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Title:McCoy Secret Family Recipe
Series: Star Trek: XI
Characters/Pairings: Spock/McCoy, Joanna, everyone else
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: none
Wordcount: 2,979
Summary: Spock is very good with children. Luckily for him, Leonard has a curious and inquisitive daughter for Spock to show off his awesome child-rearing skills.
Totally and utterly unbeta-ed, so mistakes and whatnot are all mine.
[Prev]
iv.
“Mr. Spock?” an inquiring voice behind Spock spoke.
Joanna was nothing if not a curious child with too much energy to spare. She merrily pranced around the botany lab, poking at specimens and inquiring about various objects around the lab. She seemed to be intent on imprinting a circle into the ground around Spock's workspace with her feet. The Vulcan was dutifully ignoring most of the child's antics and completing his own experiments.
The bridge crew had divvied up a rotating babysitting schedule since a rather alarming number of people were coming down with a rather nasty bug, which meant the chief medical officer was mostly trapped in the sickbay trying to preventing a ship wide pandemic.
It wasn’t actually Spock’s turn. Scotty was technically suppose to be the one on babysitting duty at the time, but one of the back-up generators had decided to quit in a glorious explosion of sparks and flame. It took out a good portion of the engineering crew with it, which incidentally backed up the sickbay even more. Spock had been the only one on rotation schedule who was off duty at the moment.
"What’s this?" Joanna asked, holding the crinkled leaflet of a lavender flower. She stood beside the Vulcan's chair and patiently waited for an answer.
"That would be the Prunella vulgaris plant," Spock answered without looking up from his journal, "Indigenous to Earth, it is found on various continents throughout the land. It has healing properties for various ailments." They've just about gone through all the plant specimens in the lab by then. Spock calculated that his work efficiency was cut down by half and silently counted the seconds until Ensign Chekov would come to relieve him from his child-care post.
Joanna tilted her head to the side in curiosity. She moved her hands to her hips and huffs in indignation, “How do you know what it is? You’re not even looking at it.”
Never one to pass up a chance to educate others on the ways of a Vulcan, Spock explained calmly, “I do not require any visual cues when I can smell its distinct airborne chemical products.”
The girl scrunches her nose up and sniffs at the plant. “I don’t smell anything.”
Spock couldn't quite stop himself from raising an eyebrow in her direction, "Vulcan olfactory systems have many more receptors than human and therefore our noses are much more sensitive to odors." He didn't bother to use the child-speak that most other members of the crew seemed intent on using. Joanna, although physically small for her age, was quite quick witted and eager to learn. Troublesome or not, Spock would always appreciate the value of a young mind at work.
The girl thought for a bit, "So you’re like a bloodhound." she concluded.
Spock very nearly sighed. He regarded Joanna with an exasperated look, which was to say he looked at her with a straight face with a slight crinkling in his forehead unnoticeable to anyone who didn’t spend an exorbitant amount of time studying his expressions, "I am a Vulcan, not a canine."
Joanna shrugged while she twirled the leaflet in her hand, "I'm just saying, 'sall."
"If I may inquire, why you are asking about the plant specimens?” From what he’s read about human children, they don’t usually hold interest in botany.
Joanna pouted, she used the one that always got her father to agree, "I’m bored, Mr. Spock. Everyone else is busy, and I need something to do." Her bottom lip quivered in dejection.
Since they were alone in the room, no one would ever know just how close Spock was to giving in to those pleading eyes. He reigned in his sympathy enough to only let out a slight downward twitch in his mouth, but he came as close as a Vulcan would get to patting her on the head and then giving her a cookie or something.
His discipline won out in the end though, "I’m sure there are plenty of acceptable distractions you can employ to pass the time while you wait for your father to complete his duties.”
The pout got turned up a notch, “But my teachers say I’m a visual learner and besides, I’m learning so much from you.”
“Watch,” Joanna turned around and pointed at a small sample of catnip Keenser snacks on occasionally, “Nepeta cataria” she spoke without hesitation. She straightened her back and placed one hand behind her back in a striking imitation of Spock’s posture, “Most commonly found in North America-” She then continued on pointing to each of the various plants she asked about earlier and dutifully recalled each with a high level of precision and accuracy.
Spock failed to uphold his impassive mask, his brow makes a steady and slow migration towards his hairline as Joanna correctly identified one specimen one after another.
When she finished, she looked at him expectantly, "Told you, I'm awesome."
"I must admit I am impressed with your retention of detail.” he praised.
Joanna beamed at the compliment, she tapped her temple in pride, “See? I'm a fast learner.”
“In that case,” Spock saw no harm in teaching a pupil eager to learn, “I suppose we could endeavor to further your knowledge in the subject.”
"Cool!" Joanna claps her hand in glee.
A shrill beep of the computer in front of him notified the beginning of his duty hours. Spock glanced at the console and turned back to Joanna, "I apologize for this interruption. My shift will begin in 15 minutes," Spock didn’t realize how devastating a crestfallen pout could look, “I could assist you in finding a suitable activity for the duration of your father’s shift.”
Joanna’s shoulders slumps even more, painting the picture of utter desolation, “But, I was having so much fun.”
“Should you need my service, I will be in the observatory performing a few experiments on-“
“The observatory?” The girl perks up and asked excitedly, "Can I come with you?" She bounced on the balls of her feet with her hands clasped tightly together, “I won’t get in the way at all. You won’t even notice me. Oh, please-please-please-“
Vulcan children were brought up to be calm, immaculate, and concise. Joanna McCoy was none of these things. She operated under the notion that silence and stillness were unacceptable states of being. If she wasn't occupied running around the ship, she was chatting up the nearest crewmember or poking at random console buttons on the wall. Despite the difference in ideals, Spock relented rather quickly in the face of those pleading green eyes but he couldn't quite figure out why. No doubt, If a certain chief medical officer ever found out about this, he would laugh hysterically at the irony. Still, Spock found himself reassuring the girl, "I'm sure your request could be arranged."
“You know, I think I'm beginning to like you." she offered the Vulcan a wide grin.
If Joanna saw the small twitch of a smile Spock gave in return, she never mentioned it.
v.
"I think I like Mr. Spock the best." Joanna said suddenly as she laid on her father's bed. She had a small book propped on her chest and she had every intention of reading it, but the day's events were still fresh on her mind.
Leonard was still at his desk, wallowing in the depths of his final slew for paperwork of the night, so it wasn't quite his fault when he didn't initially comprehend what she had said. It was probably the reason why he replied with an off-hand, "That's great, sweetheart. I’m sure he likes you too."
Then he processed her words, "Wait. What?"
Joanna rolled her eyes. "Mr. Spock." She demonstrated by tracing her eyebrow with her fingers and then tugged at her ears, "You know, the guy with the really straight eyebrows and pointy ears." Duh. she doesn't say.
“You like him?” Leonard looked unconvinced, "Are you sure we're talking about the same Spock here?"
"Dad-" she enunciated the word to convey just how stupid she thought her father was being."He's really nice." she added sincerely.
Leonard looked thoroughly unconvinced.
Joanna looked contemplative, “Well, okay. He did seem a bit dry at first. I mean, I made this really funny joke about the Klingons and their beards, but he just stared at me with a blank face.”
"That sounds about right," Leonard chuckled.
“But he’s really patient too,” her eyebrows creased in concentration, "If I asked him a question, he'd never get mad at me. Most people don't know the answer or get annoyed when I ask too many questions, but Mr. Spock just keeps answering every time.” Her eyes widen in awe, "It's like he knows everything."
"Yeah, sure." Leonard snorted in amusement, "When Jim Kirk decides to become a vegetarian."
"I'm serious, dad." Joanna continued, "Everyone here is cool and all, but they're so weird," she wrinkled her nose at the thought, "Mr. Scott is always buried in wires, Mr. Sulu kept trying to get me to practice fencing and Mr. Chekov would not stop talking about Russia. Ms. Uhura is super smart but she gets so into her work she sometimes forgets I’m there. And don't even get me started about Uncle Jim."
"They're passionate," he corrected, "An odd bunch, I'll admit. But they're good at what they do."
"You seem to like everyone else well enough," Joanna pulled a pout, "Why don't you like Mr. Spock?"
"What gave you that idea?"
"I'm not blind, dad," she crossed her arms over her chest, "I know you two argue all the time."
Leonard flinched at her wording. She may just be a bit misinformed. "I don't dislike him, per se." he said, and it’s the god-honest truth. "He's just-" he paused and tried to think of the best word to use. Stubborn, charisma-less, stiff, different. Any of them would work, but they didn't quite encompass all of Spock .
There was a bit of truth to Joanna’s impression on the matter. They weren't exactly best of friends. After the incident with the Narada neither party had much to do with each other for a while. They saw each other occasionally, but their interactions were strained at best. He and Spock had developed a system called 'avoid and withdraw' and it worked out pretty well for the most part. They were both busy with their own business and if Leonard was really honest with himself, he was still a bit hung on the whole 'marooning Jim' thing. However, with the five year commission, they were more or less forced into each other's proximity on a regular basis and the adversity between them dulled with time and Jim's sheer force of will. Although they were still little more than acquaintances associated with each other peripherally by Jim and they snipped at each other on a regular basis, it was far from animosity they felt.
"He's just shy." Joanna concluded firmly, as if it were the most obvious fact in the universe.
Leonard tilted his head a bit to the side in curiosity.
“I know he doesn’t like to show it,” she sat up and gave her father a pointed look, “but he’s probably the coolest guy on this ship.”
“I’m offended.” Leonard had to interrupt, because really, a guy should not be edged out of his own daughter’s favor by a stiff-necked, pointy-eared bastard no matter what good said bastard may or may not have done to deserve it. “I don’t get to be cool?”
“You’re my dad.” Joanna offered as explanation, “You’re automatically disqualified from the cool list.”
That didn’t really help make him feel any better.
"Mr. Spock taught me all the names of the plants in the botany lab and-" she swung her legs off the bed and bounced on the edge of the bed in excitement as she thought back on it, "he then took me to the observatory and showed me how to use the telescopes!" She waved her hands around at imaginary equipment in excitement. "He even let me work the computer and I found a nebula. A Nebula! We never get to do this kind of stuff in school." She sighed dreamily and flops back on the bed, "You should've seen it, dad. It was so pretty!"
"Really now." Leonard asked, still a bit unbelieving.
Joanna nodded eagerly, "I had so much fun."
"Well, I'll be," Leonard mused. He turned her words over in his head long after he finished his paperwork and made good on his promise to help Joanna make that card castle.
vi.
Although Leonard should technically still be in the sickbay taking care of patients, Christine Chapel was a woman not one to be denied. She had a melting weakness for Joanna and demanded that he spend more time with his daughter regardless of duty and obligation. The woman practically threw the chief medical officer out of his own sickbay with a curt goodbye and turned back to her work without missing a beat.
It would've been more embarrassing if he didn't actually want to go.
He'd normally fight tooth and nail to do his damn job, but he is thankful for the excuse to spend time with Joanna. And despite how much or how loudly he complained, he can't really deny the competency of his staff.
Joanna wouldn't be sleeping now, especially since Leonard hadn't been around to make sure she went to bed and some part of him, the responsible father part, felt that she may have been a little spoiled. She got extra helpings of dessert, pranced around at her heart's desire, and stayed up late. She's got the entire crew wrapped around her slender little finger and she's well aware of it. Her continued penchant to stick close to Spock whenever Leonard wasn't around still perplexed him. When Leonard performed his duties in the sickbay, Joanna can often be found tagging along the Vulcan's heels like an eager puppy.
Since Spock was reported to be in Jim's quarters (probably beating the pants off his captain at chess), there's a high chance Joanna was there too.
-----
"Bones!" Jim beamed his greeting when the doors hissed open, "You made it for story time."
"Tell me about Vulcan." Leonard hears from further inside the room. It was Joanna's voice. The girl was bouncing on the balls of her feet with her fingers digging into the armrest of Spock's chair, who posed the question. Spock paused from setting up a round of chess.
Leonard privately winced at her blunt question. Vulcan has been a testy subject for Spock, and most people danced around the subject awkwardly. Joanna had no such convictions and felt no remorse in asking. Her eyes were bright with curiosity and enthusiasm as she waited expectantly for a response.
Spock didn't appear to mind, either.
"The planet itself is two point one times the size of earth and it's gravity was increased accordingly," Spock began and turned his chair to give her his full attention. "It had a dry and arid climate, with very little precipitation. The temperature was on average higher than on Earth but much more uniform."
"So it's like a gigantic desert?"
"Your comparison is accurate." he nodded.
"I'm glad you're here, Bones, " Jim mutters to Leonard quietly, "I was beginning to feel like a crooked third wheel with those two. And in my own room too." He crossed his arms in a huff, "There should be some kind of regulation against this kind of thing."
"Well." Leonard gave Jim the eyebrow in return, "It's a shame I wasn't present to witness the first time you've been rendered speechless for as long as I've known you."
Jim pouted.
"It must not be anything like Georgia, then" Joanna leaned into the arm rest, "It's hot, but it's so humid I could barely breathe without the air conditioning."
“I remember when the temperature controls at my house broke one summer and dad spent all afternoon trying to fix it himself." she giggled, "He got so much dirt on his clothes, it never came out no matter how many times we washed them."
Leonard protested, "I wasn't that bad." (even though he was)
He remembers that day perfectly. It had been sweltering for weeks when the old climate control unit finally sputtered its last round of air and forever went out of commission. Jocelyn wanted to call a repairman right away, but Leonard remembered being adamant about his ability as a repairman. Joanna had sat beside him and laughed the whole way through, passing whatever tool he called out from under the machine. Of course, six hours later and with nothing to show for it except two broken wrenches, some soiled clothing and scrap metal, he finally relented and called a technician in to replace the whole thing.
He didn't regret it, though. He was able to spend an entire, uninterrupted afternoon with his daughter, something that was few and far in between during his residency.
"Oh please continue, Jo." Jim's grin is practically splitting his face in half, "I'm sure you have some amazing stories you'd like to share with all of us."
Joanna gave her father a once over with a smirk, "Dad did such a bad job, the guy we hired had to swap out the entire thing!"
Betrayed by his own daughter, how low his life has sunk.
"Fascinating," Spock commented, he regards Leonard with a nonchalantly, "Perhaps it was wise for Dr. McCoy to, I believe the phrase is, 'stay in his chosen profession'." He has one eyebrow arched gracefully in what could either be amusement or arrogance.
"I know." Joanna nodded vigorously, "He was such a bad mechanic." She sauntered up to her father and gave him a winning smile, the little tart, "Hi dad, how was your day?"
[Next]
Series: Star Trek: XI
Characters/Pairings: Spock/McCoy, Joanna, everyone else
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: none
Wordcount: 2,979
Summary: Spock is very good with children. Luckily for him, Leonard has a curious and inquisitive daughter for Spock to show off his awesome child-rearing skills.
Totally and utterly unbeta-ed, so mistakes and whatnot are all mine.
[Prev]
iv.
“Mr. Spock?” an inquiring voice behind Spock spoke.
Joanna was nothing if not a curious child with too much energy to spare. She merrily pranced around the botany lab, poking at specimens and inquiring about various objects around the lab. She seemed to be intent on imprinting a circle into the ground around Spock's workspace with her feet. The Vulcan was dutifully ignoring most of the child's antics and completing his own experiments.
The bridge crew had divvied up a rotating babysitting schedule since a rather alarming number of people were coming down with a rather nasty bug, which meant the chief medical officer was mostly trapped in the sickbay trying to preventing a ship wide pandemic.
It wasn’t actually Spock’s turn. Scotty was technically suppose to be the one on babysitting duty at the time, but one of the back-up generators had decided to quit in a glorious explosion of sparks and flame. It took out a good portion of the engineering crew with it, which incidentally backed up the sickbay even more. Spock had been the only one on rotation schedule who was off duty at the moment.
"What’s this?" Joanna asked, holding the crinkled leaflet of a lavender flower. She stood beside the Vulcan's chair and patiently waited for an answer.
"That would be the Prunella vulgaris plant," Spock answered without looking up from his journal, "Indigenous to Earth, it is found on various continents throughout the land. It has healing properties for various ailments." They've just about gone through all the plant specimens in the lab by then. Spock calculated that his work efficiency was cut down by half and silently counted the seconds until Ensign Chekov would come to relieve him from his child-care post.
Joanna tilted her head to the side in curiosity. She moved her hands to her hips and huffs in indignation, “How do you know what it is? You’re not even looking at it.”
Never one to pass up a chance to educate others on the ways of a Vulcan, Spock explained calmly, “I do not require any visual cues when I can smell its distinct airborne chemical products.”
The girl scrunches her nose up and sniffs at the plant. “I don’t smell anything.”
Spock couldn't quite stop himself from raising an eyebrow in her direction, "Vulcan olfactory systems have many more receptors than human and therefore our noses are much more sensitive to odors." He didn't bother to use the child-speak that most other members of the crew seemed intent on using. Joanna, although physically small for her age, was quite quick witted and eager to learn. Troublesome or not, Spock would always appreciate the value of a young mind at work.
The girl thought for a bit, "So you’re like a bloodhound." she concluded.
Spock very nearly sighed. He regarded Joanna with an exasperated look, which was to say he looked at her with a straight face with a slight crinkling in his forehead unnoticeable to anyone who didn’t spend an exorbitant amount of time studying his expressions, "I am a Vulcan, not a canine."
Joanna shrugged while she twirled the leaflet in her hand, "I'm just saying, 'sall."
"If I may inquire, why you are asking about the plant specimens?” From what he’s read about human children, they don’t usually hold interest in botany.
Joanna pouted, she used the one that always got her father to agree, "I’m bored, Mr. Spock. Everyone else is busy, and I need something to do." Her bottom lip quivered in dejection.
Since they were alone in the room, no one would ever know just how close Spock was to giving in to those pleading eyes. He reigned in his sympathy enough to only let out a slight downward twitch in his mouth, but he came as close as a Vulcan would get to patting her on the head and then giving her a cookie or something.
His discipline won out in the end though, "I’m sure there are plenty of acceptable distractions you can employ to pass the time while you wait for your father to complete his duties.”
The pout got turned up a notch, “But my teachers say I’m a visual learner and besides, I’m learning so much from you.”
“Watch,” Joanna turned around and pointed at a small sample of catnip Keenser snacks on occasionally, “Nepeta cataria” she spoke without hesitation. She straightened her back and placed one hand behind her back in a striking imitation of Spock’s posture, “Most commonly found in North America-” She then continued on pointing to each of the various plants she asked about earlier and dutifully recalled each with a high level of precision and accuracy.
Spock failed to uphold his impassive mask, his brow makes a steady and slow migration towards his hairline as Joanna correctly identified one specimen one after another.
When she finished, she looked at him expectantly, "Told you, I'm awesome."
"I must admit I am impressed with your retention of detail.” he praised.
Joanna beamed at the compliment, she tapped her temple in pride, “See? I'm a fast learner.”
“In that case,” Spock saw no harm in teaching a pupil eager to learn, “I suppose we could endeavor to further your knowledge in the subject.”
"Cool!" Joanna claps her hand in glee.
A shrill beep of the computer in front of him notified the beginning of his duty hours. Spock glanced at the console and turned back to Joanna, "I apologize for this interruption. My shift will begin in 15 minutes," Spock didn’t realize how devastating a crestfallen pout could look, “I could assist you in finding a suitable activity for the duration of your father’s shift.”
Joanna’s shoulders slumps even more, painting the picture of utter desolation, “But, I was having so much fun.”
“Should you need my service, I will be in the observatory performing a few experiments on-“
“The observatory?” The girl perks up and asked excitedly, "Can I come with you?" She bounced on the balls of her feet with her hands clasped tightly together, “I won’t get in the way at all. You won’t even notice me. Oh, please-please-please-“
Vulcan children were brought up to be calm, immaculate, and concise. Joanna McCoy was none of these things. She operated under the notion that silence and stillness were unacceptable states of being. If she wasn't occupied running around the ship, she was chatting up the nearest crewmember or poking at random console buttons on the wall. Despite the difference in ideals, Spock relented rather quickly in the face of those pleading green eyes but he couldn't quite figure out why. No doubt, If a certain chief medical officer ever found out about this, he would laugh hysterically at the irony. Still, Spock found himself reassuring the girl, "I'm sure your request could be arranged."
“You know, I think I'm beginning to like you." she offered the Vulcan a wide grin.
If Joanna saw the small twitch of a smile Spock gave in return, she never mentioned it.
v.
"I think I like Mr. Spock the best." Joanna said suddenly as she laid on her father's bed. She had a small book propped on her chest and she had every intention of reading it, but the day's events were still fresh on her mind.
Leonard was still at his desk, wallowing in the depths of his final slew for paperwork of the night, so it wasn't quite his fault when he didn't initially comprehend what she had said. It was probably the reason why he replied with an off-hand, "That's great, sweetheart. I’m sure he likes you too."
Then he processed her words, "Wait. What?"
Joanna rolled her eyes. "Mr. Spock." She demonstrated by tracing her eyebrow with her fingers and then tugged at her ears, "You know, the guy with the really straight eyebrows and pointy ears." Duh. she doesn't say.
“You like him?” Leonard looked unconvinced, "Are you sure we're talking about the same Spock here?"
"Dad-" she enunciated the word to convey just how stupid she thought her father was being."He's really nice." she added sincerely.
Leonard looked thoroughly unconvinced.
Joanna looked contemplative, “Well, okay. He did seem a bit dry at first. I mean, I made this really funny joke about the Klingons and their beards, but he just stared at me with a blank face.”
"That sounds about right," Leonard chuckled.
“But he’s really patient too,” her eyebrows creased in concentration, "If I asked him a question, he'd never get mad at me. Most people don't know the answer or get annoyed when I ask too many questions, but Mr. Spock just keeps answering every time.” Her eyes widen in awe, "It's like he knows everything."
"Yeah, sure." Leonard snorted in amusement, "When Jim Kirk decides to become a vegetarian."
"I'm serious, dad." Joanna continued, "Everyone here is cool and all, but they're so weird," she wrinkled her nose at the thought, "Mr. Scott is always buried in wires, Mr. Sulu kept trying to get me to practice fencing and Mr. Chekov would not stop talking about Russia. Ms. Uhura is super smart but she gets so into her work she sometimes forgets I’m there. And don't even get me started about Uncle Jim."
"They're passionate," he corrected, "An odd bunch, I'll admit. But they're good at what they do."
"You seem to like everyone else well enough," Joanna pulled a pout, "Why don't you like Mr. Spock?"
"What gave you that idea?"
"I'm not blind, dad," she crossed her arms over her chest, "I know you two argue all the time."
Leonard flinched at her wording. She may just be a bit misinformed. "I don't dislike him, per se." he said, and it’s the god-honest truth. "He's just-" he paused and tried to think of the best word to use. Stubborn, charisma-less, stiff, different. Any of them would work, but they didn't quite encompass all of Spock .
There was a bit of truth to Joanna’s impression on the matter. They weren't exactly best of friends. After the incident with the Narada neither party had much to do with each other for a while. They saw each other occasionally, but their interactions were strained at best. He and Spock had developed a system called 'avoid and withdraw' and it worked out pretty well for the most part. They were both busy with their own business and if Leonard was really honest with himself, he was still a bit hung on the whole 'marooning Jim' thing. However, with the five year commission, they were more or less forced into each other's proximity on a regular basis and the adversity between them dulled with time and Jim's sheer force of will. Although they were still little more than acquaintances associated with each other peripherally by Jim and they snipped at each other on a regular basis, it was far from animosity they felt.
"He's just shy." Joanna concluded firmly, as if it were the most obvious fact in the universe.
Leonard tilted his head a bit to the side in curiosity.
“I know he doesn’t like to show it,” she sat up and gave her father a pointed look, “but he’s probably the coolest guy on this ship.”
“I’m offended.” Leonard had to interrupt, because really, a guy should not be edged out of his own daughter’s favor by a stiff-necked, pointy-eared bastard no matter what good said bastard may or may not have done to deserve it. “I don’t get to be cool?”
“You’re my dad.” Joanna offered as explanation, “You’re automatically disqualified from the cool list.”
That didn’t really help make him feel any better.
"Mr. Spock taught me all the names of the plants in the botany lab and-" she swung her legs off the bed and bounced on the edge of the bed in excitement as she thought back on it, "he then took me to the observatory and showed me how to use the telescopes!" She waved her hands around at imaginary equipment in excitement. "He even let me work the computer and I found a nebula. A Nebula! We never get to do this kind of stuff in school." She sighed dreamily and flops back on the bed, "You should've seen it, dad. It was so pretty!"
"Really now." Leonard asked, still a bit unbelieving.
Joanna nodded eagerly, "I had so much fun."
"Well, I'll be," Leonard mused. He turned her words over in his head long after he finished his paperwork and made good on his promise to help Joanna make that card castle.
vi.
Although Leonard should technically still be in the sickbay taking care of patients, Christine Chapel was a woman not one to be denied. She had a melting weakness for Joanna and demanded that he spend more time with his daughter regardless of duty and obligation. The woman practically threw the chief medical officer out of his own sickbay with a curt goodbye and turned back to her work without missing a beat.
It would've been more embarrassing if he didn't actually want to go.
He'd normally fight tooth and nail to do his damn job, but he is thankful for the excuse to spend time with Joanna. And despite how much or how loudly he complained, he can't really deny the competency of his staff.
Joanna wouldn't be sleeping now, especially since Leonard hadn't been around to make sure she went to bed and some part of him, the responsible father part, felt that she may have been a little spoiled. She got extra helpings of dessert, pranced around at her heart's desire, and stayed up late. She's got the entire crew wrapped around her slender little finger and she's well aware of it. Her continued penchant to stick close to Spock whenever Leonard wasn't around still perplexed him. When Leonard performed his duties in the sickbay, Joanna can often be found tagging along the Vulcan's heels like an eager puppy.
Since Spock was reported to be in Jim's quarters (probably beating the pants off his captain at chess), there's a high chance Joanna was there too.
-----
"Bones!" Jim beamed his greeting when the doors hissed open, "You made it for story time."
"Tell me about Vulcan." Leonard hears from further inside the room. It was Joanna's voice. The girl was bouncing on the balls of her feet with her fingers digging into the armrest of Spock's chair, who posed the question. Spock paused from setting up a round of chess.
Leonard privately winced at her blunt question. Vulcan has been a testy subject for Spock, and most people danced around the subject awkwardly. Joanna had no such convictions and felt no remorse in asking. Her eyes were bright with curiosity and enthusiasm as she waited expectantly for a response.
Spock didn't appear to mind, either.
"The planet itself is two point one times the size of earth and it's gravity was increased accordingly," Spock began and turned his chair to give her his full attention. "It had a dry and arid climate, with very little precipitation. The temperature was on average higher than on Earth but much more uniform."
"So it's like a gigantic desert?"
"Your comparison is accurate." he nodded.
"I'm glad you're here, Bones, " Jim mutters to Leonard quietly, "I was beginning to feel like a crooked third wheel with those two. And in my own room too." He crossed his arms in a huff, "There should be some kind of regulation against this kind of thing."
"Well." Leonard gave Jim the eyebrow in return, "It's a shame I wasn't present to witness the first time you've been rendered speechless for as long as I've known you."
Jim pouted.
"It must not be anything like Georgia, then" Joanna leaned into the arm rest, "It's hot, but it's so humid I could barely breathe without the air conditioning."
“I remember when the temperature controls at my house broke one summer and dad spent all afternoon trying to fix it himself." she giggled, "He got so much dirt on his clothes, it never came out no matter how many times we washed them."
Leonard protested, "I wasn't that bad." (even though he was)
He remembers that day perfectly. It had been sweltering for weeks when the old climate control unit finally sputtered its last round of air and forever went out of commission. Jocelyn wanted to call a repairman right away, but Leonard remembered being adamant about his ability as a repairman. Joanna had sat beside him and laughed the whole way through, passing whatever tool he called out from under the machine. Of course, six hours later and with nothing to show for it except two broken wrenches, some soiled clothing and scrap metal, he finally relented and called a technician in to replace the whole thing.
He didn't regret it, though. He was able to spend an entire, uninterrupted afternoon with his daughter, something that was few and far in between during his residency.
"Oh please continue, Jo." Jim's grin is practically splitting his face in half, "I'm sure you have some amazing stories you'd like to share with all of us."
Joanna gave her father a once over with a smirk, "Dad did such a bad job, the guy we hired had to swap out the entire thing!"
Betrayed by his own daughter, how low his life has sunk.
"Fascinating," Spock commented, he regards Leonard with a nonchalantly, "Perhaps it was wise for Dr. McCoy to, I believe the phrase is, 'stay in his chosen profession'." He has one eyebrow arched gracefully in what could either be amusement or arrogance.
"I know." Joanna nodded vigorously, "He was such a bad mechanic." She sauntered up to her father and gave him a winning smile, the little tart, "Hi dad, how was your day?"
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