Disclaimer: I've told you before, I don't own it.

Eight chapters to go.

A/N: Reviews are like sticks; some make perfect swords, other make perfect wands, some even make perfect guns. But they all have ends that can hurt. I don't care if you want to play swords with me, or have a stick fight. Just don't poke me in the eye. Please, be careful with the stick.

Origins: The Journey Begins

Chapter 22: One Hit Wonder

STARDATE: 2231.332 (Tues, Nov 29th, 2231) [3 months Old]

It was exactly three months after the birth of baby Spock. The morning was still young and the occupants of the enormous house were up and about.

Sybok, as usual, was getting ready for a regular day at the Early Learning Centre for Vulcans. He was in his large room, which was painted a deep, calming blue. Having a room painted this colour helped Sybok maintain his centre when he felt angry or confused.

The room, unlike other young Vulcans, was decorated to portray his emotions. Sarek was uncomfortable seeing his older son express such strong emotions physically or verbally, but was lenient when it came to small decorations. Amanda had suggested that small artefacts in Syboks room would make it a safe zone for him. If Sybok ever felt overwhelmed or depressed, a room filled with his personal items will help centre and possibly cause less emotional outbreaks in the future.

Pictures of old ancient Terran forests littered the walls. The dark green leaves from the paintings blended beautifully with the dark blue walls. Walking into Sybok's room was like walking into a dark, dense forest during the late hours of the night. This was what calmed Sybok the most.

Glow in the dark stars scattered the ceiling. Some were large others were small but all glowed a florescent green when the lights were turned off. Sarek didn't mind the forest paintings on the wall, but the stars on the ceiling irritated him. Stars were not, in fact, shaped like stars or green. They were spherical, and depending on how far away you were they were either red, orange, yellow or white. Not green. Sybok loved his stars, however 'illogical' they were.

His bed, like most other Vulcans, was a thick, cushioned mattress on the ground. His pillows were a mixture of blues and greens, blending perfectly with the colour of the surrounding walls. His bedspread was a deep green, and upon it sat multiple plush toys ranging from teddies to stuffed his Sehlat. After realising that there was no store on Vulcan that sold toys, Amanda ordered some from Earth. She was just as surprised as Sarek when they even sold stuffed Sehlats.

Sybok was buzzing with energy this morning. He was having trouble putting his school uniform on over his head. He kept trying to pull his head through the arm hole of the uniform and would laugh hysterically when he looked at himself in the mirror to see his reflection.

He hummed quietly to himself as he practically skipped down the stairs to the foyer. There, at the bottom of the stairs was Amanda. Not too far from her, near the doors entry stood S'Reiyah. As he saw Amanda smiling brightly at him he couldn't stop himself from smiling broadly in return.

Sybok was of very few Vulcans that Amanda had the joy of holding hands with. Of course it was normal for Vulcans to hold hands, particularly if they were bonded, or it was a young Vulcan holding the hand of a parent, but Sybok was twelve, far too old to be holding the hand of a parent or guardian. But Amanda would not let Vulcan customs destroy the character of her adoptive son. If he wanted to hold her hand, she would let him.

Sybok slid across the polished floor and laughed when he almost collided with Amanda. He grabbed hold of her hand tightly and was practically pulling her towards the front door. S'Reiyah would wait for them to exit before following them out the door.

"Come on, Mother! We're going to be late! You're going to be late!" He emphasised with strong tugs of his hands. He may have been mentally affected when the Zephlons attacked but he still had his Vulcan strength.

"Calm down, Sybby. We're fine. You're not going to be late and I don't start working until after your first class starts." She chuckled at Sybok's enthusiasm.

When Amanda had first arrived on Vulcan it took her some time to become accustomed to the culture and environment of Vulcan. However, it wasn't long before a teaching position had opened up at the Early Learning Centre. The position was made just for her. She was required to teach young Vulcans aged two to six about the language and culture of Earth and the race that lives there.

After becoming pregnant with Spock, Sarek had forced her to stop working altogether until the child was born. Now precisely three months after Spock's birth, Amanda was returning to work.

"I want to say goodbye to Spockles," Amanda said with a gleam in her eye. No matter how many times Sarek had informed her that 'Spockles' was not his name, she continued to call him that.

Sarek appeared from around one of the corners with said baby in his arms. Spock, although only three months, was naturally big, thanks to the steroids that were injected into his embryo during conception. But boy was he chubby.

The child appeared to be naked, although Amanda was not so sure. Rolls upon rolls covered his baby frame. It looked like he had seven different sections that made up one of his legs; seven distinct rolls on one leg and seven distinct rolls on the other.

It was hard to tell if he was wearing a diaper or not; he was currently sitting in Sarek's arms facing outwards, his tummy flab was rolling over where the diaper should be seen. His arms were also chubby; his wrists barely distinct through the rolls of arm fat.

Spock's face was as stoic as his father's. The only difference was that Sarek could pull it off, Spock could not. Not at this age. Not with his baby flab.

"Sarek! Is he naked?!" Amanda laughed loudly as she crossed the short distance to inspect her young son.

Lifting up different layers of Spock's baby fat she discovered that Spock was, in fact, wearing a diaper.

"My little sumo Spockles." Amanda cooed in high pitched tones. She grabbed hold of his legs and started jiggling them, watching her son's fat wobble as she did so. "Three months and he still hasn't smiled."

"He is half Vulcan. Vulcans do not express emotion. Hence, why Vulcans do not smile." Sarek responded.

"Hm, really? I could have sworn you were smiling last night or do I have to remind you?" She smiled knowingly.

"My memory is not inept. I remember the events of last night perfectly fine." Sarek's voice was quiet.

"You were smiling," Amanda stated with a smile.

"Merely a reaction." He said quickly in return.

"A reaction, indeed." She said softly. Sarek shifted slightly. This conversation was making him uncomfortable. He manoeuvred his young son in his arms. Amanda watched as Sarek's hands disappeared into Spock's flab then reappear once he had finished adjusting Spock in his arms.

"He wouldn't be so fat if I had breastfed him." She chided her husband lightly.

"We have discussed this on multiple occasions; Spock, although half human, cannot digest human breast milk. This is why he has to consume formula."

"I know, I know," Amanda replied before turning to look down at Sybok tickling Spock's toes. "Okay. His bottle is in the fridge; he needs to take it at-"

"-9:30." Sarek interrupted. "I have fed him before. I do remember." He answered.

"Right. Oh, if he starts to cry at 11:15 he most likely-"

"Needs his diaper changed. Adun'a (wife), I am quite capable." He said evenly, though through their tel he was stern.

"Okay. Alright." Amanda nodded. This was the first time Sarek would be home alone with Spock for the whole day. She quickly kisses Spock on the forehead, he promptly winces then instantly returns to his chubby stoic self.

Amanda smiles at her husband before reaching down to take Sybok's hand and exit through the front door. S'Reiyah closely behind them. They won't be back for eight hours.

Sarek is left alone with Spock.

When Amanda is home she is constantly at Spock's side. Sarek informs her continuously that she does not need to be so close to him. Spock is a very strong, very healthy telepath; he will use the established bond if he needs to.

It is 2:30 in the afternoon and Sarek is meditating in one of the vacant meditation rooms on the ground level. He had put Spock down to rest on his small mattress an hour and a half ago. The mattress was placed in their room.

Sarek is in a heavy meditative state; his subconscious is void of any distractions. He visualises himself hovering centimetres above the ground, surrounded by grey. Nothing but himself is present in his subconscious.

Soon a baby suddenly appears. A very chubby baby. Rolling around in Sarek's subconscious. It appears to be crying. Sarek finds it difficult to meditate when his son has infiltrated his head. He tries to block out the fact that Spock has arrived uninvited in his mind while he is trying to meditate, and what's worse is that he is crying. No, bawling.

Spock continues to circle around the image of 'hovering Sarek', his sobs emphasised with every roll. Sarek sighs. Meditation is officially over. He slowly rises through the levels of consciousness until he finds himself alone in the vacant room. Spock's sobs can be heard from the room upstairs.

Sarek exits the meditation room only to find the hallway is filled with house servants, all eager for him to stop their young master from crying. Sarek walks past his Vulcan servants with a neutral expression on his face, even if he is completely embarrassed on the inside.

Sarek quickly ascends the stairs and comes to a halt outside of his quarters. He inhales slightly before opening the door. Instantly he is bombarded with the escalated wails of his son. With Spock's larger lung capacity, comes louder cries. It is almost painful for Sarek's ears.

There, on the small mattress near the master bed, is Spock. Tears streaming from his eyes. His eyes that look so much like his mother's. Immediately Sarek softens. He does not like seeing his son cry, especially when his eyes are so similar to that of his wife's.

Sarek crosses the floor until he reaches the small mattress which is occupying the chubby, howling baby. Sarek kneels beside the mattress, near Spock's head.

"It is illogical to cry, Spock," Sarek speaks to his son in his native language.

Spock instantly stops crying to stare up at his father through glassy eyes. He begins to cry harder.

"Stop," Sarek says calmly.

Spock's eyes are squinting, tears streaming. Spock grabs his small toes with his chubby hands.

"You cannot possibly be hungry. I have fed you twice today. Your last feed was only one hour and 47 minutes ago." Sarek ruled out.

Spock's lungs were having a great work out. He withdrew a breath before another loud wail burst forth from his mouth.

"You are neither wet nor soiled," Sarek added, all the while studying his child from a short distance.

If Spock were to continue like this Amanda would come home early. He would be seen as a failure. He would not let his Vulcan pride be humiliated. He thought about contacting his own mother, however, being the matriarch of their colony she would likely be busy.

He knew he needed advice from another parent. He stood quickly, exited the main room and closed the door behind him. He will return with help very shortly. He rushed down the stairs and crossed the foyer, glancing at his servants as he passed by.

As Sarek disappeared into the confines of his office the servants went about their duties as if nothing had transpired.

Sarek sat down at his desk and dialled a code into the communicator. Soon enough, the face of R'Va filled the screen, staring blankly back at him.

"Ambassador Sarek." She said quietly as she took in his appearance. Sarek was unaware that his hair was sticking up in different directions.

"R'Va, I am in need of assistance." He said simply. His voice did not betray him, but his appearance did.

"I cannot assist you if you are not at the office." She replied. She was currently at the Vulcan Embassy. She had different communication devices stacked up neatly on shelves behind her. She was in her office.

"If I recall correctly, the regulations state that, as Ambassador, I am entitled to require assistance from whomever I need, if I am in the office. As you can see from my surroundings, I am currently in the office." Sarek stated with ease.

R'Va's lip quirked ever so slightly. She loved loopholes. Finding loopholes was part of her job as the Communications Officer at the Embassy. "How can I be of assistance?"

"My son is distressed." Sarek began. "I have tried to lecture him on the merits of emotion. I was non-successful."

"Perhaps it is not the Vulcan within your son that is in need of attention. He is half human after all." R'Va stated simply.

"Indeed. That is why I have made contact with you. As Communications Officer you are well versed in human behaviour. I believe your expertise is needed." Sarek confessed.

R'Va nodded slightly, "Have you checked his basic needs?"

"I have. They have all been attended to. He is still… not satisfied." Sarek managed to say.

"I shall assist you in the matter shortly. I shall be at your residence in 13.7 minutes." R'Va closed the link down, contacted the Early Learning Centre to send her daughter home with Amanda, gathered her essentials and begun the walk to Sarek's house.

R'Va had barely made it to the front entrance of the mansion when she heard the cries of young master Spock. One of the many servants had answered the door and ushered R'Va inside, informing her that Sarek was in the master bedroom.

Vulcan's who were guests in the house were not permitted in the master bedroom, so R'Va stood just beyond the open door, waiting for Sarek's invitation.

Sarek was very cautious about who he let into his quarters. There were only a select few, from the 64 Vulcans working for Sarek, which were allowed to enter his quarters unsupervised.

Upon noticing R'Va's presence, Sarek bent down to pick up his plump son. Sarek brought Spock over to where R'Va stood near the door.

"He has been in tears for 44.2 minutes," Sarek informed R'Va as he led her downstairs to a sparse room. Spock crying heartily the entire way.

The room was dull in both colour and features. There was a mahogany chest of drawers in the corner and a matching change table for Spock.

Sarek laid the screaming infant down on the change table and backed away so R'Va could inspect him. Sarek stood away from the table with his hands clasped behind his back, watching R'Va circle the table, looking intently at the crying baby.

"He has been fed?" She queried.

"Twice." He answered.

"Perhaps because he is above Vulcan standards he needs more nutrients to sustain him. Another attempt at feeding may be in order." R'Va said with finality. She seemed quite sure that this would solve Spock's crying.

However, it did not. When presented with a bottle of formula Spock only screamed louder, slapping the bottle away with his chubby fist. The bottle flew out of Sarek's hand and landed on the floor, metres away from where Sarek and R'Va stood.

"I think that we can deduce that Spock is not hungry," Sarek commented.

"Perhaps he is in of a new diaper," R'Va stated as she continued to stare at the crying baby.

"He is not in need of a new diaper," Sarek responded. He had just changed Spock, moments before R'Va's arrival. Spock momentarily stopped crying. When the two adult Vulcan's turned to him again, he burst into a fresh round of tears.

R'Va, being a professional Communications Officer, noticed how Spock had pause when they had mentioned a fresh diaper. "He understands us." She stated, rather than asked.

"Using his mental bond he is able to understand certain things." Sarek corrected.

"Have you tried mind melding with him? Perhaps he can show you what he needs?" She suggested.

"I have tried. However, in his state, it is hard to sort through his distressed mind." Sarek caught himself before he sighed in frustration.

"Spock paused momentarily after our discussion of changing diapers," R'Va said. Once again, Spock halted is crying and looked up longingly at the two Vulcans standing above him.

When they looked down at him he turned on the waterworks again.

After finding the diaper on Spock's body, underneath several rolls of flab, Sarek unclasped the diaper and threw it into the bin, even though it was fairly clean.

Spock's tears died down to a whimper. He was still sniffling and on the odd occasion he would hiccough, but the screaming had ceased.

He was still naked, but he was content… almost. When Sarek attempted to place a new diaper on him he promptly burst into tears.

"Spock. It is considered improper to remain bare. You must wear a covering over your genitals." Sarek attempted to speak logically to his bawling three-month-old son.

"Maybe leaving your son completely bare is enough to keep him satisfied until Lady Amanda returns home?" R'Va asked and turned to Sarek for an answer.

Sarek just shook his head. "He shares DNA with his mother; they are both stubborn. He will not be content either way now. Not since we tried to force him into a diaper."

"If he refuses to wear a diaper, and he is not pleased being bare… I regret to inform you that I am lost for ideas." R'Va's face was apologetic.

"Then there is only one thing left to do," Sarek said and approached the change table where Spock lay, screaming his lungs out.

Sarek gently ran his long index finger down the side of Spock's face. Spock looked into his father's eyes. Sarek's finger then traced over Spock's right shoulder. Spock tried to follow his father's finger but couldn't turn his head far enough to see.

Sarek finger went to the back of Spock's shoulder. After finding the right place, Sarek used his finger and thumb and gave Spock a small pinch. Spock stopped crying immediately. His eyes closed, his head lolled to the side and his breathing evened out.

Spock was asleep.

Seconds later the front door of the mansion opened up to reveal Amanda, Sybok, S'Reiyah and R'Va's five-year-old daughter, R'Veia.

"Where is Spock?" Amanda called from the foyer. Her voice wasn't its usual cheerful tone. In fact, it sounded like she knew Spock was in distress.

R'Va and Sarek appeared from the sparse room, the latter holding a very chubby, very naked baby Vulcan.

"Oh my God! I knew something was going on!" Amanda shrieked as she came to inspect her sleeping son.

"How did you know he was in distress?" Sarek asked.

"First of all, I'm his mother. We have a bond. I can feel him. I could feel him crying, and crying, and crying, then suddenly it stops. Secondly, it all got a little bit too suspicious when I get a call from R'Va saying for me to take her daughter home with me." Amanda listed off on her hand before collecting her son from Sarek's arms.

"What did you do to him?" She asked.

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the baby." He half answers.

"Sarek." Amanda pressured.

"Nerve pinch. Enough to send him into a peaceful slumber." He answered. By this time, young R'Veia makes her way to her mother and stands proudly beside her. S'Reiyah has vanished into the kitchen and Sybok had darted upstairs.

"WHAT?!" Amanda yelled.

Due to Amanda's frank outburst, Spock awakens from his peaceful slumber. A few short seconds later, he begins to cry again.

Sybok returns to the group in the foyer, he is carrying something small and soft. It is his plush toy. The Sehlat.

"Here you go Spock," Sybok says as he holds the plush toy up in front of Spock's face. Spock stares at the toy Sehlat then down at the Vulcan boy holding it. Sybok's face breaks into a broad smile. "I don't need him anymore. You can have him now."

Spock smiles widely.

The sight of his son smiling is enough to emit a small gasp from Sarek's throat. R'Va would've heard it, surely, but she did not say anything.

Amanda hugs Spock tightly exclaiming loudly of how proud she is of her 'Spockles', sending love and encouragement through the tel she shares with him.

Spock giggles.

He grabs for the stuffed Sehlat. Once it is safe in his strong grasp he stares longingly at Sybok. Sybok comes forward and takes Spock from Amanda. Finding it difficult to hold the heavy baby on his hip, Sybok opts to hold him against his chest with Spock's head over his shoulder.

Sybok turns and walks towards the library with the plump baby looking back at the stunned faces in the foyer. Spock smiles broadly at them before he and his brother disappear into the library.