Baby Book - Phase Three

Chapter Thirty-six - New Babies in Day Care

Mid May, 2274

Amanda saw the people in the doorway with babies in their arms and jumped up, laughing. New babies coming to the day care center! She grabbed Jilly and Ankaret and they ran over to see the new little ones.

Miss Betty was talking to the parents, and the girls gathered around her, being quiet. But Amanda grinned at the babies, and they both babbled at her. These were not strangers, no not at all.

Chris handed her daughter to Miss Lou and knelt down and whispered to Amanda. "Are you and your friends going to help take care of Lauren?" All three little girls nodded eagerly. She smiled at them and gave Amanda a quick hug, and then she stood up and turned to leave the day care center, Kurik at her side.

Miss Tina was trying to get Cathy's son to come to her, but he was being obstinate, looking over his mother's shoulder at his father, waving his hands and demanding to be held. Jim looked sternly at his son and ordered him to be quiet, but George just stuck his lower lip out and glared back. "Told you it wasn't a good idea, me being here when you brought him in the first time."

Cathy just sighed. "If you didn't spoil him rotten, there wouldn't be any problem. Did you see how well behaved Lauren was? And she's a week younger." She managed to get their son untangled from her and handed him over. Once he realized that an attractive young woman was holding him now, he brightened up, and patted her on the cheek, babbling. "Like father, like son."

"Hey, that's not nice!"

She grinned at him, and led the way out of the day care center, as he followed along, proclaiming that he had changed his ways long ago.

Both of the new six-month-old attendees of the day care center were put into cribs, and the other children gathered around, talking to them, bringing them fuzzies to cuddle. New babies were always fun.

Sam came over to Amanda, and whispered at her. "Amanda, is this your sister?"

"No, silly, why would you think that?"

"Her ears are like yours."

"Yes, that's because her baba is a Vulcan, too, like mine is."

"Oh." Sam looked from one girl to the other. "But she knows you."

"Yes, her mama and baba come visit with my Mama and Baba a lot, and they bring her with them. I've been playing with her since she was very tiny."

Sam nodded, that explained everything. He worked up his courage to ask another question. "Is that the captain's son?"

"Yes, it sure is. He's a handful. I heard my Mama say that."

Sam was sure that was true. He had seen the trouble the attendants had had, trying to get the small boy to let go of his mother.

And then Jack McCoy pushed his way to the front of the group standing next to George's crib. "Jorjush!" He grinned and stuck his hands through the bars of the crib. George chortled with glee and grabbed Jack's hands. Miss Betty watched and shuddered. Somehow she knew that those two boys were going to cause her many, many headaches.

"***"

Message from author: If you send me a private message and ask me a question, please be sure that you do not have IM turned off in your profile. I cannot answer you if you have it turned off.