Starfleet Kidets

[Gothicruby]

"Ow! Owww!!" Hikaru howled out as soon as the flat of Bones' hand came into contact with his tender skin; it didn't just sting, it burned! And there was absolutely no way that the boy could have hoped to mask it even if he hadn't been shaken from the Doctor's disappointment "Bu-But I-I-I Thought--Ah! I-I thought Spo-Spock c-coulda been right! Yaaa-ah! " he yelped, desperately trying to flex himself out of he way of the formidable hand.

"It does matter, mister," Jim immediately corrected as he reached out to take Spock's chin and gently return the boy's gaze to meet his own stern one "For all you know those apples could've poisoned you then and there, or who knows, burned a hole right through your stomach," the captain's brow furrowed as he spoke "And to top it off, you seemed to do so solely for the point of trying to prove an...illogical...point. Was it really so important that you be right? Why not heed the Doctor?" as if to mirroring the young boy, he too crossed his arms across his chest though standing as he did so did seem to add a little more authority to his stance "Why be so recklessly stubborn?"

[KingCrowley]

"But you know how stubborn Mr. Spock can be." Bones answered, his hand unwavering as he spanked the little boy's bottom firmly. For some reason...his heart strings felt like they were being pulled at when he heard his cries of pain. A thought then hit him... Hikaru Sulu was going to need someone to look after him now that he was so small. Why not him? He hadn't had much experience with children other than delivering babies...but...the little guy was going to need him. "You know better than to eat something glowing, and it was you who pointed out it was radioactive." he frowned and spanked a little more firmly. "Now then, what did you do that was naughty? What's the lesson to be learned here, Hikaru?"

The Vulcan had not thought anything like that could have happened and he whimpered, it sounded like Jim was insulting him, and now the sensitive little Vulcan was feeling unloved. "I-I.." he paused, sitting down on the floor and bursting into tears, sobbing hard into his hands. "I do not know!" he answered, sounding and looking most pitiful.

[Gothicruby]

"U-Um--Umm--!" Hikaru yelped, trying desperately to think and, more importantly he guessed, listen beyond the sting swarming all across his bottom as each smack came down with as much vengeance as the last; but as if by magic he was able to summon up some kind of answer "Th-that I-I sh-shoulda listened to you?" he began to choke, tears already falling from his almond brown eyes and manifesting themselves into sharp, hiccupping sobs "An-An' I-I gotta be careful?" at one particularly firm smack to his under-curve, Sulu found himself desperately clutching at Bones' trouser leg "D-doo-oc!--Yah! I-I'm sorr-ry! Please!"


In an instant the captain reached out to once more bundle the little lost Vulcan up into his arms; he could be a stern man, as any Captain needed to be, but truth be told he did love his crew more than he'd ever loved anything in his life; one bad word about any of them and Jim was always first on the scene...infact right now Spock was only dredging that instinct the surface. So when the boy had burst into tears he supposed he shouldn't have been surprised when his heart skipped a beat and threatened to crush in on itself "Shhh, hey...hey now..." he whispered into those sweetly pointed ears of his, balancing the oh-so-small weight of Spock across one hip in order to sway away the boy's misery "It's alright little one, calm down, I'm here," it took a few moments of tracing circles soothingly across his back before Jim softly spoke "What brought that on, huh?"

[KingCrowley]

He had to take a deep breath and steel his heart to Hikaru's cries, but the little guy could have died. Bones looked down at the tiny red bottom and landed five more firm smacks before then immediately picking up the adorable little boy and hugging him close to his chest. "Shhh, shhh, good boy, you're a good boy, you're okay now, we're done Hikaru. Shhh, I'm here, I've got you." he soothed, wiping away the little tears that rolled down his cheek and he certainly preferred comforting the boy rather than spanking him. It was nice to think he had a child of his own to care for.

It was hard for Spock to deal with his emotions at such a vulnerable age, and the feeling Jim was really mad at him served to upset the little boy and he continued to sob on the man's shoulder when he was picked up. "You are angry with me!" he answered when asked what brought that on. "I do not like it...." he whined, wiping his eyes and then laying his head on the man's shoulder, coughing a little.

[Gothicruby]

Those last five smacks across his burning bottom were more than enough to push Hikaru over the edge; in an instant any semblance of resolve that he'd been able to keep up immediately crumbled beneath him into an ocean of choppy hiccups and wails, so much so that he didn't protest when McCoy brought him up into his arms, rather he dove to bury himself once more into the doctor's chest "I-I'm sorr--I-I didn't mean--I-I-!" all at once such strings of apologetic babble began tearing from his small form; he was so desperate not to disappoint Bones, not now when it was so safe--not ever "I-I didn't mean I-it!"

To be fair, hearing such an obvious answer was a genuine kick upside his own head for Jim, suddenly it seemed pretty obvious, even if the older version of him would never admit it, that a child like Spock probably would take that as a pretty big blow and so he saw no reason now not to be just as honest as this little one had been with him "I'm not angry Spock," he sighed, giving his back a careful, loving pat upon hearing the cough as he began to gently pace the room "I'm concerned about you," he paused at the immediate thought "You scared me; when I saw you fall and...'shrink' like that, I really thought you were going to die; I don't wanna lose you little one," as he spoke he took a moment to gently sift the back of his fingers across the Vulcan's soft, downy head of hair "I care about you Spock, dya understand that?"

[KingCrowley]

"I know, I know. You're okay now baby boy." Bones said softly to the little boy, "I forgive you and I'm here for you." The man continued to hug the little boy to his chest, rocking back and forth, trying to comfort the crying child. "Everything's okay now, you were punished and now I forgive you sweet boy." He wanted the kid to know he was forgiven for what he had done and that Bones wasn't mad at him or anything. "I think it's time for a nap little guy, we'll take a small nap together, okay?"

The little Vulcan looked up, confusion on his face when the man said that he wasn't angry, since he really had seemed like he was and that was the whole reason for Spock's sobbing. "Y-You are not?" he asked before then laying his head on the man's shoulder as he paced about the room. Hearing him say he didn't want to lose him, made the little one feel guilty. "I am sorry...I-I..." he paused and sniffed. "I understand."

[Gothicruby]

Although the little pilot's sobs continued to rack his tiny form, the warmth that Bones was so willing to offer was quick to be soaked in; he clung desperately to the Doctor's shirt as he continued to babble and sob until he was so tired, so spent that he just felt himself going limp in the man's arms without so much as a protest to the nap "'k-kay..." he hiccupped again, using the last of his energy to shift his grip at once from Bone's shirt to around his neck, face nuzzling firmly into his shoulder "C-can w-we leave a-a light on?" the question had left his mouth without much thought--something about being left in the dark, with the Doctor or not, after that was a truly distressing thought

"That's my boy," Jim softly praised, though making absolutely no secret of how much pride had flooded through him upon hearing Spock give that apology so freely; so much so infact he couldn't resist pulling back to offer him a warm, endearing grin "Don't worry kiddo; we'll figure this mess out somehow, I promise. You just have to be a little more careful until we know what's going on though, ok?" he raised a finger his index finger poignantly, though it tapped gently against the little one's nose rather than reprimand him outright "No more eating strange, toxic food, deal? I don't wanna walk in and find you glowing too," he paused again, a teasing grin now tugging at the corner of his lips "Or with wings."

[KingCrowley]

"You want to leave a light on, pal?" McCoy asked, though then again most children were afraid of the dark, and a man turned child was clearly no exception to that fact. "I can leave the hall light on." he informed, nuzzling the small face affectionately and placing a kiss on the little one's forehead. "Wait here a moment kiddo." he said, laying him down on the bed - on his stomach - and then getting out a pair of pajamas. He took a moment using a scanner-like ray on them, which shrunk them down to little Hikaru's size. "There we go, now lets get your jammies on." he chuckled, removing the shirt and then dressing him carefully in the pajamas. "I'll bet that's better." he grinned before slipping into the bed, holding Hikaru close to his chest, so he was laying on it. "Good night kiddo, sleep tight." he whispered, rubbing his back.

"Wings?" Spock questioned though he could see that the Captain was concerned and didn't want him eating odd glowing food again, so the little one agreed, wrinkling his nose at the tap but then actually smiling which made the Vulcan look very cute, especially since he never smiled as an adult. "So I am no longer in trouble?" he asked, wondering if he's earned himself a reprieve or if the man actually had a punishment in mind for him, of course, the Vulcan hoped for the former.

[Gothicruby]

Truth be told, Hikaru was far too spent to even summon up enough energy to even be annoyed at the embarrassing action; infact by the time McCoy had pulled him back to rest against his chest the child was coming past half-asleep at practically light-speed. So as the doctor rubbed his back, he took to just sinking in against the cuddle, snuffling every now and then with contentment "Night dad..." he breathed absentmindedly as he finally drifted away to dream.

"Depends," Jim lightly shrugged, genuinely unable to keep from brimming at how bright a smile looked on Spock's sweet little face "Do you understand why what you did was naughty?" quietly the man was silently wishing that he could just let Spock off after all the distress he'd been through already, but if he was going to have any hope of looking after this little lad the he was going have to start by making sure they were off on the right foot.

[KingCrowley]

(( AWWWWW!!!!! <3333 ))

The Doctor smiled softly to himself, letting his hand rub over the little one's back. I was really, really great having a young boy around he could care for, and a small selfish part of him didn't want Sulu to go back to the way he was. Already the small boy had found a way into his heart. The man closed his eyes but they sprang open in shock hearing the young one call him 'Dad' and that was enough to render him completely speechless. Bones kissed his head and eventually whispered, "Goodnight pal, I love you." before closing his eyes and falling asleep, content to cuddle with the small Hikaru Sulu.

"Yes I understand..I could have been hurt or killed...and I am sorry." The small Spock answered and took to chewing lightly on his bottom lip, "I ...shall not eat something glowing again Captain." he assured before then opening his mouth wide in a yawn, the little one ending up tired because of the sudden transformation his body had had to go through within the last hour.