Disclaimer: I own plenty of things, but Star Trek isn't one of them.
A/N: Reviews are like babies; you either love them or hate them. Please, don't hate the babies. Be nice, love the babies.
Origins: The Journey Begins
Chapter 5: One, Two, Three… Five?
STARDATE: 2235.314 (Mon, Nov 23rd, 2235) [3 months, 26 days Pregnant]
Miotep sat on Nanenna's low bed and helped her daughter brush her unruly hair.
"Ouch, mama!" Nanenna squawked as her short arms came to her head to stop her hair from being ripped out.
"I'm sorry, 'Nenna, but this is what happens when you don't allow me to do your hair in the first place; It gets knotty." Miotep said as she tried to extract the comb which was now tangled in her daughter's afro.
"Big knotty." Nanenna replied as she squinted her eyes thinking it will help ease the pain.
"Yes, very knotty." Miotep looked down at the comb which was now entangled deeper in the mass of hair. The purple handle could barely be seen amongst her dark brown locks. She stared at the little amount of comb that she could see then looked up at the clock above Nanenna's door.
After learning how to tell the time Denahi had wanted a clock placed above his door. Of course, after putting a red clock in his room both Sehale and Nanenna requested coloured clocks for their room. Nanenna's favourite colour was purple, so of course her clock had to be purple too.
It was 8:40 a.m. Miotep's doctor's appointment was at 9:30 a.m., less than an hour from now. It took 25 minutes to get to the doctor's. The boys were getting dropped off at school by Baba on his way to work, leaving Miotep no choice but to take Nanenna with her to her appointment. Which meant she only had 25 minutes to get Nanenna changed.
With any other child that would be easy. Nanenna, however, loved her purple ballerina pyjamas which meant she hated getting changed out of them. Whenever she wore these pyjamas to bed it was always a struggle to get her changed the next morning. Today just so happened to be one of those days.
"Nanenna, what dress would you like today?" Miotep asked as she got up from the low bed. Completely forgetting about the purple comb lodged in her daughter's hair she walked over to Nanenna's small cupboard. She opened the door to reveal a nice array of coloured dresses. She stood aside to allow her daughter to see the dresses hanging in the cupboard.
"This nice pink one?" Miotep took the small pink dress from the rack and held it up for Nanenna to look at. Nanenna looked at the dress momentarily before looking down at her purple ballerina pyjamas. It begins.
"No Nanenna. You're not wearing your pyjamas into town." Miotep sighed. She didn't want to do this today. Normally Ahadi was able to get her to change but he had already left with the boys.
"But why?" Nanenna said in a small voice as she looked longingly at the ballerina on her bedtime shirt.
"Because pyjamas are worn at night time and it's not night time anymore." Miotep answered. Surely that was easy enough for Nanenna to understand.
"Me wear today." Nanenna said with finality as she patted the ballerina. "Just today." She added for good measure.
"No, not today." Miotep rubbed her forehead out of frustration. Where was Ahadi when she needed him? In order to get Nanenna changed Ahadi would deepen his voice to a threatening level. The last time Nanenna disobeyed Ahadi when he spoke like that to her, her stuffed monkey was taken from her for three days.
Miotep thought about it and decided to try out her own 'stern voice'.
"Nanenna Ashantis Uhura." She tried to get her voice to go as deep as possible.
"Mama you sick?" Nanenna asked, concerned for her mama's health.
Miotep couldn't hide her smile at her failed attempt at parenting. "No, I'm not sick, Sweetie." Miotep looked at the clock. 9:00am. No time to argue, plus Miotep was exhausted as it is.
"Nanenna, you're going to wear this dress." Miotep said firmly holding up the pink dress that she had in her hand.
Her daughter's big brown eyes locked with hers. "No, mama, night time shirt please." Nanenna asked hopefully. Sometimes Miotep couldn't win.
"Ok. Yes, you can wear the shirt. But not the pants. Only because we're running out of time. AND… you have to wear this over your shirt." Miotep said as she rummaged through the closet pulling out a small denim jacket.
She handed Nanenna the jacket and pulled out a cute pair of light blue shorts that matched perfectly with the ballerina shirt. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. "Ok, you put these on while Mama goes to the bathroom. I won't be long so get ready."
Miotep was gone less than three minutes. Upon entering her daughter's room, she noticed tiny clothes strewn across the floor. Her dresser was empty and her room was full.
"Nanenna!" Miotep called out.
Nanenna froze. She had her denim jacket on over the top of her night time shirt. That was great. That was the plan. However, she also managed to dress herself in rainbow stripped tights, a pink fluffy tutu and two different types of shoes. On her left foot she wore a green sandal and on her right foot, a pink cowboy boot.
Miotep's mind raced. My daughter is crazy.
"Nanenna, what are you wearing?!" Miotep asked, her voice raised an octave.
"Clothes." Nanenna replied innocently.
Miotep looked at the clock. 9:05. No time to change. "Come on, then."
Nanenna clapped with glee and skipped giddily past her Mama and out the door. Miotep just stared at her unusual daughter. Nanenna made it all the way to the stairs when Miotep sighted the half hidden purple comb in her daughter's hair.
"Nanenna!" Miotep called. Nanenna halted and looked at her Mama. "Don't you want to wear a hat with your… clothes?" Miotep asked while she rubbed her forehead with her hand.
"Oh, yes!" Nanenna squealed with glee. She ran past Miotep back into her room and emerged a minute later with a bright red beanie on her head.
"How did Baba's beanie get in your room?" Miotep asked in surprise. Ahadi had been looking for his Star Fleet beanie for weeks now.
"Found it." Nanenna said as she strutted passed her Mama.
"What am I going to do with you?" Miotep asked herself.
Miotep and Nanenna left the house and took the 25-minute drive to the doctor's. Everyone in the small village knew each other so there was no point for Miotep trying to hide herself or her daughter from the surrounding stares.
Once inside the building there were less people ogling them. However, that still didn't sit easy with Miotep. Today was the day she would find out what sex her baby was. Nanenna, Ahadi and herself wanted another girl. But Denahi and Sehale wanted a baby brother.
Miotep went to the front desk to let the receptionist know that she'd made it. Her daughter looked like she had crashed into the back end of a circus truck but she'd made it.
"Miotep Uhura." A female voice came from around the soft green wall. Miotep turned around to see a beautiful African woman with a brightly-coloured head scarf. The woman smiled brightly at Miotep, crow's feet crinkling at the corners of her eyes. Miotep beamed back at her. Though the doctor was quite a bit older than Miotep her beauty hid her age well.
"Doctor Rehema Buhari. We meet again." Miotep said as she closed the gap between them and embraced the doctor in a tight hug.
"And so soon." Doctor Buhari smiled at Miotep then turned her gaze to the brightly-coloured little girl who was trying hard to hide behind her Mama.
"Nanenna… What can I say...? You have grown so much!" The doctor exclaimed. Nanenna smiled briefly before hiding further behind Mama. "Come on in ladies." Doctor Buhari said and gestured to the examination room halfway down the hall.
After going through the symptoms that Miotep was experiencing the doctor got her to lie on the medibed and lift up her shirt. Nanenna finally started to relax around the doctor and became interested in everything she did. Nanenna followed the doctor to the bed and stood on her tippy toes to see what was going on.
"Mama, shirt down!" Nanenna exclaimed as she saw her Mama's belly.
"It's alright, Nanenna. We're going to look at the baby." The doctor said. "Would you like to see?"
"Oh, Yes!" Nanenna joyfully shouted.
Before the doctor put the gel on Miotep's stomach she pulled a spare chair up next to hers so Nanenna could stand on it. Once standing on the chair, with her small hands folded in front of her, Nanenna looks at the doctor.
Doctor Buhari pulled out a long instrument that looked like a wand. She activated it causing an electric blue laser to appear across its frame. The doctor ran it slowly up and down Miotep's stomach until an image shows up on the screen.
"T.V!" Nanenna squeals with delight as she stares intently at the screen. Doctor Buhari moves the wand across Miotep's belly, changing the picture on the screen. Nanenna looks at the doctor, "Not this one. I want 'Five Cheeky Monkeys', please."
"Nanenna, you can't change the channel on this T.V, Sweetie." Miotep called from her position on the bed.
"See this here?" Doctor Buhari brings the screen closer to the medibed so both mother and daughter can see. "That is your baby."
"Mama, baby tuck in T.V." Nanenna said in a very confused tone.
"No, 'Nenna. The baby isn't stuck." Miotep chuckles causing the image on the screen to flicker.
Nanenna ogles the screen while Doctor Buhari points out the features of the family's newest edition. "This here is its body. This is leg one, this is leg two. Arm one, and arm two." Doctor Buhari continued.
"Head one, head two." Nanenna said.
Miotep let out a laugh that echoed around the white room. She stopped when she saw Rehema staring back at her, with her mouth slightly agape. Doctor Buhari looked from Miotep's belly to the screen, back to the belly then to Miotep's face.
"She's right." The doctor confirmed Nanenna's theory.
"Wait…What? You can't be serious?" Miotep exclaimed, her voice rising a couple of octaves.
"When I wear this coat," Doctor Buhari said as she pulled at the white doctor's coat she was wearing, "I must remain professional. It would be wrong for me to pull pranks on my clients, even if they are my friends."
"So you're… serious?" Miotep asked, her voice now quite low.
"Completely." The doctor replied.
"Baby got two heads?" Nanenna asked completely intrigued by her unborn alien sibling.
"No. The baby doesn't have two heads. There's two babies in there. There's this one here," The doctor said. She then moved the wand around so it was now resting on a different part of Miotep's abdomen, "And this is baby two." She finished as the screen moved from one baby to the other.
"Twins." Miotep spoke softly to herself.
"Identical by the looks of it." Doctor Buhari announced as she continued to examine the foetuses.
"Really?"
"Really. Does your family have a history of twins?" Rehema asked in curiosity.
"No, not on my side." Miotep answered.
"Twins are generally passed on from the mother's side. This is quite… fascinating." The doctor said as she continued to stare at the screen. "Are you sure twins don't run on your side of the family."
"I'm certain, but Ahadi does have identical twin brothers." Miotep said as she reminisced on the night she was first introduced to the cunning twins.
STARDATE: 2223.258 (Mon, Sep 15th, 2223)
…Roughly four months after meeting Miotep at the conference…
24-year-old Ahadi and his girlfriend walked up the pebbled path. The house before them wasn't large or magnificent, it was an average one-storey house with green painted slats and a white arch.
It was night time so Miotep couldn't admire the beautiful front garden for long without getting a chill. Ahadi led her up a couple of brick stairs onto the wooden porch. Ahadi approached the door and knocked.
"Why did you knock?" Miotep questioned. "It's your own home."
"That is true." Ahadi responded and opened the door after he realised no-one was going to open it for him. His family knew he was bringing his girlfriend around to meet them for the first time. Maybe they were busy preparing dinner.
He stepped aside and allowed Miotep to enter first. "Such a gentleman." She laughed. He rarely did anything like that while they were on dates.
"That's what I tell my parents." Ahadi smiled back at her. "Don't worry I'll only act like this around them." His smile became broader.
"How charming." Miotep replied.
She stepped through the door and into the living room. It was nice and cosy. The walls were a soft cream colour that matched perfectly with the African ornaments and Egyptian decorations that scattered the room.
"Brother!" Came a voice from down the hallway in front of them. Within seconds a dark, handsome young man with a crimson shirt appeared from one of the rooms that joined the hallway. He walked briskly to meet his older brother and his new girlfriend.
"Wow. Nice to meet you." He said as he shook Miotep's hand. "She's a keeper. She's hot!" He said loudly into his brother's ear as he hugged him tightly.
"Miotep this is Roku. One of my younger brothers." Ahadi said as he lazily gestured to the dark man with short, black, tightly curled hair.
"Nice to meet you." She beamed brightly.
Ahadi led Miotep around the house and back to the living room. Ahadi had introduced her to his parents, who were indeed, in the kitchen preparing dinner. The introduction was a success, no tense or awkward moments and the food smelled delicious.
Ahadi's brother walked into the living room wearing an orange shirt similar to the one she saw before.
"You changed?" She said as she noticed his presence.
The young man paused, looked from Ahadi to the gorgeous young woman and back to Ahadi. He winked, "Yeah, the other shirt smelled funny. Left it soaking in the washing machine for too long, if you know what I mean."
"I know the smell." Miotep laughed. "Roku, right?" She asked.
"Yeah, that's me." He answered, his face was void of any expression. Ahadi just glared at him.
"Where's Baku?" Ahadi asked. Ahadi knew his brothers were mischievous. It was only a matter of time before Miotep found out.
"He's here. Somewhere." He smiled and ventured back down the hall with haste.
"I need to use the bathroom." Miotep whispered to Ahadi and he guided her to the right room.
"Meet me in the dining room when you're done, dinner's almost ready." He said and made his way back to the dining room.
Miotep was about to enter the bathroom when she heard a flush and Roku stepped out. She preferred the red shirt on him better. The orange shirt was a little too tacky.
"Whoa, didn't see you there." He exclaimed as he smiled. He was too happy. What was he doing in there?! Miotep offered a friendly smile and approached the door. "See you on the other side." He called and scooted out of sight.
She opened the door only to find… Roku? …in a deep red shirt. "What the hell?!" She yelled as she mentally praised herself for not wetting her pants in fright. This man looked exactly like the first… or was that the second? She had no idea. Ahadi said he had two brothers but he failed to mention that his brothers were identical twins.
"Can I help you, Miotep?" He said from the porcelain loo. The lid was down and his pants were up. So he obviously wasn't using it.
"Who are you?" She asked as she brought her hand to the bridge of her nose to pinch it in frustration.
"Roku." He replied.
"But the other one said he was Roku." She said.
"Oh, right. If he's Roku, then I'm Baku." He stated with a huge smile.
"Out!" Miotep ordered. The young man (whoever he may be) looked frightened. He exited the bathroom within seconds.
…Present Time…
To this day she still didn't know who had been in the red shirt and who had been in the orange.
It was dinner time back at the Uhura's house and the whole family was sitting down at the dining room table enjoying a big bowl of macaroni cheese.
"Baba, guess what I learned at pre-school today?" Sehale asked as he continuously brushed his dark messy hair away from his face so he could keep stuffing his face with glorious food.
His father who was sitting adjacent to him gently placed his cutlery on the table, swallowed his mouthful, and then responded, "What did you learn at pre-school today?"
"I learnt how to count backwards from 100. Ready? 100, 99, 98, 95, 93-"
"- -That's not right." Denahi piped in with a mouthful of food.
"Denahi, manners at the table please." Miotep said as she wiped the cheese off of Nanenna's face.
"92, 90, 80, 79, 78." Sehale continued counting throughout the conversation.
"That's very good, Sehale. Just keep trying… you'll get there… eventually." Ahadi smiled at his youngest son.
"Can I have my turn now?" Denahi asked impatiently.
"What happened at school today, Denahi?" Miotep asked. Her eldest son caught her curiosity.
"Rojan had to go to hospital." Denahi said and continued eating.
"No, Ro-Ro!" Nanenna gasped.
"What happened?! Is he alright?!" Miotep begged for answers.
"He fell out of the baobab tree and broke his arm." Denahi responded.
"That's terrible." Ahadi added.
"Is he okay?" Miotep pestered.
"He didn't cry; he just went really pale." Denahi informed his parents.
"What was he doing up the tree?" Miotep asked.
"Playing hide-and-seek. Harry got in trouble because he hid on the other side of the border; where all the wild animals are. Harry has detention for the rest of the week. Before we went home Miss. Juma said that Rojan will be back at school on Wednesday."
Satisfied with Denahi's information the household went back to their dinner.
"Turn me now." Nanenna said as she bobbed up and down in her booster seat.
"Ok, 'Nenna. Your turn." Sehale said, trying to imitate his father.
"Mama bubby gots two heads." Nanenna clapped and giggled joyously, finally being able to tell everyone.
The two young boys erupted into fits of laughter. Sehale even resorted to banging his fists on the table. Denahi shook his head and laughed at how ridiculous his little sister could be.
"What?" Ahadi's voice was barely audible. He was the only one that wasn't laughing or giggling, even Miotep giggled at her son's reactions to the news.
"Two heads, Baba." Nanenna smiled and patted her head for emphasis.
"Twins?" A small smirk tugged at the corner of Ahadi's lips.
Miotep's face became solemn, her acting skills kicking into overdrive, "No." She said sadly.
"No?" Ahadi queried, worry evident in his voice. "You mean the baby… really has…"
"Yes." Miotep covers her face to hide her broadening smile. Ahadi mistakes it for tears.
"Oh, Mio… I'm sorry." He says gently. The boys stop laughing and look at their parents.
Miotep uncovered her face to reveal a wicked grin etched on her face. "I'm sorry, too, Mpenzi (Lover)." She said, barely managing to stifle her laughter.
"You're evil. Cruel and evil." Ahadi spoke with a smile on his face. "And because of your cruelness there will be none for you tonight." Ahadi said as he stood up from the table, with his bowl in his hand.
"No what?" Sehale asked, now suddenly interested again.
"What can't she have?" The older brother piped in.
"Dessert." Ahadi replied with a smirk.
