The academy was slowly starting to feel like home to Jim, in the 3 months since he'd climbed aboard the shuttle in Riverside, he'd made many friends in his classes and during social and extracurricular activities. The courses were challenging which presented a pleasant change of pace for Jim and his sponge-like mind, the amount of knowledge they were expected to learn was staggering, but Jim was thriving. Now though, as the holidays approached, campus was becoming ever more deserted as cadets went home to visit family or chose to spend their holidays travelling. Jim had woken early and gone through his usual routine of working out, showering, breakfast, and next on his list was his new favourite pastime – bothering Bones.

The good doctor had worked the night shift the night before and should have finished just as Jim headed for his shower, he had made sure to grab extra food for Bones on his way out of the mess because as much bitching as Bones did about the state of Jim's diet, he rarely remembered to eat after a night shift. As Jim hurried across the quad to Bones' dorm, the cold bringing a rosy hue to his cheeks, he thought about the various bars that he and Bones could visit during their break. They would more likely than not end up in what was quickly becoming their regular haunt, but Jim liked options. Bones was usually fine with following along as long as they had good bourbon on offer.

Finally reaching Bones' dorm room, Jim rapped his knuckles against the door in quick succession while already walking in, ignoring the warning that Bones gave him every time he did so. The sound of the shower greeted Jim, Bones' habit of undressing as he went evident in the trail of scrubs and shoes leading to the bathroom. Smirking, Jim bent to pick them up and place them in the hamper in the corner of the room, the shoes he lined up in the closet. He'd never been much of a neat freak before, but he knew that inspections were regular at the academy and life on a spaceship could be cramped, it made sense to get into the habit of keeping the space clean, something Bones always forgot after a long shift.

Job done, Jim sat on the swivel chair in front of the desk and unpacked the small bag of food: a bran muffin because Bones was big on fiber, an apple because Jim planned to eat that when Bones ignored it, and a nutrient rich smoothie. He began to spin the chair, slowly, in boredom. Gaining speed, Jim spotted a flash of colour on the bed by the pillows and used his feet to bring himself to a standstill. Curiosity getting the better of him, Jim stood and walked over the bed. The colours he had seen were from a drawing of what looked to be a man, a little girl, and a Federation ship. Jim sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the picture in his hands – a note on the bottom read 'Love, Joanna xxx'. Who was Joanna? Bones had never mentioned having a kid, nor siblings.

The bathroom door swung open, pulling Jim from his thoughts and revealing a tired looking Bones. He didn't even blink at Jim's intrusion, just nodded and shoved him over so he could faceplant into the pillows. Not knowing what to say, a rarity for Jim, he sat there and let his eyes roam over the bright crayon figures on the page. He hadn't seen an actual drawing in years, everything was usually done on PADDs.

Suddenly, Bones flinched and shot up into a sitting position, his eyes searching wildly before settling on the picture that Jim still held. His throat bobbed as he swallowed, his eyes dropping to his lap before rising to meet Jim's defiantly.

"That was supposed to be private, Jim.'' He said, gruffly.

Jim just gave him a look before replying, "Whoever Joanna is, she's a real artist.''

Bones took a deep breath and released it, exhaustion plain to see in every line of his body. "She's my daughter, Jim.''

Confusion swirled in Jim's gut, they'd been friends for a while now, Jim would remember Bones mentioning a daughter, but why would he keep her secret? Unless he was ash-

"I'm not ashamed of her, if that's what you think. Not for a second.'' Bones said, interrupting Jim's thought process.

"Then why, Bones? Why keep her a secret? I don't get it.'' Jim asked, bewildered.

Shuffling over to sit next to Jim on the edge of the bed, Bones sighed again before shaking his head. "I told you that my ex-wife took everything in the divorce, right?'' At Jim's nod he continued. "She was granted full custody of Joanna. Once I've proven that I can keep things steady here, I might be able to argue for visitation rights, but right now…I haven't seen my baby girl in close to 8 months.''

"Jesus, Bones…'' Jim said, quietly. "How old is she?''

"She turned 4 last month.'' Came the sad reply.

A memory of a very drunk Bones hits Jim like a freight train, they had been having a drink in their favourite bar and while Bones had been surlier than usual, Jim hadn't thought much of it and just put it down to long shifts at the infirmary. Now though, Jim wondered if maybe Bones had been thinking of his daughter and trying to hide his sorrow at the bottom of his glass.

"Were you ever going to tell me?'' Jim asked, eventually.

Bones shrugged and snorted, "It's not exactly easy to talk about, Jim. Admitting my failures as a father stings like a sonofabitch, but I know I deserve it. Joanna deserves a daddy that's there for her, can take her places, teach her right from wrong. But yeah, I would've told you. Eventually.'' He glanced at Jim from beneath his lashes, eyes holding more misery than Jim had ever witnessed from the man.

Jim wanted to wipe that look off his friend's face, and as fixing the broken relationship and re-establishing communication was out of the question (for now), Jim would just have to try the next best thing.

"Well, now that I know you have a daughter, ''Jim began, settling more comfortably against the headboard. "Tell me more about her, Bones. Do you have any more drawings?''

With only a moments hesitation, Bones gave him a small smile and pulled open the top draw of the bedside cabinet. Inside were a few more crayon covered pieces of paper, and the pride with which Bones handled them was clear to see. There were drawings of Bones in his scrubs and Joanna playing on a swing, a house with a dog running around the garden…it dawned on Jim in that moment that Bones only really existed in that dorm room; to the rest of the world, to his family, he was Leonard McCoy. He had a whole life that Jim hadn't known about, a life that Jim didn't really understand – he'd never had a happy home life. The academy was the closest thing to a home he'd had in years, and that was mostly down to his friendship with Bones.

They talked for hours as Jim discovered more about his best friend, learned how Bones and Jocelyn had met and become parents to Joanna, how their marriage fell apart, how much it pained Bones to be away from his child.

"When Jocelyn found out I had joined Starfleet, she sent a package of my old things to me. There were a couple of drawings inside from Joanna, and since then, a couple more have arrived. The new one arrived yesterday. I might not get to see her or hear her voice, but my baby girl remembers me, Jim. Until I can prove that I can be the kind of daddy she needs, that's all I can ask for.'' Bones said, much later.

Jim headed for the door to give Bones chance to sleep, the doctor's eyes were already drooping shut. He turned before leaving though and said, "You're already a good father, Bones. You're willing to do anything to give Joanna the life she deserves, you clearly love her more than anything, and when the time comes, and you see her again, she'll be the happiest little girl in the world.'' Smiling slightly, Jim let he door close behind him. "G'night, Bones.''

Months later when the next drawing came, Bones waited for Jim to arrive and they opened it together.