Spock lifted his fingers from the ka'athyra strings. Immediately, his guests issued a series of protests. With a stern look towards the sofa where they sat, propped up in safety seats, he placed the Vulcan lyre on its stand anyway.

He correctly interpreted Seren Adia's fierce cries of "ba'asif!" as va'ashiv or "once again!" and as the order it was meant to be. Saoirse Ta'an's gentler "satoo" was clearly meant to be fator, meaning "continue."

Saoirse Ta'an turned hopeful brown eyes his way. "Siyah-ba," she pleaded, "satoo."

There is no doubt that these are the daughters of Nyota Uhura, he mused. Even as half-Vulcans, the twins should not be speaking so clearly at only nine weeks.

The garbled mix of Vulcan and Kiswahili ("clear" being a relative term when referring to the speech of babies, after all) nearly changed his mind. It would, of course, illogical to even consider giving in to the whims of an infant when there were other tasks that required his attention.

They should not have been speaking at all, he told himself when as Seren Adia increased the volume of her demands.

He caught himself reaching for the ka'athyra again and snatched his hand back.

Astra would soon return from spending the day with Upenda and Leonard. She might be tired and hungry after undergoing the many tests the two doctors had insisted on. As eager as she had been to have the girls for their first overnight visit, surely she would not be ready to entertain them right away.

Still, Nyota and Spock had needed this time to finalize their plans for leaving T'Khasi Vokaya, and to be quite honest, he had welcomed this time spent with the girls.

Sighing, his eyes found the small case of data strips Nyota had labeled "In Case Of Emergency, Play" lying by Astra's entertainment console.

He quickly selected a strip and then returned to address his young charges.

"Would you prefer to remain in the sitting room or would you like to join me in the kitchen while I prepare dinner?" he asked them.

"Siyah-ba!" the girls chorused.

"Very well," Spock said, pleased that they had chosen to keep him company. "I will route your program to the screen in the kitchen."

With the press of a few buttons, he did as he promised, and then, lifting a seat in each hand, walked over to the swinging kitchen door and backed his way inside.

_____________

From the work surface where he chopped vegetables, Spock had a clear view of the twins as they rocked back and forth in the safety seats he had secured to two kitchen chairs. He was thankful that their gross-motor skills, though far advanced by human standards, where not so far developed that they could overturn the chairs.

Two set of eyes nearly identical to his own were riveted to the screen behind him and to his left. He knew without looking that they were watching Charlene Masters, flanked by Christine Chapel and young Zahra Jamal, sway in time with the song they were singing, while Nyota's Academy roommate, Gaila who squatted on a low stool, tapped on a djembe held between her knees.

The Orion's skillful playing wove beautifully between the other women's strong, sweet voices.

Thula thula
Thula mama, thula.
Thula mama, thula.
Thula mama, thula.

Spock found himself humming along as he worked.

Samthatha
Samthatha sambeka ekhaya
Wasuke wakhala
Wathi mama thula,

he sang, and suddenly, the babies eyes were on him.

_____________

Astra let herself into the house she shared with the man whom she had loved across times and searched many universes to find, bubbling over with good news. No one greeted her at the door.

But while the sitting room was dark and empty, she noticed that the entertainment console was switched on, and she could hear faint sounds coming from the kitchen.

Damn it! she thought as she hurried across the room to old-fashioned swinging door. Couldn't Spock have waited dinner until I got home?

She pushed open the door and was met by familiar music from a surprising source. Her feet wouldn't carry her past the threshold.

"Thula, thula mama, thula," Spock sang to his t'dahsu's daughters, as he stir-fried an assortment of vegetables.

"Oh!" Astra gasped, finally.

"Siyah-ma!" the little darlings called out happily.

Astra beamed at the three them and began singing along.

Author's Notes: 1. This gift idea came from SpockLikesCats over at livejournal.

2. "Siyah" means almost or nearly in Vulcan. "-ba" and "-ma" are derived from the Kiswahili words, baba (father) and mama (mother).

3. "Thula Mama" is a Zulu traditional lullaby, made popular by several South African vocal artists. The first time I heard it in an African Music course in college. It was love at first listen, but I really fell the next day at work when I found a recording of a traditional version of the song. The lyrics in both of those were somewhat different than what I used in this story, but the chorus and melodies are almost unchanged. (Embed for two versions of the song accompany the lj version of this chapter.)