I do not own Star Trek, the canon characters, nor do I make any profit from my writings. This is all for fun, a little tidbit to stimulate your imagination, just as Gene Roddenberry has stimulated mine. His vision inspired me, as did all the wonderful TOS script writers. Then one day I decided that writing was fun and I could do it myself, even if I was the only one who enjoyed it. However, if you enjoy it too and would like to leave a review, that would be lovely!
I Can Do It Myself
Healer T'Mena placed her bag in her new hovercar, secretly glad that Syrol had talked her into this purchase. It was so much more efficient to make house calls this way. When the colony was first founded, T'Mena had made her rounds on foot, carrying several bags of supplies with her, as one could never be certain as to what would be needed. Thankfully, those days were at an end. T'Mena kept her vehicle well stocked.
Her last scheduled stop of the day was the home of Sarek and T'Sela. Baby T'Shana was just over a week old and due for some immunizations. There would also be a post-partum exam for T'Sela. Her journey lasting less than a minute, the healer set her craft down in front of Sarek's house. After collecting her bag, she rang the door chime.
Sarek welcomed and led her into the family room.
"Healer T'Mena, you of course know my son Spock. This is his bondmate Nyota Uhura."
"Greetings, Healer T'Mena. It is a pleasure to meet you."
"I also am pleased to meet you, Nyota. Sarek and T'Sela often speak proudly of their children. May I congratulate you on your pregnancy?"
"Thank you. After your examination of Mother T'Sela and T'Shana, might I please have a consultation with you?"
"I would be honored."
After T'Mena joined T'Sela in her chamber, Nyota smiled smugly and her husband and father-in-law.
"I'm a big girl and I can take care of my own health."
T'Pau stood in her garden, surveying the wreckage. She had sent the children outside to play while she and Tauril discussed their housing needs with the architect. This had not been a wise move on her part. Saavik liked to climb trees, but the delicate Vulcan tea bushes were no match for her. Thankfully, the child was not injured. The tea bushes could be replaced.
Tauril set the little ones to coloring while he and T'Pau made them lunch. When the family sat down to eat, another interesting discovery was made. The children had no table manners whatsoever. They ate their food with their hands instead of utensils and placed bread and fruit in their pockets for later. When T'Pau attempted to wash Senar's face after the meal, Saavik was most displeased.
"I am a big girl and am able to care for my brother myself!"
Jim hated it when Bones was right, especially about stuff like this. He and Scotty had not even been camping a whole day when it happened.
They had cleared a campsite and pitched a tent, stowing their gear and supplies inside. They had brought plenty of food and water with them, mostly ration bars and trail mix. However, Jim had a hankering for some fresh fruits and vegetables. He remembered the small farmer's market near the New Sura'Kahr Inn. It would be about an hour's hike, but they could get there before closing if they hurried.
New Vulcan was essentially a desert world, though it had more surface water and cooler temperatures than the original Vulcan home world. Plant and animal life was varied and abundant, so Jim and Scotty had much to enjoy on their way to town.
Once there, they found several types of fruit and vegetables that the merchants said were safe for Human consumption. Scotty confirmed that information on his PADD, so they made purchases and hurried back to their camp before darkness set in.
Not wanting to risk starting a fire near dry vegetation, they opted for a camp stove instead. Scotty washed and sliced the mashya mol-kur, purplish tubers purported to be tasty when boiled and served with birkeen herbs and Rhombolian butter, which they had also purchased.
Jim cleaned the yon-savas, or fire fruit, and put the fresh kreyla (biscuits) and honeycakes on plates. When it was all together, they sat down to a Vulcan feast, complete with kasa juice to drink. Thirty seconds into the meal, Jim started to break out in a rash.
He ran into the tent and grabbed the extra med kit Bones had insisted he bring. The good doctor had crammed it full of anti-histamines. Scotty had seen Jim's difficulty and followed him.
"Jim, do ya need any help wi' that hypo spray?"
"No. I'm a big boy. I can do it myself."
T'Ameela brought an extra plate of kreyla to her favorite customer, who sat there drinking his beer and waiting for her to finish her shift. Finally, she took off her apron and indicated that Bones should follow her to her room. It was time for the "study session" that he had promised her.
First they reviewed for her Comparative Anatomy And Physiology Of Bi-Pedal Species class. T'Ameela seemed well versed in the differences between Vulcans and Human.
Bones explained that amino acids formed peptides when a carbon atom from one molecule linked with a nitrogen atom of another. For demonstration purposes, Bones pretended that he was a carbon atom, or least part of him was. T'Ameela found his explanation both entertaining and pleasurable.
Next came a discussion on how enzymes acted as catalysts in certain biochemical reactions.
"Darlin', think of it this way. You're the enzyme, the lock on the door to a chemical reaction. A lock has a reactive site, a key hole. I'm the substrate, with a key made to exactly fit...."
She made him demonstrate the lock and key model several times before finally declaring that she understood it.
"Thank you, Leonard. That was so much more pleasant than figuring it out by myself."
T'Mena was pleased with T'Sela check-up, finding her to be in excellent health. Baby T'Shana was alert and gaining weight. The healer gave the child her first immunizations and left some anti-febrile medication with her mother in case it was needed.
Then while she sipped a cup of tea at Sarek and T'Sela's kitchen table, T'Mena read a PADD that Dr. McCoy had loaded with Nyota's pertinent medical information. The doctor had been very thorough in his treatment, preventative measures, and his documentation. Nyota was in good hands.
When she had completed her reading, T'Mena asked Nyota to get comfortable in the guestroom that had been given to her and Spock. The healer took some readings and collected some blood for the tests Dr. McCoy had ordered. Last of all, she asked permission to touch the young woman's abdomen and perform a brief meld with her unborn child.
Nyota asked her to summon Spock, as Azizi was his child, too. They had always made decisions regarding his health together.
Spock gave his consent, explaining that such a meld was often done in mid to late pregnancy to assess a child's level of brain development.
The meld was very quick indeed, just a few seconds.
"He is an intelligent child and a strong telepath. All seems to be in order, though I may dispute the projected delivery date. I believe he will come seven to ten days earlier than the date given in your medical record. However, we shall see."
"Now, I would like to suggest a treatment for Nyota's feet. When Lady Amanda was expecting Spock, her feet were also quite swollen. I prescribed a foot bath using theris herbs, the same as are often used for meditation tea. Use enough herbs to make two pots of tea, added to a standard foot basin, half full of boiling water. Allow the water to cool to a comfortable temperature and soak the feet for at least thirty minutes. This seems to remove toxins from the body and reduce swelling."
Nyota smiled. That sounded easy enough for her to do herself.
It had been a challenging first day. While T'Pau got Senar ready for bed, Tauril poured a cup of juice for each of the children. Both were quite underweight and would require nutritional supplements for some time.
Tauril remembered the bedtime stories he had told his own children when they were small. Language was still an issue, but perhaps Saavik and Senar would enjoy listening anyway. He brought the children their beverages and allowed T'Pau to tuck them in. Both the children were very afraid of males, not wanting to be touched by one.
While the children sipped away, Tauril began the tale of the lara.
"The lara were beautiful birds, who lived in the desert on Vulcan. They were a brilliant blue in color, magnificent to see flying in contrast against the red Vulcan sky. However, their beauty made them prideful and haughty....."
Tauril went on to explain that the lara liked to display themselves, flying slowly so that all might behold their glory, Unfortunately, their vanity made them easy marks for predators. Soon very few lara were left and the surviving ones learned more discretion.
Tauril was uncertain whether he had entertained the children or merely bored them to sleep, but his little story had worked. He and T'Pau left the room to take tea in the kitchen.
"My husband, I had never heard that story until this evening. Is is one passed down through the generations by thy clan?"
"No, my wife. One of my daughters one had an issue with vanity. As a response, I made that tale up myself."
Jim woke up in the night in worse shape than when he went to bed. After two more hypos which didn't help much, he prodded Scotty awake and rasped a barely audible "Sick, help!"
Scotty turned on the lamp and looked at Jim, whose face and hands were swollen to twice their normal size.
"I'm gonna contact the ship and have us beamed up. This goes way beyond my knowledge of first aid. I dinna know how to help ye myself."
Bones was snoring softly next to T'Ameela when his communicator went off. It was Christine Chapel.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your shore leave, Doctor, but the Captain's been beamed up with a severe allergic reaction. You left instructions to be notified if that should occur. I'll describe his symptoms and you can advise me as to his treatment."
"Never mind about that. Let me get dressed and then have somebody beam me up. Damn it, anyway! When it comes to the Captain, it's just easier to treat him myself!"
T'Sela nursed her daughter and then tried to put the child to bed. It had been along day and the new mother was tired, still recovering from her recent labor and delivery. T'Shana, however, was wide awake and cried when she was placed in her cradle. Sarek came and took his daughter to the family room, where they sat together in the rocking chair.
Several minutes later, they were joined by Spock. He had meditated, but was not ready for sleep, so he left the bedroom in order to not disturb Nyota.
Spock picked up Sarek's ka'athyra, intending to play a lullaby to soothe his small sister to sleep.
"Wait, my son. I have a suggestion. I will play and you will sing."
Spock walked over to his father, setting the ka'athyra at his feet and taking T'Shana is his arms. Sarek left the rocking chair in favor of an armchair.
"Very well, Father. What shall I sing?"
"The Song Of The Rushan. It is time T'Shana heard it."
Softly, Sarek began to play and Spock sang the ancient lullaby about a kindly spirit who had helped their ancestor while assuming the form of a butterfly. The song had been passed down through many generations, taught to Spock by his grandfather Skon before his death.
Sarek was a man of many accomplishments, academic, political, and diplomatic. He was a chess master, a skilled harp maker, and an award-winning ka'athyra player. However, Amanda had once compared his singing voice to a wounded le-matya in heat. Singing his daughter to sleep was one thing Sarek could not do himself.
The hour was late and both Tauril and T'Pau had achieved relaxed and meditative states. Suddenly, there was the sound of furniture sliding across the kitchen floor, followed by the opening of the stasis unit door. As the couple rose and put on their shoes, they also heard a crash and a splash.
Tauril turned on the kitchen light. There in the middle of a puddle of juice stood Senar. He had pushed a chair over to the stasis unit to so he could reach to open the door, which still stood ajar, the light source from the unit providing the child illumination for his task. The open juice container lay on its side, spilling its contents all over the floor. Senar's pajamas were also covered in juice.
Yet he smiled proudly at his half-filled cup.
"I did it myself!"