I own nothing of Star Trek or any other series that might pop up. This is an AU, with an added daughter for McCoy.

For two days the Enterprise stayed at the Starbase. Jordan spent all of her time with her father, mostly in the medical labs as they ran tests to see if they could turn her back to her natural form. The rest of the time was spent either at the park or in their quarters. Jim would visit with them often, though he spent a good deal of time with Commander Dallas and Admiral Pike. Ambassador Sybek also spent time with her before they had to leave, though he gave her a PADD with several lessons on it he knew she would enjoy.

The time for departure came. The Enterprise had a mission to complete and they could not take any more time at the base. Her father had already had all of her new clothes and necessities sent over to the ship. Apparently the Chief engineer, Scotty as he told her to call him, had converted the study in her father's quarters into a new bedroom for her. Once they had wrapped up everything they needed to do at the base and filed the necessary reports they headed to the shuttle bay to leave.

Jordan stood by her father, with Dart at her side, as the Command staff of the base, Admiral Pike and Ambassador Sybek said their goodbyes to the group and to her in particular. She made sure to properly execute the Vulcan hand sign and told the ambassador to 'live long and prosper', receiving the same in return. From the proud look on her father's face and the smiles on everyone else she knew she had completed the Vulcan farewell successfully. She made sure to thank Admiral Pike and the Command staff of the base for helping her.

With one last goodbye her father led her into the shuttle, taking her up towards the front so she could watch the pilot. The man in question turned to them with a smile. He was of Asian decent and wore a gold shirt much like Jim did.

"Jordan this is Lt. Sulu," Bones introduced as he placed her in her chair and started to strap her in. "He's the navigator for Enterprise."

"Hello Mr. Sulu," she smiled happily at him.

"Hey munchkin," Sulu winked at her. "No worries I'll get us home safely." Turning his attention to the beagle sniffing at his legs he let a hand come down to pet it. "And who is this?"

"That's Dart. He's my friend," Jordan informed trying to wriggle a bit as her father tightened the straps. "Daddy! I can't move."

"That's the point," he muttered. "These things are dangerous."

Jordan rolled her eyes making Sulu have to duck to cover a chuckle. "Daddy, you've been in Space for years! You said so. It'll be fine. 'Sides. Sulu said he'd get us there safely."

"Hey, who's the adult here," Bones huffed but didn't make the belt any tighter than it already was before he strapped himself in next to her. Dart moved over to curl up by his feet, perfectly calm. "Great. First the three-year -old and now even the dog can handle this better than me."

Jordan patted his hand. "It's ok Daddy. Everybody has something they're afraid of."

Bones managed to terse smile for her, though he did throw a glare at Sulu who looked ready to burst out laughing.

"We all ready," Jim called happily as he came into the shuttle, the last to leave. Hearing no denials he gave Sulu a smile. "Then take us home Sulu."

"Aye captain."

Jim sprawled into the chair across from Bones, not even bothering to put on his safety harness. "Bones, why are you all strapped in? It's not even a five minute ride."

Bones glared at the other man. They had this argument every time they came to a Starbase. The giggle from his left had him turning back to his daughter one eyebrow raised in mock irritation. "Et tu Brute?"

Jordan tried to look innocent however it was clear she hadn't quite mastered the look. Of course it didn't help that Jim was right. It had taken less than five minutes to reach the ship and dock within the safety of the shuttle bay. Deciding not to give either his lover or his child more ammunition Bones simply unbuckled his harness and worked Jordan out of hers.

Jim was out the door the moment it opened already speaking to Spock who had come to meet them. Sulu fiddled with the controls while waiting for the doctor and Jordan to exit before he left the ship. Dart ran out behind Jim, already sniffing at his new surroundings in curiosity. Once Jordan had stepped out after her father her eyes immediately went to the bay doors, noting they were still open. When she squinted she could see the fluctuations of the shield separating the room from space.

"Bloody hell," Scotty's voice caught her attention as well as the swat her father gave the man.

"Don't cuss in front of Jordan," Bones hissed. However the Scotsman wasn't paying attention to him. His eyes were on Dart.

"What's wrong Scotty," Jim frowned following the Scots line of sight. "I know you haven't had the best luck with Beagles, but Dart's well trained and I'm sure you know better than to use him for an experiment."

"That…that's the Beagle!"

"That is correct," Spock advised. "Dart is a member of the canine family, most specifically the Hound family, commonly referred to as a Beagle."

"No," Scotty shook his head. "I didn'a say A Beagle. I said THE Beagle. That's Admiral Archer's prized Beagle. I'd no' forget him anytime soon."

The other three men all turned to the dog that made his way back to Jordan. They watched as she cuddled and played with the dog then turned to them with 'doe eyes' and a slightly trembling lip.

"Does this mean Dart can't stay with us?"

Spock merely raised a brow at the question while Jim and Bones both turned sharp looks on the engineer.

Scotty gulped his heart sinking when the child's eyes started to tear up. "Uh…Ya know I could be wrong. It's been years after all. And Beagles all look alike," he quickly back tracked, not so much from the killer looks the doctor and the captain gave him but from the sheer fact he hated making any female cry. "Besides, I heard the old goat already has a new dog. He doesn't need another one."

Jordan let out a sigh of relief giving Dart a hug.

"Nice save," Jim muttered dryly.

"Come on Jordan," Bones called out to her. "Let's go get you settled then I'll show you around the ship a bit before dinner."

It didn't take long to get her to his quarters and show her around, going over basic ground rules and helping her put her things away. Dart had a doggy bed in her room, but his food and water and designated potty area were in the main room. McCoy was pleased to note that Scotty had added a few stools here and there for her to climb on for better access to the sink and her bed. Sometimes it was hard to remember how short children were.

When they had finished getting the room where she liked it he felt a pang at how empty it looked. He had already spoken to Pike about having them retrieve her property from the Institute, but that would be some time coming, and he didn't think the things a fifteen-year-old liked would be appropriate for her age now. Then again, with Jordan it was likely science and engineering based.

They left Dart in the quarters as Bones couldn't remember exactly who had dog allergies on the ship and he didn't really want to take the chance in a main room like the mess. So they left the dog to enjoy his new chew toys and food then went to find their own meal.

Jordan trailed after her father much like a duckling, one hand latched to his pant leg to keep up eyes wandering all around them in hopes of taking everything in. Bones made sure to walk slowly to compensate for her much smaller legs. The crewmembers they passed in the hall all gave her smiles and welcoming looks. Even the more severe security officers managed to soften up for her.

Once in the mess Bones took her up to one of the replicators. "Ok sweetie, what do you want?" Normally he would just pick out the meal himself, especially if this had been Joanna. However Jordan tended to pick reasonable foods so he didn't mind.

"Grilled cheese and broccoli please."

He punched the command into the replicator. "And to drink?"

"Milk."

Once he had her meal together he took her to the table Jim was already sitting at with Spock, Uhura, Sulu and Chekov. He sat her plate down next to Jim then helped her into the seat. She had already met Uhura at the dinner the other night, but Chekov was a first. "Ok, you know everyone else, but this is Chekov, he's our navigator."

"Hello," she smiled shyly at the young man who had only turned twenty a few weeks ago.

"It is pleasure to meet you," Chekov replied, his accent still present despite his long exposure to the others.

Knowing she would be fine with them Bones retrieved his own meal before finally sitting down to eat. When he returned he found Chekov and Sulu engaging Jordan about what she liked and disliked. Of course the little Russian beamed when she started talking about physics and other things she had learned. He was already promising to teach her more.

All through dinner Jordan was entertained by the crew, receiving several promises of 'I'll teach you that'. Bones had given a hard look at Sulu when he mentioned fencing and had very sternly advised them that she would have to be much older before she started that sport. It was decided that she would have a physical regiment to complete to keep her active as she could easily coop herself up with books all day. Spock had agreed to work with her father to come up with a schedule for her 'classes' as well as look into possible volunteers for teaching her.

Once done with dinner Bones took her back to their shared quarters, Jim promising to stop by later. Jordan was bathed and dressed in her new pajamas for the evening. Bones allowed her to stay up for another hour, helping her set up the game she had gotten the other day. He had managed to work with her through the first level before the equations and trivia started hurting his head. Jim had had a lot more luck with the game once he stopped by, though even he couldn't stop the look of pure amazement at some of the questions Jordan easily completed.

Looking at the clock Bones noted it was almost nine. "Alright Joey, time for bed."

"Ok." Not one word of protest came from the child as she saved the level she had worked on and powered down the game. Placing the consol carefully on the table she climbed up on the couch and kissed Jim on the cheek. "Night Jim."

"Night sweet pea." He ruffled her hair earning a giggle.

Bones grabbed her up and tossed her into his arms eliciting more giggles. "I'll be back," he told his friend before marching into Jordan's room, with Dart on his heals. Twenty minutes and one story later he came back out, making sure to leave the door open slightly. With a tired sigh he leaned back into the couch cushions next to Jim.

"So what epic tale did you tell tonight?" Jim's eyes twinkled merrily as he pulled his lover into his arms.

"The Eastern Dragon," he replied, eyes closing as he enjoyed the feel of Jim's arms around him. "She never was one for the basic princess tales, unless they had a meaning. Those were always JoJo's favorites."

"Ok, not that I don't love the squirt already," Jim kissed Bones' temple. "But when is the shoe going to drop?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean when is she going to throw the hissy fit? I have never seen a kid act that good. Not even when I WAS a kid."

Bones chuckled. "Don't hold you're breath. Jordan doesn't throw hissy fits. Hell the only time she gets fussy is when she's tired, sick or hurt. She might cry if she's upset or sad, but it's more silent and for emotional release than because she wants to get her way. I will warn you though. She will fight if she knows she's right about something and you dismiss it without a decent argument."

"Right…so she's like you only 3 feet smaller and absent your biting humor."

"Give her time to warm up. She'll demonstrate that she inherited my sharp tongue soon enough."

"As long as she can't Hypospray me when she's mad I think I'll survive."

"That's why I'm here," Bones smirked at his lover, eyes crinkled in amusement.

Snorting at that Jim leaned his head down to the other's shoulder. "You think she'll be ok with us?"

"…" Bones sighed. "I'm not sure. I think so; she'll just need time to adjust. I'm amazed how well she's assimilated already. The last thing she remembered before waking up a kid again was having the ex and me putting her and JoJo to bed after visiting grandma. I can't imagine how confused she must have felt finding out that everything she knew no longer existed the way she remembered."

"I'm betting on the McCoy stubbornness. She likely has it in spades."

"She's going to need it living here."

"Aw, she'll be fine Bones. Besides, now she has a whole ship to take care of her." Jim grinned at the other man. "Do you know how many gifts she's going to rack in at Christmas and on her birthday? I'm seriously jealous!"

"Idiot."