Now, Scotty was used to weird things happening down in engineering; when you work on the Enterprise, you get used to weird. That's not to mention the things Keenser got up to. But even after four years, Scotty still had a mild heart attack every time he looked up from his work to find a pair of startling blue eyes staring at him from behind a nest of thick, messy black hair.

Scotty bellowed out a few cusses as he landed on his ass, and the little quarter Vulcan grinned at him from where he was perched atop a box of parts.

'Hey, you aren't supposed to be up there, you damn elf!' Scotty scowled.

It was a term of endearment that Dr McCoy had started; now most of the crew referred to Soren Grayson Kirk as an elf. Soren seemed to like it, and Captain Kirk grinned at his bondmate every time Commander Spock sighed.

'Sorry, Mr Scott,' Soren said and slid down from the box, landing gracefully on his feet. The four-year-old had Commander Spock's grace but Captain Kirk's penchant for trouble; it made for a very quick-footed young child who often got into anything and everything he wasn't meant to.

'What are you doin' down here, lad?' Scotty asked as he want back to fixing the replicator. It only spat out coffee and small snacks for the engineers when they were working double shifts, but it was still very much needed. Most of the crewmen inhaled caffeine when working late.

'I was bored,' Soren told him, head tilted as he watched Scotty work. 'Sa-mekh is working in Science Lab 2 and Dad is working Beta shift on the bridge.'

'And who's supposed to be watchin' you?' Scotty asked.

Soren flashed him a grin. 'Nurse Chapel.'

Scotty sighed. Poor lass was probably tearing her hair out trying to find Soren. He was good at slipping away from his babysitters. And he'd already learned how to hack into the Enterprise's computers to ensure that it couldn't pinpoint his location.

'You know not to go runnin' off by yourself, laddie,' Scotty said, waving a screwdriver at the Vulcan. Soren grinned. 'Don't give me that look, Mr Soren,' Scotty added.

Soren pouted and scuffed his booted foot against the floor. 'I was bored,' he murmured. 'Nurse Chapel is boring. I don't want to read picture books or play with toys.'

Scotty chuckled lightly at that. Damn boy was too smart for his own good. Which wasn't surprising, given who his fathers are. 'So you fancied yourself a look at the Enterprise's engines?'

Soren nodded and stepped closer, footsteps barely making a sound. 'What are you doing?' he questioned.

Scotty quickly explained how the replicator had started mixing up some of the ingredients used for sandwiches and soup. Soren asked if it was the processor chip needing to be inspected and changed, and when Scotty showed the boy that he'd already swapped it out, Soren frowned. Then he sat on the floor beside the table Scotty was using and simply stared.

'Alright, lad?' Scotty asked after a few minutes of silence.

Soren tilted his head slightly before asking if he could take a look. When Scotty nodded, Soren let himself be picked up so that he was standing on Scotty's seat. Scotty watched as the lad ducked his head and pushed his little fingers into the replicator's innards. He started tinkering away and Scotty smiled. He trusted the lad not to hurt himself, so went to the replicator that had been brought in while the broken was being fixed. The engineer made himself a cup of coffee and had only just swallowed his first mouthful when Commander Spock entered the break room.

'Soren.'

He didn't yell. Scotty had only heard him yell once, and that was when Commander Spock had chased Khan down to exact his revenge; the footage had played on the news for weeks before Starfleet could stop it. Instead Commander Spock simply came to a stop beside his son and clasped his hands behind his back.

Soren had frozen at the sound of his sa-mekh's voice. Now he slowly slid his hands from the replicator, shuffled on the seat, and faced the older Vulcan.

'Sa-mekh,' he murmured.

Commander Spock said, 'You were supposed to stay in medbay with Nurse Chapel until your father arrived to collect you at 1905.'

'Yes,' Soren agreed, 'but-'

'Sa-fu,' Spock interrupted. Soren glanced up at him and Scotty saw Commander Spock raise an eyebrow. Soren wilted slightly under the expression and then murmured something in Vulcan, which made Spock tilt his head. 'Punar-tor,' he responded before holding a hand out.

Soren sighed but let his sa-mekh help him off of the chair.

'Soren, your father and I must know where you are at all times,' Commander Spock stated. 'And if we don't, we must know that you are in the care of someone we trust. Is that understood?'

'Yes, Sa-mekh,' Soren mumbled.

'You will cease running away from the people your father and I trust your care to.'

'Yes, Sa-mekh.'

'Soren.'

Soren bobbed his head once, and Scotty saw a faint flush of green spread across his cheeks.

Commander Spock exhaled sharply through his nose. 'You are too much like your father,' he commented more than complained. Scotty heard the faint amusement underlying his words and smiled into his coffee.

'That's what Sa'mekh'al Selek always says,' Soren said.

Spock's lips twitched. 'And Sa'mekh'al Sarek?' he questioned.

Soren grinned. 'He agrees.'

'I see,' was all Spock said. He then turned to Scotty. 'I apologise for Soren's interruption, Mr Scott.'

'The lad was no trouble, sir,' Scotty replied. 'He's just curious, is all.'

'Indeed,' Spock said, 'and that is the problem.'

Scotty grinned. Captain Kirk had a habit of being curious about things, and then usually landed himself in a whole heap of trouble. It wasn't surprising that he and Mr Spock were worried about Soren. Scotty still remembered the time Soren had found his way into the medbay's ventilation system. Lad had only been one.

'Are you going to tell Dad that I was bad?' Soren asked.

Commander Spock glanced down at his son. 'Yes,' he stated.

'But why?' Soren said. 'Please don't tell him, Sa-mekh, I promise not to do it again!'

'That is what you said last time,' Spock said.

Soren pouted.

Spock held his hand out and Soren took it again. 'Apologise to Mr Scott,' Spock ordered.

'I'm sorry for interrupting, Mr Scott,' Soren said, looking up at the engineer. 'I promise to only come down when you say I can.' Commander Spock cleared his throat lightly. 'And when Dad and Sa-mekh say that I'm allowed,' Soren added.

'Aye, no problem, elf,' Scotty said with a smile.

Soren giggled into his free hand and Spock raised an eyebrow at them both. 'Come along,' he said to Soren and started leading him towards the door.

'Sa-mekh, wait!' Soren gasped. Spock paused and tilted his head as his son raced back to the broken replicator. Soren grabbed Scotty's PADD and quickly typed something out before setting it back down. He then walked back to Commander Spock and said, 'Ready.'

He waved wildly at Scotty as his sa-mekh led him from the room and Scotty waved back, smiling. He liked the lad- the entire crew did- and it was always a pleasure having him down in the engines of the Enterprise.

Scotty finished his coffee before going to take another crack at the replicator. He'd been working for less than a minute when he realised that the touch screen had been pulled out. Frowning, Scotty glanced at his PADD, wondering if the lad had written down just why he'd done it.

Scotty laughed when he read Soren's note;

Mr Scott, the touch screen is broken. A simple replacement is needed and then the replicator will work perfectly. Have a nice day – Soren Grayson Kirk

Scotty chuckled again and opened up a new message. The Quartermaster was in charge of all equipment on-board the Enterprise, and it would only take a few hours for the woman to get a replacement part sent down from storage.

With that done, Scotty sent a message to Soren;

Thanks, laddie – LtCdr M. Scott

Seconds later he received a reply;

You are welcome, Mr Scott – Soren Grayson Kirk

With an amused smile, Scotty left the replicator where it was and when hunting for Keenser; he was sure that there was something else that needed fixing before his shift started.

Sa-mekh – father

Sa-fu – son

Punar-tor – accepted

Sa'mekh'al – grandfather

Author's Note: Eh, I dunno. I just had the image of Soren and Scotty tinkering on stuff together, so I wrote a drabble. I'm not sure if I'll write more set in this 'verse. If I do I'll post it here. Actually, if you have any prompts for this 'verse, feel free to share them; I like working on small, random stuff while I'm trying to figure out my bigger stories.

{Dreamer}