Pass the Plomeek and No, I Do Not Have a Split Personality

By Bluetiger

Rating: G

Genres: family general

Keywords:

This story has been read by 1374 people.
This story has been read 1949 times.


Summary: Trip tries to understand his children's personalities better.

 

 


 The Tucker's were on their way to the Vulcan compound. Soval had sent his personal shuttle to pick up his family. This was the first time for Trip Tucker to participate in this particular ceremony. T'Pol informed her husband that this ritual was from the time of Surak. Secretly Trip was of the opinion that Vulcan's had a ritual for scratching their butts, however he kept this to himself. Today they were going to have baby T'San declared a citizen of Vulcan.


 Early this morning T'Pol was trying to organize her brood; she had no desire to keep the priest waiting because her husband could not locate his shoes.

 "Trip, please hurry. I do not wish you to miss the naming rite of your latest child, as this will be your last chance."

 "Hey, it's not my fault that I wasn't at the other two. We were so far from Vulcan when T'Resa was born that a proper ceremony was impossible and it was just a freak occurrence that I had Melvaran Mud Flea Flu and missed Morgan's. At least Soval was able to fill in for me."

 Trip leaned over and gave his wife a quick kiss, "Besides how do you know this will be my last chance?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at T'Pol.

 "Trip, please finish dressing, because this is definitely your last chance."

 


  

Trip's breath was taken away when he stepped into the living room to see his older children standing in their Vulcan robes. T'Resa was dressed in a robe of midnight blue with silver Vulcan script down the right lapel. Her long blonde hair gleamed against the dark blue. Morgan wore shades of dark brown and forest green with gold script. Trip was not much for waxing poetic, but his children looked absolutely regal, just like their mother. T'Pol came down the stairs wearing robes of wine and gold.

 "Trip would you take T'San from me so that I may collect her bag of supplies?"

 "Sure, Sweetheart." Trip took his daughter in his arms. She was dressed in miniature Vulcan robes of snowy white. There was no script on them since T'San would not have a clan name until the completion of the naming ceremony and registration of her DNA.

 "Please put a cloth on your shoulder, Trip. It would not be pleasant if your daughter were to spit up on your dress uniform."

 Trip laughed, "Good point, Honey, and that sour milk smell wouldn't endear me to the assemblage either."

 


 

 The Vulcan compound consisted of many buildings. There were offices, quarters, restaurants, and shops. The most impressive building however was a Vulcan temple. Most of the materials had been imported from Vulcan, with only a small amount of local product used. It was very authentic and very beautiful.

 The Tucker family entered the temple to find Soval and about ten Vulcans assembled at the altar near a large gong. Trip hadn't expected quite so many guests. Besides the elderly priest, there were three government officials, to handle the paperwork, and about a half dozen invited guests. Trip supposed that most of them were colleagues of Soval. After all he was, for all intents and purposes, T'San's grandfather. Trip was the only full-blooded human in the temple. This was a very ancient Vulcan ceremony and he was actually very interested to see it performed.

 As they approached the altar Trip witnessed something that always sent a shiver up his spine. He had seen it before, but still it took him by surprise every time. It was as if both his children were suddenly an inch taller; their spines were so straight. T'Resa and Morgan both wore emotionless expressions.

 T'Resa approached Soval as her mother conferred with the priest.

 "It is agreeable to see you, Grandfather. My sister is fortunate to have the honor of so many distinguished guests at her naming."

 Soval inclined his head, "It is I who am honored to be a part of this family, Granddaughter."

 Trip and T'Pol called to the guests to begin. While the actual litany was spoken in Vulcan all other conversation was in English. Honoring the father of the child was very important to the tradition. The altar was laid out with a smaller gong, a chalice, filled with water from a sacred spring on Vulcan, and a cloth sash.

 The priest took T'San from her mother. The small gong was sounded and as the holy man spoke, a swab was taken of the inside of her cheek. T'San did not appear to appreciate this procedure and gave a little snort, however she did not cry.

 Trip thought to himself, 'hold on baby-girl, it'll be over soon'. He heard his wife's voice in the back of his mind, 'she is doing well husband, although she thinks the priest smells funny'.

 Trip bit his bottom lip for all he was worth, now was not the time to laugh.

 The ceremony continued with the government officials sealing the DNA sample for transfer to Vulcan. T'Pol sent waves of patience to her youngest child as she was anointed with the water from Vulcan. This was to symbolize that she was now part of that land and a citizen of Vulcan.

Next, T'Pol's clan name was read, as the white sash with Vulcan script in black was placed around the baby's neck. Trip, of course, spoke Vulcan after all these years so he easily followed the ritual. The symbols on the right side of the sash consisted of her mother's clan name, then 'daughter of Tucker' also in Vulcan below that. These were the same symbols his other children wore, except of course Morgan's said 'son of Tucker'. This ceremony differed slightly from the norm. Since Soval had officially claimed the Tucker children as his heirs, he was asked by the aged priest.

 "Soval, do you accept these children as a part of your clan, and give this child leave to claim the name of your family as part of her heritage?"

 "I do bestow this child my clan name, and will consider it an honor for her and her siblings to use it." With the intention of touching her forehead, Soval reached toward T'San with two extended fingers, which she immediately grabbed and tried to put in her mouth.

 Trip would swear to his dying day that the priest stifled a small smile. The gong sounded again as the priest handed the baby to her father.

 "This child is T'San of Vulcan, entitled to all privileges accorded to every citizen of our world."


 

 After the ceremony, the participants began to mingle.

 Trip stepped to the priest, "You honor my family by performing the naming rite for us."

 The elderly Vulcan inclined his head, "The honor was mine Captain Tucker. I officiated at Lady T'Pol's naming as a young priest. It is gratifying to do the same for her child. May your family live long and prosper."

 Soval introduced T'Resa and Morgan to his colleagues. Both children spoke at length about their studies and the sights they had seen on their last visit to Vulcan. If it were not for the rounded eyebrows and to some extent T'Resa's blonde hair, it would be impossible to discern these children were not full blooded Vulcans.  Soval could sense that his co-workers were impressed by his grandchildren. Of course Trip and T'Pol's reputations preceded them wherever they went. In the beginning the two had been met with disapproval in some quarters, but, after all these years together the couple had become almost mythic. Soval glanced over his family with deep affection. He had always marveled at his grandchildren's ability to step in and out of their disparate cultures seemingly at will. This family filled what could have been an insurmountable void in his life. Soval took T'San from Trip and spoke to her softly.

 "My mate would have been honored to have one such as you bear her name." Soval decided it had been a most satisfactory day.

 As the Tucker clan departed the temple, Soval bid them farewell until he would rejoin them for the evening meal.  T'Resa spoke to her parents.

 "If it is agreeable, we should go to the market stalls before returning home. I need to purchase some fresh Plomeek. I wish to prepare the broth for Grandfather with the freshest ingredients, since he is honoring us with his presence at our celebratory dinner."

 "Indeed, I also have several purchases to make." T'Pol turned to Trip and Morgan. "Would you rather return to the shuttle or accompany us to the market?"

 Trip looked at the baby in his arms, "T'San seems content, so I'll go with you.  How about you, Son?"

 "Father, there is a merchant nearby that specializes in nano processor technology. Certain of these Vulcan components would greatly enhance my latest computer project's development."

 "Okay, in that event I'll go with Morgan and we'll meet back up with you ladies in about half an hour." As Trip and his son headed toward the stall Morgan had mentioned, his father's thoughts turned to Captain Hayworth.

 


  

"But Trip," Hayworth had pleaded, "do you have any idea of the breakthrough your son has just made in computer science and technology? Your son built a cutting-edge super computer as a school project for heaven sake!"

 Captain Hayworth was the head of the computer science division of R&D. Morgan had recently created quite a stir in the scientific community with his science fair project. He had come up with a computer upgrade that had astounded Starfleet scouts judging the contest.

 "Bill, do you think for a minute that I don't realize how intelligent my children are? Both of them amaze me with their potential. Morgan is only fourteen, and as it is, he takes classes at his school and at the Vulcan compound. I won't turn him over to Starfleet at this time. That will be up to him when the time comes, but right now, he just needs to be a kid."

 He had turned away a disappointed friend, but Trip intended to make sure his children were protected and allowed to live as normally as was possible for such special children. T'Resa had written a paper on the theoretical possibilities of baryonic dark matter use in particle physics that had also garnered a lot of attention. He would never stifle their creativity but with their mother as a mentor, well, they already had the best teacher possible.

 


  

After Morgan made several purchases, they headed to the food stalls to meet the women. T'Pol and T'Resa had managed to gather quite a few baskets full of fruits, vegetables and herbs. An elderly Vulcan named Veshim and his son Kullos owned the best fresh market in the Vulcan compound. The Tuckers were frequent patrons of this establishment.

 "Veshim, is this produce recently arrived from Vulcan?" T'Pol asked the aging shop keeper, indicating the Plomeek.

 "Yes, Lady T'Pol, the shipment arrived this morning in fact."

 "Indeed, then we will double our order." T'Pol knew that the vegetable would stay at its peak in their stasis unit.

 "Your patronage honors us, Lady T'Pol." Veshim assembled the order quickly for his famous customer.

 As Trip walked up, he noticed Kullos cutting his eyes at T'Resa as she moved about the shop. The young Vulcan approached her.

 "T'Resa do you require assistance?"

 "No, Kullos our order is complete. I was simply endeavoring to occupy myself while mother finishes our transaction."

 The young man cleared his throat, "You look agreeable in your robes today. I do not recall ever seeing you so formally dressed before."

 Trip took a deep breath, 'that little bastard is flirting with my daughter' he decided. Trip didn't know if Kullos had an intended or not, but he did know that the boy needed to back off.

 "T'Resa, it's time to go, Sweetheart."

 "Yes Father. May I take my sister so you can assist Mother?"

 "Thanks Honey," Trip said handing off the baby. He gave the boy a 'watch whose daughter you mess with' glare just for good measure.

 


 

 When the Tuckers arrived home everyone went to change their clothes. T'Pol stayed in the bedroom to feed T'San, while the others came to the kitchen to unpack the purchases.

 Entering the room T'Resa smiled at her father.

 "That's the first time I've seen you smile today. It still, even after all these years, kind of freaks me out when you guys go into full Vulcan mode. It's almost like you guys have split personalities."

 Morgan entered the room behind his sister and laughed. "Dad, we're the same people no matter if we're suppressing or not."

 Trip smiled, "I know that, but some people might think you were just putting on a Vulcan façade."

 "That's not it at all, Daddy. It's more like slipping into another gear." T'Resa really wanted her father to understand.

 Morgan spoke up next, "When you went to the funeral of Travis Mayweather last month, it was a solemn occasion and you acted accordingly. Did you betray who Charles Tucker is by subduing your more flamboyant side? Did you crack jokes in staff meetings during the war? Well, it's the same with us. If we're in an atmosphere like today, the calm comes over you. The stance and speech patterns settle around you like a warm shower.  Our emotions go to this place in the back of our mind. We would never embarrass you and Mother by acting inappropriately at a formal function."

 "That's it Daddy, what folks don't understand is that with us, it doesn't have to be either or. Remember two summers ago when I went to Vulcan for that Astral Physics class at the Vulcan Science Academy? I doubt that I cracked a smile for the entire eight weeks I was there, even in the privacy of my room. However, I was truly content in that atmosphere and didn't feel like I was giving up anything. When we're at home with the family, it's the most natural thing in the world to laugh and joke. Morgan and I have a very fine tuned sense of when to suppress. Humans do it to a degree, but don't realize it."

 Morgan grinned at his father, "Yeah, Dad, think of it as a human that's sober all day at work, then goes to a party and gets a little drunk. He's the same person, only in an atmosphere where he doesn't need to restrain himself so much."

 T'Resa laughed, "I'm not sure I like that analogy, Shorty, but I get what you're saying. The situation that we're in dictates our behavior to a large degree. You want to hear something funny? Twice in my life, I switched modes in the middle of a conversation totally without conscious thought. Both times were at school and someone made me very angry. As my anger flared, it was like the emotions were sucked into that little space in my mind and the calm fell over me." T'Resa smiled at the recollection, "I really freaked out the girl that was yelling at me. You know, maybe I ought to study that. It might be some kind of autonomic self defense mechanism." She wrinkled her brow, intrigued by the notion.

 T'Pol entered the kitchen, "I put T'San down for a nap... what has been such a fascinating topic that none of our purchases have been put away?"

 The three Tuckers looked around in embarrassment at all the baskets still sitting on the granite counter top. Each quickly grabbed something and started putting it away.

 "Sorry Darlin', the kids were explaining to me about goin' all Vulcan this morning and we forgot what we were suppose to be doin'."

 T'Resa took some of the fresh Plomeek and began to prepare it. She liked to let it simmer several hours for a rich broth.

 There was a question she had wanted to ask for a while now, "Mother, do you ever wish that we wore the calm all the time?"

 Morgan and Trip both perked up their ears, interested in the answer also.

 T'Pol looked at her expectant family and took time to compose her answer.

 "I was content this morning with the way my children comported themselves at the ceremony. It was appropriate to the occasion; however, I believe that there would be an empty place in my heart if I were never to hear your laughter again. To see the things I cherish most about your father reflected in his children gives me great satisfaction."

 

The End

 


Comments:

WarpGirl

Wow! I have to admit this whole concept has never really occured to me at all. From a social and psychological sandpoint it is utterly facinating, and I will probably think long and hard on it. While I'm not sure I agree with it, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! I hope you expound on this in the future.

panyasan

That last line was wonderful. Great and sweet story.

Mary

I'll try this again, the last three times i've tried to comment, nothing would post. Blue Tiger, I still love this arc, each one touches a relevant and thoughtful aspect of humanity and Vulcanity??. This one really shows the similarity of adjusting behaviour- emotional  outpouring -  depending on the situation, human and vulcan style. I absolutley love the attitude and speach of TnT's children.

Even without explosions, or Enterprise per se, these are such heart-warming vingnets. Please keep writing them

Dinah

This was a lovely family moment for the Tucker family.  It was revealed some very interesting information about the children.  Given their parents, it makes sense that T'Resa and Morgan would be very intelligent, but they're also  blessed with analytical minds and a great deal of common sense.  It provides a fascinating insight into how half Human-half Vulcan children would learn to cope with the demands of the world around them. 

This is another superb chapter in this family saga.  Absolutely wonderful!

Pitseleh

Excellent, as usual. This family just gets better and better. I just cracked up laughing when the Vulcan guy started hitting on T'Resa

Reanok

What a sweet wonderful story. Bluetiger you did a wonderful job with this story.

Alelou

This is sweet.  TnT really do have two brilliant and savvy kids here.  (Though I'm a little worried that Morgan seems to know about getting a little drunk already!  LOL.)

Distracted

The title is funny, but the main idea is thought provoking.  Most successful adults have a "face" they put on for work or formal occasions that's different from the face they wear at home. Kids have to learn how to do this as they grow up.  People who can't or won't do it are often marginalized because they have no "sense of propriety".  I like this.  I wish my kids understood the concept.  : )

Asso

"I do bestow this child my clan name, and will consider it an honor for her and her siblings to use it." With the intention of touching her forehead, Soval reached toward T'San with two extended fingers, which she immediately grabbed and tried to put in her mouth.

Trip would swear to his dying day that the priest stifled a small smile. The gong sounded again as the priest handed the baby to her father.

Could you think anything better?:p

Absolutely charming, as always. I don't think any further comment is needed. Stories like this one are shining pearls.:D

Escriba

Sweet, as always :D

I must say that the analogy T'Resa and Morgan use with their father to explain their double nature is very good and very fitting. And I like the naming ceremony of T'San, which is enough alien to pass as a Vulcan ceremony.

And I love the tittle! :D

Elessar

EXCELLENT!  The title had me hooked, I HAD to read :)

Anne Alder

Oh.

Sweet and superb.

Simply wonderful.

:D

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