Disclaimer: See Chapter 1. Thank you so much to dinopoodle, Laura 2468, megan, Lll, xxxkris44 and guest for reviewing!

Bridget wasn't sure why Sorak wanted to see her in his office. She assumed it had something to do with Skel's next visit, which, if she was completely honest with herself, she wasn't looking forward to. Maybe he wanted to plan a trip with her and Skel, and wanted her opinion on possible travel destinations. Or maybe his brother Sirak was visiting again, and now that she was a little taller and slimmer and more womanly, Sorak hoped his twin would fall madly in love with her. Fat chance of that. She had met Sirak a handful of times, and every time she saw him, he barely gave her the time of day. He didn't seem interested in finding a mate at all, and she thought very privately to herself that Sirak was just a bit too haughty for her tastes.

Sorak had his back turned when she entered, and he quietly asked her to take a seat. She obeyed, suddenly nervous.

"So...my son wrote to you recently, telling you the good news?"

"Um..." she replied, scratching the back of her neck. "I'm not sure what you're asking, Uncle Sorak."

He turned around to face her, his gaze stony. She had never seen that look on his face, at least never directed at her. She instinctively stiffened.

"I am speaking of the girl Skel wrote to you about. The one he spends his lunch hours with."

"Oh, that." She smiled. "I'm glad he found someone he can connect with."

"You are saying you have not connected with him?"

"Well, we're friends. I've just never felt that way about Skel. I think he'll do really well with this other girl. He says they have a lot in common."

Sorak frowned, and she straightened her shoulders as he narrowed his eyes. "And what of your bond? What of the promises you made to each other? This is not our way, Bridget."

"Mom says the Vulcan divorce rate is even higher than ours," she countered, keeping her voice quiet. She didn't want to talk about this.

He waited a few moments before responding, his voice insistent and firm, yet still soft. "He should be doing everything he can to keep you, not chasing after some other girl when he has a good bondmate in front of him. That is foolishness."

"Sorak, please," she said. "I really don't want to talk about this, ok?"

"Why not? I know it is unpleasant to think of a bondmate abandoning you, but–"

"Please, for the love of all that is good, just stop." She took a deep breath. "We don't fit, Sorak. We just don't fit. There's nothing between us, and you pushing me to accept him is just making everything that much worse. He likes this other girl, so let him have her."

"You could be happy with Skel," he said firmly, straightening himself to his full height. "You just have to try harder."

"No," she replied. "I'd end up hating him, and you for encouraging him. Now, if that's all, I have chores to take care of."

"Bridget..." He suddenly sounded unsure of himself, and he looked at her with a childlike hopefulness that she had only seen once before, on Oratt's face when he was sick with the virus.

"When is your daughter due?" She stood to face him. "Isn't Aunt Amanda going to have your baby any day now?"

"You are changing the subject."

"So what if I am?" Bridget retorted. "No one told me about that secret disease. Oratt mentioned something about ancient water rituals, and I have no clue what that is. Why should I explain myself to you when it comes to Skel?"

He opened his mouth to reply, then his gaze flicked upward to over her shoulder, and his gaze darkened.

"I think she has a good point," Oratt said calmly, placing a gentle, warm hand on her shoulder. "You've been quite lax in her education, Sorak. No girl her age should be handing water to lonely, unbonded men."

"I'm not a girl," she hissed just as Sorak gave a curt reply in Vulcan. Oratt squeezed her shoulder, and she could almost feel him stiffening.

"I did promise I would refer to you as a young lady now, didn't I?" the doctor said softly, running a gentle hand down her arm. "Forgive me for my forgetfulness."

"Oh," she said with a smile, "you don't have to apologize. But yes, I'm an adolescent now. What brings you here, doctor?"

He raised an eyebrow and glanced briefly at Sorak, then back to her. "Would you like to have tea with me, young T'Sai? If your conversation with Sorak is complete, of course."

"I would love that." She smiled enthusiastically at him and wrapped an arm around him, waving goodbye to Sorak as they strolled out the door together. She could tell her uncle was fuming, but she wasn't in the mood to humor him today. He was being pushy and demanding, and at least Oratt wouldn't press her to talk about things she didn't want to discuss. As of late, that quality in him became all the more endearing, as her father and Sorak seemed to want to know this instant about her plans regarding Skel, and the future. Oratt didn't ask those questions.

"What has made you upset with Sorak?" he asked as she slumped onto his couch.

"He's pushing too hard," she replied, sighing heavily. "Why does he want me to get with his son so badly? It's not like he needs me...I'll just be another girl when Skel moves on, so why should he care?"

"Bridget, do not think like that." Oratt handed her a cup of tea and sat beside her, twisting his body so they could face each other. She sighed and shook her head.

"You truly do not see what we see, do you?"

She rolled her eyes. "A scrawny little white girl with no job, no money, no career, no standing on Vulcan–"

"Wrong," he interjected, smirking at her, "on all accounts. I told Strom that you must have been meritorious to have worked with him for so many years. You have proven yourself a valuable member of the infirmary staff, sweetling, and I have been meaning to ask you...do you wish to be paid for your services?"

"What do you mean?"

"You have worked diligently for us without complaint, and merit deserves reward. You deserve to be paid."

She fidgeted and stared down into her tea. "Why, though? Why pay me? I'm just a volunteer."

"Did you not hear what I just said? You have merit, you deserve reward."

She shook her head. "I don't think I want to be paid."

"Why not?"

She was silent for over three minutes, sipping silently at her tea. "Because the minute money is on the line, I'll screw something up, and that'll be the end of that. With no pay, I'm just the volunteer intern, and the stakes aren't as high."

"Sweetling, your duties will not change. You will be doing the same thing you have been doing since you were seven, only you will be compensated for your time. I believe you would do well in the medical field, perhaps as a medical assistant, and I wish to foster that career in any way I can."

Tears pricked her eyes. "I'll think about it...you won't be paying me that much, right?"

He raised an incredulous eyebrow. "Bridget, medical assistants on Vulcan are always well paid. You are invaluable to us, to the successful operation of the infirmary. That deserves good pay."

Again, she was silent for a minute. "I'll think about it," she finally conceded, taking another morose sip of tea.

Oratt raised an eyebrow at her and carefully tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She blinked at that and stared at him, noting his brown eyes seemed warmer than usual as he stroked two fingers down her cheek. Despite her sullen thoughts, that managed to put a smile on her face.

"Consider it," he murmured. "For me. Now, as I was saying..."

He took a deep breath and leaned forward, as if relaying a secret to her. "You are an ambassador's daughter, Bridget, and that does not count for nothing among us. Your father is from a respectable clan, and you have proven yourself meritorious in your work in the infirmary. Not everyone has seen your work firsthand as I have, but they know where you work and they know you must have some skill to have held your position for so long. So you see, you have a promising career ahead of you, and a job, and good standing among our people."

"That doesn't make me feel any better, but thank you," she murmured, taking another sip of tea.

"You seem to have missed my meaning," Oratt pressed, shaking his head. "You wondered why Sorak is so adamant for you to stay with his son. I do not have all the facts, but if I were to make an educated guess, I would say Sorak was one of the first to offer his son when your father announced he would be bonding you to a Vulcan boy. Your father obviously accepted, but the bond was partially Sorak's choice. For you and your bondmate to reject each other is tantamount to rejecting Sorak and his work, at least from his point of view."

She frowned. "But this has nothing to do with Sorak."

"I know that, and deep down, Sorak does too. But for now, he takes it as a personal offense. If I were to make more educated guesses, I would say your bond with Skel was at first a means to an end: he hoped to be reconciled with his son because of your relationship. And now that is happened, but he still had his hopes set on another daughter. When you break your bond with Skel, you will no longer be as close to Sorak and his family. He will have lost an advantageous match for his offspring."

She thought about that for a few minutes before shaking her head. "I'm not some...collector's item. We just don't fit...why can't he see that?"

"Vulcan men can be selfish when they have their heart set on something...or someone. He likely does not realize his actions are hurting you. Do you want me to talk to him? I can make him stop."

Tears pricked her eyes. "I don't want you two to fight."

"And I do not wish to see you so miserable. It pains me."

Whatever control she had over her tears evaporated at that statement, and wetness streaked down her hot, flushed cheeks. She leaned forward and touched her forehead to his, cupping his face in her hands.

"You're a wonderful, wonderful man," she breathed, kissing his nose.

"Bridget," he replied, gently pulling her hands from his face. "I will speak to Sorak on your behalf. But promise me something, my sweet...promise me you will ask your father about the water rituals and...other things...do it soon. It's time you learned."

"All right." She kissed his forehead and drained her tea. "And thanks for the tea...and the talk. I appreciate it."

He smirked, but then sobered and bowed his head. "I come to serve, young T'Sai. If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask for it."

…

"Father, why has she not written back to me?"

Sorak narrowed his eyes at his son, subconsciously shaking his head at the comm screen. "You have gone behind her back, forsaken your vows to chase after some other girl? You are still bonded to Bridget, yet you act like some V'tosh ka'tur, my son. You have brought shame upon our house!"

Skel frowned, his neutral expression faltering to reveal worry and shame. "Father, Bridget and I agreed to seek out others. Our bond is not fulfilling to either of us, and it was logical to seek–"

"Logical?" he replied derisively. "You dare speak to me of logic when you abandon your obligation to your telsu in favor of a more tempting option? And you do not even have the decency to break your bonds first. This other girl is not yours, Skel. Bridget is yours. I hope for your sake you have not shamed her by...fraternizing in intimacy with this...usurper."

It was his son's turn to narrow his eyes. "Do not speak of T'Yura in that manner, father, please. She is kind and gentle. She has an uncle on Earth, a doctor...I believe she mentioned that he works in the infirmary. Bridget may know him."

It took Sorak a moment to put the pieces together. "This other girl is Yuris' niece?"

Skel nodded. "As I stated, she is kind and gentle, and she would make a good mate–"

"You already have a telsu!" His patience had run dry with his son's excuses, and he could not understand why Skel did not see how disgraceful his actions were. "You are putting yourself in danger by doing this, my son! This is not our way! This has never been our way! We are not savages, Skel, we are civilized Vulcans with standards to uphold, and to think that my son–"

Please stop arguing with him, he heard his wife send through their bond. The message was accompanied by a sharp stab of pain in his lower abdomen, and he could feel his expression turn from irritation to worry.

"We will speak later, Skel," he said curtly, cutting the transmission. He hurried to the bedroom, where he found his wife sprawled on the bed, panting heavily. His gaze trailed down her sweat-drenched body towards her thighs. The seat of her sweatpants was stained dark with liquid.

"My water just broke," she whispered to him, crying out as another stab of pain ran through her. He felt the echo of her pain and gasped in worry.

"My wife, forgive me for–"

"Don't apologize now, Sorak, get me to the infimary!"

He rushed to her side and worked his arms under her, sending her all the calm he could muster as he carried her down to the ground floor.

…

"How is she?" Soval asked as Genie slipped into bed with him. She looked exhausted, though considering Amanda's labor had lasted twelve hours and it was now 0300, that was perfectly understandable.

"She's sleeping now," his wife murmured sleepily, laying her head on his chest. He stroked her hair. "Her mom and Sorak are watching T'Lis."

"Another girlchild," he said, moving his hand down Genie's body to her lower back. "They desired a surprise this time, did they not?"

"Yes, and they got one. T'Am has a baby sister now."

He nodded and closed his eyes, and he was almost asleep when she spoke again.

"Soval?"

"Yes, my wife?"

She took a deep breath, and he could feel her nervousness through their bond. It sharpened his senses and staved off sleep, and he focused more fully on her.

"Do you ever think about...maybe having another kid?"

Her words wakened him fully, and he had no desire to sleep now. "You wish to bear me another child?" he whispered, amazed that she was willing to give him more children.

"I'm crazy, I know...I just watched Amanda struggle through twelve hours of labor, and here I want another kid...but I thought I'd bring it up for your consideration."

He raised an eyebrow at the ceiling and held her tighter. "I am not adverse to another child if you are not. Sekir is two years, eleven months old...you are still able to bear children..." His inner being purred at the thought of her full with child again. He deeply enjoyed the sight and smell of her pregnant; it stirred something primal within him and made him revel in his masculinity.

She smiled into his chest. "Then tomorrow night or the night after...you know what needs to be done..."

He growled at her suggestion and sent her a burst of his approval through their bond. "You will be full with child before the year ends, my wife. I will see to it...and your pleasure..."

Genie giggled, then finally settled, allowing the two of them to fall asleep.