~Day Ten - Last Day. Bones and Uncle Jim made sure I had all the supplies I needed for the next semester and then we spent the day together.~

McCoy was determined to get the necessities out of the way first thing so that they could spend the rest of their last day together relaxing.

"How are you with clothing for school, Jo? Did you make a pile of the stuff you've already outgrown or that you're about to outgrow?"

Joanna pointed to the chair by her dresser and the little pile there.

"Between Aunt Uhura and Aunt Gaila, I should be set unless I hit a really big growth spurt."

"It could possibly come earlier, but odds are that you won't hit you're next major growth spurt for another three to five years."

"Puberty, right?"

"Right. Gaila and Uhura talk to you some about that?"

"Yeah. Uhura says that a lot of it won't really make a lot of sense to me until I actually start going through it, but that if I have any questions, I can video chat with them whenever you guys are in range. And I'll have Miss Rashea to answer questions for me as well. I'll be fine. I'm a McCoy too, right?"

Bones gave a slightly sad smile as he pushed some of her curls away from her forehead and kissed it.

"You are most definitely a McCoy. You'll be better than fine. Remember though, anything happens that needs immediate attention, you call Pike."

"I know. He reminded me of that himself. Bones?"

"Yeah, Jo?"

"Do you think you'll be able to trust Spock?"

"Don't you be worrying about me and that hobgoblin. He wants what's best for the Enterprise and I want what's best for Jim. That's the same thing, really, because I'm convinced that whatever fate made it so, there is no man better suited to sit the chair of the Enterprise than James T. Kirk. Together, the three of us are going to tear this universe a new one. And when you're older, you'll be a part of it too."

"Really?"

"Really. Come on. Let's head back down and join Jim.

The day was still young, but the mood was a bit depressed until Kirk insisted that they all go to an old fashioned amusement park that still existed in Florida.

"It will be great! We can eat junk food, ride on stuff. They even preserved some old exhibits where they were imagining a couple of hundred years ago how we'd be living now. It's hilarious. Come on."

Once they arrived, it took some convincing to get McCoy to go on any of the rides until it was pointed out to him that even though the rides were designed to keep their old look, all of the mechanical parts themselves were state-of-the-art. Kirk had also been right about it raising their spirits. Here, everything was geared toward being fun and silly with none of the outside world intruding in. McCoy even called a moratorium on fussing at them about what they were eating. It was only for one day, after all. Plus, it was far more likely that Kirk was going to be the one to end up with a stomach ache than Joanna.

Another thing Kirk insisted on was that they stayed long enough to watch the nightly display of old fashioned pyrotechnic fireworks. After that was over, they headed back for home. Joanna was asleep long before they got there. As he carried her in, McCoy gave Kirk a smile.

"That was a fine idea, Jim. I prefer seeing her laughing to seeing her sniffling and trying not to cry."

"I'm sure we'll still have a little of that tomorrow, Bones, but then it will be mixed in with seeing the kids that she's friends with again. And seeing Rashea."

"Yeah. That woman's been a big help. Don't know how I would have coped without her keeping an eye on Jo for me."

Kirk held the door open as McCoy settled Joanna down into her bed, only bothering to take off her shoes. For several minutes, McCoy stood quietly beside her bed before coming back out to join Kirk.

"You know, Jim? This will be the last time we get to see her as a little girl. When our next mission's over, she's going to be a sassy pre-teen."

Kirk snorted as he nudged McCoy by leaning into him.

"Of course she's going to be sassy, Bones. She's a McCoy. It's in her DNA."

~Day Eleven - We left Georgia really early to come back to school. Bones and Uncle Jim stayed for a little while to meet the new Headmaster before we said our goodbyes.~

Being away for a while was nice, but Joanna was looking forward to getting back to her classes again. It always made McCoy so proud when she did well - and when he was feeling proud, she could generally talk him into almost anything.

She was not really surprised to find that Headmaster Henning had passed away suddenly. He had looked bad on that last day she saw him and as her brother had noted, he probably wasn't bright enough to seek help quickly enough. The new Headmaster, one of the former assistants named Tuccillo, seemed much nicer and even went out of his way to assure McCoy that the school was very supportive of the members of Imperial Starfleet.

Seeing Miss Rashea again was bittersweet. Joanna did really like her, but being back with Miss Rashea meant that her brother was going to be going away again. She had found herself thinking more and more about Pike and when she had the chance, she pulled Kirk to the side.

"Uncle Jim, you guys might not get back to Earth for five years?"

"Afraid not, Jo-Jo. We're going deep space this time. I guess you'll almost be a teenager the next time we see each other face-to-face."

"Can I ask you to do something for me, Uncle Jim?"

"Sure, Jo-Jo. Anything."

She grabbed hold of Kirk and hugged him tightly as she spoke softly in his ear.

"Take care of Bones for me. Take care of him better than Uncle Christopher took care of Doctor Puri."

Pulling back a little, Kirk looked into her eyes - so very much the McCoy eyes.

"How do you know about - never mind. I don't guess it matters. I've got Bones' back and he's got mine, Jo-Jo. We'll come back to you."

"Promise?"

"I'll do my very best."

A message alert for her sounded, so Joanna quickly saved the work on her PADD and went to answer it. She was extremely surprised to see the image of Mister Spock appear on her screen.

"Greetings, Miss McCoy. I trust that you are resettling into your school well?"

"Yes, Mister Spock, I am, thank you."

"Your brother expressed to me that you had some concerns over our working relationship. While we are still within communications range, I wished to inform you that the state of cooperation between the position of CMO and First Officer is currently mutually beneficial and in full support of the Captain."

Joanna's youthful face was scrunched in concentration while she translated that. Then she looked back at the screen and smiled.

"Congratulations, Mister Spock."

"Thank you, Miss McCoy. Please extend my regards to your uncle as well as my thanks for his counsel."

"I will. I should be seeing him in a few days."

"Are there any messages you wish to relay before we are out of range?"

"Just tell everyone that I'm settling in alright and I'll be sure to send a message to at least one person onboard every week. Mister Spock?"

"Yes, Miss McCoy?"

"Would you mind if I sent one to you every now and then?"

"Not at all. I would be honored."

"Thank you for letting me know everything is alright, Mister Spock. Have a profitable mission."

"Live well and prosper, Miss McCoy."

Switching the screen back off, Joanna flopped back down on her bed. It was kind of reassuring to know that her brother still didn't believe in procrastinating when there was something needed doing.

Epilogue

A week later, Joanna was dressed very formally and sitting among the group that consisted of other family members of the crew of the Enterprise. She did her best to keep her face somber while pretending to pay close attention to Admiral Pike as he read out his eulogy for Commander Gary Mitchell, lost in the line of duty while in service aboard the ISS Enterprise.

Once the services were over and Mitchell's family had shaken Pike's hand, he came over and offered his hand to Joanna.

"You should be pleased to know that you managed to look as sorrowful as any mourner in the group, young lady."

"That was Miss Rashea's doing. She suggested I wear my shoes that are a little too tight and use them to keep my focus."

They weren't far enough away for Pike to break out in laughter, but he chuckled.

"One of the great truths in life, Joanna. If you can't feel it, fake it."

A slight puzzled expression formed on Joanna's face.

"Aunt Gaila told me that saying had to do with sex."

Pike looked down at her with a look that showed how amused he was.

"My dear girl, where Gaila is concerned? Everything has to do with sex."

Giggling, Joanna nodded.

"Yes, I guess that's true. She also tried to tell me that's how you tell if someone is sincere when they apologize. Aunt Uhura disagreed. Did you know that they weren't ever lovers? I thought that's what being roommates at the Academy meant. I guess I need to rethink that."

Pike had a hard time keeping a straight face as he imagined the reaction to Joanna asking that question.

"Yes, you probably should. Roommates are assigned at the Academy."

"Where are we going, Uncle Christopher?"

"Out into town to a little place I know. All that public speaking I had to do made my throat dry and nothing makes a little hypocrisy go down smoother than an ice cream sundae."

"Does that mean you have to eat ice cream a lot?"

Chuckling, Pike smiled again.

"Joanna, my dear? You have no idea."