Thank you to everyone who read or reviewed the last chapter. I'm really sorry for the long lag between updates. For those of you were keeping up with my other stories you are already aware that I had some family things that I had to deal with i.e. my mom had surgery and was in the hospital for 8 days, which was about 5 days more than she was supposed to be. She is now better and at home. Suffice it to say my free time is limited right now and writing has taken a backseat for the last few weeks. Of course, in the time that I haven't updated all my MCU allusions are now more ominous and now foreshadow more events in the story then I originally intended.

Anyway, if my Muse cooperates I hope to get to a more normal schedule. She has been very contrary lately. I had writer's block on this story, and several others so I tried something different and ended up writing a Tony/Steve Post Winter Soldier story that I hope to post eventually, maybe. Working in another fandom has freed up my mind and allowed me to finish this chapter after two weeks of despising everything I wrote and rewriting it twice.

Chapter 18: This Is Not the Time for Car Sex

"What restaurant where we supposed to meet Christine at?" Leonard asked as soon as they were out of the massive Starfleet complex. Part of her is positive that Leonard is just happy to be back on solid ground.

"Lafayette Square." She answered simply still not entirely sure why she agreed to Christine's request to have lunch together their first day back on Earth. It's not like Nyota is no longer angry with Christine because she still is absolutely furious with the woman. If they had known about David earlier, then maybe… David would still actually have a mom and an auntie Becky.

"You know you don't have to come with me. I promise not to kill your doctor in training, especially when she is 6 months from actually becoming a doctor. Don't you have a preteen to call?" It's not that she doesn't want him there because she does. Ever since the dream (or whatever it was), she has been very clingy. Maybe she has been a bitch lately, and she needs to get over it.

Maybe she needs to get over a lot of things, starting with her rational anger regarding Christine and her irrational anger involving Leonard. Maybe she doesn't want to end up like the broken version of herself from her dream (vision). Even though her other self did not mention her totally fucked up relationship with Christine maybe that was another thing she needed to fix.

"That's not a risk that I'm willing to take. You know how hard it is to find good med students who can put up with the insanity that is Enterprise? Most have too much sense to get anywhere near our ship." He grumbled.

"Don't worry; I can call Jo Jo when you're with Jim, Spock, and the lawyers. I have enough nightmares about my own custody situation. I don't need to live vicariously through Jim on this one." She really wasn't looking forward to being part of that meeting. However, Alexis was not going to let her out of it. Nyota respected her sister's mother greatly even if she wondered why a woman that smart was so easily fooled by her father.

Also, at this point she realized that the David custody situation as causing him to remember the nightmare that was the Jo Jo custody hearings. A part of Nyota still felt like he needed to be there though because unlike everyone else, he's been down this road before and knew a bad strategy when he saw one. Also, from what she gathered, the ex-wife was probably on the same level of evil and manipulative as David's miserable grandfather.

"Okay, I was lying because I don't want you to be with me unless you want to. I mean - I'm glad you're here because I may have been lying earlier about not strangling Christine, even if she is paying."

As she said earlier, she was still upset with Christine and even with seeing a miserable broken version of herself, she would not have agreed to this meeting without the promise of good food. Nyota still wonders if it's possible for her and Christine to sit together for 5 minutes without yelling, but it beats the alternative of a very dysfunctional Grayson-Kirk family lunch.

She doesn't know what's going to cause a bigger explosion the unexpected, but expected engagement or the fact that Gaila is in a relationship with another version of Spock. By comparison, her lunch with Christine should be peaceful.

"Also, I'm never one to turn down good free food." Leonard smirked at her.

"Of course you're here for the grilled vegetable skewers not me. I know those are your favorite." She told him with a mock pout as they continued walking. Part of her wish that the Starfleet HQ was in a less urban area. More than anything she missed trees, but this part of San Francisco was nothing but concrete.

"I mostly came for the company and the French fries." At that moment he grabbed her hand and she felt warm all over. In her mind she starts to curse because this was just another affirmation that she was in love with him. Seriously, how had this happened?

"They are good, but I know you would never eat them if Jim is around since he would call you a hypocrite for criticizing his eating habits." She smiles back, not letting go of his hand. She never wants to let go.

"They need to be criticized because it's not just the high amounts of junk food. It's the fact that he will skip meals or live on ration bars for weeks at a time. That really worries me. Now that he has a kid, I hope Jimmy will eat something other than blueberry pie and ice cream. That metabolism is not going to last forever and I don't care how much cardio he says he does with the hobgoblin."

"You know by cardio he means…" She finished off with a smirk.

"Don't even finish that sentence. I know what they're doing. So do you since you've lived next to him and the hobgoblin for so long. They're probably off having car sex as we speak just because it's been so long." Even though Leonard is joking, that's probably a distinct possibility with those two. It's probably even more likely because Jim is going to have to calm Spock down before he has lunch with his mom. Okay, finding out that your mom was getting remarried during a dreadful debriefing was bad on so many levels, but it's still better than how she found out about Ivy.

She completely understands that Spock is not happy, probably more for being left out of the loop than anything else. She tried to speak with him after the debriefing when he went to his room to pick up a few things before leaving the ship. But he wouldn't say anything. She hated it when Spock was like this. She was so going to have to pick him up a box of truffles for after his meeting with the lawyer. Maybe they should hit up a sundae bar. Spock likes to drown his sorrows in ice cream and chocolate.

"You're probably right. Until I met those two, I had no idea that the honeymoon stage could last this long. Let me just say how nice it is not to be woken up by sex sounds at 2 in the morning." Nyota told him just as they arrived at the restaurant. Christine was at the bar looking slightly annoyed. But that probably had more to do with her receiving unwanted attention from some random guy that looked old enough to be her grandfather than the fact that they were an hour late thanks to Admiral Asshole. She really hopes that guy does not become their permanent Admiral. From the bits and pieces of the conversation she could hear, Christine obviously did not want the man there.

"Get the fuck away from me. I don't want to speak to you or your client. If you could just leave, that would be good." They hear her yell at the man as she turns back to her drink, but he doesn't leave. Instead, he whispers something to her that they can't hear over the Jazz in the background. Christine just laughs at his words. It's not a pleasant laugh, but rather it's bitter and painful.

"Do you really think I'm going to help you, even if David's stepfather broke my heart years ago? He may be a prick, but only because he fell in love with someone else. He's still a better father then your client ever was. How can you sleep at night defending that child abusing psychopath? Do you have any idea what he put my friend through? You have to be stoned to think I would do anything to help him do that to another generation."

At that moment Nyota realizes that this man was most likely one of Alexander Marcus's lawyers (the one who did not have the good sense to quit) and was trying to manipulate Christine to testify against Jim and Spock. It was obvious that she would do no such thing despite the way they've all treated her in the last couple of days. That revelation made Nyota feel horrible.

At that moment they moved closer, so they could hear what was going on and intervene if they had to. She doubted this man was going to leave on his own.

"My client just wants what's best for David." The lawyer argued.

"That's a fucking lie." Christine shouted.

"Do you really think it is in his best interest to be with a man who put his ex-boyfriend in a coma? He is also married to another man who has a reputation for being reckless and callous, especially with the feelings of others as you well know. Is that the type of environment you want your godson to live in?" At those words Christine just laughs again.

"It beats the alternative of Alexander Marcus and his country club airhead wife Mercedes." Christina spat out. "Your client is the most unfeeling and manipulative man I have ever had the displeasure of meeting. Just because he has enough money to retain your services doesn't mean he's not a monster. He was never a good person and he was an even worse father. Do you have any idea how many times he hit her?"

"That is merely hearsay. My client would never …" He started to deny, but Christine cut him off in the middle of his sentence.

"Oh, it's more than hearsay. I know everything he did to her. In my mind, her blood is on his hands. If you help him get David, despite the fact that he has two fathers who love him very much, than his blood will also be on your hands. People like you make me wish hell actually did exist. You deserve to go to a torture dimension because you're doing nothing to stop this. I will die before I let your client anywhere near David." She said, slamming her now empty drink on the table before walking over to her and Leonard.

As Christine walked away, Nyota was pretty sure the lawyer in question said something along the lines of "you will regret that decision." However, her ability to read lips is questionable at best.

"Are you okay?"

"Not at all," Christine said shakily. "That was the shark Carol's father hired to get David. He wants me to testify on his behalf, but I pretty much told him to get fucked. I promised Carol I would not let her father get near David and I intend to keep that promise, no matter what."

"Let's just leave. Maybe we should go back to HQ, he can't get in there." She was tempted to say something about how Admiral Jackson was shot dead in his Starfleet apartment complex, but instead she just grabbed her communicator as they continued to walk out of the place. Thankfully, the slimy lawyer was not following behind the trio.

"Who are you calling? Leonard asked.

"Jim," she answered simply, but Christine did not look happy.

"I know you don't like talking to our Captain outside of a professional capacity even before the David incident, but you're just going to have to get over your crush. He chose Spock, get over it. He is your commanding officer and your godson's stepfather. If you love that little boy at all, you will get on this phone right now and tell his dad everything."

"Says the woman who is afraid to try a real relationship because her now deceased former boyfriend screwed her over years ago," Christine mumbled under her breath, but she just glared at her.

"Fine, give me the communicator." Christine held out her hand and she quickly passes the device to her only for Jim not to pick up. If they were alone, she would've said something about their car sex prediction coming true, but Christine would not appreciate that type of joke. Instead she just dialed Ivy's mom instead.

Even after 3 years in therapy and a whole lot of medication, Jim is well aware that his husband does not freak out like a normal person. Spock either keeps everything in to the point where you assume he's cold and indifferent or he explodes and people end up hospitalized (think Cupcake). Okay, maybe those were the same strategy at different stages, neither of which is very healthy, which is why his husband is well medicated. Regardless, Jim is glad that his husband's future stepfather listened to Jim's request not to come with them to the restaurant. If Spock and Chris had to share a car right now, somebody would probably end up in the hospital which would be bad, considering the precarious custody situation. There was no way they were going to give Alexander Marcus anything else to bring up in court. Spock getting arrested for choking a superior officer would just look really bad right now.

"Are you okay?" Jim asked once they reached the restaurant because Spock hasn't said a single word since he returned from his talk with Nyota. He already knows that Spock is anything but fine. You know it's bad when Spock does not say anything even when Jim sort of kind of went through a red light (it was yellow when he started). When Spock does not complain about his driving, Jim knows things are bad.

"I did not see the point of answering that question when you obviously know the answer. I have been anything but okay since we discovered Carol's body nearly 2 weeks ago." Spock tells him with eyebrows knitted together.

"And the fact that you did not count that down to the minutes and seconds worries me. Along with the fact you did not chastise me for using the term 'okay'." Jim tries to joke, but it falls flat.

"And the fact that I had a hallucination where I worked out my problems with my deceased former girlfriend does not?" Spock asked flippantly.

"Considering I was there for most of it, I still do not believe it was an actual hallucination. I'm not sure what that was, especially because she knew the name of the big giant ship hiding behind Jupiter that will soon be renamed the USS Gandhi." The briefing was filled with little things that made Jim believe that maybe they did have an actual conversation with the deceased Carol in a completely different dimension. Considering he was going to have lunch with another version of his husband, they have no room to be that skeptical. Spock responded by giving him two eyebrows and something that looked very suspiciously like a sigh.

"In regards to the Carol stuff, you're probably not going to be okay for a very long time. She was your 1st love and the mother of your child. For so long you thought that she hated you and just used you as a quick fuck. Instead it turns out…"

"She made questionable decisions; including leaving me and having our child put in cryogenic storage in the name of protecting me without consulting me or taking into account my feelings on the matter." Spock finished for him.

"Okay, unilateral decisions completely suck and she should've talked to you. If somebody did that to me, I think I would be completely furious. But Carol doesn't matter." Jim said as he grabbed Spock's hand.

"Considering that we now have David and our ability to keep him hinges on…" Jim placed a finger to Spock's lips to get him to stop being overly Spock right now.

"That's not what I mean, Spock."

"Clarify?" His husband demanded.

"There is nothing we can do right now to change the Carol situation except deal with it. She's gone and as much as you wished that was different for David's sake that fact is not going to change. At this point, the only thing we can do is just pick up the pieces and make sure Alexander Fucking Marcus doesn't get a single dirty evil little finger on our son."

Jim is pretty sure he saw a Spock version of a smile when he said 'our son', but he's not entirely certain because it was so quick.

"Your mom and Chris are still here and… Your mom is getting remarried to a guy that you had a crush on for a good portion of your Starfleet career and that's probably making this situation a lot worse for you. Although, you should probably keep in mind that in general, nobody likes their mom getting remarried. I hated it when my mom married Frank." Jim gave him another reassuring squeeze of the hand that, by Vulcan standards, was probably a make out session.

"Frank killed your mother. You had a right to be concerned. However, Christopher is a good man." There is certain sadness in Spock's eyes that only Jim understands.

"I know he's a good man and maybe that makes it worse for you because even though most of your crush is gone you still have a little hero worship thing going on."

"That is not an issue." Spock told him a little too quickly.

"Somehow I don't believe you," Jim rolled his eyes. "But I'm going to let it go for now because any discussion about you and your mom having the same taste in men is just too surreal for me. Maybe you're upset because it was a total surprise. We didn't even know that they were actually dating, even though your sisters have been suspicious for years." Spock just gives him a look. "Okay, we were all suspicious, even you were suspicious."

"Lieutenant Gaila gave my mother a condom bouquet for her birthday this year." There was a slight edge to Spock's words as he said the engineer's name. Spock was not completely okay with the fact that his other self was sleeping with her, although he was probably more okay with it then his mother marrying Chris. Maybe, it was a tossup.

"They have been close friends for the last 3.3 years. In Vulcan culture, it is not unheard of for close friends to become romantically involved." Spock said in the most matter of fact way possible, which told Jim that he was going in to pure logic mode to divorce his emotions from the situation. That was never a good sign.

"Considering your native language has a word that means friend and lover simultaneously, it's not shocking at all. However, your mother is not…" Considering that dark look he was receiving from his husband, Jim knew not to finish that sentence as intended; otherwise there would be no sex for him anytime soon.

"Okay your mom is a Vulcan citizen, but she's not a biological Vulcan." He rephrased.

"However, she has spent the majority of her life adhering to Vulcan principles." Spock corrected.

"Which is more important than DNA. Your mom is a lot more Vulcan then that idiot on the Council who is trying to take David away from us so he can be raised in a proper Vulcan home. Who the fuck decides what a proper Vulcan home is anyway?"

"Him, apparently," Spock remarked dryly.

"Well, he is a dick. Why did you save him?" Jim says, leaning into his husband. Spock quickly wraps an arm around him.

"My goal was not to save him, but rather my father. Unfortunately, because that Vulcan pushed my father aside during the evacuation…" Spock doesn't finish, but it's enough to make all the pieces click inside Jim's mind.

"Are you upset that she's moving on?" Spock turned around to look at his husband.

"She deserves to be happy. However…" Spock doesn't finish his thought.

"You just cannot see how she can simply let go of your dad and fall in love with someone else?" Spock doesn't answer, so he takes that as a yes.

"Just because she moved on doesn't mean that she doesn't still love your father or that she never loved your father. I mean, we know for a fact that barring something catastrophic, you're going to outlive me and someday you're going to have to find someone else."

"I do not want to think about that." Spock interrupted.

"Neither do I." he quickly gave Spock a chaste kiss on the lips. "But there's a pretty good chance that we went to a reality where that already happened and I'm glad you, or rather other you had Nyota. I'm sure other me from Selek's dimension would be fine with him 'dating' Gaila. I don't want you to spend the rest of your life alone and I'm sure your father felt the exact same way." Jim said squeezing his hand again.

"Come on, let's get some pizza and play something bloody and violent. I think this arcade specializes in 20th century games. I think you would like whack-a-mole. You get to hit plastic things with a stick. You can pretend they are David's grandfathers." Jim said deliberately using the plural.

"I am uncertain if I'm ready to see my mother at this time, I may say something inappropriate." Spock sighed.

"Which would just mean that it's Tuesday," Jim joked.

"I believe it is actually Saturday."

"It's just a- never mind." Jim said shaking his head before remembering what he put in the David preparedness bag that he brought with him (and if anyone had told him months ago he would ever be carrying around a toddler bag, Jim Kirk would have laughed in your face).

"We don't have to go in right now. The windows are tinted and the good thing about having to take care of a 2-year-old is you always have to bring supplies with you. I managed to bring a few other things." Jim said, pulling out a bottle of lube and condoms because it would make cleanup a little bit easier. At this point in their marriage they usually don't bother with that sort of stuff anymore unless there's a reason.

"We are not engaging in intercourse in the car in the middle of the parking lot for a children's theme restaurant." Spock protests. But Jim could tell it was only a halfhearted attempt, especially because Spock was filling up his hands.

"So if we were parked somewhere else, you would be okay with it?" Jim didn't get to find out the answer to that question because alarms started to go off everywhere.

"Gaila is dating my son." His girlfriend says as soon as she picks up his call. He was actually expecting her to ask where he was when he called to tell her that both he and Jim decided that it would be best if Spock spent some time with his mother without him there.

He is a brave man, but there was no way he was getting in a vehicle with those 2 under the current circumstances. If they weren't mad about the engagement, they would be mad about the new asshole in charge. He knew they were upset. He didn't need Jim to pull him aside and tell him that lunch with Spock right now would be a bad idea. That was obvious from the angry glares he was receiving during the last few minutes of the meeting from hell. Seriously why did they have to keep promoting assholes?

"I don't think your son's into polygamy," he joked as he made his way to Jane's lab from his office after his impromptu meeting with Jim and later his meeting with Admiral Lume about Jane and the idiot. His boss wanted him to find the scientist and talk to her about the leak. They were both certain she had something to do with it, especially since 30 minutes ago, he received the text message from her backing out of the lunch. That made everything seem more suspicious because he knew that the Doctor wanted to see David badly. "If he was, I'm pretty sure he would choose Nyota. I know my meeting with the boss took forever, but I didn't even think Jim would be there yet. "

"Jim and Spock are not here yet. However, Selek and his brand-new girlfriend are engaging in a riveting conversation with Alexis about her daughter's, sister's love life or lack thereof. According to the woman sleeping with my other son, Nyota is completely in love with Leonard McCoy, so I doubt that will ever become an issue." Amanda said with pure sarcasm which pretty much told Chris everything he needed to know. Apparently other Spock was the one who showed up with the surprise girlfriend and Amanda was not happy for reasons unknown.

"You know when your child is 3 times your age; you're not allowed to criticize his or her choice of partners. You are barely allowed to criticize Spock the younger's choice of partners." He sighed as he finally made his way out of his office.

"Considering my son-in-law, who has been arrested more than a dozen times for computer crimes is the best of the best of all the people that Spock has dated, I think I have a right to have an opinion." At this point Chris wasn't sure if his girlfriend was joking or not. She had the deadpan Vulcan voice down perfectly.

"Remember, he was never actually charged with anything." Chris reminded her. "Okay. I thought you liked her. She was practically your assistant after- everything." More than 3 years later, and he still doesn't like bringing up the events that made her a widow. Genocide is never a good subject for conversation.

"They met when she was my assistant. Selek was going to do something suicidal because he's just as stubborn as his father and she stopped him." Amanda sighed again.

"How exactly does that lead to the two being together?" He asked Amanda because he was missing something.

"You know that I adore her." She said, ignoring his question. "I just don't think she should be dating a guy 6 times her age." So apparently, Amanda was more worried about Gaila then Elder Selek. This makes sense to Chris. Amanda has known the young woman since she rescued her more than a decade and a half ago from a slave ship.

"I think I get it. You see her as another daughter because your heart is just that big, but she's a grown woman and gets to make her own mistakes. Now if T'Pen came home with a prospective boyfriend or girlfriend for that matter who was significantly older than her then you can be angry and I promise to help you hide the body."

"I don't think it will come to that, but we are going to have to have the birth control talk now." Amanda sighed once more. "Technically, Spock made me a grandmother before he even made it out of the Academy. I'm not having that again."

Chris wondered if he prevents Amanda for screaming at Spock for the entire getting Carol pregnant thing, the Vulcan will forgive him for falling in love with his mother. Chris isn't so sure. He's a smart enough man to know that's why Spock is upset. Yes, they can tell him that the wedding is just some scheme to keep Alexander Marcus away and keep David safe, but there's no way he can tell Spock that he doesn't love Amanda. Chris has been in love with her for so long that he's not even sure when it happened, but he knows that it's true. Chris is unable to deny that fact.

"If he was old enough to be at the Academy, he was old enough to have consensual sex with a fellow cadet. Besides…"

"I know." Amanda cut him off. "The whole thing was dubious consent at best. Why are you defending him? You are supposed to be on my side." He wished this was a Vid chat because he is sure that she's pouting at him.

"It's my job to make sure you see things reasonably." He told her with a slight laugh.

"If this was a vid conference, I would be giving you the look right now." She said laughing too.

"T'Pay, don't throw the wooden ball at David. Go play with the plastic ball. Those balls you can throw at each other." She ordered the two children.

"Do I sense pseudo-sibling jealousy?" He asked slightly worried.

"Yes and I don't understand why." She sighed.

"Maybe she doesn't like you paying attention to other people." He said it as a joke, but he realized that may be applicable to Spock as well.

"Look, my replacement is an idiot and managed to tell Spock about not only the fact that we are dating, but also about our upcoming nuptials before I could say anything and…"

"And now Spock is channeling his little sister?" Amanda asked, knowing her children a little too well.

"Pretty much. In an effort to avoid him throwing wooden balls at me, Jim and I decided it would be best if I'm not there at lunch."

"That's the only reason why you're canceling on me?"

"There are other reasons, but it is complicated and I need to find Jane." Chris told her, just as he passes the office that formerly belonged to Jonathan Jackson. Inside was Jane looking at an old-fashioned notebook with all the lights turned off. "And apparently, I just found her."

"Why do I have a feeling that this conversation is approaching the 'it's classified' threshold." Amanda joked.

"Everything involving my new job crosses that threshold. If I survived this afternoon's meeting with Jim, Spock and the lawyers, I promise to come by tonight." He says just before ending the call, not even giving Amanda time to respond.

"What are you doing in Jonathan's office?" Chris asked, not even trying to surprise her. It's impossible to do that when you're in a wheelchair, anyway.

"I'm not even sure." Jane says, looking up in tears.

"Maybe I came to get his sketchbook because he would hate for it to be tossed out with everything else. Maybe I'm here to find answers to questions that can only be answered by a dead man." She seemed broken as she spoke.

"I'm pretty sure the computer has been cleared by now, so you probably won't be able to find anything else to upload to the net." He doesn't know why he said that, but the look she gave him told him it was the wrong thing.

"With my security clearance, I wouldn't need to. Just so you know, I'm not The Rising Tide." Jane said closing the sketchpad.

"How can I believe you?" Chris asked.

"First of all, Starfleet is the only home I have in this world, even if certain factions are not exactly the good guys. Besides, if I was going to leak severely classified material, I would've attributed it to Hydra, not the Rising Tide," she joked.

"That's another comic book reference?" Chris asked hesitantly.

"You are sorely missing out on the classics." Jane said sadly before continuing. "Jonathan was obsessed with all things comic books. I swear he got some of his 'best' ideas from comic books and their assorted movies. Apparently, he thought dumping most of Starfleet's dirty laundry out in the open was a good idea." She said with another sigh.

"Jonathan has been dead for days." Chris said, not believing that Jonathan could be responsible for his latest headache.

"That really doesn't mean anything," she shrugged. "Jonathan always has a contingency plan for any situation, even screwing over Alexander Marcus."

"I thought they were friends? He was his mentor." Chris asked confused and Jane started to laugh maliciously.

"Marcus was also your mentor, but that doesn't mean you can't see him as the absolute bastard that he is. John and Alex haden't been friends for a long time, ever since Carol got pregnant with David the first time." Her words are punctuated by bitterness. "After we found out about Carol, Jonathan cursed Alex and told me that if something happened to him or me, Alex would live to regret it."

"Jonathan was the Rising Tide?" He asked.

"It's not that hard to set up files to be released posthumously. There's even a program for it to be used for wills and things like that." Chris is aware of that considering he knows several in Starfleet that have used the program.

"I can see that as a possibility, but why are you here? I thought you wanted to spend time with David?"

"Jonathan's sketchpad has the best stuff. Maybe I'm looking for confirmation. I'm not sure. Besides the best thing I can do for David is to make sure that he's safe and having usable dirt on Marcus can guarantee that." Jane said, just as her communicator chirped.

"That was your girlfriend/fiancée telling me to bring you to the happy house of pizza or whatever despite what you told Jim earlier."

"Apparently, she must enjoy an uncomfortable lunch with her children," Chris tells her, but he knows it's in his best interest to go along with Amanda's requests.

They arrived at the restaurant 20 minutes later or at least they tried to. They were unable to get into the parking lot because it was now covered with cop cars. Jim and Spock were arguing with the police bot to let them in, but were not successful. He tried to call Amanda, but she was not picking up her phone.

T'Pay was not happy and, according to her mom, it was perfectly normal for her to be unhappy even if mommy Amanda's assistant said that 'Good Vulcans' feel no emotions whatsoever. It seems like everybody's attention is focused on David because he is Amanda's real family and according to Anthony from preschool, she's just 'some stray' that Amanda brought home. She does not like that everybody is fawning all over him because that means they don't want her anymore. Even T'Pen likes him more. She doesn't want to go back to that big place that they send unwanted kids. She doesn't remember it that well but her sister said that it's a horrible place, which is why they can't let David go there.

She really doesn't want to like David, but he shares his toys and carrot sticks with her. He also let her order the pizza she liked, even after she threw a ski ball at him. As they wait for their food, they are now playing in the ballroom together. Her sister thinks playing in the ball pit is illogical since daddy Chris can't get inside because of his wheelchair, her big brother is never around and her best friend Georgia doesn't get to go out that often because her mommy is very protective. Now she has David and maybe it's nice to have somebody her own age or at least closer to her age to play with. (She is almost 2 years older than her replacement. Maybe mommy Amanda likes younger children better, but if that is the case why did she adopt T'Pen as well.)

She tries not to think of that when they are in the ball pit. She was going to focus on having fun and if she has an excuse to throw balls at the interloper that is okay. Mommy Amanda said that was okay as long as she did not throw anymore wood ones. She does not understand the explicit purpose of the ball pit except to release excess energy.

After 5 minutes together in the ball pit another little girl started throwing balls at David and T'Pay goes on the offensive. Nobody throws balls at her nephew but her. As she attacks the girl in the yellow sweater who is twice David size, her nephew started to scream. T'Pay thinks that someone else is throwing balls at David, but instead, there is a blonde woman trying to drag him out of the play area. Other parents look concerned, but the woman tells everyone that he is her husband's grandson, but he just doesn't like her very well. The parents believe her, but T'Pay knows better.

Her mom is a council elder and kidnapping attempts were pretty normal. When she was just 2 years old, somebody tried to take her out of the house in the middle of the night, but mommy Amanda shot him. After that, Daddy Chris told her everything she needed to do if a stranger tried to take her. Because mommy Amanda told her to take care of David, that advice also applies to the situation, especially because the woman already has David out of the ball pit and is trying to make her way to the door.

"You're not his grandmother." She shouts as she throws a ball directly at the woman's head. "My mom is. Get away from my nephew." She keeps throwing balls at the woman, but it doesn't slow her down even if the other parents are now looking at her suspiciously. As she tells them a story about a messy divorce, her big sister T'Pen approaches the woman from behind and put her fingers on her neck. Just as alarms in the restaurant started to go off, the woman crumbled to the floor.

To be continued