- "The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together." –

William Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends Well

"What are Dad and Chris up to?" Joana asked Nyota, who had come to pick her up.

Nyota grinned. "They're busy taking your big brother apart."

"Jim? Uh, what's he done now?"

"Actually, I'm not supposed to tell you that. Not yet anyway. Sorry Jo."

Joana frowned, looking remarkably like her Dad as she did so. "That's not fair," she protested.

"Yeah, I know. But I promised. You can needle Jim about it, once your parents let him go."

"Poor Jim," Joana replied gleefully, "Dad can be really mean when he's upset… and if you actually manage to get Chris angry – which is pretty hard work – you had better duck and run."

"Does he ever get angry at you?"

Joana shook her head. "Nah. I've got him wrapped around my little finger. He'll even defend me when Dad gets into one of his tyrannical moods. But I saw him get mad at Laurel once, and that was really, really scary. Wow" – she stopped short in her tracks – "Ambassador Sarek has a really nice house!"

"It's called a residence," Nyota said, looking up at the magnificent white building, "as ambassador, he often has to receive guests or hold receptions, that's why he needs so big a house. The official part is fairly splendid, but he doesn't actually live there."

"It's just for show, huh? So Delia lives here with him now?"

"For the moment. I don't know whether or not it's going to be a permanent arrangement. Sarek is often away, and he's very busy. Delia needs somebody who can stay with her, and he obviously can't."

"Doesn't she have any other family?"

"Only Spock. "

Joana snorted. "I like Spock, but he couldn't raise a puppy, and much less somebody who's half human. He doesn't understand that people actually need to be hugged or comforted sometimes."

Nyota grinned. "No, I guess he doesn't. Jim might teach him, though."

"Jim?" Joana's blue eyes grew round and very large. "You're kidding, right? I mean, Jim likes Spock, but not that way… does he? Whoa – was that the thing you weren't supposed to tell me? You just let it slip, didn't you? Damn… that would mean Spock could become my brother-in-law, couldn't it?"

"The family connection is a bit dubious, but technically, it could."

"Oh, wow."

At first, Nyota thought that this last remark referred to the possibility of Spock and Jim becoming a couple, but when she looked up, she realized that it was more likely Joana had meant something else. They had entered the lobby of Ambassador Sarek's residence, which was a splendid enough room in itself, but right now, it only appeared to serve as the frame for one of the most astonishing pictures she had ever seen.

There were two sets of gently curving stairways leading down from the first floor, and at their entrance, somebody had started to descend one of them. She had stopped on one of the bottommost steps and now stood there, silently erect and upright like a statue.

Nyota had seen her fair share of Vulcan formal and ceremonial robes during the time of her acquaintance with Spock, but never had she seen one worn with such natural grace and elegance. The robe itself was a masterpiece of Vulcan tailoring and embroidery, a work of art, and there was jewelry to match, but both only served to enhance the natural beauty of the girl wearing it.

"She looks like a princess," Joana whispered in awe.

"In a way, she is," Nyota replied just as quietly. "Both Sarek and her grandmother are descended from very influential families, and one might call them noble."

But Gaila's daughter… who'd have thought…?

"So… what do we do now…?" Joana asked, suddenly feeling shy.

"I suppose, we could say hello," Nyota replied smiling, and slowly advanced to meet the girl on the steps. "I am Nyota Uhura," she introduced herself, "and this is Joana McCoy. Your grandfather might have mentioned that we would come to visit one of these days."

"He has," Delia replied, nodding, while her eyes were busy studying the strangers with barely veiled curiosity. "I'm sorry that he isn't here right now, he is…"

"… having lunch with Spock. Yes, I know," Nyota said. "But never mind. We came to visit you. I have to admit that I was insanely curious to meet you. I was friends with your Mom when we both went to the Academy. We even shared a room for about half a year."

"Really?" Delia asked, her dark eyes lighting up. "You need to tell me about her… I mean, if you would…" She suddenly seemed insecure.

Nyota smiled reassuringly. "Sure. I liked Gaila a lot, even though she was a little crazy. But in a nice way. She kept bringing boys back to our room. I really do need to tell you the story of how she hid Jim under her bed and I came in and found him."

"No way! You found Jim hiding under the bed?" Joana interrupted, mirth shining on her face. "Oh, I'd have loved to have been there!"

"Oh, I'm sure," Nyota replied chuckling. "Well, come on, girls. Let's sit outside in the garden – I remember there's a nice terrace out back – and I can tell you about my wild Academy days."

Both Joana and Delia looked intensely interested at that prospect and turned to follow her through the lobby and out onto the terrace. As they did so, Delia stepped down the stairs and past Joana, accidentally brushing her arm with a hand. She stopped as if suddenly frozen, her lips forming a silent O. Joana herself merely registered a strange, but brief tingling sensation, frowned and then thought nothing more of it. Nyota did not notice anything.

But Delia's eyes kept wandering off to the other girl all through the afternoon, even as she was eagerly listening to stories about her mother, and silent wonder shone in her eyes.

Roughly four thousand kilometers away, Carol Marcus was on her way to pick up her son from his day care, when she ran into somebody she had hoped to never meet again.

"You!"

"Hello Carol." Peace Lafayette smiled sweetly at her. On her hip, she carried a somewhat bedazzled-looking little boy. "I thought I'd save you the trouble and get David for you."

"Get away from me and my son! I told you to leave us alone, didn't I?" Carol replied hotly, reaching out for David. "I can't believe they even let you take him!"

"I can be very persuasive," Peace assured her. "In fact, you seem to be the only one who's determined to resist my many charms. You think I'm evil incarnate, don't you? But don't worry, I'm not here to kidnap your son. Here, take him." And she handed David to his furious mother.

"Why won't you leave us alone?" Carol asked defensively.

"Because in my opinion, every child has a right to get to know his father."

"And much good would that do him! His father is…"

"… a self-absorbed jerk fond of infantile jokes, not even properly grown-up himself and certainly not ready to raise a child?"

"I was going to say dead", Carol muttered.

"Oh come on, Carol. We both know that'd have been a lie. David's father is very much alive. Now, I realize that this can't be easy for you, but don't you think you should at least give them a chance? David and Jim, I mean? It's not like Jim's likely to take your son away from you, given his position."

"You don't understand," Carol replied stubbornly, "I don't want to meet Jim. I took a lot of pains to completely rid my life of him and to evade him ever since we broke up. I don't want to go back, take that road again. I've been there."

"Nobody's asking you to marry Jim. You don't even have to be friendly, not even civil to him. You can be as mean and insulting as you want to, and who knows, he might even deserve it, but you need to leave David out of it. It's not his fault that his parents had a nasty break-up. He shouldn't have to pay for it."

"Why is it so important to you that David gets to know his father? It's none of your business, really."

"I sort of made it my business. I've been friends with Jim and his family for a while now, and I think you don't realize what sort of opportunity you're missing, Carol. You're making a mistake. You are alone now, and it can't be easy, single-parenting a child while pursuing your studies. You can't properly concentrate on either David or your work. And you have nobody to help you."

Carol pressed her lips together tightly, but it hard to deny the truth of Peaces words.

"Think about it," Peace insisted, "You have no family left yourself, save that brother of yours, but he's not exactly somebody you could depend on, always jumping around in search of a new amusement; and I'm guessing that you've sacrificed most of your friendships – if you ever had any – in favor of your career. Must be pretty lonely sometimes. That's probably why you fell for Jim so easily… pretty stupid thing to do, really, and you generally aren't stupid. But don't worry, it happens to the best of us." She smiled wryly.

Carol raised her brows. "You, too?"

"Well, he is sort of gorgeous, isn't he? Never mind that, though. It was a fling, and rather short-lived. The same person that ruined your relationship with Jim stepped into my way, too. But since he's a friend, I have to add that he didn't do it on purpose."

Carol snorted. "Yeah, right. I was sure he'd kill me some way or other if I stayed around any longer. Probably some messy, painful way. At least, that's what his looks told me, every time he saw Jim and me together."

Peace chuckled. "He is a little possessive of Jim."

"A little? Really, I've no desire whatsoever to meet either Jim or Spock ever again."

"They're not that bad, once you figure out how to handle them. The trick with Jim is ignoring his sly comments and flirting and occasionally smacking him for being too obnoxious. The secret of dealing with Spock is making sure he knows that you'll leave Jim alone, so he doesn't feel threatened. He's a nice guy, once you get past the murderous-jealousy-stage."

"I can't believe I'm having this conversation with you."

Peace grinned. "It's just like two girls gossiping about a former lover, isn't it? Actually, this is Chris' fault. I'm probably doing this for him more than for anybody else. Gee, I feel like a schoolgirl with a crush on her favorite teacher. Actually, that description is maddeningly close to the truth." She sighed. "I must be masochistic or something. First an unnerving egomaniac who's in love with somebody else, and now a guy old enough to be my father who's actually married and has no interest in women at all…"

"Fitting description of Jim," Carol commented. "Who's that other guy?"

"Chris… Christopher Pike. I told you about him last time. He's really, really sweet. Well… most gay men are, actually. Come to think of it, even Spock is kinda cute. Anyway, Chris briefly became my boss several years back, when he had made up his mind to become ambassador to Romulus. In the end, he didn't go there, though, and instead returned to Earth and married Leonard. Unfortunately. No, I'm kidding. They make a lovely couple. You'll like them… okay; actually it's pretty difficult not to like them. Chris has been trying to get to you, ever since he learned of David's existence. Right now, he and Leonard are probably having a very stern talk with Jimmy-boy concerning his youthful follies."

"That sounds very paternal to me."

"Well, it is. Chris didn't adopt Jim in an act of caprice. They really are like father and son. So you're not only getting a father, but also a set of grandparents for your son. And an aunt… kind of. Leonard has a daughter, Joana. She's in her teens now. Come on Carol, you really don't want to miss that. They're ready to welcome you and David to the family. Give them a chance."

Peace looked at her expectantly.

Carol struggled a moment, then shrugged. "I might give it a try," she replied grudgingly.

"Good girl," Peace complimented.

So that was a chapter on the girls ;) You've probably noticed that I rather like Peace. Normally, I'm not that fond of original characters in fanfiction, but she's an exception. I'm starting to like Carol, too, which is weird, because I've always hated her. Also, I needed an explanation for Peaces involvement in the entire matter - let's be honest, she's been a little too interested in little David's fate - so I came up with the idea of her having something of a crush on Chris. It's not that improbable, I think.