Jim sat down in an overstuffed recliner and put his feet up. "I can say this much for Sabrina: she has awesome taste in furniture."
Spock sat on the sofa across from Jim. "You trust your attorney for her decorating skills?" He shook his head slowly.
Jim looked fondly at his mate. "So the hiding is over. Do you feel better, not having to lie?"
"Naturally," Spock responded. "However, I am still concerned that the frontal assault on this case will not be well received."
"I trust Sabrina, and I mean for more than her furniture. She sounds like she has a good head on her shoulders. She says she can keep Carol in Riverside; I believe her." Jim stretched.
They fell silent and waited. Spock began reading a magazine on the table and Jim closed his eyes. After fifteen minutes Sarek walked back out with Sabrina.
"Thank you so much, Ambassador Sarek. Your statement will be a big boost to the case. I'll call you when we've got a court date, Captain Kirk." She shut the door and the three men walked out.
"Wow. That was easy." Jim unlocked the car and they got in. He turned on the heater and maneuvered the car back toward home. "She's going to call Mom and get a hold of Carol. I wouldn't want to take that call."
"I am sure all will be well, James. The important thing is that you have very little to fear anymore." Sarek sounded surer than the other men and Jim looked back at him.
"You know something you're not telling," Jim accused gently.
"You will know soon enough," Sarek answered cryptically. The rest of the ride was silent. They got to the farm and parked behind Jim's mom's truck. They walked in the house quickly; it was a very cold day, even for March.
"James Tiberius," his mother began seriously. "Why is your attorney calling Carol?"
"She's going to get a hearing date ASAP," Jim told her. "We've dropped the cloak and dagger and we're going for broke. So Spock's staying here now. Father, do you wish to stay here as well?" Jim asked his in-law.
"No, child, I will stay at the hotel. Winona, if I may, I need to speak with you privately." Sarek gestured back to the living room.
"Oh. Okay. Jim, I was going to have sandwiches for lunch. Can you help make them?" She pointed at the kitchen cabinets, and then walked into the other room.
Jim shrugged and they washed their hands. Jim got the bread out and then hunted down the peanut butter. There were two different types of jelly and he got out both and began making the first sandwich for Spock.
"Hey Spock," Jim began. "What are your feelings on raising a kid? How do you feel about all of this?"
Spock stood beside the table and watched his husband at work. "I am both excited and nervous. I want to make a good impression on the young child, however I do not wish to become too attached and have him reject me at a later date."
"That's a risk you've just got to take, babe," Jim answered. "He might reject me just as easily. There are no guarantees."
"Will David have to be deposed as well?"
"Yeah. The most current law allows the child's testimony to come into play as to which parent he wants to be with." Jim smiled. "Maybe he'll be excited to have a father. Actually, he gets two fathers for the price of one," he joked. He pushed a surge of love through the bond and Spock turned and almost smiled at him. "You worry too much, love," Jim complained.
"And you do not worry a fraction of what you should," Spock responded gently. Jim handed him a sandwich and started in on the next one. "Why are you so calm about this?" Spock questioned his mate.
Jim smoothed on a layer of peanut butter on the bread and thought about the question for a moment. "Well, babe, it's like this. I've become accustomed to having the best and brightest around me. I ask, they deliver. I never have to wonder if they know what they're doing because they're the top of their field." He began putting raspberry jelly on the other slice of bread. "I trust that Sabrina is the top of her profession; otherwise the embassy wouldn't have recommended her. She'll do what I ask. Simple as that."
Spock tried to scoff at his husband's faith and found he couldn't. He walked to the edge of the kitchen and looked into the living room. His father was seated in one chair, Winona leaning in close to him. They both looked very intense. Almost on cue, Winona looked up at her son by marriage and smiled.
"Lunch ready?" she asked Spock.
Spock looked back in the kitchen and Jim shook his head. "Not at this time," he answered. She nodded and went back to her discussion with Sarek. Spock put his sandwich on a plate and sat down at the table. Jim reached over and put the next sandwich on another plate and turned around fully to face his husband.
"Not precisely how you saw this cruise ending, huh?"
Spock frowned for a moment. "Jim, when I first pictured this cruise ending, I saw myself coming back for a second cruise with the same crew I was assigned the first time. The same captain I was serving." His eyes warmed. "I did not anticipate marrying that captain, nor did I imagine being a part of a crew that would be like family to me." He reached out with two fingers and Jim completed the gesture. "I cannot say I am disappointed at anything that has happened."
The comm. station chimed and Jim reached over casually to answer it. "Hello?"
"Jimmy! God damn you!" The fury in her voice put ice water in Spock's veins. In the other room, Winona and Sarek got up quickly and came in the room. Jim was still gaping at the screen.
"Uh, what's wrong, Carol?"
"What's wrong?" She was seething. "Social Services just came to my hotel and took David. They said they believed I would attempt to flee the planet. Your lawyer was with them and now she wants to sit down and arrange custody for you. Well, Jimmy-boy, you can rot in hell for all I care, you're never seeing this boy again!"
Jim was a ghostly shade of white and his hands had started trembling out of camera range. "Carol, you and I need to talk, like adults. This is precisely the reaction I was expecting you to have. Why don't you get a lawyer and we'll all sit down and discuss this rationally?"
"Oh, I'll discuss this, all right. I'll make sure everyone knows exactly what kind of man wants to raise my little boy. They'll all know, Jimmy." But Carol's threat didn't seem to faze Jim that much.
"Carol, I don't want to play games with you, but your past isn't exactly pristine either. I'm only asking for joint custody. Would you prefer I ask for sole custody?" Jim's eyes gave a freezing azure stare.
She went silent for a moment, seemingly out of steam. "I am getting a lawyer."
"I expect nothing less," Jim answered seriously.
She cut the connection and Jim stepped backward involuntarily. Spock stood and pulled him into his arms.
"Shh, ashayam, be still. Be still. It is over. Take a deep breath." Spock held his husband tightly. Winona came around to one side and put her hand on Jim's shoulder. Sarek stood in the doorway.
"Oh, God, oh…." Jim took a quivery breath and buried his face in his mate's neck. "I didn't know they were going to take the kid!" he whimpered.
"I apologize, child," Sarek started. "I was aware of the lawyer's plan. I was not fully supportive of it; however I could see her logic in the situation. Either we forced the mother's hand and we received our day in court, or we continued to cave to her demands and all our lives would be forever shadowed." Sarek looked from Jim to Spock and back. "I saw no other solution."
Jim shook his head, which was still resting on Spock's shoulder. "It's okay, Father. I guess I understand. I've done shadier things in the 'Fleet. I'm sorry I'm so emotional. It must be embarrassing to you both," Jim finished. "I'm so sorry."
Spock pushed his partner back so he could look him in the eye. "T'hy'la, your emotions are a part of you. I cherish all of you. I am not precisely calm at the moment either. Father, what happens now?"
Sarek made a steeple with his fingers and looked over at Winona. "The lawyer will want to take your deposition, Winona. Then she will speak with James privately about his plans for the future." He looked to his sons. "Your and Spock's lives together will be scrutinized. There can be no indication of abuse or neglect on either of your parts."
"Vulcans don't abuse their spouses," Winona objected, and Sarek shook his head. "Right?" she added.
"I am only half-Vulcan," Spock pointed out. "An aberration such as that is entirely possible with me."
The comm. system chimed again and Jim waved a hand at it. "Someone else answer," he begged.
Winona picked up. "Hello?"
"Hello, Mrs. Kirk, this is Sabrina again." The lawyer took a breath and instantly regretted it.
"What right do you have, pulling that child away from his mother? Carol called over here and screamed at my son, and I don't entirely blame her! Couldn't you find another way?" Winona ran out of words.
Sabrina blinked at the older woman. "Mrs. Kirk, I haven't done a single thing I will regret later in court. The child is going to be seen by expert psychologists to determine his mindset about his father and what he has been told. He will have a supervised visit with his father and his father's husband. And then he will be returned home with the understanding that he will not be leaving the area until the hearing."
Winona exhaled. "Well I would have liked to have had warning. From someone," she added, glaring fiercely at Sarek. Sarek, for his part, retreated to the other room.
"I presume Ambassador Sarek is over there?" Sabrina nodded in answer to her own question. "It is fortunate that the child has two generations of parents caring for him."
"His name is David," Jim objected loudly. "Would you please refer to 'the child' as David?"
Sabrina lowered her eyes for a moment. "Of course, Captain Kirk, I apologize." She picked up a sheet of paper and put it in her briefcase. "I have to go see what the results are of the examination. I need Captain Kirk and Commander Spock to meet me at the courthouse."
Jim looked over at his husband, who inclined his head slightly. "Alright, we'll be there." Jim picked up a sandwich and thrust it as his mate. "Eat. You're not going on an empty stomach." He picked up the other sandwich and took a bite, wandering over to look out of the kitchen window.
"Thank you. Mrs. Kirk, I'll need to see you tomorrow in my office. Ambassador Sarek can give you the address." Sabrina reached for the comm. station. "Goodbye."
Jim ate his sandwich and got a glass of milk. He took a sip and handed it to his partner. "Here. You look like you need it more than I do."
Spock accepted the milk and finished his sandwich. Then they washed their hands and got their jackets. "Dad, try not to pull any more surprises on Mom for the rest of your trip here. She really doesn't appreciate them." They walked out the door and down to the aircar.
"Dad?" questioned Winona.
"Your son has a unique sense of humor. I told him he could call me Father. He has chosen to add 'Dad' to that as well." Sarek raised an eyebrow at Winona.
A/N: Alright, be prepared, because it gets kinda fluffy from here. There's still plenty of drama, believe me, but there's going to be enough fluff to cause minor cavities. You are warned.