Nyota Uhura stood on the porch of one Hikaru Sulu, arms full of packages. She shivered against the wind and maneuvered her packages so she could ring the doorbell.

She was not entirely prepared for the thundering of small feet or the cries of "I'll get it!" and "Nyet! I'll get it!" Nor was she ready when the door was suddenly flung open wide and two small girls stopped short and stared at her.

The older was about four, and of Asian descent, with long dark hair and intelligent dark eyes. She was out of breath and smiling brightly and dressed in jeans and a turtleneck.

The other was three, with brown hair and sparkling brown eyes. She too was out of breath, she too seemed happy, though unlike her companion, she was still in her pajamas.

As if on cue, the two girls shrieked simultaneously and took off running through the house with a chorus of "She's here! She's here!" before they disappeared from view, though Uhura could still hear them both giggling and shrieking gaily.

"Then why don't you let her in?" Someone asked amiably, and Hikaru Sulu appeared from another room. He smiled warmly. "Nyota, glad you could make it. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." She replied as Sulu ushered her in and relieved her of her packages. "Where's Pavel?"

"He's-" Sulu broke off as the younger girl tore through the room with wide eyes and more shrieks and giggles. She was quickly followe by Pavel Chekov himself, a bundle of clothing in one arm.

He stopped short when he saw Uhura. "Nyota." He said, stepping forward and kissing her on the cheek as he pulled her into a hug. "Merry Christmas." He said. "I wasn't sure if you could make it."

"I wasn't sure either." She admitted. "But here I am."

"Here you are." He agreed. Catching sight of the packages in Sulu's arms, he frowned. "You didn't have to do that." He told her sternly.

"Of course not." She rolled her eyes. "Neither did you." Chekov shifted uncomfortably.

But he quickly recovered. "Of course, as much as we would all like to spend Christmas with you, Nakita has decided she doesn't want to get dressed today, so she is not fit to be seen by company." He winked conspiratorily at Uhura.

"Aww, that's too bad." Uhura said, playing along. "I was really hoping to meet your daughter." She sighed. "I guess I'll just have to keep her present.

The three year old peeked her head around a doorframe. "I'll get dressed." She announced. "Where are my clothes?"

Chekov laughed and swung her up into his arms. Then he carried her off to her room to help her dress. Sulu watched them both go with a smile playing on his lips.

"So, how is he doing?" She asked quietly after the two were out of earshot.

"Better." Sulu replied. "Though before I managed to convince him to have Christmas with us he was pretty down."

Uhura shook her head. "He'll never get over her, you know."

"I know." Sulu agreed grudgingly. "And he doesn't need to be alone at Christmas."

Demora appeared by her father's side, cutting off the chance for further discussion. "Hello." She greeted Uhura with a bright smile. "I'm Demora. I'm four. Who are you? Are you friends with Daddy? Did you really bring us presents? I made you a present. I hope you like it. Do you want to open it now?"

Uhura laughed. "Why don't we wait until Nakita's ready and then we can all open our presents together?" She suggested.

"Okay." Demora agreed as Nakita came bounding back out.

"I am ready. Did she bring us presents? I got her one. Papa says she likes music."

Uhura watched anxiously as the two girls opened their presents. She really hadn't been sure what to get them, and had known better than to ask Sulu or Chekov. They would have been absolutely no help whatsoever. As they unwrapped their presents, it occurred to her that perhaps they might be too young to appreciate their gifts.

"Ooh! A puzzle! Thank you so much!" Demora was absolutely delighted. Nakita, however, was simply staring at hers.

Uhura hesitated, not sure of what to say. What did a person say when they got a gift for someone and that perhaps absolutely hated it?

Chekov cleared his throat. "Nakita?" He prompted.

She held her gift up so her father could see. "What does it say?" She asked, and Uhura was mortified. Of course the child was too young to read.

Chekov smiled at the girl. "Bedtime Stories from Around the World." He read.

Nakita stared up at Uhura with her father's eyes. "Thank you so very, very much." She said at last, clutching the book of bedtime stories. "Papa was running out of books in my room."

Uhura smiled, relieved, then turned her attention to the presents the children had given her. She unwrapped the gift from Demora first. It was a Christmas tree ornament, a snowflake made of multicolored beads. "Thank you, Demora. It's beautiful." The little girl's face shone with pride.

Next was the gift from Nakita. Uhura carefully unwrapped what turned out to be a tambourine. She shook it gently to hear it jangle. "Papa said you liked music." Nakita explained.

"I do. Very much. Thank you." Uhura replied.

Demora promptly opened her puzzle and dumped it on the floor. Sulu chuckled and went to join her. "You don't want to dump all the pieces out." He told her. "They get lost that way. Let me help you get them back in and then you can work from the box, okay?"

Meanwhile Nakita was climbing into Chekov's lap. "Read?" She partly asked, partly demanded. Chekov took the new book and turned to the first page.

They spent the rest of the morning like that, listening to Chekov read and helping Demora with her puzzle. All in all, Uhura thought, it was a good way to spend Christmas.

Disclaimer: Star Trek does not belong to me.