Spock
″'Sat?″ T'Pan pointed to a readout with a chubby finger, the digits of her opposite hand clenched tightly in the cloth of Spock's uniform trousers as she walked alongside him across the empty bridge.
Spock had long since decided that proper pronunciation would develop naturally in time and that encouraging his daughter's scientific curiosity was of far greater merit than correcting her informal form of speech. She was, after all, a toddler. ″That is a sensor display. It is used to gather and reveal information needed to plan and execute missions.″
T'Pan stared at the sensor screen for a moment more before transferring her gaze to another station and pointing once again. ″'Sat?″
Spock reflected on the fact that his Vulcan training, specifically those skills related to patience and the value of educating the young, had served him well since the time that his daughter had first taken notice and interest of the universe around her. He found this stage in T'Pan's development fascinating, and far more comprehensible despite its ever-growing complexity than the initial, overwhelming stages of her life that had been comprised largely of crying and squirming and sleep deprivation.
Looking down at his daughter's intent expression, Spock acknowledged that there was much to appreciate about those initial months as well. His mind summoned memories of nights spent walking the corridors with her tiny body cuddled to his chest, of tracing the tiny points of her ears as she slept in his arms, and of waking in the morning to the soft sounds of her coos and babbles.
″Fa?″ T'Pan broke into Spock's reverie by tugging at his trousers and looked up at him with eyes so much like his own, and so much like his mother's that he drew in a sharp breath. ″'Sat?″ T'Pan pointed more emphatically at the object of her interest.
″That is the main science station console, where I monitor sensor readings, data, and experiments when I am on duty.″
T'Pan sucked on her lower lip as she cast her eyes around the bridge again, looking for the next target of her curiosity.
T'Pan's increasing independence, exhibited this week by a strong reluctance to be carried anywhere or be assisted with such tasks as feeding herself or brushing her hair, were signs of her continual maturation and transformation from infant to child.
T'Pan was currently focused on identifying all the various people and objects that made up her world. In time, her ″What's that?″ stage would turn into the ″Why?″ stage that was so often both honored and lamented by besieged parents throughout the universe.
Spock, being a dedicated scientist, was logically, if emotionally, anticipating this development with enthusiasm.
″Fa? 'Sat?″