Disclaimer: See Chapter 1. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed.
"And there is the West Kir market to your right, and the shuttle station to your left," Oratt said, taking his eyes off the odometer to point.
Bridget barely looked at the structures as they soared over the city (though she did turn her head to be convincing); she could feel a strong sense of mischief from Skel, who sat smirking in the backseat. He had mentioned that Yuris lived several blocks away from Oratt's house (their destination today), and she suspected his paramour would be waiting for him somewhere in the neighborhood. Sorak had miraculously agreed to let Oratt give her a tour of his house in Kir, provided Skel accompany them. But she knew the moment T'Yura entered the picture, she would be "conveniently" left alone with Oratt, and the thought excited and unnerved her.
"Sweetling?"
The doctor's soft voice interrupted her reverie, and she turned to him, blinking away her momentary stupor.
"Yes?" she said. He frowned.
"You have been unusually quiet today. Is something wrong?"
She shook her head. "No, just a little tired."
"Did you not receive adequate rest last night? Or is Vulcan proving tiresome?"
She caught his jest and smiled. "Vulcan is just a bit much right now."
"Then should I delay my tour?"
"No! I wouldn't miss it for the world, doctor, please. I want to see your home."
Another wave of amusement washed over her, and she gripped her palms to stop herself from shooting Skel a death glare.
The doctor's home was on the edge of a sparsely-populated neighborhood; the nearest house was on the other side of the block, and about one hundred meters from the back of the house, the terrain sloped down into a desert valley. This strip of sand cut into the suburban area like a scar, but she supposed the developers of this area had a logical reason for not extending the neighborhood down into that valley. She made a mental note to ask Oratt about it.
He deftly landed the vessel on the eastern side of the house, settling the aircar on a strip of stone probably built just for this purpose. She stepped out into the sunny, hot alley with Skel right behind her, and she followed the two of them to Oratt's front gate. The noonday Vulcan sun bore down on her, making beads of sweat race down her neck. The doctor glanced back at her in concern, but her attention was focused elsewhere.
Across the street, looking radiant in the sun, stood T'Yura, and Skel immediately rushed over to greet his paramour. Bridget stayed where she was, suddenly interested in the stone wall beside her, until a heavy hand landed on her shoulder.
"Go inside," Oratt told her, handing her a key. "I will deal with Skel."
She nodded and proceeded to unlock the gate; the doctor marched across the road to chide her bondmate.
Instead of go directly inside his house, she paused in the courtyard, taking stock of these new surroundings. A quiet fountain sang sweetly on a raised circular platform on one side of the space, and on the other side was a gong, a few benches, and what looked like a firepit. A shady arbor circled the courtyard, giving the small shrubs below protection from the sun. Like Sorak's home, the front of his house was an unbroken wall of glass from floor to ceiling, and if her eyes weren't deceived by the bright glare, the wall of glass slanted inward towards the back of the house.
"Well?" said a familiar voice, and she jumped in surprise. Oratt was at her shoulder, alone, and he stared at her intently. "What do you think of my home?"
She handed him his keys. "It's beautiful...where did Skel go?"
He simply raised an eyebrow at the gate, through which Skel and T'Yura entered a second later. Skel did not even glance her way as he led his paramour to a shaded portion of the courtyard, and the pair sat side by side on the low containment wall that ran around that side of the courtyard. T'Yura cast a nervous glance over towards her as they sat down, but Bridget looked away.
"Sorak said...why are they..."
"My cousin assures me that his actions are in compliance with a mandate he must follow, and although he would prefer to be completely alone with her, he will be close by so that propriety can still be satisfied. Our clan mother, it seems, gave him some very unusual orders. Leaving us alone, he says, does more to forward that mandate than entering the house with us."
She frowned. "This is the first I've heard of this."
"Apparently these orders were only given yesterday. He promised a more thorough explanation at a later date."
She shrugged and sighed in exasperation, but rallied herself; any excuse to spend time with Oratt was a good one.
"Come inside now, sweetling," he said gently, guiding her forward with a light hand on her upper back. She tried not to blush; two pairs of eyes dug into her back as the doctor hurried her into the house.
On the left side of the courtyard, a narrow alley ran alongside the house, with two doors leading off of it. The far one, he explained, led to a storage room for tools and gardening supplies. The other led inside, and he allowed her to proceed him into the house. His living room was bright and airy and spacious, with the wall of glass letting in ample light. The ceiling arched higher than she anticipated from looking at the house from the outside; spartan furniture offered some level of warmth to the space, as did the large, reddish stone slabs that made up the floor. On the far side of the living room, a chest-high counter divided the kitchen from the rest of the room, and if this house and Sorak's were any indication of Vulcan decorating trends, her father's people employed open floor plans as much as humans did.
Oratt closed the door with a sharp click, and immediately a studious sort of quiet fell over the room. She couldn't even hear the fountain outside, though the faint silhouette of Skel and T'Yura lingered in the shadows of the courtyard.
The doctor's footsteps across the stone floor echoed slightly against the walls as he approached her. She turned to face him.
"The acoustics in here are superb," he said lightly. "When I lived here, I would often play my lyre in this room. My quarters on Earth do not offer quite the same sound."
"Carpet and thicker air will do that." She sighed in contentment and spun around, taking in the room. "It's like something out of a home improvement program or something...it's absolutely beautiful."
A tiny hint of a smile touched his lips, and once again his hand was guiding her onward, this time towards a hallway on the eastern side of the house. She followed his lead as he turned right, and at the end of the hall on the left stood the door to his office. He let her inside, hovering in the doorway as she looked around. High windows would provide plenty of daylight in the morning, and the sconces around the room would light the room at night. She smiled at him in approval, and he stepped aside to let her pass.
He showed her his bedroom (which looked a little bit lived-in, unlike the rest of the house) and the guest bedroom, and finally said he had one final surprise for her.
He led her to the back courtyard and turned right, and she noted a stairwell going up to a second story, a feature she hadn't noticed from the front. The room he showed her on the second level was walled in on three sides by glass, and the furniture in the room was even sparser than the rest of the house. But from looking at it closer, she understood the room's purpose; he meditated here, and it was no wonder. The view facing south was sublime, as the room overlooked the back courtyard and further on over the valley.
He leaned casually against the window, gazing pensively across the desert expanse.
"When I purchased this house, I thought the view would please T'Dar. When my wife was at home with me, she enjoyed being alone in this room. And when she was gone, I would meditate in this room...I could almost smell her if I concentrated hard enough..."
He had never told her about his ex-wife. V'Lar had said this woman had left him for another man, even though he tried his best to please her.
"How long...sorry, I shouldn't ask," she said quietly, staring resolutely at the landscape below them.
"You meant to ask how long we were together," he replied, and he did not seem irritated at her for asking. "I married T'Dar when I was thirty-nine. She wished to wait so she could establish her career in the Vulcan Space Program."
"Was she your telsu from childhood?"
"Yes," he murmured. "I remember the first time I laid eyes on her...she had black hair and beautiful brown eyes..." He paused again. "I gave her a necklace the day we were bonded as husband and wife. I never saw her wear it."
She stared at him, scared to even breathe lest he stop his story.
"She was assigned to the Ti'Mur, and she would be absent for several months at a time. She was hardly ever very far, as you know the Vulcan fleet was not concerned at that time with deep space missions, but rather securing our borders. We only truly saw each other perhaps once a year, and of course..."
She caught his drift and nodded so he wouldn't have to say it.
"She served aboard the Ti'Mur for the entirety of our marriage. Our bond was never strong...she told me, after forty-five years of being my wife, that the chief engineer aboard her vessel pleased her more than me. I had just accepted a seat on the Council of Physicians – not the rank I hold now, but still..."
"Very prestigious at least," she offered, and he grunted in agreement. He was silent for a few minutes before she dared ask a question.
"Do you miss her?"
He sighed. "No. Her absence no longer has an adverse effect on me. I understood, in my deepest thoughts, that T'Dar did not care for me. It was logical to let her go." His eyes, dark and pensive and full of memories, found her silent, nervous gaze, and his expression softened. "I had trained myself not to hope for anything better in my next bond, should I find one...until I heard my cousin Sorak had chosen a human as his mate, and that she loved him deeply."
His eyes seemed to dance as he continued. "I could have had my choice of assignments. I could have headed clinics on Tellar or Coridan or Andoria...but I chose Earth. And within hours of landing, I encountered you. I still bless that day and the path my life has taken since then."
She swallowed thickly, smiling up at him as he placed his hands firmly on her shoulders. His gaze grew serious again, and his grip tightened.
"Besides Sirak, there are two other unbonded men in our family that will be attending the festivities tonight. Please...if they wish to fraternize with you..."
"Should I just stay with you all night?" she asked, and he sighed and nodded.
"Our clan mother's grandson is a young man of twenty. His telsu died in a shuttle accident two years ago, and you are at the exact age to be a tempting target," he explained, holding her tighter still. She could feel the tension in his touch, the nervousness in his gaze. She cupped his cheek, ignoring all inhibitions and better judgment as she drew herself closer to him.
"I wouldn't leave you for the world, Oratt," she whispered. "I promise."
Their foreheads touched as his hands glided slowly down her arms. She suddenly felt her exhaustion weigh her down, and he withdrew, holding her at arm's length.
"I feel your fatigue," he murmured, and she barely held back a yawn. "You can rest for a while in my room. I will wake you when it is time to depart."
She nodded and followed him down to his bedroom; he watched her kick off her shoes and climb under the covers, then he closed the blinds on the windows so it would be darker and cooler. But as he passed by her again, she reached for him, lightly brushing her fingers down his arm. He stopped and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Thank you," she whispered, "for everything."
"There is no need to thank me."
"But you didn't have to tell me about your past. I'm thanking you for trusting me with that information."
He reached out, his fingers barely brushing along her cheek as he tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "You of all people deserve to know...I can think of no one more worthy to know where my life has led me. Now rest, Bridget...I will wake you when it is time. Should you need me before then, I will be next door in my office."
"Thank you, doctor," she murmured sleepily, snuggling deep into the covers. They were soft, cool and heavy, and the fabric smelled of him. She took in an appreciative breath, then gave herself over to sleep.
…
Oratt had not yet finished his meditation when he heard the front door open; upon hearing it, he stood, straightened his tunic and strode out to meet Skel, and also ensure his young cousin did not wake Bridget. Surely he and T'Yura had come inside to escape the hottest part of the day, or perhaps to re-hydrate themselves and make use of his facilities.
The person waiting for him in his living room, however, was not Skel, or T'Yura.
It had been several years since he had spoken to the man face-to-face, and the years had not been kind to him. His cheeks were hollow, his hair thin and white as Earth snow, and his posture was hunched from eight years of what equated to human arthritis. The man's eyes, however, were exceedingly familiar, as Oratt saw them every time he happened upon a mirror.
"It has been too long, my son," Oramik said, his voice a wheeze as he straightened his back as best he could. "One would think, after being stationed on Earth, you would return to your home sooner to escape the humans and their illogic."
"I have been too occupied with my work in the infirmary to return home," the doctor said evenly. He immediately fetched the man a glass of water and pressed it on him. "Drink, sa-mekh. In your current state, it would be deadly for you to become dehydrated."
"Do not lecture me, Oratt. I get enough of that from the doctors you assigned to hound me every day. Do you hate your own father so much that you would abandon him to live among humans?"
"Hate is an emotion, father," he replied patiently, guiding the old man into a chair. "I feel no such thing for you. I believe you know that you will always have my respect."
Oramik snorted in obvious contempt. "If you had as much respect for me as you claim, I wouldn't be hearing rumors about my only son fraternizing with some human girl!"
The doctor simply raised an eyebrow, a silent request for his father to continue. "Oh yes, Oratt, they whisper behind your back. They say your mind is so fragile now that some human seductress has ensnared you, and you do her bidding." For a moment, it sounded as if he were laughing. "An illogical proposition, I assure them, but is there some truth to these rumors? I hear from better sources that you spend far too much time with this girl, and take too many liberties with her. How has my son come to such a state? And why a human?"
"An illogical proposition indeed," he replied after a moment's pause. "Father...she is my assistant, and I have known her since the day I entered the Consulate...and in that time, she has shown me more kindness and consideration than any other person I have known."
"Even he who is your father? Even your mother?"
Oratt raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps it is a slight exaggeration on my part. But she is kind to me, and in return for all her kindness, I have begun lessons in our language with her. She shows great aptitude, and I anticipate in a year or two, she must learn with an actual teacher, perhaps even my cousin, since he too is stationed on Earth...but that is all, father. I have not become ensnared by her. I am master of my mind and my actions still."
"For how much longer?" the old man said coldly, and Oratt almost glimpsed a wry smile on his wrinkled lips. Oramik took a slow sip of water, his brown eyes searching his son's face with a mix of confusion and contempt. "In all these years, not one woman could catch your eye? Not one pleased you?" He sighed and lowered the water glass. "And now you are suffering because of your willful pride and foolishness. No man should go so long without a bondmate, unless he intends to walk the path of kolinahr. You do not intend that path for yourself, so why this delay? It is illogical to hope for something better that may never come instead of seizing the opportunities laid before you."
"May I offer a differing opinion?" His father nodded curtly. "Is it not logical to have patience, if the reward for patience is something much greater than I could hope for? No woman I have been offered would fulfill me, but if I wait another eighteen or nineteen months, I may yet find myself in the most fulfilling bond I will ever find."
Oramik narrowed his eyes. "You would not need to wait eighteen months if you would apply yourself in your bond. You may be old, but you have means to please a woman. You have enough funds to give her fine clothes and jewels and whatever else she may want, and you will be safer for choosing a mate now rather than waiting."
"But I could give these women all the fine clothes and jewels on Vulcan and they still would not fulfill me. They do not wish for my affections, and are unwilling to give me theirs."
"You are past your prime, my son!" his father insisted. "You cannot expect to be pampered at your age! Men like us, men in our position...we cannot dream of something better that will never come to pass. You would do well to content yourself with what has been offered to you!"
"What has been offered to me is nothing but women looking to better themselves without any effort. Either by our clan name or by my merit, they seek to climb the social ladder. And what would I have to show for it?"
"A wife," the old man wheezed. "Salvation, my son. An end to your loneliness!"
"A prison," he corrected him. "If I am to bond with someone, the absolute minimum that I require is that she appreciate my company. I will not end seventy-five years alone with a woman who cannot even stand to look at me."
Oramik sighed and took another sip of water. "Your pride will be your downfall, my son. I hope for your own sake that you might heed my words before it is too late."
"You will see, father," the doctor said with a sigh. "In time, you will see."
