Alright, guys, again, really sorry for not updating for so long. I wanted to post this thing sooner, like... two days ago, but there was a sunstroke incident and yeah...
Anyway, I hope no one will hate me for not updating, University was more important :)
Talltree-san: Guh, sorry it made you nauseous! But I'm glad you liked the chapter :)
Adrianna: It's okay, you don't have to review all the time, haha :)
meakamaxwell: *chuckles* Yep, time to think about painting the nursery, but we'll see what Jim and Spock do with it ;) As for Bones... uh... Bones getting his own sexy Vulcan? Hmm...
ShayLove: Glad you enjoyed it, sugar. :) An especially big sorry to you, I know you freak out as much as ViBookWorm sometimes when I update... :P
EverlastingWinterofDiscontent: Updated (duh)! :D
Okay guys, this thing is unbetaed, I tried to find all the errors, but I'm still a little dizzy, so... I hope you enjoy it anyway!
Secret World
Chapter 8: house of make-believe
Approximately five weeks later, Spock received his first assignment as an Ambassador. Two weeks previous, he had taken a small trip to Earth with his Mother to acquaint himself with his surroundings and the people he would be working with in addition to finding a place for James and him to stay. Needless to say, Jim had not been very keen on being left alone for an entire week, but Spock had managed to sway the younger man into forgiving him by bringing back a cooler filled with vanilla ice cream.
But of course Spock should have known that not everything would go as smoothly as he had planned. On the day of departure they had somehow managed to oversleep and were already been running late, only realising that they needed to inform the Doctor that they were leaving for Earth when they were half-way to the front door. To their surprise, Leonard had reacted with fond exasperation instead of the expected anger. Spock had a suspicion that it had to do with Jim's ever growing abdomen and the slight glow that seemed to radiate from his husband's skin. It did not only wake a primal, over-protective streak within him, but it made his Father's gaze soften whenever Jim decided to pay Spock's parents a visit. While Jim had spoken to McCoy, Spock had decided to check if they had remembered they had everything they needed with them and found that Jim had forgotten to pack half of those things necessary including his toothbrush, leaving him to repack their suitcases only an hour before they had to be at the shuttle bay.
It was a downright miracle that they managed to arrive on Earth without further troubles.
The house they were to live in for the next three weeks was seated in a rather quiet neighbourhood and Spock was sure it was what his Mother would prefer to live in. It was not overly big, the overall architecture was what he would call outdated and Jim would fondly describe as vintage. Jim had managed to open the door, leaving the key in the lock as he ran into the house, leaving Spock to empty the trunk of their rental car. Spock sighed, dragging their suitcases over to the porch, listening to Jim screaming and laughing inside their new home. Spock believed that, sometimes, the hormones wracking through Jim's body caused his brain to short-circuit. There was no other logical explanation for the strange outbursts that kept peppering their life.
Finally, Spock had managed to close the door behind him, key dangling between his teeth because his hands were busy balancing the suitcases. Grunting, he pulled his burden into the living-room, dropping everything onto the ground, before sitting down on the generous couch. Jim came swaggering in through the open kitchen, a broad grin on his face. "I love this place. It's really big and there's a huge tub in the bathroom!"
"I am pleased that you like it here, Jim." Spock ran a hand through his hair, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth in response to Jim's exuberant joy.
Jim plopped down on the synthetic leather sofa beside Spock, drawing his legs up as he curled into Spock's side. For a while, they simply sat, breathing into the silence. Spock turned his head to look at Jim, eyes dropping to the round belly beneath the younger man's shirt. After Jim had reached eighteen weeks and his abdomen began to become more and more pronounced, he had started to wear Spock's shirts around the house. When going out, he usually wore formfitting t-shirts that would stretch to accommodate the growing womb. Spock was almost sure that Jim was subconsciously trying to show off his pregnancy.
Sometimes, when Jim thought himself to be alone, Spock would catch the younger man stroking the curve of his stomach, smiling down at it so tenderly that it caused an odd squeezing sensation within the confines of Spock's chest. He wondered if Jim was able to feel the child's mental development, if their son was able to link himself to his parents yet. At night, when Jim was already fast asleep and buried firmly against his side, he would dip into their shared mindscape, diving through the warmth and delicate colours, searching until he reached the tiny ball of tightly wound yarn that had seated itself in the very core of their bond. It pulsated, like a heartbeat, like something waiting to unfurl and grow. He had yet to tell Jim about his discovery, selfishly keeping it to himself for the time being, wanting to have at least a tiny part of their child that Jim was not aware of.
Reaching out, he tugged the tight, blue shirt upwards to reveal the smooth skin beneath. A thin, brownish line had drawn itself vertically up the lower curve, fading into the usual golden tint of Jim's skin as soon as it passed the younger man's navel. Jim's slender hand grasped Spock's, guiding it to lie flat on the younger man's stomach.
A tiny kick greeted Spock. Then another.
The feeling itself was almost terrifying in its strangeness. Since their son was still so small, Spock could not see where he jabbed his tiny limbs; merely feel those fragile hands and feet press up from within Jim's womb against his hand.
Spock was left speechless. He slipped down to the ground to wedge himself between Jim's legs, cradling the bump between his palms. The kicks became a little stronger and Spock let out a soft laugh that expressed his exhilaration, nuzzling his face against Jim's stomach.
"Finally! I thought you'd never be able to feel him," Jim exclaimed. "Your son's been doing cartwheels in there for weeks now!"
Deciding not to comment, Spock pressed a kiss to the skin above Jim's navel, relishing the moment as much as he could. After 3.4 minutes, the kicking died down and the child stilled. "Feels like Spock Junior fell asleep. Probably exhausted himself during all that kicking."
Spock kept his ear pressed against the top of Jim's bump for a short moment longer. "We will have to think of a name soon, Jim."
"Yeah, I know, I know." Jim gave a long sigh. "But not now."
"Very well."
"You know, we should go out. Look around the city. Maybe eat dinner somewhere." Spock moved away from Jim's stomach when the younger man began to tug at his ear.
Jim got to his feet, tugging his shirt back down and walked out of the living-room. Spock scrambled after him when he heard the front door open. They made their way down the sidewalk, Jim clinging to Spock's hand. Jim's hip bumped into his more often than usual since he had begun to walk with an odd swaying motion to balance out the low-riding weight of their child. Mother affectionately named it the Mommy Waddle, whereas Leonard had taken to calling it the Dinosaur March. It was not surprising that Jim did not take well to either name.
"The sky is really blue. I can't remember it being that blue," Jim mumbled as he gazed upwards into the almost cloud-free firmament.
"You were rather young when you were taken from Earth, Jim. It is not surprising that you do not remember it as well as you would like to," Spock answered, tugging his husband across the street when the traffic light changed from red to green.
"Still. It's weird." Jim pointed towards a small bench underneath a large tree. "Could we sit down for a minute? I need to tie my shoes properly."
Spock nodded, leading Jim towards the bench. He tried not to let his amusement filter through the bond at the sight of Jim grunting as he tried to bend over his protruding stomach to tie his shoelaces. However, he did not succeed and Jim lifted a hand to give Spock a rude gesture. "Very mature, Jim."
"Oh shut up, I'm not the one making fun of a pregnant person."
"I apologise, Jim."
"Pff, yeah, sure, I can still hear you laughing through the bond, asshat." Jim sat up again, patting his stomach with a pensive expression. "Do you think we should get ice cream or something?"
"I do not know, Jim. Do you wish to purchase ice cream?" Spock asked, suppressing a heavy sigh as he slid off the bench to tie Jim's shoes.
"Thanks, Spock," Jim grinned, cheeks red with embarrassment. "Can't even tie my shoes, damn your son, Spock... well, ice-cream does sound good, but I don't know... Baby Grayson-Kirk seems unsure of what he wants to eat at the moment. But I am hungry."
"As am I, we have, after all, not eaten since this morning." Spock returned to his seat beside Jim and crossed his ankles. "I believe something more nutritious than ice cream is in order."
"Yeah, you're probably right," Jim grumbled, then yelped when a small body collided with his knees. "Whoa!"
Spock was baffled when the child, who could not be more than four or five years of age, clung to Jim's trouser leg, blinking up at his husband with bright, curious eyes. Jim seemed just as confused but played it down by smiling at the boy. "Hey kid, did you get lost?"
The boy shook his head, giggling, then ducked to hide under the bench.
"Peter! Peter, come here at once!" A young man came running down the sidewalk, cradling a baby against his chest while dragging a blue stroller after himself. "Peter!"
The little boy rushed out from under the bench, running towards the man who set the baby into the stroller and scooped the boy off the ground, lifting the wayward child against up and against his chest.
"I hope our kid isn't going to be such a menace."
"Considering that you are the one carrying our child, I believe your hopes are futile."
They watched the father reprimand his child, before kissing the boy's forehead and grabbing onto the stroller to continue down the way. Spock curled his arms around Jim's shoulders when the younger man leaned into him with a soft sigh. "You know, we'll have to turn one of the rooms into a nursery soon. Oh fuck, Spock, we have so much to do! Buy baby clothes, diapers, toys... damn. Having a baby is so much work... and it costs a hell lot of money too."
"I believe I will be able to provide for both you and the baby, Jim."
"Oh shut up, rich boy."
Spock lifted an eyebrow.
Jim snickered and extracted himself from Spock's arms to stand up. "Okay, let's get going!"
Spock shook his head and followed his husband through the bright streets of San Francisco. More than once Spock had to keep his protective instincts in check whenever a stranger noticed Jim's bulging belly. Which occurred approximately every 4.6 minutes and Spock was close to simply carting Jim back to their house, but he knew Jim would not appreciate it in the least.
Finally, they decided to eat dinner at a small, Italian restaurant. The young waitress that led them to their table seemed rather fascinated by Jim and even pulled out the chair for him to sit in. Spock lifted an eyebrow as he watched the woman skip away towards the kitchen. "Humans are a rather curious species."
"Yeah, well, I thought you'd be used to them since you've been living with me for almost your entire life," Jim quipped. "Seriously, Spock, I think all women get excited when it comes to babies. Or at least... the majority of them."
"Indeed."
When their dinner arrived they ate in almost silence, fingers interwoven atop of the table as they twirled the noodles onto their forks with their free hands. By the time they left the restaurant it was 4.36 pm and Jim was yawning approximately every 7.9 minutes.
Spock wrapped his arm around Jim's waist, drawing him against his side as they made their way back towards their temporary home. The younger man sighed, leaning his cheek against Spock's shoulder. "You know, if you keep this job, we'll need a nursery in our current home too..."
"I am certain there is a room we do not need that we can use for this, Jim."
"Yeah," Jim muttered. "I want a green stroller."
Spock blinked. "May I inquire as to why?"
"Because green is a cool colour and blue is overrated."
"I see. And the fact that it is your preferred colour in socks has nothing to do with it."
"Maybe a little," Jim laughed, patting the swell of his stomach. "I'm serious, though. I want a green stroller."
"Yes, Jim," Spock sighed, reaching into his pocket to fish for the keys as they reached their home.
Jim slipped out of his shoes as soon as he had stumbled into the house, leaving them lying just by the door and Spock gave a long-suffering sigh as he gathered the discarded shoes up to set them aside. Upon stepping into the living-room, he found Jim curled up on the couch, exhaling an exhausted breath. "I'll take a nap, okay?"
"That is alright, Jim. Would the bed not be better suited for it?"
"Don't wanna stand up again," Jim grumbled, wrapping an arm around one of the large pillows decorating the sofa.
Shaking his head, Spock reached for the blanket lying folded on the armrest of the couch to spread it over Jim's body, tucking the younger man in and placing a delicate kiss onto Jim's cheek. Spock made his way to the suitcases and gathered them up to carry them upstairs. It took him 1.5 hours to stow the contents of the suitcases into their respective places and he was certain it would have taken longer, had Jim been awake. The younger man had become even more... distracting in the past days and not only during the daytime, where it might have been acceptable and did not disturb anyone's sleeping patterns; Spock had been woken more than once in the middle of the night because Jim's hormone-ridden body decided that it needed to have sex right now.
Sighing, Spock walked back down the stairs and into the open kitchen area. He remembered the uncomfortable comm. call to Leonard only too well. Was it truly that absurd to think he might hurt the unborn child during intercourse? Apparently it was absurd enough to elicit a bout of laughter from the Doctor strong enough to make Leonard's behind spontaneously disengage from the chair he had been sitting in, an incident that prompted Jim to burst out into childish giggling and made Spock blush a very un-Vulcan shade of apple green as soon as he realised that they were laughing at his expense.
Maybe he should not have phrased it like; I am afraid I might impale our child, should I refrain from having intercourse with Jim for the duration of his pregnancy?
Upon opening the large fridge, Spock felt his shoulders sag. Of course, they had yet to go food shopping. Resigning himself to his fate, he trudged back into the anteroom, grabbing his wallet and the keys on the way. Briefly, he wondered if he should leave a note for Jim, but he discarded the thought as soon as it had entered his head. Jim would sleep for a few hours and if not, he could contact him through the bond.
Spock started the car, frowning for a moment when it started to beep before he realised that his seatbelt was not buckled.
Food shopping on Earth was not at all different from food shopping on Vulcan. What was different however, were the curious looks he received wherever he went. Spock hurried himself, feeling unnerved without Jim's presence to balance the uncomfortable sensation of being stared at out. He rushed through the aisles, almost dropping a jar of pickles on his way to the cash desk.
As he paid his groceries, the young woman accepting his money surprised him by avoiding touching his fingers directly and wishing him a good day while smiling a bright, sympathetic smile.
With a grateful nod in her direction he gathered his bag of groceries up and staggered back out of the store towards his car. Putting the groceries onto the passenger seat, he fumbled with the car key for a second before the vehicle came to live with a low whirring sound.
Spock drove back home, admiring the city around him with the quiet fascination of a scientist inspecting a new specimen. Earth was a lot more colourful than Vulcan. The sky was bright blue, similar to the shade of Jim's eyes and streaks of powdery clouds dragged themselves across the firmament. The streets were littered with people in bright clothes and trees grew from small patches of grass along the sidewalk.
Finally, Spock arrived at the house, parking the car in front of the garage and getting out, the grocery bag cradled in the crook of his arm while he strut towards the front door.
Upon stepping into the house, he noticed that Jim was awake and talking in an odd, high-pitched voice that he usually used on I-Chaya. Confused, Spock slipped out of his shoes and walked into the living-room.
A small kitten was lying on the coffee table, purring as Jim stroked its belly. Its fur was mostly black, but the feet and stomach area were stark white, alongside the small patch of fur that covered the kitten's upper lip, similar to a lopsided moustache.
"Jim? Why is there a feline on our coffee table?"
"Oh, you're back!" Jim turned to look at him, grinning. "Isn't she cute? Our neighbour's breed cats and one of them had kittens a while ago. She brought her over to ask if we would like to have her."
Spock lifted an eyebrow, glancing at the kitten. It was clearly a Maine Coon, which, from what he knew, was a rather expensive breed of cat. "They simply decided to give you a purebred kitten for free? I find that very unlikely."
Jim lifted the kitten up and Spock finally realised that it was missing the left hind leg. "They can't sell her like that, as cruel as it sounds. They had been searching for a nice home for her for weeks now, but no one wanted to take care of a three-legged cat when they could have a four-legged one."
Spock nodded, setting the bag of groceries onto the coffee table to pet the kitten's head. She immediately began to purr, amber eyes slipping closed as she nuzzled her wet nose against Spock's palm. "Does she have a name?"
"Uhm... not yet, I wanted to call her something awesome," Jim said, frowning down at the cat. "But I can't think of anything that might fit her."
Spock tilted his head to the side. "I believe she will be able to wait for a while longer. It might be easier to decide on a name when you... have come to know her better."
"Yeah, you're right," Jim laughed. "So, where did you go anyway?"
"I noticed that the fridge is empty so I decided to buy food...," Spock began to empty the grocery bag and carried the items over to the fridge to put them away until further use. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah, like a baby," Jim answered, snickering. "You went food shopping? On your own? I hope you didn't forget or break anything."
"Jim, I may not be able to cook a meal without setting the kitchen on fire-," a loud snort from Jim met Spock's statement, "-but I am capable of buying groceries."
Jim shook his head, smiling as he held the kitten up to Spock's face before starting to speak in a squeaky voice. "Oh, I'm sorry, honey. Forgive me?"
"I will not speak to the cat, Jim."
Jim lifted the kitten higher, pushing her nose against Spock's cheek. "Please?"
"No."
Jim pouted. "At least give her a kiss."
"I will not kiss the cat, Jim. It is unhygienic."
"She's clean and got her vaccinations. I'm not asking you to make out with her, Spock. Just to give her a kiss, like, on the head or something," Jim whined, pouting and eyes wide.
Spock gave up. He pecked the kitten on the space between her large ears and raised an eyebrow at Jim. "Was this to your satisfaction, Jim?"
"Yep. Now give me a kiss."
He gave Jim a small kiss on his forehead, lips twitching with a suppressed smile at the annoyed look he received. "You did not specify the kind of kiss you wanted me to give you, Jim."
"Shut up and give me a proper kiss, Spock."
"As you wish, Jim."
Phew... and now as always...
On the next episode of Spock Hunters; Jim is still trying to think of a name for the little miss. Will he succeed? And... will he like his new doctor? Find out whenever I finish the next chapter :)
