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It had been some time since the elder Spock had seen the younger. The younger had returned to the Enterprise while the elder had busied himself with establishing the new Vulcan colony. This conference would be the first time they met since parting ways in the hangar on earth. Spock looked forward to seeing his younger self and all of the others. The simple pleasure of reuniting would be multiplied by the chance to introduce the young Jim to his Jim.
The grounds of the resort were covered in dense tropical forest. The resort itself was a series of bungalows which encircled a larger meeting hall and resembled the traditional village layout of the creatures native to the planet. The arrangement provided a modicum of privacy to all of the attendees and the weather was generally acceptable, but the planet was not particularly to Spock's liking. The humidity of the air bothered the elder Spock, though his companion seemed to enjoy himself if the way he paraded around shirtless was anything to judge by.
The elder Spock left his James T. Kirk sunbathing in front of the cabana allocated for the New Vulcan delegation and went to the front gates. The younger Spock and Jim Kirk were scheduled to arrive just past midday and Spock wished to be there to greet them. He settled down to wait on a bench just inside of the gates and closed his eyes to meditate on something aside from the nagging humidity.
He had received very little information about his young counterpart and this universe's Jim Kirk since moving to the new Vulcan colony. There was little time for things aside from building the settlement. He suspected that the information he received on the young Spock and Kirk was distilled. Spock was looking forward to the meeting not only for the company, but for the information that it would provide. Disabusing the younger Jim of any notions that meeting his other self would create paradoxes might be challenging, but if that was the most complicated thing about the reunion, then it would be fairly uncomplicated.
Somewhere off in the distance he heard the sound of a small transport ship landing. Spock only opened his eyes when he could discern the footsteps of the people exiting the ship. As he observed them he could see that the younger Jim was not moving as spryly as he once had been. Concern that his friend had hurt himself performing a feat of bravado crossed his mind.
As they grew nearer, Spock was surprised to see the plump curve of Jim Kirk's stomach straining against his uniform shirt. However much his Jim had let himself fall out of shape, his physique had never approached that of the young Jim's. His whole body was heavy and unused to the weight. The young man seemed uncomfortable walking or even standing still. The distribution of fat about his body was not indicative of "a beer belly" or "love handles," but of pregnancy. This Jim appeared to be nearing the final days of his pregnancy. Not only his size and gait but also his general bearing seemed to suggest that he was preparing to assume the greatest responsibility of all.
With the very pregnant Kirk was this universe's version of himself. The pair had stopped to look over something on a PADD. The young Kirk seemed impatient with it, probably baking in the sun, while young Spock devoted his attention to looking over the PADD. Spock observed as this younger version of himself placed a hand on the swell of Kirk's belly, a gesture of both love and possessiveness towards the other man and the child he carried. The gesture seemed to placate the young Jim, who stopped shifting quite as much and seemed to settle on being grouchy.
"So that's me?" his friend asked from beside him on the bench. Spock had been expecting him to appear for some time, sure that James T. Kirk could not keep away from the excitement. Even when Spock had deemed it unnecessary to greet a vessel, Jim had put his shirt on and gone to greet the new arrivals. Those who had read about the exploits of this universe's James T. Kirk seemed confused by the paunchy older man who greeted them, but seemed to take it in stride.
"Yes, Jim," Spock said slowly, "that is you, albeit under extremely different circumstances."
Jim sat there in a silence. While it was not a hard concept for Spock to grasp, it appeared that his friend had quite some trouble doing so.
"So, I'm having your baby."
"You are not having my child. The Jim Kirk native to this universe is pregnant with the child of the Spock native to this universe. Neither of us had anything to do with the conception of this child. It is, I will admit, a reflection of what could have happened in our universe, but never did."
He eyed Spock with some suspicion, but seemed to give it up after a moment. Jim had not been satisfied with any of Spock's explanations since he had arrived in the new universe, but he grew more accepting of the impossibility of understanding as the days passed. Even James T. Kirk could only demand so much sense in the universe.
"It can be strange how different situations can push people together," Jim said. His gaze seemed to drift off into the distance, wandering vaguely to the forms of the younger Kirk and Spock—who appeared to be arguing about their bags.
"Quite interesting," Spock agreed.
"What kept us from that?"
Many things came to Spock's mind. In their longyears together it had occurred to him, but acting upon any of those urges seemed a completely foreign proposition.
"I do not know, Jim."
"There's still time," Kirk offered. There was little hint of flirtation behind the statement, but an apparent acceptance of mortality that was unlike his Jim.
Spock considered it and, after a time, he nodded. Slowly, Spock rose from the bench and turned to face his Jim.
"Indeed, there is. Come, it is time for you to meet a friend of mine."