((A/N hallo c: just another cutesy little oneshot with spock and christine.))
Spock paced nervously in the medical bay. He was under the impression that space was a highly illogical place to be having a child, but both Dr. McCoy and Christine reassured him that it was perfectly safe. He looked around, caught a glance from another nurse who smiled, and he nodded politely before sitting down. He stared forward, trying not to look anxious. On the inside his heart was racing and his blood was boiling. He just wanted this to go well and with absolutely no harm to either being.
Christine's screams pierced his ears and it took everything within him not to leap up and go to her, to see what he could do to help, even though he knew there was nothing to be done. Dr. McCoy had her on the best pain tolerance medication Starfleet had to offer, and she was obviously familiar enough with the birthing process not to get panicked. He knew it was not tradition for the father to be present at birth in Vulcan culture, but Christine was a human.
His adept ears picked up the sound of a child crying, and he couldn't stop himself. He rose up quickly, but still stopped himself from going into the birthing room. He wanted to wait until he was invited, but at the same time, he wanted to meet his child.
Christine had forced the both of them to keep the gender of the child secret. While Spock explained to her how illogical it sounded to not prepare, she told him it was "just something I've always wanted to experience. Just imagine the surprise and the joy it'll bring!" Spock had reluctantly agreed, if only because he thought her human curiosities to be endearing. He almost stopped himself from wondering what their child would be like…it left him more breathless than he could admit.
Dr. McCoy came out, throwing his gloves into the garbage and looking up to Spock. "Congratulations," he said, and patted Spock's shoulder. Instead of the usual glare, Spock looked to McCoy and nodded gently, even offering the tiniest and quickest of smiles. McCoy missed it, and Spock didn't really mind.
"She's really tired. I'd let her sleep, if she wants to. Your baby's healthy, though, I did the preliminary scans. Everything checks out. The baby's levels took some getting used to for my tricorder." He snickered, and Spock just stood there, staring at McCoy. "Um…you're welcome to go in there, if you'd like."
Without another word, Spock walked in. He saw Christine holding their child. Spock stood at the doorway for a brief moment, looking them over. He had never experienced the feeling that rushed through him with no remorse. He literally had to gulp the feeling down. His overwhelming love for this child who was not even an hour old was more than he could even comprehend.
Christine looked up with tired, but loving blue eyes. "Hi, Spock." She looked back down at the child. Small, slightly pointed ears uncurled, and she giggled a little bit. "Guess what? She has your ears."
"She?" he choked out. He had a daughter. This was almost too much for him.
"She," Christine replied, softly. "And my eyes. Your mother must have had the blue eyes gene or something…and it got carried down to her…" Christine was holding the little girl closely. She put her finger into the baby's tiny hand, and the baby squeezed. Christine let out the tiniest of gasps, and then grinned. "She's so strong."
"It is typical for a person of Vulcan heritage to have more strength than that of a human." He finally walked over, and sat down next to her bed. His daughter was beautiful. She was a pudgy little baby. Her blue eyes looked all around, taking everything in for the very first time. He could already tell how inquisitive she was just by watching her.
"Would you like to hold her?" Christine asked, looking up at him.
Spock blinked, but nodded, still trying to contain his emotions. She handed him the baby, and he held his daughter like he would a piece of rare china, but even more carefully. His eyes met hers and it was like she was looking right into his soul, as if she'd known him his entire life. And then Spock wondered what he was doing with his life until now. Suddenly, his life was all about her, and only her. He would do anything to protect this child. Absolutely anything.
"Christine?" he asked, and looked over to her. She had her head on the pillow and was resting her eyes, but she acknowledged him with a raise of her eyebrows. "Have you come up with a name for her yet?" he continued.
"No. I was waiting for you to come in so we could—ahhhhhhhn!—talk about it." Her speech was broken by a wide yawn.
"If I may request a first name for her…"
"Please do." Christine opened her eyes, smiling up at him and nodded towards him.
"I would like to name our daughter Amanda." Spock looked down at his daughter, nodding. "I believe that name would be appropriate for her."
Christine smiled. Of course she knew the origin of the name. But she didn't want to taint the moment with mentioning it. "I would love it if our child was named Amanda. Amanda Lauren." She beamed up at him from her pillow. Another yawn escaped her mouth.
"I would like her to have your last name."
That woke her up. "Spock, no, that's…that's ridiculous, come on. You're her father, she should have your last name." Christine frowned. That was the way she always thought it was done. "I mean, unless…things are done differently on Vulcan, then I suppose we could talk about it, but…" she mumbled, still trying to remain respectful about this. But still!
"I would like her to have your last name because I want her to blend in with the human population." He turned to her. "While I was…a child on Vulcan, I was not received well by my peer group. I would like it if my daughter did not go through the same hardships I did." He put his finger in Amanda's hand in the way Christine did, and she squeezed it tightly. His mouth opened a little at the strength in her little hand.
Christine sighed. "I understand that…logic, I suppose." She closed her eyes again. "My family's not going to understand. But then again, I never expect them to."
"I apologize if I cause tension among your family—"
"Spock." She opened one eye. "Stop right there. You know you don't cause any tension." She closed her eye once more, and wet her lips. She looked like she was trying to relax a little bit more, now. A smile was still spreading across her face.
"I apologize." Spock looked back down to Amanda. He lost track of time, and before he knew it, Christine was snoring loudly. Amanda was beginning to close her eyes, too, which he understood. He continued to hold her in her pink blanket, looking over her and trying to memorize what she looked like so when he did have to leave, he wouldn't forget her.
McCoy walked in, and Spock shot his head up. "Enjoying fatherhood?" he asked, and for the first time, McCoy smiled at Spock in a non-sarcastic way. He sat down next to Spock, glancing down to her. "Beautiful girl. Looks a lot like Joanna when she was born…except her eyes are green, of course." He crossed his legs. He didn't mind talking to Spock about this, even if he was on a mission for Uhura to "connect" with Spock on this level.
"Indeed, she is a fascinating child." Spock turned up to Bones. "I was unaware you had a daughter."
"I do, Jo's about eleven right now…" he looked sad for a moment. "You're going to enjoy fatherhood. If I had to give a word of advice, I'd say to step back and enjoy what you can. She's going to make some mistakes, act out, and you're going to get frustrated, but…just remember that you only have that one day, and then the next day, she's a whole day older. And that's it. Before you know it, she's a year older, and then a decade older."
For once, Spock just listened. This seemed good advice from the doctor. "I understand what you mean." He frowned. "I must confess…I am concerned about making errors in raising Amanda."
McCoy chuckled. "That's what parenting is."
Spock raised an eyebrow. "I am afraid I do not follow your logic. Surely one's goal is to be as perfect as they possibly could be in raising a child."
"Well, that's the goal for the first, I dunno, twenty-four hours or so. And then…well, then you start to realize that the mistakes you make shape them. I feel bad every single day I'm away from Jo, but I know it'll make her a stronger person, emotionally that is." He looked to Spock, nodding gently.
Spock considered this. The intention of parents is to do what they can to raise their child correctly, but mistakes are still acceptable? He would have to research this. He looked back down to Amanda, who was asleep, but was smiling in her sleep. This took him aback more than he was prepared for. This was…fascinating.
"Haha. A lot of babies do that. They practice smiling in their sleep," McCoy nodded, and rose up. "Well, I'll leave you and Amanda to get to know each other." He stopped, and winced visibly. "Look, uhh, if you ever like…wanna…I know you're not much for talking, believe me, but if you ever need…anything when it comes to this…you know who to call."
Spock blinked. "Thank you, Dr. McCoy. I appreciate that gesture."
McCoy walked out, closing the door behind him, and Spock looked back down. Amanda moved in her sleep a little, but maintained that little smile. Her skin was fairer than his and Christine's skin, even. Her day-old dark hair was fine and soft like he expected it to be.
At some point, Spock had fallen asleep with Amanda in his arms. Nobody walked in and interrupted the sleeping family. They rested peacefully, together, for the first time.