TITLE: Threads
AUTHOR: DramaLexy
SUMMARY: Fourth in my series after "Illogical Choices," "Blood and Water," and "Full Circle." The threads that make up our lives together can be twisted and complex - and fragile.
DISCLAIMER: Not mine, don't sue.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This takes place a few years after the end of "Full Circle" and involves more trials and celebrations for Nyota and Spock's family. Hope you enjoy and please leave feedback!
There were a few extra people crowded onto the Enterprise's bridge. The ship was currently at warp, traveling to its next planetary destination, and Kirk had taken advantage of the lull in their schedules to complete some administrative business.
"I've gotta admit, there are some nice perks to this job," he told his communications officer and friend with a smile. She mirrored it before he turned to the group assembled in the ship's command center, which included the senior staff and her two daughters.
"From the first time I met Uhura, she wouldn't let me get away with anything. I probably deserved that punch you threw at me."
She raised an eyebrow. "Probably?" Everyone laughed.
"I'm grateful that you continue to hold me to a high standard, and I know that this crew is better because you are on it. So, for outstanding service as the chief communications officer onboard the finest ship in the fleet, it's my pleasure to grant you the rank of Lieutenant Commander." He affixed a ceremonial second stripe to each of her sleeves. "Congratulations, Uhura."
"Thank you, Sir." The assembled crowd clapped and cheered as well.
Five-year-old Amanda was already reaching to give her mother a hug as she rejoined her family at the rear of the bridge. "Yay, Mommy!" she said as Spock handed her over to his wife.
"Yeah," thirteen-year-old Leryn agreed. "That's really cool, Mom. Good job."
"Thank you, thank you. I'm glad you guys were here."
"Was that the whole thing?" Leryn asked. "I want to get back to Engineering." She had been working in various areas around the ship as part of her schoolwork.
"That was it, go ahead," Nyota told her. "Be in the mess at 1800 hours for dinner." Leryn nodded before disappearing into the turbolift.
"Can I stay here with you?" Amanda asked her mother.
"This was a special occasion, princess. What was our deal on when you can start being on the bridge sometimes to learn about the ship?"
"I gotta reach the upper panel. I'm getting bigger; maybe I could do it."
Nyota smiled as she put her youngest down next to her station. "Can you reach it?" she asked.
Despite standing on her tiptoes, Amanda was nowhere near being able to touch the higher controls. "No," she despondently replied. "But I want to help on the ship like Leryn."
"Leryn is a lot older and bigger than you are. When she was younger, she wasn't allowed on the bridge either."
She sighed. "Okay."
Spock joined them. "I will take her back to school and then return," he told his wife.
"Thanks."
"And I am currently wondering if I have heard the complete story of how you and Jim met. Why exactly were you required to punch him?"
Nyota smiled, but didn't confirm or deny his statement. "Don't worry," was all she told him, "You never had anything to be concerned about."
At dinner that evening, Leryn shared with her family what she'd been working on that day. She'd been excited by the chance to put her mechanical talents to use actually working on the ship. Spending afternoons in engineering or other areas was a good balance with her other coursework.
"We installed upgraded components in the plasma manifolds for most of the deck," she told her parents. "Lieutenant Cummings really hates climbing around in the Jeffries Tubes, but I like it. It's kinda cozy and that's where all the fun stuff to play with is."
"I believe that you are also a third of a meter shorter than Lieutenant Cummings," Spock pointed out. "At a minimum."
She laughed. "True. He said he'll show me the impulse driver coil when it gets a systems check in two weeks if I finish the manual for it by then."
"Do not let your other coursework suffer as a result," Spock reminded her.
Leryn rolled her eyes. "I won't, Papa."
"We made a mural," Amanda spoke up.
Nyota smiled. "You did?"
"Uh-huh. Everyone in my class. We all got to paint the things we like. So it's like a big picture of all of us. I put my family and music notes."
"It sounds like an…interesting project," Spock told her.
"K'Lah put her family, too," Amanda spoke of one of her closest friends. "Even her little brother or sister that's not born yet. I want a little brother, too."
Spock noticed that his wife paled at that comment. "You had a little brother," he quietly told his youngest.
Amanda frowned. "But he lives with Grandma in heaven. I want a little brother that lives here with us, to play with."
Leryn kicked her sister's leg under the table. "Shut up, stupid," she told the little girl. "You're gonna make Mom cry."
"Don't call her stupid," Nyota reprimanded. "And I'm fine…Really," she added when no one else at the table looked convinced. "I'm sorry, princess," she told Amanda, "But I don't…I don't think you're going to get a little brother." She looked down.
"So…" Leryn tried to break the tension. "My birthday's coming up next week."
"You have been reminding us on a daily basis for the past five days," Spock told her.
She smiled. "That's 'cause I haven't heard any plans yet."
Later that evening, once the girls were in their room, Spock confronted his wife about their earlier topic of conversation. "Are you truly all right?" he asked as he joined her in their bedroom. "You appeared quite disturbed at dinner."
"I was a little, but…it's a normal question for her to ask, right? Most kids wish for another sibling when they're young."
"Most children do not have to be concerned about whether the process of fulfilling that wish will kill their mother."
"She doesn't need to know about that, not when she's this young. Who she is isn't her fault."
Spock slowly nodded. "Agreed."
Nyota sighed. "After everything that happened with Amanda, I really thought things would be different. He even had iron-based blood. I don't think I'll ever understand…" Silence lingered for a long moment. Spock had endeavored over the past two years to forget the day he'd found her in their quarters, unconscious and bleeding.
"I am unsure is there is actually a reason to be understood," he quietly said.
She quickly wiped her eyes. "So we've heard the princess' vote. How about yours – do you still want to have another child?"
"What I want is irrelevant. It would be illogical to risk your life again when we already have two perfectly healthy children.
"Are you sure?" she asked. Her answer was a gentle kiss.
"I already have more than I ever thought I would."
She smiled. "I love you."
"Mommy?" a voice broke in, and they both looked to see Amanda in the doorway, dressed in her nightgown. "Can you read me a story?"
"Did you brush your teeth?" The little girl frowned. "Go brush and I'll be there in a minute."
"O-kay," she replied.
"By the way," Nyota said to Spock as she got up from the bed. "Are we going to leave Leryn hanging, or tell her about her birthday party?"
"I believe you are the one who said that a surprise party would be enjoyable for her…and hearing her whine is moderately humorous for us."
TBC...
