In the dream, sunlight slanted through the windows as Spock slowly made his way across a living room. The air reeked of blood, and an oppressive silence made the pounding of his heart seem loud. He neared the kitchen doorway and saw young Sobek seated on the floor, head lolled to one side. A knife was in his hand, and a green pool spread from deep slashes in his wrists. Horrified, Spock came to a halt. Though he did not want to continue on, somehow he was walking again…until he was inside the kitchen. Then, only his eyes moved, traveling across the floor to where a pool of red began…

He awoke with a gasp and found himself in bed. T'Naisa turned on her pillow, reached out, and touched his shoulder. Her face looked lovely in the early morning light. A few locks of fiery hair had escaped the loose braid she usually wore for sleeping. Her brown eyes spoke in the sympathetic undercurrent of their marital bond. There was no need for words. She knew the reason for these nightmarish flashbacks to the death of his first wife and daughter Teresa. Today they would leave for Vulcan, where Sobek's mother was pursuing a legal claim against Spock over her son's violent rampage and subsequent suicide. Not a pleasant prospect, but at least their affairs at Plum Creek would not suffer from their absence. The first pair of seminarians had been ordained, and the last of Spock's grown children was settling into a life of his own. James had married Anika and now lived in a small rental with their son, near Purdue University in Indiana. One summer of casual prospecting had yielded James enough gold to finance another year of education, and there was plenty more in the ground. Spock and T'Naisa's share was helping build new Yanashite temples in Australia and India. All had seemed well until the summons arrived.

From outside the door came a thumping of small feet, then the start of a piano étude by Chopin. Tess was up. They rose from bed and ate breakfast before entering the seminary's small temple to pray for a safe journey and positive ruling at court. Though their daughter's mentality lagged well behind her eight years, she had no difficulty joining them in a Yanashite chant. Afterward, they completed their packing and transported to the Phoenix Spaceport where T'Beth was waiting to take Tess, for Spock and T'Naisa had agreed that she would not travel with them to Vulcan.

When the moment of parting came, Tess hugged her Cancun doll tightly and said, "Bye Mommy, bye Daddy."

Spock experienced a twinge of worry as he bade his young daughter goodbye. "Tess, your sister will take good care of you and we shall return as soon as possible."

With tears in her eyes, T'Naisa dropped to one knee and fingered the long auburn waves she had lovingly brushed. "Daddy's right; we'll be back soon, I promise. Meanwhile, I want you to listen carefully to T'Beth and do exactly as she says. Understand?"

"Yes, Mommy," Tess answered with a brave smile.

At that, T'Naisa kissed her quickly, and they went their separate ways.

oooo

"Come on, honey," coaxed T'Beth, "you can do it."

Tess turned from the pool. Louis and Bethany and Rose Ellen were all at school. Little Alex was inside taking a nap. It was afternoon, and the Arizona sun beat down on her bare shoulders. Though Tess had no intention of getting into the pool, T'Beth had made her put on a swimsuit, anyway. One time last summer, Uncle Jim had tried to teach her to swim in Little Kirk Lake. It had been fun until a fish nibbled her toe and scared her. T'Beth's pool was different—clean and clear right down to the bottom, but the old fear lingered.

Tess clutched her brown-skinned doll as she studied T'Beth in a grownup swimsuit. Suddenly she blurted, "Anika had a baby and her tummy got really big. So did yours. But you're not fat anymore."

T'Beth looked surprised, then she laughed. "That's right. Did you know that babies grow in a special place…full of water? Like a pool. The baby's not afraid, though. The baby likes it. And I bet you'd like the water, too, if you tried. Just think of it like…like a great big bathtub."

When Tess thought of the pool as a bathtub, her fear eased. By the end of the week, she was swimming almost as well as Louis. Each afternoon they played together in the water. It was going to be fun living with the Pascals.

oooo

Spock and T'Naisa enjoyed a day of reunion on Mount Seleya before their court appearance at Tanzahr. Marek, the former High Master of Gol, chose to accompany them on behalf of the Yanashite Community.

Tanzahr was located in a rugged, sparsely populated region, but the judgments of its court held as much weight as those reached in large cities. The ancient chamber itself had been carved into a mountainside. Though the old torch sconces now held light fixtures, a faint scent of smoke lingered, and one could easily imagine having stepped back in time.

Together with Marek, Spock and T'Naisa settled at the defendant's table. Directly across from them, another couple sat at the table of the accuser. Sobek's mother had only recently remarried, and Spock suspected that her new bondmate was behind the belated lawsuit. T'Vera's cold dark eyes bored into him as they awaited the Elders. Like Spock, she had not brought an attorney. Vulcans seldom used legal counsel. Their hearings were simple procedures and they preferred to rely on their own logic.

A scattering of interested observers entered the room, among them a priest of Gol. Hardly surprising, since Traditionalists still blamed Yanashites for the loss of their vrekatras. In one corner, the court attendant struck a small mallet against a gong. Everyone rose as the Elders walked into the chamber and took their places at the raised seat of judgment. The customary Triune Council consisted of two elderly men and a gray-haired woman, faces stony from Surak's discipline. Privately Spock wondered if they were capable of rendering an impartial judgment in this legal dispute.

The hearing began. Today, T'Vera alone would present her case. As she rose and began to talk, her pattern of speech reminded Spock of the son she mourned. His thoughts turned with regret to young Sobek. Spock had held great hope for the youth until Sobek's interest in the Shiav waned and confusion overtook him. What might he have done differently to prevent the ultimate tragedy? A pointless exercise, for not even in retrospect were all things made clear.

"It was a matter of undue influence," T'Vera was composedly asserting, "that resulted in a mental breakdown, criminal violence, and suicide. After Sobek's father died, Spock took Sobek into his own home in order to exert still more pressure upon his young, impressionable mind. From that point on, Sobek was completely under his control. At the time, I did not realize what a terrible danger Spock and his strange beliefs posed for him. I knew only that Sobek's behavior brought shame to our clan. It was my hope that rejecting him would bring Sobek to his senses. I was in error."

T'Naisa stirred and whispered angrily in Spock's ear. "So it's all your fault! Never mind that she disowned her own son!"

But they both knew that any rebuttal would have to wait until tomorrow. For now, T'Vera completed her presentation and handed the Elders a disk of evidence to support her accusations. Spock had viewed the evidence beforehand, just as it was T'Vera's right to view his. Her disk only proved that Sobek had regularly visited Spock in California and later lived with Spock's family in Arizona. Would the judges accept her sinister reading of a perfectly innocent situation?

oooo

An old woman named Hilda lived in the cottage behind T'Beth's pool. She helped clean T'Beth's house and baked tasty coffee cakes and told strange stories called "fairy tales". As Tess listened, she held Dolly Brown tightly so her friend would not be scared like her. Dolly's big brown eyes looked worried, so Tess patted her black hair and smoothed her fancy Mexican dress.

"Tessie, you are listening, ja?" asked Hilda in her thick German accent.

Tess looked up from her doll and nodded obediently. She had heard every word about Hansel and Gretel and the old woman that lived in a cottage, just like Hilda. Only today, Tess had found crumbs near Hilda's cottage door. Could Hansel and Gretel have dropped them there?

Later, while Hilda was helping T'Beth make dinner, Tess slipped outside and peeked in the cottage windows. Everything looked quiet and still. Driven by curiosity, she sidled over to the door. It opened easily, and a sweet spicy smell engulfed her as she slipped inside. Gingerbread! Was this the gingerbread cottage in the story? Was Hilda the wicked witch who roasted children in her oven and ate them?

With a shiver Tess clutched Dolly Brown and tiptoed into the kitchen. Her eyes darted here and there. Suddenly, in the glass door of the oven, she saw a frightened girl peeking out at her. And screamed.

Whirling, she ran back into the living room and found Hilda's phone. Mommy and Daddy had taught her what to do in case of an emergency, and she did not even hesitate now.

A lady appeared on the phone screen.

"Help, help!" Tess cried. "In…in the oven. There's a girl…and Hilda's killing her!"

After the police left, Tess could tell by the look on T'Beth's face that she wasn't pleased. Fighting back tears, she stammered, "I…I didn't mean to make trouble…but I really saw her. A little girl in the oven."

T'Beth sighed. "Tessie, everyone told you. It was your own face reflected in the glass. That story of Hansel and Gretel is just a fairy tale. You had no business entering Hilda's cottage. You need to respect other people's property. Now, I want you to tell Hilda that you're sorry."

Tess did not really understand about fairy tales; all the stories Daddy told her were true, and Mommy always explained if one of hers was made up. But she told Hilda that she was sorry, anyway.

Hilda smiled sadly and patted her on the head. "Poor little ting. It's alright."

At dinner, T'Beth told her husband Aaron and the big kids about the police coming. When everyone laughed, Tess wished that she was back on the mountain with Mommy and Daddy.

oooo

Morning brought a fresh blaze of heat from the scarlet Vulcan sky. After a breakfast of tralorc and clawfruit, Spock and T'Naisa and Marek walked through the meticulously clean neighborhoods of Tanzahr and arrived at the courthouse in time for the hearing. As they took their places at the defendant's table, Spock could sense the intensity of his bondmate's fear. Turning, he looked into her soulful brown eyes and smiled slightly to encourage her. He, too, was dealing with some apprehension, but it vanished as the Elders entered the courtroom and called upon him to testify. The Shiav alone was judge. Nothing could happen apart from His will.

Rising, Spock described the early days of his association with young Sobek in California, Sobek's interest in Yanash, and the natural disaster that took the life of the boy's father. "At that point," he explained, "T'Vera disowned Sobek because of his religious beliefs. Sobek contacted me in the night, deeply distressed, and I immediately opened my home to him. From that time on, it became increasingly clear that he was rejecting the Way of Yanash. Though I counseled him in that regard, I did not apply any manner of pressure. During that period he became increasingly sullen and moody."

Spock spoke his next words with difficulty, for the subject matter was offensive to every Vulcan's sense of privacy. "You may have heard that male Yanashites are spared the worst effects of their biological cycle…"

A male judge interrupted. "That is not a scientifically established fact."

"No," Spock concurred, "It is not. To date, the Vulcan medical community has displayed no interest in examining the issue. Suffice it to say that Sobek was no longer a Yanashite, and at sixteen years of age, his first Time was clearly approaching. It was not safe to leave him on Earth with my wife and children while I traveled off-world. I gently explained to Sobek that I would take him to Vulcan with me and attempt to reunite him with his mother and his betrothed. Though he seemed somewhat disturbed by the idea, I detected no sign of potential violence."

The same judge addressed Spock again. "You have characterized Sobek as 'sullen and moody'. Might it be that he was already entering his first cycle? I must ask you: were your wife or daughter…sexually violated?"

Spock's stomach went leaden, and for an instant he was back at the bloody murder scene. It was almost better there, than thinking of the autopsy table where the pathologist had conducted his indifferent examinations.

He focused his mind and cleared his throat. "They were not violated in that manner. As for Sobek, his autopsy revealed a normal hormonal balance. It is my belief that I was the true target of Sobek's rage. He knew I was too strong for him, so he murdered my wife and my daughter instead. He destroyed that which was dearer to me than my own life."

In conclusion, he presented a disk of affidavits—testimony from his Arizona landlord and neighbor, from his daughter T'Beth and her husband Aaron, from his sons Simon and James, and from a schoolmate in whom Sobek had confided.

The court then adjourned in order to review the evidence and reach a verdict. Outside the chamber, Marek discreetly walked on ahead, leaving Spock and T'Naisa their privacy. They were strolling side by side when T'Naisa's eyes welled with tears.

"Spock…" Her voice shook. "If they find you guilty…"

Spock repeated what they both knew of Vulcan law. "If I am found guilty of coercion, the court will order monetary compensation and some form of rehabilitation."

"Here on Vulcan. For months on end."

Spock stopped and turned to her. "For your sake, may it not be so. But perhaps, after all, I deserve it."

T'Naisa's face flushed with emotion. "Don't say that! You tried your best to help that boy, and look what it got you."

"Three lives were lost," he reminded her.

"Through no fault of yours. No court-ordered penalty will bring any of them back. If it would, I'd step aside. I'd give you back to Lauren, no matter what it cost me."

Looking upon her fondly, Spock asked, "What makes you think I would choose Lauren over you?"

But he was thankful to be spared such a decision.

oooo

All the others had gone inside, and Tess lingered alone in the backyard. T'Beth didn't mind. The security field around the pool was in place, and the door to Hilda's cottage was locked.

A rustling sound made Tess looked upward. A palm tree swayed ever so slightly in the hot afternoon breeze. Its trunk was slender and very tall. Birds pecked at the dates clustered beneath its fronds.

Tess like dates. Gazing upward, she began to wonder what it would be like to climb up with the birds and have her pick of the sweet fruit. High up there, could she see her beloved mountain? Could she see as far away as home?

She sat Dolly Brown in a chair where the doll could watch. "Be good now," she warned her.

Then she walked over to the palm tree and began to shimmy up. Her shorts offered little protection against the rough trunk. Green blood began to seep from scratches on her legs, but she kept her eyes on the dates and kept climbing. Mommy liked to call her "Vulcan strong", and now Tess proved it. Before long, she reached her goal. The birds fluttered away and she had the dates all to herself. Holding tight to the palm trunk, she ate several as she gazed out at the view. She could see lots of roofs and some mountains in the distance, but none of them seemed like her mountain.

Then she looked down.

A spasm of fear gripped her. Suddenly dizzy, she clung to the bark while her heart pounded. She couldn't think, she couldn't move, and now her muscles were beginning to ache.

Down below, a door banged. T'Beth called out, "Tess! Tess, where are you?" Bethany and Rose Ellen began calling, too. Tess knew she was in trouble, so she kept quiet.

T'Beth found Dolly Brown on the chair. They all went back in the house, but before long they were outside again, peering anxiously into the pool.

Bethany's face turned upward and her mouth fell open. "Look, Mom!" she cried, pointing. "There she is!"

To Tess, Bethany seemed very small down in the yard. Rose Ellen and T'Beth were just as little.

Loudly T'Beth said, "Oh my God! Tessie, get down here—get down here this instant!"

When Tess started to cry, T'Beth changed her mind. Holding up a hand, T'Beth shouted, "No! Stay right there! Don't move an inch! I'm calling for help!"

In a matter of minutes, the police came and a transporter beam moved Tess safely to the ground.

After the emergency team left, T'Beth held Tess by the shoulders and gave her a little shake. "What were you thinking? You could have fallen and broken your neck! Didn't you hear me calling? I was right here, under you! Why didn't you answer?"

There were too many questions, too fast, and T'Beth's anger made Tess freeze up inside. She had not meant to make more trouble; she had only wanted to eat dates and look into the distance. Hanging her head, she whimpered, "I…I was afraid…afraid you'd be mad at me."

But now T'Beth was mad, anyway. She scolded Tess long and hard before tending to her scratches. And that night, when Tess nestled into the cool bed sheets, she hugged Dolly Brown harder than usual.

oooo

Spock and T'Naisa parted from Marek after a restaurant dinner, and returned to their hotel room. After three idle days awaiting the Elders' verdict, T'Naisa was growing restless. Standing with a hairbrush in her hand, she said, "I wonder how Tessie's doing. She's never been away from home this long, not without us. Maybe we should have brought her…"

"Back on Earth, we discussed this at great length," Spock pointed out. "Under the circumstances, she is better off in Arizona. I'm sure she is getting along fine with T'Beth's family."

T'Naisa's brow furrowed with concern. Spock had four living children, but Tess was her one and only child, and therefore especially precious. Crossing the room, he gently drew her close. She felt small and fragile in his arms, like an ethereal dream figure. But she was indeed real and it pleased Spock that she belonged to him.

"Have I ever told you," he said, "that you are an excellent mother?"

She smiled at his small jest, then laughed outright, for he had told her so many times.

oooo

Tess had pointed Vulcan ears that were very sensitive. This morning she had overheard T'Beth and Aaron talking about all the problems she was causing them. Now, in the basement with Louis, she watched Aaron's train circle the track and rise into the snow-capped mountains where tiny horses grazed on a model of Jim Kirk's ranch. Not far away, there was a model of Plum Creek, including the little cabin where Daddy's piano was waiting to be played. Maybe Mommy and Daddy were already there. Maybe they had forgotten to come and get her.

As her gaze followed the train, an idea began to form. The little engine moved fast. It took only a minute to reach the mountains. If she could find a real train, a big one that carried people, it would be only a short ride home. T'Beth and Aaron would be happy to see her go.

Late that very night, she woke Dolly Brown from a dream, and together they left the house.

oooo

T'Beth was sound asleep when the door chime roused her. The chronometer on the nightstand read 2:39, and Aaron already had his robe on. Dragging herself from bed, she donned her own robe and followed him to the front door. There on the porch stood a female police officer and one auburn-haired girl gripping a doll.

"Tess!" The name burst from T'Beth in a rush of anger.

The policewoman said, "A hover patrol found her downtown looking for a train. We thought that we'd just bring her by and save you another call."

After the officer left, T'Beth took Tess into the study and chided her while Aaron looked on. "Tessie, what am I going to do with you? Sneaking out of the house, wandering around town in the middle of the night—"

"Of course," Aaron interjected wryly, "your sister T'Beth would never have done such a wicked thing…"

T'Beth glowered at him. She did not appreciate being reminded of the far less innocent wanderings of her own youth. Those days were long past. She had thought that caring for her sister would be easy. Instead, it was proving to be one disaster after another. Tessie's little mind might be slow, but it was certainly inventive. What if she had fallen from the palm tree…or if someone had grabbed her off the street tonight?

"I didn't mean that Tess was wicked," she insisted.

Aaron bent down and looked Tess in the eyes. Gently he said, "You were looking for a train?"

Two big tears spilled down her cheeks. "The big one…the one that goes to the mountains…the one that can take me home because you don't want me."

T'Beth's anger melted away. "We don't want you? What made you think we don't want you?" But she knew the reason why and experienced a twinge of guilt. "Tessie, your parents aren't home yet…and…and there are no big trains anymore…not ones that work. Just museum pieces and toy trains, like Aaron's."

Tess began to sob as if her heart was breaking. "I…I didn't know…I didn't mean to be bad…"

"Oh, Tessie…" T'Beth put her arms around her. "You're not bad…but you can't just take off down the street, all alone. It's not safe."

"But I wasn't alone," Tess insisted.

"Of course, Dolly was with you…but Tess…"

The child drew back and wiped at her tears. "No, I don't mean Dolly Brown. I mean him."

Him? Alarmed, T'Beth shot Aaron a glance.

Then Tess said, "My guardian angel."

T'Beth felt every muscle in her body relax. If ever a child needed an angel, it was Tessie.

oooo

They were eating breakfast when the hearing summons appeared on Spock's padd. T'Naisa assumed a bright, optimistic mood that lasted until they arrived at the courtroom. They took their places and her hand tightly gripped Spock's as they awaited the Elders' ruling.

The gong rang out. The Triune Council entered the chamber, their faces unreadable, and seated themselves at the judgment bench. Spock and T'Vera were instructed to remain standing, then the central judge brought his hand, palm-down, on the polished wood surface.

"The decision of the Elders is unanimous," he declared. "In the case of T'al R'oh Sobek, we find no evidence of coercion by S'chn T'gai Spock. To the contrary, Sobek seemed as free as the other members of Spock's family to pursue his own religious beliefs. Spock's wife and all but one of his children were Christian; clearly they felt no pressure to follow the Way of Yanash. One can only theorize a reason for Sobek's mental distress, but his condition was most certainly exacerbated by his father's sudden death and T'Vera's subsequent rejection. There may have been a very different outcome had his family on Vulcan remained open to his return."

A favorable ruling, but there was no chance for Spock to savor his relief. Upon hearing the court's decision, T'Vera looked upon him with dark, scathing eyes. "The Elders have spoken and I must accept it. Perhaps your Yanashite God has leveled his own judgment upon you. Is it not true that you sired a halfwit daughter?"

Before Spock could respond, T'Naisa literally leaped to the defense of her husband and child. Rising at Spock's side, she confronted T'Vera and cried, "How dare you!"

Gently Spock took her hands and turned her toward him. Searching the wounded depths of her eyes, he said, "T'Naisa, it is over. Let it end here and now."

Though angry tears threatened, she struggled bravely and contained them. The Traditionalists would have but one outburst to scandalize them.

Now that the hearing was over, Spock and T'Naisa packed their luggage, boarded a shuttle, and headed for an overnight visit with his aunt and uncle in Tareel. Though T'Naisa had shaken off the worst of her outrage, she could occasionally be heard to mutter, "Halfwit…a judgment…from God…our own little Tessie. Why, she has more love in her little finger than…" And of course there was the matter of Sarek and his wife Perrin, who had predictably declined their invitation to join the family gathering. "Not that they would ever think of coming. Oh, no. Not with a bunch of Yanashites…"

"Your mother is coming," Spock mildly reminded her.

T'Naisa brightened. "Yes. Amazing but true. I'm not sure if she's ever forgiven you for breaking into her house and abducting me."

"I was merely taking a criminal into custody."

She cast him a coy look. "I was a bad girl back then, wasn't I? But you straightened me out."

"Not I," he said, "but the Shiav."

"True."

Upon arriving in Tareel, they visited a shop. T'Naisa's mood further improved as she bought a flowering plant for T'Prinka, a small gift for her mother, and a bottle of Vulcan liquor. "We'll have a celebration," she decided. "We'll all drink a little shayo and toast the future."

Sparn drove out and picked them up. High overhead, silver birds wheeled in the thermal updrafts. It was the height of Belaar, and Spock's years on Earth had left him less tolerant of Vulcan's heat. He was glad when they went indoors, where it was cooler.

T'Naisa's mother arrived, and T'Gara's stiff manner made the hours pass more slowly. Spock's thoughts turned more and more to Tess. He missed her simple affectionate ways and would be glad when they boarded the starliner bound for home.

In the quiet of evening they all sat down to dinner. Though the shayo had been T'Naisa's idea, Spock opened the bottle at her request and poured a little of the fruit brandy into five glasses.

With sparkling eyes, T'Naisa lifted her shayo and said, "To the future…free of worries, full of hope."

"May it be so," Spock replied, lips curving in a subdued smile.

After touching their glasses together like humans, even T'Gara drank.

oooo

In her excitement, Tess hopped up and down near T'Beth's seat, oblivious to the curious glances from other people at the Phoenix spaceport. "Where are they?" she asked again and again. "Where are they? I don't see them!"

Her homesickness had sharpened once she knew that her parents were on the starliner, heading back to Earth. This morning she could not even eat her breakfast, though she dearly loved Hilda's cranberry-orange muffins. T'Beth had tucked a few of them in her suitcase for later.

A new announcement burst over the loudspeaker. "Shuttle eight-three now debarking on concourse seven."

What did it mean? "Is it them?" she asked her big sister.

Nodding, T'Beth rose and gripped her hand tightly. Travelers were streaming out of a big hallway. Suddenly Tess saw her parents. Forgetting her promise to stay with T'Beth, she broke free and ran into Mommy's welcoming embrace. Tess kissed her over and over again, and then it was Daddy's turn. Under the shelter of his arm, she snuggled close.

"Well," Mommy asked T'Beth, "how was she?"

Tess held her breath while T'Beth picked Dolly Brown off the floor where she had dropped.

T'Beth came up with crooked smile and said, "Oh, she's one of a kind. A sweet, special little girl."

"That she is," beamed Mommy. "No problems, then?"

"Nothing to speak of," T'Beth replied, much to Tessie's relief.

Then at last it was time to go home.

oooOOooo