A/N Thank you to Robin for your review! It's always lovely getting reviews! Hope you enjoy this next chapter! LLAP!
Jon got into the driver's side of the flitter and then opened the auto doors on both sides for Sabrina and Strom behind him. He was starting the engines as they got in and put on their safety buckles.
Sabrina watched Strom for a moment as he strapped up. She had seen plenty of vulcans in her time, but he had an unusual look about him. It was something she couldn't put her finger on, just yet.
"Is something wrong?" Strom asked noticing Sabrina was staring at him.
She blinked, "No, nothing, sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment." she replied, giving an apologetic smile.
Strom watched her look away, and considered her for a moment as they took off. Once they lifted off he turned to look at the city. It was interesting, far different than Vulcan, and even though they were in a cityscape, there was a lot more green around them than he'd ever seen.
The flitter shook with a moments' turbulence and lightning flashed across the windshield of the flitter. It tipped toward Strom's side and for a moment Strom couldn't see anything but choppy water beneath them. He couldn't help himself, he gasped. Instantly, he felt a warm hand on his, "It's ok." Sabrina, "It's just a mild storm." she assured him in a voice she often used on distressed patients.
Strom did voice an objection, he felt suddenly calm, but the calm wasn't his. He realized the warmth on his hand was hers, and the tingling calm was also hers. He looked from her hand, joined on his, to her face as more lighting struck around them. She smiled at him, and her hazel eyes radiated peace. "Is this your first thunderstorm?" she asked keeping his attention on her as their small craft tossed a bit.
"Yes." he said thinly, "Where I come from, lightening such as this is very deadly."
"It can be here too, but not often, and not now." Her voice was soft and even, her hand gently stroking his, "San Francisco has pop up storms like this…."
Strom knew she was speaking but the gentle stroke of the back of his hand stole his attention from her words. Oddly though, he could feel that her thoughts and words were in synch, without duplicity or any guile. She was genuinely concerned about his well-being, and moreover, preserving his dignity. He blinked slowly and the jaring way the flitterlanded moved Sabrina and her hand from his. He glanced at her and she smiled, "Jon needs parking lessons," she laughed and reached behind her to get the over large umbrella, "We always come prepared, in San Fran. It's not as bad as when I was working in Seattle, mind you, but it still happens frequently enough it's good to have on hand. Stay still a moment and I'll come around with the umbrella."
Jon pulled out his own umbrella, looking back as Strom, "Ummmm, sorry for the ummmm, bumpy ride….Ummmm, the wind was ummmm giving me fits." Jon saw Sabrina standing outside the flitter with the umbrella opened so he popped the door.
Strom slid out of the seat and under the umbrella with Sabrina. He was thankful for the small bit of material above them, as all around them was drenched. Rain was a rare thing on vulcan, and in his sixty-five years on his home planet he had never once experienced the phenomenon. His eyebrows furrowed and he stuck his hand out, to see what it felt like. The drops were large and cold, very cold, against his cool skin, "Fascinating." he said softly.
"Umm, Dr. Strom, are you ready, ummmm, to go?"
He let his hand fall to his side and nodded.
"We are going to a restaurant called Nourish." Sabrina as motioning for him to walk, "It's what is called a vegan restaurant, where even the cheese is made strictly from plant matter. No animal products. Jon and I decided that this might be the safest first day meal option."
Jon opened the door for them and Strom went through as his nurse closed the umbrella leaning it against the corner to dry. She took Jon's, doing the same thing for him so he could go in and tell the hostess their party had arrived.
"Ummm, party of three, under ummm, the name Howard." He said stepping around Strom who was standing stiffly rubbing his right hand over the top of his left, where only moments ago Sabrina had been touching him, as he looked at his surroundings absently. He knew he should have corrected her, stopped her from touching him, and he was trying to sort in his mind why he had not. Part of him, he thought, was in shock that a human could be so...peaceful. He had always assumed their minds would be a tumult with unchecked emotion. The other thing that occurred to him was that he could actually FEEL her calm through his skin. He could feel her desire to protect his dignity, and he knew those things from her touch.
Strom knew he was not a genetic anomaly, he was not like Yuris whose genetics said he could meld, Yet, at the gentle touch of a human he could feel the outskirts of her mind, like he had when touching his former bondmate, before she rejected him for a man with a greater family. He blinked. What did this mean? There were so many questions.
"Right this way," she said grabbing three menus and tableware.
Strom looked over his shoulder and saw Sabrina just coming in. He turned to follow Jon who was following the hostess to a booth table. Jon slid in first, and Strom slid in on the opposite side. Sabrina paused, 'Do you mind me sitting with you, Dr. Strom? I can help with the menu, but if it is a breach of protocol, I will sit next to Jon."
"It is acceptable." Strom said opening the menu. He knew very little about human cuisine or human vegetables, but he was thankful and impressed that his new nurses put this much thought into his care, already.
The waitress approached them, "What can I get you to drink?"
"Hot tea," Sabrina replied.
"Ummm coffee please."
'Hot tea, mint of you have it." Strom said, hopeful.
""I'll be right back out with your drinks."
Strom looked over the menu, and determined he would try everything eventually. He was lost though, on what was what, so he put his menu aside, "What do you recommend?" he asked Sabrina.
"Hm," she sighed, "I am thinking the vegan lox and bagel. It's made with smoked carrots, cashew cream cheese, capers, and an everything bagel. Very good." She said putting her own menu aside.
"I will try what you are having." Strom said and then looked at Jon.
"I-I am, ummmm, going to have the...ummm veggie lasagna."
"Are you both non-meat eaters?" Strom asked casting a glance between the both of them. From their scents he would guess that answer to be yes, because their scents were different than the Starfleet captain, and in passing a couple other humans.
"Ummm, yeah, ummmmm, M-My mother and her mother didn't believe i-in h-harming animals. Ummm so we never had meat growing up." Jon answered first.
"I will eat some dairy, but basically I'm not a meat eater either." she shrugged, "Though, mine comes from a surgical internship in a cardiac lab. Seeing what so much fat can do to the inner workings of you circulatory system kind of changed my mind."
"Both of you have logical reasoning." Strom said with a curt nod. He found it admirable that they went against the norms of their society for the betterment of themselves and others. "On Vulcan we see the act of eating flesh as barbaric. A trait from our primitive, war-like days."
The waitress brought their beverages and took their order. Strom got a duplicate of what Sabrina ordered and Jon seemed to panic at the last moment and ordered the same, rather than the lasagna he said he would have.
Sabrina nodded to Jon, who then sat a little straighter, "Ummm, so you-you have questions, ummm, about our ummmm society?"
Strom sipped his mint tea, his head cocking slightly. It was not the mint of vulcan, but it was more fresh, clean, and pleasant on his tongue. It was most unexpected. Taking another sip he looked at Jon, "Many. I have not been off vulcan, except to go to medical conferences, which were cloistered in one location. Since part of my personal assignment is to integrate into your culture and experience Earth, I require guidance."
Jon and Sabrina both pulled out a small pad, common for nurses when they needed to take notes on patients.
Strom raised his eyebrows, "Most efficient."
"You keep saying things like that, like you weren't expecting much from us." Sabrina noted with a small demure smile.
"I was not, as you say, expecting much, Nurse Howard. My colleagues described a grim picture of what I was to expect on Earth." Strom said directly.
"Ummmm we W-we haven't looted and p-pillaged for a long time." Jon said with a grin, "A-and ummm no sword f-fights in h-hours."
Strom looked at him, his eyebrows furrowed, "Humor?" he extrapolated.
"Yes, Dr. Strom, humor." Sabrina said softly, "He's trying to say, in a way that shows there is no offense taken, that we aren't barbarians. Whatever you colleagues think of humanity, we ask you respectfully to keep an open mind."
Strom frowned slightly. An open mind is exactly what he had been told he did not have. "Very well," he said with some reluctance, "I will endeavor to formulate my own opinions based on experiences with you."
"We can't ask for more than that." Sabrina said looking at Jon who nodded.
"W-we a-are ummmm doing the s-same for you." Jon said, to Sabrina's surprise.
Strom's lips pursed, "Explain."
Jon looked at Sabrina, who said, "Go on, Jon, honesty is what Dr. Strom has given us, he deserves the same. It's the only way we will build a good team."
Jon nodded, "Ummm, your file." he said obviously stealing himself up to say what he needed to say, "D-describes you as officious, n-narrow minded, and x-x-xenophobic."
Strom sat back, blinking, "What does the word...officious mean?" He had a good working knowledge of the human language, but that word escaped him.
"It means, that you assert your authority in a domineering, and at times petty way." Sabrina said neutrally.
"This file was generated on, Vulcan?" Strom asked, glancing between the two of them.
"It was," Sabrina said softly.
He nodded. "Not an undeserved or unfair description."
That shocked both of his companions. They both expected him to refute the file. Just then the waitress brought their food, it was a welcome break from the sudden tension Jon and Sabrina felt.
"Your honesty is appreciated." Strom said before looking at the strange looking food before him. He picked up his tableware and cut into the first piece. He had never eaten non-vulcan foods before, this was a first, and it probably proved to a small extent some of the description given in his file. Carefully forking a piece with all the ingredients he placed it in his mouth. There were many layers to the flavor and texture, smokey, creamy, crunchy, and a very pleasurable experience on his pallet. It was surprising. His nurses were surprising. The rain was surprising. Sabrina's hand on his, was pleasant and surprising. With that thought he looked at her as he chewed, her scent was...alluring, and he had been told humans, especially human females had a strong unpleasant scent. A scent that he would require a nasal numbing agent to deal with. He wondered if the female who told him this had been very sensitive. Yet, a vulcan ,who he knew ,who attempted to be on a spaceship with humans only lasted ten days, siting scent as being one of the factors of his leaving. He looked away at that thought, suppressing it all. He would have to contact the others to investigate further.
"Ummm, do you like it?"
"It is all very agreeable." he said after he swallowed.
"So, tell us, what questions do you have, and what kind of experiences can we expose you to?" Sabrina said moving her pad to her.
"On vulcan we eat in silence, is it common for humans to talk while you eat?"
"It is, but we can forgo that so you can focus on your food. We have all day." Sabrina replied pushing her pad away again.
Strom nodded his thanks and returned to his plate.
They had eaten in silence, Jon and Sabrina both enjoying a little quiet. When the check was brought, Jon paid. "Ummm, w-why don't we c-continue this at your apartment. T-that way if there is something y-you need, Ummm Sabrina and I can get it before w-we go home."
"That sounds efficient." Strom replied sliding out of the booth behind Sabrina.
"On the bright side, it seems that the rain has stopped."
When they stepped out of the restaurant Sabrina smiled brightly, placing her hand in the middle of Strom's back she guided him to look upward. "Ever see a rainbow?"
Strom tensed slightly at the warmth of her hand on the small of his back but said nothing. He looked upward and was fascinated. "The bend of light through moisture. This is not a phenomena I have witnessed."
Strom looked to Sabrina, who was enraptured by the large bright rainbow in the sky. Her hand had fallen away from his back, but he still felt the warmth. She looked at him, "It's beautiful." He nodded, "Very aesthetically pleasing." He said softly and then cleared his throat, "Nurse Howard, you must stop touching me. It is undignified and inappropriate for a female to touch an unbonded male."
Sabrina flushed, "I am...so sorry, Dr. Strom."
"Your race is tactile. I have noted over 100 times humans touch in the short tour you gave me. It is understandable, but inappropriate." He said firmly, more firmly than he meant.
"It won't happen again, Dr. Strom." She was mildly mortified.
He nodded and turned his attention to the flitter. It had to be said, now, before his vulcan instincts began to haunt him. No female had an understanding of the single mindedness of a vulcan male's instincts when it came to procuring and keeping a mate. She was fortunate they weren't on vulcan, a mistake like that might have caused her great discomfort, had it been another, lesser, male. That thought, displeased him greatly, and his jaw flexed.
By the time they arrived at his apartment, Strom found he needed to meditate more than he required information. It was a good day, but a mentally taxing one. His apartment was as large as his home back on Vulcan. It was comfortable, stylish, soft, and warm. His food fresher unit held assortments of vulcan produce, and all things being equal he found there was nothing he required.
He turned to his two nurses, "I require meditation now. You will meet me here, tomorrow at 0600. We will have first meal together, do the questions and answers, and plan the month of duty and off duty activity."
Sabrina and Jon could both tell this wasn't up for question or debate. Strom even looked mildly weary behind the mask of passiveness.
"Umm, yes Sir." Jon said
"See you in the morning, Dr. Strom." Sabrina replied and she and Jon began to leave.
"Thank you both for today, it was less troublesome than anticipated." Strom added before turning his back. He needed to light some candles and meditate. There were many challenges ahead which would require his focus.