Don't own 'em, don't get a single credit from 'em!
Happy St. Patrick's Day
Spock and Nyota had a few hours to spend with Sarek and T'Sela before the Enterprise left its New Vulcan orbit. The older couple had just returned from Terra, where they had spent time in Greece and Italy. Though it had not even been three months since Spock and Nyota's wedding, and they had spoken weekly via subspace, there was still much to catch up on.
Spock shared his PTSS diagnosis and treatment with his family in person. He had not wanted to do this by subspace. Sarek was supportive of his son and proud of him for getting help, prouder still that the boy had finally met with Selek. Sarek's own relationship with Selek could be a little strained at times. He found his "older" son to be a trifle arrogant, a trait Amanda had often ascribed to Sarek.
Sarek was pleased to hear that the young couple had gotten encouraging news at the fertility clinic. He had wanted his son to experience the joys of parenthood. One of Sarek's fondest memories was of tiny Spock in little denim overalls, reaching for his sa'mekh to pick him up and calling him "sa-sa" for the first time. If they had gone to the clinic, perhaps they were considering a child. Sarek wanted to ask, but he would not pry.
Sarek and T'Sela had news of their own, but were uncertain how Spock would handle it. Sarek decided that Spock must be told before the situation became obvious.
"My son, you are going to have a sibling. T'Sela is expecting a daughter."
"Father, Mother T'Sela, this is very good news. I am pleased to hear it. I have always wanted a sister. When shall we expect her?"
Sarek let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
"In about eight months time."
Nyota snuggled up to Spock on their bed as he completed the First Officer's Daily Log. The couple had spent an exhausting but satisfying day.
"You really are glad for Sarek and T'Sela, aren't you?"
"Yes, I want my father to have contentment. I can not expect him to mourn my mother for the rest of his life. T'Sela has also lost much, more even then Father, her husband and three children. A child will be good for both of them. They deserve a new beginning, just as Sonrisa does."
"Jack and Lewis are going to spoil her rotten."
"Sonrisa will never be "rotten," Nyota. She is far too sweet for that."
"And her "Uncle" Spock is a big softie! Come here and spoil me a little."
"I find that suggestion most agreeable."
Spock set down his PADD and gave his wife his full attention. Repeatedly.
Nyota had two events beside duty on her agenda for the day. One was the party that night, a combined Valentine's/ St. Patrick's Day celebration. The original Valentine's Day party had been canceled due to a rescue mission. Melenia V had been decimated by plaque. The few survivors, mostly Vulcans, had tried to hold on, but were continuously looted by pirates. The pirates had even attempted to kidnap a few young females, believing that they could be sold to the highest bidder to some family desperate to find a bride for their son. New Vulcan had a shortage of females of childbearing age. Every available space on board had been given over to the refugees, who were taken to Starbase 7, where the New Vulcan Ministry Of Immigration had set up an office.
The other item Nyota had scheduled was her quarterly birth control booster shot. Her appointment was for 1300 hours, right after lunch. Nyota had reached an important decision. Spock had always told her that she should make the choices which affected her own body and health. He would always support her in this.
Nyota walked into sickbay a few minutes early. Bones always wanted to check her hormone levels before he gave a booster.
"Hey, darlin', have a seat. Let's check you out here."
He cleaned her finger and pricked it, drawing blood up into a tiny dropper. Then he squeezed a carefully measured drop of blood into a test tube and shook it. Bones waited several seconds and compared the change in color to a chart.
"Good thing you came in, because the levels are starting to drop. In a couple of days, you might not have been "safe." Stay put and I'll get your hypo."
"I don't want a hypo. I don't want anymore shots. It's time to have a baby."
"Nyota, are you sure about this?"
"Very sure. I've been thinking about it for months."
"Okay, then. There's a thirty day yellow-zone in which you should use another birth control method, one that doesn't involve hormones. Getting pregnant during that time is a really bad idea, as the leftovers from your shots could cause a miscarriage. Bring your hobgob....husband in here tomorrow so we can talk about options."
"Thank you, Leonard. I'm sure he be just thrilled to come down here and talk about birth control with you."
"Can't be helped. Make an appointment on your way out."
"Aye, sir!"
Spock was not a fan of parties. However, Nyota loved them and Jim expected him to attend. So he humored them both, even going so far as to wear a green turtleneck under his black sweater. Jim noticed it and asked him about it.
"So, you're wearing green. Are you Irish?"
"Actually, yes. One quarter, on my mother's side. I would appreciate it, however, if you did not tell leprechaun jokes. They are racist and I have heard them all."
"I bet you have, buddy. Here comes Nyota. If you don't dance with her, I will."
"You will not."
Spock set his sparking cider down and met his wife near the edge of the dance floor. She was a vision in a coral dress with a full, floaty skirt.
Pavel was the chairman of the Moral, Welfare, and Recreation Committee, so he had chosen the music mix. The next song was a Latin-Orion fusion with a disco beat. The party goers were more than a bit surprised to see the First Officer and Chief Of Communications doing a rather sexy samba.
Bones had walked in right before they started. He elbowed Jim, drink in hand.
"I don't think Spock will need a shamrock to get lucky tonight!"
On Valentine's Day, Spock had given Nyota a dozen red roses. She had given him some rare meditation incense, a type no longer available since the Genocide. However, she was certain he would like his St. Patrick's Day gift even more.
Spock watched as Nyota put two chocolate-iced brownies into a take-out container. She gave him a wide grin and walked out the door of the Rec Room, into the corridor and toward the lift. Spock followed her without a word.
"Uh-oh. Chocolate alert. Good thing the hobgoblin's off tomorrow."
Jim shook his head.
"Spock gets drunk on chocolate. I still can't believe it! He's the original cheap date!"
The couple hurried into their quarters and shut the door, making sure they had engaged the lock and soundproofing. Nyota hurried out of her lovely dress to keep Spock from shredding it. She put on one on his old t-shirts instead. She was already pulling his sweater and shirt off as he tried to take off his boots.
"Slow down, Nyota beloved. I am all yours for the next thirty-six hours."
"I know. It's just that I'm in a hurry to give you your St. Patrick's Day present."
Spock froze. Another Terran holiday requiring a gift! He had no gift for Nyota.
"Beloved, I did not realize that gifts were given on St. Patrick's Day."
"Oh, they're not, usually. However, this is a very special gift that I just couldn't wait to give you. It's not a tangible gift, but something I want to do. Well, actually something I don't want to do."
Spock was looking very confused as he lifted first one leg and then the other to allow Nyota to take his trousers the rest of the way off.
"Nyota, I do not understand."
"I'm not going to update my hormone shots. I want to have a baby."
She was working on his thermal undershirt when he stopped her and held her hands.
"Nyota, are you certain about this? Have you given it much thought?"
"I been thinking about this since before the wedding in Africa, since I heard you singing to baby T'Lonna on the shuttle. I want to be a mommy and you would make a wonderful daddy."
Spock smiled the tiniest of smiles and his eyes twinkled in a way Nyota had never seen before.
"Nyota, we will need to go to Terra and visit my mother's family in Minnesota. We will visit Myrtle and uphold the Grayson family tradition."
"Spock, I have no clue what you're talking about, but if it makes you that happy, I'm all for it."
"It will make more sense when we get to Minnesota. However, we will not be able to do so for a few months, not until we return to Terran space dock."
"Okay. There's one other thing. Leonard says we need to use an alternate form of birth control for thirty days, starting tomorrow. I shouldn't get pregnant until all the hormones have cleared my system. We have an appointment to seem him at 900 hours."
"That is a wise precaution."
Spock allowed Nyota to finish removing his thermals. She pushed him down onto the bed and started feeding him a brownie.
They were almost late for their appointment with Bones. He smiled at them, remembering their exit from the party the previous night, and gave Spock a couple of tablets for the chocolate-induced hangover.
"Okay, kids. I did a little research. There's really only one safe choice that works for both of you, condoms. The traditional latex ones are not recommended for Vulcans. The literature I read says that they won't hold up to the punishment you'd likely give them. I don't even want to know what that means. These are made of silicone. I am hoping and praying that I don't have to explain to a science officer how to use them."
Bones took a plain brown paper bag out of a drawer and put three dozen inside, plus two tubes of an approved lubricant.
"Okay, use these for thirty days, every time! Now get out of here, I have sick people to see."
Nyota took off for a morning workout with Corenda and Janice. Spock walked over to the bookcase and selected the book on inter-species marital relations that his father had given him. He did not want either Nyota or Dr. McCoy to know that he did not in fact know how to use a condom. Spock's only experience with condoms was picking wrapped ones up off the floor when they splled out of Jim's pockets. The doctor would always give Jim a handful whenever he went on shoreleave. "It'll sav me work later" he would grumble.
The book was not entirely helpful, so he researched the Starfleet computer archives. He found a reference to a video made for educational use by a team of Starfleet Medical Corps cadets several years back.
Spock entered the necessary codes and sat back in his chair, prepared to watch. There was Leonard McCoy in a red, third-year cadet's uniform. He was holding a condom and a large green cucumber.
"Always open the package from the side so you don't tear the contents....."
The next seven days were busy ones. They rescued some stranded teenagers who had gone joyriding in one of the parent's spacecraft. The kids were out of fuel and nearly out of oxygen. The governor of Delia II was thrilled to get his daughter back.
There had been a near-collision with another small ship from the same planet, also piloted by a teen. That one was escorted home as well. Those little diversions put the ship two days behind for a scheduled supply pick-up on Starbase 8. The Enterprise had been running low on fresh produce and certain medical supplies.
Bones was quite surprised to see Spock wander into Sickbay of his own accord. He looked slightly embarrassed.
"Spock, is thee something I can help you with?"
"Yes." Spock dropped his voice to a whisper. "We have run out of ….our back-up method."
"In a week? Spock, I gave you three dozen! How do you two find time to work? It's a good thing I got supplies in today."
Bones tossed Spock a box of 144, tubes of lube, and a paper bag.
"Damned horny hobgoblin. Bag your own order."
Communications officers seldom got to go on away missions. The planet Ordolia Zev was a very special case. It had been uninhabited for millenia. A recent archeological dig had revealed stone pillars in the Vedan language. Veda was over a day away at Warp One, and the Vedans had only been capable of space travel for about thirty years.
Spock and Nyota spent two weeks cataloging and translating the pillars. On their last day planet-side, the dig they were working in collapsed. Both Spock and Nyota survived, but two others in the party did not. Nyota took this very hard. She and Lt. Collins had known each other at the Academy. The couple had to spend the night in sickbay, both with fractures that required the bone growth stimulator.
Bones was not happy when they were both needed to give their reports in person to the Vedan Empress.