Note: I do not own Star Trek Enterprise or it's characters.

Name Note: T'Rai is pronounced T'Rye not T'Ray

The Days of a Vulcan Girl

My name is Elizabeth T'Rai Tucker and I am not your normal run of the mill girls at my school, Starfleet Preparatory School. The school that children of officers go to, the Harvard of secondary schools, it prepared the best of the best for Starfleet.

For one, my parents are different species; my mother is Vulcan and my father human. I am the only Vulcan at my school, as my sister attends primary school at the Vulcan Compound as I did before her.

People stare when I had my hair up the first few days although it stays down now; a few of the immature boys pulled my ears, which can cause serious pain. Mother was insistent I stay even when I begged, for the first time in my life, to continue my education at the Compound. She said if I wanted my dream of being a Starfleet engineer like my father before me, I had to stay.

I stayed, coming home at times crying to my father. He doesn't mind me doing so and told me it was normal for a human to cry but I also had to contain my emotions, or at least try because I was Vulcan too.

I asked him if he'd ever seen Mother cry and he said she cried the day I was born and the day T'Kara was born, he said it was allowable. I finally realized that day, as we sat in the living room talking about crying that I was stronger than those around me and not just physically but emotionally.

That day was two years ago, I had been in my first year studied and now I was in my third year studies. I had no friends, except for my 'cousin' Isabelle who was Jonathan Archer's daughter. She and her brother, Henry, began the year after me, they were twins so both were attached at the hip…till Isabelle and I became attached.

I know now, as we go to Physics class, that I, Elizabeth T'Rai Tucker am just like any other kid at the school, I just have a few Vulcan genes.

We had just finished class when some 'bully' as my father calls kids who terrorizes you, pushed against me and I fell. One would think my Vulcan strength would prevent that but it's only one way and it has to come from me.

The bully laughed and moved on, I stooped to pick up my books but he was there, a nice boy, holding my books out for me.

"You're T'Rai Tucker right?" He looked at me as I accepted my books, which were just a stack of padds. "I heard about you, all bad though."

"Why do you not run or make fun of me?"

He chuckled and looked at me, "my father worked on Vulcan and I went to school with Vulcans. Hard school to say the least, so do you mind if I hang around you till I get the hang of things?"

He was nice and I liked that he was honest; I nodded and held out my hand. "Elizabeth T'Rai Tucker, I go by my Vulcan name…Dad's insistence."

"But your father is human right?" He shook her hand and let it go.

"Yes, but he wants me to have every bit of Vulcan culture I can while Mother wants me to have human culture. They have unique view, the opposite you could say but they love each other which is enough for me."

"Oh sorry, James Tyler…my father is Ambassador Tyler, well not anymore…retirement."

"Rai." I turned to find Isabelle, "you will not believe what just saw walking past Cultural Studies…your mother is here to volunteer for a class.

"I have her next, Rai what do I do? I mean Aunt T'Pol is great when you're just hanging around the house but I remember attending her lecture at Starfleet for sit in…I had never seen that side of her."

"Mother means to teach, do not cross her and act like you do not know her and you will be fine." I smiled and looked at Isabelle; I knew James would relieve her worries. "This is James Tyler, he just moved from Vulcan where his father was the former Ambassador. He wants to accompany us for a few days and get in the routine."

James looked at me, "you speak like a Vulcan but act like a human, your parents gave you some strange genes…no offense."

"None taken, I get my intelligence and vocabulary from my mother. My father gave me his wit, charm as well the eyes and hair."

I sighed for a moment remembering how people laughed that I was a pixie but what no one knew that I was my father's little 'elf', my sister was called 'fairy'. It helped us adjust to our looks when we were little.

I got the looks from my father, well except the ears and everything else from my mother. Blond hair and blue eyes, the famous Tucker eyes, which seem to be dominate when they should be recessive.

"What do you have next James? Rai and I have her mother…God help us." I watched as Isabelle began to 'dig her claws' into James as my father would say.

"Cultural Studies with," he was scrolling down his padd, "Grayson."

I laughed a trait I inherited from my father, "you have my mother as well, but if you answer any questions she asks about Vulcan…you'll do great. I have to be silent or I'll get teased, Isabelle…she finds my mother's teaching a bit archaic."

"She reminds me of Soval, not your father hasn't changed her…for the better. I swear seem like they could eye each other all day, gross." She stuck her tongue out, "I mean she's so young," I laughed, if only she knew how only my mother was. "What was that about, well so on, your father is fifty-five."

"Forty-five and you should know Vulcans live to be two hundred, you don't have a clue how old my mother is."

James looked up at the sound of a bell, "we should go, I want to see what Isabelle means by your mother."

"It's Belle, Rai calls all her friends by their names…no nicknames, her father's rule. Not that she has many friends, you're number five. There's me and my brother and then there are the Reeds, Jocelyn and Har, no that's not his real name."

"Why 'Har' than?"

"His name is Hayes Aki Reed, he was named after an old buddy of his dad's who died in the Xindi Attack Mission. If you want the full story, you'll have to come to an Enterprise Night…long story behind those. So any ways, he goes by 'Har' since it was a nickname, has since he was two."

"Five." I interjected, "we've known him since he was born, he just began here this year. His sister Jocelyn is in second year studies."

We approached the door to the classroom my mother was in, I could smell her soap. It was a Vulcan blend which sadly I was allergic to and could not use. I often wish I could use it; it smells like flowers yet is made from a Vulcan plant root.

I enter the room and her head came up, I put a small hand up and went to the back of the room, pulling out a padd to take notes with.

James sat beside me and I looked at him, Isabelle on the other side of me. Isabelle seemed to gear for the worst which would not come, my mother rarely yelled and that had happened only twice…during mine and my sister's delivery, so my father says.

"Hello class." Everyone was silent, "I am Professor Tucker…please turn your attentions to your padds containing the History of Vulcan." I expected groans and there they were, "my husband does better than that and he still does not get his way. As for our lesson, Professor Grayson I'm sure informed you that it would be covered today."

"Yeah but they didn't say Tucker's mother would be covering it." A boy yelled out and if he had been me or my sister, my mother would have drilled him on not yelling as it is sensitive to Vulcan hearing but I expected her to ignore him. Had I been fully human, I would sink in my seat but I was Vulcan as well…I had pride; I forget pride is a human indulgence at times.

"That maybe so Cadet Mason," he looked at her in surprised, I chuckled knowing she had memorized each student's name tag. "But I wonder if you have ever heard the expression," there was more moans. "It's human, a little patience goes a long way and a little quiet goes a lot further."

I admit Mother was the best at solving problems, well expect when it came to Dad, he was an enigma to her but she adored him and always would. I knew if she could find a way to let him live as long as her, she would. She loved him, she may not say it but her slow habit of including my father at least once in all conversations was her way of saying she did.

"Now, I want to travel back to the time," she walked to the door and shut it.

Knowing my mother, she probably did something that needed complete darkness, for she turned off all the lights. Going to the stand, she played with something on it; soon we were in the Vulcan Forge. I smiled knowing she had placed Holo-admitters around the classroom; everyone was amazed at where they were.

"Can anyone tell me where we are, once I get that question answered, we will move on to another place?"

For the first time, everyone raised their hands; I was grateful for my mother as after the class, everyone will not ignore me.

Dinner that night was quite eventful, as Dad told us we'd be moving.

"We'll be moving or I will, Starfleet wants me to head the research at the Washington D.C. lab. I know it'll be a change but it has to happen."

I was quiet, T'Kara didn't speak either; Mother however seemed to look at my father with understanding.

"When do you report?"

"Next week, seeing as how you two," he looked at T'Kara and me, "are settled into school and made friend, I'll go."

Mother looked at him, "Trip…"

"No T'Pol, the kids are the most important thing, they need stability. Don't make me pull rank."

By rank he meant his role as husband, which was something he rarely did. Vulcan husbands could order their wives to do something by a single order. He rarely did it because he wanted their marriage to be equal, not dominated.

Mother was silent and nodded, I knew she felt sad, her expression gave it away. My parents rarely left each other; their marriage bond was too strong. This move would probably cause problems, Mother would fall into depression if he stayed away too long.

"I understand my husband." Mother barely spoke where Dad could hear but I knew he could. She stood and left the room, Dad looked at us.

"T'Rai, I expect you to help your mother with T'Kara."

I could only nod; T'Kara was staring at our father with a face ready to spill tears. She was only seven, she stood and went to him and Father pulled her into his lap and hugged her. "Don't go Daddy."

"I have to T'Kara, don't worry my little fairy, I'll see you on the weekends." He smiled and looked at her, "I can make that a promise."

"Daddy you can't leave, Mother will be sad."

"I have to."

"But you can't." She yelled and I could only watch as Dad pointed at her, she became quiet.

"Katherine T'Kara Tucker, do not yell. I have to go, I don't want to but I have to."

"But what about the baby?"

Dad looked at T'Kara, he must have not known as I didn't that Mother was pregnant again. I knew Mother went to Starfleet Medical after her lecture. She must have retrieved T'Kara before doing so; he could only look at T'Kara.

"What baby?"

"Mother is having another baby." T'Kara looked at him and Dad seemed to look up, I turned too and saw Mother by the doorway.

Placing T'Kara down, he walked to Mother and looked at her, placing a hand on her face. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was going to, but you spoke before I could." Mother smiled, a rarity, "you'll have a son."

He hugged her and Mother hung onto him, it seemed Dad knew he couldn't leave. Dad never abandoned us or Mother; when offered a chance to command his own ship, he denied it because we could not go with him.

He nodded and kissed her forehead, whispering into her ear. I could not hear what he said because it was so soft. Mother nodded and kissed his cheek, I knew it was something important, something they didn't want heard.

The months passed and Mother seemed to grow in size, the fact Dad turned down the job he had been offered seemed to help us all. I helped around the house in preparation for my brother's arrival; I had help from James and Isabelle.

"Come on Rai, just decide already?" The three of us stood in the extra bedroom of our house, we planned to paint it. Mother and Dad went away for two days; T'Kara and I stayed with Uncle Jon and Aunt Erika while they did.

"I have chosen a color." I handed them each an auto-painter, "Mother and Dad will be arriving home tomorrow before dinner, we have only till then to furnish this room."

"Do they have a name yet?" James looked at me as we all started painting.

"No, they are still deciding."

The project of painting was complete in five hours; we had to go shopping after that. Luckily I managed to get my father's Starfleet credit information, although I shouldn't have, with that we could get the room's furniture and my brother's toys.

Aunt Erika took us to the shopping district, she liked the fact we were trying to do something nice for Mother and Dad. Jocelyn and her brother joined us in shopping; we all found what we needed.

By the time we got done, my father's account was missing a quarter of credit. I knew he wouldn't mind once he saw the room.

The six of us, as Henry came over after the shopping, got to work placing furniture together and placing it around the room.

"I think that will about do it." James looked at us as we finished with the furniture, next came toys and decorations.

"Let's get downstairs and get those decorations painted." Isabelle grabbed me and we went downstairs, grabbing the auto-painters along the way.

Mother and Dad arrived home to find the six of us eating popcorn and watching a movie.

"T'Rai, when did you come home?" Mother looked at me and I smiled, getting up.

"We came home to do something important; T'Kara is still at Aunt Erika and Uncle Jon's. The six of us had a large project and their house isn't where we needed to do it. You can see if you want."

"I think we need to, you were supposed to be at your aunt and uncle's, not home."

We all got up and went upstairs, I went to the door of the extra bedroom and they looked at me. Mother eyed me, "that is your brother's room, you were to stay out."

"I know, I'll stay out of it from now on. Can you forgive me?" I opened the door and stepped back, Mother and Dad went in.

I heard them gasp in surprise, we all went in. "So, do you like it?" Isabelle looked at them, "we think we did a great job."

The room was pure Vulcan, one side was painted to resemble the Fire Plains, another was painted to resemble the Forge. Mount Seleya and Shi'Kahr covered the other walls; on the floor was an IDIC carpet. Around it was written it's meaning in both English and Vulcan.

"T'Rai?" I walked over and Dad looked at me, "you all did this?"

"Yes sir, we did it; we've spent the last two days here doing all this. Aunt Erika knew what we planned to do so she allowed it, checking in time to time. Uncle Malcolm and Aunt Hoshi knew too, they allowed Jocelyn and Hayes to stay and Aunt Erika arranged it so James could stay as well."

"Thank you, all of you?" My mother looked at us and we all shrugged, saying it was no big deal and that we enjoyed it.

It was a month later that my brother joined us, everyone was happy to have his arrival. However he came with a surprise.

James, Isabelle and I waited in the waiting area for the news, now days the three of us are always together. We rarely are seen without each other; school, outings, even vacation, we are always together.

When Dad came into the waiting room, he looked at us with a smile. "They arrived two minutes apart."

"They?" All three of us looked at Dad, he and Mother had come to adopt Isabelle and James into the family.

"You have a sister and a brother, Madicyn Seleya Tucker and Charles Soren Tucker."

We filed into the room where Mother was being held; in two small incubators were my new brother and sister. I gently picked up my sister, Seleya was perfect. When she opened her eyes, I was met with brown eyes.

It seemed the Tucker eyes weren't so dominate after all, as both Soren and Seleya had brown eyes. The blond hair however was dominating, as they had it too.

Seven years passed and I am nineteen, at Starfleet Academy, I am almost done. James and Isabelle found their future there; James is becoming an engineer as I am while Isabelle is doing her medical training.

Mother and Dad were right to adopt James, as we have been going steady for five years. Steady doesn't quite cut it, as tonight we announce our engagement.