Tiny Hands, Sad Eyes

Caring for Young Jim

Spock woke the next morning to find that Jim snuggled up next to him sometime during the night. A small smile crossed his face as he watched the child sleep, his head pillowed on Spock's stomach. It was gratifying to know that his T'hy'la trusted him, even when he was terrified of everyone else.

Jim looked so peaceful, cuddled against him. A wave of affection flowed over him, and a little smile turned up his lips. He decided to let him sleep and so grabbed his padd and began working on what he could.

He sent a message to Sulu to inform him that he had the Conn but that he could contact Spock if he had any questions. That done, he contacted supplies to request several outfits to fit a 4 year old human boy. After that, he began to check up on the various science projects that were in progress. Jim continued to sleep soundly, pressed against his side.

The clothes were delivered to his room less than an hour later, just as Jim was beginning to stir. Jim blinked his bright blue eyes up at him blearly and snuggled closer when the door beeped, alerting Spock to their arrival. Spock simply lifted Jim into his arms as he got up to answer the door.

Jim hid his face in his neck as he opened it and took the garments. Thanking the crewman who delivered them, he shut the door and carried Jim into the bathroom.

Jim was cuddled into Spock's neck and was loathe to be set down.

"Jim." Spock murmured, rubbing his back soothingly. "It is alright. I will not leave you. But we need to get ready for the day. I need to take a shower, as do you. Would you like my assistance, or would you prefer to shower on your own?"

Jim pulled away from Spock's neck. "You." He answered definitively, not letting go of Spock's shoulders.

"That is acceptable, Kan-bu. However, you will have to release me in order to get ready for a shower."

At this Jim finally allowed Spock to set him down with a huff. He stood at Spock's feet, a pout firmly in place. Spock couldn't help the small smile that graced his face as he looked down at the child.

"Jim. I will now disrobe and turn the water on. You will need to remove your clothes as well to shower effectively."

Spock then stripped off everything but his underwear and turned on the water in the sonic shower, making sure to get it warm but not too hot.

When he was done, he turned to find Jim had done as he was told. His clothes were in a heap on the floor. He stared up at Spock expectantly.

Spock grabbed a couple washcloths and ushered Jim into the shower. They stood under the shower spray as Spock covered one of the washcloths in soap.

"Do you require assistance to apply the soap to your body, or can you do it yourself?"

Those brilliant blue eyes looked up at him. "I can do it."

"Very well." Spock handed him the soapy washcloth and turned away to grab him own and wash his own body, keeping an eye on Jim as he did so.

Jim was able to clumsily wash his body without Spock needing to intervene. Once he was done, Spock asked,

"May I help you with your hair? I believe my assistance would be useful to keep the soap from running into your eyes."

Jim nodded eagerly. Spock smiled at this. He found himself smiling more since yesterday than he had in the entire month. It was a disconcerting thought. Though there wasn't much he could do about it. He needed to allow his emotions to be more expressed around young Jim.

He knew that a normal human child would not understand the stoicism associated with his race. They typically perceived them as angry with them. And that was not even taking Jim's personal emotional issues into account. The child flinched away from everyone but him. He couldn't bear the thought of breaking that trust or of frightening or harming his T'hy'la.