I'Chaya.

"Pregnant" I whispered to myself as I walked up the pathway to our house.

Waves of happiness, excitement, and disbelief ran through me all at once when the Vulcan doctor explained the source of my nausea, vomiting and exhaustion since arriving to Vulcan barley a month ago.

The early summer months combined with the vomiting and nausea had ridden me dehydrated, but after a couple of hours of fluids and nausea medicine prescribed by the Vulcan healers I had felt better than I ever had in a month.

Much to my guard's dismay, I insisted on walking the two kilometers back home. With my mind racing a million miles an hour I could not imagine sitting in a car trying to process news such as this. Having a diplomatic car trailing behind me, I walked at a steady pace attempting to process the news.

Once I reached the front door, all the happiness, joy, and excitement vanished and were instead replaced with fears and insecurities.

Were we even ready to have children? Was Sarek even ready? Why am I suddenly thinking that 24 is too young to be a mother, to get married? Would I even be a good mother? Would 8 months even be enough time to prepare for a child? How would Sarek take the news? Would he think we weren't ready?

Swallowing as much fear as I could I took him a deep breath, enclosed my hand around the door handle and opened the front door. Placing the bag of nausea medicine on the side table, I was in the process of kicking off my shoes when I saw Sarek walking down the corridor

"Amanda" He called out.

Kicking my shoes to the side I drew in another deep breath and rose. "Is everything alright?" I asked.

"Everything is as it should be. What did the healer say about your condition?"

His eyes felt like they were piercing through me, and suddenly I froze not knowing what to say or how to even say it. We had only been married for a month. Barley a month. The topic of children only occurred once in our two-year relationship before being married.

Sarek had said merely that I would be the one to decide whether we would have children. It would be me who would be going through the apparently needed, and harsh fertility treatments, but it seemed like this baby did not need fertility treatments...

I must have been silent for quite a while, feeling him beginning to poke at my conscious through our marital bond broke me from thought. I refused to let him in. This is something he shouldn't find out through our bond.

I took in a deep breath and reached for his hands that were clasped in front of him. Just as I was ready to just blurt out those two words, I caught a big brown and fuzzy form of some kind walking down the corridor. I turned to see a big, brown bear with big long teeth walking down the corridor. The creature's eyes suddenly locked with mine. It stopped just a couple of feet behind Sarek and began to growl growled viciously at me.

"What the hell is that?!" I yelled, gripping onto Sarek's arms.

"I'Chaya, Nam'uh hayal" Sarek commanded firmly. I'Chaya, calm.

"I'Chaya? You know this thing?!" I looked over to see the animal move in a semi submissive pose in response to Sarek's command. His head was half down, but he still stared at me in a threatened manner.

Grabbing onto my shoulder in a protective and calming manner, Sarek explained calmly

"He was my childhood pet. He ran away into Vulcan's forge many years ago, it was my estimation that after all these years he had died. However, he seemed to have stayed close to the residence and upon smelling my presence came back".

"You had a bear with fangs as a pet?!" I asked both in anger and disbelief through clenched teeth.

"He is not a bear, Amanda. He is a Sehlat"

I gave him a sharp look before discovering the animal inching forward through my peripheral vision. As the creature itched closer, I backed myself further away until my back touched the door. Sarek turned and watched as the animal reached my foot and leg and sniffed curiously. My body stiffened as I felt the animal's nose against my foot.

"He looks like a bear" I whispered to Sarek. and he smells, I thought subconsciously. As the animal continued to sniff, he plopped himself onto his belly. After looking up at me he let out a groan and laid his chin on my foot. It was the first time that I felt bad for the creature. He looked so… sad.

"I believe he had submitted to you" Sarek observed.

Feeling bad for the old creature, I reached my hand out from my back and held it down to the creature. He looked so old, so sad, so… miserable?

"May…may I pet him?" I asked Sarek cautiously.

"I believe it is safe to touch him".

Bending down ever so slowly, I crouched down and brushed my hand against the brown and gray fur of the animal. It wasn't until I brushed my fingers down the back of his head and felt the bones of his spine that I realized just how malnourished the poor animal was. Poor Teddy Bear.

As I brushed him more and more the smell radiating from the animal triggered my nausea and for a moment, I thought I would vomit all over the poor animal. When the animal suddenly moved, I pulled my hand away quickly, but the animal simply rolled over onto his side and looked up at me. His eyes were no longer seemed hungry with the need to eat or hurt me like before, he simply wanted love. Like a dog, or cat.

I smiled and ran my hand along his stomach and after a moment the animal began to purr loudly. Sarek crouched down beside me, his hand caressed my lower back gently.

"Well, one thing that needs to happen is that he needs a shower" I said to Sarek "He smells very bad. Care to help me?"

"Shortly before your arrival the University of Shi'Kahr sent word that I am requested appear as a guest lecturer offering my knowledge in Astrophysics. I am afraid that for the next four hours and twenty six minutes, I will be unable to assist you".

I utter a sigh of disappointment; he was hardly ever home these days. If it wasn't for a diplomatic meeting, it was a lecture, but I understood. It was his duty and as his wife I had to follow. I accepted it.

"Well, it can not wait. He needs to be bathed now. I'm sure he will fit in the sonic shower in the third guest bedroom.

The longer I caressed the animal, the more confident I felt being alone with him. As Sarek left for his engagement fifteen minutes later, I sighed loudly as the door shut and looked down at I-Chaya who sat on his hind legs beside me.

"It is time for that bath now… Teddy Bear".

With much caution I eventually got I'Chaya into the third guest bedroom, but once he saw the shower he stopped at the doorway and growled which instantly began to raise my heart rate.

"Now, Now. I'Chaya" I said, bending down to him. "I promise it will not hurt".

Fifteen minutes of trying to coax the boney, smelly animal into the sonic shower proved to go nowhere. He still refused to budge from his spot and plopped himself onto his belly with a loud groan. Admitting defeat, I plopped down beside him with a huff and ran my fingers through his thick hair on his head. I had never realized just how yellow his fangs were and that one of them had the tip broken off.

"Poor you" I sighed softly. "Did you have a rough time out in Vulcan's forge all these years? Perhaps you need some food. Maybe that will give you some courage to get into the big scary shower, what do you think?"

Standing up, I made my way through the house and into the kitchen. Digging through the refrigeration unit I found a big bowel of chopped vegetables and a couple of mystery tins of some kind. I had no idea what Sehlat's ate, but I imagined out in Vulcan's forge he survived, on the smaller less dangerous animals living within the forge. Obviously with none around to offer him, I was more than willing to give the animal anything as long as he ate.

I took out the medium size tin from the back of the refrigeration unit and eyed it carefully

"Hmm... is this cat food or something?" I asked myself. "When did Sarek get cat food?" I felt a small nudge of my leg, looking down I saw I'Chaya sitting on his back legs eyeing the tin, saliva began to drip from his mouth.

"Well, I think you might be in luck, Teddy Bear" I said opening the tin. "There seems to be four tins in here and some vegetables. I'm not sure what you eat exactly, but…" I placed the tin down on the floor "hopefully you can eat this. We need to get some fat on you, you need to be strong for your new brother or sister".

I'Chaya went ravaged and began to devour the contents of the tin all before I could open the second tin. Placing the second tin down, he ate this tin at more of a steady speed but still with ravenous hunger.

After licking the fourth and final tin for almost five minutes, I laid down the finely chopped vegetable. He eyed them with trepidation and moved them around with his nose before slowly beginning to take some small bites of the lettuce.

"You don't eat many vegetables do you?" I observed, watching the animal as he ate.

After finishing his meal, he happily sat at my feet as I managed some leftover plomeek soup and some Vulcan tea, tossing him some small pieces of bread as he eyed my meal.

"You remind me of my childhood dog, Zoey" I told him, patting his head gently. "Minus the fangs and the devouring mystery food items in a tin".

After temping him with more bread, he followed me back into the bathroom and after utilizing half a loaf of bread prompting him to stay in the sonic shower, I turned the shower head on low and began the process of washing the stinky animal.

Thirty-five minutes later, the wet animal walked out of the sonic shower, placing the biggest towel around the fluffy animal I could find I began to rub him down before he pulled himself away from the towel and shook his body multiple times, sending water flying all throughout the bathroom.

"At least you smell good now" I chuckled.

I grabbed my hair dryer and ran it on low and began to blow dry his fur on a warm setting. Feeling a wave of nausea from all the physical activity I fell onto my knees in front of the toilet as my stomach began to release its contents. I could see I'Chaya out of my peripheral vision begin to inch closer and suddenly I felt his head nuzzle in between the toilet and my body. He placed his head gently on my lap and began to purr.

"Your full of surprises aren't you?" I muttered, wiping my mouth with some toilet paper. Wiping my cheeks from fallen tears with the back of my hand I sat against the wall and began to ran my fingers through the wet fur on his head. Picking up the hairdryer and continuing to blow dry the Sehlat whose head remained in my lap. His nose began to stroke my belly gently.

His purring was strangely comforting and as we sat there in the calming silence, the fear began to creep up again, but this time I considered myself fortunate to have someone to speak to even though he couldn't speak back.

I continued to caress his head gently as I blow dry the rest of his body, "It seems like you know there's someone in there". I said softly, "Don't go telling your father, now. I think this is something that needs to be said by me".

I found the back of his ear and scratched. His leg began to shake, and he threw his head back slightly in ecstasy. I smiled and relished the dog-like moment that this big boney animal could produce before sighing,

"Oh, I'm so scared I'Chaya. What if I'm not a good mother? What if Sarek doesn't want the child? What if this baby isn't even viable? You know there has been no Vulcan-human hybrids who have survived past birth, the doctor said that she has no idea what to expect."

Hours later, I lay on the bed with my head resting against the lavender smelling fur as I continued our one-sided conversation. Even though he could not talk back, I somehow felt comforted with his presence, purring and cuddles.

After a while, against his soft fur, I drifted off to sleep with I-Chaya's head resting on my leg and my head resting on his belly. I awakened to a soft hand on my shoulder hours later.

"Amanda" Sarek called softly.

My eyes fluttered and opened, Sarek sat on the side of the bed and glanced over at the sleeping I'Chaya.

"It seems that I-Chaya has accepted you" His hand caressing my hand gently.

"Indeed" I smiled.

"I regret that I had leave soon after your return from the healer"

"You are busy." I yawned, propping myself onto my elbows, "It's alright"

"I refer back to my previous question when you returned earlier in the day, what did the healer say? Are you well?"

I'Chaya stirred and curled his body around me. His head rested gently just below my belly and he began to purr. Taking Sarek's hand, I rested it gently on my belly.

"We are to be parents".

~*The End*~