Chapter 35

The sun warmed Amanda's back as she walked down the sidewalk to the shopping district. It felt like it had been a long time since she had had a chance to do some retail therapy. This time she was going to buy a dress just for herself. No worrying about Vulcan fashion and whether she was showing off her collar bones.

She took a final slurp from her strawberry and banana smoothie before chucking it in the nearest recycling unit and queuing for the elevators. She was enjoying the warm weather immensely. The spring had felt bitterly cold and she had wondered if they were ever going to have a summer this year. She was taking full advantage of it now that it had arrived. She wore one of her long beach dresses and some flip flops. She was also wearing a sun hat and sunglasses to obscure her face. She didn't need to be pointed out in front of a crowd.

As the queue moved along slowly Amanda wondered about what type of dress she would buy. She always liked to appear sophisticated rather than sexy. It was all too easy to just bare all to the world in this age. Amanda preferred to leave a little to the imagination. She favoured elegance rather than audacity.

Coming to the front of the queue she entered the elevator that proceeded to take her to one of the various floors of the building. The glass display screen activated before her. A synthetic female voice reverberated in the box.

"Welcome to the Xenon shopping facility. We hope you have a pleasant stay. If you require any assistance press the green button below and we shall help you personally. Have a nice day."

As the elevator continued to climb the advertisements began to play. A recording of an overly chirpy woman grated on her nerves.

"Feeling down? Come and experience Spa-tastic, the spa where your worries melt away. Come and book your treatment with us today. Let us turn that frown into a smile!"

Amanda had a primal urge to punch the obnoxious woman on the display screen. She despised the emotion-detect technology these days. The advertisements would pick up on your emotions and advertise products to alleviate your symptoms. She hated the lack of privacy. Although the adverts weren't allowed to identify you personally she still felt it was wrong. No one should prey on the downtrodden.

Thankfully the doors opened and Amanda entered one of the suites. Closing the door she turned to the shopping console, entered her credit card and began to select her requirements for the dress.

Main Street shopping had changed a lot over the years. Shopping malls had been replaced with glass buildings full of compartments that contained personal changing rooms. It was supposed to make the shopping experience more 'personal' but there wasn't anything personal about a computer dressing you.

Amanda refused to let that bother her and stripped to her underwear. The screen in front of her displayed a 2D version of herself sporting a blue halter neck dress. As she spun round the dress on the screen swirled about her legs. It looked good, but it wasn't quite what she was looking for…

Considering a few more choices Amanda finally found a dress that she liked. The computer scanned her measurements and deposited a dress tailored to her size. Slipping it on, she spiralled and posed. Happy with it she bought a new pair of shoes, because she could, and slipping her old clothes in the bag she left for the elevator. This time the adverts were of a happier demeanour.

After indulging herself with a delicious candlelit meal with Meg the previous evening, Amanda had fathomed a rather radical idea. She was going to visit Danny at the embassy. After all, he had asked her to drop by.

Hopping off the shuttle bus she wandered to the entrance of the Federation Headquarters. Adorned in sun hat and glasses no one seemed to recognise her as she passed quickly through the entrance.

Standing in the foyer, she messaged Danny to let him know she had arrived. Within minutes she saw his familiar figure pass through the security gates. He immediately draped a visitors tag around her neck and ushered her through.

"This way Mrs Dietschmann," he chaperoned.

Amanda giggled to herself as he escorted her to the Vulcan Embassy like she was some sort of important official. As they passed into her old workplace he dropped the professionalism and gave her a weary smile.

"Sorry for the wait Amanda I got a bit held up," he apologised.

"That's fine," she assured. "If you're busy I can come back another time?"

He shook his head.

"The office isn't that hectic today it's just that I'm training a new recruit and it's not as easy as I thought it would be," he said ruefully.

"Oh?" she said, surprised.

Sarek hadn't mentioned anything about her replacement.

Danny walked her over to the reception desk to find a new Vulcan aide sat at her old desk. Danny smiled wryly at her look of surprise.

"Velor meet Amanda Grayson, Amanda meet the new aide: Velor," he introduced.

The Vulcan stood up from his desk and offered his hand to her. "Pleased to meet you Miss Grayson," he said smoothly.

Amanda glanced at Danny curiously. He grinned.

"He's well trained," he assured.

With her feeling of slight unease pacified, Amanda shook Velor's hand and smiled. His hand seemed quite large as it enveloped her own.

"And you too Velor," she replied.

Velor was not as tall as other Vulcans she had met. But what he lacked in height he made up for in width. Amanda could tell there was a lot of tightly coiled muscled packed under that tunic. She wondered what his previous occupation had been. His slim face betrayed no emotion much like the other members of his race but she seemed to find him less intimidating. Perhaps it was a height thing? She thought.

"It is good to see you are well practiced in Earth customs, I hope they aren't too taxing for you," she commented.

"Not at all," he assured.

Amanda smiled, she liked this one. Danny leaned on his desk.

"I've been introducing him to all the crazy things we humans do. He's a very quick learner," Danny said warmly.

"How long have you been on Earth Velor?" she asked.

She certainly hadn't noticed him residing in the Vulcan residence…

"Approximately two months," he answered succinctly.

"I'm sure the hot weather has been good for the transition," she said politely. "If you need any assistance during your stay then please let me know."

Velor considered her curiously. He appeared unused to the hospitality of humans. After a moment he spoke again.

"Thank you."

He quietly resumed his work at his desk. Danny hopped over to her excitedly.

"See, I've done well!" he grinned.

Amanda patted his shoulder sarcastically.

"I see Se'tek isn't around?" she asked.

Danny shook his head.

"Nope. He's with the Ambassador doing some transcription. There seems to be a lot happening in their home world politics at the moment."

Danny gave her a knowing look. She raised her eyebrow at him. And we all know what that's about don't we? she thought. She decided to change the topic.

"So what was it that you wanted to show me?" she asked curiously.

Danny sat her down at his desk and brought out a box from the storage compartment. It was brimmed full of letters addressed to her. She felt a little stunned now that she saw them all in front of her.

"This is only a small sample of what we've received. Gifts have been sent too but we didn't know what to do with those so they've been put into storage," he explained.

"What should I do?" she asked.

Danny laughed.

"Well read them of course! Then I can recycle them or… something," he shrugged.

Amanda picked up the first one tentatively. Reading through the message of congratulations she felt herself relax a little. It was nice to have thoughtful messages sent to you, even if it was by complete strangers.

"May you find peace in each other and harmony when you are together. Don't let others get in your way."

Amanda smiled. Maybe some things were worth fighting for.

Upon Amanda's return to the Vulcan residence she found herself feeling a little anxious. She had been trying not to think too much about her last meeting with Sarek. As such she didn't really know how to feel or what to say when she saw him again. It just felt …difficult.

In her indecision she looked in her bag and pulled out a small piece of paper. It had come from one of the many letters she had received at the embassy. A teacher had allowed their class to write messages to her in congratulations of their engagement. This particular picture she had really enjoyed. The child had hastily drawn herself and Sarek in coloured pencils. She was dressed in a white gown and he looked to be in some type of abstract brown robe. They were holding their hands in the ozh'esta. She had a smile on her face and Sarek looked rather severe with his slanted eyebrows. It had made her smile and so she decided to keep it with her. Like a good luck token perhaps.

Steeling herself, Amanda took a deep breath and made her way to the entrance. As she approached the reflective glass doors she noticed that a frown had settled on her face. Resting her hand on the door she consciously thought of the picture again. Seeing that a small smile had now graced her features, she felt ready to enter.

Stepping through the door she came across an unusual sight. Sarek was there already waiting for her beside the statue of IDIC. She considered him curiously. Suddenly realising that he would have seen her consciously changing her facial expression she blushed a little.

Before she had time to chastise herself for it Sarek approached her and outstretched his two fingers. Amanda glanced around, unsure if this was proper as they were not bonded yet. The few Vulcans that were present seemed undisturbed. Brushing away her doubts she completed the ozh'esta and timidly looked into his eyes. They simply stared at each other for a few moments before he dropped his hand. Amanda found her heart beating fast in her chest. She smiled wryly to herself, some things don't change.

Silence enshrouded them for a moment, neither one seeming to know what to say. After what felt like an age Sarek gestured to the passageway and Amanda nodded.

Following him down the myriad of corridors they finally ended up in his personal chambers once more. Amanda stood at the centre of the room, feeling awkward. It felt strange not to be in Vulcan clothing.

Sarek finally broke the silence:

"You are unusually quiet Amanda."

Amanda glanced up at him.

"I'm not really sure what to say Sarek."

She smiled sheepishly. There was a definite elephant in the room. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Our previous meeting did not end in a way that I approve of," he said.

Amanda felt herself tense under his words. She hadn't exactly intended it to go that far in their last meeting. She wasn't some lusty schoolgirl. She shuddered at the thought.

"Look, it wasn't my intention to try to mate with you. It just… got out of hand," she said pathetically.

She became annoyed with herself.

"And I'm not going to apologise for what happened. It takes two to get that far," she looked him squarely in the eye. He did not flinch.

He watched her quietly for a moment.

"I was not referring to that part," he said quietly.

"Oh…" Amanda felt the wind blow out from beneath her sails. She regarded him curiously. Then what did he mean?

"I am referring to your departure. You were in a state of distress; I should not have let you leave." His face seemed to harden as he said it.

Amanda felt her anger seep away through her fingers. She reached out to take his hand.

"I asked to leave; it is not your fault. I share the blame too."

He rested his forehead against hers. His eyes closed shut.

"Are you alright?" she asked, worried.

This behaviour wasn't exactly characteristic of Sarek.

Without saying anything Sarek moved to embrace her tightly. His face nuzzled gently into her neck. Amanda froze in shock at this sudden intimacy. So perhaps it wasn't just her that needed it? She held him close as his breath tickled her neck. She thought of words of comfort that she might say but they all seemed inadequate to a man of sixty years' experience. In the end she settled for a simple truth.

"I love you," she whispered into his ear.

Sarek's grip increased at her words. She hugged him back as tight as she could possibly manage. Squeezing was always satisfying.

After a few more moments like this Sarek straightened and released her gently. With his hands on her shoulders he mentioned but one word:

"Patience."

Amanda smiled.

"Patience," she agreed.

And in that moment together they made a silent truce. Only by working together, would they get there in the end.