Ch 29: New Life

"Jimmy!"

Kirk had just opened the gate to his mother's farmhouse in Iowa when she came running out to greet him. Behind him were Spock, T'Maire, Prime, and Sarek, who had accompanied him to meet Winona. Kirk was sure coming home with four Vulcans in tow would look weird, but it was infinitely better than the random female he used to bring home when he was younger.

The five of them had traveled to Earth using Sarek's ship, which while noticeably slower than T'Maire's ship, was easier to procure without stepping on anyone's toes. The Enterprise was still in the middle of a mission and asking them to dock at Earth solely for their sake was just a little too selfish. Kirk wasn't entirely comfortable with leaving things in Scotty's hands, but with McCoy and Uhura to help him out if things got rough spending a week away from the ship wasn't as worrisome as it could have been.

With arms open wide Kirk scooped his mother up in a tight hug and spun her around a couple of times. She squeezed tightly and giggled like a young girl as the world around her rotated. When her feet touched the ground again, she nuzzled her son's strong chest before stepping back to take a look at him.

"I'm so glad to see you!" she gushed. "The wedding preparations are going really well. You should see everything I've gotten done!"

She peeked behind Kirk and spotted the four Vulcans that rigidly stood in quiet observation (aside from T'Maire who was having trouble containing her own excitement). Instantly she recognized which was Spock, who was emanating an aura of awkward nervousness that disrupted his calm visage. The smile on her face grew to an almost disproportionate size when she recognized her future son-in-law.

"Spock!" she said as she walked over to him and wrapped him in a warm hug. Spock was taken aback at first by her enthusiastic welcome, but he caught himself fast enough to hug her back with only the slightest of hesitations. His hug was rigid until he heard her say, "So you're the wonderful man who has stolen my baby boy's heart. I'm happy that such a caring person is going to become my son-in-law."

These words seemed to be the magic words to break down Spock's defenses. He relaxed his arms and sank into the hug that she had given him not even five minutes after meeting him. This must be where Jim gets the softer side of his personality, he thought to himself with a smile.

He straightened up and stepped back to look at the woman before him. Her hair was blond with hints of grey here and then. The few, sparse wrinkles on her face revealed that she had survived much hardship, but always found the opportunity to smile often. From their brief physical contact, he was able to deduce that it was not just his father that Kirk had drawn so much of his strength from, but also his mother.

"I appreciate your warm welcome Mrs. Kirk," he said formally.

With a laugh, Winona gently slapped Spock's arm and said, "There's no need to sound so formal, Spock! A week from now you're going to be marrying my son! Please, call me 'Mom'!"

Spock hesitated again and revealed his former nervousness. "I regret to say that I am not yet comfortable with calling you by such an informal address. Even when I have adjusted to being your son-in-law, I will only be capable of referring to you as 'mother'. I apologize if this is not to your liking, but I assure you that by calling you 'mother', I will be reflecting the utmost love and respect for you. Will this suffice?"

Winona simply blinked in response to Spock. Then without warning she bust out laughing and hugged him again. "You are too cute! It makes total sense why Jimmy fell in love with you now!"

Leaving the blushing Spock to soak in her words, she moved on to the other three behind her. Moving to Sarek, she said, "You're Spock's father I presume?"

Sarek nodded and said, "Yes, I am. I am Sarek."

She smiled warmly at Sarek and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you Sarek. My name is Winona, but most of my family calls me Winny. If Spock is anything like you, it's probably safe to assume it'll be a long time before you call me Winny."

"If I ever do," Sarek said matter-of-factly.

Her smile became a smirk. "You will," she said. "Just give it time." She looked at Prime curiously and asked, "Are you Spock's grandfather?"

Prime's eyes lit up at the thought of being referred to Spock's grandfather. With the slightest of smiles, he replied, "You could say that. I am Surok. I am pleased to make your acquaintance."

Winona's head tilted to the side as she observed the elderly Vulcan. She took a step closer and said, "Why do I feel like I know you?"

Prime looked back at her and said, "Unknown. Spock gathers much of his personality from me; perhaps by getting to know Spock so well through Jim's communications, you have come to feel as if you know me as well?"

"Perhaps that's it." Winona smiled back. Something about him told her that there was more than he was letting on, but she decided to leave well enough alone for now.

Shifting her gaze to T'Maire, she smiled. "And you must be T'Maire. Jim's told me a lot about you."

T'Maire smirked at Kirk, who returned it with a falsely innocent expression and a shrug of his shoulders. "Hopefully all good things," she said. "Yes, I'm T'Maire. It's nice to meet you, Winona."

"The pleasure is all mine," Winona smiled. She turned to face everyone else and said, "Now, you all must come in. Sam has been cooking up a storm for hours preparing for your arrival and you all must be starving."

"Wait… Sam's here?" Kirk asked in surprise, excitement lighting up his face at the prospect of seeing his older brother; but just as quickly as the excitement appeared on his face, his brow furrowed in cautious suspicion. He knew for a fact that Sam would never show his face in their mother's house if her husband was present. "What about Frank?"

"Frank and I are no longer together." Winona said simply, avoiding Jim's eyes as she walked into the farm house. "It's a long story that will be told at another time when we haven't got so much planning to do!"

Kirk hated it when his mother did that. Whatever the reason was for her to split up with Frank, especially after what she said to him during his last visit, it had to be monumental. Technically she didn't have to answer his question considering she wasn't the one to bring it up, but it was still annoying to have a very valid concern dismissed until later.

He didn't have time to bemuse the strangeness of her divorce with Frank; as soon as he entered the farm house his legs were assaulted by his three significantly bigger nephews. They yelled out in unison, "Uncle Jim!"

Laughing, Kirk dropped to his knees and hugged his nephews. "Heya boys! Good to see ya!"

He leaned back and looked at the slightly less chubby cheeks of his nephews. Peter, the oldest, was a spitting image of his father, while his little brother Chris, the youngest, was an adorable male version of his mother with his father's eyes. The middle child, Thomas, was a hybrid of the two's genes with light brown hair, hazel eyes, his mother's nose and his father's smile.

"Jesus," Kirk breathed, "would you look at how you three have grown! Give it a few more years and you'll be beating up on your dear old dad!"

"Not bloody likely!" Sam said as he walked into the living room, wiping his hands on a wash cloth. He grinned at his brother and gave his customary greeting, "Hey, runt!"

"Hey, ugly!" He replied. Kirk laughed and ran to his brother, wrapping his arms around him. He squeezed as tightly as he could to show off his strength, but only managed to get pulled into a headlock and noogied.

Behind his brother he could see Aurelan struggling to get up from the kitchen table, her huge pregnant belly barely housed in the stretched fabric of the simple sun dress she wore. He wriggled out of Sam's grip and walked into the kitchen. Giving a low whistle he said, "Holy hell, Aurelan! You look like you're about to pop!"

"Don't I know it," she said with a laugh. "Why don't you make life easier for me and come give me a hug, huh?"

"Not sure that's a good idea!" Kirk chuckled. "If I hug you I might squeeze the baby out!"

Aurelan sighed in mock irritation. "I may be bigger than the farm house but I'm not made of porcelain! Now get over here and give me a hug!"

He smiled at his sister-in-law and obligingly gave her a gentle hug. She smacked him on the back and said, "Come on now, I know you can hug tighter than that! Don't be a wimp!"

Laughing, Kirk tightened his hug around Aurelan. He pulled back and took a good look at her. Shaking his head, he said, "You're positively radiant Aurelan, my dear. Even with a bun in the oven you're more beautiful than anyone else on Earth."

"Jeez," she said, rolling her eyes, "did you really manage to find someone crazy enough to marry you with lines like that?"

He laced his arm with hers and led her into the living room. "Guess I'm a bit rusty, huh?"

"Your lines were never any good Jim, but they've gotten decidedly cheesier since you've been gone."

The two laughed as they returned to the living room. As if awaiting orders, his four Vulcan companions were rooted in place before the front door. T'Maire, of course, showed the most liveliness as she waved and giggled at the young boys, but the rest were clearly waiting to be introduced.

Raising his hands to motion towards each person, Kirk said, "Aurelan, Sam, boys, this is my Vulcan family-to-be. Spock and his father Sarek, Surok, and T'Maire."

Aurelan left Kirk side and looked at Spock fondly. "Well," she said in a flirty tone, "I can't say I'm surprised you picked such a looker, Jim!"

"Yeah," Sam said, ribbing his brother with his elbow. "Too bad he's stuck with an ugly mug like yours!"

"Aw shut it!" Kirk laughed.

Straightening his back, Spock said, "It is a pleasure to meet you all, my future family."

Chris tugged on Spock's pants leg and asked with genuine curiosity, "Mr. Spock? Why do you have pointy ears?"

Spock was about to answer when Sam scolded, "Christopher! You don't ask people questions like that!"

Spock looked back at Sam completely unscathed by the young boy's question. "It is quite alright," he said. "Christopher's question is not offensive to me. He is simply making an observation about my appearance and questioning why it is different than his. Such inquiries are normal for a human child of his age."

Sam raised an eyebrow at Spock and then laughed. "You say that now, but when he asks you a hundred questions you might feel differently."

Before Spock could respond, Winona's voice called from the kitchen. "Sam! The food is ready! We should get everything served up while it's still hot!"

"Excuse me!" Sam turned quickly and ran into the kitchen. Everyone left in the living room made their way to the dining room and sat themselves around the table. Since there were guests, it had been stretched out from its normal round state to form a longer table with rounded ends. Each place had already been set for everyone long before they arrived, so all that needed to be done was to wait for the food to be served.

Sam and Winona came from the kitchen with two trays. Sam's tray had two large plates, one with pieces of roast chicken, the other had stuffed eggplants. Winona's tray had a large bowl of salad, a large bowl of steamed carrots and broccoli, and a bottle of salad dressing. They placed the trays of food in the center of the table and took their seats, Sam between Aurelan and Peter, Winona between Kirk and Prime.

The boys sneered at the vegetables their parents piled onto their plate and made sure to delay their inevitable consumption of them as much as possible. It was not until the threat of no dessert that they finally began nibbling slowly on them. The Vulcans enjoyed the stuffed eggplants very much, which were rich with flavor with a nice texture. Aurelan winced repeatedly during the dinner, but assured everyone that she was fine and that the baby was just a little lively.

Kirk and Spock told stories of their adventures on the Enterprise, much to the joy of the three boys. They had to reword certain things to keep the subject matter kid friendly, but their stories were enjoyed by everyone in attendance. T'Maire joined in on the story telling with her own tales from her star base. Before long even Sarek and Prime were telling stories of there own.

The room was filled with laughter and smiles, the kind of which Kirk had come to miss greatly during his time on the Enterprise. It wasn't to say that he didn't enjoy sailing through the stars, but when there were lulls in their travels he found himself longing to be home sitting around the table just as he was then.

He looked over at Spock to see if he was enjoying himself and was pleased to see that the young Vulcan was smiling as well, albeit rather conservatively. Spock looked back at Kirk and allowed himself a bigger smile to show that his previous nervousness had melted away. Kirk's family made him feel quite welcome in their home and he was feeling more at ease about becoming part of their family.

When the boys finally finished off their vegetables, the table was cleared of the dirty dishes and empty food bowls. With a big grin on her face, Winona returned from the kitchen with her 'world famous' blueberry cobbler. The look on Kirk's face was comparable to the three young boys when he saw his mom walk in with his favorite dessert.

Bringing up the rear with plates and fresh silverware, Sam gave each person their own plate. When he reached Kirk, the plate he placed in front of him was much larger than anyone else's. He winked at his kid brother and said, "I know how much you love mom's cobbler, Jim."

"Sam, you're a prince among men," Kirk gushed.

Slowly the cobbler was distributed around the table. Kirk received the baking dish filled with warm gooey cobbler last and scooped the rest of it onto his plate. Winona laughed at her son and said, "Good thing everyone else got a healthy serving of it before you got a hold of it!"

Smirking, Kirk scooped a large spoonful of the cobbler into his mouth and savored it with eyes closed. At that moment he could care less whether or not anyone else enjoyed the cobbler; he had finally been reunited with his first love. After eating replicated blueberry cobbler for the last two years, it was plain to see that nothing would ever come close to his mother's blueberry cobbler.

Spock cut an eye at his enraptured fiancé after taking a bite of the cobbler himself and said, "You were right Jim. This blueberry cobbler is as you would say 'to die for'. It is expertly baked at the right temperature to create a pleasant texture without being overly hot." Turning to Winona, he added, "My compliments to the chef."

"He's right!" T'Maire said. "I've never had a desert this delicious before! What's your secret? Do you put anything special in it?"

"Love," Kirk and Winona said in unison. Winona laughed at her son who gave her a goofy grin in response. "That's all I add to it," she said. "Just love, care, and attention."

"Those are the magical ingredients to my mother's blueberry cobbler," Kirk said, wiggling his fingers at his blueberry faced nephews. They giggled in response and continued to shovel the sticky goodness into their mouths. "That's why replicated blueberry cobbler will never replace hers!"

There wasn't much time to chat over dessert as their servings were quickly devoured. As Sam and Winona cleared the table, everyone else rose from their seats and moved to the living room (except for the boys, who were corralled into the bathroom by their mother to clean the blueberry goo from their hands and faces).

"That was a fine dinner," Prime said to Kirk. "Your mother and brother are excellent cooks."

Kirk smirked in response as he sat next to Spock on the couch. "Yeah, they sure are. My childhood was a bit rough, but having good home cooking was always a high point."

A small mew came from behind the couch Kirk and Spock sat on. A kitten with gray, silver, and black fur striped much like a tiger hopped onto the arm of the couch and tottered into Kirk's lap.

"Hey, who's this?" Kirk raised his hand and stroked the kitten's back, eliciting a purr from it.

"Jinxi!" Sam said with a smile. "Kismet had kittens about two months ago."

When Spock raised an eyebrow at him, Kirk explained, "Spock, this is Jinxi, one of the family cat's kittens."

As if on cue, Jinxi walked from Kirk's lap onto Spock's and nuzzled his chest. Spock mirrored Kirk and stroked the kitten's back gently. Jinxi purred twice as loud as she did when Kirk pet her.

Spock picked the kitten up and looked at it up close. The kitten licked his chin and nuzzled his face. "Looks like she likes you," Kirk mused as he watched Spock interact with Jinxi. "Can't say I blame her. Looks like you've got a fondness for cats as well."

Blushing ever so slightly, Spock said coolly, "I do not know what it is you are referring to. I simply get along well with feline creatures. You noticed that on Kalthoria with the Felisians."

"Yeah," Kirk agreed. "I also noticed that I was next to invisible whenever we were around them. You almost seemed godlike to them."

Spock simply raised a playful eyebrow at his fiancé and proceeded to covertly nuzzle the kitten, much to its delight. In return, it batted its tiny paw against Spock's nose.

The three boys ran into the living room and piled onto the couch around T'Maire as their mother shuffled in behind them. The moment their rears landed on the couch, they assaulted T'Maire with a thousand questions.

"Are there any kids on your star base?"
"Do you get to fight bad guys?"
"Why do you wear so much make up?"
"Do you like the color green?"
"Do you hear better with pointy ears?"

T'Maire stared at the little boys with her mouth gaping, unsure of what question to answer first. She looked up at Aurelan with a helpless look on her face. Aurelan smiled apologetically at T'Maire and said, "Sorry, they're all at that age where the moment they see something new they ask a million questions about it."

"Its fine," T'Maire replied with a smile. "I just don't know whose question to begin with!"

"Ahh!!" Aurelan suddenly hunched over and held onto her stomach. Sam immediately rushed over to her side from the kitchen and grasped her shoulders from behind.

"Honey? Are you okay?"

All Aurelan could do was shake her head and gasp for air. Sam put a hand on her face and turned it so that she was looking at him. Face laced with concern, he asked, "Is it time?"

The fluid that dripped down her leg onto the floor was more than enough answer for him, but she managed to cry out, "Yes! My water broke!"

It was as if a fire had been lit underneath everyone's rear when Aurelan announced that she had gone into labor. The plate in Winona's hands would have surely broken had she not dropped it into the soapy water in the sink. T'Maire gasped from her seat on the couch while Spock shot straight up, leaving the confused kitten on the couch, and walked over to her along with Kirk, Sarek, and Prime.

The children looked on in frightful confusion. "What's wrong with Mommy?" Chris asked, his eyes wide with worry.

T'Maire looked at the youngest boy and said, "Your mommy's getting ready to bring your little sister into the world. She's about to give birth."

Chris' eyes grew in wonder. "You mean it's time for our baby sister to come out?"

"Yup," Peter said. "Now you won't be the youngest anymore."

"Jim!" Sam exclaimed. "I need you to run upstairs and get the duffel bag that's on the bed in my room!"

"Got it!" Fast as lightning, Kirk zoomed up the stairs to his brother's room.

Sam faced Spock and said, "Spock, in the hall closet is a brown leather jacket. Grab the keys in the front right pocket of it!"

"Understood," Spock said as he swiftly turned and walked to the hall closet. Unlike Kirk, he knew how to be quick without being frantic.

Kirk came bounding down the stairs with a duffel bag filled with clothes and other essentials and handed it off to Sam, who had just made it outside with a moaning Aurelan. Winona helped Aurelan into the front seat while Sam put the bag into the back. Spock wasn't far behind Kirk with the keys to Sam's car in his hand.

Sam turned to Spock and said, "I'll be riding with mom to the hospital. You and Jim can ride in my car."

"What about everyone one else?" Kirk asked. "Your car has enough room for everyone."

"The hospital is only going to allow immediate family to visit her while she's in labor," Sam answered. "Since Spock is your spouse they'll allow him, but Sarek, Surok, and T'Maire need to stay behind. Technically we could take the boys, but they're going to be so excited I doubt they could stay put for long and this isn't going to be a short process."

Spock furrowed his brow and asked, "If we are not bringing anyone else with us, should we not travel in your vehicle instead of in Mrs. Kirk's truck?"

Sam was about to agree with the Vulcan when he heard his wife howl from the back of the truck. Winona poked her head out of the window from the front seat and yelled, "What are you waiting for Sam? Get in!"

"Your logic is sound Spock but right now we just need to get her to the hospital as soon as we can!" Sam ran to the passenger side of the truck and hopped in. Winona turned the ignition and the truck roared to life. Sam poked his head out her window and yelled, "We'll meet you at the hospital! Tell the boys their mom will be fine and not to worry!"

The truck backed out of the driveway quickly and zoomed off in a cloud of dust. Kirk and Spock watched as they drove off in silence. Still looking at the truck as it disappeared into the distance, Spock said, "Do humans usually behave this illogically when a woman goes into labor?"

Sighing, Kirk said, "Yep." He put a hand on Spock's shoulder and turned him back toward the farm house. "Come on, let's tell them what's going on and head out to the hospital."

One would think that after years and years of medical advancement in the human race that there would be a way to calm the father of a pregnant woman in labor. Sadly, aside from sedating him, there was no other way to quell Sam's nerves. For two hours straight he paced back and forth in the waiting room with his family, babbling nervously.

"Why won't they let me in? I'm her husband; I should be by her side! They let me be by her side when the boys were born! Oh God, what if something's going wrong? What if the baby's in distress? God, I need to be in there! Why won't they let me be in there?"

"Perhaps they are refusing to let you be inside with her because your temperament is unstable," Spock explained matter-of-factly.

"Unstable? What are you talking about? I'm perfectly stable! This is my fourth child! I know how things work with this! I just don't understand why they won't let me in! Something has to be wrong if they won't let me be in there with her!

"Maybe her normal obstetrician isn't there. Maybe it's some other random doctor that doesn't believe the father should be present! I bet it's some feminist nut that thinks the father should be left in the dark until the baby is born! My God this is the 23rd century! Thinking like that is from ancient times! I need to be there by her side! Why won't they let me inside?!?"

The door to the delivery room opened and a petite woman walked out. She stood before Sam and asked, "Sir, are you Mr. Kirk?"

"Yes! Yes I am! How is my wife? Has the baby been delivered?"

"No, the baby hasn't been delivered yet. We had some trouble getting her dilated enough for her to begin pushing the baby out, but she's fully dilated now. You can come in to help her if you'd like."

Sam immediately went for the door without waiting for the woman to follow him. The nurse looked at Kirk, Winona and Spock with her eyebrows raised and followed him in, leaving the doors to hiss shut on their own.

"I hope she's okay." Kirk said, resting his elbows on his knees.

"She'll be fine, Jimmy." Winona said with a reassuring smile. "Just think. You two are going to be uncles to a beautiful baby girl."

"It is a fascinating prospect." Spock mused, a small smile on his face as Jim sat up and leaned against his shoulder, trying to get comfortable on the hard plastic waiting room chairs. "Having trouble getting comfortable, Jim?"

"You'd think after centuries of hospitals being around, they'd invent some sort of comfortable chair for people to sit on while they're waiting for stuff like this." Kirk murmured, closing his eyes as he rested his head against Spock's shoulder. Spock stayed silent and stroked the blond man's hair gently.

"Mmmm…" Kirk mumbled. "Don't…"

"Why not?" Spock asked.

"I'll fall asleep." Kirk said with a small smirk. "Not really the best thing to do in a hospital waiting room."

Three hours passed before they heard anything. Winona had fallen asleep against Kirk's shoulder, her feet tucked up underneath her. Kirk and Spock were talking quietly about Kirk's family and how welcoming they all were. Suddenly, the door hissed open and Sam stumbled out, the smile on his face radiating more light than the sun. Winona's eyes shot open and she looked at her oldest son.

"Well?"

"Aurelan and the baby are fine." Sam said, the grin on his face not moving one iota. "They've just taken the baby to bath her."

"Good to hear. Does she have a name or are you just gonna keep calling her 'the baby'?" Kirk asked, standing up and looking at his brother.

"Her name is Jacqueline Isabella Winona Kirk." Sam smiled. Winona gave a little cry and leapt off the chair to fling her arms around her son's neck. "We though it was only right she get named after both her grandmothers."

"An excellent choice of name." Spock said with a nod.

"And one hell of a mouthful," Kirk said with a smirk. "So, when do we get to meet her?" he asked suddenly. Laughing, Sam motioned the three of them to follow him.

The scene behind the doors of Aurelan's room was touching. Sam and Winona had seen it three times before, but it didn't change the beauty of the moment. Aurelan lay in her bed with the newborn Jacqueline cradled in her arms. The light above her cast a soft glow on the two that called to mind the story of the baby Jesus born in a manger.

When Aurelan looked at the four people who walked into the room, she gave a tired smile. "Hey," she breathed. Her face still glowed from the strain of bringing her daughter into the world. Though her eyes were half closed out of exhaustion, they sparkled with Joy.

Winona made it to her daughter-in-law's side first and gaze at the baby in her arms. "Oh," she cooed, "she's adorable. She looks just like you! May I hold her?"

"Of course," Aurelan smiled.

Jacqueline was carefully handed over to her grandmother, who held her close and smiled. "Hey there little one! I'm your grammy! You're such a beautiful little girl. Grammy's going to enjoy spoiling you rotten!"

"Jeez mom, don't spoil another one of our kids!" Sam said. "We're still dealing with the last three you spoiled!"

Winona laughed. "No dice Sam. I finally have a granddaughter! I'm going to spoil her extra!"

She looked up at her son who was gazing affectionately at the little girl his mother held. With a smile, she walked over to him and handed Jacqueline over to him. "Here sweetheart, say hi to your niece."

Kirk cradled Jacqueline in his arms and looked down at her. Somewhere inside his heart he felt something different stir. It wasn't a familiar feeling, but he knew exactly what it was. He had heard of a biological clock that begins to tick once a person reaches a certain point in their life, but he always blew it off, thinking it wasn't something he'd ever feel.

He looked at Spock and smiled. He also never thought he'd settle down, let alone with a guy, and especially not a Vulcan. Nonetheless, there he was, standing next to his Vulcan spouse holding his baby niece and thinking about the future family he and Spock would have.

It should have surprised him that he felt the way he did, but it still did. He had always seen himself as a wild man who would spend his life flitting from girl to girl, getting what he could from them and then leaving when he was done. In his mind there would be no wonderful spouse that he'd grow old with, just the constant loving and leaving of women and the adventures of life speeding him toward his inevitable lonesome end. Was this the man his other self had lived to be?

The beautiful blue eyes of his niece distracted him from his inner thoughts. During the time she spent in his arms, she had decided to open her eyes and look out at the world around her. The breath in his lungs caught in his throat; there was something about looking into the eyes of a new life that seems magical.

Wordlessly, he raised his right hand and stroked her face with his index finger. Spock drew closer to him and observed his interactions with the small human girl. Unexpectedly, Jacqueline reached out with her tiny hand and grabbed onto Kirk's finger. The feeling of her soft hand on his finger made Kirk's heart skip a beat. His cheeks grew warm and a goofy grin spread on his face.

"Aww, looks like love at first sight," Sam joked. "Don't pull your lady killer tricks on her Jim; she deserves better than you. Plus I don't think Spock would care too much for it."

"Oh ha ha," Kirk said. He looked up at Spock and saw the same longing stare he had worn on his face when his mother held the baby. "Here Spock," he said as he handed her over to the curious Vulcan. "Hold her for a little bit. I'm sure you'll find her very 'fascinating'."

Spock looked down at Jacqueline and noticed that her demeanor changed slightly when he held her in his arms. Though she was already quite relaxed, the warmth of his embrace seemed to sooth her. She gazed up at him with eyes that seemed to run in her family and gently grasped the front of his shirt in her tiny fist.

He extended his finger to release her grip on his shirt and was able to experience some of what she felt. There was a great deal of wonder at the many things she saw, but it seemed that she found Spock the most interesting of all the new things she had seen and felt thus far. For what it was worth, she liked him. Not as much as she liked her family, which even as young as she was she could tell the difference between, but still very much so.

Gently, he extended his own developing feelings of love for the child and marveled at the closest thing to a smile a newborn infant could muster after being alive for mere minutes. Having spent what little energy she had in her, she nodded off and fell asleep in the Vulcan's warm arms.

Everyone in the room had watched their interaction in silence, but all in attendance had a warm smile on their face. Spock noticed these smiles after Jacqueline had fallen asleep and couldn't prevent the blood from rushing to his face. Carefully he walked over to Aurelan and handed the baby back to her. In a low voice, he said, "It seems your daughter likes me."

"Then it seems she already has good taste in men," Aurelan said with a smile. Spock's ears turned green in response to her comment much to everyone's amusement.

"Alright guys, I gotta send you out so Aurelan and Jacqueline can get some rest." He put his hand out and looked at his brother. "Jim, I know you dig my ride and all, but I'll need my keys back."

Laughing, Kirk pulled the keys out of his jeans and handed them to his brother. "Trust me Sam; you can keep 'your ride'. Station wagons aren't really my style."

"Wait till you have kids. You'll change your story then." Taking the keys from Kirk, he pulled him into a hug. "I'll see you back at the house, alright? Tell the boys their sister Jackie will be home to meet them in a day or two."

"Will do." He moved out of the way so his mother could give Sam a hug as well. Spock didn't move to give Sam a hug, but the two exchanged nods before they left the room.

They walked out of the hospital and piled into Winona's truck in the parking lot. She turned the ignition and the old heap rattled to life. As they drove out of the parking lot and back on the road toward her house, she said, "So boys, now that you've seen what it's like to bring a new life into the world, are you excited about starting your own family?"

Kirk and Spock exchanged looks and shared their emotions through their link. Smiling at his mom, Kirk said, "Yeah, I think we are."