Leonard took a shower first before the children had awaken while singing to himself. He prepared breakfast for the children, as well, timing it to the minute of when they would come down the stairs. It wasn't long until he heard the children racing down the stairs sounding almost like a stampede. Familiar sounds that he heard on away missions. And it wasn't terrifying for the doctor to recall as when it normally happened, he was sitting alongside Jim clear away safely taking in the scenery together. The children speeded to the chairs bumping into each other in the dining room. They scooted into their chairs to see their breakfast. A leaf was floating in the center of the soup like content in the bowl.

"What is this?" Saavik asked, raising an eyebrow. Her brown eyes bore back curiosity toward the older man. Leonard was cutting his pancake with a knife. There was two pieces of yellow, square butter on the center. He poured over steaming, hot blueberry syrup. The doctor looked back up toward the young girl lowering the syrup container onto the table.

"Plomeek soup," Leonard said. "very nutritious."

"I am confused," Saavik said. "why not introduce it to me earlier?"

"Because I hadn't thought of doin' it then," Leonard said. David cut away at his eggs. "and besides, if nothin' else . . ." he paused glancing over toward David then back toward Saavik. "this might be your new normal. Random plomeek soup, for everyone, don't worry. . . David will get his own servin' tonight," The doctor smiled back. "besides, I have somethin' to tell ya about this house. The actual truth. Sweetie."

Saavik looked over toward David then toward the doctor as though she knew something.

"Asides to your last name?" Saavik asked. David chewed the pieces of egg.

"Asides to that," Leonard said. "it's partially the reason why I choose Vulcan over Earth."

"Hmm," Saavik said. "here I thought you wanted to do a part in helping Vulcans get off the brink of extinction."

Leonard nodded.

"That too," Leonard said. "Vulcans need all the help they can get. . . and do ya need to be guided to the VLC?"

"I believe not," Saavik said, checking in for the GPS. The path to the VLC was highlighted in a shade of white. "the child bikes that you acquired for us have the GPS directions keyed in."

"Good, good, good," Leonard said, with a nod. "Is the old VCC in it?"

"The. . . VCC?" Saavik asked.

"Vulcan. Central. Command." Leonard repeated.

"Vulcans has a command central?" Saavik repeated.

"It did. . . when I was Davids age," Leonard said. "they got a new one. It's not on Vulcan, it's on one of the lunar colonies. Larger population there. . ." he took a stab at his pancake. "I take it that you are not goin' the Surak route."

"It's the T'Pau route," Saavik said.

"As in S'Chn T'Gai T'Pau?" Leonard asked. Saavik shrugged. ". . . figures, she was a good prime minister."

"Will you tend to work today at the hospital?" Saavik asked.

"Nah," Leonard said. "I got some work to do in the house. I start work officially tomorrow. Y'all on the other hand. . ." he smiled widely while he had one hand cupping the side of his cheek looking at the two children.

Saavik and David ignored him continuing to eat breakfast. He lowered his hand then resumed finishing his plate. Surely David couldn't hear the drums, plausibly. Not anymore. This won't scar the children as it had for him. The doctor was eased and relaxed. If he wanted them to grow up right then he had to attempt at it. He couldn't face his demons. It was disappointing. Much disappointing as not being able to go through with the second year of the five year mission. Scotty had passed promotion to captaincy. Hikaru accepted it without much argument. Leonard was sure that the Enterprise was going to finish what her first captain had started. Exploring deep space. Leonard's padd beeped as he washed his dish. He placed the dish to the side picking it up while at the kitchen.

DR. MCCOY:

THERE IS A PLANETARY EVACUATION ON EARTH. PLEASE CALL YOUR FAMILY. DOOMSDAY MACHINE. PLANET DESTROYER. GOOD LUCK. WILL BE THERE WITHIN THREE DAYS. STAR FLEET HAS BEGAN THE EVACUATIONS. VULCAN HAS BEEN THEORIZED NOT TO BE DESTROYED BY THE DOOMSDAY MACHINE. BE SAFE.

ADMIRAL PIKE.

Leonard stood there, feeling as though he were standing in a video game. In a bad nightmare that had gotten worse. He had stepped aside letting the children wash their plates. He looked back at what family were on Earth. Jocelyn and Joanna were somewhere else not on Earth. They would need several starships to perform planetary evacuations. This had to be a joke. He looked up at the email address to see CHRISPIKE . Massive starbases-They had just finished construction of a starbase called Starbase Kirk in his husbands honor. It couldn't be real. It just couldn't be. He rubbed his forehead. Someone obviously hacked into admirals emails and sent this out.

It was a false alarm, it had to be that.

The doctor looked into his email to see spam and some legitimate, real emails.

Hikaru complaining about the new doctor who clearly was out to build a rift between them and the crew. The man was half tempted to lose the new CMO and promote the existing doctor, Geoffrey M'Benga, to head of Sick Bay. Everyone liked the man and got along. Didn't help that the current CMO was a Romulan defector working among them. The CMO didn't even trust the crew they were serving with. A new one appeared in his inbox from Nyota. Leonard smiled seeing the reply worded elegantly as her skill in linguistics regarding the very same email that he got from Pike except she assured him that the issue was being dealt with and not to worry. She also wished him good luck with the house. He replied, "good luck with the CMO." with a smiley face at the bottom. The children returned upstairs in their long sleeved pajamas. He put the padd back onto the table with it on his lock screen. A picture of Kirk smiling back at the camera in his green wrap around tunic per 2263 just before the fatal fly by.

He heard the doorbell ring.

"Huh?" Leonard said. "Who would want to visit this early?"

The doctor came toward the door then opened.

"Greetings," T'Hal said. "I heard from the nearby realtor. . ." she looked at him, oddly, as though recognizing him. "that you purchased the home."

"I did," Leonard said.

"I knew the child of the house," T'Hal said. "Poor boy. I was one of the last to see him."

"That's a shame," Leonard said.

"Did you find the game?" T'Hal asked.

"Game? What game?" Leonard asked, as the older Vulcan eyed at him.

"You know what I am talking about," T'Hal said. "And if they want to be found. The game will make sure they are found. The game has a mind of their own. Crash landed on Vulcan a hundred years ago. Outside our yard. . ." she looked back, sadly, at the memory. "I played it once. I wish to never play it again. I understand why you don't want to continue it. But for the sake of your family, and your friend, continue the game."

"If I were playin' with it," Leonard said. "how would ya even know I was?"

"Given the chain of events, you being the only human stationed here willingly, and living in the household of the s'chn t'gai . . ." T'Hal briefly paused, carefully considering what to say next. "My sister was once in your position," she started to turn away only for the man to reach out grabbing the woman's shoulder. She turned toward the man with a raised, thick eyebrow back at the man. "yes?"

"Will I have to experience if it someone plays it?" Leonard asked. "Not bein' part of the game?"

"You can only offer support and survive them," T'Hal said, as the man's grip slackened. "just as I am doing now."

Leonard let go of the woman's shoulder.

"How did y'all live after all that?" Leonard asked.

"Counseling," T'Hal said. "and lots of it."

"Does it get easier to sleep at night?" Leonard asked.

"Yes," T'Hal said. "but I still do not trust board games because of it." the woman turned away going over to her motorcycle. Leonard followed after her only coming to a stop at the end of the path near the garage. "And. . . no matter how hard you try, you will never move on until the game has been completed," She put on her helmet then got onto the dark gray motorcycle scripted with Vulcan text in bright blue. "take it from a experienced player."

She turned on the large, sleeker version of the kiddie bike then speeded away leaving a trail of dust behind. Leonard walked over to the stairs and waited for the children. If it were a board game then logically would it mean that it was expandable to be played by more than two players? The thought of using his adopted children to save the lives of countless Vulcans in exchange that he lost them. He rubbed both sides of his temples feeling a headache coming on. The needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few. Their needs outweighed a entire species for all that he was concerned. His father. . . his mother. . . Sarek. . . Amanda. . . Didn't they deserve a chance to be alive?

As Sarek would say, "kaiidth".

What is, is.

The game terrified him even while being forty years old.

It left a distinctive mark on him for sure. Playing a game did not cause such disturbance like that. Besides, when he played it, he was a child. Perhaps he was over-exaggerating it? Perhaps Spock hadn't been sucked into a game because it was his fault. Perhaps he really had been murdered by Richard for reasons that were unclear. If he wanted to clean up the mess that he had became. . . No, he shouldn't. He would take that step when he best felt . . . It would never happen if he did it that way. If he wanted to bring back David's father, and his own in the process, then he had to tell them after school. He would do it after telling the children the truth. Tonight. Leonard went outside then towed the kiddie bikes out. He parked them in front of the larger motorcycle.

It was painted a dark shade of blue with the medical symbol on both sides at the back.

"Mnih," Saavik said, Leonard jumped turning toward the young girl's direction. "I found another room to the house. A little girl used to live here."

"It's. . ." Leonard stopped. "Ya might learn about her on your first day in the Vulcan Learnin' Center."

"I look forward to learning about her," Saavik said.

David boarded on to his motorcycle in standard Vulcan Learning Center uniform.

"Get on the kiddie bike, y'all," Leonard said. Leonard noticed the VLC uniform almost seemed like a dress on the human child. The new uniform was white. Both of the children were in it. The doctor half wondered to himself how he didn't pay attention to the uniform while going about acquiring them in ShiKahr. ShiKahr was lucky that there were designers still around. The material replicator, however, came in handy for making shoulder bags which Leonard made himself. The shoulder bags were strapped over the children's shoulder. Leonard looked at the two proudly. "I made sure to turn it on."

"You think ahead of yourself," Saavik said.

"If I didn't, y'all would get lost," Leonard said. Saavik put on her helmet. "now what do ya say if Vulcans insult ya?"

"I would say nothing," Saavik said. Leonard nodded in return.

"Ignore them," Leonard said. "at this rate, they can't afford to have children not get alon'. Ya lucky that I have not arranged a arranged marriage," Saavik tilted her head raising her eyebrow clicking the strap under chin. "Yes, they still do that."

"We shall see you after school," Saavik said.

David nodded back.

"Now go," Leonard said. "don't want y'all to be late for school. I love y'all!"

The two speeded down the hill at a reasonable speed of rate making a turn curved right turn then made their way toward ShiKahr. Leonard sped back into the house where he grabbed a shovel. He took his short sleeve shirt off placing it onto the chair leading to the porch. He went outside with the shovel in hand then determinedly dug the the hole. The shovel collided against a hard, tough surface. The Doctor took the board out of the dirt, grunting, dripping sweat. He can feel his sweat going down his skin. He wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead. While also telling himself, don't be afraid, don't be afraid, don't be afraid, you can hide it from them until tonight. Not like the game is going to make them play it without my attendance. He hid the box under the bed in his bedroom then returned downstairs where he came over to the material replicator.

He had a lot of work to do to put the house back into it's proud glory.