"It has happened at least twice a day, every day, since our arrival."
Spock's t'dahsu did not speak again right away. The elderly half-Vulcan was not frowning, but it was unusual for him to remain quiet for quite so long when Spock looked to him for direction. Surely he was not embarrassed by the topic?
"Like you, study of the sciences has made up the bulk of my life's work, but I am neither a psychologist nor a medical doctor," the ambassador told his young counterpart eventually. "Why haven't you approached Jabilo with this question?"
"While I appreciate Doctor M'Benga's assistance in our attempt to discover the reason my daughters are not one quarter Vulcan, this is a matter I would not prefer to discuss with someone I only met nine days ago. Moreover, I am not sure I wish for a man who has admitted to requiring Leonard McCoy's intervention in order to avoid punishment can offer the kind of discretion the situation demands," he confessed. "Unless there is a medical reason not to do so, perhaps it something best kept among the family."
"Jabilo M'Benga may have 'sewn his wild oats' during his time in medical school, but I can assure you that he is now a trustworthy and discreet medical professional. You have already put a great deal of trust in his work. However, if you think that he might, in the course of his research, seek assistance from sources you would rather not have privy to your current state, then perhaps it is something you should discuss with our father," Ambassador Spock suggested, in what Commander Spock saw as an uncharacteristic attempt to distance himself.
"You once to me that it would be permissible for me to seek your insight about matters which pertained to my personal development," he pointed out. "I very much prefer speaking with you about this than with Sarek. It is much like, in a manner of speaking, speaking to myself, but with the added benefit of your advanced years and superior knowledge of hybrid behavior."
The elder Spock did not bother suppressing the urge to release a slow, highly audible breath. His young counterpart could not discern whether it was a sigh of frustration or one of resignation. Perhaps there was something of both behind the display of emotion?
"Spock," the ambassador began, forced patience straining his voice. Ah, he was both frustrated and resigned, then. "When I agreed to that, surely you understood that I offered another view of experiences we might one day have in common? As I never sired children with Lieutenant Uhura — or with any woman — I have no personal insight to offer in this case."
Spock would not be dissuaded from his search for answers. He was certain his t'dahsu had already formed a theory. It was simply a matter of convincing him to share it.
"And yet, you have had considerably more decades than I have had to contemplate the repercussions of your formerly singular nature. I would assume that your study of yourself has increased your understanding of our biological peculiarities, as well as the emotional and psychological."
He knew he had secured the older half-Vulcan's cooperation when his companion's right eyebrow shot up.
"I would not call our personal deviations from either the Vulcan, or the human, norm 'peculiarities,'" Spock protested. "We are what we are, singular, as you said. However, it should not go unacknowledged that there are many human men who are physically attracted to pregnant women."
Spock cocked his head curiously. "That was not an attraction I experienced personally before Nyota's pregnancy," he said. "Was it something you experienced in your past?"
For a moment too fleeting for him to accurately calculate its length he wondered if he had stepped over the line. While it was true that his t'dahsu was vastly more open than most other Vulcans who followed the path of Surak, and that this Spock was even more willing to share with him, the younger hyrbid knew there had to a be a limit to this. They were essentially the same person, yes; however, they were also two separate beings.
"No," the ambassador admitted after the moment had passed. "I did not. While I could appreciate the beauty of impending motherhood in females across many species, I was never before physically attracted to any of those females because of their conditions."
Spock did not miss the "never before" in the other's statement. Much like his t'dahsu, when the two were alone together he allowed himself to be more expressive than was his wont in the company of the general population. He tensed slightly.
Clearly, Ambassador Spock had noticed him noticing. "And while I have experienced some level of attraction since your arrival," he was careful to point out, "it is hardly more than I felt upon first encountering the Nyota Uhura of this universe. It is nothing like what you have described."
The younger man relaxed and the elder grinned suddenly, adding, "Although it has been potent enough for Astra to have made known her delight that your visit coincides with hers."
Both the reminder of Astra Boipuso's presence on the colony, and his counterpart's suggestive smile flushed the last traces of burgeoning jealousy from Spock's system. He refocused on the task at hand and on his t'dahsu's continuing explanation.
"If I were to form a hypothesis about the matter, I would surmise that your current proclivity for engaging in marital relations with Nyota is a symptom of the solidification of your marriage bond, brought on by the family bond which grows ta pace with your daughters' neurological development," the ambassador suggested. "It is possible that because you and Nyota are expecting two children at one time, the effect is heightened, if not doubled or even increased exponentially."
Spock only just managed to stop himself from showing an outward display of the relief that coursed through him. Even so, his counterpart's next words told him that the other was aware of the burden that had been lifted from his mind.
"Have you experienced a Pon farr yet?" Ambassador Spock asked bluntly.
The younger of the two sucked in a breath and wondered if he had been imprudent in seeking the advice of his other self. After thirty two point five seven seconds of internal debate, he determined that he had not. The older half-Vulcan would not broach such a taboo topic if he did not believe that it was relevant to their conversation.
"No," Spock said, just as bluntly. "I have not."
The elder Spock nodded. "Am I correct in thinking that you feared that your increased desire might be an indication of your approaching Time?"
"Fear is illo— ," the younger started to say. But quarreling over semantics would not work with one who was essentially the same person. This other Spock was probably even more practiced at the tactic that he was himself. "Yes. I did not know if my human heritage would alter the manner in which the symptoms might present themselves."
The ambassador offered another of the smiles Spock was still having some difficulty becoming accustomed to seeing on a face so like his own.
"My own first Time came late — most likely because I am half human," he said, "but I assure you, it was very Vulcan in nature. You might likewise expect yours to be delayed. However, I think that if yours does present differently from mine, it shall be because you have something that I did not. The love of Nyota Uhura provided a palliative effect that made some of my later experiences of the Time more bearable than the first."
"I see," Spock responded with a quick nod of his head.
"Do you?" Ambassador Spock bent a considering look upon him. After a moment, apparently satisfied with what he saw, he nodded as well.
The commander was not sure what to do now that he had gotten the answers he had been looking for, but he was reluctant to leave his companion's presence. The elder continued to watch him quietly for three point eight minutes. Spock decided it was time to go.
"Thank you— ."
"Spock— ."
The two half-humans spoke at once.
Gesturing with a flattened palm, the younger invited the elder to speak first.
"Has Nyota offered any protest to your increased… activities?"
"No," he said. "On the contrary, she has been most enthusiastic in her participation."
And, immediately, he regretted — logic be damned — having spoken without thought.
The older half-Vulcan smiled wickedly (there really was not a more appropriate word) again.
"In that case, I suggest you carry on until she indicates that it has become a problem for her to endure your attentions," the ambassador advised. "You may as well reap the benefits while you can.
"And allow me to do the same with Ms. Boipuso," he added even more wickedly. (Really, there was no other word for it.)
Spock found himself unexpectedly smiling back at the ambassador. He said what he had wanted to say when his t'dahsu had first referred to his relationship with Astra Boipuso.
"That is what I believe humans would call 'too much information,'" he said.
Spock had wanted them to meet with the Vulcan specialist alone, but Nyota had been insistent. He'd conceded that McCoy's presence would be beneficial — after all, part of the tale was the ship's doctor's to tell — but had wanted convincing that his father needed to be there.
"I'm the one who's pregnant, so I think it's only logical that I have a say in what happens to my body," she'd declared. He'd known better than to engage in an extensive argument with her once her soft lips compressed into a firm line and determination turned her beautiful eyes into a challenge less prudent men thought they could meet. "I want all available information within reach, Spock. I don't want to wait for answers to any questions that might come up."
Surprisingly, Sarek had agreed to come without protest. Spock had expected Vulcan reserve to make his father less than willing to participate in this consultation, but the ambassador had simply confirmed the logic of Nyota's request.
"Your bondmate continues to prove her intelligence and capacity for reason, sa-fu," had been his exact words. "I find knowing that my grandchildren will have such a woman for a mother to be an agreeable thing."
Now, the three of them sat across a rectangular table from the two physicians in a windowless white room.
"Dim lights," McCoy ordered, and M'Benga swiveled in his chair to face the viewscreen embedded in the wall behind them.
"As you can see," he told them, aiming a laser pointer towards a line of data on the screen, "our tests show that Spock has been producing spermatozoa that carry only Vulcan genes. It would appear, then, that Doctor McCoy's initial hypothesis — that we are dealing with a form of hemiclonal reproduction, or hybridogenesis — is correct."
"Hybridogenesis, as we know it, has been confined to female hybrids. What usually happens with hybridgenetic organisms is that during the first meiosis of oögenesis, only the maternal genetic material is transferred to an oocyte. The paternal genome is disposed of entirely," Leonard explained further. "The fact that so many hybrid males of the lower orders are sterile probably explains why we haven't observed a similar phenomenon in spermatogenesis. We need to find out if this total reversal is due to Spock's masculinity, or if there is some other reason why the paternal DNA got preserved in his case.
"But since this isn't something we've seen in mammalian species at all before, we really can't expect to be held to the usual rules. The biggest mysteries we need to deal with are gonna be, is Mister Spock, pardon my Southern, really actin' like a girl? And if he is, why? And if he isn't, what the hell is going on here?"
Internally, Spock flinched at the implied insult, but recognized that his friend was attempting to "lighten the mood." As Leonard's choice of phrases, and the resulting amusement among the rooms' human occupants, had most likely intended been to benefit Nyota's emotional well-being, he opted to refrain from pointing out that it was unnecessary for the doctor to try to "break it gently" to either Sarek or himself.
"So, what does this mean?" Nyota asked. "Why is Spock acting like a girl? If he is, I mean."
Spock flinched externally. Once they returned to their sunlit sleeping chamber in his father's home, he would be sure to show her exactly how male he was capable of acting for a third time today.
Leonard glanced at M'Benga before looking her in the eye. "We don't know yet, doll," he said. "But we'll keep checking out his boys until we find out."
"It was the 'acting like a girl' comment, wasn't it?" Uhura smiled lazily at the setting sun, visible through the balcony doors and reached back to run a finger down her husband's naked thigh. "I didn't mean it the way it sounded, you know. Or you would have known if you didn't insist on shielding yourself before we went into the conference room."
Spock's hands came to rest on her protruding belly. He nuzzled the spot just behind the top of her ear, and she trembled with combined carnal pleasure and affectionate warmth. Damn it, he knew what that spot did to her!
"I did not wish for you to share unnecessarily in any anxiety I might have experienced due to the doctors' revelations." He pulled her infinitesimally closer to him on the vast bed.
She stopped stroking his thigh and grabbed his left hand in hers. "Spock, it's my duty to help your shoulder the burden of messy things like anxiety," she said gently, and brought his fingers to her lips.
"Not while you carry our children in your body, beloved," he contested. "I do not wish to cause our daughters any distress."
"You're so good to us, k'diwa."
Awash in contentment and afterglow, Spock was contemplating a fourth manhood-proving session when the door to their sleeping chamber chimed. He stifled a groan of frustration and quickly pulled up the crisp grey sheets when Nyota inexplicably called, "Come."
The door swung open and a tall figure hurried into the room.
"Dada! Kaka!" Upenda cried out. She rushed over to sit on her sister's side of the bed and placed a hand on Nyota's giant belly. "I see didn't get here too late!"
Spock did not try to stop this sigh of frustration.
A/N: The title of this chapter comes from the Anaïs Nin quote: "The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery." But, you can expect this particular mystery to get solved within the next three chapters. Thanks for sticking with this.
Oh and, if this chapter seems a little Spock POV-heavy, that's because I don't think I've really used it at all before in this fic — it's been all about Uhura and Bones. Making up for lost time, and all that.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything Star Trek.
