"Good morning, Commander," Kirk said sleepily with a smile.

He was cuddled under the covers with his head on Spock's shoulder. His blue eyes glimmered at the Vulcan next to him.

"Good morning, Captain. How did you rest?"

Kirk leaned even more into the mattress. A closed-lipped smile spread across his face in perfect contentment.

"Oh, I slept great, Spock."

"I trust it had something to do with my presence."

"And what if it didn't."

"I must admit I would be somewhat disappointed."

Kirk sat up on his elbow and pressed a kiss to Spock's cheek.

"Let's just say you're the first person I could ever sleep next to without having sex, and still be just as satisfied in the morning."

Spock let a small smile slip through at that comment. He gave Kirk a kiss on the lips, and went to ready himself for duty.

That same night, Captain Kirk was startled awake by the sound of cries from a baby. He rubbed his eyes, ran his hands through his tousled sleep hair, and flopped back down on the pillows. He snuggled his cheek into the soft feathers and gave a sigh. It was obviously a dream.

Soft mewls once again jostled Kirk from sleep.

"Lights, 10%," he slurred out.

Kirk moved to sitting on the edge of the bed. He rubbed his knees, then proceeded to hoist himself up to mill about the room. He had to find where that sound was coming from. He turned to face the bathroom, and that's when he saw it. A small incubator stood against the wall; carrying a blanket-covered bundle squirming around.

"What the…"

The Captain reached into the incubator to push back the cloth. What was revealed shocked him. The infant that lay there blinked up at him with ice blue eyes. Identical to his own. It was crying again, so Kirk rubbed its stomach in order to try and calm it. He made involuntary cooing noises and the baby smiled a bit. That got a small grin from Kirk, and a small huff of laughter. He bent down to scoop the infant up into his arms. Cradling its head in the crook of his left elbow, he moved his right hand under its lower back and let its legs fall onto his arm. Kirk's waist was swaying back and forth as he bounced the infant lightly.

"I guess we should see what you are, shouldn't we," he cooed in high-pitched, baby voice.

Kirk laid it flat on the bed, and removed the diaper after un-swaddling it.

"Well hello there, little girl. It's nice to meet you."

Kirk inspected her from the feet up, and everything seemed okay. That was until he reached her head… and saw those pointed ears that formed on the side.

"It can't be… Come here, sweetheart."

The baby was wrapped back up and tucked once more into Kirk's embrace. He kissed her temple before getting his communicator out.

"Kirk to McCoy."

"Jim… what? It's three o clock in the morning!"

"I know, Bones. I'm sorry. But I have a bit of an emergency. Can you come to my quarters."

"Ugh… sure. Give me a minute."

Bones was there quicker than Kirk had expected. He walked through the doors, and his jaw dropped at the sight of his Captain holding a baby.

"Hey, Bones," Kirk said with a smile.

"Jim… I…"

"Yeah, I know."

"What in the blazes is going on?!"

"I woke up to crying. Searched the room, and there she was. In that incubator over there," Kirk motioned to the case with his head.

"So it's a girl?"

"Assuming I have that much knowledge of human anatomy," he replied with a wink.

Bones came closer to inspect the infant. He gently caressed her head, and stopped when he felt that point underneath his fingertips.

"Are those what I think they are?"

"If you're referring to her ears… yes."

"You don't think—"

"—No way to tell. I don't even know how she got here. But I do know she needs a bottle. That's why I commed you."

"'Cause she was hungry? Not because she exists in the first place?!"

Kirk gave a sheepish grin.

"Yeah, okay. Hold on, let me get you some stuff."

Kirk and McCoy spent the night caring for the infant. Kirk couldn't keep his gaze off of her electric blue eyes. That alone made him feel so connected to her. What was going on with him? How could he feel so bonded to something so fast?

"How did this happen, Bones?"

"They clearly beamed her in here. The question is who was it? And how did they manage to make you a kid?"

"Letian VI. It had to be. That's the last place we were."

Kirk thought about that for a moment; handing the baby to Bones while doing so. He then buried his face in his hands and gave out a large huff. He spoke; still muffled by his palms.

"The DNA samples."

"What?"

"Their security guards took our DNA to ensure we weren't imposters. They must have mixed them as some kind of experiment."

"Even if they did, how on earth did they get her on the ship?!"

"We're still in their orbit, remember? We had to stall for star mapping for a few days."

"So that's why SickBay has been so empty… Still, that would mean she was developed within days, Jim! That's insanity!"

"We spend our lives discovering strange things, Bones. It's really not that insane."

The baby mewled a little, and Bones pulled her closer to his chest in order to comfort her. Kirk gave a closed-lip smile at his friend being so tender.

"Was Spock on that mission, Jim?"

"Well, yeah. Why?"

Bones motioned down to the infant with his eyes. He traced the perfect point with his thumb, and looked back up at Kirk.

"Oh my gods."

"You have to tell him."

"Oh yeah, let me get right on that! Hey, Spock, I found this baby in my room last night. It's yours, and I think we should raise a cute little family together."

"I don't see what's wrong with that."

Kirk playfully shoved Bones in the shoulder.

"Watch it, kid! Precious cargo here."

Kirk bent down to kiss her forehead.

"He won't want her. Vulcans have a very logical life path. This would throw his into chaos."

"Yeah, probably. But you gotta tell him. He has a right to know he's a daddy."

Kirk kept his eyes locked on his daughter.

"I guess he does. Gods, Bones, I'm a dad."

"It would seem so, Jim. It would seem so."

Lucky for Kirk, the ship was stationed for shore leave for the next two weeks. He was able to get the furniture the baby needed, and all of her supplies. The most important thing being the stroller.

He wheeled her around that very morning, and grinned at the crews' mouths agape at the sight. He kept a pink hat on her so her ears wouldn't show. He wasn't ready for that bombshell yet. Kirk was especially grateful for it when he approached Spock in the mess hall. Neither of them had opted to beam down.

"Captain, may I inquire as to why you have been traveling around with an infant these past 8.4 hours."

"Welp, um… you see… she's my daughter. So I kinda need to cart her around."

Spock's eyes blew wide. He looked down at the baby girl once more, and looked more closely at her. She was sleeping, so the blue eyes were not apparent, but the face shape was all Kirk. The Captain was rolling the stroller back and forth to calm her; even though he didn't realize he was doing it.

"Your daughter? How is this possible? Have you copulated with anyone as of late?"

"Firstly, ew. No I have not, COPULATED with anyone lately. Also, as far as I knew, you were the only one I would potentially 'copulate' with". Kirk shifted a little. "Unless that's not true anymore."

"I had thought the same as you, Captain. You have not scheduled another night together in two weeks. I did not wish to pressure you, but I was unsure of where our romantic relationship stood."

"Well now I just feel like a jerk. I'm sorry, Spock. It's just this baby got me all distracted and confused and—"

"—I understand completely. Perhaps I should have inquired sooner on the matter. Your statement of being confused suggests that you do not know how she was conceived. Is this true?"

"Yep. My best guess is she was scientifically engineered on Letian VI. They must have paired my genetics, used their technology to speed up the conception process, and beamed her into my quarters before we were out of range. We were there for a month. It's not an impossibility."

"You are correct. That is a logical explanation, and certainly not an impossibility. You said you are unaware of the other genetic donor?"

Kirk's eyes cast down at that. He shuffled a bit, again.

"No way to know."

"I believe, then, that all I can do from this point is offer my congratulations, Captain. She is a fine specimen."

"Thanks, Spock," Kirk replied with a closed lipped smile. "How about some chess later. I miss you."

"I look forward to it sir."

All Kirk could think about during their game was that his baby girl was Spock's fine specimen, too. And eventually, he had to tell him.

The next morning, Kirk and Spock woke up spooned together like they usually did. Kirk had gotten up a few times to tend to the baby, but otherwise, they slept well. Spock felt it would be overstepping bounds to tend to the child. Little did he know that's exactly what she wanted.

At that exact moment, their daughter began to cry from waking up. Spock's eyebrow raised at the sound.

"She is hungry."

Kirk woke up a little more at that remark.

"How do you know that?"

"Vulcan infants can project their needs…"

Spock trailed off. He stared out into oblivion quizzically before getting off of the bed. Kirk was perplexed, and scared. Spock went over to the crib.

"Jim, why is she always wearing a cap?"

"I just figured she was cold."

Well, that was a lie. Kirk thought Spock was buying it until he began to lift if off of her head.

"Spock don't—"

Too late. He saw her ears, and a world of hurt shone through his face. His gaze stayed on the child.

"You did not think to notify me?"

"I didn't know what to do, Spock! I saw her ears, and panicked. It's thrown me for a loop too, you know! What was I supposed to do?"

Spock didn't answer. He was transfixed on her icy blue eyes and pointed ears. She was even more beautiful to him now. His head cocked slightly to the side as he stroked her cheek. Kirk broke the silence.

"I understand if you'd rather walk away —" Kirk started.

"—Why would I do that?"

Spock's head whipped around to look at Kirk. The hurt still showing.

"I mean, Spock c'mon. These guys took our DNA and tried to make some kind of alien hybrid."

"Regardless of the bizarre circumstances, she is our child now, and I cannot walk away from that."

"You — you want to keep her?"

"Jim, her physical appearance is undoubtedly the combination of our genetics. Now, with seeing her mind, I know for sure she is ours."

Kirk walked over to join Spock at the crib. He stood slightly behind him; his right shoulder pressing into the back of Spock's left. Spock could feel his Captain's breath on his neck. He turned his face in his direction.

"You have not yet expressed your views on the matter."

Kirk let his eyes fall to the girl, and his fingers joined Spock in soothing her.

"I don't know. I loved her instantly. And I … well I think I love you. I was so afraid that if you knew she was yours, you would leave, and I would lose you forever."

Spock let his face get closer to Kirk's.

"It is not logical to leave my mate and child."

Kirk gasped as he felt Spock's arm go around his waist. Spock pressed a chaste kiss to his temple, then proceeded to pick up their daughter. He bounced her and got a small smile on his face.

"So… you want this? Us?"

"Jim, I want nothing more."