A Riverside Christmas Mystery

Chapter 5

"Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays, 'Cause no matter how far away you roam

When you pine for the sunshine Of a friendly face For the holidays, you can't beat Home, sweet home"

Al Stillman

Winona, carrying Davy, with Uhura right behind her, came into the kitchen to find breakfast ready. Peter was setting the table, and Jim, McCoy and Spock were filling their plates with toast, eggs, and fried potatoes. Butter, jam, cream, sugar for coffee, and milk for Peter and Davy were on the table.

"Morning, Ma. You, Uhura, and Davy, sit right down, everything's ready."

"Jim, this is lovely, dear. Thank you so much. Here you go, Davy, into the high chair. I think scrambled eggs and your bottle will be enough for you, sweetheart." She put a small bowl with eggs and his bottle in front of him.

Davy banged his spoon loudly on the high chair in agreement.

"You're welcome, Ma. I told you we're all going to pitch in. We're in charge of breakfast and we've checked on the animals. Ginger is looking good, Ma. You and Peter take good care of him. I'm going to ride Ginger as soon as I can, can't wait!"

They all sat down to eat and Jim told Peter, "Squirt, it snowed about 8 inches last night, so after we clean up, let's all go outside and play in the snow. Your dad and I always loved days like this. Remember Ma, how Sam and I would build snow forts, and throw snowballs against the house to knock down the icicles? Then Ma would scold us because we'd suck on them, and she said they weren't very clean."

"Yes, but you and Sam never listened and you never got sick from them, so I guess they were okay," smiled his mother. "You and Sam always had a lot of fun after a hard snow."

"Uncle Jim, can we build a fort or a snowman?" asked Peter. He loved to hear stories about his dad and his Uncle Jim.

"We'll do both, Peter. We don't want a thaw to set in and miss this golden opportunity."

Spock was listening carefully to Jim's plans. "Then there will be other activities besides this fort building in which you wish to engage us that will involve frozen water drops?"

Jim laughed. "A lot more, Spock. I have a mental list," he added teasingly. "There's ice skating, snowboarding, snow shoeing, snow tubing, building snowmen, and of course, our current project, the snow fort. Good thing we have a lot of people here to fight off the enemy when we have the war."

"The war?" Spock asked, sounding a little alarmed.

"Yep, a war with snow balls," answered Jim happily, his warm sunshine smile encompassing his troops.

Spock huffed a small sigh. He did not see the attraction of using ice or snow for pleasurable activities, but courtesy and Jim's insistence demanded he take part to the best of his abilities. There was little point in trying to resist this particular form of Iowa-born charm and enthusiasm as he well knew from vast personal experience.

"Ma, Does Davy have enough warm clothes for him to be out with us?"

"Yes, we'll layer him with clothes and he'll be fine. If all of you will watch him, Nyota and I will make a quick run into town and buy him some extra diapers, a warm snow suit, and some extra onesies. I want to get him some sippy cups too, so he can start drinking from them instead of his bottle. I'll get extra mittens and a hat too. You'd lose yours all the time, Jim, and I'm sure so will Davy."

"We'll all watch him, Ma. Don't worry, you and Nyota go. He'll be fine outside with all of us."

After the dishes were taken care of, and the kitchen cleaned up, everyone put on their heavy winter wear. Davy looked like a little sausage with the many layers Winona and Uhura put on him.

"Spock, do you have both sets of thermal underwear on underneath your sweater and coat?" Jim asked. Spock, native of a planet who had no winter, had no tolerance for the cold. "Be sure you keep your head and ears covered too. A lot of body heat escapes through the head and ears."

"Yes, Jim. I think that I will be warm enough."

"That's good, but if you get too cold, I want you to come back inside and warm up."

"Yeah, Spock," said McCoy. "I don't want to deal with hypothermia, so keep an eye on yourself."

"Bye, Ma," Jim said giving her a goodbye kiss. "You and Nyota have a good time shopping."

They all went outside; the sunlight was brilliant on the white pristine snow. The area around the house and the woods near by were breath takingly beautiful and there was a deep silence all around except for the crunching of their boots as they broke the snow crust.

Jim carried Davy and put him down on a soft mound of snow and the baby stood slowly. Jim watched him carefully as his little legs sank into the soft snow and he slowly stood by himself, solid and secure. He gave a little chortle of glee and sat, then stood again. Peter sat next to him and made a tiny snowball and put it in Davy's mittened hands and the baby looked at it curiously. Peter made another small very loosely packed ball and threw it up in the air. Davy looked at the small mound in his hand and threw it up also. The soft snow ball disintegrated and the snow flakes fell on Davy's head. Peter laughed at the baby's surprised look. "He's really smart, Uncle Jim."

"Ji," repeated Davy, looking up at Jim beguilingly.

Jim grinned and picked him up again. "All right men, it's time to build our fort. Peter run get the shovel, we'll only use the top soft layer of snow to make our blocks. Our fort will be situated close to the barn to avoid the wind. Sam and I always thought that was the best spot."

Peter ran and got the shovel. Jim handed Davy to Spock. "Here Spock, you hold Davy for a while. He likes you." Spock held him securely in his arms and the baby touched his nose.

"Spo," said Davy. "Spo," he said again.

Spock's dark eyes took on a satisfied gleam. That the baby had said his name before McCoy's was very gratifying.

"Well, will you look at that," said McCoy. "This baby is about to have a language explosion."

Jim laughed softly and took the shovel. He showed McCoy and Spock how to mold the soft snow he gathered into bricks. "All the bricks have to be about the same size, men," said the Captain of the Fort. "We'll take turns holding Davy. It's too cold for him to sit in the snow for any length of time."

"Uncle Jim, I can bring one of Noni's buckets and he can sit in there. That'll keep him dry and warmer,' said Peter.

"Perfect, Peter. That's a great idea."

They sat David in the bucket where he fit securely and watched enthralled at the entrancing world around him. The men and Peter worked hard, Jim shoveling and Peter, Spock and McCoy making the snow bricks.

"Spock, you shovel for a while, it's hot work, and it'll warm you up," said Jim, wiping his sweaty face. "We'll take turns." The number of snow bricks had grown considerably when Jim called a temporary halt.

"Okay, men, it's time to start building the wall. I'll show you how Sam and I did it. Your dad was very meticulous about how we placed the bricks, Peter. They had to be just so." He smiled down at Peter, happy in the memory of those long ago days of winter fun with Sam.

"Have to admit, this is kina' fun, Jim. We never had hardly any snow in Georgia, and if we did it, it melted right away. Never have built a snow fort or a snow man either."

"It is fun, Bones. How are you doing, Spock, not too cold?"

"I am well, Jim. I am not cold. The use of the shovel has warmed me up very well. This activity with the snow has intrigued me. I never thought of snow as being an adequate building material."

"About three hundred years ago, snow was used by the indigenous Canadian, Central Artic, and Greenland Inuit people to make shelters, Spock. They were called igloos. They were warm inside because of snow's excellent insulating properties."

"Most interesting, Jim. I am eager to see our finished product."

The first wall was up to Jim's waist, when he suddenly lifted his head and scanned the sky. Spock too, stopped shoveling and looked up. In the distance they could hear a shuttle. It sounded rough, an older model, and not the one Jim had rented.

"Peter, take David inside the house. Don't come out until I tell you and make sure Davy doesn't cry. Take him to your room and play with him and Sorrel and entertain him however you need to. I don't want anyone to hear him. Go, Peter, quickly."

Peter picked up the heavy Davy and struggled hurriedly through the deep snow, carrying him into the house.

Jim, McCoy and Spock continued with the fort building and only stopped when the shuttle landed. Two men came out of the shuttle. They had on long black winter coats, boots, dark hats pulled down over their heads, and thick winter gloves on. Even underneath their coats, Jim could see the bulky muscles in their upper bodies and the large hands inside the gloves. And Jim, in whom the instinct for danger was as primitive and lively as his protective feeling for family and crew, subtly changed his body into command stance.

The two men walked slowly up to the fort, their boots leaving deep footprints in the snow. Jim noted they were scanning the tree line, the house and the barn. They stopped in front of the fort. "Morning," said the deep rumbling voice of one of the men. This close, with their bulky coats, they looked huge and bear like. These two look like nothing but thugs, thought Jim.

"May I help you, gentlemen?" Jim's voice was very mild. McCoy and Spock had heard this tone of mildness many times; it was the voice Jim always used with the crew or with the enemy before going into battle.

"Yeah, we're hoping you can help us," said the slightly taller of the two. The leader, supposed McCoy.

"We're looking for someone," said the other man. "We heard she might be in these parts, and we're checking out the area. Your farm is in the middle of our search area, and when we saw you out here, we thought we'd drop by to ask."

"Who is it you're looking for," asked Spock. His deep voice sounded totally indifferent and disinterested in the answer.

The taller one spoke again. "Just a friend of ours, she was supposed to meet up with us a few days ago, but she didn't show up, and we're getting kind of worried. She has a baby, you see, and we're worried she might have had an accident or something. We've checked with the hospital, but had no luck there. So have you seen a woman with a baby anywhere around here?"

"No, my boy, we sure haven't seen a woman with any baby." McCoy's Georgia drawl was thick as honey. "And just what would a mama be doin' out in this weather with a baby anyway. Not sensible."

"Yeah, that's why we're worried," said the taller one. "And why we need to find her. Does anyone else live here beside you three that we could ask?" He looked at the house again. "Mind if we look around?"

Jim followed the man's gaze. His command stance did not change. He looked at Spock and a message passed between them. Spock slowly shifted the shovel to his shoulder, as if it were a rifle. "No," he said, and his voice had lost its mildness, "there's no one else here that you can ask, and yes, I do mind if you look around. We've answered your question gentlemen, so if you'll excuse us, we're in the process of building a snow fort. We're having family visiting here for Christmas and we're building several snow sculptures as part of the festivities. So if there's nothing else we can do for you, thanks for stopping by and goodbye."

They both scowled at being so summarily dismissed, but Jim looked pointedly at them until they muttered their goodbyes and walked back to the shuttle. The taller one looked back as if to check that they were still being watched.

Jim didn't move until the shuttle took off. "Well, that was interesting."

Spock lowered the shovel he had intended to use it as a weapon if it became necessary. "Indeed, Jim."

"Yeah, that was very interestin'. Guess we know now who's looking for Davy's mama," said McCoy. "Those two gave me the willies."

"The willies, Dr. McCoy?" Spock looked at him puzzled.

"The heebie jeebies, the creeps, the blue devils, in other words, Spock, they scared me. No wonder Davy's mama had to run and hide."

"Yes," said Jim thoughtfully. "Those two looked like hired thugs to me. I just wonder what in the world Davy's mama saw; what she got in the middle of. I hope they were satisfied, but if they don't find her, they may be back. We'll have to stay alert. We really do need to find her as quickly as possible."

He stepped out of the fort. "I better go check on Peter and Davy."

"I will go, Jim. You and McCoy stay here. I am getting a little chilled standing here not shoveling the snow and going inside will warm me. While I am indoors, I will make hot chocolate for everyone and Peter and I will bring it out to you."

"Excellent plan, Spock. There's nothing like a mug of hot chocolate to warm you up. It's my favorite winter drink."

Spock went indoors in search for Peter and Davy and found them in Jim's room sitting by Sorrel's basket. Peter was dragging a length of string for the kitten and Sorrel would chase it and when Peter stopped dragging it, the kitten would pounce on it. Every time Sorrel pounced, Davy's deep baby chuckle could be heard.

Spock crouched down by the two children. "Peter-kam, Sorrel looks strong, healthy and very beautiful. You have taken very good care of him. Sarek and Lady Amanda will be pleased when I tell them." (1)

Peter looked at his dear friend, Mr. Spock. "Thanks, Mr. Spock, I've done everything T'Lane wrote down for me when she brought him. He's grown a lot, hasn't he?"

Spock placed a gentle hand on Peter's sandy head. "Come, Peter. We will go in the kitchen and make hot chocolate for all of us. The men have gone and we can resume the making of the fort." He picked Davy up in his arms. "Come, Davy. Warm milk for you, I think, and not hot chocolate."

The baby settled contentedly into his arms. "Spo," said Davy, touching Spock's cold cheek.

Peter and Spock took the hot chocolate outside and Davy went back in the bucket. The snow brick building continued until they heard the sound of another shuttle. Jim looked up and recognized his rental. Nyota and Winona were back.

Jim walked through the snow to the back field to meet them as they exited the shuttle. He took some of the shopping bags from his mother. "Ma, Nyota, glad you're back, we had visitors." He quickly told them about the two men and saw Winona's alarmed face as she glanced over to Davy. "It's okay, Ma. They didn't see Davy. Peter got him inside the house way before they even landed their shuttle."

"Don't worry, Winona," said Uhura. "You have four highly trained Star Fleet officers here. No one will even get close to Davy, I promise you that."

"She's right, Ma. Stop worrying, Davy will be fine with all of us here. What we have to do is find his mother. I don't expect anything from Chapel until at least tomorrow, but I'm more hopeful of a quicker response from Commander Bradford or Dr. Jeffries. Until then, we'll just have to wait." Jim sighed in frustration. He was not good at waiting.

"Yes, you're right, dear. I'll try not to worry. Davy is safe with us." Winona and Nyota walked over to the fort. "My goodness, you're doing a great job with the fort! It looks just like the ones you and Sam used to build."

"It's coming along." Jim said, looking pleased at his mother's praise. "After all these years I haven't forgotten how we did it, Ma."

"Ma," crowed Davy from his bucket. "Ma," he said again.

"Davy!" Winona's delighted laugh rippled like wind chimes in the snowy stillness. Her lovely face and hazel eyes were alight with mirth. "You come inside with Ma, young man. What in the world are you doing in that bucket? Let's put your new snow suit on you, Davy. Then Nyota and I are going to make vegetable soup for lunch. Does that sound good to everybody?" she asked.

"Perfect. Let me help you with all the bags. When Davy's ready he can come back outside with us."

Winona walked on ahead and Uhura trailed back a little with Jim. "He's such a dear baby, so good-natured and beautiful," said Uhura. "His mother must be a wonderful mom. Jim, do you think we'll find her? So far, we've kept Davy busy and entertained, and he seems to be doing okay without her, but it's only been a day and I don't know how much longer that will last."

"We have to, Nyota. Those thugs meant business; we really need to do all we can to find her before they do."

Winona put Davy in his high chair and gave him back his milk bottle and a cookie and she and Nyota got out the shopping bags and found his new snow suit. Uhura took him back outside, admired the fort once more, and then went in to help Winona with lunch preparations.

The fort building progressed quickly and the four walls were chest high when Uhura came out the back door. "Lunch everyone," she called.

They all trooped inside, ravenously hungry, McCoy carrying Davy. They washed up and sat down to the delicious hearty vegetable soup and crusty bread. There was also hot spiced tea for everyone. Davy sat in the high chair with his baby spoon and got a bowl full of slightly mashed up vegetables, some crusty bread and his milk. He made swift work of the veggies and bread and banged his spoon on the chair, "Ma, Ma," he said.

They all laughed. "Is he saying more or is he saying Ma?" Jim asked.

"Probably both," said his mother. "Here, you greedy child, here's more for you. After lunch you're getting a bath and then a nap."

"Sounds good to me," said McCoy. "I mean the nap part. After all that work building the fort and the cold weather, a nap is just what I need."

"The soup was delicious. We'll clean up the dishes. Ma, you go ahead with Davy and give him his bath and then you get some rest too. A nap sounds good to me too," said Jim. "You know, I can't even remember the last time I was able to take a nap, Bones."

"Bo," said Davy. " Bo!"

McCoy beamed. "Atta' boy, Davy. Just two more names to go, and you'll know us all."

Davy got his bath and went down for his nap. In the cozy warm old farmhouse, the afternoon waned softly and the house settled into peaceful silence as everyone rested.

(1) See Ring of Treason