asked – oh, hi, dad," Joanna turned her head and spotted her father, giving him a wide smile.

"Joanna," McCoy looked from his daughter to Victoria curiously. "What're you –"

"Dad, this is my friend, Tori," Joanna spoke as if her father was slow and needed to be explained things like a Neanderthal. McCoy blinked. Hadn't Tori been a little girl? "The one Uncle Jim called drop-dead gorgeous and you said –"

"Right!" he interrupted his daughter loudly, unwilling to expose himself as a crank so soon.

Victoria cleared her throat in amusement. "I've already met your dad, Joanna," she said, sounding as though she wanted to laugh. "Your Uncle Jim just introduced us."

"He did?" Joanna looked surprised. "Do you know Uncle Jim as well, Tori?"

"I used to babysit him, when he even younger than you are now," Victoria told her.

Joanna looked even more surprised at this piece of news. "But that's so long ago!"

Victoria shrugged. "A little bit, yeah."

"You must be my dad's age then!"

"Joanna –" McCoy tried to warn his daughter to stay polite, but it was no use. She still looked irrevocably curious, and Victoria's expression told him that the woman was going to indulge her.

"I probably am," said Victoria easily, not sounding the least bit offended. "Your Uncle Jim was just an awful kid, though."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh," nodded Victoria seriously. "One time he got so dirty outside in one of the fields I had to hose him down in the back garden with the pigs."

Joanna burst out laughing. McCoy blinked. "Is that –"

"True? Yup," Victoria grinned. "He was five. Unfortunately, I think he enjoyed it more than I wanted him to," she grimaced. "I didn't have the heart to punish him properly, I never did. The kid was just adorable. But you're much cuter," she turned her attention back to Joanna just as her giggles were subsiding, and Joanna beamed at the compliment.

McCoy smiled, and then cleared his throat. "Where's Jim now, Joanna?"

Joanna shrugged. "Talking to Katie, I think."

Victoria sighed. "Best to leave him at it," she told McCoy. "Katie will send him back to us with his tail between his legs."

"Uncle Jim has a tail?" ah, there was that damned curiosity again. McCoy took another swig of his drink to avoid answering. If Victoria More wanted to befriend his daughter, he certainly wasn't going to stop her.

And it seemed that was exactly what Victoria wanted to do. She nodded seriously at Joanna's question. "Yes, sweetheart, and a pair of devil horns to match."

"What?" Joanna sounded amazed.

"And since your daddy is the best doctor in the whole galaxy he has to fix Uncle Jim before they go for their next mission," they both smiled, as if in on an inside joke – how had they developed inside jokes in less than two hours of knowing each other? – and Victoria threw McCoy a smirk. "But he's said he'll only do it if he's nice to girls."

McCoy had to laugh at that. "Sounds about as possible as pigs flying."

"Stranger things have happened," smiled Victoria.

Joanna ignored her father. "Is that why he told Katie she has the prettiest eyes he's ever seen? He told me that this morning," she pouted.

Victoria's lips twitched. "Something like that. Hey, you want to go get party favours for everyone?"

Joanna's eyes lit up, and when Victoria had pointed out the appropriate table and usher to her, the little girl ran off, promising to be back soon. When she was gone, both adults let out simultaneous sighs, then caught each other's eyes and chuckled.

Victoria tugged at a loose curl sheepishly. "Sorry, I thought it would be best if she didn't ask any more questions about Jim's technique."

"Probably best that she doesn't learn any of that stuff for a while now," agreed McCoy. "She's already more fond of him than I'd like."

"I don't think you have to worry about Jim breaking your daughter's heart, Doctor," said Victoria amusedly.

"Yeah, well," McCoy shrugged. "I'm a dad."

Victoria smiled, a little sadly. "And your little girl is very special."

McCoy smiled back, and then cleared his throat. "Yeah, 'bout that. Look, I didn't realize you were the friend she was goin' on about. I hope she didn't bug you too much."

Victoria waved away his feeble attempt at an apology. "I enjoyed every second of it. And she talks about you quite a bit."

"I don't doubt that," he said wryly. "She's a talker."

"Never a bad thing," she smiled again. She smiled too much. It didn't seem real. "So, Dr. McCoy."

"Yes, Dr. More?"

Victoria laughed. "No one's called me that in a while," she admitted. "I haven't been on a ship in over two years."

"Jim mentioned," Victoria snorted at that, but McCoy's curiosity was piqued again. "Any reason why?"

"Hikaru has the Enterprise, and Ben is completely incapable of raising a little girl on his own," replied Victoria immediately. "I've been on baby-duty for a while, but now Demora's old enough to start school. I'm going to try and find another assignment soon."

"Don't let Jim hear you say that," warned McCoy. "He'll get you stuck with us for the next five years."

Victoria looked genuinely horrified at the idea. "No offense, Doctor, but I've heard enough about the Enterprise's escapades to know that is definitely not the ship for me."

"I thought so too," muttered McCoy. "And look where I am now."

Victoria smiled. "Well, if nothing else, I can assure you that your daughter will have her pick of assignments if she decides to join Starfleet one day. She's very bright."

"She is," he agreed. "Wants to be a doctor, but she's a damned good artist too. And musician. Violin," he didn't know if he was babbling, or if he was being a normal, proud father and listing off his daughter's accomplishments. He hadn't had a lot of practice in either area.

Either way, Victoria didn't seem to mind. She looked interested. "At such a young age? That's truly impressive. I gathered her intelligence when I spoke to her, of course, but she seemed to prefer her own company."

"She's like that," and it was his damned fault too. "Doesn't take well to strangers. I'm surprised she likes you so much."

"I'm easy to like," her smile went from polite to teasing in a second. "I suppose Jim has told you all about that, though."

"He wanted to," snorted McCoy. "I didn't let him finish."

"Thank God for that."

He chuckled. They sat in silence for a few moments, Victoria clearly people-watching and McCoy was oddly content to just sit next to her, feeling no need to break the quiet. What would he say anyway? Victoria was clearly a talker – he'd let her come up with something. He finished his drink and glanced over at her, noticing that her glass was empty. Why hadn't she gotten up to get a refill? Rolling his eyes, he plucked the glass from her grip and shook his head at her silent question. Giving her a small smile that told her he'd be back, he went over to the bar. However, in the barely thirty seconds it took him to get back, Jim had already taken his place.

"You know it's true, Tori," he seemed to be asking her something.

"Shut up, Jim," was her only response. McCoy kicked Jim's shin and pointedly indicated for his friend to move out of his seat, which he did unwillingly. Victoria accepted her glass with a quiet thanks, took a sip and then threw him an amused look. "This is rather strong, Doctor."

"You looked like you needed it," was his only reply. He searched the vicinity for Joanna, located her at Uhura's side, and switched his gaze back to Victoria. "Jim can be a pain in the ass."

"You're telling me," Victoria rolled her eyes. "Why didn't you ask my friend Katie to dance, Jim?" she indicated a blonde woman standing by the bar, a bored look on her face. "She's single, pretty, and she won't call you if you don't call her."

"Just his type," said McCoy dryly.

"Quite," agreed Victoria, taking another sip.

"I brought a date," said Jim defensively.

Victoria rolled her eyes. "Tell me, Doctor, has that ever stopped him before?"

McCoy snorted. "Not since I've known him."

"You two need to stop talking about me like I'm not here," said Jim pointedly.

"Shut up," they both said simultaneously. Victoria laughed. McCoy took a large gulp of whiskey.

Jim sighed. "Two of the grumpiest people I've ever met. How are we friends?"

"I've changed your diapers," replied Victoria promptly.

"And I've had to put you in adult diapers," added McCoy.

There was a beat of silence, and then Victoria laughed. "Have you now?"

Jim look horrified. "Bones!"

McCoy rolled his eyes. "Just leave the lady alone, Jim."

Without a word, his captain stalked off. McCoy snorted, then glanced at the woman next to him. Before he could say anything – though in retrospect he realized he didn't really have anything to say – Spock arrived again.

"Dr. More," Spock nodded to her politely. "I have been meaning to speak to you and express my admiration. Your work is of exceptional quality."

"Thank you, Mr. Spock," Victoria gave him a smile. McCoy wondered if that was her default expression. "I admit I am a fan. Hikaru speaks very highly of you. I hope you read my work to analyse, rather than criticise."

Spock seemed surprised at her comment. "Critique is a general result of careful analysis."

"Critique is a synonym for analysis," replied Victoria. "However, I find that criticism only results in offense, rather than improvement, especially in humans," she raised an eyebrow. "Surely improvement is more beneficial?"

The half-Vulcan almost smiled. "Your logic is sound, Dr. More."

"We are at a wedding, Mr. Spock. Victoria, please."

"Very well. I find myself fascinated with the petals your niece threw a few moments ago," Spock looked downright curious, if it was possible for a Vulcan to do so. McCoy just wanted to go home. "I have not seen flowers of that nature."

"That is because they do not exist in nature," said Victoria simply.

"You created them?" now he knew Spock was impressed. Hell, even he was.

"In a manner of speaking," Victoria nodded and tapped her fingers against her glass, brows furrowed as she seemed to consider how to phrase her thoughts. "I dabble in botany quite a bit. The thing about the field is that manually creating something from scratch results in an artificial being, and that goes against the very idea of nature. Enhancing cells and changing gene structures, however, those kinds of things merely result in improvements. Within ethical boundaries, of course," she added. "I would never presume to experiment on things that are better left untouched."

"That is an interesting notion, Doctor. You were a science officer aboard the USS Omega, were you not?" asked Spock.

Victoria nodded. "Yes, I was reassigned two years ago but I took some time off instead to work at the Academy. Starfleet is insistent that I join another ship."

"Would that appeal to you?" asked Spock. Again, McCoy raised his eyebrows. What was the Vulcan getting at?

"I suppose it would depend on the nature of the research and the projects involved," replied Victoria carefully. They exchanged glances momentarily, and McCoy remembered her reluctance to join the Enterprise. "I'm not averse to space, of course, but I do like it when my feet are planted firmly on the ground that I'm working on."

"Amen to that," muttered McCoy, taking another swig of his drink.

Next to him, Victoria seemed amused. "Do you not like space travel, Doctor?"

"I could do without it," he admitted unashamedly.

"It is not space that the doctor dislikes as much as our captain's desire for trouble," added Spock.

Victoria laughed. "Jim Kirk is going to be the death of us all," she agreed.

"I hate it how you talk about me when I'm not there!" and he was back, swinging an arm around McCoy and grinning foolishly at Victoria, who merely rolled her eyes. "Has Spock tried to hire you yet?" he turned to the Vulcan and threw him a conspiratorial look. "I know he wants to."

Victoria sighed. "Jim, honey, go inside and lie down before you break something. Or before I hurt you," she added as he tried to interrupt her, the threatening tone of voice seeming to sober up the captain. Though he clearly did not mean to go lie down, he did straighten up and sit down in the vacant chair opposite her. "Such a child," she muttered. "How do you deal with him?"

"I sedate him a lot," replied McCoy, finishing his drink.

"Wish I'd had that idea when he was a kid," muttered Victoria, finishing her own and glancing up at him with a smile. This time, he knew it was a real one.

!

"The doctor thinks you're cute."

"Shut up, Katie."

"Ask him to dance."

"You ask him!"

"Are we in high school?" Katie rolled her eyes and swiped away Victoria's drink. She raised her eyebrows at her friend's scowl. "Look pretty, he's staring at you."

"His daughter likes me, that's why he's looking here!"

Katie sighed. "Honey, it's been a while. You need to get laid, and he's a single dad with a kid who loves you."

Victoria faltered for only a second before her glare came back full-force. "Did you ask him if he's single?"

"I didn't have to," Katie shrugged. "Your friend Jim is very forthcoming."

Victoria groaned. "I will not sleep with Jim Kirk's best friend!"

"Should I be offended?"

"Get lost, Jim."

"You talk to her," Katie sighed, gave Jim a smile that would ordinarily have made Victoria suspicious if she had the energy to argue, and walked off to find the rest of their friends.

Jim took her vacated seat at the bar next to Victoria and gave her a grin. "You feeling okay, Tori?"

"I am absolutely fine," Victoria stirred her drink with her pinky finger, her eyes automatically darting to where McCoy sat with a sleeping Joanna in his lap. He was talking to one of Ben's friends, a CMO on another ship. She had no idea why she kept looking at him.

"What're you looking at?" Jim sounded like a five year old.

Victoria scowled. "None of your business."

"I bet you'd love to be all up in his business, maybe I should –"

"If you complete that sentence, James Kirk, I will feed you to the man-eating plant I keep hidden in the garden shed."

Jim chuckled, but his eyes darted to the innocent-looking shed in the corner of the lawn anyway. It was padlocked. He cleared his throat. "Right, no more teasing. I can do that. How have you been?"

Victoria smirked, took another sip of her drink, and fell into easy conversation with the man she privately thought of as a little brother. Outwardly, of course, she would always act as though he was a pain. It was always a good idea not to highlight just how much Jim Kirk meant to you – he had a habit of using that to his advantage.

"Spock keeps wondering why Starfleet didn't sign you up for the Enterprise," said Jim thoughtfully.

Victoria snorted. "Because you have the best science officer in Starfleet on your ship."

"Even Spock isn't infallible, Tori."

"If anyone can claim to be so, Jim, he can."

"But he could use some help," persisted Jim.

"Like me?"

"I can't think of anyone better."

Victoria sighed. "Honey, I know I'm no Vulcan, but even I'm smart enough to know working under Spock would mean being demoted."

"His job isn't that interesting. You would hate overseeing stupid stuff like shift rotas anyway," shrugged Jim. "Spock loves that stuff. The man would make a bathroom rota if we'd let him."

Victoria giggled. "Be that as it may," she said. "I was head of the department on the Omega."

"You're brilliant and you don't deserve to be demoted, I agree," there was no false flattery in his voice. "But we do need a junior science officer, and with the Admirals deciding that Spock needs to devote more time to his duties as First Officer, I can't think of a better fit."

Victoria quirked up an eyebrow. "Are they making him do that to keep you out of trouble?" Jim grinned unashamedly. She shook her head. "You're impossible. But anyway, you don't have control over who they hire."

"Actually, I do," he continued to grin cheekily. "You say the word and you're in, Tori. We could use someone like you."

"You'd get me killed in a day, Jim. I know what your ship is like."

"We run into trouble," admitted Jim. "But we get out of it."

"I won't be that lucky," Victoria shook her head. "You're sweet for offering, but you know the answer. Plus, these guys need me."

"You always do this, Tori," Jim's voice became uncommonly gentle. "You said the same thing when you left Iowa, but you need you as well. You'd love the Enterprise. Five years of exploring places and ecologies that no one has ever seen, don't tell me that doesn't tempt you?"

Victoria sighed. "It does, but it's not possible."

"Ben wouldn't want you to give up your career for him and his family."

"Honey, I know you mean well, but family means two very different things to us," Victoria's gentle smile took the sting off her words. "But I love that you're trying to look out for me. You've got a good heart, Jim Kirk."

"We both know my heart will always be yours," he winked at her roguishly, and the moment was gone. Victoria smacked his arm, finished her drink and held out a hand. Jim took it, grinning at her excitedly. "You still dance?"

"Better than you," Victoria smirked and allowed him to lead her onto the dancefloor, glad that she had ensured the music that played throughout the evening would be at an average tempo, not too slow and not too fast. Nevertheless, it didn't stop Jim Kirk from twirling her around excessively and ending their song with a dip, laughing freely as she cursed him for surprising her. Some things clearly never changed.