(Untitled)

[goingtodorking]

Some children are born completely without imagination. They may look like they imagine, but what they're actually doing is going through the motions and following in footsteps. They make no discoveries of their own

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[leftwithmybones]

"Josie?" McCoy remarks as he wanders into the room, glancing around to look for a parent and, finding none, wondering just how responsible the older girl is. "If that's your little brother, you're setting him up for a world of pain. And hey, if it's a sister, then godspeed."

[goingtodorking]

"We're going to start calling him Joe when he's older but he's a little bit little for that," says Karen, and, for his part, Josiah doesn't look particularly bothered either way.

[leftwithmybones]

"Yeah, he does look little." McCoy's done a pretty good job of not thinking about his Jo, but the mere name from a child's lips is enough to send him reeling back, at least a little. "But you look little to me too. It's one of those things that happens when you're really big, like me. Everybody looks..." He makes a show with his hands, appraises it, and then shortens the distance between his fingers.

[goingtodorking]

"I'm not little," says Karen, sniffing. This is like when Rollie insists that Edmund and Charlie need to baby sit her. "I'm nearly nine."

[leftwithmybones]

"Nah, you're pretty big," McCoy agrees, but he puffs up his chest and stands to his full height. "But would you look at me? I'm practically a giant next to you. That's what I mean when I say little. Everyone's little. With some exceptions. Mostly giants."

[goingtodorking]

"Well, it's not my fault that you're unreasonably tall," says Karen, with a little sniff, still looking up at him. "I'm a perfectly normal height." She looks at Josiah. "And so's he."

[leftwithmybones]

"Yes, he is," McCoy agrees, stepping forward and extending a hand in introduction. "You're Rollie's family, right? I'm Doctor McCoy, I work with him a lot of the time. And I've seen little Josie around, but never got to meet him. You must be his big sister."

[goingtodorking]

"I'm Karen," she says, and then she reaches out and takes his hand like she's supposed to. She shakes it and then she smiles. "And Rollie's ours."

[leftwithmybones]

"Rollie's yours, huh? Well, you've definitely been taking good care of him." McCoy's never really used a babytalking voice, not even with his own kid. He's straight-forward, a little simpler in his word-choice, but it's the same tone he uses with adults. Or, at least, the adults he likes. "He's a lucky man to have you two around. Josie's your brother, then?"

[goingtodorking]

"Yes," says Karen, because she's brooking no argument on that score. Josiah might have different parents from her but that doesn't make him any less her brother than Jake or Ben.

"And I've got two brothers I can't see anymore."

[leftwithmybones]

"I got a daughter I can't see. Even if I was back home," he admits, flashing her a tight smile. Sure, Joce lets him have the odd transmission here or there, but too long and she'd started to go on about 'bad influence', all because he listened to his father's goddamn intentions. "I miss her. You miss them, too, I bet."

[goingtodorking]

"Sometimes," says Karen, with a little sigh. "I miss Jake more than Ben. Ben was kind of horrible sometimes."

But she does miss them both.

[leftwithmybones]

That gets a laugh out of McCoy and he shakes his head. "I got an ex-wife back home who's a little horrible to me sometimes, too, but wanna know a secret? I miss her, too. But that's just between you and me, okay?" he insists, pressing a finger to his lips to mimic hushing it up.