Disclaimer: If I owned Star Trek, I'm sure someone would have let me know by now.

AN: Written for a 5 Times prompt. 5 Times Spock saw his father loving his mother. :3 I was really tempted to write a part 6, in 5 times tradition, but I couldn't think of anything that wouldn't be disgustingly depressing.

5: Beginning

"What's that?" Jim Kirk's voice interrupted his thoughts and Spock closed his eyes briefly before turning to properly regard the human.

"It is a personal memento," Spock explained. He wasn't certain if it was merely his own weariness or his personal need to appear completely unaffected by everything Kirk managed to do, but he maintained his ramrod posture even as Kirk all but leaned across him to see the capture in his hand.

"Uh..." Kirk uttered and his face screwed up in an expression of confusion and suspicion. When he started speaking again, his voice was laced with hesitant uncertainly. "You know that's a picture of the Federation Board chambers, right?"

"I am aware of the location, yes," Spock responded dryly and Kirk eyed him. Several seconds passed in tense silence and it became increasingly apparent that Spock was not going to spontaneously provide Kirk with any information. Kirk cleared his throat and swung around him, perching himself on the railing between Spock and the windows of the aft observation deck.

"So...why do you have a picture of the Federation Board chambers?" Kirk asked and folded his arms. After a long, silent breath, Spock's fingers slid across the capture screen and isolated the center of the image. The center expanded to fill the small PADD and Kirk's eyebrows drifted upward as he cocked his head to see.

Seated at the table, three seats down from the livid Andorian ambassador and his argumentative rival from Zargon, was Spock's father. Behind him, moving toward the edge of the picture, was a young brunette in civilian clothing. Her face was bright and her expression moderately surprised as she glanced over her shoulder toward the table. Kirk eyed her and it took him several seconds to realize that she was looking at Sarek rather than the arguing pair. As he stared at her, he spotted the place where her right hand lingered against Sarek's chair and he could just make out the thin fingers that crept over the edge of her hand.

"It is my father and my mother," Spock elaborated and stared at the image. "This image was taken approximately five terrestrial years before the date of my birth."

"Oh," Kirk stated shortly and his eyes darted across Spock's face. Apparently, he found no explanation in Spock's visage and frowned. "It's...uh..." he paused and forced a smile, "Very nice."

Spock drew his attention away from the image long enough to level a depreciating, stoic stare at Kirk. The human shrugged and Spock turned the image before passing it to Kirk. He knew it well enough that he didn't need it before him.

"My father engaged physical contact in public, before an obvious recording device," Spock elaborated and something dawned across Kirk's face. Kirk regarded the photo silently for several minutes before he handed it back. He pushed himself off the railing as Spock folded his hands behind his back. As Kirk left the deck, he paused by the doorway.

"He loved her very much," Kirk supplied genially. Spock didn't need to say it but, he found, it was comforting to hear it.