Construction

U.S.S. Enterprise, 2269.193, 1508 hours. She sat at the console with the earbuds jammed in trying to drown out the pounding and lasering coming from down the hall. The engineering ensigns had been working on building the new nursery all weekend long and the racket they made was enough to drive her insane.

"Calm yourself, T'Alora," Sa-mekh warned.

She took a second and closed her eyes, breathing deeply in through her nose. T'Alora knew she had a bit of a temper—Mama and Sa-mekh were always quick to remind her—and she truly did want to be good. She knew she was only a quarter Vulcan but Sa-mekh didn't need to tell her again how bad things could get if she lost control. It nearly happened once with Se'tak and though she was still really mad afterward it scared her a lot too.

Instead T'Alora focused on the music quietly pulsing through her ears and let her anger fall away, carried off by the steady beat of the drums. Soon the construction work was back to being little more than a nuisance.

It seemed like everyone around her was in baby mode. Mama, Aunt Chris, and just last week Uncle Jim's girlfriend announced she was having a baby too. It was like the Enterprise was raining kids and everyone was distracted. Ok, so maybe it was Taline's first baby but everyone else had had kids before—the daycare and the school were full of them. She couldn't understand why everything was different this time around. All she wanted to do was hide in her secret special place until things returned to normal but she couldn't. Her parents made her promise she'd meet them in their quarters after school instead of going to the daycare with Se'tak. They were getting off-shift early and wanted to talk to her about something important.

Probably something about the baby.

Scoffing angrily to herself she rose from her chair and started to pace. The living room furniture had all been pushed back so the ensigns could get in and out with all their equipment, and now that it was free space T easily slipped into the newest katras she'd been taught 7.6 weeks ago. Exercise always worked better than meditation for her anyway as she found it was the best way to blow off steam.

She finished up as the engineers were leaving, passing her parents who'd been standing in the doorway for what looked like quite awhile. When they were gone her mother waddled into the apartment. "Lookin' good, T!" she exclaimed on her way to the bathroom.

Sa-mekh remained standing just inside the doorway and simply observed. "Your form has improved significantly. I believe it is time you are taught the next katra."

That's all well and good, she mused to herself. But when? You're all caught up in baby fever.

He raised an eyebrow in her direction that suggested he'd heard her thoughts but T was sure she didn't broadcast. Still, she cast her eyes at the floor even though she wasn't really ashamed.

"T'Alora!" her mother called from the end of the corridor, "Could you come down here a minute please?" She trotted off and found her mother standing alone inside the newly constructed room. It was bigger than her own bedroom by approximately .3 meters on all sides and had a large window with a great view of the starboard side nacelle. It even had a cushioned window seat!

Lucky baby.

Mama looked everything over with a critical eye. "I think we'll need some new drapes," she said, moving toward the viewport. "And matching covers for the cushions." T'Alora merely nodded as her mother proceeded to the closet. "Do you think this is large enough?"

How many clothes does my new brother need? Even Se'tak didn't have that many outfits when he was that little. "I'm sure it is."

"Good." Sa-mekh slipped into the room and wrapped an arm around Mama's waist. "Because your father and I were worried you wouldn't think you'd have enough space."

Nyota scanned her daughter's face for any kind of reaction but T went into full Vulcan shutdown mode; still, deep down she knew that her daughter was surprised and hopefully pleased.

Suddenly the mood shifted and T'Alora knit her eyebrows together in suspicion. "You're not trying to get me to move so the baby can have my room, are you?"

Poor kid. T wasn't normally prone to jealousy and had handled Se'tak's birth well but apparently felt differently now. She and Spock did seem to have a one track mind lately when it came to their unborn child.

"Sweetheart, come here." T'Alora rather grudgingly stepped forward and let herself be hugged. "You've had to put up with a lot of changes lately and I know it's been hard. Your father and I thought that since you were growing up that you might like a larger, more grown-up bedroom…but if you like your room where it is now then that's fine too. We aren't trying to move you against your will for the sake of the baby. Is that understood?"

As understanding dawned she felt her daughter start to hug her back and nod into her chest.

"We really need to start making more of an effort with them," she chided Spock.

"I agree and have already made tentative plans with T'Alora in order to rectify the situation. I will endeavor to do so with Se'tak as well both prior to and after the birth of our new son."

T'Alora stepped back and hugged her father then looked all around her new room, her eyes settling on the seat by the window that Nyota was sure would become her new favorite spot. "Mama, can I get purple curtains and cushions?"

"It's may I and yes, you may. I hear plum is a very 'in' color this year."

T rolled her eyes. "Oh Mama…"