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baby. “Come on, Commander, it’s time you got some sleep. Doctor’s orders.”
    Reluctantly, Sulu allowed the doctor to guide him out of the room, but not without one last backward glance over his shoulder at the tiny, sleeping form of his new daughter.
    VULCAN
    When the shuttlecraft touched down at the port north of ShiKahr, there was only one person waiting on the edge of the platform: Amanda, wife of Sarek. Spock strode over to his mother, leaned down, and kissed her on the cheek.
    “Spock,” Amanda said in greeting.
    “Mother.”
    “Our shuttle is just outside the gate.” Amanda turned and led her son through the darkened tunnel.
    Spock could feel the welcoming heat of Vulcan enveloping him; the early morning sky was just beginning to lighten.
    As they stepped into the small shuttle, Amanda activated the coordinates for home. With a faint, almost imperceptible vibration, the small craft rose and headed to the ancient outskirts of the city.
    Once they were airborne, Amanda turned to her son. “No uniform?”
    “I did not want to call attention to my arrival, Mother.”
    “No, of course not.”
    He recognized the tone of her voice from his childhood; he had heard the same tone used on his father many times. “Do you think my greeting may have undermined my intent?”
    “I’m afraid it might have. Then having your mother there to meet you—”
    “You are not the only human on Vulcan.”
    Amanda smiled at Spock. “No, but I’m the only one who was kissed by her son on his homecoming.”
    “You have asked many times for me to do so,” he said.
    “Spock, I’m not going to be distracted: What’s wrong?”
    “Mother, I cannot continue with the Kolinahr .”
    Spock watched his mother study him. Her face was lined, her hair gray, yet she looked younger than her years. Spock realized it was her smile. Small, contained, fleeting; however, it lit up her face. “Well, maybe you can go into the family business.”

Chapter 5
    IOWA
    James Kirk unpacked the small collection of clothes from his bag, washed, and then padded silently down the stairs to grab some coffee.
    Much to his surprise, Hanna was waiting for him in the kitchen at the end of the hall, a freshly brewed pot of coffee sitting on the countertop.
    The table sat in the open floor space to one side of the kitchen, with five mismatched chairs pushed around it. One had been pulled out just a little, indicating that Kirk should just go right ahead and sit himself down.
    “You’ll have to excuse us; it’s not often we sit down together at breakfast,” Hanna explained. “But I thought I’d wait for you before I start my day.”
    “To tell you the truth, I didn’t think anyone would be here,” Kirk said.
    Hanna glanced across at the kitchen clock; it was just a little shy of quarter past nine. “Your uncle Abner was up and out of here an hour before you arrived. They’ve been threatening a storm for the last few days, so Abner wants to get the lightning shield up and working again, just in case.”
    His aunt finished off the last of the dishes, then dried her hands on a towel that hung on a brass hook by the stove. With her kitchen chores done, she crossed to the counter and poured two cups of fresh coffee, setting one down in front of Kirk.
    “You look like you could use one of these,” Hanna said with a wink as she settled herself into a chair opposite. “Maybe I’ll sit and join you for a few minutes, although don’t tell Abner or he’ll say I’m slacking.”
    “My lips are sealed,” Kirk promised.
    The coffee was good and just how he remembered it: hot and black, with the faintest hint of chicory. Some things never change.
    He felt the rising urge to flee, the need to be away from here, to be safely aboard a shuttle and on his way back to the Enterprise . Kirk took a couple of good, deep breaths and kept a lid on it.
    “I know that letter coming out of the blue was probably the last thing you needed right now, what with you just