Snippet 2b

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"Well, look at this, Spock,"

Amanda stepped out of the car, beaming at the old Iowa farmhouse with fond recognition. She looked down at the little boy in her arms, smiling when she saw the awed look on his tiny face. "This is Iowa, Spock. This is a farm. Do you see the big trees and all the grass?"

Spock nodded, his brown eyes wide as he looked out over the vast stretches of flat field. He cuddled closer to his mother as the wind blew, the open spaces making uncertainty win over curiosity. "No."

Amanda chuckled, kissing his round cheek and pulling up the hood of his small sweater to help further shield him from the chilly breeze. "Thank you, Kam," she said when the driver of the car came back around to hand her her bag. "Have a safe trip back."

"Good luck, Mrs. Sarek," the driver tipped his cap at her, slipping back in the car afterward and starting to drive off down the road.

"Well, then," Amanda tilted her head to smile at Spock again, bouncing him for a moment. "Are you ready to go inside and meet Miss Winona and the boys? I showed you pictures of them, remember?" she walked up to the porch, reaching out to knock on the door before looking back at her son. "Remember the kitty that Jimmy was holding?"

Spock nodded, lifting his head alertly. "His eyes were green."

"Yes, they were!" Amanda said, making her face surprised to match Spock's interest. "Can you believe that? Very interesting creatures, aren't they?"

Just then, the front door opened to reveal a small, blonde-haired boy standing by it, looking up at Amanda and Spock with open, curious blue eyes. "Huw-wo?"

"Why, hello, Jimmy!" Amanda said, beaming at the little boy. "How nice of you to answer the door. May we come in?"

"Uh-huh," Jimmy said, still watching them as he pushed the door with both hands to make it open. Then he turned around and toddled quickly toward the kitchen. "Momma! Momma!"

"That was Jimmy," Amanda whispered to Spock as they walked into the house. "Did you see his hair? Yellow, just like in the picture, isn't it?"

Spock was again huddled in close as Winona came in, throwing her apron on the chair as she raised her hands in delight. "Amanda! Oh darling it's wonderful to see you," she chuckled and came forward, giving her cheek a kiss before giving Spock a smile. "And this must be Spock."

"It is," Amanda laughed, turning to her son with a proud, affectionate smile. "This is Miss Winona, Spock. Will you say hello, please?"

Spock looked up at Winona and slowly curled up closer to his mother as he watched her. "Hew'o."

Winona put a hand to her mouth and then her heart as she fought to breathe. "Oh Spock it's so good to finally have you here. Jimmy was very excited to have someone to play with." She gave Amanda a delighted smile and led her in further. "Come in my dear you must be exhausted from your trip. I heard about the orbit delay and I knew you'd need your tea. Would you like some coffee cake too?"

"Oh, you're an angel, Winona. As always," Amanda chuckled, walking into the kitchen and glancing around. "My goodness, I absolutely love what you've done with this room. The oakwood cabinets and the tiling...absolutely beautiful. Was it a complete renovation?"

Jimmy was peeking around the corner again now, his eyes fixed on Spock. He stepped forward as Amanda and Winona began to talk, dragging in a patient-looking black cat with him.

Spock's eyes went wide when he saw the cat, and he lifted his head to look over and see the two of them better.

Amanda noticed Spock's interest, and, smiling slightly while still talking to Winona, she bent down to place the little Vulcan on his feet. "Go play with the kitty," she encouraged him, giving him a little push forward.

"Wanna pa'lay?" Jimmy asked, toddling forward and dragging the cat with him. He gave Spock a bright, happy smile. "We kin play wiff da kitty. Mommy thaid we could."

Spock stayed close to Winona, eying Kirk for a moment before looking down at the kitty. He leaned down and clapped his hands like his Mama had taught him, reaching for the feline. "Come kitty!"

The kitty perked up in interest, obviously intrigued that this little one wasn't going to grab him the way that Jimmy did. It shook its fur briefly when Jimmy let him go, before trotting over to Spock, and obediently bending its head toward him to be petted.

Spock reached out slowly and gently touched his black, soft forehead before retracting in a flash. He waited to see the cat's reaction before looking up at his mother in delight. "Mama da kitty!"

(awwwwwwwwwwww!!)

"Yes, Spock, good job!" Amanda said, smiling encouragingly at the 2-year-old. "He likes how gently you petted him."

The cat seemed to have made up its mind that it preferred Spock over Jimmy at this point, and stepped closer to Spock, sitting in front of him and seeming content to remain there for the time being.

Jimmy giggled, ignorant of the cat's desires, and toddled over to plop himself down right next to the black feline again, patting the cat's soft, furry back. "Kitty!"

Spock reached out again and began to gently pet the kitty, stopping only when the cat moved its head quickly one way or another. Winona looked over at them with a smile as she talked with Amanda. "Jimmy, be nice now."

Jimmy was staring at Spock, taking in the sight of the other little boy, the pointy ears and the shiny black hair. As Winona and Amanda kept talking, he stood to his feet, struggling for balance for a moment, before toddling over to Spock, reaching out, and patting Spock's pointy ear. "Uh?"

(EEEE!!)

Spock looked up at him, reaching up to pat Kirk's ear gently. "Ee-ow."

Jimmy blinked at him. "Ee-ow," he repeated, still seeming a bit confused. Afterward, though, he simply turned, picked up the black cat, and began to toddle out of the room. "T'yime fo' kitty baff!"

Spock watched them go, looking up at his Mama as if he didn't know whether he should follow or not.

Amanda sensed his gaze and glanced down at him. She saw that Jimmy was walking out of the room, and turned to give her son an encouraging smile. "Go on, Spock. But be careful - don't go outside, all right? Stay with Jimmy."

Spock nodded, sucking in his bottom lip as he started toddling quickly and unsteadily after the other toddler. "Kitty!"

"Jimmy is absolutely adorable," Amanda smiled at Winona when the toddlers had gone into the other room. "He looks so much like George."

"Spock has your eyes," Winona said, smiling as she watched the door where they had left. "The rest is Sarek. How you are going to keep the Vulcan ladies away from him, I don't know..."

Amanda chuckled. "Oh, I know. All logic thrown to the wind, they'll all be after him," she jested, taking her tea from Winona and sipping it gratefully. "Oh, and have you by chance heard anything from Martha? She said she would be arriving around the time I did, but as far as I can see - I've made it here first."