- "A family without a black sheep is not a typical family." –

Heinrich Böll

"Home, sweet home," Chris sighed as he sat down on the sofa in the living room, trying to balance a steaming mug and push away a curious cat simultaneously. "You have no idea how nice it feels to finally be able to have a cup of coffee without Leyla casting me reproachful looks or Laurel and her elves swarming me."

Leonard chuckled quietly. "Serves you right for scaring us all to death."

"I didn't fall ill on purpose, you know? Speaking of which – you need to talk to Delia."

"Me? Why?"

"She thinks you hate her."

Leonard looked up, frowning. "That's ridiculous. I don't even know her. "

"That's what I told her. But she overheard you talking to Leyla; and she is very insecure and sensitive about what others think of her. She desperately wants to people to like her. The poor girl hasn't had a functioning, stable relationship with anyone since her mother left her."

"She needs someone to take care of her."

"Uh-huh."

"You'd be ideal, Chris, but I don't think it would work. Taking care of Delia is likely going to be a full-time job for at least a couple of years, probably longer. You simply don't have the time to do it; you've already made your commitments, to Starfleet, to Jim, to Joana and to me. And it wouldn't be fair to Delia to go halfway and leave it at that."

"I know," Chris sighed, shaking his head, "but I want to help her. She's a fascinating little girl, and I feel obliged to her mother. I really want to do something for her."

"And I'm sure you can," Leonard replied smiling, taking his hand, before correcting himself: "I'm sure we can. We'll figure something out. For now, there are a lot of people who want to meet her. Nyota is very curious about her, and you'll never believe who asked me about her yesterday – Ambassador Sarek."

"You spoke to Sarek?"

Leonard nodded. "Briefly. In fact, he came to ask me about his son. He is worried about Spock."

"Ah. Well, if it is as bad as Nyota says, Sarek was bound to notice something sooner or later, whether Spock wanted him to or not. He is very observant; he just has a habit of keeping his observations to himself."

"Do you think he knows about Jim?"

"Sarek may very well be one of the most intelligent individuals in the Federation; and Spock is his son. I would be very surprised if he didn't know."

"Sarek is Vulcan. His people aren't exactly known for their empathy. And love is an emotion."

Chris smiled wistfully. "You don't really believe the fairy tale of Vulcans having purged all emotions, do you? Sarek was married to a human for over twenty years. He loved Amanda, and he was devastated when she died. Believe me, Sarek understands love. And Spock should probably talk to his father, but he is too stubborn to do so."

"Does that remind you of anyone?" Leonard asked ironically.

"Leonard." Dr. Leyla Maliki smiled at him. "What brings you here? Don't you have any patients today?"

"Things are kind of slow at the moment. Captain Amouel is my only patient right now, and she's doing very well; so I thought I could visit one of yours today."

"Let me guess – Delia?"

"Your assumption is accurate," a sonorous voice responded in Leonard's place. Leyla frowned, trying to look around her friend and colleague, then her eyes widened as someone utterly unexpected stepped to his side.

"Ambassador Sarek…?"

"Indeed." The Vulcan acknowledged her with a slight bow of his head. "Dr. Maliki, it is a pleasure to meet one of the Federation's most renowned medical experts. Please excuse this unheralded visit. I had heard about your newest charge and I came as soon as my obligations permitted."

"I understand," Leyla replied slowly, having some trouble to adjust to Sarek's formal parlance, "you must be very interested in her. As far as I know, the case of a Vulcan-Orion cross is unprecedented."

"It is," Sarek agreed with her, "and that alone would be worth investigating her case. However, there is a more personal reason behind my visit to your department. I have reason to believe that I am Delia's closest living relative – which by Vulcan law would make me her legal guardian."

Both Leyla and Leonard stared at him at that.

"Did you know about that?" Leyla asked.

Leonard shook his head. "You never told me," he said to Sarek, trying to cope with his astonishment.

"It was, until recently, only a theory that needed proof, and I am still not entirely convinced that she is related. However, there is evidence to support my assumption."

"In what way are you related to Delia?" Leyla asked. "And how do you know?"

"As I said, I am not yet absolutely certain that she is of my kin; but if she is who I believe her to be, she would be my granddaughter. The daughter of my son."

"That's impossible!" Leyla said, shaking her head. "We tested her. She has no human genetic traits whatsoever. If she were Spock's child, she would have to be part human. Besides – and I think you are well aware of that fact – it is medically impossible for Spock to naturally father a child."

"Regrettably, yes." Sarek agreed.

"Huh?" Leonard frowned. "Excuse me, but I think you lost me there."

"You did study medicine, Leonard, didn't you?"

"Obviously."

"Did you sleep through Humanoid Genetics? Interspecific hybrids often suffer from hybrid sterility. Vulcans and Humans are two different species, biologically speaking, so there is a reproductive barrier. Even though they can reproduce, their offspring is sterile. - Please excuse the technical terms, Ambassador."

"I have heard a lot worse regarding my marriage to a human, Doctor," Sarek replied with a hint of dry humor in his voice. "However, I was not referring to Spock. I have – or rather I had – two sons. My son from my first marriage was completely Vulcan – at least genetically."

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" Leonard asked.

Sarek turned slightly to look at him. "Sybok had turned away from the Vulcan way. He was what you might call a renegade."

"There is such a thing as Vulcan renegades?"

Sarek might have shrugged at that, had he been human. Instead he replied: "Young men are often foolish."

"And what makes you believe that your son could be Delia's father?" Leyla asked.

"There are not that many Vulcans who would engage in a relationship with an Orion, and much less a sexual one. Sybok would have been one of them. I do not know whether or not you are aware of this, but casual relationships are in fact very uncommon among my people."

"Which is a nice way of saying that sexuality in general is a taboo in Vulcan society. You don't talk about it, and you most certainly don't practice it outside of established, formalized relationships," Leonard remarked, thinking that they had just hit part of the problem that was making Spock so miserable.

"That is correct," Sarek conceded. "You might say that Sybok had relationship issues, having observed the bond between his mother and me rupture. Such an occurrence is very rare in Vulcan society and it affected my son in ways I never imagined it would. A Vulcan bond is somewhat different from a human marriage. It goes deeper, and consequently causes more damage when it is broken. Sybok left Vulcan, his family and his fiancée after that. I never saw him again, but occasionally, word of his wanderings reached me. I know that he visited Gaila's homeworld several times. And considering Delia's age, there is a real probability that she could be his daughter."

"Because he was there fifteen years ago?"

"That too. Also, there are certain biological imperatives that would have found him in need of a partner roughly around the time of Delia's conception. "

"Pon Farr," Leonard translated. Which is another thing Vulcans usually don't talk about. Sarek is being surprisingly open with us. "And since he was without a bondmate, he would have gone looking for that partner elsewhere."

"Indeed. However, I need to see the child in order to confirm my theory. I might be proven wrong."

"But you don't really believe it."

Sarek inclined his head. "I know my sons, Dr. McCoy. There seems to be a trait running in our family that makes us look for unusual relationships. I married a human. My youngest son is currently facing a severe identity crisis, due to his affection for someone he deems utterly inappropriate. It would not really surprise me to learn that my other son had had an affair with an Orion woman."

Well, so much for Chris' theory on Sarek knowing about Jim and Spock…

It took Sarek little more than two minutes to figure out that Delia was indeed his granddaughter. He walked into her room, accompanied by Leonard and Leyla, and the two of them stood facing each other for a moment, staring at one another.

"I was right," Sarek said quietly to no one in particular.

"How do you know?" Leyla demanded.

"I am Vulcan," he replied, sounding somewhat haughty.

As if that were all the answer they needed…

"Besides," he amended after a moment's hesitation, "she has her grandmother's eyes. There is a great resemblance between her and Saaravin."

"Who are you?" Delia asked suspiciously, speaking for the first time since they had entered the room.

"Delia, meet Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan," Leyla said formally. "He is here to tell you something about your family."

"How do you know my grandmother?" Delia asked, not taking her eyes of Sarek.

"I used to be married to her."

The girl's dark eyes grew very large. "So… we are related?"

"Yes. You are the daughter of one of my sons."

Delia looked to Leyla for reassurance and the woman nodded.

"Does that mean I have a father…?"

"Everybody has a father," Leyla replied. "Unfortunately, though, your father is dead. That is probably why he never came to take care of you after your mother left you."

"So he did not hate me…?"

"It would have been illogical for Sybok to hate his daughter," Sarek said.

"Which roughly translates to: No, of course he didn't", Leonard told Delia. "And while we're at it – Chris told me that there has been a slight misunderstanding." He walked up to Delia, standing very close to her and looking at her intently. Then, without a warning, he gave the startled girl a quick hug, before pulling back and leaving her openmouthed and speechless. "I don't hate you, either. In fact, I think I would like to get to know you better."