gorkon PO First-Class Christopher Sienelis - Green Blooded, Check It and See, Vulcan Fever of a Hundred-and-Three

[Alieth]

When you have a small baby you do what you need to do. Unnofficially, Llaira is Alieth's fav Romulan now, since she has a good taste in books @Jo Marshall

 

 

((Personal Quarters, USS Gorkon))

 

Chris yawned into the crook of his elbow as he carried Llaira back and forth, back and forth, through the living room. Despite her small stature, being that of a baby touching five months with a slender arm and dainty feet, their beautiful perfect creation sat heavily in his arm. Like her mother, her Romulan side had strong muscles, and at present Llaira used those muscles to move her head around, looking at everything and anything she could. 

 

And crying. Loudly.

 

C. Sienelis: Hey, hey, come on now. Papa's got you. ::He bounced her up and down as she wriggled in his arms.:: Космос, космос, что за звезды? Они светят там, в небе высоко1. 

 

Of course, singing to her in Russian was the best way to get a child to calm down; the lyrical language was poetic and beautiful to the soul. Llaira, however, was not in any mood to be sung at, played with, coddled, cuddled, cradled, or set down for the nap she desperately needed and entirely refused to have any part in. No amount of brightly coloured and pleasantly textured toys could soothe her. 

 

Wandering his hand through his chestnut hair, Chris yawned again through the next chorus of the nursery rhyme. 

 

C. Sienelis: Мы летаем в космическом костюме, И все это так круто2.

 

A complex array of vocal sounds emanated from their daughter at a rate of a sonic boom as Llaira dug her feet into her father's ribs and pushed. He caught her as she headed for the sofa and dropped them both down onto it with a soft whump of material. Llaira rolled away, grasping at her feet as she continued her warble; less of a cry and more of a protest. Of being awake, of being alive, Chris couldn't say. 

 

Bereft of options, he leaned forward and picked up the PADD from the coffee table. It was still on, the little green light shining unobtrusively, and he swiped up on the screen to see what Valesha had been reading that morning before her duty shift. 

 

C. Sienelis: "It was not logical for her to feel such strong emotions towards him, yet her heart could not be swayed. Despite their differences in upbringing and values, she found herself inexplicably drawn to him."

 

He looked to Llaira, who looked back up at him with her big, hazel-green eyes, the wailing ceasing almost instantaneously. Flipping through a page, he found the title "Vulcan Fever" emblazoned back at him, with a tantalizing description. 

 

C. Sienelis: "As they try to find a balance between their opposing worlds and desires, T'Pria and Janus discover that love knows no boundaries and that the greatest challenge to their relationship may be the judgment of their own society. Can their love survive the trials of logic and tradition, or will it succumb to the pressures of the universe?"

 

Cocking an eyebrow at his daughter, Chris tested his internal hypothesis again and continued reading aloud another passage. 

 

C. Sienelis: "He challenged her to look beyond the confines of pure reason and embrace the chaos and beauty of love. She knew then that she was powerless to resist the allure of his captivating presence."

 

No crying emerged from their beautiful daughter, only captivated interest as she kicked her feet out at the back of the sofa, her delicately pointed ears twitching at the tips. 

 

C. Sienelis: Oh, it's like that, is it? This is how Mama gets you to sleep?

 

Her bright smile shot him like a phaser to the heart. A direct hit. Shields rendered inert. He grinned back and picked her up, lying the both of them down on the sofa with Llaira nestled on his chest. Tiny baby hands gripped like claws into his green t-shirt.

 

C. Sienelis: Alright then, where were we? ::He squinted at the PADD as the computer lowered the lights.:: "She knew that he was her rock, her foundation, and the only being who truly understood her. She had always admired his sense of wonder and duty, but now she yearned to see the passion and desire that she knew to lie beneath the surface."

 

He continued to read through the novel passages in his whisper-soft voice, a gentle rumble in his chest. Each time he paused he listened to Llaira's breathing; the butterfly flutter of air escaping from tiny nostrils. Time passed as he read, several pages absorbed and taken in, lessons about Vulcan logic compounding with so much inner conflict. 

 

C. Sienelis: "...And she said, 'Logic may dictate that emotions are a weakness, but I have found that when it comes to love, reason alone is not enough. The heart wants what it wants, regardless of what the mind tells it.'"

 

Chris paused, his thoughts crossing to Vorin, and a palpable sadness gripped him by the throat. Was his friend this conflicted all along? Why hadn't he spoken to him about it? Were all Vulcans brought up like that? 

 

Soft sounds of the snoozing baby brought near-instant relief. Llaira cooed to herself as she fell into her dreams, snuggling down into her father's chest, little hands catching and releasing his shirt with each breath she took. Picking up the PADD, Chris continued his reading.

 

C. Sienelis: "He reached out to her, knowing that their passion would ignite the flames of desire within them both. She felt herself melting into his embrace, tracing the lines of his angular features with her fingers. 'Live long and prosper, my love,' she whispered, as she pulled him close and surrendered to their bond." ::Dark eyebrows lifted as he read the next passage in his head.:: And that's the end of Story Time with Papa. 

 

Gingerly, he placed the PADD down on the coffee table, trying his best not to move from his horizontal position and nestled back down into the sofa, his hand resting lazily on Llaira's back. He kissed the crown of her head, filling his lungs with the scent of baby-soft hair, and closed his eyes. 

 

C. Sienelis: Think Mama will notice if I start speaking to her in "Vulcan Fever" quotes?

 

In response, Llaira blew a raspberry from her lips. 

 

 

1 Russian: Space, space, what are the stars? They shine there, in the sky high.

2 Russian: We fly in a space suit, and it's all so cool.

 

--

PO First-Class Christopher Sienelis

Operations Officer

USS Gorkon

G239304JM0

 

Edited January 5, 2023 by Alieth
@ the author