The Kids Have Their Say
150 Greenleaf Street, San Francisco, 2273.313, 1530 hours. They'd debated the pros and cons of remaining aboard the Enterprise endlessly over the last eight days and never could reach a consensus—therefore they decided to go the democratic route and ask the children for their input.
"Kids!" Nyota called from the base of the stairs. "Could you please come down here for a minute? There's something important your sa-mekh and I want to talk to you about!"
Se'tak could be heard first, barreling out of his room and down the stairs like a herd of wild elephants, with Selas close behind. T'Alora very demurely entered the room after her brothers and they all sat on the sofa, separated from her and Spock by the coffee table. She could feel her sons' excitement while her daughter was simply curious…and, if truth be told, a little apprehensive.
Spock leaned forward in his seat, steepling his fingers together before him before opening the discussion. "As you have no doubt learned by now Mr. Chekov has chosen to remain on Earth and will not be returning to the Enterprise when we re-launch on February 1st. His decision has caused your mother and I to reevaluate our positions on board the ship and we are now considering whether or not to ask Starfleet to reassign us so that we would be free to live either here, in Kenya, or on New Vulcan. Nothing has been decided as of this moment and we have determined that since this decision greatly involves the three of you that it was time to ask for your input."
She studied the children closely and tried to gauge what their initial impressions were. Though it hadn't been a secret that their Uncle Pavel wasn't coming back the news that their parents were considering the same thing did seem to stun them. T'Alora blanched a little at the notion and Selas too remained conspicuously quiet; only Se'tak's eyes appeared to light up the longer he mulled over the idea.
After several moments' silence she added, "We aren't expecting an answer now but we would like all three of you to think on it very carefully. We need to let Starfleet know one way or the other as soon as possible so that if they need to they can find our replacements."
T'Alora quirked her head. "Mama, it sounds as if you have already reached your own conclusion on the matter."
Nyota didn't exactly appreciate her daughter's patronizing tone but she held her tongue-mostly. "No, Sweetheart, I haven't; I'm merely letting you know that this isn't an open-ended discussion. We will require an answer sooner rather than later."
Se'tak scooted forward in his seat. "Well I think it'd be great to live in Kenya. I'd get to play with all my cousins and see Babu and Bibi, and Kwame and Loba too!" He let loose a contented sigh.
"And if we are reassigned to New Vulcan, would you welcome that move as well, my son? You must remember that your mother and I will have very little say in the matter given that we are still Starfleet Officers," Spock reminded him.
Se'tak pursed his lips. He liked spending time with his Vulcan relatives, and he liked New Vulcan well enough but Nyota knew it wouldn't be his first choice to live there. He was the most emotive of her children and the older he got the more restrictive he found it to be when they visited there. "Maybe not…"
"If we are following our initial impressions as Se'tak has," T'Alora interjected, "Then I vote that we remain aboard the Enterprise. It is our home."
"Spoken like a true S'chn T'gai," she told her husband across the bond. One angled eyebrow rose in agreement. Nyota had expected as much from their daughter, and now that T'Alora had said her piece they all turned their attention to Selas. She watched Se'tak unobtrusively slip his hand into his brother's, no doubt attempting to sway him in agreeing to a permanent move to either Kenya or San Francisco; Selas then borrowed his brother's eyes and looked about at the faces around the room all staring at him.
"May I think about it?"
"Of course, Baby. Take some time."
The last bit of tension in the room seemed to break and Spock rose from his armchair. "Unless either of you have anything to add to your arguments for or against our return then this family meeting is adjourned. You may return to your previous business," and he strode off toward his office. The older kids headed back upstairs to complete their homework and she moved to sit beside her youngest. Selas scooted closer and she wrapped him in a big hug, then mussed up his air and kissed the crown of his head as he quietly giggled.
"Mama?"
"Yes?"
"May I go outside and play for a little bit?"
Nyota set him on his feet and followed him as he waved his cane back and forth and proceeded to the patio door. "Yes you may, but try not to get too dirty; we'll be having dinner in a little while and I don't want to have to give you another bath beforehand."
He nodded and waited for her to unlock the door. "Ok."
She watched through the window as he went and headed straight for the tire swing; Spock erected it for the kids on their last shore leave and it quickly became Selas' favorite spot. He climbed in and pushed himself off, leaning back to enjoy the full breadth of the sun on his face. She wished she knew what he was thinking but, like everything with her baby boy, she knew he would let her know when he was good and ready. It was just his way.
150 Greenleaf Street, San Francisco, 2273.313, 2347 hours. "Mama?"
Her heart threatened to pound it's way right out of her chest and she sat bolt upright in bed. "Whazthematter? I'mup."
A small hand insisted on shaking her arm despite this declaration. "Mama, it's me."
As she brushed the sleep from her eyes Nyota looked down to see Selas standing beside the bed and her husband was nowhere to be seen. She wrapped an arm around him and looked him over. "What's the matter? Did you have a bad dream?" He shook his head no. "Did you have an accident?" Again she got another no.
Just then Spock emerged from the bathroom in his gray thermal shirt and black sleep pants. "Selas, you should not be out of bed at this hour."
"I needed to talk to you…"
"Whatever the subject is we may discuss it in the morning, now please return to your room."
Spock was halfway across the floor ready to escort him out when she stopped him with a look. "Ashayam, no, I want to hear what he has to say." She smoothed the downy hair off his forehead. "What is it, Baby?"
"I have made my decision. I…" he stretched out a hand toward her face. "I'd like to show you."
Taking his hand in hers she pressed a tiny kiss to his fingertips then gently guided them toward her psi points. Unlike the other melds she engaged in with her family Selas' comprised mostly of sensations and impressions rather then images and this time Nyota was quickly overwhelmed. Despite his usual outward, placid expression her son was an extremely happy kid and though he equally enjoyed the time he spent on Earth and on New Vulcan he loved it best aboard the Enterprise.
"I could not say anything before because I did not want to upset Se'tak," he explained. Nyota knew he loved his sister just as fiercely but he also admitted that he and Se'tak had a very special bond; if he'd made his opinion known earlier it would've caused unnecessary strife.
When he thought she understood Selas slowly withdrew from the meld and Nyota leaned forward to kiss him on the forehead. "I'll tell your sa-mekh…now you get back to bed, ok? Growing boys need their sleep."
He smiled and pulled the cane out of his pajama pants pocket. "Yes Mama." Selas turned toward where Spock stood at the foot of the bed. "Rom mu-yor, Sa-mekh*."
"Rom mu-yor."
As her husband crawled into bed she replayed the meld with Selas for him; and though he was not surprised with his son's conclusions he was stunned by the depth of Selas' feelings.
"He is a remarkable child," Spock remarked as she snuggled up against him beneath the covers.
"Mmhmm."
He idly stroked the loose strands of her hair as sleep reclaimed her. "I take it that we are decided then?"
"Mmhmm."
And that was that. The S'chn T'gai clan were returning to the Enterprise for a fourth five year mission.
* Rom mu-yor = Good night
A/N: People, we have a picture! Fellow author and reader Linstock graciously offered her services and did a photo manip of the S'chn T'gai kids. She created this page using Se'tak's POV, making it a gift of holos he was compiling to give to his Sa-mekh-al as a present. If you'd like to see what she's done head on over to www DOT deviant art DOT com and search for the artist Linstock (don't forget to remove the spaces in the URL and replace the dots with actual periods). The picture that accompanies this work is in the bottom right hand corner.
And I know I've said it before but I'm saying it again-thank you so much for bringing the kids to life for me, Linstock!