Baby

K/S Fanfiction
Title:	Baby
Author(s):	Michele Arvizu
Date(s):	1997
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Star Trek: The Original Series
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Baby is a Kirk/Spock story by Michele Arvizu.

title page

Chris Soto, for "Baby"

It was published in the print zine First Time #45.

Summary

"Spock is called to Vulcan to answer questions regarding his plans for his next pon farr while he and Kirk decide if their own future will be apart or together."

Reactions and Reviews

Terrific atmospheric opening as Sarek stands before the Vulcan high council to answer for Spock's lack of a proper mate.

I loved how these stoic Vulcans argued—the author really captured the feelings beautifully—including a wonderfully dignified Sarek. Spock comes to Vulcan and meets with Sarek in a sizzling emotional scene where Spock really holds his own against a most formidable father without exaggerated anger. I appreciated Sarek's character not being a villain (often portrayed that way). I've always enjoyed reading about Kirk and Spock's love against the world—and here it's very well done. They decide to spend some time at Spock's family house for a festival called the "kriz'nai"—a kind of medieval/hippie/down-home/Disneyland ala Vulcan-style. The festival sounds really fun—what a clever invention. Wonderfully descriptive and very exciting when an arena with a water show is sabotaged. However, previous to this, when Spock meets the boy, I couldn't help but question any relative who would let a complete stranger take a child away with them. I know it's Vulcan, so I guess there's an excuse. But still.... Quite exciting also is the action out in the Vulcan desert (that's desert) with the injury and rescue. At Spock's house, K & S's love is out in the open with Sarek and Amanda. Excellent scenes involving a very good characterization of Amanda. And then...hold onto your hats (or specific body parts) because after they make love in the beautiful oasis, they talk sexy. Boy! Do they ever talk sexy! This scene was, by far, one of the sexiest scenes ever—fantasizing about fucking each other in all kinds of different ways. It provoked some genuine carpet- thrashing. I was really struck by the unique idea of having Spock reveal his sexual fantasies. I thought it was really inventive and a totally cool scene. And I just loved Kirk's urging of Spock to reveal his sexual secrets. And need I say that I adored Kirk's slaps on Spock's ass to demand more secrets? No, huh?

I must add that the few missing paragraphs were of no hindrance to my full enjoyment of this story. A real gem.

I'll admit that I left this story for last because of the title. Hated it. The title that is. The story, I love! I guess that the title fits because the story is about relationships and family dynamics. Sarek to Spock, Spock with his mother, the parents to each other, Vulcan council to the citizens and natch, Spock to Kirk and Kirk to Spock's family and planet. A whole lot of inter-relating was going on and it was all interesting and finely drawn. I thought the Vulcan culture was exceptionally well presented. The idea of the water festival was great. My favorite piece of dialogue was between Kirk and a young Vulcan boy.

"He'll be meeting me in about forty -five minutes"

"Where?"

"Wherever I am."

So Kirk. So cool. Loved the whole thing.

I enjoyed reading this story mainly because of the interaction between Kirk and the child. The aunt gave up a little easily, but that's o.k. What stands out is Kirk's feeling for Spock reflected in his conversations with the child.

From the opening scene where the Vulcan Council confronts Sarek about his son, to the final scene where the "baby" metaphor reaches its completion across Sarek's dinner table, I thoroughly enjoyed this story.

There's a lot to like about Baby, the unusual sex scenes, the appealingly arrogant Kirk, the authentic relationships among Sarek, Spock, Amanda and Kirk. I think an author is tackling a tough assignment when she decides to write a story set on Vulcan, in Sarek's house, and hope to attain something other then a stereotypical view of the planet, the society and the people, but Michele Arvizu manages to complete this assignment with great success.

Especially wonderful is the celebration of diversity that Kirk and Spock attend, and where the most obvious representative of "baby" makes Kirk's acquaintance, a ten year-old Vulcan boy hungry for news of Starfleet, and news of the (in)famous Commander Spock. The disaster that occurs here is startlingly original, and I won't relate it here so others can enjoy the ingenuity behind it as I did.

That event served as a great vehicle for showing not only our captain's courage and determination, his leadership abilities, but also managed, in its aftermath, to be a smooth introduction to intimacy between the two fellas who are meant to be together. As even the Vulcan Council saw.

The second sex scene, set in the open on Vulcan, had my eyes wide open in astonishment. Whoa! One of the most erotic scenes I've read in years. As Kathy Stanis said in a previous review, the fellas really manage to work themselves up into a fine state. The "telling me secrets" line was really well used through both sex sequences. (So well, that I couldn't help but wonder if it could have also been utilized to greater extent through the rest of the story. Then it would have unified not only those scenes but the whole narrative structure as well. Just a thought.)

I must confess that I didn't immediately get what the author intended through the "baby" metaphor. When I first finished reading the story, I wondered at the title, and thought that the Vulcan boy was its only object. Why, I thought, wasn't the boy in the story more? I searched for more meaning, saw it in the way Kirk called Spock "baby" during sex as well as the way it was utilized in the final scene, and in the meantime discussed the story with the author. It was only then that I saw that the various relationships in the story were almost all permutations of the term; Sarek and Spock, Amanda and Spock, Amanda and Kirk (there's a scene where Spock says she worries about Kirk as if he were her own son), Kirk and Spock in the sexual sense, as well as Kirk and Spock in the way they protect one another, and then the boy and his aunt, the boy and Kirk. Nevertheless, I do think it would have been a good idea to insert more of the boy into the story, especially at its conclusion. (Perhaps, the meeting between Spock and the boy could have been delayed after the disaster until the end of the story, and that's when an exchange of the term "baby" between Kirk and Spock, in its humorous form, could have been made, since I don't think it worked quite as well as it might have in front of Sarek and Amanda. Just a little unlikely. I can see Spock deadpanning it in front of the child.)

The story is filled with little gems of insight, such as when, after sex, Kirk is avowing his undying love, but Spock, less experienced with the physical and still unfamiliar with the depths of the emotional, can think only of the act they've just completed. It's only a line or two, but there are many other sequences like it in Baby, and they kept me turning pages.

I had problems with the first scene; it wasn't clear to me what Kirk's attitude towards what Sarek proposed truly was. And the transition from the first scene in Sarek's house, when Kirk says he and Spock should sleep in one bed, to the diversity festival, also left me in the dark. How much time elapsed here? I assumed that the festival was the next day, and I kept wondering if they had slept separately or together. That comment of Kirk's makes it sound like he's definitely considering, has even accepted the idea of a physical relationship with Spock, and yet it isn't until later, after the disaster when he's out in the desert, that it appears he first grapples with the idea. I'm not sure that the confrontation with the criminal Vulcan who engineered the disaster worked as a "finis" for the story; that isn't really what the story was about, so the scene felt extraneous.

I'm a little confused about some repetitions that appear in the story. Was this deliberate? If so, then I thought that the dialogue, especially, should have been written so that the fellow were conscious that they were repeating themselves. There are three examples that I picked up: Kirk says "I love you with my soul, with every part of me" on both pages 121 and 131, the phrase describing their orgasms "building a ribbon of pleasure that bound them to each other" is on both pages 119 and 131, and finally, there's a dialogue exchange after sex on page 135 that's taken almost word for word from page 122. Amidst a plethora of good writing, these passages had me perplexed.

I enjoy a K/S story and re-read it because of the K/S moments. Baby has plenty of these. I especially liked the dialogue of the first sex scene, the way Spock so artlessly joins Kirk on the bed, and I'm not going to forget Spock telling Kirk his secrets during the second sex scene for quite a while. Maybe the baby metaphor was stretched past a believable point here and there, but I don't care. I really enjoyed Baby.

This story made me feel light. Not in the meaning of inconsequential, but rather sunny. Elements that would normally bother me seemed to fit perfectly and the story carried me along with it right to the very end.

This is one of several stories recently in print where the action/adventure part is more important to the story than the sexual element, and interestingly enough, I've been thoroughly enjoying them all.

It is an interesting look at Vulcan - its customs, traditions, politics and bigotries - and at Sarek's relationship with Spock, all in the context of an "adventure". It's very well written, well developed, the characters all learn something during the course of the story (with one exception, but you don't expect him to learn anything anyway) and generally very satisfying.

However, I do have one quibble, which I suspect is cultural rather than personal; the use of the word "baby" as an endearment. I think Kirk has too much respect for the dignity of a 10-year-old to call one "baby" - "son", just possibly; and used between adults, it makes me squirm. I realise that in a sense Michele is using it as a joke but it's not one I appreciate. On reflection, I'm not sure I like "standard" love-names at all - an affectionate nickname is another thing. I'd an uncle whose love-name for his wife was "Fred." (it wasn't an abbreviation of Freda - her own name was Lily.) See what I mean about cultural?

This writer's language is excellent. Sarek is before TPau and the High Council, regarding Spock. I'm not sure if it was a good thing to have T'Pau's dialogue written in dialect. Most of it was great-l could certainly hear her-but the opening line of the story being "Sahr-ek" made this stand out overly. I had to keep staring at it a minute, saying, what? But really good dialogue anyway.

T'Pau demands Spock mate in the Vulcan way; they feel Spock mocks Vulcan with his disregard. Excellent, and excellently written, the dissent among the council members as to just who Spock is to Vulcan. And we see there is dissent regarding Starfleet and the Federation, which figures into the story later. Also some bad-mouthing of Kirk's influence over Spock.

All the scenes were really vividly drawn. The story is all on Vulcan and is lots of interaction between Kirk and Spock and Sarek and Amanda.

Wonderful, tense scenes, such as Sarek confronting Spock as to what he will do about his Time. Will he invoke ancient warrior rights? And the way Kirk is brought into the discussion, it's just great. They're nicely open with each other, Kirk and Spock-not shying away from it or dancing around it, that they could have a physical relationship...well, Kirk is very open about it, but Spock is rather dismayed as this is being discussed, also resentful of being pressured into a bonding.

And lovely scenes between Kirk, Spock and Amanda. These quiet, non-action scenes are written so we can feel the tensions or whatever else is going on. And in each one-such as Spock with his mother on the subject of showing emotion; Kirk asking Amanda about pon farr-important things are said, things that sink into my own personal whys and wherefores of the K/S mythology. Really good, "meaty" dialogue. And a very authentic-feeling Amanda.

Here was a beautiful image which moved me; a lovely hug between Spock and Amanda. His mother in his arms, his cheek against her hair, and looking at Kirk.

They will be attending a festival on Vulcan. This is interesting, too-a diversity celebration, with hints that not everyone on Vulcan thinks that diversity is such a great idea.

Sadly, a chunk of the story is missing here; but it didn't seem we lost something pivotal.

As for the premise for the title; Kirk hangs out with a Vulcan boy at the festival, and calls him "baby." It was just a chance remark, and seemed pretty flimsy to carry a story title. Even though I do like their use of this term of endearment.

I loved how Spock is such a well-known person that this boy is fascinated with what he's heard of him, and now he knows Spock's very own captain of all things. A sweet scene later when Kirk introduces Spock to the boy.

There is a violent catastrophe and major panic scene, all very well written, as is Kirk's involvement and command over the situation, and tying all this in with the sociopolitical climate on Vulcan, the anti-diversity factions. This is of course all resolved in the end.

I loved the scenes when Kirk and Spock begin to get intimate. The first one, with a plausible reason why they would end up in bed together, is beautiful. And I love the sweet touch of Kirk asking Spock to tell him a secret about himself, which they do again later also, and it's just wonderful. I thought Kirk confronted Sarek overly belligerently, without letting Sarek say first what he actually thinks about Kirk and Spock being together. Kirk's words are just great-that silver tongued devil-but it didn't feel right that he would be so rude to Sarek without direct provocation, but rather based on Sarek's perceived years of disapproval and withholding love.

Something really struck me about the very logical discussion Spock and Sarek have directly after Kirk's outburst. I could really feel how they reconciled everything without emotion. It was fascinating.

[excerpt snipped for length]

Great sex scene, but I'll tell you what I'm not sure about (although it was undeniably sexy); once they have come together physically, Spock makes Kirk say all the ways he wants to have sex, and this was very hot stuff. But then for some reason Spock asks, would you share me? They then proceed to describe scenarios of having sex with others. As I said, hot stuff, but...I mean, would they talk about this when they've barely even had sex with each other? Nonetheless, it's a steamy frenzy they work themselves into.

All a warm, happy ending with Kirk and Spock and Sarek and Amanda. I am left with lovely feelings.

I really liked the beginning of this story...Sarek is summoned to appeared before the Vulcan High Council to explain Spock's unbonded state. There are several characters in this opening scene yet they are fully realized and distinguishable from each other Nicely done. Sarek's confrontation with Spock also is fully realized: we see Sarek's concern for his son hidden behind his Vulcan demeanor as well as Spock's intransigence, anger and loyalty for his captain couched within his attempted respectfully Vulcan responses.

But my favorite part of this tale is the author's description of the pa'hanna wir. This is a marvelous and totally unique conception and it took my breath away. It is, as Sashak says, "...like a water dance and an orchestral performance and a ride combined into one thing." So vividly created. I saw and heard it as clearly as Kirk and the boy. I was very impressed with the author's skill in creating this out of the whole cloth of her imagination and having the ability to transmit such an extraordinary word picture, I am less sure about the use of "Baby" for the title. I understand the use of the word as a shortcut for the many family relationships involved, but I think perhaps the author stretched the characterizations to fit the metaphor rather than the other way around. I work on a daily basis with ten year old boys, and so newly emerged from babyhood as they are, they would find being labeled a baby, even in the most affectionate way, an insult. How much more so would a dignified Vulcan child regard it. Kirk, I think, would be very aware of this. He is very used to protecting Spock's dignity. Also I find it hard to accept that Spock would use the term to refer to Kirk. A very subjective opinion, I admit. Other than that, I found the boy delightful, and enjoyed Kirk's response to him, especially as he saw in him how Spock as a child might have been.

I, like JoAnn Bevers, also loved the very Kirkian remark when the child questions him about Spock; "He'll be meeting me in about forty-five minutes."

"Where?"

"Wherever I am."

In just a few words, the author has conveyed the essence of their entire relationship. Really nice! And the first love scene was especially warm and sweet and very erotic.

All in all, a well crafted and very memorable story.

This author's work is always a pleasure. I have read a number of good reviews of this story, and I don't know that I have a lot to add that hasn't already been said. I, like other readers, was not terribly comfortable with the particular use of the term "baby," either in the title or the story. I have a hard time imagining James Kirk referring to anyone as his "baby…" and forget about imagining Spock doing it.

But that aside, there were many, many things to love in this story. I found it refreshing, original, beautifully written and provocative. No surprise there, Michele's work always is. (Must be tough to be Michele and have to keep outdoing yourself!) The characterization is gorgeous, the dialogue is effortless. The story takes place on Vulcan, and I think the portrayals of Amanda and Sarek are quite wonderful. The sex is hot and creative. "Tell me a secret," Kirk says to Spock. "Why do you wish to know my secrets?" Spock asks. He tells Kirk something marvelous, which I won't reveal. Kirk's "My goodness," in response, made me grin like a sap. I love the things that Kirk and Spock say to each other in this story!

Most delightful to me were the broad strokes of this story: Spock's family portrayed in an unusual, original, and delightfully rich complexity of relationships... Kirk and Spock drawn believably, vividly, subtly and with great integrity shown to the original series characters. The interplay between Kirk, Amanda, Spock and Sarek is so wonderfully multi-dimensional that I know I will read this story again and again.

Having heard of this a couple times, I was intrigued to finally read it, as I generally like this author quite a lot. And she does not disappoint me here. I, like some others, do find the nickname Baby to be somewhat jarring and out of character. But the story itself is so good and so absorbing that it survives that jolt and keeps my interest-- no easy thing! The plot is interesting, the characters, other than the use of the aforementioned nickname, seem quite in character, and the sex is mmm, yummy yummy yum! The Lady Amanda is truly delightful in this one; wise and motherly and ribald in a genteel, "let's mess with the menfolks' heads" kind of way that seems just like how she would behave in this situation. The Vulcan festival, and the concept of the water music, are lovingly described and intriguing to visualize; when the shit hits the fan Kirk leaps into action and does what he does best, lead folks out of trouble. Spock's discomfort under his family's prying eyes, the lingering stiffness and difficulty between his father and himself, all lovingly drawn and so true. A good read, all in all, if ye can kind of let that nickname slide on by.