I don't own 'em, don't get paid.

Farewells And New Beginnings

Jim walked back into Sarek's house. He motioned for Spock to join him out on the patio.

"That was Admiral Pike. We head to Starbase 7 in two days for a secret mission."

"Understood, Jim."

The two returned to the family room, where Jim and Bones bid the rest goodnight.

Spock and Nyota bid Sarek and T'Sela goodnight and went to their chamber. Nyota handed Spock the tube of shea butter after she put on her pajamas.

"Here, beloved, rub my belly and get your son to calm down for the night. He's been doing an Orion folk dance in there."

"Perhaps you should stop letting him listen to dance music with the headphones on your belly. It seems to inspire him."

"I haven't done that in days. I think he was responding to the pre tarmeeli that T'Sela made for dinner. He seems to like spicy food."

"A most illogical statement, as he received only component nutrients and calories through the placenta, not solid food."

"You think what you want to, Mr. Science Officer. I'll believe the evidence in my belly."

She lay on the bed and folded back her top, exposing her tummy for her husband, lover, and father of her child. Spock squeezed out a liberal handful of the cream and began to rub. Little feet began to kick at him.

"Azizi, your mother is tired and needs to rest. You need to be still now. Goodnight, my son."

The baby settled down, and so did Nyota. She was asleep in no time at all. Spock gave them both a goodnight kiss.

Bones had one more day to spend with T'Ameela. She was taking him on a picnic in a grove of trees down by the river. Though water was in limited supply on New Vulcan, it was still more abundant than on the original home world. Most fresh water there had come from underground streams. An above ground source was a novelty, so a small park had been built near the water's edge, and had become the favorite rendezvous for lovers.

Bones dressed in his best jeans and casual shirt. He wanted to look good for her as they enjoyed this last day together before saying goodbye.

Rhurin and T'Luris stood as witnesses, watching the Elder unite each of Rhurin's sisters with their bondmates. Then it was their turn to be joined together. A bright, shiny future awaited them. It was time to tell the old life goodbye.

Tarsel met Shirela for breakfast in the dining room at the Inn. He carefully reviewed the day's activities with her. They would get her a room in the women's dormitory, register her for classes, shop for appropriate clothing, and buy some basic food items for her to keep in her room. She would take most but not all of her meals in the school dining hall.

It was all new to Shirela. She had lived on Caldena all her life, never learned to read or write, eaten and worn what she was given, and done whatever she was told to do. She had never shopped in a store or even handled money. It was a lot to absorb in so short a time.

She tried to pay attention to Tarsel's words, but he was quite fascinating to look at. Shirela had never seen blue eyes before. The gray around his temples was quite attractive. If she was slow to learn all that he was to teach her, perhaps he would spend more time with her. All the other males she had known in her life were brutal and demanding, seeking only their own pleasure. Tarsel was patient and kind. She did not wish to say goodbye to him.

She was not at liberty to tell her whole story, but the little Shirela could relate to him made Tarsel's blood boil. She had been shamefully used. Tarsel hoped her captors would be made to suffer. He felt protective of this female, a dangerous state of mind, for Tarsel had been too long without a mate. He and his bondmate had escaped the Genocide, but she had died shortly afterward from injuries sustained in the attempt. Tarsel needed a wife and soon.

T'Vora had first spotted him that morning when T'Shilah took her to the Adult Education Building to register for classes. He was quite large and strong looking, probably a farmer, his marital status unknown. She tried not to stare, as it would not do to be too interested in some other female's husband. T'Vora put him out of her mind.

In the afternoon, T'Shilah let T'Vora familiarize herself with the seamstress' shop. T'Vora had never sewn by machine before, only by hand. It was all quite fascinating. She practiced stitching straight lines on scraps of fabric, totally absorbed in her task.

The bell attached to the shop door rang. T'Vora looked up to see the same large male from the registration line, with an armload of clothing. The pair of trousers on the top of the pile tumbled to the floor. In his effort to retrieve them, he dropped the rest of his burden.

"Hnaev!" (Crap!)

"You speak Romulan."

T'Vora left her sewing to help him pick up the dropped clothing. He nodded his thanks to her.

"Yes, I am Kensed, a recent immigrant from Tragan V, having fled Romulan oppression."

"Greetings, Kensed. I am T'Vora, an immigrant myself. I too have fled the Romulans. I believe that we have registered for the same Vulcan as a Second Language course."

"Yes, I remember you. Is your husband also taking the class?"

"I have no husband."

Kensed stood a little straighter when he heard this.

"I need to have these trousers altered. They are all too large in the waist by about two centimeters. The two pairs on the bottom also need repairs to the knees."

"Your wife does not sew?"

"I have no wife."

T'Vora stood a little straighter herself.

T'Shilah had been observing all of this with keen interest. She wrote up a work order for Kensed's mending and alterations.

"We should have these ready for you in two days."

"Thank you. I will see you in class, T'Vora. Live long and prosper."

"Peace and long life, Kensed."

The two women watched him leave, though T'Vora observed him with much more interest.

"Fascinating" was all T'Shilah said. Perhaps her niece would have no difficulty at all finding a husband. She did not dwell on this thought long, however, as Stren was coming for tea. Today she would accept his marriage proposal.

Spock had gone to the merchant's area to purchase them some luggage. Nyota sat with T'Sela, sorting through the many gifts that the people of New Shi'Kahr had brought for her unborn child. There were many duplicates, but all the items were beautiful, and many were handmade. However, her child could only wear so many clothes and they could only store so many toys. T'Sela was also expecting, so there were some things that she might need.

"T'Sela, make sure you go through these and take what you can use. Sarek said that he would take the rest to the Immigration Ministry Office in New Sura'Kahr."

"And so I shall, my daughter. Is there anything else I might help you with?"

Nyota thought for a moment.

"I never got my stories. You promised to tell me about Spock as a child. I have difficulty imagining him as a naughty little boy."

Sarek's eyes twinkled a bit.

"I would not say that he was particularly naughty. However, he did learn at a very young age that it is sometimes easier to ask for forgiveness rather than permission."

"For example...."

"For example, there was an incident when he was four years old. Amanda and I were entertaining the Terran and Andorian Ambassadors to the Federation and their families at our home on the Embassy grounds in San Francisco. We often did this, as they had children near Spock's age and they all got on well together."

"We had eaten an excellent lunch and the adults were relaxing. It was raining outside, so the children were playing in Spock's room. There were five of them; Spock, Hans, Shrelb, his sister Tireth, and T'Pela, our healer's daughter. They were watching a documentary on Native American warriors."

"They watched and played very quietly, so we all assumed there was no difficulty. The rain stopped, and Spock came and asked if they could play outside. The Embassy Campus was secure and well guarded, so I saw no reason not to allow them to do this unsupervised. We adults continued to chat for quite some time. Then Amanda and one of the Andorian mothers decided to check on the children."

"I heard hysterical laughter coming from our patio. Amanda came to the living room and motioned for us to follow. There were all five of the children, their faces covered in red lipstick and blue eyeliner. They had gotten into Amanda's makeup bag in their quest for war paint. Even with liberal amounts of cold cream and makeup remover, it took several days before all the evidence of their crime disappeared. Spock got quite a scolding for taking his mother's things without permission."

Nyota giggled.

"My Spock with makeup on!"

"Then there was our trip to Risa the following summer. Spock befriended Tiella, the daughter of a Risan diplomat. They often played on the beach outside our hotel suite. Spock was quite fascinated with the drum lizards, so much so that he captured one and kept it in the water shower in the bathroom. He forgot that Amanda preferred water showers, as he and I usually took sonic ones."

"Amanda did not see the beast, as they have the ability to change color to match their surroundings. She turned on the water and her music player to a loud rock song. Drum lizards have that name because they will tap their feet in imitation of a simple rhythm. The animal could not resist the beat, and came out of the corner where it had been hiding. Amanda accidentally stepped on its tail and it lunged at her. She screamed and I had to remove the creature and return it to the beach."

"A few days later, Tiella's parents invited us to dine with them. It was our last night on Risa before returning home to Vulcan. Tiella had a pair of pet pouch rats who had recently had a litter of young. She gave one to Spock as a parting gift. He sneaked it back to his room in a pocket and then placed it into a box with holes. He then hid it in the top of his carry-on luggage, leaving the bag open just a bit so the creature could breathe."

"When we reached home, Amanda unpacked Spock's bag before he could get to it himself. The pouch rat had chewed through the box and all of Spock's clothes. It jumped out at Amanda and they both started shrieking. It took me quite some time to capture the animal. It spent the night in a tall wastebasket until I could purchase a cage the next morning. Spock got quite a severe reprimand, both for not asking permission and for endangering the creature's life. His excuse for his actions was that he thought permission might be denied him, but Tiella would be offended if he refused her farewell gift. It was actually logical reasoning for a five-year-old."

"You allowed him to keep the pouch rat?"

"By accepting it, Spock had assumed responsibility for the creature's life. It was a good learning experience for him."

Nyota laughed and rubbed her belly.

"I'm in for it, aren't I, Father?"

"Most likely, my daughter. You are both intelligent and gifted young people. Your child could not be otherwise."

T'Mardis had packed them a lovely picnic lunch, complete with wine and cheese. Bones and T'Ameela walked by the river, not saying much, just enjoying each other's company. T'Ameela grabbed his hand and pulled him behind the trees planted along the bank. They embraced and kissed, Human kisses, unaware that they were being watched until they heard the splash.

TBC