"Well, all's well that ends well, I guess," said Sitto.
"Oh, it's more than just well, Sitto," said a very happy Francesca. "Spot's still here, Arn and that crooked judge are in the slammer, and our relations with the Slartans have been fixed."
"Indeed," said Benton.
The three of them were sitting at a table in the center of the mess hall, and there was a large crowd gathered around them. On the tabletop between them were a dozen small, furry, purring creatures. The crowd was cuddling them and petting them and "oo-ing" and "ah-ing" over them.
"And to think, all this craziness was just because Spot wanted to get someplace natural so he could have his puppies," continued Sitto.
"How is Spot?" asked Francesca.
"He seems to be his old, normal self again," said Benton. "Last I saw him he was in my cabin, resting. I wish he had just told me about this. It's not as though we're complete strangers, you know."
Francesca put one of the baby tribbles on Sitto's head.
"You're getting tribble hair all over me," complained Sitto. He plucked the little furball off his head and put it back on the table. "What about these?" was Sitto's next question. He pointed at the baby tribbles squirming around on the table in front of him.
Benton said, "Doctor Maruu has checked them out. Where Spot is just mostly infertile, these are truly unable to produce offspring. We are safe from being overrun by tribbles."
Eventually, all the baby tribbles were given away to various members of the crew. Even Johnny Chee took one. He and Jenara Tomme had walked off together petting their new critter. Benton wandered back to his cabin and walked through the door. He set his father's phaser rifle on the desk, very glad that he hadn't had to use it for the reason he had unpacked it.
He turned toward Spot's habitat, to see how his old friend was doing, but Spot wasn't there. Benton turned around and around, but Spot was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh dear..."