Summary:

Amanda receives an unexpected call from the Doctor and what she hears does not make her feel good.

And teacher

There are things that I don't want to learn

One More Try

Song by George Michael

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"Lady T'Amanda, Dr. McCoy of the starship Enterprise is on the line via subspace for you."

"Oh? Dr. McCoy?" Amanda asked her assistant. Her heart grew heavy with sudden worry as she looked up into the serene face of her loyal assistant.

"Yes, he is on hold now. Shall I put him through?"

"Thank you T'Rel. Yes, I will speak to him, please transfer the call now. And can you please close the door and do not disturb me until I call for you again?"

T'Rel looked surprised by the request but bowed respectfully and left the room.

Amanda took a moment to compose herself. She thought of reaching out to Sarek but she didn't know what was going on yet. No need to involve him if there was no emergency. However, the last time she got a subspace call from the Enterprise in the middle of the day, Nyota was in Pon Farr and Spock was having a meltdown so...

She activated the viewer and saw Dr. McCoy's smiling face which immediately put her at ease. It couldn't be too bad if he was smiling right?

"Dr. McCoy. This is an unexpected call. Are Spock and Nyota alright?" Amanda couldn't help but asked cutting right to the chase.

"Well, Mrs. Sarek I'd like to answer your question honestly but I don't exactly know. That is why I'm reaching out to you. There have been a few incidents aboard the ship and I was wondering if you or your husband could shed some light on the matter."

"Me and Sarek? Why? What's wrong?"

"Well as I said there have been some incidents. I don't know if Spock has told you any of this, but Nyota has been on administrative leave for the past few days due to violent outbursts."

"What? No, he has not told me anything of the sort. When did this happen?"

"About a week ago. She was on an away mission to one of the outposts near the neutral zone and a male colonist attacked her."

Amanda's blood ran cold at the very thought. "Oh my god! Is she all right?" If she was not, there would be hell to pay!

"Now Mrs. Sarek don't get your hackles up. Uhura's just fine, at least physically. He didn't injure her at all. She actually defended herself and injured her attacker."

"Serves him right. And what about Spock is he okay?"

"Again, I don't know for sure. This is why I'm reaching out to you. But I must ask, what made you ask about Spock when it was Nyota who was attacked?" McCoy assumed she was just looking out for her own child but her answer surprised him.

"Because Spock is a Vulcan."

"Meaning?" McCoy frowned with confusion.

"Vulcans don't take it well when their loved ones are threatened Doctor, especially when it's their wives. Vulcans are very logical people but they can find a logical reason to... let's just say... take care of things when necessary."

"Really? And when would they find it necessary?" McCoy wanted to know.

"When they deem it logical of course," Amanda answered seriously. Normally she wouldn't spill secrets about the Vulcans but McCoy was a family friend, sort of. He was also a doctor sworn to maintain confidentiality. Besides, he already knew about the Time and that was the biggest taboo of them all.

"That is very vague. You could make an argument to do anything nefarious under the guise of logic."

"True Doctor, which is why it's not recommended to get on a Vulcan's bad side."

"They have bad sides?"

Amanda grinned. "Doctor, you accompanied Spock to Vulcan for his first Pon Farr, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did."

"Then you've seen him at his worst, what he is capable of. A single-minded focus on one goal and no one and nothing will get in their way."

"Yeah," Mccoy nodded in understanding. "I've seen him at his worst and not just during Pon Farr." McCoy recalled the incident on Sarapaiden when Spock was willing to kill for Zarabeth. Or on the mirror Enterprise where that Spock was just as bloodthirsty as the rest of the bunch. "I have to ask Mrs. Sarek, that doesn't bother you that Vulcans can be so um... passionate?"

Amanda grinned broadly. "Passionate? I like that. And no, why should it bother me? It's Vulcan nature. We, humans, have our quirks too."

"I think single-minded determination to kill or die trying to mate is more than a little quirk," McCoy countered.

"I suppose it's a matter of perspective Doctor. But you didn't call to ask philosophical questions about Vulcan's passionate nature, did you?"

"Actually I did. I called to find out if there is anything in Vulcan nature that would cause Nyota to lash out violently? And is there a correlation with Spock also behaving out of character recently."

That statement kicked Amanda out of her jovial mood. "What do you mean by out of character?"

"Well, technically I am under strict patient-doctor privilege and should not divulge details of Spock's condition to you. However, you are still listed as his next of kin and you and Sarek are the only people I've been able to reach in order to find out his medical history. Besides if this thing is mental he may not be able to make sound judgments for himself."

"Mental? What is happening? What do you need to know Doctor?"

"Has Spock ever had any incidents in the past of psychological disturbance? Outside of pon far of course."

Amanda was quiet for a long while and McCoy thought she was not going to answer when she finally spoke. "YOu know Doctor, Spock is a special child."

"Of course, he is. Every parent thinks their child is special."

"No Doctor, this is not parental pride. Spock really is special even for a Vulcan. He's a rare Vulcan/human hybrid who was born without genetic intervention. We conceived him naturally. And he has more Vulcan traits than any hybrid ever studied, and they studied him a lot. His childhood was not an easy one. He was often ill and he spent a great deal of time in medical facilities. He didn't get a chance to do a lot of things his peers did until he was much older. But when he did participate he excelled beyond our wildest expectations."

"I didn't know that. Spock doesn't talk about himself much at all. We only learned who his parents were when you came aboard the Enterprise on that trip to Babel."

"Yes, I know. And I don't begrudge him his privacy. He's the son of Vulcan's highest-ranking ambassador and the Grandson of Vulcan's current ruler. Anonymity is a form of protection. So I'm sure he wouldn't want me to tell you this and neither would Sarek but if Spock is ill then you need to know his medical history."

"I understand Mrs. Sarek. I won't tell anyone what you tell me. Doctor's honor." McCoy held up three fingers like the old boy scout salute.

"Please call me Amanda." She took a deep breath and began her story. "Doctor you know that Vulcans are telepathic through skin-to-skin contact?"

Mccoy nodded his head.

"Like many Vulcans, Spock also has enhanced psi abilities beyond touch. In fact, it's a trait that runs in his family. Believe it or not but Pon Farr is not the only thing Vulcans consider Taboo. They are not very keen on discussing their telepathic abilities with outsiders. Some eschew the practice altogether or believe it only necessary to be used in certain situations. But sometimes it cannot be suppressed. Like during Pon Farr."

"But what does this have to do with Spock and Uhura? More of this Kata business?"

"Possibly. There are some illnesses unique to Vulcans due to their psi ability and when Spock was younger he had some problems controlling his emotions. He would get terribly angry at the children who teased him and lash out violently just as you say Nyota did."

"That seems normal for a kid to fight back against a bully."

"It was not normal, Doctor. Not for a Vulcan raised to control his emotions practically since birth. And even for a human child, it's not normal to go into a murderous rage."

"Goodness! Did Spock ever-"

"No Doctor! He didn't hurt anyone, well not too bad but the point remains he did attack them. Luckily Vulcan kids have thick skulls. But you can see why he could not be raised on Earth."

McCoy suddenly felt very sorry for Spock and the childhood Amanda described. "Is that the only thing you can think of that relates to Nyota and Spock's behavior?"

"I am not a physician nor a healer so I cannot tell you much more. You'll need to speak to Spock's childhood healers. They would be able to tell you the medical terms for the various illnesses unique to Vulcans and what symptoms accompany them. And remember Doctor, Spock left home when he was still very young. Anything more would be in the Star Fleet academy records."

"Mrs... er Miss Amanda. There is one more thing."

"Yes, what is it?"

"It's something of a very delicate nature. I thought I'd be able to get through to Sarek but he was not available."

"Well as I am available just ask me."

"As I said it's delicate and has to do with... er... Vulcan sexuality."

"Oh, I see." Amanda nodded her head.

"I am not sure you do since I haven't asked you anything yet."

Amanda grinned to see Dr. McCoy was blushing like a schoolboy which she thought was adorable. "Well, ask away. I'll be happy to answer your sex questions."

McCoy loosened the collar of his uniform as if it was trying to choke him. "I do not have any sex questions!" he objected.

"Don't be embarrassed. I am a teacher. I'll be happy to explain anything you need to know."

"Miss Amanda..."

"Just Amanda. Or T'Amanda. Vulcans are not sticklers for honorifics."

"Amanda," McCoy said regaining his composure. "Spock has mentioned something to me and I was at a loss as to how to respond without any previous knowledge of Vulcan..."

"Sexuality? Well, what is it?"

"Well, in a nutshell, Spock thinks he and Nyota are being a bit too... um... amorous."

"Ooooh la la 'amorous'," Amanda teased him. She was happy to hear that Spock and Nyota were busy working on those grandbabies. "Is that all?"

"Yes well, he was quite concerned about it. He seems to feel it's unusual for a Vulcan to engage in... well to engage quite so often."

"Silly boy. I guess I can see why he wouldn't want to ask his parents about something like that. Although, if he had asked me I could have told him it was quite normal. Vulcans have normal sex drives just like any other species in the galaxy."

"Oh?" McCoy smiled. "I'm sure that will be a relief to him."

"I'm sure it won't," Amanda said.

"Why do you say that?"

"Vulcans are not shy about most things, in fact, they are rather shameless. Except when it comes to Pon Farr and anything related to it. Then they suddenly develop lockjaw and won't talk. I mean Sarek loves sex but I have to practically-"

"Tut tut tut!" McCoy waved frantically at the viewer. "Please don't go on." He so did now want to hear anything about his friend's parent's sex life. "So what should I tell him then?"

"Tell him I thought Sarek gave him 'the talk'. Then tell him to call his mother and I'll set him straight," Amanda grinned.

"I don't think I will tell him that."

"Don't worry Doctor. Now that I know his problem I'll call him myself. Or better yet I'll have a talk with Nyota. I suppose there are some things you do not want to hear from your mother."

"Indeed there are." McCoy agreed and he was fairly certain Nyota didn't want to hear it from Spock's mother either but that was her problem.

"Doctor. Thank you for taking such good care of the kids."

"You don't have to thank me, it's my job. And they are my friends, so of course, I'm going to help them."

"Well, thank you anyway. For being their friend. Spock never had many friends growing up. I'm glad he has them now."

"Well, don't you worry Amanda, he is in good hands. And we're doing everything we can to get him home to Vulcan so his doctors can look him over. Well, be there soon."

"Good. I look forward to meeting you again. Until then, Live Long and Prosper."

McCoy returned the gesture as best he could and the connection went out.

Amanda slumped down in her chair and swiveled around, deep in thought. The doctor didn't call her out of the blue just to ask for Spock's medical history. He could have gotten that from the healer's office or the Academy. He specifically wanted to know about Spock's mental health or more likely his psychic health.

Amanda sighed as if she had just run out of steam and deflated. "Oh, Spock! What have you done now?"

This was almost chapter 55 but at the last minute, I switched them around. Now we end on a cliffhanger...😈