Yes, But What Does He Do?

U.S.S. Enterprise, 2265.255, 1317 hours. Spock sat cross-legged in the corner of the living room with his eyes closed, inhaling the incense floating up from his firepot and enjoying a rare moment of peace. It had been two days since he had brought Nyota and Se'tak home from Sickbay and their lives had been less than orderly.

"Now that you've got two you'll really want to start sleepin' when the baby sleeps," Doctor McCoy advised him as he wrote up the discharge papers. Even then he saw the dark circles under the exhausted Doctor's eyes, no doubt the result of his own late nights spent with his seven week old daughter Tabitha. "Even you, you insomniac hobgoblin."

While he had not appreciated the unsolicited advice at the time Spock understood the words of wisdom now. Nyota, T'Alora and Se'tak were all enjoying a mid-afternoon nap and he could finally indulge in some much needed meditation.

1341 hours. Long before he was ready Spock returned to conscious thought by the sound of a closing pneumatic door. Reaching out with his mind he found his wife and son still sleeping peacefully and that only T'Alora was on the move. He sat stock still and listened, attempting to determine his daughter's whereabouts only to find she had snuck in to the master bedroom and now stood perfectly still beside the bassinet where her sibling slept. Not wanting to wake his adun'a Spock rose and headed for the room, kneeling on the other side of the crib. T'Alora merely stood opposite with her hands on the side of the rail peering down at her brother.

Not for the first time since his son's conception Spock wondered what had become of his own elder brother, Sybok. He knew he had survived the Destruction but could glean little else in the way of pertinent information from the tenuous bond they shared. Given the great difference in their ages growing up their childhood together was—interesting—but he could not imagine his formative years without him.

Spock wondered how his own two children would get along.

Se'tak stirred in his sleep, threatening to wake, and he and T'Alora held their breaths. Just as suddenly as a round of cries threatened to erupt his son settled back down and continued to slumber.

"What are your thoughts on your new brother?" Spock whispered to his daughter.

T'Alora considered the question as she studied Se'tak. At first he believed she was comparing and contrasting their physical differences. His son was fairer skinned then T'Alora and he had a much more angular brow. Both had curly hair though Spock believed Se'tak's would straighten into more of a wave over time. And each child shared the same cocoa brown eyes.

His daughter's silence stretched out for several minutes and were he fully human Spock would be unnerved by her lack of answer. At long last T'Alora shrugged her shoulders and conceded, "I guess he's alright."

One eyebrow rose in response. Such an unquantifiable answer needed elucidation. "Clarify."

His little girl shrugged her shoulders again. "I don't know. All he does is cry and eat and poop and sleep. What exactly is he supposed to do?"

Now Spock understood. For a moment he had wondered if his daughter had rather illogically given in to feelings of jealousy over the newest addition to their family and was pleased that she had not. Reaching for his son he allowed Se'tak to take hold of one of his fingers and felt a contented hum in the background of his own consciousness.

"As your brother ages he will become a playmate and companion for you, someone to assist you in times of need and to share experiences with as you process them on your way to adulthood. He is also another example of the emotions your mother and I feel for one another, as are you."

"Oh." She thought about that for 5.4 seconds before reaching out to her brother. Spock relinquished his spot in Se'tak's grasp and allowed T'Alora to take his place. "Oh!" She giggled in delight as she bonded with the baby.

Spock sensed the joy of another in the back of his mind now and turned around to see Nyota sitting up in bed smiling down at all three of them.

U.S.S. Enterprise, 2265.256, 1816 hours. He returned after shift to Se'tak crying, the comm. unit buzzing and Nyota fuming…and that was all before he even entered his quarters. As the pneumatics swung back he saw his wife in the middle of the living room with their wailing son in her arms and T'Alora standing guiltily before her, the scattered pieces of the disassembled comm. unit spread out all around her.

"Just look at what your daughter did!" Nyota exclaimed, gesturing at the ruined equipment. "And she's blaming it on the baby!"

All eyes were now on him. Uncomfortably he recalled their talk the previous day. This was definitely not the assistance he had in mind.

A/N: Ever feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff you have to do and the very small amount of time you have to do it in? How do you cope? I, for one, cope by posting drabbles...and I have a feeling they'll be a lot more to come in the next few months...oh boy...

A/N 2: Baby Se'tak's name is pronounced 'Say-tack'-just in case anyone was wondering.