Ruth, the warbid will be heading for Romulus. Target her engines.

Spock, thank god! Are you all right?

I am undamaged for the moment, but my ability to communicate with you will be...

Static filled Ruth's mind once again, and she stopped her mad rush to the Bridge long enough to activate the nearest comm relay.

"Scotty, get the warbird's engines, now!" Then she fell against the opposite bulkhead as the Enterprise lurched and shuddered.

"That's it for the shields," she heard Daffy Gollub's voice from the still open comm.

"Kushenko, get the engines!" Montgomery Scott said, then added, "Commander, are ye all right?"

Ruth rose, stumbling to the relay. "I'm on my way," she answered. "Don't let that ship go to warp!"

"Aye, ma'am," was the response, and she closed the link and again began racing to the turbolift. Once inside, she ordered the car to the Bridge. She felt two more impacts before it reached its destination, and nearly fell onto the Bridge as another hit just as the lift doors opened.

"Is she DIS?" she demanded as Scott started to rise from the con.

"Sorry, lass, but no," the Chief Engineer responded. "They've got a new way of rotatin' their shields..."

"I'm working on it!" Daffy screeched.

Ruth headed over to her.

"Just when I've got the pattern worked out, they change it on me!" the Assistant Science Officer snarled. "I can't keep up with it!"

"Keep trying, Daf," Ruth said, resisting the urge to push her friend aside and coerce the computer herself.

"Commander, sensor readings indicate they're trying to activate their cloaking device," David Kelly said from navigation.

"They're firing to keep us busy," Dawson Walking Bear added. "They haven't done any real damage."

"They wanted the shuttle," Ruth mused furiously. "They aren't trying to destroy us. They want to get away with Spock." She looked up at the Defense and Weapons post. "Kushenko?"

"I cannot achieve target lock," she Russian answered.

"Then give it your best manual shot!" Ruth demanded.

The woman glanced at her as if that thought had never occurred to her. "Da, ma'am," she answered as the lift door opened and Hasim and Lacey came on to the Bridge. Walking Bear immediately vacated the Helm and Hasim slid into the seat. The ship lurched again, but this time it was from a sharp evasive maneuver. The Arab officer gave Ruth a fierce grin.

"What are you waiting for?" Lacey's voice demanded. "Fire those phasers, NOW!"

"It is difficult to aim..." Kushenko began.

"Did I say aim?" Lacey interrupted. "Fire! Keep them too busy to raise their cloak!"

Ruth stood halfway between the Science Station and the con, her mind working rapidly. Not that it mattered at the moment what the Romulans were after - it was simply a way to keep the paralyzing fear at bay. The Romulans wanted the shuttle. Did that mean they weren't trying to kidnap Spock? But why would they want both? What did the shuttle and Spock have in common? Federation shuttlecraft had no direct access to Federation computers. Spock, of course, knew everything there was to know about Starfleet. Why try to get the shuttle if they had Spock? They were trying to delay, not destroy - clearly so they could get back to Romulus with their prize. But they didn't have the shuttle. Were they then settling for Spock? That made no sense. Was Spock mistaken about their intent? Impossible, he's as telepathic as they...

Telepathic. The Telenate. If Spock wasn't the objective, why were there Telenate at the base?

The Paxions wanted only the Vulcans to conduct negotiations so the Telenate could keep them under wraps so we'd attempt a rescue and the Romulans fucked up the transporter signals so we'd have to send a shuttle because they wanted the shuttle but the damn Romulan ex-commander with her alluring, condescending smile and her cute, pointed little kitten ears has a history with Spock so she decided to up the anty but Spock still said they wanted the shuttle...

"Their attempt to cloak is costing them," Lacey's voice broke into her thoughts.

"Aye, and they canna go to warp if they're cloaked," Scott put in.

"Because we'll just follow them and we're faster," Hasim added. "So if we just keep forcing them to use up their energy to defend themselves..."

"We'll get lucky and hit their engines eventually," Lacey concluded.

Cloak. The shuttle has a Valjiir cloak. And if they can't get a working model, Spock has all the knowledge they need to construct one of their own. I have to get him out of there!

"Scotty," Ruth said abruptly, "can we get a transporter lock on Spock from here?"

"You want I should try and distinguish a Vulcan life form reading from a Romulan with their shield frequencies dancing all over the place?" Daffy interjected incredulously.

Scott shook his head. "We couldna get a transporter lock even if we could find him, lass," he replied.

"And long as we keep firing at them, they're not going..." Hasim began, then swore sharply. The Enterprise pitched violently. "Sorry, I couldn't evade that one," the helmsman said.

"They're cloaking, they're cloaking!" Kushenko cried out.

"No!" Ruth cried. SPOCK!

Telepathy. I don't know what I can't do until I can't do it.

Here, on the Bridge?

The ready room!

She ran from the Bridge without a word to any of her officers.

She took a few vital seconds to calm and center herself. If this didn't work, both she and Spock would die. And if it did...

The Zehara's only been bugging me to do this for years. So okay... No ritual, no preparation and I'm only half Antari and this is a hell of a lot longer away than half a mile...

She focused all her mental energy on the image of her husband: his physical form first, his tall, lean elegance and strength, the precise color of his skin, his dark, sleek silky hair and gentle, intelligent eyes; the perfect tone of muscle, the size and shape of his hands, the hawkish but nonetheless beautiful arrangement of his features, aquiline nose, thin but delectable lips, curving, elongated ears. She didn't neglect the details of his sexual anatomy, but for once didn't dwell on them.

If I can do this, there'll be plenty of time for that later.

Next, she pictured his emotional self, the clashes and blending of Vulcan and Human heritage, his calm facade and the deep well of pride and insecurity, gentleness and passion, reserve and hidden ferocity, an ocean of friendship and respect and above all, love. She let it fill the physical picture of him in her mind until it was anchored securely in her thought.

Then she added his mental qualities, his intelligence and logic, his quick processing of information and his sometimes cutting sense of humor. She thought of the strength of his telepathy and his reluctance to use it as well as his contradictory certainly and mistrust of its power and effectiveness and truth.

Finally, she concentrated on the braid between them, the intertwined threads of green and gold, the tie that bound her to his life. She remembered the Bonding ceremony, all she had accepted about him, all he had accepted about her. She recalled how T'Pen had woven their minds together, how carefully and completely the Vulcan healer had sealed their union. And she remembered how Spock had been able to tug at that joining, even before it had been set, when they had both been separated into their respective halves so very long ago.

She didn't bother with the ritual words or phrasing. Instead, she spoke the truth in her own way.

Spock, son of Sarek and Amanda, all that you are is all that I am. We can't possibly be separated. You have to be with me, here, in this place, in this time. We have to be one now, you have to be where I am now...

One love that is shared by two, I have found in you...

Two lights that shine as one...

Time we've learned to sail above... She stretched out all her power, all her intent, all her need, breaking through the static that surrounded the mind of the man she had loved since she had first seen him on a holo tape at Alterra University

Come to me, come to me, come to me...

Spock was weakening. The two Telenate females seemed to be able to make a stronger assault on his mind than had Ve'ath'lin and her two male subordinates. It was no doubt due to the cultural mental dimorphism of Romulan society: females were encouraged to develop their telepathic abilities to the utmost. It was only the spark of jealousy in Ve'ath'lin's thoughts that kept it from its full potential. And that was the only defense Spock had.

I did not love you, Ve'ath'lin, he thought and felt the truth sting her mind. I used you, as I confessed, and it was not unpleasant as I also admitted, but use it was. There is no deeper emotion in me towards you.

You lie! the Romulan woman hissed at him.

Concentrate, sister, came Na'rena's voice, but was ignored.

You deny what we shared, Spock? Ve'ath'lin continued. You deny what I stirred within you?

A Vulcan male is fully capable of ordering his physical responses, Spock began, then inhaled harshly as the mental force sharpened.

I saw what was in your thoughts, Spock! Ve'ath'lin continued, her mental voice both mocking and pleading. I know what you felt! How dare you refuse it now?

Whatever you sensed was only the pretense of a Starfleet officer doing his duty... Spock began again, and again had to stop the thought from turning into a cry of pain.

I will teach you Romulan duty! the woman snapped and Spock readied himself for a renewed onslaught.

One love that is shared by two, I have found in you...

Ruth?

Two lights that shine as one...

What is that?! Ve'ath'lin cried. Na'rena, strengthen!

Time we've learned to sail above...

Spock felt the constriction on his mind lessening, somehow seeming to fade, though he was certain the efforts of the Romulan females were growing, not weakening. He felt himself becoming insubstantial, not only his thoughts, but his physical presence as well. His mind began slipping from their mental grasp like water running through their very fingers.

Ruth? he called again, and his vision, both mental and physical, became incased in a golden glow.

Come to me, come to me, come to me...

How? he managed.

Let go, evan Amanda.

He took a deep breath, and closed his eyes, doing as the Zehara commanded.

The effort was tearing at her mind and her body, her long bones screaming in protest. She ignored the pain and the threatening exhaustion, the desire to stop, the mounting certainty that she was condemning her beloved to death.

Just a little more, she panted to herself. Pull, pull, pull...

Not push, push push?

Shut up!

She could feel his essence coming closer and she poured more energy into the call. You have to be with me, here, in this place, in this time, she repeated. We have to be one now, you have to be where I am now, now, now, NOW!

A cry of purest agony was torn from her throat as something snapped inside her. She screamed in desperate terror -

Then something moved aside within her, the space empty for only a fraction of a second before filling up with all that was Spock. They merged, bodies, minds, emotions, souls, the Oneness so profound and complete that she knew they would never again be separate. She felt his awe and his relief and his curiosity as he explored her in a way that had never before been possible. She was too exhausted to return the search, though she knew she didn't have to - he would forever be a part of her now.

Forever? he asked, though it was in both their voices.

And Indiians think they know what that is, she answered with him.

They laughed, and it lasted only a moment as the braid between them became but one solid connection, an enduring line of swirled green and gold and red.

Red?

We're both half Human.

Logical.

Then they gasped as the Oneness began to recede, two bodies taking shape from the wholeness of minds and hearts. One became golden female, the other olive male. Familiar features formed and became whole; long blonde hair that curled around them both, strong, elegant fingers that grasped at tanned hips.

My wife, I need, I burn...!

Take me, touch me, be inside me...!

The union was fierce and heady, a furious coming together that attempted to rejoin that which had just been parted. Ruth felt the physical imperative, her body automatically releasing a fully prepared egg, straining to meet Spock's equally imperative release of sperm. The fertilization took place in an instant, the newly-created mind already forming, one of power and strength and purpose, growing already to their son.

Ruth lay on the deck of her ready room, panting, her limbs trembling with exhaustion. Spock lay on top of her, his heart thundering against her, his breath coming in shuddering gasps. Both became aware that there was a voice calling from the intercom.

"Commander! Ruthie, are ye all right? Commander!"

"Break off attack, Mr. Scott," Spock managed. "Get us away from the warbird as quickly as you can."

"Cap - Captain?!" the Chief Engineer sounded completely flabbergasted.

"An explanation must wait," Spock returned. He glanced down at his wife, smiling with profound gratitude.

She grinned wearily back at him, then closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Ve'athlin gasped and grabbed at the abruptly empty Federation uniform. Na'rena drew back, startled and quickly began a mental search. All she found was static.

"Commander, the Federation ship is moving away! Should we pursue?"

"No," Laras answered immediately. "Activate our cloak and go to warp. Get us home."

As the orders were implemented, Laras' mind was invaded with a sharp cry of rage and despair.

Spock!!!

Ve'ath'lin, he responded quickly, what have you done?

This is not possible,said the confused voice of his Telenate-assigned officer.

What happened? he demanded.

He vanished! Na'rena responded. His clothing is still here, but he...

Impossible! came Ve'ath'lin's seething interruption. We've jammed the Federation transporters!

The lighting of the Minitos dimmed as the cloak took much of her power, then the warbird popped neatly into warp.

No, go back, go back! Ve'ath'lin shrieked.

Commander, our prisoner is gone, if we do not return for the shuttle, we have failed in our mission, Na'rena cut in bitterly.

Laras swore and gave new orders to his helm, damning all Vulcans and the Federation - and the Telenate.

Spock rose, a little awkwardly, and reached for the intercom. "Mr. Scott, was the Magellan retrieved?" he said in as calm a voice as he could manage.

"Ah, no sir, Ruthie - Commander Valley said to..."

"Transport Mr. Hasim to the shuttle immediately. He will pilot it back to the ship."

"The Romulans..." Scott began.

"Will cloak and go to warp very soon, but they will return once they find I am no longer their prisoner," the captain broke in again. "We have a very small window of opportunity to bring the Magellan in. We cannot allow the Romulans access to the Valjiir cloak."

"Ach, is that what they were after then?" Scott asked.

"Yes. Mr. Scott. Among other things."

"Aye, sir."

Spock heard the Chief Engineer give the order to Mouli Hasim, then dropped wearily back to the deck. After a moment, he made his way to the replicator and called up new uniforms for himself and his wife, carefully dressing her then donning his own clothing. He lifted the sleeping form into his arms and headed out of the ready room.

"Miss Valley is uninjured," he announced as all eyes on the Bridge turned to him. "She used her skills to teleport me from the Romulan vessel and is in need of rest. Mr. Scott, you will continue in command for the time being."

As he carried his wife to the turbolift, he heard Daffy Gollub mutter, "Send in a maintenance crew, Scotty, I'll bet she threw up a week's worth of food in there."

A faint smile touched his lips as the lift door closed behind him.

Mouli Hasim quickly powered up the shuttle's engines, lifting off from the surface of Paxilon 4. He set the scanners to alert him of the presence of any ship other than the Enterprise, piloting the small craft up and out of the atmosphere with ease. The Enterprise's orbit was half way around the planet, and he urged the engines to give him better than the best possible speed.

"This is like flying Adjal," he muttered to himself, and gave a grinning thought to his beloved needle. It wasn't a bad comparison, as the only real imperative of this flight was speed. Scott had relayed the Captain's command - 'Get the Magellan back to the ship as quickly as possible' - and Hasim was not going to let his commanding officer down, if only so he could hear the story of exactly how Ruth Valley had managed to retrieve him from the Romulans.

The Lincoln-class heavy cruiser was just coming into his field of vision when the sensor alarm went off. A Romulan vessel had just popped into the Paxilon system, and was bearing down on him with frightening determination. He started evasive maneuvers, trying to make certain they always led him closer to the Enterprise. The comm came to life with Scott's voice: "Head's up, lad," and a blue-white beam of a phaser crossed in front of him, a clear warning shot to the warbird. He veered to starboard, coming around the ship, trying to get it between him and the Romulans.

"So now what, he thinks he's Sulu?" Daffy Gollub muttered as she tracked both the shuttle and the warbird on her sensors.

"Aye, lass, we can only hope he's that good," Scotty answered, then said to Anya Kushenko, "Keep firing, but only hit her if she gets too close to the Magellan."

"Aye, sir," the Russian answered.

"And why are we putting that restriction on the phasers?" Lacey wanted to know.

"We're not here to start a war, Lieutenant," was the Chief engineer's response.

"Didn't they already do that by abducting the captain?" the Arachnid demanded.

"Spock broke off the attack," Scott answered, "and I'll not gainsay his orders. All we want is the shuttle and Mr. Hasim back in one piece."

"Look at him dodge and weave!" Dawson Walking Bear exclaimed from Navigation. "He really is as good as Sulu!"

"Don't let the D'Artagnan's captain hear you say that," Daffy mumbled, "or Kam'll have to challenge him to a race."

"And wouldn't we all love to see that," David Kelly grinned from Navigation.

"Minds on your boards, lads," Scotty broke in and thumbed the comm switch.

"Open the hangar doors," he ordered the shuttle bay. "We want Mr. Hasim to be able to bring the Magellan in as soon as he has the chance." He didn't wait for the acknowledgement. "Mr. Walking Bear, hard to port!"

The Romulan ship had begun a fast turn, attempting to get around the Enterprise's saucer.

"On it, sir," the Lieutenant replied, as both his and Kelly's fingers flew over their boards.

"She's coming in, sir!" came an excited shout from Alan Mulhouse.

"As soon as those bay doors are closed we go to warp," Scott said,

"Aye, sir," came from both Navigation and the Helm.

"Go!" came the confirmation a few moments later, and Dawson punched at his controls hard. The ship shuddered for a millisecond, then shot smoothly into warp. A loud ululing came from the comm that was still open to the shuttle bay as the Bridge crew, as one, exhaled.

Ruth woke with a start, gasping her husband's name. His presence immediately filled her, as his voice murmured within her mind.

I am here, beloved.

Salishé, she sighed happily.

Yes.

It wasn't a question.

I know.

Welcome, evan Amanda, the Zehara's voice floated to both their minds.

I am grateful for your acceptance, Lady, Spock replied.

Oh, don't be so formal, Ruth chided teasingly. You'll give her a bigger head.

She opened her eyes, smiling at him.

"You are in Sickbay," he told her gently. "Dr. McCoy insisted on an examination."

"I could eat about ten cows," she answered. "Other than that, and wanting to sleep for another week, I'm fine."

"Food's on the way, Ruthie," Leonard McCoy's voice assured her, his smiling face coming into her view. "Scanners show an almost total depletion of protein."

"I'm not surprised," she responded. "Salish'll do that."

"Salish?" McCoy said, his eyebrows rising. "Is that how...? From the Romulan ship? But that was... I though the usual range was about half a..."

"Desperate circumstances call for desperate measures, Doctor," Spock put in.

"Well, I'll be a blue-nosed gopher," the doctor exclaimed.

"How do you know so much about salish?" Ruth questioned, her eyes glinting with suspicion.

"I have an Antari keheil for a patient," the doctor said, pulling himself up with an air of superiority. "You think I wouldn't study up on it?

"I just didn't know there was any information to study up on," was her grinning reply.

"Never read the medical records from the Blakely, huh?"

"Your mother was apparently less secretive with her salish," Spock put in. "And Yonaton Valley kept meticulous logs."

"Blabbermouths," Ruth murmured, but her eyes were sparkling. And you know as well as I do that there's no such thing as secrets in a salish, she added silently.

I know now, beloved, came the warm response.

"So, you finally did it," McCoy rejoined. "Can't say I'm surprised, except that it took you so damn long." Then his blue eyes started twinkling. "Hey, Ruthie, does that mean...?"

She serenely placed her hands on her abdomen. "Don't be expecting any help in Sickbay for about nine months, Bones," she said, and fluttered her eyelashes.

The doctor looked slightly flabbergasted. "I was joking!' he said. "You can tell so soon?"

"I can even tell he's a boy," Ruth replied.

McCoy's grin split his face. "Congratulations!" he said heartily, and clapped Spock on the shoulder. "Never knew you had it in you, Spocko!"

"Indeed?" the Vulcan responded. "I was under the impression that my physical examinations showed my system quite capable of reproduction."

The doctor gave a mock scowl. "Antaris can get pregnant by rocks anyway," he muttered.

"Only if they're really good-looking rocks," Ruth added with a grin.

"There's no vomit to clean up in the First Officer's ready room," Daffy Gollub's voice announced as she entered Sickbay. "So does that mean the hot shit keheil finally did something right?"

"Finally?" Ruth retorted, sitting up as Nurse Pinsky came toward her with a tray heaped with rare qualk. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You let my Pavel get phasered," the chemist returned, "after you promised you'd take care of him, that's what!"

"Mr. Chekov will be just fine," McCoy interrupted. "Don't you go upsetting my patient in her delicate condition."

"Delicate schmelicate!" Daffy snorted. "She's eating like a damned horse, as usual..."

"She is eating for two, Miss Gollub," Spock put in softly.

"Two dozen, as is..." Daffy stopped in mid-sentence, staring at Ruth. Ruth grinned up at her, carefully keeping her lips closed to keep the food she was devouring in her mouth.

"For two?" Daffy repeated. "Oy, geveult, you don't mean...?!"

"My wife performed a salish to retrieve me from the Romulan ship," Spock explained, "and the usual response of an Antari body to that ritual is..."

"Pregnant?" Daffy whispered, then went on, her voice increasing in volume. "With child? Expecting? In a family way? There's a bun in the oven? You're having a baby?!" The last was a shriek of delight, and the chemist raced over to her friend, pulling the surprised Antari into a bear hug. "Fruychik, that's amazing!"

"Not really," Ruth managed, wiping her mouth on the napkin Nurse Pinsky had so thoughtfully provided. "A little hormonal flood, a little egg, a little sperm..."

"A little song, a little dance, a little spritzer down the pants..." Daffy grinned, then abruptly pulled back. "And you know so soon?"

Ruth shrugged. "It's an Antari thing."

"Yeah, hot shit and all, but it's only been a few hours."

"You can wait to tell the rest of the ship until I can confirm it in about a week," McCoy offered.

"Hell no, I'm cleaning up on my bets now!" Daffy crowed.

"You bet on..." Ruth began.

"Odds said D'Artagnan and the Silver Streak would go first, but I had faith." Gollub's green eyes were shining. "I'm gonna be rich, rich!" She turned, heading for the bed on which her fiancé was resting. "Hey, Pasha, you hear that? I'm gonna be rich!"

With the disappearance of the Federation ship, Laras swore again, then gave the order for the Minitos to return to Romulus Prime, ignoring the screams of fury that echoed through every mind on his ship. He had to accept the inevitable reprimand from his superiors due him for his failure to secure the Federation cloak. His only consolation was the undeniable fact that Ve'ath'lin would bear equal, if not more, culpability - and she would have to answer to the Telenate.

"... so Kitten-Ears apparently thought she could return to past glories or something by snatching..."

"Kitten-Ears?"

"Roy, did you ever see her? She's got these tiny little pointy ears, just like..."

"Gotcha."

Jilla Majiir brought her husband another cup of coffee as he lounged on the bed in their quarters, the viewer pulled over to him, chatting over a comm link with Ruth Valley. The Indiian was feeling a great contentment: her best friend and her kinsman were now as married as it was possible for them to be, a state that Jilla had been hoping for since a few months after she had met them both. That the state also came with Ruth's announced pregnancy was a further joy.

Jilla could hear the annoyance in the Antari's voice as she related the events of the Enterprise's first mission, wondering at the lingering jealousy her friend felt for the Romulan Commander. In his previous encounter, Spock had clearly been acting on orders, and now had clearly chosen Ruth over any repetition of the prior situation. And the fact of a successful salish made it more than evident that their union was destined from the beginning - just as Jilla herself had always thought.

As married as it is possible for them to be, her thoughts repeated, and she found herself clenching her left hand. The fact that she and Sulu were also 'as married as it was possible for them to be' was a bitter one, despite their verified - though not officially acknowledged - Vulcan Bond. As was the very real possibility that a child between them would not be feasible. Ruth was Antari, her body could compensate for any foreign antigens or antibodies that would come from Spock's Vulcan heritage in the growing child. And both Ruth and Spock were half Human to begin with. Not only were she and Sulu entirely different species, her own genetics were already artificially complicated. A natural conception seemed quite unlikely, and even were they to use procedures to insure in vitro conception, the medical intervention necessary to keep her body from rejecting the child would be considerable - and carried no guarantee.

She became aware of the presence of her husband standing behind her, his left hand sliding gently down her arm to enfold her closed fist.

"What's the matter, hon?" Sulu murmured. "I thought Ruth's news made you happy."

"It did, it does..." she returned hastily, then flushed, realizing that the comm link was closed. "Forgive me, I did not mean to interrupt..."

He chuckled. "Ruth had to sign off," he replied. "Apparently either salish or pregnancy has taken quite a toll on her. She's gotta go eat a bushel of peaches every half an hour."

"Peaches?" Jilla repeated.

"Yeah, it's amazing, but apparently the need for a balanced diet for the baby cancels out the keheil aversion to anything other than protein." She felt his grin. "And Ruth has developed a mad craving for peaches." He kissed the top of her head. "So where's all this sorrow coming from?"

Jilla tried to answer, but the rising lump in her throat kept her unable to form words. Sulu held her for a long moment. She could almost feel him absorbing her emotions. Then he moved away from her. She turned, fearful that her reticence had driven him away, but he was at his dresser, opening the small box that contained what few pieces of jewelry he owned - none of which she had ever seen him actually wear. When he turned back, he was holding a silver chain from which hung two small, silver, crescent moons, one inside the other, on a disc of deep purple.

"This is what you want to say, isn't it?" he asked. Jilla bent her head, remembering the reason she had given it to him four years earlier: on Indi, the design was that which was used as a blessing over the belly of a woman who was with child. It invoked the protection and power of Aema as represented by Indi's double moons, Mirana and Mnori. And when given as a gift, it asked the recipient if s/he would join the giver in creating new life. When she had given it to Sulu, she was expressing a wish that, at that time, she had thought could never be fulfilled. They had been together for a year, but had not, at that time, known of the existence of the Bond. It was a blasphemous thing to do by Aeman standards, yet she had always been aware of Sulu's fondness for children and his secret desire to be a father. At least, she had thought then, she could give him the wish, the knowledge that if such a thing were possible, she would give it to him.

She felt his fingers coming under her chin, tenderly lifting her face to his.

"No reason why not," he murmured. "That is what Nests are for."

His apparent ability to read both her thoughts and her feelings was something they never talked about. Jilla was convinced one of the reasons his apparent gifts were able to manifest so readily with her was precisely because she never tried to quantify them.

She nodded in response to him, still unable to speak, letting him 'hear' the rest of her fears. His smile was gentle.

"Yeah, there may be complications, but Lian's one of the three best doctors in Fleet. I'm sure she can handle whatever comes up."

She blinked, making tears wash down her cheeks. Sulu wiped them away with his thumbs, then kissed the wet trails, nuzzling back and up her neck.

"Who knows," he whispered. "We may end up with our very own Kitten-Ears."

"Kitten-Ears?" she managed at last.

Sulu burst out laughing. "Talk to Ruth," he said. "She'll tell you all about it."

"Jade, come over here," Jim Kirk called from his seat at the desk in the captain's cabin of the Lincoln. "Spock has news."

Dr. Jade Han didn't bother getting up from her own chair at the other computer; she simply rolled it next to her husband of less than a month.

On the view screen, her childhood friend was looking as calm and inexpressive as usual - except for a gleam of pleasure in the dark, hooded eyes.

"Ruth and I have undergone the Antari ritual of salish," the Vulcan announced.

Jade gasped. Having made a career out of xenobiological studies, she was well aware what the second part of that statement would be. Jim, however, made a face.

"Aren't you two ever gonna have a wedding that other people can attend?" he asked.

"Being that we are both from telepathic races, it is to be expected that a joining of minds and souls which would be considered a wedding would be held in relative privacy," was Spock's deadpan response.

"You just don't want to have to go through what we did," Jim returned, grinning crookedly as he reached for his wife's hand.

"I believe Ruth would not contest that statement," the Vulcan offered with a twitch of an amused eyebrow.

"But just think of what the baby shower of the century will be like, once Calvin gets wind of the news," Jade added blithely.

"Baby shower?" Jim repeated. He glanced at Jade, then back at the screen. "Don't tell me you had a shotgun wedding!"

"The pregnancy is the result of the total joining that is salish, Jim," Spock informed him, his eyebrow rising fully. "In point of fact, an Antari who was already with child would be incapable of performing it."

"So Ruth is...?" Jim began.

"As Miss Gollub so succinctly put it," Spock replied, "my wife is, indeed, pregnant, with child, expecting, in a family way, with a bun in the oven, having a baby."

Jade sniggered behind her hand, easily hearing the chemist's accented exclamations.

"Congratulations!" Jim burst out. "Spock, that's great news! And I bet Bones is having a field day with Ruth's abilities out of commission."

"I believe he is still processing the information, as Ruth conceived approximately thirty-six hours ago."

"Thirty-six..." Jim shook his head. "I guess, though, that she would know right away."

"From the moment of fertilization, or so she assures me," Spock said.

"Please tell her mazel tov for me," Jade rejoined. "And, of course, the blessings of the ancestors on your clan." She smiled at Spock's faint flush and nod of acknowledgement. "Has she told you if the child is male or female?"

Jim frowned. "Come on now, sweetheart, you can't expect her to..."

"A boy," Spock interrupted.

The Lincoln's captain blinked. "Really?" Really?"

"Dr. McCoy will, of course, confirm the pregnancy within a week," Spock said.

"And genetic scans will verify the child's gender sometime after the sixth week of gestation." The Vulcan leaned forward. "But I do not doubt my wife's knowledge."

"Then double mazel tov and double blessings," Jade said.

"Antari sensibilities would have preferred a daughter," Spock countered.

"Not when my son's gonna be the first male keheil!" Ruth Valley's voice floated from somewhere beyond Spock's seated figure.

"And can you tell his future so soon, too?" Jim called back teasingly.

The Antari's face appeared beside Spock's on the screen. "No," she returned. "I'm just that confident. With these genetics - " She caressed her husband's face. " - how can he miss?"

Jim laughed as Ruth beamed at Spock.

"Well, congratulations both of you, on the salish and on the upcoming blessed event."

"Thank you, Jim, Jade," the couple said together, and Spock added, "Enterprise out."

"M'Benga just lost a fortune," Jade commented as she rolled her chair back to her own computer.

"Bet on Sulu and Jilla, did he?" Jim chuckled. He cocked his head. "Did anyone bet on us?"

"To be honest, James," Jade replied, not looking at him, "I did."

Eyebrows rising, Jim rose, moving to stand next to his wife. "Really? I always considered you more of a career woman."

"More of a career woman than I-want-to-be-an-admiral Ruth Valley?"

Jim snorted. "True." He paused for a moment. "Then I take it you're not adverse to the idea."

"Not at all," Jade returned. "In fact, the sooner the better." She turned her chair to face him. "After all, I am older than either of the other contenders in the Starfleet Nest Captains Knocking Up Their Wives Betting Pool."

Jim laughed. "Older you may be, but you're also more beautiful, more talented, more intelligent, more experienced, more capable, and just all around more. At least in my eyes, and mine are the only ones I count."

"I love you, James," Jade said, her eyes shining with joy.

"And I love you," he affirmed, then pulled her up into his arms. "So let's get this baby-making show on the road."

"Aye, aye, Captain," Jade murmured as she followed him to their bed.

The End