Disclaimer: Don't look at me, I don't own it.

Six chapters to go.

A/N: Reviews are like navigators; they tell you where to go. You may not like it, but it's the truth. Please review. I don't want to send myself into a black hole.

WARNING: This chapter contains lots of poop. I have warned you!

Origins: The Journey Begins

Chapter 24: One Misplaced Baby

STARDATE: 2231.29 (Sun, Jan 29th, 2232) [5 months Old]

It all started when Sarek had tried to stop Spock from crying exactly two months ago. The moment when Sarek had rid Spock of his diaper was the precise turning point. Spock had felt freedom… and he wanted to stay there.

This was getting ridiculous. Amanda had been forcing herself to wake up early and tend to her child. Sarek was already awake and fully capable of seeing to his son's needs, but, like every morning at 5:35, Sarek would be deep in meditation. Amanda had to deal with Spock on her own.

A week ago, on the 22nd of January, Spock had learnt how to unclasp his own diaper. Amanda thought it was cute… until Spock started to unclasp his diaper every time he had soiled it.

Last week, when Amanda woke, she groggily rolled off the mattress, carefully stood and came to stand over the small mattress which held her young son.

"Good morning, Spockles." She had said through a yawn as she bent down to give him a morning kiss on his forehead. However, she paused before she kissed him.

"Good Glory, Spock! You're a smelly thing, aren't you?" Amanda said as she brought her hand to her nose. She cautiously extended her right hand, keeping in mind to keep her left hand clasped tightly over her nostrils.

Not to her surprise, Spock had already unclasped his diaper. Amanda slowly pulled the front flap of the diaper down to reveal a brilliant mess.

"Oh, Spockles!" She gagged. The sight was… terrifying… to say the least. "What a mess!"

Amanda held her breath as both of her hands came to inspect the damage. The further Amanda lifted Spock's chubby legs, the more 'mess' she saw. "Good grief, it's all over you!"

She looked up to see her son's face gleaming back at her. He looked mischievous.

"Spockles!" Amanda had sternness evident in her tone. She had just finished cleaning everything up. "That took me 45 minutes and a full pack of baby wipes to clean you up!" She looked down at the child who continued to play with his chubby toes.

"I don't know how I'm going to fix this. I can't tell you to poop less. That's just part of nature, but Spockles… do you really have to roll around in it?" She had said as she lifted her clean son up from the mattress and headed down to the kitchen.

Three days later, on the 25th of January, Amanda had rolled out of bed to face a different type of smelly dilemma.

"Oh, dear." She muttered silently to herself.

Before her, her young son lay upon the baby mattress. As usual, he had soiled himself. However, today was a new day, and with new days come new challenges. Being mentally bonded to his mother, Spock had some understanding of what she had told him three days prior. To him this translated as 'I mustn't roll around in my own filth, I shall rid myself of the hindrance they call 'diaper' and lay apart from it.'

Which is exactly what Spock had done. He had unclasped his diaper, like he had always done, however, he had managed to throw the diaper onto the ground a couple of feet away from his mattress. Thank God that it landed facing upwards.

Amanda had looked at the soiled diaper at her feet before fixating her gaze upon her naked son. Spock was giggling; his small pointed teeth were showing, his black tuft of hair was sticking up, and his belly rolls were jiggling due to his laughter.

Spock loved being naked. He was currently on his back, hands clasped tightly around his toes, rolling back and forth with a huge smile plastered on his face.

"Spockles." Amanda groaned as she began to clean.

"I know you're trying to help, but please stop rolling around. You're getting poop on the mattress." She could see this becoming the new routine.

However, on this day, January 29th, it was to Amanda's astonishment that Spock was not seen rolling around on his mattress. She had woken later than her usual time. It was seven o'clock in the morning. Spock evacuated his bowels at 5:35 every morning without fail.

Sighing to herself, Amanda slowly rolled off of the mattress and staggered to her feet. Before her, she saw the soiled diaper on the floor.

She approached her son's mattress which was adjacent to her own and squeaked in surprise when she did not see her son there.

"Spock?" She called out, turning around the room to try and get a visual on her missing baby.

Living among Vulcans had given Amanda time to grow accustomed to their strange but accurate internal clock. After bonding with Sarek she found herself accurately pinpointing the age of every member of the household without having to really think about it.

Amanda knew that Spock was exactly five months old today, but that still didn't explain why he was missing. Perhaps Sarek was going to start teaching him some basic meditation techniques? She thought as she made her way around the mattresses to the alcove where Sarek's mediation room was.

Sarek was there, Spock was not. She started to panic slightly.

"Sarek." She spoke softly from the archway that led into the room. He didn't stir, obviously too deep into his meditation to be stirred vocally. Amanda tried to rouse him using the tel. She straightened up, calmed her body, relaxing her muscles before slipping into a light trance. She followed the tel she shared with her husband. Mentally, she tapped lightly.

Sarek was sitting on his dark brown meditation mat. His legs were crossed, his hands resting nicely on his knees, his eyes were closed and his face placid. He was deep in meditation. Once again he had cleared his mind, visualising only himself hovering centimetres above the ground. He has sorted through most of his personal queries turning his subconscious back to the familiar grey.

He was about to rise through the levels of mediation when he felt a subtle knock on the outskirts of his subconscious. Sarek, knowing who it was, opened the link that joins him to his wife. Within seconds an image of Amanda enters through his subconscious.

"I do not wish to disturb your meditation, Ashayam (beloved), but I can't find Spockles." The image of Amanda says.

"You were not disturbing me. I was about to ascend back to full consciousness. Perhaps we should talk when I have risen from my subconscious." Sarek says simply. Amanda merely nods and excuses herself from Sarek's mind.

Sarek stands swiftly as he comes back to full consciousness. He approaches his wife and notices the expression of worry upon her face.

"Do not worry yourself, K'diwa (beloved)." Sarek soothes as he closes his eyes. Sarek quickly accessed the tel he shared with his youngest son, trying to determine his whereabouts. Spock is still very young, he cannot speak through the bond but he is very capable of passing on a message via the means of visions and pictures. A vision not of his own appears briefly in Sarek's mind. It is a picture of the main foyer stairs.

After finding out where Spock is, Sarek quickly closes the link and looks back at his wife, "He is not missing, just misplaced. He is at the top of the stairs or somewhere near there."

The search begins.

Sarek is out of the master bedroom and walking briskly in the direction of the main stairs with Amanda hot on his heels.

"How did he get there?" Amanda asked her husband as they continued at a hurried pace.

"I believe our youngest son has taught himself how to be mobile." Sarek huffed as he raced towards the stairs.

"He's walking?!" Amanda gasped.

"I believe he is at the stage between immobility and walking."

"Crawling. You could just say 'crawling'." Amanda said through a smile. Her son was crawling. Nothing could dampen her day now.

They approached the stairs but still had no visual on their child. Sarek was slightly confused. Spock had shown him the vision of these stairs. Why wasn't he here?

"Oh my God, Sarek! Look!" Amanda tugged heavily on the sleeve of Sarek's meditation robe. Her finger was pointing directly at the first step. Sarek followed her finger and saw, to his horror, a small smear of poo.

"Fascinating," Sarek said simply as he leant over the step to look at the other steps that lead down to the ground level.

"Fascinating? Our son has… defecated on the stairs and all you can say is 'Fascinating'?" Amanda couldn't believe her husband sometimes.

"He has not defecated. It is merely remnants of his earlier evacuation. He has obviously descended the stairs using his posterior. If you look further on you will see that each step has a small smear of… faeces."

Amanda looked at each step as she slowly descended. Just like what Sarek had said, there was indeed a small spot of poo. They were careful not to step on the soiled parts of the stairs as they made their way to the bottom. When they reached the bottom Sarek quickly called over a nearby servant.

"My son has made a mess on these stairs, be sure to have them cleaned before the arrival of Captain Pike," Sarek spoke softly but sternly.

"Captain Pike is coming today?! I thought he was coming tomorrow!"

"He had a miscalculation with his planning. It seemed that his only available time to make contact with us is today." Sarek said as he turned to face his bondmate.

"And you didn't think to tell me?!" Amanda squawked.

"I am telling you now, aren't I?" Sarek's didn't mean for his comment to sound disrespectful, he had simply stated a fact.

Amanda shooked her head and focused on the more important things. "We need to find Spock before Captain Pike arrives."

"Indeed."

"If I were my son, where would I be?" Amanda mused to herself.

Then, at once, both Sarek and Amanda were shown a mental picture of water. It was not held in anything, it wasn't shown with anything else. It was just water. Spock had sent them an image of what he wanted.

"Water," Sarek said as he turned to his bondmate. "Did you clean him when you woke this morning?" He asked.

"No. I did not wake up in time." She answered honestly.

"I believe he is on a mission to cleanse himself."

"That would explain the water image. I'll check the bathroom." Amanda stated just as she was about to head off to the East Wing of the mansion.

"Although logical in reason, it would not seem likely. You may bathe him every night in the bathroom near the East Wing of the house, but he cannot bathe himself. He may be strong but not strong enough to haul himself over the edge of the bathtub."

Amanda came to stand in front of her husband. "And where do you think we should be looking?"

"The West Wing. To gain access to the indoor pool all one needs to do is stand where the sensor can detect you. The doors automatically open. I have taken Spock to the pool many a time for him to observe how to enter."

"The pool?! Sarek, he'll drown!"

"Unlikely. Vulcans are naturally heavy. They do not like water because they cannot conquer it the way in which humans do."

"I know Vulcans have trouble swimming. You gave a very 'fascinating' demonstration when we were first courting. But this is our son. Our five-month-old son. He will drown."

"He will not. Trust me, K'diwa. Our son has exceeded the weight that will cause him to drown. He is large enough that he balances out in the water. He will not sink, he will merely float upon it."

Amanda just stared at her husband. "Are you saying that Spock is so fat that he physically cannot sink?"

"It is more than just his fat that keeps him afloat. It is a combination of-"

"—So he won't drown?"

"In a matter of speaking, no."

"Good. Go to the pool and see if he's there. I'll head to the bathroom in the East Wing just in case."

Sarek nodded and departed from the foyer. He had to find his son before Captain Pike arrived.

He arrived at the West Wing in a matter of seconds. He passed through the sensor door and walked along the side of the pool, staring intently at the water. As a member of the highest Vulcan clan, he was taught to swim from a young age. Vulcan's bodies were twice as heavy as humans which made it very difficult for them to keep their heads above water. Sarek hated the water, but it was his duty to teach both of his sons how to swim.

The indoor pool was massive and resembled a beach more than it did a pool. It still had steps that led down into the water, and the bottom of the pool was tiled, but surrounding the pool was golden sand. The pool imitated Earth's beaches almost to perfection.

Sarek ogled the water as he circled the pool twice. He was more afraid of falling in if he were completely honest with himself. It felt weird having his feet brush up against the sand. Whenever he came to the pool he would always wear something to cover his feet.

Meanwhile in the East Wing of the mansion…

"Spockles! Where are you?!" Amanda called as she neared her destination. She had got Spock into a routine. Every night before bed she would allow Spock to roll around on the floor for an hour before bathing him in the large bathtub which was situated in the East Wing.

She entered the bathroom half expecting her son to be on the tiled floor of the bathroom, splashing around in the small puddles. He was not. Amanda became angry with herself. If only she had woken up on time, Spock would not be 'misplaced' and she would not be looking for him.

Suddenly another image flashed through her mind. It appeared to be Spock splashing happily in shallow water. The image vanished. Splashing in shallow water? As soon as the image disappeared from her mind she heard Sarek speak to her through their tel. He must have gotten the image as well.

"The water fountain in the garden par," Sarek suggested.

"Of course," Amanda replied back to him. "I'll meet you at the fountain."

Amanda closed down the link and scurried out of the bathroom. She needed to get to the fountain in the back yard. She needed to find Spock, clean him, clothe him, and make him look presentable for when Captain Pike arrived. She will not have Spock naked and dirty when he met Captain Pike for the first time.

She hurried out the back of the mansion. The large garden park covered majority of the fields. All sorts of native flora covered the land; some plants were even hedged into tall mazes, other smaller plants outlined the garden path. The path weaved through the garden stopping at significant statues or features along the way. One of these features was the water fountain.

Sarek and Amanda had taken Sybok and Spock to the fountain only a couple of weeks ago. Sybok had kicked and splashed in the water, soaking Spock as he had passed him. Spock had smiled widely before rolling over in a fit of cackling laughter.

When Amanda reached the water fountain she saw Sarek already circling the feature. She quickly joined his side, before heading off the look under nearby shrubs.

"Spockles! Come here! We're worried sick!" Amanda continued to call from her position on the ground; she was still dressed in her pale pink nightgown, on the grass, head buried in a bush, with her bum high up in the air.

"Spock. Your mother is worried. I am slightly concerned. You must show yourself immediately." Sarek spoke calmly from his position; dressed in his black silky meditation robe, standing to face the fountain, hands on his hips.

Sarek's robe had been tied together, but after rushing through the house trying to find his son, it had come undone. Both he and Amanda looked ragged.

"Sarek, he's not here." Amanda whimpered as she got to her feet and came to her husband's side to bury her face in his neck. Sarek enveloped her in a hug.

"We will find him, K'diwa." He said softly as he brought his lips to her forehead.

Suddenly Sarek dropped his hands from around Amanda. He stiffened as his head whipped in the direction of the mansion.

Amanda stared up at his hard facial features. "Sarek, what is it?"

"I heard the doorbell." He looked down at his wife. "The captain is here."

"What?! But we haven't found Spock!"

"The servants are searching for him also. They will find him. We must greet our guest." Sarek said as he grasped his wife's hand and began a brisk walk towards the front door.

As they passed servants and guards Amanda would continuously stop to see if they had any news on the whereabouts of her son. When they politely informed her of their little progress, Amanda weakly smiled at them, nodded, then continued towards the front door. She wanted her son back in her arms.

Sarek and Amanda appeared in the foyer looking dreadful. Their clothes were wet and dirty, Amanda's face was red, Sarek's face was green, Amanda's pyjama's had hole in them, her hair dishevelled, Sarek's robe was almost falling off his shoulders, and his chest could easily be seen.

Standing opposite of the Ambassador and his wife stood Captain Christopher Pike. The guard at the door had let him in. He stood proud and straight, but once he got a full view on his hosts he bubbled over in laughter.

Amanda looked at herself and her husband before joining the captain in a hearty laugh.

"I don't know what kinky things Vulcan's are into, but I don't want to know." The captain said with a chuckle.

"We have done nothing 'kinky' as you say, I can assure you. We were searching for our son." Sarek said. His voice betrayed nothing.

"Spock!" Amanda called averting everyone's gaze to the chubby naked Vulcan child entering the foyer.

Spock was heading straight for the guest. He hadn't seen this one before. This guest smiles. Spock thought. He must be related to mother.

Spock crawled over to the captain and before he could be picked up, planted himself on the polished shoe of the guest. His naked, uncleaned bottom now resting on the captain's right shoe. Spock looked up and smiled at the captain.

Amanda apologised over and over as she picked her son up. She muttered something about bath and disappeared from the foyer, holding the baby out in front of her.

Captain Pike kept his eyes fixated on the small brown mark on his shoe. He whimpered softly, but Sarek still heard, "These were just polished."