Staggered Splices. At least some illustrative embodiments are apparatus including a tube having a wall defining an interior volume, first and second optical fibers disposed within the interior volume and the first and second optical fibers joined at a first splice. Also included are third and fourth optical fibers disposed within the interior volume, the third and fourth optical fibers joined at a second splice. The first splice and the second splice have an axially spaced-apart relationship within the interior volume of the tube.