"Oh look, k'diwa!"

Spock shifted his two bundles of joy higher onto his shoulders and turned to see what his bondmate wanted to show him.

Nyota was sitting up on their bed, surrounded by boxes of all sizes and shapes. Colorful wrapping cloths littered the area around her feet and legs. The box currently in her lap was smaller than most of the others, its wrapping cloth a soft, pearlescent white.

It will make an aesthetically and tactilely pleasing edition the quilts Leonard had promised to make from the giftwrap, Spock reflected as he moved closer to the bed. If only we had been given more of it…

Suddenly, he became aware of his adun'a laughter. His reproving frown was slight, but Nyota immediately lowered the volume of her chuckles. Seren and Saoirse slept on.

"Sorry," his wife whispered once she'd regained her control. "It's just that I know you were looking at all this fabric and calculating how much more you'd need for your quilting lessons with Len."

"Leonard intends to sew the children's quilt without my assistance," he reminded her. "I was actually looking at the iridescent fabric the small box in your lap was wrapped in. It would have been beneficial had more of the baby gifts been wrapped in similar materials, as it is both pleasing to the eye and to the delicate skin of an infant."

"Spock, all of the gifts are wrapped in baby-friendly material. Hiraku made it a requirement when he sent out the invitations."

He eased hios body down until he was seated as close to her as the debris on the bed would allow.

"But as most of the crewmembers he invited did not know in advance that he planned to challenge Leonard to making 'pretty baby blankets,' the effort was not coordinated, and so some of them might prove to be more appropriate than others."

Nyota shook her head. "No, honey, Len and Hiraku checked them all out before we even left the ship. They're all perfect for baby blankets.

"But, come on! You've managed to push me off track. I wanted to show you something."

"You were the one who felt compelled to mock my interest in textiles," he pointed out.

"Anyway," she said, ignoring his backtracking. The glint in her eye told him he would pay for his protest the moment he placed his daughters in their cradles. He would have to hold them for a while. They were always most comfortable in his arms. "Look at what Lynn gave us!"

Spock eyed the two tiny silver and white circlets. Vulcan script, formed of gleaming platinum, scrolled across the carved opal bangles.

Nyota slowly rotated the identical bracelets so that he could read each side.

Live long and prosper.

Peace and long life.

He did not ask the purpose in fabricating jewelry for infants. The thought did not even cross his logical mind.

"Ensign Hatter has always had good taste," he said.


A/N: First in a series of reader-inspired bits about gifts for the twins. PM with a gift idea and character name me if you'd like to participate. (Special thanks to LadyFangs for the baby bangles.)