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Little Brother
I considered myself not only lucky that I reached this age, but that I was able to see both of my grandchildren enter the world. After forty-six hours of labour, Nyota gave birth to a baby boy, and about three hours after he was born, Sarek brought Amanda to the medical wing to meet her new brother.
“That’s your brother.” I said, pointing into the big clear window to the lone pram in the middle of the room.
With a pair of cute, pointed ears and tanned brown skin, the baby boy lay asleep in his pram wrapped in a white blanket. I hold his seven-year-old sister on my hip and ask with a smile “So, what do you think? Do you think you like him?”
“No.” Amanda said bluntly, her face stoic like her grandfather. “He’s fat… and loud.”
Her blunt comment made me chuckle. “But he’s not even crying.”
“He will. All babies do.” Amanda said.
“Well, you are very sensitive to noise.” I observed, tucking a piece of loose black hair behind her pointed ear. “Is that all you don’t like about your brother?” I asked softly.
“He’s fat.”
I burst out in laughter. She was something else when she wasn’t pleased. “Indeed, he is. A rather bony boy of nine pounds, three ounces.”
“And what is the child’s weight in kilograms?” Teased Sarek who was standing to Amanda’s left.
“4.21841.” the little girl responded immediately.
“Your arithmetic is progressing well.” observed Sarek.
As I watched her stare back into the window, I began to see just how unhappy she was about the new addition to her family. Her usual perky and happy expressions turned flat and stoic and, as the moments passed, I noticed her beginning to observe the nurse taking notes on her PADD rather than her little brother. I was just about to ask what else she didn’t like about the baby when she turned to me and asked
“Can we go back to Mummy now that I’ve seen my baby brother?”
“Your mother has requested some time to rest.” Sarek said. “It is wise for us to stay out here until your father-“
“Father!” Amanda beamed, her stoic expression broke into a wide smile as she slid off my hip. I turned to see Spock walking down the corridor towards us. Amanda reached her arms out to her father who lifted her up and onto his hip.
He was tired after the forty-six hour long ordeal, but he hid it well. “Have you been on your best behaviour for your grandparents?” He asked his daughter flatly.
“Yes, Father!” She smiled.
“Have you seen your brother?”
“Yes, can I see Mummy now?”
“For a moment.” Spock said, “Your mother is very tired.”
He looked up at us, “Mother, Father have you seen the child?”
“Yes.” I said, unable to control my beaming smile, “But we are yet to hold him”
“Father?” Spock asked.
“It is wise to greet a person by their name. Unfortunately, I am unable to do so since I am unaware of the child’s name.”
“We have yet to decide on a name.” Spock told his father.
“Well, I suppose ‘baby boy’ will do for now.” I said with a sigh.
The nursery door opened and out came the nurse with the white bundle in her arms. Amanda’s face dropped and morphed back into the stone-faced expression as she looked at her brother in the Nurse’s arms.
“Does big sister want to hold her little brother?” The red headed nurse asked.
I could have sworn I heard a smirk from the seven year old as she looked down at the bundle.
“No, thank you. I’ll hold him when he’s skinny.”
The nurse smiled and after a light ‘very well’, turned to me and asked, “Would Grandma like to hold baby boy?”
“Yes, please.” I smiled, accepting the bony bundle. He cooed in my arms and stretched in the blanket before opening his eyes. They were grey, like all newborns’, but I could swear they were already starting to turn green, like his mother’s.
“He should be hungry any minute now.” The nurse said, “I was just about to take him to his mother for feeding before I saw you, but perhaps you would like to do it.”
I simply nodded before turning to see Sarek looking down at the bundle over my shoulder, “He bears a striking resemblance to his mother.”
I smiled, looking down at his little face. Sarek was right, he did look like his mother.
“Kind of like how people say I look like you?” Amanda asked her father.
“Indeed.”
Spock held Amanda over my shoulder and tried to get her to look at her new brother, but the girl was not having it. Her face was still emotionless as she lifted her brow while observing her little brother’s noises and movements he made in my arms.
“Would you like to give your brother a kiss?” I asked her.
“No.” She said bluntly.
“Why not try to bond with your brother?” Spock said.
Amanda leaned down hesitantly and kissed her brother quickly on his soft cheek. His fussing loudened which prompted Amanda to shuffle herself down from her father and made her way over to her grandfather, taking his hand and burying her head behind his robes.
“I hurt him.” She said softly.
“You have caused no harm to the child.” Sarek told her flatly. “Babies cry often, he is likely hungry.”
“It’s alright, sweetie.” I cooed to her and handed the now crying baby over to his father.
“I will take him to Nytoa for a feeding.” He announced.
“When will Mummy come home?” Amanda asked, as we began to walk down the corridor.
“Your mother and brother will remain in the hospital wing for seventy-two hours for observations and you will be staying with your grandparents until she is discharged. I trust that you will be good and on your best behaviour.”
“Yes, Father.” She said.
“I express my deepest gratitude for your presence today,” Spock said, “to both of you.”
I smiled, “It’s no problem, sweetie. It is fortunate that her due date happened to fall after our big annual conference.”
Nyota lay on the bed in a light pink night gown. She looked exhausted from her ordeal, but she forced a smile when Amanda and Spock came through the door.
“Be gentle, Amanda.” I told her softly, “Mummy is still very sore.”
But her excitement boiled over. She ran over to her mother and wrapped her arms around her neck. Nyota flinched, but hid it well for her daughter.
“Did you see your brother?” She asked her daughter, pulling away from her tight embrace.
“Yes.”
“And what do you think?”
“He’s fat.”
She laughed and held her arms out to her husband accepting the crying bundle in her arms, “It’s from all that cake you fed him.”
When she began to unbutton the chest of her gown there was a wave of discomfort that ran through our bond.
“We shall take our leave so you can properly tend to the child.” Sarek said suddenly. “Come, Amanda.”
She hopped over to her dog-shaped bag on the table nearby. After hugging her father she skipped over to my side and wrapped my hips in an embrace.
“Don’t you want to kiss your brother goodbye?” Nyota asked.
“No, I’m good.”
I said a quick goodbye to Spock, but when I got to Nyota and the baby who was already sucking away happily, Amanda began pulling me by the hand towards the door.
Before I knew it we were walking down the corridor with Amanda’s left hand squeezing mine and her right squeezing her grandfathers. She was remotely silent as we rounded the corridor of the inpatient wing.
“You’ll get used to baby brother.” I told her softly, “These things take time.”
“Did you like Auntie Elizabeth when she was born?” She asked softly.
“No.” I smiled. “According to your great-grandfather it took me three months to warm up to her, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Did Daddy take long to get used to…” She stopped us and with her finger motioned for me to come closer. I bend down and, in my ear, she whispered the name. The name that always caused my throat to well with a lump. The name that caused pain to well in my chest, but above all the name that always brought a smile to my face.
I pulled away and shot her a reassuring smile, “Your father was not too pleased to say the least.” I said standing back up.
“How so?” She asked timidly.
“Amanda,” Sarek interjected, looking down at the girl. “Perhaps-“
“It’s okay.” I said softly before I ushered us forward, “Your father made a holographic dragon that scared your Aunt, and then he proceeded to shut the door in her face.”
“But how long did it take for Daddy to love her?”
“Perhaps that’s a question you should ask your father.” Said Sarek.
“He doesn’t talk about her.” She said, looking down. “He yelled at me the one time I mentioned her”
“I see.” Said Sarek.
I sighed softly, “You know that’s a result of pain, right?”
“Daddy experiences very little physical pain.”
“Not physical pain sweetie.” I said softly, “I mean emotional.”
When she fell silent, I added, “Well, you know with us, you can always ask about her.”
A small smile grazed her lips.
“And we won’t yell at you.” I added.
There was a moment of silence before I said with a sigh, “You know, your father helped your Aunt adjust to life on Vulcan. Perhaps you can help Mummy and Daddy with your baby brother.”
“But the baby is Mummy and Daddy’s, not mine.”
“True, but you can help with the baby. Mummy and Daddy will need your help. Getting nappies, blankets, and pacifiers for baby brother. They might even need your help calming him when he cries.”
“They may even need help with a name.” Sarek said.
“It takes time.” I told Sarek, “May I remind you that it took us a moment to name our son.”
“We named our son 14.43 minutes after his birth when you were laying on the chaise lounge on our bedroom balcony. Our grandson is three hours and fifty-seven seconds old and still nameless.”
I rolled my eyes playfully and turned back to the little girl, “Give it time. It’s okay if you don’t love him immediately. It even takes some parents time to develop love for their children.”
“Impossible. Daddy and Mummy love baby brother already.”
“Well, it’s different for everyone.” I said,
“Did you automatically love Daddy when he came out of your tummy?”
“I did, but the stronger feeling developed over time. Once he started getting his days and nights mixed up and your grandfather and I didn’t get any sleep for the first couple of months my love and patience for your father were tested.”
We rounded the corner, walking out of the medical wing.
“Did having a baby hurt, Grandma?”
“Yes.” I said bluntly.
“What was it on the pain scale?”
“What is your fascination with the medical pain scale?” Sarek asked
“It is an accurate way to determine the amount of pain experienced.”
“Understandable.”
“It was a twenty on the pain scale.” I answered.
“But the pain scale only goes up to ten.” She said, looking confused.
“Exactly.” I smiled and caressed her shoulders gently.
“But your grandmother refused to accept any pain medicine.” Sarek interjected.
“Why?” Amanda asked. “Daddy said Mummy had pain medicine with me.”
“You know how some species have trouble having a child by themselves, yes?”
“Yes.” She said softly.
“Well, your grandfather and I needed some help from a doctor, and I think because we couldn’t have your father… the normal way, I wanted to leave something to be done naturally.”
She shrugged, “Understandable.”
“But don’t worry,” I said, “You can get some good pain medicine when you have children, so you don’t feel much.”
She was silent and continued to skip down the corridor with us I asked, “Do you want to be a Mummy, Amanda?”
“No.” Amanda said bluntly, “I prefer sleep.”
I chuckled glancing up at Sarek, “A child after my own heart.” I said before turning back to the little girl “So, what do you want to do tonight?”
“Can we study more Astronomy?”
“Perhaps we can study a different subject tonight?” I suggested, “How about Mathematics or History?”
“There is no point in moving the child away from her preferred subject, Amanda.” Sarek told me, turning to our granddaughter. “Which book do you wish to study tonight?” He asked her.
“Great! Am I going to have two Astrophysicists on my hands before the night is up?” I teased, typing in my code to our quarters.
“Perhaps.” Sarek said, ushering Amanda into the door.
“Perhaps.” Amanda copied, hopping through the door happily.
I rolled my eyes playfully and walked through the door.
~*The End*~