Maat S'chn T'gai
Chapter Fifty-three - I Am The Oldest
New Vulcan
May 2266
Selek
When he entered his home after his day at Government House, his 17-month old son came running and launched himself at him. He scooped him up and lifted him high over his head, while Senek gurgled and chortled, tremendously happy. He settled the boy down on his hip and walked into the kitchen, where Durra had the meal almost on the table already. He would have no chance to assist her with the preparation tonight, then. She did ask him to clean up their son, who had been into everything this afternoon. Indeed, his hands and knees where quite soiled. He took him into the bathing room, and washed his hands and face, while Senek sputtered at him, enjoying the whole thing. And then he carried him back to the kitchen and sat him down in the tall chair that Sarek had crafted in the new workroom Varun had built onto the back of their house, where the small storage room had used to be. He was glad to see Sarek once again enjoying the craft that had always been his.
After end-meal was over, he washed the dishes, while Durra dried them and put them away. Senek wandered about, occasionally plunking down on the floor and pulling open one of the lower cupboards. The third time that he had to remove a pan and its lid from his son, who was enthusiastically making a very loud noise, he remarked that they needed some type of closure for the cabinets that Senek could not open. Durra agreed with him, but did not know where to get them. She suggested that she might have Elinor put a piece in the newspaper about this need, to see what kind of reaction they would get. He agreed that this would be interesting.
After Senek had his bath and was dressed in clean pajamas, it was story time. And as usual, the small boy fell asleep, leaning against his father's chest, in the middle of the third story. When Durra would have taken him to put him in his bed, he shook his head at her, not ready tonight to give him up just yet. He sat there, thinking, softly stroking his son's softly waving hair, until she sat down on the footstool that he was not using and reached out to touch his cheek gently.
"What are you thinking about, love? You're very quiet tonight."
"I am considering the differences between this universe and the one in which I grew up. There are so many things which are similar, and yet there are many differences as well. Sometimes it is disconcerting."
"Saavik."
"Yes."
"You knew her, then."
"Indeed I did. But she was older when she was rescued in that universe. I find myself wondering what changes that will make in her life. And there are more people now, involved with her every day, caring for her. Surely that will have an effect."
"And you do not want to say anything, to influence the others."
"Nor do I wish to influence in any way what happens to her in this time and place. She should be free to develop as she is meant to here, and not confined to what I know about how she was there."
Durra nodded, thoughtful. "I will say nothing to the others. I do understand what you are saying. She was such a damaged child, and is still very wild. I think it will take much time yet before she seems like a normal child, and there will always be something of this damage inside her, even years from now."
"Yes, I am certain that that is correct. But I think she will fare better this time." And now, he felt better as well. He handed his son to his bondmate, and rose, and stretched, and went to prepare for bed. And when she entered the bedroom after tucking their son in, he discovered that she was wearing his favorite lingerie. He admired it greatly before he removed it from her quite willing body.
T'Pau
This was the evening of the quarterly clan meeting, the first one that had been held since Saavik had joined them. The child was standing in the hall, watching the people assemble, her eyes wide.
"You may join the clan, Saavik, but you must be presentable. You must wash your hands and face, and put on your sandals."
The lower lip stuck out at once, and the little arms crossed on the chest.
"You do not have to join the meeting. It is your choice. But you cannot attend unless you present yourself properly. Everyone else is wearing sandals except the small babies. Are you a baby?"
"I am not! I am a girl!"
She stood and looked down at the belligerent child. And then she went, and opened the door to the bathing room, and stood there. Saavik slowly walked forward, and went to stand beside the sink, and allowed her hands and face to be washed and dried. But she did not want to go and put her sandals on. So T'Pau left her there, and went to take her place in the cushioned chair reserved for her. When she saw Saavik sliding past the doorway, she rose again, and took the girl's hand and led her back to her bedroom.
"You must put your sandals on if you wish to attend the meeting. Otherwise, you will need to stay in your room until we are finished."
Saavik glowered. Her lower lip was pushed far out. She flounced down on the bed, but she did not put her sandals on. T'Pau returned to the living room, and seated herself again. When she saw movement out of the corner of her eye, she turned her head. Saavik stood against the wall, her sandals in her hand. Perhaps this was close enough for tonight. This in itself was a major step forward. She turned to Sarek and nodded slightly. They were ready to begin.
As usual, expenses were dealt with first. They were holding well to the budget. Various members of the clan offered status on their doings. Durra explained that she had decided to remain with one morning class and one afternoon class, leaving her more time with her son, and to assist in Saavik's care. Elinor told about the requests from the other settlements to be included in the newspaper. She was considering what to do about this, and had reached no conclusion yet. Varun rose and stated that he had been allowed to add another four-man team to his crew, and would now be able to handle small jobs at the same time as the larger construction projects. There were a number of quietly stated congratulatory remarks at that. Very few of the builders had acquired sufficient status to be able to take on two jobs at once. And then T'Pau rose, and offered the next news of the search for Sybok. The investigator she had hired had been able to continue to trace his movements, for another three years, before running out of money again. He had acquired cargo handling skills during those six years, and now had a reasonable chance of finding work wherever he went. However, he did not seem to be headed in any particular direction, or with any particular goal in mind. He went wherever the next job took him, and did not seem to be perturbed at finding himself in a strange place with no further job prospects. It was somewhat disheartening to hear. He was not carousing, or involved in violence, and he was most definitely not involved in any criminal activity, but he seemed to have no focus, either. They were quiet, thinking about what had been discovered, not sure how to interpret this news.
When there was no more business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned, and Tarel and T'Sura brought out the tea tray and some small pastries. And Saavik edged closer, until T'Pau looked at her, and down at the sandals she still carried in her hands. The small girl frowned, and then looked at the pastries, and sat down and put on her sandals. Around the room, there was much notice of this, but no one commented. Once she had her sandals on, she came and stood at T'Pau's side, and T'Sura handed her a small plate and fork, with two of the small pastries on it, and she stood there quietly and ate them with the fork. There were several soft sighs, but no other notice was taken, except that T'Pau's hand went out and gently caressed the small girl's hair, only once.
After the tea things were cleared away, and while everyone was still sitting there talking, Saavik slowly walked around the room. She stopped before Durra, who had Senek sitting on her lap. She held out one hand and looked at Durra, obviously wanting something. Durra looked at her. "What is it that you want, Saavik?"
"Who?"
"This is Senek. He is my son, and Selek's. He is your kinsman, just as we are."
Saavik tilted her head, looking from Selek to Durra to Senek. "How old?"
"He is one year and five months old. About half as old as you are."
There was a look of deep concentration on the small child's face as she began to move again. She stopped next to Varun next, who held his sleeping son. "Who?"
"This is Sovak, who is my son, and T'Boh's. He is nine months old. He is also your kinsman, as is everyone in this room."
Saavik continued her circuit of the room, stopping next in front of Elinor, who leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on the girl's forehead. "This is Sapok, who is eight months old. He is my son, and Sarek's."
Saavik now looked at T'Sura, who was the only other woman in the room. She came forward, and hesitantly reached out, gingerly touched the slight bulge of T'Sura abdomen, looking up at her questioningly.
T'Sura solemnly looked down at the small girl. "That is my son, and Tarel's, who will be born after the new year. He will grow much in the coming months, and you will be able to watch as he does."
Saavik's forehead furrowed. She struggled hard for words. "Why inside?"
"Because that is how a baby grows, safe inside its mother, until it is big enough to be born."
Saavik looked all around the room, and then crossed to stand before T'Pau. "I am oldest."
T'Pau looked down at the small girl. This was a great leap of logic for her, the first that she had ever displayed. "Yes, you are the oldest child in the clan at this time. That is so."
"I am the leader."
T'Pau gazed steadily at her. "If you wish to be a leader, then you must act like a leader. You must set an example for the younger children."
Saavik considered this. "What is example?"
"An example is something or someone who shows how things should be done. In order to be a good example for the younger children, you must keep yourself and your room neat and clean at all times, and act properly. You must not yell for no reason, or throw things about, or destroy things that belong to others. And you must eat neatly, and wear proper clothing for what you are doing."
Saavik looked all around, and all the adults nodded their heads at her. "Hard."
"Yes, being an example is hard. It may take you a while to learn all these things, and do them all the time. This is acceptable, Saavik, as long as we know that you are trying."
Saavik looked down and stuck out one foot. "Sandals."
"Yes, you put on your sandals. That was very well done, Saavik. I am pleased with you."
The small girl's eyes lit up. "Pleased?"
"Yes, pleased."
And Saavik turned all around in a circle, smiling at everyone. "Pleased. Saavik pleased too."
And none could deny her.
