I think every Star Trek fanfiction writer will eventually write an origin story for Sarek and Amanda Grayson. Here's one of them.
This story is set in a universe outside of my Bound and Beyond series timeline. First of all, it is based on memories Sarek and Amanda share of their first meeting and pon farr, memories which Spock obtained when he mind-melded with Captain Picard in the Prime timeline. So it seems to be set in a timeline where Spock and Uhura never married nor had a romance. And in Bound to You, Amanda says she and Sarek were a couple and had a courtship before her first pon farr and she had been prepared for it. So this is a totally separate stand-alone story.
Children could be cruel, especially Vulcan children. They often taunted Spock with epitaphs against his mother. They called Lady Amanda a human whore in order to elicit an emotional response from Spock. But Spock's mother was not a whore and in his childish impulsiveness, he often defended her honor.
Spock knew his mother to be the kindest, gentlest, most compassionate person he had ever known. That she had the misfortune to marry the cold and logical Sarek of Vulcan was not her fault. It was her kind and gentle nature that got her into trouble. Literally.
Spock had asked his father many times why he married his emotional human bride and the answer had always been that Sarek that thought it logical at the time. His mother's answer to the same question had been quite unexpected.
Spock had always anticipated a sentimental human response. Surely his mother would say because she loved Sarek. But his mother's answer had actually been similar to Sarek's. She said she had married Sarek because it was the right thing to do at the time. His parents always confused him with their contradictory responses and expectations.
Spock could not comprehend his mother's reasons. Why was marrying his father the right thing? It implied not marrying Sarek would have been wrong. Spock was determined to discover his parent's origin story. But he had spent his entire life never knowing the truth.
Not until he had met Captain Picard of the current Enterprise. Picard had melded with Sarek before his death and he had offered to share that experience with Spock. Spock could not deny himself this one last chance to understand his father's mind because while Sarek lived they had never bonded in such a way. And what he learned astonished him.
Sarek had shared his entire life's memories with Picard. The mental power it took to contain all that was Sarek had nearly overcome the captain but he had survived it and managed to assist Sarek on his final mission. And in return, quite unbeknownst to Picard, Sarek had given him a small gift of Vulcan knowledge. A tiny bit of Sarek had been left behind in Picard's mind. But with both the captain and Sarek being stubborn men Spock suspected the captain would be none the wiser of Sarek's presence.
"Thank you, Captain." Spock had said as he released Picard from the meld. "You have given me a great gift."
"It was an honor to assist Sarek and it is an honor to grant you this final contact with him."
"Your service honors us," Spock said to the captain. "Live long and prosper"
"Peace and long life," Picard bade him before he left to return to his ship.
Spock was left on Romulus and he returned to the accommodations arranged for him in the underground. Late at night when he was secluded with and deep in meditation he recalled the memories Picard had been generous enough to share with him from his mind.
Quite a bit of Sarek's memories had remained in Picard's brain and intertwined with them were those of Amanda. It seemed Sarek had captured a great deal of Amanda's human katra before she departed the living realm. Perhaps one day before he died Spock would carefully dissect all of his father's thoughts and more significantly his emotions. But tonight Spock chose one memory in particular to examine.
Normally it would be an unusual choice for a child to ponder, how his parents bonded. However, Spock could see this was no ordinary memory. Sarek had not married Amanda in the traditional way. Of course, Spock knew his mother was human and therefore was not bonded to Sarek in childhood. But they had also not been joined on Vulcan nor on Earth. They had not shared a traditional courtship by either Earth nor Vulcan standards.
Sarek had been alone. His wife had left him many years ago to pursue Kolinahr. His son had abandoned logic and fled Vulcan for parts unknown. Sarek had never remarried nor had he sought the company of females except for professional reasons. But soon his Time would be approaching and he had yet to secure a bondmate or an alternative solution. Sarek didn't like to face the reality of his family life which was in shambles, a state no Vulcan could tolerate. So he put all of his efforts into his work as ambassador. Sarek had been determined never to subject himself to the vagaries of a Vulcan wife ever again.
And yet the Time threatened. So Skon and T'Pau had informed their wayward son that they had taken it upon themselves to procure him a new bondmate. The lady in question was the eldest daughter of another prominent clan and she was a widow. She awaited Sarek's return to Vulcan whereupon his arrival they were to meet at the place of marriage, his family's traditional marriage grounds, and bond in matrimony. Sarek thought he would have time to thwart these plans made by his parents but the fever was upon him before he knew or understood how it had happened and he could wait no longer to find a woman to suit his needs on his own. Nature had taken all choice away from him, again.
Sarek did not even have enough time to book passage on a fast Vulcan ship. The only ship leaving Earth for Vulcan had been a commercial passenger vessel. His team had managed to procure the last cabin available in the steerage deck. Sarek had left in such hast that he left his diplomatic aides behind to attend to other pressing business matters. They would rendezvous with him on one of Vulcan's diplomatic ship once it arrived back on earth from another mission. If fortune held, Sarek would arrive on Vulcan before his fever was too far gone. But a cruel twist of fate caused the engines of the ship Sarek was traveling on to malfunction. He was at the whim of a starship whose engine had decided it couldn't travel above impulse power. He would not make it home in time.
"Ambassador, are you alright?" The very pert and opinionated teacher who was accompanying a group of students from the earth embassy on a trip to Vulcan asked him while he sat at his table in the ship's rec room. He was trying to sip from a cup of plomeek soup. His appetite had been greatly diminished these past few weeks and that should have been the first clue to his forthcoming condition. However, he had been distracted by negotiations for the federation with the Orians and he had pressed on with his work. Now here he was being questioned by an upstart human teacher.
"Yes," Sarek answered curtly and continued trying to force the soup down his throat.
"You don't look alright," Amanda Grayson said to him with concern in her voice.
"Miss Grayson, why did you ask if I was alright if you have already decided that I am not?"
That response took Amanda by surprise. On previous occasions where she had to speak to the ambassador, he was always very cordial if aloof.
"I suppose it is a human failing, to ask a question you already know the answer to. Rhetorical we call it."
Sarek harumphed in response.
"So... as to your state of health...?" Amanda left the question hanging in the air.
"Miss Grayson whether I am 'alright' or not is no concern of yours."
"On the contrary Ambassador, you are a huma- well you are a Vulcan being. You matter to me because you are a person. I cannot stand by and watch any living being suffer if I have the capacity to intervene."
"But do you have the capacity to intervene Miss Grayson?" Sarek asked and he looked up into her concerned blue eyes with intense dark eyes of his own.
Amanda was mesmerized by those eyes. Vulcan's were such handsome devils, she thought as he continued to stare at her. What did he mean 'did she have the capacity to intervene'?
"Ambassador, if you are ill, I could fetch the medical officer."
"I am not ill, at least not in a way that can be treated by the medical officer," Sarek informed her.
"Well, then it sounds like you are suffering from some kind of discomfort? Are you injured? Is there anything I can do to assist you?"
Sarek wanted to laugh. He could think of at least a half dozen licentious things she could do to assist him. All of which would be sure to shock her if she could read his mind.
"Miss Grayson, go away. I wish to be left alone."
"Mr. Ambassador. I have observed that males, no matter what the race or species have one particular trait in common," Amanda informed him.
Sarek knew he should not ask but something compelled him to do so anyway. "And what is that Miss Grayson?"
"All males behave like silly asses when ill... Sir." She added respectfully at the end.
Sarek couldn't believe his ears. He had not expected that reply and a bark of laughter escaped his lips before he could contain it. Realizing his lapse in control, he rose quickly from his seat and fled the rec room before any other incidents could occur.
Amanda stood and watch the ambassador make a hasty retreat. She didn't know what had come over her. She hadn't meant to antagonize the man, she had only meant to offer assistance for someone who looked like they could use it. The ambassador was uncharacteristically traveling alone. Usually, he had an entourage of other Vulcan aides and assistants who hovered around him waiting on his every beck and call.
Amanda knew this because she worked in the embassy building that housed not only the Vulcan diplomats but that of several other Federation allies. Whenever she saw Ambassador Sarek in the halls of the embassy he was always attended by at least one aide. But he was very much alone on this vessel and it was strange. Stranger still was his behavior, he was not himself. He was tense, and he was even more aloof and standoffish than usual and that was saying something.
But the real giveaway that something was terribly amiss with his behavior towards her students. He had been downright angry when one of the students had ventured too close to him and stubbled at his feet. The ambassador hefted the child up rather forcefully and set them aright but he then had very stern words for the child. Amanda had witnessed the interaction with dismay.
Ambassador or not he had no right to speak to a child like that and she told him so. He promptly seemed to take hold of himself and apologized but to Amanda, the damage had been done. Something was wrong with the ambassador. And just now he seemed to have another lapse in control, he laughed! Vulcan's did not laugh. What the hell was going on?
Back in his cabin, Sarek was beginning to feel the fever of the Plok tow take control. He stripped out of his clothing and lay on his bed. He was burning up but there was nothing he could do about it. He would either make it to Vulcan in time or he would not. He had already tried meditation to no avail, he could not reach his center and balance was not attainable, his concentration was wrecked. He could not even reach out telepathically to his awaiting bride for comfort. They had not been previously bonded and as a matter of fact, they were not even met with one another. He was traveling blindly into a marriage he would just as soon avoid. Perhaps death would be the lesser evil.
Sarek had already been betrayed by one wife and he did not particularly want another one. His experience with Sybok's mother, for he could not bring himself to speak her name ever again, had been a nightmare. They had been bonded to one another since childhood, but just like his future bride, they were practically strangers on the day of their bonding. Sarek supposed he should be grateful she even bothered to show up to the place of kun et kalifee and honor their bond. And to her credit, she had not challenged him at that time. She timidly accepted her lot in life and became his wife. Their bonding had been a rush of heated flesh coming together all in a jumble of fevered memories. And they had conceived a child. Sarek had no fondness for his wife but he tried to be a good husband and father.
Not good enough apparently because Sybok's mother had challenged him on his last Pon Farr. All the years that they had lived together and she had never mentioned a desire to become a priestess of Kolinahr, never mentioned her intentions of leaving him for Gol.
But on the day his mind called out to her for relief she had blocked him. He should have suspected then, but he was too far gone in fever to know what was to happen next. She had brought a fellow acolyte with her to champion her and secure her freedom. She had intended that Sarek would die that day at the hands of her champion. But Sarek was a descendent of Surak, a cunning and ferocious warrior in his own time and Sarek studied his teachings in philosophy as well as combat. Her champion had been no match for Sarek and he fell under Sarek's lirpa blade.
When it was all over Sarek realized he had taken a life. Because of his wife. He no longer wanted her, not for his Time. The fever had broken as soon as blood was spilled. And he did not want her as wife any longer either. Not one such as she who could be so treacherous as to betray the father of her child. Sarek had repudiated her and he had avoided women since. It was perhaps illogical but he did not want a woman. Not when he had blood on his hands because of one.
Of course, his actions had been in line with tradition. He was the victor and if he had wished it he could have still taken Sybok's mother and used her to slack his lust before he discarded her. But he found he had no appetite for sex at all after the combat. He was disgusted by the whole affair.
So he went back to his life, back to his regular diplomatic duties while a man lay in his grave. And he behaved as if nothing had changed, as if nothing had happened to him on the battlefield of the kun-et-kalifee. He had taken a life. But he could never acknowledge that life, it was not the Vulcan way.
The women of Vulcan were just as cruel and vicious as their ancestors, Sarek thought. They held the power of life and death in their hands and between their legs and they wielded that power with an iron will. If they chose to be benevolent they would bond with you, service you in your Time of need, perhaps give you children. Or they could turn on you like a hungry wolf in the fold.
These thoughts assaulted Sarek as he lay alone in his bunk tossing and turning with Plok Tow. He had no sense of time. He could have been in there for a day or a week or mere minutes. He had lost track of everything except the agony of the fire burning so deep within his body and mind.
He awoke sometime later to the feel of cool hands touching his heated flesh and the feel of a cool cloth bathing him.
"He's burning up," a familiar voice said. "Can't you do anything for him?"
"I am sorry Miss. He is a Vulcan." The medical officer said as if that explained it all.
"So? What does that have to do with anything?" Amanda demanded as she sponged Ambassador Sarek's fevered body. She had missed him at the evening meal and then he had not shown up for breakfast. That meant he had been holed up in his room for hours alone with God knew what happening to him.
Fearing the worst, she asked the medical officer to override Sarek's door code and check on him. What they found was horrifying. Sarek lay in his bed drenched in sweat, sick and delirious. The doctor gave a perfunctory exam while Amanda ransacked the lavatory in search of a basin with cool water to try bathing his body.
"Well, doctor? What is it? What are you going to do?" Amanda pleaded.
"There is nothing to be done, he is Vulcan."
"What are you talking about? So he is Vulcan! Are you some kind of xenophobe? I thought you doctors took an oath to do no harm?" Amanda all but cried.
The doctor stood to his full height as if mustering up his dignity.
"Madam, I resent your accusations. I can do nothing for this man. His affliction is... shall we say, hereditary. It is the nature of Vulcan biology. Neither you nor I have the power to intervene. He needs his own people."
"Okay then let's get him to Vulcan! Tell the captain we have a medical emergency," she demanded.
The Medical officer rolled his eyes. "Miss, we are on our way to Vulcan if you haven't been aware. He'll just have to survive until we arrive."
What the hell was this caviler attitude? A man was dying on his ship and this medical officer seemed to not give a damn.
"Why are you not even trying to help him? Can't you take him to your sickbay?" Amanda asked.
"There is nothing we can do even in the sickbay. His fever can only be broken by...well he needs his people, his wife. A Vulcan male in this state is a danger to others. It is best that he stay secluded in his cabin as he has been and left alone."
"Are you insane? I'm not leaving him in here alone. He could die."
"Then he will die, and it's best if you are not a party to it. He is dangerous."
"Look at him, does he look dangerous to you?" Amanda pointed at Sarek as he lay naked and helpless in his bed thrashing about in dreamland.
"Miss, I've seen what a Vulcan male in this condition is capable of and I tell you, I want no part of it and neither do you. If he regains awareness he will attack. Vulcans in this state have the strength of 10 human males. The amount of adrenaline and testosterone-like chemicals coursing through his body makes him a threat even against armed guards. The restraints on the biobeds in sickbay cannot hold him. He must be quarantined."
"Now come away from him. He could snap your neck with little effort. I'll have the captain quarantine this cabin until we reach Vulcan Prime."
The doctor turned to leave secure in the knowledge he had put the fear of Vulcan into the little busybody teacher.
"No!"
The doctor stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Amanda with incredulity.
"What?"
"I said no! I can't leave him here in his own sick like some animal. He needs help. What kind of man are you anyway? You're a damn doctor!"
"Yes, I am a doctor, not a magician. I cannot administer any drugs, they would not work; his metabolism would simply burn through them. We cannot suppress the fever. It is impossible. When he wakes he will attack in his pursuit of-" the doctor stopped himself from divulging all of the Ambassador's secrets. He did not want the Vulcan council on his ass. This little teacher was already working on his last nerve.
"Now come away from here and let the Ambassador have what is left of his dignity."
"Dignity?" Amanda asked in disbelief.
"Yes, I am certain Ambassador Sarek would not wish you to see him in such a state."
"Get out!" Amanda yelled at him. She turned back to Sarek and continued to sponge him.
"Miss Grayson! I will have to quarantine this cabin. No one will be allowed in or out until we reach Vulcan and his people can fetch him."
"You mean fetch his body, don't you? Get out of here. Your services are no longer needed, Doctor." Amand said the title derisively.
"You are out of your mind." The doctor protested. "You humans, you think you know everything, don't you? You think you know the cure for a rainy day? Well, let me tell you something Miss Grayson, when that man wakes up, if he wakes up, you'll be sorry you are locked in here with him. You have no idea what is happening and I cannot prepare you for it. I have warned you of the risk so may it be on your head."
The doctor went to a console and pulled up a file. "Miss Grayson, will you kindly sign this waiver," He said angrily as he stepped aside for her.
Amanda stalked over to the console and signed the waiver and put her thumbprint on it for good measure. "There," she said defiantly. "Now get out. Oh, wait. I'll need clean linens and some ice."
The doctor rolled his eyes but punched something else into the console.
"There," he said mimicking her. "It will arrive shortly. And that will be the last time these cabin doors will open until we reach Vulcan. Good luck Miss Grayson."
With that, he stalked out of the cabin.
Amanda turned back to her patient. He was her responsibility now.
Amanda sighed. What the hell had she just gotten herself into? Her mother always said her mouth would get her into trouble. Amanda had a sinking feeling that her mouth had just written a check her ass couldn't cash.