Part Three

He walked with Kirk in silence, his mind filled with a hundred questions for which he had no answers. Perhaps, Sarek had been foolish to think that all he needed to do was find Kirk and his task would be completed. He felt tired, and for the first time in his life, he truly felt every one of his 117 years bearing down upon him. His mind raced with what he would need to face when he returned to Amanda. Amanda, who had by this time had no doubt paced the entire length of the Presidential Suite at the Four Seasons countless times during the length of this day. First Spock's death, now the possible loss of his katra. Had the gods really been so disapproving of his life's path that this indignity be inflicted not just upon him but upon his wife and child as well?

And what would he tell Amanda? Everything was so close to the surface and raw. After he viewed the ship's log and the last moment painful moments of their son's life, he was glad he had stood firm, insisting that she not accompany him this day. But she would ask, and it would be a struggle—

They had made a sharp turn and came to a stop. A young security officer blocked the way.

" Your Excellency, Admiral Kirk, we're sorry but this corridor—there's broken water pipe further down the hall and we're experiencing some shorts in our security system. You'll need to go up past the Academic offices."

The Academic Offices- he had been there before, not so long ago…

…"I find it very amusing that after all this time, in the end, it's me you followed into teaching."

He heard Amanda's laughter behind him as she spoke to Spock, filtered through the bureaucratic mumbling of the Chancellor of Star Fleet Academy. "Official" tours were a generally a chore, this one no different than the countless tours on countless planets he had suffered through since childhood, when his father took him on a mission for the first time.

" I can't say how delighted we are, Your Excellency, to have you and your wife as our guests here at our headquarters today. And to have your son joining our teaching staff is a great honor…"

Sarek could just hear the play for more funds at the next council session that would no doubt be made before the afternoon was up. But son or no son, he was representative of his people's conscience, and when the time came, as always, nothing would sway him from his duty to vote otherwise.

They had finally, it seemed, come to an understanding, he and Spock. He would tolerate what he could not change and Spock would accept that his father would never fully approve of his choice of career. And at least this new position was an improvement for his son in Sarek's eyes, away from any need for violence, preparing his students for the dangers of the unknown rather than facing them himself. It gave Amanda a great sense of peace in knowing that their son was no longer "out there somewhere" but back where she could give a name and a sense of place to. He would have to admit that it gave him as sense of security as well. The dangers faced in the Academy would only be theoretical ones.

" I think you'll enjoy teaching, Spock. And I will have to admit that I'm happy that you'll be stationed safely on Earth."

As Sarek turned to wait for his wife and son to catch up with him, he admitted secretly to himself that he was enjoying the exchange between mother and son. It was so rare that either of them had the chance to converse with Spock in such a relaxed manner, adult to adult, as it should be. He wanted to savor the moment, knowing they would be leaving Earth within the next two days and who knows when they would be able to cross paths again.

" My wife…"

"...your wife?"

Kirk was asking him something? What would he tell Amanda?

They had exited the building now and he looked up into the sky gathering his thoughts. The day had turned cold and damp and he flung his cloak over his shoulders, pulling it close.

" I will tell Amanda as much as I need to. And as little as I can. Kirk, " he paused for a moment, "If you valued my son's friendship as I believe he did yours—"

" Ambassador, " the Admiral stopped him, "You don't need to say more. I promise you, we will meet you on Vulcan."

Sarek nodded in reply and glanced down at Kirk, "Until then."

With a sweep of the cloak he parted with the Admiral in front of the expanse of Star Fleet Headquarters. Spock had trusted these "friends" and time and again they had proven themselves to be true to him in life. Now if it only held that they would honor him in death as well. Sarek turned for a moment before entering his limo, watching Kirk briskly walk off in the distance. He could only hope that the next time they met, it would bring a peace that this meeting did not. He eased himself into the limo as his security escort slid the door shut. Settling into his seat, now his only immediate task would preparing to face Amanda. And it might well be the most difficult task he had faced on this day filled with many.

He played out the conversation with a hundred variations on the way back to the hotel, trying to surmise each question in advance. There were but a few short blocks left to gather his fortifications before the limo pulled up to the hotel. It was a distance which was far too short for reasoning, yet far too long for his heart. Sarek wondered as he rode in the lift, accompanied only by his security escort, he wondered if any of those he had seen in the course of the day had an idea of the true turbulance that struggled within him.

At some point after he had entered the building, the oppressive cloud cover had broken just enough and the large floor to ceiling windows in the living area revealed a setting sunset, a vast expanse of horizon framing the lone delicate figure at its center. She didn't turn when he came in, but continued to look off into the distance.

He stood for a moment uncertain of what his next action should be. But his wife made it for him.

" Its like home isn't it, all dressed in gold and red? At one time, I didn't think that there would ever come the day when I would be here on Earth calling another world home."

She let out a laugh, but it was a brittle one, and he came to her side and gently turned her away from the window. She had been crying, there in the room alone. Sarek enfolded her in his arms and she burrowed her face deep within his chest.

" It was bad wasn't it? I didn't even need you to be near for me to feel it."

He took a deep breath to speak, but before he could, reaching up she took her two fingers and lay them on his lips. She pulled herself back to look up into his eyes, and he could feel himself releasing all of the anger and pain of the day into her open and welcoming heart. She let her hands caress the lines of his face, lines that had seemed to have visibly deepened over the last few days. Then she pulled his face down to hers and they kissed long and slowly, and when they pulled back there was nothing more to say as they stood fixed in the last rays of the dying sunlight. It was time to go home.