Meeting

Spock spilled some of the substrate he was handling. He couldn't concentrate and concentration was critical. After months of work he'd conquered each challenge in sequence - gamete retrieval, gamete storage, non-destructive DNA assessment and in vitro fertilization. 130 transfers; 130 failures. He'd have to keep at it; getting back to Uhura required it.

The thought of her reprogrammed his attention; his receptors told him she needed him. At first he ignored it, although it lasted for hours. With time the call and the tension around it increased, making his neck itch. Still he continued, sure that his fastest path back to her permanently lay in solving the problems the little dishes in front of him presented.

Then she screamed his name.

Spock sprinted out of his home, past his confused Vulcan "wife" and over to Spock Prime's habitat. He messaged his older self in route and a shuttle awaited him. Barely sending a thank you, Spock took off, following her signal back home.

Fortunately for Spock, the Enterprise was aimed right at him.

It started with restlessness.

Kirk felt her tossing and turning. She struggled to get comfortable notwithstanding all of the recent experimental modifications Scotty and Pavel had made to her bed. Spock's bed. Their former bed. Jim had taken to sitting with her as her due date approached, to calm her and to check the baby. The baby always reacted to his touch. He stroked her distended abdomen with a light finger just to check, to make sure they were both ok; they were well beyond his need to ask permission He wasn't sure what he would do if his touch did not elicit a response - other than carry her to Sick Bay while he screamed his head off for McCoy. Thankfully it hadn't happened. Baby Uhura was a happy, active fetus who wore his mother out daily.

After an hour of tossing, Kirk convinced her to turn so he could rub her back. Sulu had given her a cream, used in Japan, made from soybeans and eucalyptus leaves. Kirk hesitated to use the homemade-looking stuff but it proved its worth by unknotting strained muscles and relaxing raging hormones. She always liked to talk during a back rub, mostly of growing up in Africa. Had he asked, she would have told him that the stories were for him; her gift for his attentiveness and care during her pregnancy. Jim had few stories he wanted to relive or to share. So she gave him hers, painted in the colors of the desert and the savannah. He sat on the bed, leaning back against the head board with his eyes closed while she talked - always checking the baby's status with a finger - rubbing the creme slowly and lovingly onto her soft skin. He'd fallen asleep there in that position more than once, completely forgetting to go to the couch or his own quarters. And she felt comfortable sleeping there beside him. So did baby Uhura.

Tonight, though, the cream nor the change of positions worked. He'd suggested calling McCoy but she wasn't due for almost a month based on her conception date. They argued, as much as Kirk would let her, until he gave in to her idea of taking a shower. If she felt better he agreed to back off, if she didn't she agreed to visit McCoy. She reminded him to eat and directed him with a pointing finger to the meal she'd left for him in the kitchen. Fighting his own desire to be within sight distance, he followed her orders. He'd finished the vegetables first - a habit she insisted he cultivate - when she yelled for him; her water broke in the shower.

Kirk was in the shower on the bounce holding up a huge towel to protect her modesty. Encircling her in his arms, he carried her to the bed and gingerly handed her the gown she would give birth in. While she dressed, he called McCoy from the living area and updated him. McCoy would meet them in Sick Bay.

The pain hit her hard within 2 hours. McCoy had never seen anything like it. Kirk tried everything to relax her but there was just too much pain. McCoy's concern was medical; these massive contractions that could be seen from outside her body were not turning the baby. Baby Uhura remained a breach and McCoy did not want to have to open her up. Until the baby turned, McCoy could not risk slowing her labor with pain meds.

Leaving Kirk to ride out the contractions and pain waves with her, McCoy rounded the med table and put an emergency call through to M'Benga. Half asleep, M'Benga answered almost immediately.

"What's going on Leonard?"

"Uhura's in labor, about 5 hours in, and I've never seen contractions like these. She's having trouble staying with them. Jim says they came on hard and fast after her water broke."

"Jim Kirk? If he's the father, why are you calling me?"

"Spock's the father." McCoy said curtly.

"Tell him to get a telepathic block in to help her handle the pain -"

"He's not here."

"Get him there fast. You need a telepath with her ASAP. Vulcan fetuses' need to be told to move to the birth canal. Without that guidance, they won't budge and she'll hemorrhage."

"What about an emergency c-section? I can start now"

"How much Vulcan blood do you have onboard? She'll need at least 10-15 pints. A Vulcan fetus has triple the blood demands of a human fetus in utero. Her blood type alone won't work for a transfusion - the baby will bleed out before you can get it out. Get Spock now! He's the only one with a bond to both of them strong enough to convince that baby to enter the canal. What stage is she in?"

"Almost to transition." McCoy answered while he sent a coded message to Sulu to find Spock.

"Hurry, Leonard. You have about 2 hours. Get Spock. I'll standby. M'Benga out".

Sulu's response flashed across McCoy's PADD. With no hesitation McCoy declared a medical emergency and rerouted the Enterprise to New Vulcan at maximum warp. He ran back into Sick Bay before the ackowledgement came back.

"Jim, she needs a telepath. Vulcan babies need to be told to move into the birth canal." Jim could barely concentrate for the contortions and pain Uhura suffered. He released her hand long enough to slap the wall communicator, 'Sulu! -" McCoy stopped him.

"It's done Jim. I need your help. Both of you" Jim doubted Uhura could do any more than ride the pain but she surprised him by nodding between contractions.

"You and Kirk have a familial bond. Uhura, can you focus for Kirk if he talks to your baby? Tells him to go down and not sideways? I know I'm asking a lot. Can you do that for me until we get to New Vulcan? I promise we're going to come out of this with a healthy baby."

She nodded again, gasping through that last contraction.

"Jim, get on the med-bed behind her. Lay her on your chest"

Kirk tenderly sat her up to make room and jumped behind her.

"Take your shirt off and open the back of her gown. You need skin contact." Once situated he gently lowered her backwards, helping her scoot towards him. They were quickly in contact.

"Now just talk to him. Tell him that out is down." McCoy coached.

Jim Kirk had never obssessed so much on a single thought in his life. Hey buddy, remember me? Down. Turn for me. Down. He felt his connection to Uhura and kept thinking for all he was worth. It almost worked, Over 2 hours the baby turned 75% of the distance needed; then Uhura hit transition.

The pain knocked their link out; she couldn't concentrate so he could't broadcast.

Acting Captain Sulu handled Spock's request to dock. Suppressing the urge to let him land then depressurize the shuttle hangar while he was in it, he gave Spock clearance to land and passed on instructions to proceed directly to Sick Bay. McCoy, knowing Sulu's discretion, had given him enough information to act independently. Sulu had done so in spite of his earnest desire to have a "discussion" with Spock. A discussion involving rapiers.

Spock slammed the shuttle down and shot out the door before it opened fully, hitting his head and cutting in a decent sized laceration which bled. Blood in his eyes didn't slow him one step; this close to her, her pain ran down his spine like a lightening strike. Still unaware of the cause of her distress, he rounded the corner to Sick Bay at top speed and came to a stop behind McCoy.

K'diwa you called me...

Spock, please; please help me with this pain!

Spock slammed a block in and the results were immediate; she sagged back against Jim Kirk, soaking him with her perspiration. Kirk used his discarded shirt to wipe her face, neck and shoulders. McCoy took the lull to fill Spock in.

"Spock. You need to establish a link with the baby. Tell him how to get to the birth canal. Come on, man - get to it!"

Spock's mind was confused. "The baby is Vulcan?"

Kirk's patience wore out.

He wasn't happy to see Spock. Not now. Not after all those months of paying dues. The alternative, however, could not happen; Kirk needed Uhura and the infant alive. And he knew that the bond between Uhura and Spock was beyond his ability to overcome. Kirk would always be there for her, but he knew - right then and there - she would always be Spock's.

"Yes!" Kirk shouted at him. "Get that boy out of there, Spock!"

Spock pushed McCoy aside to take a position between Uhura's legs. Something primal resented Kirk's bare-chested presence but time did not permit a fist fight. Placing his hands on her swollen abdomen he immediately joined her in instructing their baby on which way was down. The pain block provided her the relief needed to coax their son out of her body. After hours of crises it took only 35 minutes to deliver a healthy, 9.8 lb. baby boy.

Zeroed in on coaching his son through delivery, Spock did not notice whose hands she reached for as she pushed with the final contractions nor was he aware of the other voice in her mind during these moments, encouraging her to ignore muscles used past the point of fatigue:

I'm here, sweetheart. Just a little more work. This is what we've been waiting for. You can do this! Let's have this baby.