Chapter 51
A/N: I finished this sooner than I thought, I hope you enjoy. This quite a long chapter as it has Jim and Spock's bonding ceremony although I wont be going into details with it.
Eight weeks later
Jim is sitting in his chair on the bridge, his four hour shift almost over, fortunately they are due to arrive at New Vulcan in 5.68 minutes according to Spock so Jim will have time to greet the Elders of the High Council before going off duty. Jim was actually glad that his shifts had been reduced because he was so tired he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. Jim had about two weeks left according to Dr Phlox and so today was his last shift until after the baby was born.
The last eight weeks had passed relatively quietly, they had found three new uninhabited planets and classified two new types of stars. Jim had never seen Spock look so happy then when he found new a life form (outside of the bedroom of course).
Their current mission was to take supplies and volunteers to the colony and to check on it's progress, Pike was travelling with them as he had being put in charge of liaisons between the federation council and the Vulcan high council. Nogura was now the admiral in charge of the Enterprises missions, fortunately he was one of the admirals who thought that Jim is a good captain (there is still one or two who do not believe that Jim should still be captain and were still trying to get him fired, these admirals were close friends of Komack and had protested when he had been fired).
Jim is pulled out of his musings by Chekhov announcing their arrival at the colony, Spock approaches Jim's chair and stands beside him, he allows his fingers to brush up against Jim's. Uhura lets them know that they are being hailed from the surface.
"On screen lieutenant."
The screen changes from a view of the planet to a view of the inside of the new Vulcan council building which shows Sarek and the rest of the council members.
"Greetings Captain Kirk, we welcome you to Vafer-Tor."
"It is a pleasure to be here Councillor Sarek, I look forward to seeing the progress the colony has made so far."
"Indeed, I am aware that you will not be beaming down to join us and so I would like to request the presence of Commander Spock."
Sarek had noticed the signs of fatigue on the captains face and was relieved that Jim would not be beaming down as the planet would be far to hot and uncomfortable for him. Jim give Sarek a smile.
"I am sure that Commander Spock would be pleased to join you."
They talk on for a few minutes with Jim saying that he will be beaming down tomorrow and Sarek confirming that it is fine before Spock indicates to his father that Jim should rest (not that anyone other than Jim himself and Sarek knew that). The call ends and Jim hands over the conn to Sulu so that he can go off shift and Spock can beam down, they leave the bridge together and Spock walks Jim back to their quarters which had just been upgraded (Scotty had broken quite a few regulations when he had converted their quarters, but luckily for him Pike had still been the Admiral in charge of the ship and he had let it slide). Jessica was in their quarters waiting for them having just finished her studies for the day and she runs up to Jim and gives him a big hug before ushering him into a chair, she had turned out to be quite a big mother hen after she had witnessed the way both Spock and McCoy had treated Jim. Spock greeted her before leaving and heading to the transporter room where to his surprise he is joined by Dr Phlox.
"Dr Phlox, may I enquire as to why you are beaming down to the colony?"
Spock didn't mean for his words to come out rudely but he did not believe that it was a good idea for him to be off the ship especially as Jim was so close to his due date.
"I have been requested by you father to beam down. I am quite sure that Jim will be fine but I will keep a close eye on him and if there is any sign of trouble I will beam straight back up. You do not have to worry Jim is well looked after, Dr McCoy will keep a close eye on him."
Dr Phlox flashes Spock the famous Denobulan grin, and Spock lowers his head, he should have known that the good doctor would have a contingency plan but he was so worried for his mate, if he didn't have the chance to see his mother again he would not being going down to the planet and if Jim was not so fatigued he would not be leaving Jim behind.
"You have no need to be ashamed, I am aware of the protective instincts of a Vulcan male, your father was much the same."
Spock's lips can't help but quirk up and then he steps up to the transporter pad followed closely by Dr Phlox. The transporter chief beams them down and they are greeted by Sarek and Amanda. Spock looks upon his mother and he can see that she looks like she is glowing, the request for Dr Phlox and seeing the way that Sarek is reacting towards her Spock comes to conclusion that his mother is pregnant. He doesn't know quite how to feel about that.
"Hello mother, Father."
Amanda approaches him and holds her hand out in a family kiss but Spock ignores it and gives his mother a human hug.
"Oh Spock. I'm glad to see you again."
"I am gratified to see you as well mother."
Sarek steps up to them and Spock reluctantly pulls away from his mother to embrace his father is a family kiss.
"Greetings my son, it is gratifying to see you in such good health. Is your mate coping well with his pregnancy?"
"It is gratifying to see you again as well and in good health. My mate is indeed coping well with the pregnancy father, he coping much better than I had anticipated."
"That is good news."
Spock inclines his head in agreement and Sarek looks towards Dr Phlox.
"Greetings Dr Phlox, I thank you for agreeing to my request."
Dr Phlox gives both Sarek and Amanda his famous grin and Amanda smiles back at him.
"It is my pleasure to be here."
Spock and Dr Phlox are given a tour around the settlement where Spock is pleased to see the progress they have made, already they have built enough homes for all resident Vulcan's and the volunteers who will be beaming down today to live here for the next three years. They had also built a school which is large enough to cater for all the children on the colony and a hospital. They were just starting work on a new Vulcan science academy and new farming areas. The tour lasts over two hours as there is much to see, and as they get closer to Sarek and Amanda's home they see the groups of volunteers beaming down and being greeted quite graciously (for Vulcan's) and been shown to their new homes.
"Welcome my son to our home, come allow us to go inside, the temperature is far to high for your mother."
"Indeed."
The group move inside Sarek and Amanda's home, where Sarek practically pushes Amanda into a chair before sitting down next to her. Spock sits opposite to them and Dr Phlox is shown to one of the seats next to Spock by a servant who offers him a drink which the Doctor turns down politely. Sarek turns to Amanda and at her nod he looks back at Spock.
"My son, Dr Phlox we have some news. My Amanda is pregnant."
"Indeed, I am gratified that you have informed. How is this possible?"
"We do not know Spock that is why I requested Dr Phlox's presence."
The afternoon is passed with them beaming back on board the enterprise as the current facilities on the colony are not suited to humans. Dr phlox runs numerous tests on Amanda and the results are startling; not only is Amanda pregnant but she is pregnant with twins, Phlox hypothesises that when Amanda was brought back into the world of the living and given an extended life it would appear that her uterus was completely healed as well (when Amanda had been pregnant with Spock she had suffered an injury to her stomach that had caused her to haemorrhage and it was purely down to Phlox's skills that both her life and Spock's had been saved, it also meant that she would never be able to get pregnant again much to her and Sarek's sorrow). Spock is given time to wrap his mind around having two new siblings as the loss of Sybok still caused pain, although they had not been super close what with Spock trying to be the perfect Vulcan and Sybok embracing his emotions they had still loved one another and Spock still missed him.
During the afternoon they are joined by Jim, McCoy and Jessica as Jim is feeling slightly under the weather, as soon as Jim entered sickbay Spock instantly went straight to Jim's side and helps his mate over to a bio-bed. Dr Phlox finishes quickly with Amanda before heading over to Jim and checking to make sure that everything is okay, it turns out that Jim is suffering from braxton hicks and a quick meld with Jim by Spock proves that their daughter is not ready to be born yet. Jim feels quite relieved and embarrassed at the same time.
"Do not be so embarrassed Jim it is a common occurrence in pregnancy for human females and they are sometimes hard for women to tell the difference and as you have no knowledge it is understandable."
Still blushing furiously Jim (with Spock's help) gets off the biobed and walks over to Amanda.
"Are you alright Amanda?"
Amanda smiles at Jim.
"I am pregnant Jim thanks to those creatures, they healed me."
"Amanda that's great news. Isn't it Spock?"
Spock looks at his mother and sees how happy she is and realises that it is a good thing.
"Indeed T'hy'la. I am happy that I will have more siblings and there will be an increase in the Vulcan population."
Amanda smiles at Spock and Spock smiles back.
"Are you two looking forward to tomorrow?"
"Indeed mother."
"Yes Amanda."
Amanda smiles at them again.
"Jim you can call me mom if you want."
Jim smiles at her again.
"Yes mom."
The Next day
"Stop fussing T'hy'la you look so beautiful."
Jim and Spock are standing in the new Vulcan hall waiting to be called for their bonding ceremony, it was being held inside the hall rather than outside as is the norm for both Jim's and Amanda's benefit.
"It's uncomfortable Spock."
"I know T'hy'la but when we beam back up to the ship you will be able to change into your dress uniform, fortunately the bonding ceremony is only short as it usually takes place during the males Pon-Farr."
Jim smiles at Spock as he continues to fuss over Jim's robes. Jim holds Spock's hands.
"You don't have to be so nervous Spock, I'm not going to leave you."
Spock brushes his thumbs across the backs of Jim's hands.
"I know you will not leave me Jim. I just wish for it to be over so you can be more comfortable, you are my everything and I do not like seeing you suffering for any reason T'hy'la."
"And people say that Vulcan's aren't romantic."
"Vulcan's are not romantic, I of course am half-human."
Jim smiles and is about to kiss Spock when they are called into the hall. As Spock said the ceremony (performed by Sarek, T'Pau was no longer able to perform the ceremonies due to her position on the federation council) is quite short, it is quite interesting to be part of the ceremony as not a lot of Vulcan culture is known to off worlders. They were lead into the room by one of the flunkies that hung around ass-kissing the high councillors (Spock would have phrased it differently). Spock had explained to Jim that when the ceremony was performed during a males Pon-Farr the couple were kept separate until after the ceremony was completed as the male would try and bond with their partner too soon, this was important because it was the only time when one of the couple could petition for divorce (unless they were not Vulcan). They were watched by Amanda, Jessica, Uhura and McCoy who were there as witnesses and as they were their best friends and family they had been allowed (bonding ceremonies were not typically open to other people due to the nature of the ceremony). McCoy kept a close eye on both Jessica and Amanda to make sure that neither overheated, he would look out for Uhura as well but she had told him in no uncertain terms that she could take care of herself.
They are go through the ceremony quickly as there is no challenge to their bond and with less than half an hour they are bonded and back on board to change into their dress uniforms for a federation wedding which will be broadcast live across the federation (Jim was furious when he had found that information out, it was the second reason why Pike had come with them on this mission as he was performing the ceremony). Both Sarek and Amanda joined them when they beamed back on board.
They had chosen not to have one waiting at the end of the aisle for the other and so were going to walk down together. Again the ceremony was going to be short and sweet because one Jim's feet were hurting, two they were already technically married, three Jim hated being on camera and finally four Jim and Spock were both looking forward to the reception and to the start of their honeymoon which unfortunately was only twenty-four hours long not that they weren't going to make the most of it.
After the ceremony they went to the mess hall were Jim was sat in a seat and told not to move for the next three hours. Spock sat next to him of course and only left Jim's side twice, once to get his mate some refreshments and the second to dance with Jessica after she had asked him. Some people didn't understand why the couple didn't dance together but McCoy soon put them in their place. Amanda sat on the other side to Jim and was also told not to move but instead of it being said by a concerned medical practitioner, it was said by a very worried and concerned bondmate (not that Sarek would admit to being worried, or at least not in public anyway). During the reception they were approached by almost the whole crew to offer their congratulations and well wishes. Pike was one of the first to speak with them when he joined their table.
"Your father would be proud of you, I hope you know that."
Jim nods a lump stuck in his throat.
"I'm proud of you as well, a man could not ask for a better son."
Pike takes a deep breath.
"If I had known what was happening during your childhood I would have fought for custody of you and given you a loving home. I may not be your biological father but I am proud to call you my son."
The lump in Jim's throat gets bigger and it is left to Spock to thank Pike, although Pike can see quite clearly how much his words mean to Jim. Jessica spends most of her time with Joanna who she will be spending the night and the next day with so her guardians can have some time alone not that she knows what they want to do during that time.
After three hours exactly (Spock didn't want to wait any longer than absolutely necessary) Spock got to his feet and helped Jim to his feet.
"Come ashayam, it is time you rested. Mother father we will see you before we leave ornit, I wish you a good night."
"Indeed I wish you a good night as well my sons."
"Goodnight boys have fun but don't wear each other out too much."
Jim flashes her a great big grin.
"Awww spoil all our fun why don't you?"
Amanda laughs and Spock leads his mate back to their quarters where he has arranged a surprise.
TBC
A/N I hope you liked it, the honeymoon is in the next chapter as is the selection of the baby's name, so if you have any more suggestions now is the time to let me know. Please review.
