Description: Little stories about everybody's favorite crew's first words. Bonus Chapter: Janice Rand!!

This one was written at the bequest of my little sister (You're welcome, Shortie). Rand is another one of those Trek characters that got very little attention in the show and movies, and what little she did get was usually fluff and nothing that developed a personality you could run with. So I just did this under the assumption that she was the loveable but sneaky trickster she always struck me as.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek.

xxx

"Mama!" shrieked little Janice Rand as she stretched her tiny hands out to the young woman who had just walked through the front door.

"Did you hear that?" the lady asked her husband delightedly, "She said 'Mama.' Her first word!" The couple crowded around their baby girl as the house sitter explained: "She's been doing that all day. She really missed you, Mrs. Rand."

Janice's mom smiled, "You hear that, honey? She missed me!" Mr. Rand grinned in return. But as his wife turned to lift the child from the couch he couldn't hide the small flicker of jealously that streaked across his features.

ooo

Later that evening, Mr. Rand pulled his daughter's highchair next to his seat at the table and began coaching the girl.

"Da-dee. D-ah-dee. Say 'daddy,' Jan."

The baby regarded her father with an almost suspicious look in her blue eyes.

"'Daddy.' Say 'daddy,' Sweetie."

Janice gave a tiny smirk before replying stubbornly, "Mama."

Her father's shoulders drooped in disappointment then he tried again. "No, baby girl. I'm your daddy. Say it with me: 'Daddy.'"

The girl smiled brightly as she declared confidently, "Mama!"

"No, Sweetums. 'Daddy.' 'Dad?' 'Da-da?'" The baby giggled at a mischievous thought her father had no way of knowing before she summoned up a look of concentration. She leaned in close to her father and began sounding, "D-d-duh. Da-"

"Yes!" Mr. Rand exclaimed encouragingly, "'Daddy!' That's right you've got it!"

"D-d-d-d-d-" the sound fell slightly, as if her confidence was faltering. Her father kneeled down to her level, "No, you're right. 'Daddy.' You can say it!"

Janice's face lit up at the anticipation and expectancy in his voice and she continued impishly, "Da-duh-"

"Yes!"

"Mama!!"

The room exploded with the sound of Janice's unbridled giggles. She wasn't sure which was funnier, her own ingenious game or the look of incredulity that swept over her father's face when he realized he had lost it.

He relaxed his features into an understanding smile and coaxed gently, "No, baby girl. 'Daddy.' Not 'Mama.' 'Daddy.'"

"MAMA!" she shrieked again before collapsing into hysterical laughter.

ooo

Mr. Rand had not given up in his quest. He reserved an hour out of every afternoon trying to get his only child to refer to him as a father. He had had no luck.

Janice continued to toy with him, pretending to cooperate and then spurning him at the last minute. It had quickly become her favorite pastime and she looked forward to the evening with her father every morning.

The two of them would be in the kitchen. Him in his seat, here in her highchair, locked in an epic battle of wills.

"'Daddy!'"

"Mama!"

"'Daddy!!'"

"Mama!!"

"No, 'Daddy!!'"

"MAMA!!"

After a bit of their stubborn arguing, Mr. Rand would sit in a tense silence, his face red with frustration.

"Why don't you just give it up, Bill?" his wife would ask.

"Because that's what she wants!"

"What?"

"Don't you see? This is a challenge! She's trying to undermine me! I just know it! This is a game to her!"

Mrs. Rand looked at him, momentarily at a loss for words.

"Bill," she finally said, "she's an infant. She doesn't think in terms of me vs. you. You're making this into something it's not."

He laughed, "Ha! That's what she wants you to think."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. She's looking for weakness, trying to break me. But it's not gonna happen!" he emotionally declared, punching his fist into the air above his head dramatically.

His wife shook her head and sighed before walking out. As she passed her husband she said to him quietly, "Bill, you're losing your mind."

When they were alone, baby Janice laughed her pleasure then pointed to her father calling clearly, "Bill!"

Mr. Rand inhaled deeply, turned on his heel to face the girl and spoke passionately, "That's Mr. Bill to you!"

xxx

That's it! The conclusion of my 'Language' stories. I hope you all enjoyed. I'd like to give a special thanks to all the people who started reading from the very beginning and stuck by through the outrageously long update periods. And thanks to everyone who commented and favorited. Live long and prosper!