"Mama?" Cameron asked sleepily, pressing into Lexi's side. His tiny hands wandered over her chest and found her breast, and he shifted so his head lay on her chest, beginning to nurse.
Lexi stroked her small child's hair and lifted her head to kiss the top of his. "I love you, baby," She whispered. "What is it?" The dim glow of the fairy lights they'd strung around the upper perimeter of their room twinkled and cast a halo around Cameron's precious face. She smiled.
Cameron's mouth popped off her breast for a moment. "Are Papa an' Daddy really comin' for Christmas?" He glanced at his mother, his eyes dark with sleep and worry.
Lexi smiled and lifted her fingers to gently stroke his cheek. She nodded as he continued to nurse. "Yes," She said. "They'll be here. Both your Papa and your Daddy are men of their word. They said they'll be here, they'll be here. Don't worry, my love. They'd never let you down."
Cameron nodded a little, trusting her to tell him the truth. His eyes closed, and he drifted somewhere between wakefulness and sleep as he suckled. He finished with a sigh, and Lexi pulled down her shirt once he had moved to snuggle beside her.
"Mama?" He called again, yawning and pushing himself up to sit on the bed. "Today's Christmas, right?" His eyes sparkled and he grinned widely when she said yes. He bounced a little on the bed. "Can open pwesents now?" His voice rose with excitement.
"Come here, you," Lexi said with a smile, sitting up and opening her arms wide. Her little boy flew into her embrace, and she hugged him tightly, kissing his hair over and over until his little reached up to wave her away. She chuckled. "Alright. Let's go get some hot cocoa and look at your presents. Sound good."
"Yeah!" Cameron responded loudly, already scrambling out of the covers and off the bed. He ran out of the bedroom and down the hall, his mother following at a more sedate pace after grabbing her robe and a blanket for her son, knowing he'd be wanting it soon. She glanced to him with a smile as she saw him standing very still in the living room, staring at the Christmas tree and the pile of presents underneath in awe. Then she went to the kitchen and pulled down four mugs, making cocoa for three of their household and Vulcan spice tea for the other.
When the beverages were done, she set them all on a tray and brought them to the living room, setting it down on the coffee table. "Cameron," She called, bringing his attention away from the presents, "here's your cocoa. It's a little hot, though, but I did put a couple ice cubes in it for you."
He nodded and took it carefully from her, blowing on it to cool it faster. "Mama?" He looked up. "Are all these presents for me?"
Lexi took a seat on the sofa and met her son's gaze as she blew on her own cup of cocoa. "No," She said with a shake of her head. "Some are for you, some are for me, and some are for your Papa and Daddy."
"Can I open one now?" Cameron looked at his Mom hopefully, grinning when she nodded. She asked him to put his drink down first, so he did, and then he stared at all the presents wrapped in sparkling, shiny, colourful paper. His eyes grew wide, and he wasn't sure how he could know which ones were meant for him. He turned to ask, but when he did, his eyes widened as he caught sight of two very familiar, very beloved figures walking quietly towards him.
"Papa!" He yelled, jumping to his feet and rushing down the hallway. "Daddy!" His arms stretched outwards as he ran towards them, silently begging one of them to pick him up.
Jim's face broke out with a huge smile, and the corners of Spock's lips twitched, as their son came rushing towards them. Jim immediately knelt and held out his arms, too, wrapping his son in the tightest hug he could manage. "I love you, Cam," He said, kissing his son's temple. "Merry Christmas."
"Papa, you came!" Cameron exclaimed. He pulled away a little and stared at his Papa and then his Daddy. "How'd you come? Did you beam from the Ennerprice!?" His eyes grew wide with wonder as he considered the possibility.
Jim chuckled and shook his head. "No," He said. "We took a transport shuttle last night and got home really, really late. We didn't want to disturb you or your Mommy, so we went straight to our room."
"Ohh." Cameron nodded seriously. "Well, you coulda come in wif me an' Mama. We snuggled allll night. An' I missed you reallll lots. I love you," He said as he squeezed his Papa. Then, he pulled away and looked up at Spock. "I missed you, too, Daddy," He said. "Love you." He smiled and took Jim's hand, tugging him towards the living room. "Come look at all the pwesents!" He stopped in front of the tree. "Which are for me?"
Jim smiled and knelt down beside Cameron, looking at the pile. "It's quite a large pile, isn't it?" He glanced up to Spock, his grin deepening as he could tell Spock was holding back his comment on precisely how many presents there were under the tree. He chuckled a little and grabbed a package, finding the tag on it. "See here, Cam? This one says it's 'To Cameron'."
Cameron's gaze followed where his Papa pointed, his eyes widening. "Oh! He pointed and looked up. "It's my name!" He crawled forward and found another package, taking it into his arms and searching for the tag. "That's not my name. Papa, whose pwesent is this?"
Jim took the present from him and read the label. "This one is for Mr. Spock," He said.
Cameron's noise wrinkled. "Why do you call Daddy that?"
Jim chuckled and reached out to muss Cameron's hair. "Because it's what your Papa has to call your Daddy when we're on the Enterprise together."
"Oh," Cameron replied. "That's weird. Is Spock your last name, Daddy? How come my name isn't Cameron Leonard Reed Kirk Spock?"
Spock's left eyebrow rose as he considered his child's questions. "You are correct, my child," He replied formally. "My surname is Spock. Humans call me by my last name, because most humans are unable to pronounce my Vulcan given name. You are not called Spock, because I have no need to pass my family name on to you. You have recieved approximately one quarter of my genetic material, and I participate in your upbringing. I find that a sufficient legacy. Even if I had desired to pass my surname to you, it would have been quite awkward, given you have two other last names, and the name I am known by is Spock."
Cameron stared at him and then giggled. "You're so funny, Daddy. You say lots of big words." He held his arms apart to indicate just how big those words were. He smiled up at his Daddy and then crawled around to the coffee table, sitting up on his knees so he could reach his cocoa, taking a sip.
"Why don't we have Spock be Santa this year?" Jim piped up, glancing around at all of his family, smirking at his Vulcan lover when his gaze reached him. He pulled out a Santa hat from the deep pocket on his pyjama pants and held it out to Spock.
Spock glared and then primly took the offered accessory, fixing it upon his head. He lifted his chin as Jim grinned.
"Daddy, you have pointy ears an' a pointy hat!" Cameron chimed in, the human adults laughing at the joke.
Jim scooped up his son and carried him to the sofa, sitting next to Lexi and giving her a peck on the cheek in greeting. "Is that other cocoa for me?" He asked as he reached out for it. She nodded, and he picked the drink up, lifting it a little in a silent thanks. "There's that Vulcan spice tea here for you, Spock."
"Yes, Jim," Spock replied as he knelt to begin sorting the presents, "I am aware. Thank you, Lexi." He cleared his throat. "I believe we shall start with the youngest member of our family." His lips twitched again with Cameron's eager bouncing. He held out a present to him.
Cameron opened his first present of the day and continued on with the rest, eyes sparkling with the smile that never left his face. His mother took pictures, and his Papa helped him unwrap the gifts when he needed the help. He played happily with some of his new toys as the adults took turns unwrapping their own gifts, only paying attention when it was a present he had picked out for one of his parents.
Soon, the wrapping paper sprawled across the living room. Only Spock had amassed a pile of unripped paper that sat in neat, folded pile to his left. Jim offered to clear up, with Spock and Lexi remaining on the sofa with Cameron to relax. Cameron laid down, sticking his feet in his mother's lap and his head in Spock's. He smiled up at his Daddy and extended his hand towards him.
Spock took a sip of his tea and put two fingers on Cameron's, giving him the Vulcan equivalent of a kiss, pleased when his son smiled warmly in recognition of the gesture. Then Cameron held his hand, and Spock allowed him to. Despite what he'd always assumed, limited amounts of the contact humans preferred was tolerable, when it came to his son and his husband, and he found he mildly enjoyed it.
"Daddy?" Cameron asked with a sigh, staring steadfastly at his father's hand. "When are you an' Papa gonna hafta leave again?"
Spock's lips pursed slightly. "We will return to the Enterprise as soon as repairs and maintenance are completed. I estimate this will take sixty-five days."
Cameron blinked blankly up at his father and frowned. "Does that mean you'll be here for my birfday? I'm gonna be four." He held up his hand with three fingers.
"Yes," Spock responded as he gently corrected his son's finger-numbers. "We will most assuredly be here for your birthday celebration." He swallowed thickly, pushing back the dread at spending several hours in the company of small human toddlers.