Standard Disclaimer, you know: I don't own Star Trek, don't make any $, & all that.

Thanks to Trekkergurl, my Beta.

I originally wrote this chapter and the next as one but it was running way too long so I broke it two parts. This is the shorter of the two. Enjoy!

Chapter 21 – A Little Family Power Struggle

OoO

Jim was exhausted when he entered their apartment. He had just finished Professor Skur's final in Spatial Battle Tactics. Several times during the term he had reminded himself that Pike had recommended that he wait until he was closer to the end of his studies to take this class; preferably his last semester. It had always been one of the most difficult classes in the Command Tract, for a good reason: as his good friend McCoy had told him, space was full of death, disease wrapped in silence and darkness. As a leader it was your responsibility to keep your crew as safe as possible.

What Jim did not know was that Skur had taken it as a personal affront that a cadet in only his second semester had dared to take his class. And, since Jim had actually dared to excel in the class, he made it a personal project to make Jim's final as difficult as possible.

The simulation had been a battle against three groups of three individual fighter ships and one large mother ship. That in itself had been unusual raising the level of difficulty. The only race the Federation had contact with that fought that way were the Aaaquak, a hive minded insectoid species. To add to the stress he was only allowed to choose four fellow students to be assistants, none of whom could be in the command tract. Other ship members would be filled in by computer. Jim chose Pavel Chekov as his Astrogations Expert, as well as general genius in residence; Hikaru Sulu as the Pilot and Weapons Expert; Montgomery Scott as the One and Only Engineer and Nyota Uhura as Communications Expert. They were a great team and the test had gone as well as could be expected. He got them out of it by the skin of his teeth, but with damage to the ship and loss of twenty seven out of the 420 crew members.

That part of the test had been challenging and exhilarating. The killer part came afterward during the three hour debrief with Professor Skur, joined by Admirals Barnett, Chandra, Lui and Nogura as the panel. They required him to give a detailed explanation of every decision he made during the battle. By the time he left, he was feeling like his brain had been pulled out through his ears, liquefied and poured back in. If anyone had asked him a question, even his name, he would have been unable to formulate an answer.

He trudged like a zombie into the bedroom where he collapsed halfway onto the bed and fell instantly asleep. Therefore, he was unaware of the two figures who had been quietly talking in the living room when he entered that had quickly followed him into the bedroom to ensure he was alright. One of them was his mate, the other was his mother.

Spock performed a light meld and determined that Jim was merely asleep. He turned to Winona to share what he had gleaned from the meld, "James is sleeping. His mind required immediate rest and he will awaken in 3.357 hours. I will make him more comfortable and we can continue our conversation."

While he was talking he began removing Jim's boots and rearranging his almost boneless body fully onto the bed and put a pillow under his head. Winona was pleased to be able to pick up on Spock's devotion to Jim as he positioned her son so that when he woke he would not have the stiff neck he would surely have gotten if he had remained in the position he was in. When he finished, Spock ran his fingers lightly over Jim's psi points, causing Jim to sigh and relax into a natural position. Spock then covered him with the light blanket that was there for just that purpose.

OoO

When Jim woke up he vaguely remembered Spock minimally undressing and putting covers over him. As he stretched, Jim realized that he felt like a person again, so he changed into a pair of jeans, a plain white t-shirt and a pair of slippers. Then he shuffled out of the bedroom into the kitchen in hopes of a cup of coffee. He was surprised when he found a freshly brewed pot sitting there, only it was already half emptied; someone besides himself and Spock was there. If it was someone he needed to be dressed for Spock would have left out appropriate clothes, so he filled his giant mug and walked into the living room.

Immediately he noticed her bright blond hair, however, her back was to him and she was shielding tightly so he didn't recognize her. But after a couple of steps he caught the light scent of a familiar perfume causing his brain to fully reboot.

"MOM," Jim yelled, trying not to stumble or spill his coffee in his haste to get to her.

Winona stood and moved toward her son, catching the coffee and handing it to Spock who was right behind her, before she was enveloped in... Jim. Not only did he hug her with his physical body, but his emotions flowed over her like warm water, caressing her in his love. She was astounded at how he was able to project now. Normally she would only feel his emotions through the mother-son bond that they had.

"Excellent Jimmy! How did you intend that to feel?" Winona asked. She was excited because she had known for several years now that the moment would come when Jim would finally figure out how to project. T'remel had told her he would after Jim's 'seeing'. Jim didn't want to know anything from that but T'remel did talk to Winona about what he had 'seen' and Winona had listened. T'remel had spoken of a Vulcan male who would be Jim's Ama; Jim harnessing his ability to project his emotions; powerful grandchildren and there were some things she would rather not think about her son having to deal with; things she knew that Jim would have railed against had he heard them.

"My intention was for my love for you to caress you like slowly flowing, warm water; what did you think?" he asked as he placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Then it was perfect!" she replied beaming, hugging him tightly.

"Thanks Mom." Jim moved out of her arms so he could include Spock in the conversation before he continued, "I see you and Spock have been getting acquainted."

"Why yes we have Jimmy," Winona said, looking at her son with an expression that made him want to squirm like he was a five year old again. "You've been having nightmares about the Ha'Tshi."

Jim shot Spock a dirty look out of the corner of his eye. "You had to tell her before I even saw her!" Jim accused him through the bond.

"We both love you and are concerned for your health. She could sense that there was something wrong beyond the fact that you were exhausted from a difficult final examination as soon as you entered the apartment Ashayam. I am sorry if I overstepped my boundaries in caring for you." Spock replied.

Jim sighed. He reached for Spock's hand with his first two fingers in a kiss, sending in love and forgiveness. "It's okay. Nothing to apologize for love. You did the right thing. But, you don't know her, my Mom has a tendency to be a pain in the ass."

"Yes Mother, I've have been having nightmares about the Ha'Tshi," Jim said, returning his attention to his mother.

Winona had been watching them during the short lull in the conversation and was surprised by what she learned. She caught them both unaware by what she said, "You two talk to each other in your heads, don't you?!"

"Of course Mom, it's part of the bond. I thought you knew that, it was how I was able to contact him when I was abducted. I may be a lot of things, but I'm no telepath!" Jim told his Mother. He was hoping that she had gotten herself off track, but her next statement illustrated to him just how well she could jump from one topic to another and back again.

"Look Jimmy, don't always think the worst motherly things of me," she said with a laugh. "I am thinking I can help you get to Veenu faster than you could get there using a commercial transport. You remember Captain Surry?"

Jim nodded. Joshua Surry was a longtime friend of Winona's. He had been her first romantic bond. Their relationship had lasted for three years until she was eighteen. Her father had died and her mother had moved taking the Brook family to Earth for a new start. It was Joshua's determination to enter the planetary defense force that had inspired Winona to join Starfleet where she then met the love of her life, George Kirk.

"Well, he likes you, so I'm sure he would help." Winona smiled as she told him.

"Well, that was my last final for the term, and Spock has his graded already, so after the ball we should be free to go!" Jim said as he looked to Spock for confirmation.

"Affirmative," was the reply.

OoO

The following morning Jim was in the kitchen making coffee for himself and tea for Spock when he heard the comm and ran to answer hoping it was his mother with an invitation to breakfast. They had invited her to stay in one of the extra bedrooms but she refused saying that after several years on a starship she wanted some serious privacy. Jim couldn't blame her for that. So when he saw Sarek's sour face he was disappointed.

"Good morning sir, I will get Spock for you. Please hold," he intoned doing a perfect Vulcan imitation. Jim was certain that Sarek didn't call to speak with him.

He walked into the bedroom where he couldn't help but admire his mate's ass as he bent to pick up his shoes. The spark of lust that traveled through the bond caused Spock to look at him, still bent over. "Do you like what you see James?" he said, his voice down that extra octave where he knew it drove Jim wild.

Jim grinned at him like a fool and said, "you know I do Ashayam, but right now it's time for taking care of business. Sarek is on the horn."

Spock stood and turned to him before he deadpanned, "depending on the exact type of horn, that could be a very uncomfortable position."

His statement had the desired effect; it caused Jim to laugh. "Well, I suppose he'll have to remove the steel pole before he can fit the horn up there!" Jim managed to get out between guffaws.

Spock shook his head at his mate as he walked out to speak with his father.

"Father," Spock intoned.

"Tu t'nash-veh ko-fu stariben Vuhlkansu tu sa-mekh1," Sarek told him sternly.

"No," Spock replied. "Here, in my home, I will speak as I choose. In your office or at our family home I will speak Vuhlkansu if that is your choice. However, if it is your desire to speak Vuhlkansu to keep information from James, please be aware that it will not work because he is fluent in our language."

"Because it is your desire I will keep our discourse in Standard. It was in no way intended to hide anything. It is simply easiest to speak in our native tongue." Sarek intoned.

He continued after a slight pause, "the nature of the communication was to request your presence at a family dinner tonight at Tav'Sal'Nava t'Terra2."

"I will ask James and Winona." Spock replied.

"No," Sarek said, "they are not invited."

Spock closed his eyes for a moment as he tamped down his anger before he replied, "Father, they are my family."

Sarek raised one eyebrow and replied, "they are not my family and therefore, not invited to this family dinner." He paused. "Your Mother is looking forward to your presence. Reservations are for 1800 hours."

"Go Spock, Mom and I will go out for Italian." Jim told Spock through the bond.

"I will come to be with Mother." Spock replied and cut the connection.

He walked over to Jim and pulled him into an embrace. No matter how much Jim had said it didn't matter to him, Spock could feel how much Sarek's declaration hurt him. "I do not like that Sarek is excluding you and Winona," Spock whispered into his ear.

"I know k'diwa. I don't like it either. And I know my mother will be astronomically pissed. But we will deal with it with dignity, because we're better people than that. And we absolutely will not show your father any weakness," Jim replied.

"Indeed," Spock whispered into his ear.

As Jim predicted Winona was 'astronomically pissed'. If the possibility existed for such a thing there would have been steam coming from her ears as she paced their kitchen floor.

"That son of a bitch!" Winona exclaimed when Jim told her.

Spock refrained from reminding her that his father was not the offspring of a dog. He had always liked his ko'makh-il, T'Pau, she was much more supportive of him and his duel heritage than any other Vulcan.

Winona thought for a moment then narrowed her eyes and asked, "What restaurant?"

"Tav'Sal'Nava t'Terra," Spock replied.

Winona nodded, went to the comm and contacted Chris Pike to see if he could get them in. When he didn't have any contacts that could get them into that restaurant he suggested that she contact Archer because he knew a lot more people.

Winona then contacted Admiral Archer.

"Winona Kirk, what can I do for a lovely young woman such as yourself?" Archer blatantly flirted.

"Admiral, are you actually flirting with me? I'm young enough to be your great-granddaughter!" Winona laughed and winked at him. "Besides the fact that technically, you are my commanding officer, being Fleet Admiral and all. So even flirting could be construed as sexual harassment these days."

"Why yes I am flirting with you Winona! Why not? I'm so damn old it seems the parts don't seem to work anymore, so flirting is all I can do." Archer said as he laughed back. "As far as the sexual harassment goes, well I suppose I'm guilty as charged, at least in the flirting category. But I bet you are going to ask for a favor, aren't you?"

"Guilty as charged sir!" she laughed, saluting. "Can you by any chance get reservations for myself and Jim at Tav'Sal'Nava t'Terra tonight?"

"I can smell a Vulcan family problem," Archer said sagely.

"Your sense of smell has not faltered Jon," Winona replied.

Archer raised a gray brow and tapped his forehead. "I have an idea. I'll have to get back to you, but if I can pull this off, it will be good!" Archer said smiling with a sly smile before he cut the comm.

Ten minutes later the comm buzzed. It was Archer who had a one of those grins on his face that could only be described as 'shit eating', which looked a bit unusual on a face his age.

"Well, spill it Admiral. Don't just sit there looking like the proverbial fox that just got into the equally proverbial hen house!" Winona exclaimed.

Jim hid a laugh in Spock's shoulder at his mother's exclamation.

"I got the low-down from T'Pau. Sarek wants to keep Jim and Spock separated as much as possible tonight, until, he thinks, that she will sever their bond tomorrow morning." Archer laughed before he continued, "which, by the way, she told me she has no intention of doing. Something about feeling Spock's happiness through their familial bond."

Upon hearing that, Jim had to lock his knees to keep from slumping to the ground as the tension he didn't even know he'd been holding drained from his body. Spock held him by the wrist and sent him love, support and also his relief at hearing T'Pau's statement.

Archer smiled, having seen Jim and Spock relax in the background. "Well, T'Pau arranged for a table adjacent to theirs. Sarek had planned on a private room, but T'Pau is going to circumvent that so that they will be in the main dining room. However, the only way this works is if I come with you. Our reservations are for 1800 sharp! I'll be sending a car to pick you up at 1730. Since we will go to the ball directly from there so bring your clothes to change into after dinner. I will see you there." He said.

Archer then looked at Spock momentarily, then he chuckled adding, "Spock just an FYI, I have loved antagonizing your father for many years! So, be prepared." Laughing out loud, he cut the transmission.

"Of that Admiral, I am aware," Spock intoned to the blank screen, left eyebrow raised causing both Jim and Winona to laugh.

OoO

Dinner started off on a bad foot for the Vulcan group. Sarek was very perturbed about the seating arrangement and began berating the restaurant staff until T'Pau entered and told him to stop.

Spock was always amazed at how a small woman like T'Pau could always seem to tower over someone when she wanted to, and that had been one of those times. He watched with interest as she looked down her nose at Sarek, and told him to sit while she apologized to the manager for her son's outburst. When she stated that he was emotionally compromised, Sarek's entire visage became even stiffer than usual and his eyes became dark, his face a mask covering his anger.

Amanda Grayson 'cha Sarek hid her smile while she watched the drama with T'Pau play out. The Matriarch had been correct when she said that Sarek was emotionally compromised. He thought he was doing what was best for Spock and for the blood line of Surak and in that light, Spock's emotional well-being was irrelevant.

Amanda had been trying to reason with him since T'Pring first contacted him about her bond with Spock breaking; if Spock was truly happy with James, Amanda thought he should be permitted to live his life with him. Sarek's response had been that his happiness was irrelevant. T'Pring had always thought Spock was a lower life form because he was half-human. Because of that Amanda had never liked her. Spock had cried on the night of the bonding because of the loathing he felt in her mind toward him. Sarek told him he had to endure it like a proper Vulcan and close his mind to the emotions. If it was possible there would have been steam coming out of her ears!

Sarek objected to James Kirk based mainly on the fact that he was Human. That hurt her deeply, but Sarek flat out refused to discuss that with her. Sarek had said that he objected to Kirk based solely on the fact that he would be unable to bear children. How could Sarek have forgotten that he couldn't lie to his bond mate? He had tried to shield his reasons but she was not psi null and was able to discern his true reasons. Well, if he thought that she was going to take this lying down, he had another thing coming! Spock was her son too, after all and if Sarek hadn't learned anything about Human mothers yet, he would very soon.

Amanda had met the dashing and mysterious Vulcan Ambassador at a lecture she had been invited to give on teaching those who were both sight and hearing impaired at a Federation conference. When he had come to speak with her at the following reception she had become lost in his black eyes. It didn't take long for him to begin formally courting her. The first time he had touched her she had lost her heart to him completely. She had never felt such love and devotion from anyone.

Spock's love of languages had begun when she taught Spock American Sign Language. As he became adept at the basics of signing she taught him how to sign to someone who was also blind; to someone who was completely locked inside their own mind. It had provided them a private method of communication. Sarek had seen how this new method of communicating sparked a curiosity in young Spock for languages. Therefore, he had encouraged Amanda to teach him any and all languages she knew: Standard, Italian, Spanish, Mandarin, Swahili and Russian.

That had made it easy for Amanda and Spock to converse in sign language during their dinner. The topic of their discussion happened to be sitting at the next table not even making an attempt to be surreptitious in watching them. He totally ignored his Mother and Admiral Archer acting like he was simply staring off into space. Amanda thought it was amusing watching how Jim barely kept his eyes off of Spock. At one point, when Sarek went to the rest room, Amanda waved at Jim and he didn't even notice. He only had eyes for Spock.

Winona and Jonathan Archer made sure that when they were seated at their table Jim was facing the Vulcan's. They both knew that he would be miserable throughout the dinner, so they sat him so that he could at least see Spock. Winona attempted to include her son in the various conversations she had with the Admiral, but it became obvious early on that his attention was elsewhere.

Jim never realized he was being rude to his host; after all it was Admiral Archer that got them into the restaurant. He was simply oblivious to that aspect of the situation. After his food arrived, he barely touched it; mostly he just pushed it around on his plate. He simply watched as Spock communicated with his mother, sometimes Helen Keller style signing on her hands under the table.

The Vulcans finished their meal first. Just as they were leaving the table, T'Pring pulled Spock to the side to speak to him privately. Loath though he was at hearing any more insults from her, he agreed.

T'Pring turned to face him for the first time since the dinner had started. Her eyes burned with hatred as she stated flatly, "if your father succeeds in binding you to me once more it will be only temporary. When your Time comes and we are called to koon-ut-kal-if-fee3 I will call for the kal-if-fee and I will ensure that you lose." With that she whipped around and stalked off to the waiting air car.

As Jim was getting into the car he felt Spock become angry about something. He saw that T'Pring had detained him so Jim could assume it was something she told him. So, naturally he reached for him througPh the bond to offer him comfort and found Spock had put up his strongest shields. Jim didn't know what she told him, but he would find out. Spock was his and no bitch who felt disdain for who he was could touch him!

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1 Tu t'nash-veh ko-fu stariben Vuhlkansu tu sa-mekh – Vulcan -

2 Tav'Sal'Nava t'Terra – Vulcan - Finest House of Earth; a Vulcan run hotel modeled after the original Tav'Sal'Nava in Shi'Kahr.

3 Koon-ut-kal-if-fee – Vulcan – The place of marriage (koon-ut) or challenge (kal-if-fee)