Disclaimer - Please see chapter 1

More romance, sorry if that's not to your liking!

I have read and re-read the chapter so I apologise for any mistakes. As every any suggestions to make this better are welcome. If you would like to see some suggested outfits for the wedding you need to head over to another popular fan fiction website, not sure if I am allowed to advertise which one!

Chapter 38 - Koon-ut so'lik

It was the early hours of the morning. Sordd was currentl in his apartment at the Embassy, wearing his meditation robe. He began a very familiar routine. He lit the candles which were scattered around the room and then closed the shutters on the windows to block out the skyglow from the San Francisco cityscape. He walked across to his meditation mat and knelt down in the age old meditative stance. He lit the incense bowl in front of him which began to disperse a calming fragrance around the room. He closed his eyes and began to slow his breathing, to such an extent that an outside observer would think it had stopped, while speaking one of his mantras. He fell deeply into a meditative state.

He started by checking over his physical state, pulse rate, breathing rate, core temperature etc… adjusting them as necessary. When he was satisfied that they were all in order he moved on to sorting through the various emotions he had experienced throughout the previous day.

He dealt with the emotions each in turn, as they had arisen throughout the day, compartmentalising them and dealing with them as appropriate. Some of them had become more intense over recent weeks and more challenging to control, these emotions usually related to his Ashayam. Fortunately Mimi was easy to share space with as her mind did not project strong emotions, she was very controlled unless under duress. He found this quite fascinating, she was very different in temperament to her sister who, as humans put it, wore her emotions on her sleeve. He continued to think about Mimi and began to examine their relationship. Since she had agreed to become his bondmate he had a sense of stability, security and calm concerning their relationship which he had not been aware of up until the point of her commitment. This was understandable as Vulcans were uncomfortable when dealing with unknowns. A wave of peace rolled over him... His thoughts returned to that night when he had melded with her, what she had revealed to him, he could feel anger arise within him that she had suffered in such a way that she had been tormented for years with nightmares and migraines. He was more than satisfied that the nightmares and migraines had stopped… He moved on to the conversation he had had with T'Vol earlier in the day. She had spoken to eyewitnesses of the accident and they had positively identified Michael as being involved. They had not reported anything to the authorities as they thought it was a genuine accident, it could not be proved that it was deliberate...Sordd felt anger rise even further... ordinarily an unacceptable emotion for a Vulcan however it concerned a bondmate so it was warranted…He would protect his Ashayam... Sordd knew the danger of allowing emotions to run away so he schooled himself back to a place of peace and control…

Satisfied that his emotions were now under control he moved on to studying the beauty of an equation. This particular meditation technique he had personally found to be quite effective in grounding him. The particular equation in question had been formulated by a Vulcan scientist Sitar. To the layman it looked simple, hidden behind the symbols was a complexity only mathematicians and physicists would understand.

The equation revealed the relationship between space-time, matter and energy. The right hand side of the equation described the energy contents of the universe. The left-hand side described the geometry of space-time. The equation could show how the presence of '40 Eridani A' warped space-time so that Vulcan moved around it in orbit. T he equation had function, form, simplicity and elegance. It was also profound. Sordd began to input various numbers, with increasing complexity, into the equation and solved them mentally. It was satisfying.

He then moved onto studying at the Terran equivalent of the equation, formulated by Albert Einstein. Again he input numbers, with increasing complexity and solved them mentally.

Sordd's internal clock registered that it was now 0545 hours, it was time to surface from his meditation. He checked that his mental shields were at a satisfactory level then opened his eyes. He gracefully stood up then put out the incense and candles. He then opened to shutters to reveal a beautiful San Francisco sunrise.

As he began to prepare himself for the day, his thoughts returned once more to his Ashayam. There was a particular course of action that he had to undertake.

*'*

Mimi was gradually regaining strength, in a few more days she would be well enough to return to her apartment, this filled her with slight apprehension. She had grown accustomed to being in such close proximity to Sordd who visited her whenever he was able. Other regular visitors included Avarak, T'Shahel, Amanda and Spock. She also had occasional visits from family members and friends, the logistics being a bit harder for them to make it more regular.

As part of her physiotherapy regime, put in place by elder healer Sakht, Mimi was encouraged to move and exercise in order to help improve her mobility and function. Thus Mimi and Sordd had developed the habit of walking around the Embassy gardens each afternoon or evening depending upon Sordd's schedule.

*'*

Sordd was sitting at her bedside. They had just been having further discussions regarding wedding plans. "T'Sai Mimi, would it be agreeable to you if we go for a walk outside the Embassy compound?" He asked.

A look of excitement came over Mimi's face, "Yes, of course. Where are you thinking?" She replied.

"We could take a flitter to Golden Gate Park and have a short walk around the gardens. Would that be appealing to you?"

A broad smile appeared, "That would be amazing!"

She quickly changed into some loose fitting trousers and a floral print chiffon halter neck top. She also opted for a pair of sandals that would give her more support than her usual flip flops. Sordd then helped to place some supportive strapping on her left leg. She grabbed a light shawl before they left the room.

*'*

They were slowly walking through the park, which due to the time of day was relatively quiet apart from a few couples who were alos out for a short stroll. A thought was triggered in Mimi's mind.

"Sordd. You do realise that it is custom on Earth for couples to hold hands." She moved slightly closer to him, not that there was a massive distance between them. "Would that be something you would be willing to do?"

"As you know Mimi, Vulcan's are touch telepaths. On Vulcan it would be frowned upon for us to walk hand in hand." He paused for a moment, "... It is quite suggestive."

"But we are not on Vulcan here." She replied, "Neither are we in the Embassy grounds…" She leaned in even closer to him, slightly brushing against his arm. "It would be clear to those around us that we are a couple, which I would quite like…" She looked up into his eyes.

Sordd thought for a moment. He had noticed on a number of occasions couples holding hands, initially he had been shocked by the open display, then he had discovered that there was no impropriety intended. Mimi was correct, on Earth it was the appropriate thing to do. He had meditated a lot over recent weeks concerning what he was asking Mimi to do by becoming his bond mate. If they decided to relocate to Vulcan she would endeavour to fit into the cultural norm, she had said so much. While they were residing on Earth it would be logical to make certain concessions for her. It was also logical to ensure that his future bond mate was content and in the current circumstances she may also benefit from the extra support due to her recent injuries...

In order that she would not be overwhelmed with his inner emotions Sordd reinforced some of his mental shields, then he slipped his hand into hers. She gently squeezed his hand in reply. He could feel through their touch that she was happy and content, that she felt safe and secure. This was indeed agreeable.

*'*

They entered the rose garden, it was early evening by this point and the garden was fragrant with the smell of thousands of different kinds of roses. Mimi gasped, she loved roses.

He took his hand out of hers then gently pressed at the small of her back guiding her to a more secluded spot with a bench. Over the bench there was an arch of roses; large, many petalled, neat rosette flowers with an apricot orange colour. They were highly fragrant. Mimi looked down at the tag. Crown Princess Margareta, she smiled "Sordd you know that I love roses?"

"Affirmative." He replied.

"This is a Margareta rose, my given name is Margaret." She smiled at him.

"I know Ashayam, that is why I brought you here…" mindful that Mimi was still recovering from the accident, "Please sit down on the bench." He said, a slight nervousness in his voice which Mimi picked up on. He sat down beside her.

He steadied himself. "As you know I have carried out extensive research on Earth customs surrounding courtship and marriage. I hope that you find what I am about to do agreeable and in keeping with your traditions."

He reached inside his robe and took out a square box made from wood that was deep red in colour, etched into the lid of the box were intricate Vulcan glyphs. Mimi recognised the design. He opened it. "Will you be my Adun'a, will you be my wife?" He asked.

Mimi was taken aback, releasing that it was not part of Vulcan culture she had resigned herself to the thought of never having an engagement ring, and here he was presenting her with one. She clasped his cheeks, then kissed him on the lips. Tears started to flow from her eyes. She would never have dreamed he would have done this.

Sordd was taken aback with the emotional display. His research had shown him that there would probably be some kind of emotional response, he was not expecting this. A look of concern came across his face, "Mimi, why are you crying, are you unwell?"

"No Sordd. I am more than happy and I say yes to your proposal."

Sordd breathed an inner sigh of relief. He knew that she had already agreed to be his bondmate, however, he found human traditions difficult to navigate. He removed the ring from the box. It was composed of a platinum band with intricate filigree, consisting of Vulcan script intertwined with Roses and Vulcan orchids. The six-prong setting virtually disappeared allowing the brilliant turquoise Voyoka stone to float above the band and into the light. Mimi immediately recognised the design, it matched her necklace perfectly. Mimi held out her left hand, which was shaking. Sordd had read that an engagement ring should be placed on the fourth finger of the left hand he carefully slipped it on, it was the perfect size. She leaned in and began to kiss him on the lips.

After some time they were interrupted by a couple of teenage girls who had walked into the rose garden. They both giggled, turned around and quickly ran away.

"Ashayam, it is getting late. We should return to the Embassy." Sordd said.
They stood up and began walking back to the flitter hand in hand.

*'*

Notes

koon-ut so'lik – formal marriage proposal

Ashayam - beloved.

To give credit where credit is due - regarding the part on the beauty of equations some of the information/extracts were taken from livescience - greatest-mathematical-equations