Appreciate the reviews! However, as a fan of Dickens, I can utilize personal options and break some "rules", Capitols can be used for emphasis and semi colons can definitely be used in speech!

Damage Control

"Sarek, I cannot believe you were so callous! You cut poor Christine to the Quick; how DARE you treat her so?!" Amanda was on a bend, she had been yelling at her Husband for well over an hour; what annoyed her the most was the fact Sarek had said not a word in reply. She was beyond furious and was projecting so much emotion through their bond that Sarek was sorely tempted to rub his temples to relieve his headache but he dared not give her the satisfaction of knowing she was succeeding in distressing him. She stood stamping her foot and he dared not be amused at the sight.

"Are you finished yelling, my Wife?" Sarek waited to see her response- all she did was flounce and glare at him some more; it was now his turn to speak, obviously she was no longer speaking to him. "If I had not asked her those questions, do you think she would have been ready for the more difficult ones that would be asked if our Son continues on his present objective? If they want to pursue this avenue, Amanda, they must be prepared." Amanda looked askance at Him; she was definitely ready to listen

"Prepared? What do you mean?"

"Amanda, have you forgotten what it was we faced when we married? You compared it then to the Fires of Hell; would our Son and Christine face only worse? I know I have not been the most understanding of our Son; I was wrong to assume his physiology was entirely Vulcan and could conform to Vulcan teachings with no difficulty; the new scans of his physical makeup have proven otherwise- he has very unique blending's in some aspects, especially his brain functions. How were we to know that some of the solutions the Geneticists created would make Spock so unique our technology at the time could not even see the differences? Spock has encountered prejudice his entire life, based on the assumptions he will show the mixed heritage he has, I was wrong is making him choose either one or the other; he has proven himself better than Vulcan in its entirety; he is now the ideal that represents Vulcan, yet he is torn by his Heritage. He represents IDIC in his embodiment yet all judgments are based not on the blending of his Parents but the failure to be either Human or Vulcan alone. He has found acceptance on Vulcan thru his scientific abilities yet there is still the assumption that he will betray Vulcan thru lack of control."

"All Vulcans experience loss of control at some time, yet Spock is not to be allowed even that." Amanda interrupted Sarek "He is a Martyr to a cause that is impossible to achieve, even those who achieve mastery of emotions at Gol have the sin of Pride to show that, even in that goal, they have not completed mastery; I have never understood the fanaticism of that Discipline. I highly doubt Surak expected Vulcans to go as far as they have done on their control of emotions; their inability to see their extremism is what fails Vulcans ultimately- I have studied the ancient texts, as well you know, and I do know there was a period where there seemed to be a balance; allowing some emotion into their daily lives seemed to create a lack of Pon Farr whereas Modern Vulcan seems more plagued by the violence it brings than ever before. It used to be the Battles to attain mates that was the deadly issue not the mating season itself!" Amanda knew she was not going to even get Sarek to debate this aspect of hers; the taboo on Vulcan about all things to do with Biology and Reproduction was too complete; yet she remembered how detailed the Healers were about it when trying to dissuade her from marrying Sarek-in her mind highly hypocritical!

"Amanda, we are getting off topic; as I was saying, if Spock and Christine wish to pursue a relationship then they will be facing more than just the disapproval of the Clan, they will be facing the Disapproval of all Vulcan since Spock and his Children will inherit the Leadership of the Council-What Clan would want the Leadership to be headed by a Clan Head that is more Human than Vulcan? This is what they will be facing, Amanda, and if they want to be together they must be willing to stand up and fight for their rights, not just their own but their Children's rights, not just to Inherit but to be counted as Members of the Clan itself! Until Spock and Christine face the hardest Hurdle first and succeed, they will not be prepared to stand against the disapproval of the Council."

"And you, Sarek, are that Hurdle, aren't you? Spock has never stood up to you, ever, except for enlisting in Starfleet and he never once verbally defended himself even then, and you doubt he can now, don't you?" Amanda understood exactly why Sarek had been so callous now.

"Yes Amanda, if Spock cannot Defend Christine to me as his choice, he will not be able to stand against the Council or the Clan, as we did when we Bonded" Sarek was unprepared when Amanda gave him a hug

"Sarek, I love you, you know that? I am sure Spock will be able to stand up for Christine without a problem" she smiled at him. Sarek knew she would not like what he must say next

"Amanda, you cannot tell him anything I have just told you; he MUST do it for his own reasons. I forbid you to guide him in this, you must let Spock and Christine find their own way, just as we did over 40 ears ago." He touched her cheek, and felt her spirit deflate" You know you must not interfere, don't you?" Amanda sighed and nodded her assent-This will be the hardest thing I have ever done, but Sarek is right in this. Sarek hugged her back and she felt his sorrow at having to deceive Spock and Christine in this; he greatly admired Christine and to deliberately hurt her feeling was not his nature-it was what made him a good Ambassador. BUT she could guide in other ways…. Sarek raised his eyebrows; he had heard that last remark through their bond; it was time to guide her thoughts to other things….

"Spock!" Spock stepped to one side of the corridor, waiting for his Mother to catch up to him "Has Christine spoken to you yet?" Spock's shoulders drooped and she knew the answer before he could speak

"No Mother she has been avoiding me and McCoy will not release the SickBay staff shifts to me as required by regulations. He is voicing medical privilege over them at the moment."

"Don't worry, Spock, she will accept your calls once she has calmed down, right now she is hurt by your Father's words; she cannot hide away forever." Amanda gave an encouraging smile

"Mother, I seem to recall you didn't not speak to Sarek for a month once; Project Occupation is set to launch in 5 days, what am I supposed to do if she is still not speaking to me?"

"Then Spock, you must show her how much she means to you, by doing something she would never expect you to do. Us Ladies can always be romanced back to speaking, even if we are still mad. After all, we are illogical creatures, are we not?" Amanda patted Spock on the arm "However I have a lot to get done, and standing here talking to you is not going to bring it all together in time; I must be going" and off she went parting the crew members as she hurried along the corridor.

"Mother" she turned to look at Spock; raising an eyebrow he pointed down a different corridor "You need to go that way." Crew members could have sworn they heard him add sotto voice Why is it she will always insist on going the wrong way?

Christine sat at the chair opposite McCoy and gave him a glare; he was driving her nuts! If she had to listen to another one of his ramblings about emotionally stunted Vulcans she was going to beat him over the head with his Medical Diploma; she wondered if it was sealed to the wall with a field or just hung there with one of his little doodads he was so proud of, he noticed her line of vision and jumped up and grabbed it off the wall-no field then- and placed it into the desk drawer and shut and locked it.

"Look Chrissy, no reason to hide in your room tonight, I'll take you to dinner and Heaven Help any Vulcan who tries to sit at our table! You can't let what his Father say drive you away from socializing with the crew; its them damn Vulcans' fault; snobs that they are-they think no-on is good enough for them but their own frigid women!" Christine felt her eyebrows rise-had Leonard forgotten he was talking about the first Vulcan to marry outside of his Species? She shook her head and got up to head to her quarters but Leonard was not giving up and followed her right to her door; she faced off with him in front of it.

"I am not joining you and the Captain at the Senior table, I will never sit down to eat with any of them! If Spock can't stand up to his Father I can't see how we can even pursue anything outside a professional relationship, it would be impossible for him to pick me over his Father or even Vulcan duty, then I don't want to even look at any of them. I am so angry at them!" Christine flushed as she thought how cruel Sarek's words had been; he obviously thought no Human Female was good enough for his Son! He will never, ever, be content with Spock! Poor Spock has to compete with an unholy vision of a Perfect Vulcan- no wonder he fled to Star Fleet! Everything Sarek has done is a non-issue to Sarek! Does he not see his own hypocrisy? Christine felt herself flush with anger, she was so tempted to release her anger on the Ambassador but reason told her she just might burn her bridges if she did so. She was still angry at Spock for not saying a word in her defense. Typical Christmas on the Enterprise! "Leonard, do you mind leaving, please? I am not fit to be anyone's company tonight, I just might clobber anyone"

"OK Chris, point taken, just make sure you eat, and I'll see you in the morning" McCoy wisely left her to stew and hoped she would at least be amenable to eating in the Mess in the next few days, especially with Christmas around the corner, he sure didn't want her to miss out of the Secret Santa celebration; it was one of the redeeming activities for the last few years that made Christmas away from home at least bearable. As she opened her door he leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek, "See ya in the mornin' Darlin'" She just rolled her eyes at him; he knew he was getting nowhere.

Joining the Senior table he was surprised by the absence of the Vulcan party, turning to Kirk he raised his eyebrow in an unspoken question; Jim looked first at Spock, then at the rest of the table before replying.

"Don't ask me where they all are, I have a feeling Sarek is up the creek without a paddle and his entourage is very aware of it and aren't showing their faces because they're afraid they might be next!" he grinned "I'd love to be a fly on the wall in the Ambassador's quarters!" Spock looked slightly startled at Jim's answer

"Captain, believe me, you do not want to be there. My parents are quite well known for their 'debates' and I highly doubt you will see any member of their entourage until my Mother has finished with Sarek; I was witness to many of them as a child- it is NOT enjoyable as you seem to think it is" Spock looked about to continue when his eyebrows rose and Jim and Bones looked in the direction his eyes seemed frozen to; the Ambassador and his wife were entering the Mess, looking as if there had been no upset just the evening before and the fact that the Ambassador had been conspicuously missing for the whole day, while the Lady Amanda had been seen all over the ship, was absolutely a normal occurrence. Amanda looked entirely too happy and all three Command Officers looked at each other, Something is definitely up! they all thought, wondering what was going to happen next. Sarek handed his wife into a chair and she looked around the table and smiled.

"Good Evening, and how has everyone's day been?" Immediately all eyes of the Command Crew were on her, she had definitely startled them; as they all looked from one to the other it was obvious none had a coherent word to say. She took pity on them "Spock, I want you to know that I have been working on that issue you contacted me about and I feel we are coming close to finishing it. Could you join me after Dinner and let me show you the progress? I am sure you will find it quite satisfactory" Spock nodded his acquiescence; the members of the Command Crew looked at him curiously; after the party finished their meals, observing Vulcan silence at the meal as per tradition, Jim decided to break the silence before anyone commented on Sarek's folly at the Orchestra reception.

"Ambassador, when are we going to rendezvous for the Occupation Conference? I have not received final data from Star Fleet as of yet?" Sarek raised an eyebrow

"That information shall be divulged at the proper moment, Captain. I have observed that the crew seems to be making ready for your Christmas Observance, a highly illogical celebration if you ask me" Sarek looked at his wife with a glance that spoke of a long standing debate on the subject; before it could be commenced, Scotty stood and excused himself, followed by Uhura, Chekov and Sulu in rapid succession. Spock then stood and assisting his Mother, left the room with her. Kirk looked at Sarek as Sarek looked at the Captain "Did I say something remiss, Jim?"