Snippet 2b

"Oh you know Martha," Winona laughed, picking up her tea as well. "Her driver was probably the only one who couldn't make it around the moon."

"True," Amanda chuckled. "The poor woman. She's been looking forward to this break for so long, it just adds up that she would have trouble getting here."

At that very moment, the sound of a car pulling up the road caught their attention.

"Oh, that must be her!" Winona said, giving Amanda an excited smile as she squeezed her hand and hurried toward the door. She opened quickly and her smile widened. "Martha!"

"I'm HERE!" Martha gasped, all but tumbling out of the car, hat falling lopsided on her head as she emerged. "Don't worry! We're alive!" She reached back, seizing a tiny brown-haired boy from the backseat of the car, and then her bag, before waving off the driver. "Good-BYE!"

"Thank God," the driver said loudly, before staring up the car and roaring off down the road. Clearly, the trip had not been pleasant.

"Oh, what a miracle," Martha huffed as she walked toward the house, smiling only when she saw Amanda and Winona up ahead. "Hello, girls!"

"Oh, Martha, how wonderful to see you," Amanda said, stepping forward quickly with Winona to embrace their friend. "I'm so glad you made it safely - oh, and this must be little Robert."

"Rorek, actually," Martha said, giving the two women a conspiring nod. "I'm getting him used to his Vulcan name before we head over there this year. It'll help him fit in with the other children. But, yes! This is him. Say hello, Rorek."

The little boy was already staring at the two other women, his big green eyes blinking at them. "Huh-wo."

"Oh Martha he's adorable!" Winona said, giving Rorek a big smile. "Hello Rorek. Welcome to my home! We have two other little boys here if you would like to help them wash a kitty."

"Kitty?" Rorek looked very interested. He glanced at Martha, before attempting to wriggle down from her grasp. "Kitty!"

"I think he wants the kitty," Martha said, giving Amanda and Winona a look before stepping toward the door and letting the little boy down. "Don't break anything, Rorek. Find Jimmy and Spock!"

"Jimmy! 'Pock!" Rorek was off in a flash, toddling quickly toward the other room, where faint sounds of splashing could be heard. "Kitty!"

"Oh, he's been dying for playmates for months," Martha sighed, walking into the kitchen and sitting down heavily at the table. "It's been almost impossible to keep him occupied. This place will be a haven for him!"

"And for you, my dear," Winona said, pouring another cup of tea and handing it to her. "You look so frazzled."

"Oh, I'm fine," Martha said, accepting the tea with a grateful smile before taking a gulp from it. "I just...needed to get out of the city for a while, and out of that tiny apartment. Goodness, that is NO place for a 2-year-old! I won't settle for ANYTHING that small when we go to Vulcan."

"I don't think you'll even be offered something that small," Amanda assured her. "You'll have an apartment in the Sith building, but it will be very spacious. Not to mention Rorek will quite often have Spock to play with."

"Yes, well," Martha sighed, lifting her cup to her lips again - before pausing and looking back at the two women. "Speaking of boys, though, where are the other two? Sam and Sybok? Don't think I've forgotten about them!"

"Sybok will be here tonight," Amanda explained. "He stayed with Sarek to attend one of the afternoon meetings, and a separate driver will be sent to bring him here. He was very set on sitting through a meeting with his father. I've never seen him so determined to go through with a plan."

Winona gave her an impressed look. "Does he want to be an ambassador like his father?"

"Well, an ambassador, maybe, but unlikely an ambassador to Earth," Amanda said. "He doesn't think of humans the way Sarek does. Clearly. More than likely he'll find a place on the council that fits what he wants to do, and set his sights on that."

"Ah-ha," Martha said, nodding slowly. "Well, that's all fine for him, then." She turned to Winona. "And what about Sam? Don't even tell me you've sent him to boarding school."

"Oh no," Winona said, shaking her head. "He's too smart for that, and too good with his brother. And like any boy his age he has the dream of being a starship captain."

"Oh, of course," Martha chuckled, waving her hand. "Not that I doubt it to be possible for him. He's quite the headstrong boy. Maybe he and Jimmy will end up on the same ship."

"No. They'll each have their own. That's my prediction," Amanda said, winking at Winona. "They'll both be captains one day. Just like their father."

*

"Kitty is cuh-wean!" Jimmy announced, tugging the black cat out of the basin of water he'd filled up in the bathtub. The entire bathroom now was, of course, drenched in water. The poor cat looked very disgruntled.

"Down," Spock said, pushing Kirk's arms down so the kitty could sit on the floor. "You 'k?" he asked the kitty, taking a towel and putting it over the cat's head.

The cat gave a soft meow, nuzzling into the towel and casting a distasteful look back at Jimmy as its wet fur began to dry.

Just then, at that moment, Rorek appeared in the doorway, peeking inside at the other two boys. "Huh-wo."

Jimmy looked up at him, and stared. Then he lifted a hand to wave. "Hi."

Spock looked over, smiling at the other boy. "Hew-o." he said, reaching out a hand and bending his fingers repeatedly in a motion for him to come over. "Come he'w."

Rorek looked at Spock, and then gave a big smile as he toddled over to the little boy. "Hi," he said, patting Spock's arm.

Spock looked at him and his arm briefly before pointing to the kitty. "Kitty!"

"Kitty?" Rorek looked at the floating towel that seemed to be making its way out of the room. "...kitty?"

Spock's eyes went wide and he quickly started toddling toward the kitty. "Kitty!"

The towel paused, turning to face Spock. Rorek still looked very confused.

Jimmy wasted no time in toddling forward, then, and taking the towel off the cat. "Kitty! Mo' baff, Kitty?"

Well, 'Kitty' seemed to know exactly what that meant at this point. And with one twitch of its tail, it suddenly turned and trotted quickly out the door...and out the little doggy-like panel that was embedded into the back door of the house.

"Kitty!" Jimmy quickly began to run toward it, looking back at Spock and Rorek. "C'mon! Weeff gotta get'um!"

Spock quickly toddled after them, all three toddlers climbing through the little doggy door after the kitty. "Kitty!"

The cat continued to -not so much run as trot quickly - away, heading out of the house and out into the yard, out toward the road.

"Kitty! 'Top!" Jimmy called out, hands outstretched as the three little boys chased the feline. "BAD kitty!"

Suddenly, the three toddlers stopped. For all three of them, at that moment, suddenly found themselves face-to-face with, not the kitty, but a very cranky-looking rooster.

Rorek blinked. "...uh?"

The rooster gave an indignant squawk, staring down the trio. Obviously, he considered himself superior to these lowly little humans he'd just come across.

Spock looked worried at the sight of the rooster, beginning to toddle backwards unsteadily. "Uh oh..."

Rorek made a little nervous sound. "Mmm no..."

Jimmy, however, stood his ground and glared at the rooster. "Go 'way!" He demanded.

The rooster blinked at him, then clucked indignantly, fluttering its wings. It had no idea, at the moment, that another small figure was approaching it from behind at that very moment...a small figure who currently belonged to the farm across the street.

"Lestow!" A little boy who was glaring at the rooster came up behind him and fairly jumped on the bird. "COME. 'OME."