Homeplot - 3

At her age, Jo's beginning to insist that she's too old for certain things. McCoy doesn't want to believe that's the truth, but he knows that she's going to slip away from him one day and he won't get her back. If that means he has to take advantage of these times while he can, then he'll do it, no matter what. It means that when they get back from the Iowa drydocks (and McCoy's over his last panic attack from the shuttle), he curls up with Jo in bed, the blankets tightly snug around them, and he reads to her from one of her favorite books -- Where the Wild Things Are.

Knowing Max as he does know, what that temper is like and the issues he has, it's a whole different experience, though he tries not to let it temper the story as he speaks. He tugs Jo even tighter to him, his gaze slipping to the door every now and again to check for Jim or his mother, wanting to know if this moment is privy to any witnesses.

"How you doing, Jo, baby?" he murmurs, taking a break as he turns the page.

Sleepily, she peers blearily up at him. "M'okay," she says quietly. "Keep going."