Beginnings

Amanda sighed as she stood by the bedroom window, looking out at the dry, hot evening landscape…The sun had already set, and the sky was full of stars…This was her favorite time of day, and she was glad she was able to be out of bed and enjoy the almost cool breezes coming in the window…

As she stood there, gazing at the stars, she thought back to the long, weary day just past…It had been so hard, giving birth to her son, even though the doctors had done everything in their power to make the delivery as pain-free as possible…They had tried to meld with her, and it had worked up to a point, but being Human, their techniques had not been as effective as if she had been Vulcan…As it was, she had to bear the pains, and delivered her child as most mothers do, in sweat, and blood, and ultimately, in triumph…

She thought of her first glimpse of him, wailing and covered in blood…She had never seen anything so beautiful…When she finally got to hold him, she did the usual things mothers do…Counted his fingers and toes, kissed his chubby, ever-so-slightly green flushed cheeks, and gazed into his obsidian eyes…She also tenderly ran her finger around his tiny, sweetly pointed ears, and traced the soft, slanted brows…

Her husband had not yet seen the baby…Vulcan fathers do not normally attend the actual birth, but wait until the mother can present the child to them personally... Amanda thought she knew how Sarek felt about the baby, for they had planned his conception, and birth, so carefully…Human and Vulcan biology, being slightly different, called for more than just deciding to have a child…No, there had been many months of very careful medication for both of them to insure the child could be conceived at all, and very careful monitoring of her pregnancy to insure she was able to carry him to term, and deliver him safely…Yes, she thought she knew his mind, but still…There was that little seed of doubt, that tiny uneasy feeling that he might be disappointed somehow in his son, and in her…

She heard his soft knock at the door, and as she turned to greet him, she was struck, as she always was, by how very handsome he was, and as always, slightly amazed at the idea that this man chose her, of all people, to take as his wife…

She crossed the tiled floor to him, and held out her hand to touch his fingers in the Vulcan caress…It never failed to give her a thrill along her nerve endings, and she knew that he felt it, too, though he would not show it outwardly…That would not be the Vulcan way…

"How are you feeling, my wife?  Are you being kept comfortable?"  Always the soul of correctness, she thought, as she smiled up into his face…

"I am quite well, my husband…I am only weary…After all, it has been a long day, for me, and for one other…" She turned slightly, and motioned towards the cradle near the bed…"Would you like to meet your son now?"

"Yes, I believe it is time for us to meet…" He walked with her to the cradle, and stood gazing down at his son, who was sleeping quietly…

Amanda gently picked the baby up, and turning to face her husband said,

"Sarek, I present your son, Spock, born this day to your bonded mate, Amanda, and descended from the clan of Surak, founder of our civilization…May this child find favor in your eyes, and bring honor to your name…Live long, and prosper, my husband…" She had made it through the formal words, now to see his reaction to his son…

Sarek held out his hands, and she laid the baby in his arms…He held the child close to him, looking intently at the tiny, perfect replica of his own face…As he gazed at him, Spock opened his eyes, and looked into his father's face, and smiled….A tiny hand reached up and touched Sarek's face, and with that touch, Sarek felt the first tentative brush of his son's mind against his own, and was amazed to feel something he never expected from one so small…Love, washing across his mind and forming that first tiny bond between father and son…

Sarek looked at his wife, and nodding slowly, said, in a soft, low voice,

"Amanda, my bonded mate, I am well and truly pleased in this, our child Spock…You have done well, and honor me, and my clan, with the presentation of this child…Live long, and prosper, my wife…" And he broke from tradition then, placing a gentle kiss on the baby's brow, and, cradling the child in his left arm, encircled his wife's waist with the other and drew her close to him in a tender embrace…Amanda was without words, and simply looked up into her husband's face, at last seeing his love, and approval for her, and now their son, plainly written there…

As he drew her closer, he softly whispered against her cheek,

"I love you, my wife, and I thank you for the gift of our son…" As he kissed her tenderly, he reached out and touched her mind, and let her feel the touch of her son's mind, joining them as a family for the first time…Amanda felt Sarek's love for her and their son fill her mind like a cool breeze, and Sarek felt such a contentment as he had never known before…And the baby lay cradled between them, safe and warm, and loved…

Now, their little family was whole and complete…And, no matter what storms might come in the future, this was the moment they would hold onto, and cherish forever…

At this same moment, on a planet Amanda would have known instantly, another baby was presented to his father, who, beaming with pride, said,

"Well, darling, what are we going to call him?" His wife looked down at sleepy hazel eyes, and said softly,

"His name is Jim…"