0Title: Say a Little Prayer
Author: klmeri
Fandom: Star Trek AOS
Pairing: Kirk/Spock/McCoy
Summary: Leonard has his favorite people with him, looking out for them while they too think of his best interests.
A/N: Featuring Joanna McCoy. Fluff for all and happy-to-be-together McSpirk.
“Melvaran mudpits!”
“No.”
“The Wind Vortex on Maravel!”
“No,” repeats the man currently kneeling in front of a child.
“But, Dad.” The child stomps her foot. “Dragons ride the Vortex!”
Leonard McCoy grimaces at the thought of his precious daughter anywhere near the Maravel dragons. She would try to become the first McCoy to pursue a career in dragon-riding. “Explore your own backyard first, kiddo, before you start mucking about in other people’s.”
She rolls her eyes in a way people claim makes her look exactly like him. But her sass certainly isn’t from him.
“Earth is just,” the girl grumps, crestfallen, “…Earth.”
Leonard finishes tucking Joanna’s jean cuffs into her boots and checks that her backpack straps are not too loose before pulling away to look her in the eyes.
“I don’t understand, Jo. What’s wrong with Earth?”
She picks bashfully at the collar of his shirt. “Nothing, I guess.”
The sound of someone coming down the hallway is a distraction she leaps at, squirming away to pelt toward their guest with an exaggerated cry of “Uncle Jim!”
Jim Kirk laughs and waddle-walks into the living room with McCoy’s barnacle of a daughter attached to his leg. “Are we ready?”
“Dad won’t let us go anywhere fun!”
Kirk gasps, “But I thought we decided on Naka Cave! I’ve never been there myself, but I heard it is so fun.”
She stares up at Jim, surprised. “You haven’t?”
“No, and I really wanted to see the snakes!” Jim tweaks the child’s nose, making Joanna shriek and leap back from him while throwing her hands protectively over her nose.
After a moment, she lowers her hands to say in the gravest manner to her father, “Uncle Jim might be disappointed if he doesn’t see the snakes.”
Leonard doesn’t think there are actual snakes in Naka Cave—at least, he hopes not.
“Then we have no choice but to go,” he tells her, equally grave. “Good thing too, because our driver just messaged me that he’s—” The doorbell interrupts him. He turns toward the front of the house with a huff. “Speak of the devil.”
Joanna gasps and abandons the men in the living room to be the first one to the door.
The newcomer revealed on the other side regards her closely. “Greetings, Joanna McCoy.”
Joanna mirrors his dignified pose. “Greetings, Captain Spock.”
Jim makes a disbelieving noise. As Kirk’s sharp gaze pins the top of the child’s head, Leonard just rolls his eyes. Spock inclines an eyebrow but, to McCoy’s delight, doesn’t correct his daughter. When Jim opens his mouth, Leonard deliberately elbows him once, and then again just for good measure.
Spock can be captain for a day.
“Fine,” Jim mutters under his breath before aiming a reluctant smile at Spock. “I believe our vessel awaits, Captain.”
“Indeed.” Spock steps gracefully to the side so that they can see the hovercar parked along the street curb.
Kirk’s smile thaws.
Leonard reaches down to give his daughter an encouraging pat to get going but she’s already full-speed ahead, dashing for the front passenger seat. “Shotgun!” the girl screams, flinging the car door open and scrambling inside like they might have something to say about her choice.
Spock and Jim look to Leonard.
He shrugs. “Just don’t give her an actual weapon. We’ll be fine.”
Grabbing another backpack from a nearby chair, he follows the youngest of their party to the car. Joanna has chosen the front seat only because Spock is driving, which to her mind designates her as Spock’s second-in-command. It’s a coveted position, apparently.
Today, Jim and Leonard settle for being ordinary passengers. For Leonard, at least, he left his rank back on the Enterprise and the only authority that matters right now is the kind he can wield as Joanna’s father, which admittedly is harder to do than it seems. His child is a stubborn preteen who has had him wrapped around her little finger since she was born.
Jim catches up to him along the walkway, his arm flopping across Leonard’s shoulders. “Jo gets cuter every year.”
“Even when she likes Spock best?”
Jim gives him a softly fond look. “Especially then. Must be an inherited thing.”
Leonard rolls his eyes. Once settled in the car, Jim presses their sides together from knee to shoulder.
“Onward, Captain Spock!” Jim calls cheerfully, even as a passenger always willing to give the order that sets their adventure in motion.
When Leonard is satisfied Spock has them heading in the direction toward the transport station, he leans close to whisper to his backseat companion, “The snake thing… there are no real ones, right?”
Jim’s eyes twinkle. “Bones, is there ever a cave without a snake?”
Leonard clutches his backpack to his chest, instinctively seeking out the spot where he stashed an emergency medical kit. He sighs.
Jim knocks their shoulders. “I’ll protect you even if it’s an itty bitty one,” the man says like he thinks McCoy needs such a silly promise.
Next time Leonard will sit in the front even if he has to put Joanna in his lap to accomplish it. Spock wouldn’t tease him for—well, it’s not a fear of snakes. He just doesn’t like how snakes look at him as a person of interest.
He harrumphs. “You do that, kid.”
In centuries past, taking a trip to a national park on the other side of the planet wasn’t possible without days of travel in uncomfortable aircraft, then long journeys by vehicle across mountainous terrain, and finally on foot through the wildland. Today, travelers simply step onto a transporter platform at the nearest Atlantic coast station and materialize instantly outside the wide-open gates of Phu Langka National Park. It’s as seamless as a quick trip to the local city zoo.
Joanna vibrates next to her father, more excited now by the prospect of the park than how she seemed at the house earlier. This is her first time in Thailand, just like it is Leonard’s.
Jim leads their group into the park with the confidence that comes naturally to a man who is an explorer by trade. Joanna tries to imitate Kirk’s posture, marching in his wake with her tiny head and shoulders thrown way back. Leonard’s neck aches in sympathy.
He chooses to keep pace with Spock, who slows down every so often to study the tropical surroundings.
Leonard deliberately drags his boots to make noise so he doesn’t startle Spock from his reverie. “Thailand’s beautiful this time of year.”
“Affirmative. And of a suitable temperature,” remarks Spock, as he turns to catch Leonard’s eye.
Leonard bites down on a smile. Once upon a time, Spock wouldn’t have dared offer him such a teasing afterthought. He likes this side to Spock. It’s softer than the usual way they needle each other for fun.
“I’m from the South.” He puffs up slightly with pride. “I can handle a little heat and humidity.” Then, inclining his head in Jim’s direction who is already in line to buy their passes, he adds, “The Iowa farm boy will be your wilting flower. I give it an hour, tops.”
“Captain!” Joanna turns away from Jim’s side and comes running back to them. “Captain Spock!”
Spock gives his attention to the child.
She reaches out to grab Spock’s hand. Leonard tenses but Joanna checks herself before latching onto the sleeve of the man’s tunic instead. Good, thinks McCoy. She took seriously what he told her about the sensitivity of a Vulcan’s hands.
“Why are you so slow?” She aims the question accusingly at her father.
“What’s with the rushing ahead, Jo?” Leonard wants to know. “We have all day.”
“Your father and I were admiring the beauty of the park,” Spock explains.
Actually, Leonard had been admiring Spock, but that is a minor correction he keeps to himself.
The girl releases Spock’s sleeve with a cursory glance at the foliage artfully arranged around the periphery of the visitor’s welcome area.
“Oh,” she says, and it’s obvious from her lackluster tone that she only sees big green plants and weirdly shaped flowers. A nature enthusiast, Leonard’s daughter is not—at least, currently. There is time for her to change her mind as she ages and her hobbies change too. It’s part of growing up. The thought makes Leonard wistful.
Spock promises the child, “We shall endeavor to keep up,” and cups Leonard’s elbow as though Leonard is the wayward one needing to be herded back to their party.
Leonard just thinks Spock likes the excuse to touch him in public. Spock isn’t as reserved as Vulcans typically are with physical affection. Yet another thing Leonard likes about him.
Jim is waiting for them, standing aside from the line of people with their sticker badges in hand.
“Starfleet gets a discount!” he declares in the same tone he uses to boast of a successfully negotiated peace treaty.
When Jim tries to put Joanna’s sticker on for her, she scolds him.
Leonard notices park attendants pointing at and not-so-subtly snapping photographs of Jim. Jim means to say, he interprets, that they have received free tickets, courtesy of Kirk’s celebrity status on Earth.
While Joanna is trying to determine the right spot for the sticker on her shirt, Jim offers Spock a sticker, who places it right where his Science insignia would be if he had on his Starfleet uniform. Jim does the same for himself.
Leonard snorts and holds out his hand for his own sticker, only belatedly recognizing the mischief in Kirk’s blue eyes. Leonard tries to draw back but Jim nimbly avoids his swatting hand and plants the sticker right on McCoy’s cheek.
Scowling, he peels it off and slaps it randomly below his shirt collar, where the sticker refuses to stay. It floats to the ground.
“You,” he growls at Jim. “Get me another one!”
Jim spends a full minute fruitlessly trying to press the abused sticker down on the fabric of Leonard’s shirt, which eventually Leonard realizes is just Jim’s excuse for putting hands on him. Leonard smacks the wandering fingers and bores a look into Jim that says Jim better stop embarrassing him.
With an innocent blink, Jim cajoles, “Bones, have I told you how pretty you are today?”
“Jim,” he hisses, spying Joanna watching them from the side. “I will put you on the ground right here.”
“Ah,” murmurs Kirk wisely, taking a step back, “another time then.”
So focused on each other, Jim and Leonard failed to notice Spock slipping away until Spock returns with a fresh sticker for Leonard, still on its little square of parchment. Leonard takes it with a grateful smile. Applied properly, it stays.
Having apparently had her fill of dawdling adults, Joanna hops into the middle of their little group. She chastises, “Dad, Uncle Jim! Stop playing! Captain Spock, may we please see the cave now?”
The first stop in the park is the ancient Buddhist temple, which both invites people to the path to Naka Cave and shields it from unwanted company. A monk at the temple entrance silently hands each of them a flower garland as they shed their shoes and walk inside. Leonard has prayed in various religious houses (some far away from Earth) throughout his lifetime. This one is no less beautiful than a palace for all that it is small and contained to the mountain.
He kneels before a carefully preserved gold-leaf Buddha and clasps the garland between his hands, waiting for Joanna to copy his pose. She knows she is allowed to choose whether or not to pray, and she settles at his side. He has already whispered to her that offering the flower garland to the god in exchange for a prayer being heard is the tradition here.
The child’s expression is intense as she shuts her eyes and squeezes the garland tightly. He hopes what she wants comes true. Leonard prays for her health and happiness and then slides his gaze over to Spock, who had declined a flower garland and stands to the side, silent out of respect for the sacredness of the temple.
Like at the park entrance, Spock appears to spend his time observing the details of the decor and the quiet movements of the worshippers.
Jim’s face, Leonard notices, has softened as he prays. Relaxation looks good on him.
The three of them arrange their flower garlands in the bowl before the altar and quietly take their leave.
The man waiting at the foot of the rock-hewn staircase leading to Naka Cave is a park ranger. He introduces himself as Mr. Paween, their guide for the day. Apparently being a celebrity comes with more perks than just free access to the park.
Mr. Paween focuses on Joanna after bowing politely to Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. “You must be Joanna. I heard this if your first visit to Naka Cave?”
“Is it far?” she asks.
“Not terribly far but please watch your footing.” He sets his foot on the first step of the staircase. “We will pause part of the way for you to catch your breath.”
That sounds ominous, and for good reason it turns out. The trek up the path to the famous cave is even steeper than it looks. Leonard curses breathlessly while Joanna seems just fine, Jim is barely winded, and Spock could apparently have run up the mountain without a single hair out of place.
The last few strides are completed with Leonard grasping the back of Jim’s jacket like a lifeline. An amused Jim fusses over him once they are at the top, telling Leonard he ought to be embarrassed by such a lack of stamina. Leonard’s heart is hammering against his ribcage too hard for him to do more than shoot Jim a dirty look.
He finds his breath when Jim mentions joining his and Spock’s daily workout regimen. Leonard succinctly tells him if he doesn’t want to end up on his rump at the bottom of the stairs, he should shut up.
Jim mimes zipping his mouth closed.
Joanna clucks over their bickering like she’s never seen her father be disrespectful to anybody before. “You can’t be rude,” she tells Leonard, “or Buddha can’t make my wish come true.”
Leonard doesn’t understand what Buddha has to do with him not being nice to Jim. If he never argued with Jim, then Jim would probably think Leonard has suffered a personality transplant. They have poked and prodded and teased each other since the day they met. Back then, it had felt like reuniting with somebody he had known for years and their bickering was just falling into old habits.
Now he knows it’s a matter of them being well-suited to each other. Fighting with Jim is one of the many reasons he has come to love Jim so much.
At first sight, the Naka Cave is not grandiose. It’s a thin slit in the mountainside with a deeply slanted rock roof that doesn’t allow a full-grown man to stand up straight. Leonard knows right away it would be a dangerous descent into the earth if not for the staircase guiding their way down.
He finds himself asking Joanna if she’s okay with going ahead, to which she simply pats his cheek and says, “Uncle Jim was right. It looks fun!”
Mr. Paween talks about the first documented exploration of Naka Cave and how for centuries the nearby monks have considered it a place of great spiritual significance. This is the reason Naka Cave remains open to the public only during short periods of the year and is not generally touted as the main tourist attraction of their national park.
The ranger gives them time to look around outside the cave’s entrance. Joanna follows Spock’s exploratory circuit around the cliff-face, touching everything he pauses to study. Then she hurries back to her father’s side when Mr. Paween asks for their attention again. This time the ranger has a set of old miners’ helmets for them, explaining that although adequate lighting is installed deep into the cavern, the lamps on the helmets can be used to guide their path as well.
Joanna considers the helmet with an expression Leonard knows well. She doesn’t want to wear it.
Mr. Paween goes on to explain that because of Joanna’s age, extra safety measures must be taken in order for her to be allowed to descend into the cavern with the adults.
The ranger removes rope from his gear pack. “Which of you—”
“Me,” Leonard interjects quickly before anyone else takes the opportunity. “I’m the father.”
“Dad,” Joanna whines, looking even more annoyed by the rope. “Do I really have to wear that?”
“No rope, no adventure,” he states firmly. She rolls her eyes and pouts at Jim rather than him, but little does she know Jim would never dare voice a different opinion.
The ranger offers Leonard a small smile of understanding as he shows Leonard how to latch it to the wide belt designed for it. While Jim cajoles Joanna into her helmet by making a spectacle of posing in his, Leonard is quietly instructed on what to do in the event he has to take on his daughter’s weight. Leonard doesn’t mention that Starfleet requires routine training for all officers in scenarios like Mr. Paween describes. Given the missions they end up on, Leonard has had the misfortune of hands-on experience in what to do. He can easily recall having to haul a dangling captain from a cliff more than once.
It takes another few minutes for Leonard to convince his daughter the rope is a necessary evil. It’s not the rope she really objects to, just the idea of being tied to him, which she claims is embarrassing for somebody around her age.
Once Joanna is in her gear and ready to go, Leonard puts on his helmet, coming to accept that whether or not she is tied to him and he is capable of helping her, his anxiety is just another facet of being a parent. The older his child gets, the more she tries to assert her independence, and it’s his job to learn to be okay with that. But some days he just wishes he could hold onto her so he knows she is protected.
Leonard is pulled from his thoughts upon feeling a quiet snick and tug at the back of his belt. He twists at the waist to see Jim having snuck up behind him at some point, amusement crinkling the corners of the man’s blue eyes.
Jim has clipped a second rope line to Leonard’s belt.
Leonard demands, “What’s that for?”
Jim gives the rope a firm tug. “It’s Spock’s.”
Leonard sees indeed the rope does stretch past Kirk to Spock. Again he demands, “Why am I tied to Spock?”
Spock doesn’t appear inclined to provide an answer, but Jim is nearly beaming with it. “So we can watch out for you while you take care of Jo!”
These idiots! He blusters, “She has to have the rope! It’s the park’s rule for children!”
Jim drops his voice to what Leonard considers to be the right octave for his Kirkian charm. “Only because precious things must be kept safe, Bones.”
Boy is he glad that ranger is busy with Joanna as she peppers him with questions about what kinds of creatures live in an underground cavern. Otherwise, she would certainly notice his red face and ask if he is feeling sick.
What Leonard’s feeling is exasperated! He pins both men with a disagreeable stare. Jim looks unrepentant. But the other one…
“Spock.” Leonard says the name in such a way as to convey just how against this silly idea he is.
Sadly Spock is still not on his side. Spock tells him, “It would be unfortunate if you were to slip and place Joanna in danger as well.”
Damn, but Leonard cannot argue with that.
Jim pats McCoy’s shoulder. “You know how strong Spock is. Consider it a backup of the backup.”
Like Leonard is the only one who might make a fool of himself! He bites back, “Then you ought to buckle up too.”
Jim laughs and backs away. “I’m an experienced rock climber, Bones!”
“You,” he grouses, “are a menace.”
“Ah well, that too. Don’t worry, I will be in the front, so I can catch her first,” Jim promises and does exactly that, taking charge and signally to Mr. Paween they are ready to descend into Naka Cave.
Joanna sticks very close to her Uncle Jim, which means Leonard is dragged after the pair by this tether of his own making. How ironic.
“Naka,” Joanna informs her father casually as they both watch Jim disappear into the depths of the cave, “means snake in Thai. So you don’t have to worry about seeing lots of snakes in the cave, Daddy. The cave is a snake.”
She hasn’t seen the things Leonard has in his time serving aboard the Enterprise, so she likely can’t understand the reason for his slight shiver.
“A myth, naturally,” rumbles Spock from over Leonard’s shoulder.
Joanna’s eyes glitter. “That’s not what Mr. Paween said.” She starts down the staircase.
“Myth or not,” Leonard whispers, certain Spock’s excellent hearing will catch the words, “I am not a fan of snakes.”
“We are aware,” Spock says. Then, “It is your turn, Leonard.”
Leonard slides in after his daughter, flicking on the light of his helmet as he goes.
The original wooden staircase ends shortly beyond the entrance, separated by a sturdy metal platform from another set of steel stairs that delivers them to the bottom of the cave. The natural sunlight diminishes to the point of almost total darkness halfway down. If not for the electric lanterns periodically highlighting the twists of the cavern and his helmet’s lamp, they would be moving blindly about.
Leonard’s first impression beyond descending into a bottom pitless is that the pale stalactites stretching down beside the stairs are daunting in their size and likely older than he can possibly imagine.
“Dad! Hey, Dad, look!”
Joanna uses the rope like it’s a leash to drag Leonard to her at her will. Her small hand runs across the groove in the rock wall. “See, it looks like a snake’s mouth,” she says in awe.
The pattern does indeed look like a half-open mouth with pointy fangs.
Jim appears at McCoy’s shoulder. “Oh, nice find, Jo. But come this way, you two.”
Joanna refuses Leonard’s hand, choosing Jim instead to steady her as they navigate the uneven terrain.
The ranger is standing next to a well-lit stretch of the cave floor, and Joanna gasps upon seeing it.
“IT’S THE SNAKE!” she cries.
Leonard winces as her voice rings back to them from all corners of the cavern.
Spock has joined them, like the rapt Joanna dropping to a squat in order to inspect the floor. Its bumpy texture looks like snakeskin, uncannily so.
“Fascinating,” remarks Spock.
“Very,” agrees Joanna. “Captain Spock, is it possible a snake is really trapped in the mountain?”
Leonard says dryly, “It would have died from the lack of oxygen if nothing else.”
Jim argues, “Not if it’s magical,” smiling at Leonard’s nonplussed look.
Spock, ever the rational one, says, “Given when the cave was first explored by the Terrans of this region, the cave’s distinctive formations would have been difficult to comprehend with the limited scientific knowledge of the period. It is often simpler to create a deeper mystery than to allow a small mystery to remain unexplained.”
Joanna nods along thoughtfully.
Spock straightens and faces another direction. They all turn with him, even the ranger. “Observe the patterns within the stalactites. Due to the rock’s composition and, I suspect, a hidden spring under the mountain, they must have crystallized rapidly, creating a ripple effect in the rock.”
“Reminds me of the facial ridges of the Denobulans,” Jim muses.
“I was thinking more like we stumbled into Dracula’s lair,” mutters Leonard, suddenly eyeing the space above them. He hopes this cave isn’t home to bats too.
Spock raises an eyebrow. “Dracula?”
Leonard shakes his head slightly. “Tell you later.” Maybe Spock will appreciate the legends about vampires more than some giant mythical snake stuck in a mountain.
“So cool,” Joanna says, frowning only when she realizes she isn’t tall enough to touch the lowest hanging stalactite even standing on the tips of her toes.
Jim has already started forward, probably to swing the girl onto his shoulders, but she turns her little face imploringly up to the Vulcan.
The only ones who can say no to that face are his daughter’s mother and grandmother. Leonard stifles a laugh as Spock gently lifts her to the correct height so she can freely run her hands over the rock formation.
Jim retreats to Leonard’s side.
Leonard huffs at his expression. “No point in pouting. You’d put your back out if you tried picking her up like that.”
“I admire his strength, I do,” Jim sighs, “but sometimes it makes me feel so…”
“Human?” supplies McCoy.
They share a look, comrades at least in this one minor insecurity. Then Jim tucks Leonard against his side with an arm around Leonard’s waist. The ranger clears his throat and politely faces away from them.
“Jim,” Leonard warns.
Jim looks on as Spock dutifully walks around at Joanna’s behest so she can inspect every nook and cranny of the cave within her new line of vision. “We can’t hide forever, Bones.”
“And I don’t want us to.” Leonard puts that careful few inches of distance between them again. “But that talk of making you a Vice Admiral isn’t just smoke, and you know it. A scandal would set you back.”
Jim studies him seriously, then. “You think I would sacrifice us for a promotion?”
Leonard purses his mouth and says nothing.
Jim relents immediately. “Sorry, Bones, that was out of line. I know you don’t.”
He would have taken Jim’s hand then, onlookers be damned, if Joanna hadn’t chosen that moment to shout, “Dad!”
So Leonard settles for a squeeze to Jim’s forearm and focuses on his daughter instead. Jim turns her way as well. Joanna is the first priority and always will be.
As Spock sets the child on her feet, Leonard tsks. “Jo, did you thank Spock?”
Joanna says sweetly, “Thank you, Captain!” Then she says again, her excitement barely abated, “Dad, this place just doesn’t seem natural. I bet there’s more snake skeleton stuff around! We just have to find it!”
Luckily, Jim Kirk knows his cue. The man cups a hand to his ear, stiffening suddenly. “Did you hear that?”
Joanna freezes, her mouth falling open to a silent ‘O’ as they all go silent. All McCoy hears is the faint dripping of water somewhere—probably that from the hidden spring—in the deep recesses of the cave.
Spock finally prompts, “Jim?” but from his calm visage, Spock like McCoy no doubt senses a Kirk diversion rather than a very mysterious sound.
Jim breaks into a grin that would easily brighten the darkness around them if happiness equated to light.
“I hear adventure,” he says and laughs.
Joanna stomps her foot, demanding, “Uncle Jim, where?!”
Jim seemingly picks a direction at random but one that is definitely away from the stairs. “That way.” He holds out his hand to her. “Want to go exploring?”
McCoy’s daughter never has to be asked twice when it comes to an adventure. Leonard wisely lets Jim take charge of Joanna, allowing Jim to hook the rope tethered to her to his belt. Making use of the few minutes Jim keeps Joanna occupied, Leonard sidles over to Spock. For some reason, Spock places his hand on McCoy’s back like Leonard might topple over but the simplest explanation for Spock touching him is that Spock wants to.
There is a soft gleam to Spock’s dark eyes. “Would you like to inspect this cavern further with me, Doctor?”
“As long as you don’t pick me up. I’m no lightweight,” Leonard laughs. But when Spock grabs his waist, he nearly does fall over in shock. “Don’t you dare!” he hisses at the Vulcan, lowering his voice so their scuffle doesn’t attract attention.
“As you wish,” says Spock, but his hands linger on McCoy’s waist longer than necessary before Spock withdraws them.
Leonard rolls his eyes despite the heat rising in his face. “I meant to say thank you, by the way. For coming with us. It wouldn’t have been the same without you,” he admits.
“I was pleased by your invitation.” Spock considers Leonard’s expression not unlike Jim had done earlier. “Are you enjoying the experience?”
Leonard pats the Vulcan’s chest reassuringly. “My daughter’s enthusiasm for snakes aside, yes, I am.” He drawls, adding a touch of flirtiness to his tone, “Since you’ve got my leash, I’ll explore wherever you want.”
Spock’s gaze brightens further. “There is a mural by the staircase which interests me.”
“A mural?” repeats Leonard.
“Affirmative. I should also like to ask the ranger of its origins.”
Leonard swallows a laugh at Spock’s sincerity. He guesses flirting will have to come second to Spock’s love of scientific expeditions. “All right, lead the way then.”
The faded mural is of a monk worshipping a snake god. Mr. Paween does offer to chat about it, and while Spock listens intently to the ranger, for his part, Leonard enjoys watching Spock.
Jim and Joanna eventually return to them snake-skeleton-less but Joanna seems happy enough, rolling a smooth limestone pebble between her hands. Leonard isn’t surprised to find both are far grimier than they were before. Trust Kirk to introduce his daughter to the muddiest spots of an old cave.
“I like this place,” Joanna decides for all of them.
The ranger smiles. “The park has more to offer. Should we continue the tour above ground?”
“Yeah.” Leonard runs a hand fondly down his daughter’s unraveling braid of hair.
After they climb out of Naka Cave, Joanna badgers them into removing her gear as expediently as possible. Once freed, she hurries over to the small shrine beside the cave entrance where visitors sometimes leave tributes. There, she places the smooth pebble and says a silent prayer.
Then Joanna offers her father a toothy grin. “What’s next?”
“Food,” answers Leonard at the same time, Jim says hopefully, “Bathroom?”
“Food and the facilities,” Spock summarizes to Mr. Paween. “Then we should like to visit Nam Tok Tat Kam.”
The ranger nods along with their choices. “Kam Tok Tat Kam is popular with tourists.”
“He wants the experience of meditating by a waterfall,” Leonard explains.
“And somebody needs to throw this fish back into the river!” Jim grabs Joanna and swings her in the air, making her scream, “Nooo, Uncle Jim! I’m a land fish!”
Leonard hooks a thumb over his shoulder at the pair, telling Spock, “Good luck meditating with those two around.”
“Certainly the experience shall be… enhanced.”
In other words, like Leonard, Spock does not mind watching the people he loves play and be carefree. Leonard lets Spock subtly caress the side of his hand.
Leonard has always known he is in good company with Jim and Spock around. Today they have simply reminded him why he feels that way. He is grateful to be reminded, every time.
Having spent a busy, active day in the Thailand national park, McCoy expects his daughter would be satisfied and ready to wind down for the day.
He tends to underestimate how her youth and her bullheadedness make her a strong adversary.
“You might not be sleepy,” he says, shutting down their argument over bedtime hours being extended, “but we’re old men. We need our beauty sleep.”
She eyes him critically like no amount of sleep could make him better-looking.
He saved his best strike for last. “And think of poor Spock! He has to drive back to the city, Jo. We shouldn’t keep him any longer.”
Her gaze slides to the Vulcan watching them. “He can stay the night.”
“You want to kick Uncle Jim out of his bed?”
Her gaze moves to Kirk next. “They can share.”
And then finally to her father. “Or he can sleep in your room with you.”
Leonard is going to die of an aneurysm before old age can ever take him. “Joanna McCoy!” He levels a finger at her. “Lights out in ten minutes! No exceptions!”
She crosses her arms and glares at him. He leaves the living room just so she can’t keep arguing with him in front of Jim and Spock, but still half-expecting her to follow. When she doesn’t, he goes to the kitchen for a glass of water to soothe his frazzled nerves. He can wait out the ten minutes; by then, Jim will have coaxed Joanna into saying goodbye to Spock and probably soothed her ruffled feathers too. Jim does make an excellent mediator when he puts his mind to it, and bringing those skills along to the McCoy household is a boon.
With a couple of minutes left on the deadline he set, he quietly makes his way back to the living room, stopping short of the archway when he hears talking. It’s not polite to eavesdrop but what his daughter says quite loudly makes him freeze on the spot.
“Tell me a secret about my dad.”
Leonard relaxes at Jim’s soft laugh.
“Well,” Jim stage-whispers conspiratorially, “when your dad and I roomed together at Starfleet Academy, we would fight over being first to the bathroom in the morning. I had to win, Jo, because your dad would spend an hour on his hair. Inevitably I’d get docked points for looking scruffy in class and all because of him!”
Leonard’s cheeks expand with an outraged Lies! he has the dignity not to voice.
A childish giggle. “Dad brushes his hair forever. But whyyy? He doesn’t have a lot of it!”
The burst of full-bodied laughter from Kirk can probably be heard next door.
Forget both aneurysms and old age! Leonard is going to die of embarrassment on the spot.
When the laughter and giggling finally die down, Joanna raises her voice again. “Do you know a secret about Daddy?”
The answer is given in Spock’s cool voice. “Dr. McCoy is immensely proud of his daughter. It is a well-known fact, given that any Federation dignitary in the Alpha quadrant could, if challenged, testify at length to the accomplishments of one Joanna McCoy.”
Jim tacks on, “Sometimes if we want to run off certain old windbags, we set your dad at them. His best record is two hours, which was spent talking about the science fair competition you won last year.”
“Indeed, the Doctor can be quite the passionate conversationalist.”
Leonard is going to kill both Jim and Spock for ratting him out. He doesn’t mind Joanna knowing how proud he is of her, but somebody has to watch out for her ego!
In fact, Joanna sounds very pleased to hear that Leonard loves talking about her to other people. “I plan to win this year too!” she promises.
He wouldn’t mind it if she does win, and who cares if bragging about it puts some stuck-up ambassador to sleep. It’s not a crime to talk about your kid!
Then, just when Leonard thinks it’s safe to swoop into the room and cart his daughter off to bed (and successfully keep any other ‘secrets’ Jim and Spock might want to share undiscovered by his offspring), Joanna clears her throat mightily as one might do preceding an important announcement.
“Here’s my secret about Dad,” she says. “He wants to marry both of you.” She doesn’t give either man a chance to react. “He’s also gonna let you adopt me—but don’t worry, I know you’ll be good parents,” she says as if that logic is easy to follow. “You passed all the tests so far.”
The silence feels like it stretches on forever, although it could only be a few seconds long. Leonard can tell just how taken aback Jim is as the man finally responds.
“Tests? Jo, did you—? You tested us… as parents?”
Joanna answers primly, “Daddy always says you should try it before you buy it.”
Leonard covers his face. He had been talking about cars. Dear lord, just where does his child get her shamelessness from?
Well, she’s left him without a choice now. He swings through the archway to the living room, feeling a lecture waking up inside him—only to stop short at the big, goofy grin on Jim’s face.
“Bones,” Jim says from the couch, grasping at Spock’s hand on his knee, “we have the Jo McCoy seal of approval!”
Leonard snaps his gaze to his oddly silent daughter, who is feigning interest in a book she had snatched off the coffee table at his sudden appearance. He clucks his tongue in disapproval. After a moment, she glances sidelong at him and says, “They’re adequate,” in the same monotone Spock sometimes uses. Then, “Three dads are better than two. That’s just good math.”
Leonard is more than certain one dad is fine. But it occurs to him as she gets older, he shall be grateful to have Jim and Spock helping him out. Joanna is a handful now, and she hasn’t even hit the teenage years yet.
“Come here,” he orders her.
For once, obediently, she does. Leonard hugs the girl to him. “It’s nice that you approve of Spock and Jim, Jo.” He pauses on purpose. “But I decide on the marriage.”
“Fine,” she grumps, punctuating her concession with a yawn.
“Bedtime,” he reminds her.
“Okay.” Joanna smiles sweetly at their guests. “Good night, Uncle Jim, Captain Spock.” She hugs Leonard one more time. “Night, Dad.”
With Joanna off to her bedroom, that leaves Kirk, Spock, and McCoy alone.
Having shaken off most of his embarrassment, Leonard first looks at Spock then Jim. “Seal of approval, huh? I guess you two did really well today.”
Jim makes room for Leonard between him and Spock on the couch. “A very successful shore leave,” agrees Jim, staring past McCoy as he slips an arm across Leonard’s shoulders. “Thoughts, Spock?”
“A ceremony in the spring would be preferable. Joanna’s school shall not be in session, and I believe my father intends to return to Earth then as well.”
“Hold up!” Leonard pinches Jim’s thigh then twists around to poke Spock. “Who said yes to marriage!”
They just stare at him, their eyes saying they absolutely took Joanna’s statement at face value. Joanna says Leonard wants to marry them, and so marry they will. Probably in the spring.
Leonard buries his face in his hands to hide his flush. “Whatever,” he says, revealing his face after Jim impatiently taps his hands. “All right. Yes.”
“Affirmative,” Spock intones.
“Of course yes,” echoes Jim.
Leonard drags them both in for kisses. It’s the only way a man like him can survive the situation. His daughter has made certain of that, after all, by securing him husbands who won’t take ‘no’ for an answer when it matters. As it turns out, just like her.
Good can come from their marriage, young Joanna McCoy has told the adults in a roundabout way, so how can they not try? Becoming a happy family is not a prayer a god needs to fulfill for the three of them, not when the power to do it is in their own hands. It’s simply a matter of determination.
And, Leonard knows, McCoys are determined to choose family first, each and every time.
-Fini
Related Posts:
- Bring Out the Sun – from August 1, 2024
- Follow Me Dark – from November 30, 2023
- Twist and Take – from October 31, 2021
- Clear from the Battle (But Not the War) – from October 11, 2021
- Consider Me Accounted For – from October 3, 2021
