Title: Lucky in Love on the Starship Enterprise (2/4)
Author: klmeri
Fandom: Star Trek AOS
Pairing: pre-Kirk/Spock/McCoy
Summary: Joanna McCoy visits her father while the Enterprise is docked near Earth. Her mission: to improve his love life.
Previous Part: 1
Or read at AO3

Part Two

“Captain Jim?”

Joanna swings the arm of the man in question as she walks with him to the cafeteria for breakfast.

Normally her father has a meal waiting for her when she wakes up, but he had received an urgent medical call in the middle of the night and hadn’t returned by the time she was awake. Jim, as the one waiting for her in the main cabin, explained that one of the engineers on board for the refit had had a minor accident and because the medical team was short-staffed, they needed her father’s help. He had offered to escort her to breakfast.

They enter a turbolift as Jim stills their swinging arms and asks her, “What?”

“Don’t you worry about my dad?”

“Usually it’s the other way around.”

“But when he has to work late—don’t you worry about that?”

Jim shoots her an amused look. “What are you getting at, JoJo?”

She raises an eyebrow just as her father would. “I’m sayin’ I want to know if you look after my father or not, Captain Jim.”

Jim squeezes her hand. “I do. I promised you that I would.”

Oh, right. He did promise that, back when they first met, as soon as he realized that the worst of her anger covered up an overwhelming fear that her father would go off into the space and die there. As much as she had professed to hate her father, she had been terrified to lose him more than she felt she already had.

The girl bounces slightly on the balls of her feet. “I suppose so.” She unlocks their hands and holds up her pinky finger. “But let’s promise again.”

Jim seems to have no problem with this. He hooks his littlest finger around hers and gives it a tug. “I swear on my life that nothing comes before your father and his well-being, not even my lovely Lady Enterprise.”

“And Mr. Spock,” she tacks on.

“Spock too? Seriously?”

“I like Mr. Spock,” Joanna tells him pointedly, “so you’d better look after him.”

“Hm,” says Jim, “what if I’m in a situation where I have to choose between them? What do I do then, JoJo?”

“Well, duh, you choose both.”

“I knew you’d say that.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“Did too.”

“Nuh-uh!”

“Did so!”

Jim wraps an arm around her middle and tries to tickle her. Her automatic reaction is to kick him in the shin.

No one questions why the captain of the ship limps out of the turbolift with a triumphant-looking youngster by his side. She is, after all, the spitting image of Dr. McCoy when he has succeeded in reminding James T. Kirk of his station in life.

~~~

Joanna locates Mr. Spock right away inside the cafeteria and sends Jim off on the errand of acquiring her a delicious breakfast. When Jim dawdles, asking if she wants Bones-acceptable food or the very unacceptable kind, she says that she doesn’t see anything wrong with the food her dad asks her to eat. Mr. Spock looks approving of this answer. Captain Jim, on the other hand, trails dejectedly across the hall to the replicators.

Joanna sits opposite of the Vulcan officer and leans across the table, whispering to him, “I think Captain Jim wanted a reason to eat waffles.”

“Very probably,” he agrees. “His habit of looking for co-conspirators during mealtimes is a source of great ire for your father.”

“How come you don’t stop him, then?”

Mr. Spock’s left eyebrow goes up. “I have found it far simpler to accept the Captain’s proclivities than to try to correct them.” He pauses before inquiring, “What method would you suggest I utilize?”

She lets her eyes grow large and her lower lip wobble.

Taken aback, Mr. Spock speaks quickly. “Have I hurt you, Joanna?”

She beams. “No, sir. It’s called the ‘puppy dog’ face. See, I’ll show you it again!” She does. “This is what you do when you want Captain Jim to behave.”

The Vulcan stares. “I… see. I am not capable of that, I fear.”

“Try it.”

“Miss McCoy…”

She gives him her best puppy dog face.

For a moment, Mr. Spock looks like he has bitten into something sour. Then, gradually, his facial muscles soften. His lower lip protrudes ever-so-slightly, and his eyes widen the tiniest bit.

Joanna sighs. “You look like a sad hedgehog, not a puppy.”

“Is the difference significant?”

“Vastly.” She pats just above the cuff of his blue sleeve. “That’s okay. You did your best. I’ll think of something else.”

Spock’s expression returns to normal.

Their third companion shows up just then, placing one fully laden tray on the table. “Spock looks relieved. JoJo, what were you doing to my First Officer?”

Joanna lifts her chin. “I was only teaching him a trick, Captain.”

Jim looks like he wants to ask what that trick is, but just then someone approaches their table and softly clears her throat.

Jim turns around. “Yes?”

“I apologize for the interruption, sir. A time-sensitive communiqué arrived at oh-eight-hundred from Starfleet Command with your immediate attention requested.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant.” Jim turns back to push the tray towards Joanna. “Spock, could you—?”

“Of course,” Spock replies before Jim can finish speaking.

“JoJo, I’ll leave you in Mr. Spock’s hands. See you later, okay? We’ll play Galactic Pirates.”

“That game is so old,” the girl mutters. “Bye, Captain Jim!”

Once the man is out of sight, she props her elbows on the table and eyes her companion gravely. “Don’t you worry about him, Mr. Spock?”

“I presume you are referring to Captain Kirk.”

“It’s his vacation and he still doesn’t get to have breakfast. My dad says that he skips meals too, sometimes, just because he’s so busy with his duties. Doesn’t that worry you?”

Spock regards her just as seriously as she regards him. “The captain of this ship is my responsibility, Miss McCoy. I am deeply aware of when and how to care for his well-being.”

“But you can’t worry about Captain Jim solely because it’s your job, otherwise you shouldn’t call yourself his friend.”

Spock’s mouth twitches. “You sound very much like your father.”

She wrinkles her nose, not certain if she should consider that a compliment. “All I’m saying is, can I trust you to look after him or not?”

“Affirmative.”

“Promise?”

“The word of a Vulcan is his bond.”

She holds her breath momentarily as though still unconvinced before adding, “Promise to look after my dad too?”

Spock’s eyebrows go up. “Dr. McCoy does not fall within the purview of my duties, Miss McCoy.”

She pokes her bottom lip out. “But you said you’re his friend!”

“Did I?”

“Mr. Spock,” she whines.

“Very well. For your sake, I shall henceforth consider your father as an extension of the captain—although I must add that you have made the task much more complex.”

“Aw,” the girl says, “I think you can handle it.”

Spock does not sound as convinced. “That remains to be seen, Miss McCoy.”

There is nothing else that she needs to say for the moment. Joanna picks up her fork and begins to eat her breakfast. The silence between her and Mr. Spock grows comfortable, and they finish their meals.

~~~

The lower decks closest to the warp core are packed with supplies and worker bots. A trail of them leads to Engineering. Joanna pokes her head into a familiar workspace.

The Head of the department swivels around in his chair to greet her. “Ah, you’re back, lass. Everyone busy?”

“Everyone but you, Mr. Scott.”

He regards her over the top of a technical manual. “I always have things to do.”

She looks to a small humanoid also in the room called Keenser, who is shaking his head. “Mr. Keenser doesn’t think so.”

“What do you know!” the engineer tosses hotly over his shoulder at the Roylan. “You’ve been sorting the same dilithium samples for two weeks!””

With a grunt, Keenser presents his back to the pair of humans.

Joanna hops up onto a stool and inspects the various gadgets on Mr. Scott’s desk. “Can I ask you a question?”

He eyes her warily. “It doesn’t have to do with your dad, Captain Kirk, or Mr. Spock, does it?”

She shrugs.

“Because I don’t know anything,” Scotty adds quickly, “and I’m not one to gossip.”

When she sniffles, a pregnant pause ensues.

The man sighs. “Oh, lass, nae the Puppy Dog Eyes.”

“It’s only a little question, Mr. Scott.”

“Only a little one?”

She promises.

“A’right, ask.” But as he says this, he mutters something about regret under his breath.

She starts to swing her legs back and forth. “What’s it like to be in love?”

Mr. Scott gapes at her for a long minute.

She tries again. “Are there symptoms?”

“I dinnae think I’m the right person to have this conversation with you. Maybe your Dad—”

The girl rolls her eyes. “I’m not asking about sex, Mr. Scott.” She takes pity on him when he grows pale. “I know about that stuff anyway.” She says determinedly, “I want to know about love. How did you know you were in love with Miss Uhura?”

Mr. Scott coughs and swears, looking around hastily, no doubt to determine if Keenser is listening. “I’m not! I’m not, er, in love with anybody. Nope!”

Joanna reaches over, plucks away his tech manual and bops him with it, which shocks the man into silence.

“Now,” she says, “if you’re done panicking, I want an answer—or I’ll tell Dad about that time you got my fruit juice mixed up with your whiskey and I almost got drunk.”

Scotty gasps. “That was an accident!”

“Daddy will still kill you… if Captain Jim doesn’t put you out an airlock first, and that’s if Mr. Spock doesn’t get to you before either of them do.”

She can tell that his whimper of fear isn’t at all feigned.

“It’s okay, Mr. Scott, I don’t want you to end up like a pretzel man. We can strike a deal. Tell me about being lovesick, and I’ll forget I ever had that drink.”

“It’s a lot like I’m feeling right now, lass. Sick, that is.” He holds up his hands. “Sweaty palms, racing heart. Sometimes the woman says a simple sentence to me ‘n I get tongue-tied.”

Joanna nods, pulling out a small pocket-sized padd to take notes. “What else?”

“I, uh, trip a lot.”

“Loss of coordination. Got it.”

“And I’ll forget what I was doing or was going to do.”

“Loss of focus. Keep going. This helps.”

Scotty laughs nervously. “Did I mention that I feel sick?”

“Yup.” She stares him down. “There has to be something else, though. I’m no expert but these symptoms sound kinda amateurish.”

“So, something distinctive that only a person in love would feel?”

Joanna nods.

The engineer blows out a breath, then another. “A’right. I’m—” Again he looks around warily before leaning in to whisper the rest. “—happy when she’s happy and sad when she’s sad. Mostly I just want to hold her in either case. You know, until all the bad things go away or so we can share the good things.” He rubs his nose with the back of his hand. “That’s sappy, aye?”

Joanna reaches over the table to hug him. “That’s really sweet, Mr. Scott. Thank you.”

He awkwardly pats her back.

She releases him and asks, “Are you certain that I can’t tell Miss Uhura?”

His hands go up and frantically wave at her. “No, no, no! That’d be bad, lass, really bad. I could never show my face on the Bridge again!”

Joanna cocks her head. “Then I leave it all up to you.” She sits back, tucking her data padd away. “I’m glad we had this talk.”

Scotty sinks into his chair in relief. “Can’t we focus on things that don’t make me feel like I’m in a Klingon interrogation room?”

Joanna perks up. “Have you been in one?”

“Well… there was this time…”

And so the man and child move on to less scarier topics than love.

~~~

Somehow time has sped up, with the chronometer clicking away the minutes faster than ever. That is, to someone who is impatient to be elsewhere, it seems that way.

“Are you sure you aren’t tired of Jim and Spock yet?” Leonard McCoy asks his daughter while he carefully braids her hair.

“Why would I be?” the girl responds, trying her utmost not to fidget. “Can’t you go faster? We’re going to be late.”

“They won’t start without us,” her father responds mildly. “Hold still. You fidget worse than Jim before an away mission. I don’t want to have to start over.”

She plucks at the hem of her dress. It’s the only dress she packed, which her mother said she should reserve for special occasions. She considers this upcoming event to be a special occasion. Her excitement about it stems from many reasons.

“Are your palms sweaty?” Joanna blurts out since her mind has strayed back to an earlier conversation that day.

Leonard sounds bemused. “No. Why?”

“Oh.” She feels a tinge of disappointment but perks up at the thought that maybe her inquiry is somewhat premature. She should wait until just the right moment.

Her father finishes tying a white ribbon into a bow at the end of her hair and gives the long braid a tug. “All done,” he announces.

She leaps off the bed and runs for the outer door.

“Jo!” Leonard calls to her. “Wait for me!”

A moment later Joanna runs back into the room, grabs his hand, and drags him along. He sputters all the way into the corridor and to the turbolift.

~~~

The hall outside the Observation Deck is well-lit, as is the main lobby. Within, however, the ambience is more subdued, cast in semi-shadow. Many visitors feel that it holds an air of anticipation. Others find it calming.

“We’re here!” the girl-child cries, skipping inside without either of these thoughts. One of her hands brushes past a replica of a naval steering wheel. “Captain Jim! Mr. Spock!”

The pair of men turn as one to greet her. Jim uncrosses his arms and opens them wide. Joanna accepts this invitation by throwing herself at him. He hugs her tight, tries to pick her up, and groans loudly.

“How much did you eat today, JoJo?” he jokes. “Oh, my back!”

Joanna pushes him away and wrinkles her nose. “You’re just weak. I bet Mr. Spock could lift me with one arm.”

“No, Joanna,” her father interjects quickly when she turns to Mr. Spock with an expectant look. “Spock, a regular hug will do just fine. I’m not hauling any one of you to Sickbay because of a dare from a pre-teen.”

“Bones, you’re such a buzz kill.”

“Dr. McCoy, I had no intention of indulging your daughter’s whim. I was merely going to agree that, yes, I am capable of lifting her with one arm.”

Both Joanna and Jim snicker. Leonard rolls his eyes.

Joanna decides to take pity on her father and goes to him, linking her left arm through his right. He escorts her to the railing at the edge of the platform.

“Can we see the stars now, Captain Jim?” she asks sweetly.

Jim gives a slight nod and addresses the ship’s computer with a set of instructions. The darkened tint of the windowpanes lighten until the observers have a clear look of what lies in space just beyond the ship: Earth and, beyond Earth, the moon. Then the view dissolves into a different image altogether.

Spock steps up to Joanna’s right. “This is a recording of a stellar nursery, which as you may know is a nebula containing many stars in the process of being formed. We charted it during the eighth month of this past year in the Panak sector.”

Jim moves to Leonard’s left side and lays a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“I won’t disagree,” Leonard murmurs.

Joanna looks across her father to Kirk. “Space is always lovely, Captain Jim. And deadly too!”

He smiles. “Spoken like a true McCoy.”

She returns her gaze to the stars. “But I think it’s part of who we are so, good or bad, we have to explore it.”

“Well said, Miss McCoy.”

“Thank you, Mr. Spock.”

Leonard squeezes her arm.

Joanna, suddenly reminded of her mission, checks his palm. She frowns upon finding the skin to be dry.

Likely thinking that his child is returning his affectionate gesture, her father gives her another pat on the arm.

Still frowning, Joanna turns her head to peer into her father’s face. His eyes do not look dilated, so maybe his heart isn’t racing. She unhooks their arms and tries to find his pulse.

“What are you doing, Jo?” Leonard asks her.

“Nothing,” she replies distractedly, unable to count his heartbeat. There doesn’t seem to be one. Her fingers must be too high. She changes her grip.

Leonard shifts to the side and pulls her hand away, then repositions it on his wrist. He says, “The radial artery runs between the bone and the tendon. Your fingers go here, see? On the thumb side. Now press down—don’t worry, you can do it little harder than that. Do you feel my pulse?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s important to distinguish between how long you are counting and what you’re counting. You don’t want to confuse yourself. Here’s a trick…”

He goes on to show her the trick, the proper way to count the heartbeats, and what would be a normal range for a human. After a few tries, her father declares her proficient enough at taking a pulse.

Jim and Spock have been watching her lesson curiously without interrupting. Joanna moves over to Jim, and he offers his wrist. She declares his heart rate to be too slow.

“That’s because I am in the zone,” Jim replies.

“What zone?” she wants to know.

“It’s a saying, little girl.”

“Nobody says that, Captain Jim.”

“But you see back in the day, even before my day…”

“Enough, Jim,” Leonard interrupts.

Joanna takes this as her cue to move over to Mr. Spock. She hesitates. “Can I touch you, Mr. Spock?”

Spock extends his wrist. “You may.”

She tries out her newly learned technique, but the number seems way too big. She does it a second time, even double-checks her multiplication.

“Mr. Spock,” she says slowly, relaying the bad news, “I think you’re supposed to be dead.”

The Vulcan’s eyebrows shoot up. Her father barks out a laugh.

She turns to him questioningly.

Leonard reins in his laughter but continues to smile. “Vulcan physiology is vastly different than a human’s, Joanna. I had to learn a whole new set of statistics just for Spock.” He snorts. “Speaking of, Jim, when do I get my Vulcan physician?”

“I’m working on it, Bones. Most of the experts on New Vulcan don’t want to leave the colony for another few years yet. We’ll find someone, but you’ll have to accept that their experience probably won’t qualify them as a Healer by Vulcan standards.”

“Fine by me. Any experience is better than no experience.”

Spock is of a different opinion. “Your general knowledge has served you sufficiently, Doctor.”

But Leonard shakes his head. “By your standards, maybe, but not mine, Spock. I knew my Xenobiology courses were missing something.”

“Vulcan law prohibits the sharing of certain… personal information.”

“Well, you know what the problem is with that, Spock? I’ve got a Vulcan Starfleet officer I can’t treat because his people think their secrecy is more important than being able to save a life!”

Spock shifts to face Leonard more fully, dark eyes glittering. “Your statement could not be more false.”

“Uh-oh,” Jim mouths at Joanna.

“Proof’s in the pudding, hobgoblin,” Leonard retorts. “Starfleet Medical barely managed to treat the survivors in the aftermath of Nero. Why? Because they had no training on how to stabilize a grieving Vulcan!”

“Such illness has nothing to do with the physical, Dr. McCoy.”

“Bullshit! We’ve got centuries of study to prove that mental trauma can be detrimental to the body—and I was there, Spock. I saw your people, some of them literally just laying down to die. I swear to you I had never felt more helpless in my life.”

Joanna recognizes the moment Spock is no longer irritated at her father. It is a subtle change in his posture.

“You did your best, Doctor. In fact, I am confident that you performed beyond your best. Several of our Healers made it known to me that your efforts were appreciated. And it seems that you can be quite persuasive, logically speaking, when you choose to be.”

Joanna watches in fascination as her father’s face reddens.

“It wasn’t anything. I sort of yelled at everyone that the least sensible thing to do was to die when the living needed them more than the dead.” He looks sheepish. “Sorry about that. My temper gets the better of me sometimes.”

“Yes, I am very familiar with your nature.”

Joanna locks her fingers over her belly and smiles serenely at the pair. “I knew y’all liked each other.”

Jim turns away quickly to cover up his laugh with a cough.

Joanna continues on. “It doesn’t matter that you don’t have any symptoms. You’re probably in one of the later stages.”

“Of what?” her dad asks, clearly perplexed.

Jim looks around. “Wait, are we sick?”

“The best kind of sick,” Joanna answers, and then giggles.

She takes a hold of the railing and points at a cluster of bluish twinkling stars. “What’s that?”

Spock answers her right away.

From the corner of her eye, Joanna watches Jim poke her father in the side.

“Bones, what’s she talking about?”

“Beats me, kid.”

“I need to know if I have a disease.”

“The only disease you’ve got is moron-itis.”

“Oh, that. I’ve had worse.”

“Infant.”

“Old man.”

“Miss McCoy?”

Joanna turns to Mr. Spock.

“Is all well?” the Vulcan wants to know.

She nods. “Yes, sir, everything’s nearly perfect.”

He cocks one eyebrow. “Nearly?”

“I have one last condition to test in my hypothesis, but all the others have proven true so far.”

“Someone once shared with me one of your human customs which I believe is meant to be encouraging. As it seems appropriate now, I will say ‘good luck’.”

“Thank you.” Joanna beams. “You’re just so nice, Mr. Spock. It’s why I picked you.”

It seems that he knows better than to ask after her meaning. He only says, “I am honored to be chosen.”

Joanna has no doubt that the words are sincere. She turns back to the recording on the panes. “Tell me more about baby nebulae. How come that isn’t in my school books?”

“Strange. The subject has been part of the Vulcan curriculum for a decade at minimum. Perhaps, as most of the nurseries have been discovered by Vulcan science vessels, it has yet to be studied in depth by the other institutions. This is something to ruminate upon and, given the opportunity, to address with my father. When do you depart the Enterprise, Miss McCoy?”

“In two days.”

“If it is amenable to you, I would like to schedule with you a time to go over other charted anomalies which I suspect you may not be aware of. This will help elucidate the disparity in our educations.”

She bounces on the balls of her feet. “Sure thing.” Her eyes light up. “We can have a sleepover and talk about science and eat ice cream!”

Jim joins the conversation. “Did someone say sleepover? And ice cream?”

“Joanna…” her father starts to say in a tone of voice that means he isn’t agreeable to the idea.

Together Jim, Joanna, and Spock face Leonard.

“Joanna, I don’t think…” the man tries to say again but stops.

They continue to look at him.

“Crap,” he says. “It’s bad enough with you two, but who taught Spock the Puppy Dog face?”

Jim and Joanna high-five.

Spock schools his features into something more appropriately Vulcan. “Do we have your permission, then, Dr. McCoy?”

Joanna’s father mutters his answer but it’s definitely a positive sign. In that moment, Joanna couldn’t be prouder of her soon-to-be family. They make the best team.

She offers Jim a hug and then tucks into Spock, laying her head against his side. To her surprise, she can hear his heart beating. She may just lean into him more often, for the sound comforts her. He doesn’t appear to mind, as his hand comes to rest lightly on her shoulder.

With the strangest look on his face, Leonard says, “This was a good idea.”

“Mmhm,” his child agrees. “I’m very happy.”

It may be a trick of the starlight but her father’s eyes glint for the briefest of moments. His head turns away. “All right. Sleepover it is.”

Knowing that she won is the final piece to the girl’s contentment. By the end of the sleepover, she truly believes her dad will be convinced that Jim and Spock are excellent life partners.

It’s simply a matter of time.

Next Part

Related Posts:

• Lucky in Love on the Starship Enterprise (5/5) – from March 26, 2015
• Lucky in Love on the Starship Enterprise (4/5) – from March 18, 2015
• Lucky in Love on the Starship Enterprise (3/4) – from March 16, 2015
• I Have To Share This Comment – from February 26, 2015
• Lucky in Love on the Starship Enterprise (1/2) – from February 25, 2015

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