Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last set of emails. You are fabulous.

Day 379: I am still really, really pregnant

From: Number_one_Pike
To: Spock's_cuddlebunny; Jim's_cuddlebear
Time arrived: 03/04/2261 00:00:01

Subject: I am still really, really pregnant.

I enjoyed talking to you and the kids the other day. I'm sorry we had to end things early because of my poor pregnancy bladder. It was an excellent call. I'm glad I got to meet your sister-in-law. I am looking forward to seeing her this summer. I am still scheduled to go to Yorktown. It will be at the end of my maternity leave, so I'll get to spend time with the kids.

Although I am sad that I won't spend that much time with you. I am so sorry you must accept an award for the Vengeance incident. How are you dealing with that? I know those couple of weeks were traumatic for all of us. The second year isn't always easier than the first.

I don't know if it will be better for me this year with the twins. Last year, I had getting pregnant to focus on. I will have the babies and the wedding to distract myself this year. I am Winona's plus-one. She is the best woman. Ben officially got her to say yes, mainly because nobody else not related to his first husband would be attending on his side. Winona agrees it's bad luck for the first husband's family to participate in the wedding, especially when it's super complicated.

Did you know I got your letter two days before the video call? I was relieved to know I hit the send button last time. I decided to wait until my twins' checkup to write back.

I know you were worried because I couldn't sit still during the call, but the doctor says everything is going well. I have a little bit longer to go before the twins get here. However, they are starting to get into position. I expect nothing less of my kids. It's probably going to be a few more weeks. I hope it happens while you're still at Starbase 39, but I also would like to make it till March at least.

So, are you on your way to your next assignment yet or still at Starbase 39? I know you could be long gone when you got this email. What was the outcome of the inspection of the kids' program? Will I have to send you a housewarming present for your new place on New Vulcan?

I hope the program continues because I know how much you adore Enterprise. At the same time, you could be around more for the twins if you leave ship life behind. They need their big brother/uncle figure around as much as possible. That's more likely to happen if you live in the New Vulcan colony.

I am still looking at names. I know I'm probably weeks away from birth and still deciding on names.

Here's my list so far:

1. Nothing that sounds like Chris.

My Chris despised the dead loved one junior thing. He would be super mad if I did it with our son. Also, I already have a niece named Christine, with whom I have a complicated relationship, so that's out. I know there are some Chris's that are actually named Charles. You had one on the ship before the coup, but that's not an option.

2. Nothing already occupied by a friend or close family member, dead or living.

Sorry, Spock and Jim are not on the baby naming list. Winona is also sad that her name is not on the list.

3. It needs to go well with the last name Pike.

Any name that rhymes with Pike has been eliminated from my list. Also, anything that sounds like a freeway is off the list.

As you can see, I have a very long list of names I don't want to give the twins but no names I want to use. This happens when you change your name as an adult because you hate your birth name. You keep second-guessing.

Also, I keep asking myself, "What would Chris want?" Would he have liked the name that I picked out? Would he have chosen something different? I almost had a name a few times, and it's been eliminated from the list because I feel like Chris would've hated it. Although the name River Pike probably would've led to much bullying. So, taking that one off the list was in my best interest. If I don't come up with something soon, I think Winona will have a name party.

Anyway, please send pictures. I need to stay occupied. I am 90% sure my doctor will put me on maternity leave after the next check-up. I hoped to make it to spring break, but that is not happening. I'm already working on handover notes for my replacement.

Xxxx

From: Spock's_cuddlebunny;
To: Number_one_Pike

cc: Jim's_cuddlebear
Time arrived: 03/04/2261 00:00:01

Subject: We are also happy you're still pregnant

I'm glad you wrote to us after the babies' checkup. I am so grateful that everything is going well. I'm also pleased that your doctor is making you go on maternity leave early, and you won't keep working until your water breaks during a staff meeting. That feels like something you would do. I am grateful the doctor has overruled you.

We should already be resuming our deep space exploration, but the repairs are taking longer than expected. Part of that was that Scotty arrived a few days late because the Hamilton had some complications. I'm not free to discuss those complications mostly because Scotty refuses to tell me. But he did arrive with a black eye, so I'm not asking questions. Bones refused to heal him.

The team didn't want to start work until Scotty looked over everything. They couldn't begin anyway because the Starbase 39 engineers were still replicating the replacement parts. So, we're still under construction. Finally, the damage was worse than we thought and will take longer to fix. Fingers crossed, we get to leave on March 9.

The good news is that I do not have to deal with a gaggle of crying teenagers or my very sad preteen. The Kids in Space program is continuing for another year. However, Gina needs to write a full report on her curriculum. She is not happy. But at least she doesn't have to go house shopping on New Vulcan with the new wife.

I am also happy that I will not move next door to my father-in-law anytime soon. I can do small doses of my father-in-law, but I'm not quite ready to live there yet. Hopefully, I'll be prepared by retirement. Or when we want to start raising little baby Vulcans. The twins are making my husband's biological clock tick faster. Maybe we will look into surrogates once Peter is in college. Let's get one kid out the door before we get more. We can practice on the twins in the meantime.

I understand having trouble picking out a good name. I'm glad nobody outside my immediate family knows my middle name is Tiberius. I'm not a fan. Also, I considered going by Jamie for a while. I like it more than Jim, but everybody called me Jim. I decided not to fight it, even though it felt like an old man's name when I was a kid. I am more OK with it now, but I love it when the hubby calls me James. Do your rules allow for Jamie, or is it too close to James/Jim?

What about famous musicians? Would you get mad at me if I started giving you the names of various Beastie boys? What about Linkin Park members? Oh, what about names from songs? Kenji? It's the title of a song about 20th-century America's Japanese internment camps. But it's also the middle name of one of the lead singers from the group. I'm sending you that song. It's an important historical document.

Spock Bear is adding the top 100 Vulcan baby names. (last updated six months before it all went to hell.) Well, the top 99, he removed the name of his former fiancé. It was number 98, which doesn't surprise me.

So, outside of Jamie, my advice to you is to pick what you want. Don't focus on what other people want. Otherwise, you'll get stuck with Chris Junior, and again, you don't want that as a baby name.

I have no idea what names Chris would've chosen. However, I wonder if Enterprise would be in the running. Enterprise Pike feels like it's a road or something. I feel like most names with Pike are going to sound like freeway inner changes. You're right about that one. Are you sure you don't want to return to your maiden name? Not that I know what it is. I know it's not Chapel.

I think the fact that I don't know your dead name brings up the point that no matter what, the twins could always change their name eventually, and that's OK. I've already changed my last name, and so has Peter. We're going with Grayson-Kirk officially now. (Or the other way around, to mess with people.) I like it because people won't automatically assume I'm one of those Kirks. Spock likes it because, with a last name like Grayson-Kirk or Kirk-Grayson, people don't automatically think he's Vulcan, which helps in meetings, especially when dealing with idiots.

Being on base has been exhausting. I want us to get back to exploring the cosmos. I am so done with all of these meetings. Spock is, too. I want two months of uninterrupted exploration. This is supposed to be a five-year mission, five years exploring the cosmos, and yet, bureaucratic Starfleet bullshit keeps getting in the way. At least we didn't lose our program with the kids. Thank the universe for that.

Anyway, I expect an update soon. We miss you, and stay safe.

To be continued…