Thank you for all off those who have reviewed, favorited and alerted this fic! The hits counter is hitting the roof, I'm so happy! Thank you to those of you who have reviewed! Like I said, I have been doing much research into Star Trek to get everything aas faithful as possible. For those that don't know my writing style I like to take a well-know story and give it a twist, staying as true to the original story as possible. I go to Wikipedia, Memory-Alpha and Memory-Beta reading as much as I can about Amanda Grayson, Sarek and Spock. I have really big, big, BIG plans for this story and I hope that you readers will read and review. I love reviews they fuel me and help me keep going! If you like the story and wish for me to continue, please send in a review and let me know!

Chapter Three:

"I'm an idiot."

She could hear Doris sigh. "Stop saying that Amanda. You were fine."

Amanda groaned and turned on her stomach as she lay on the bed in the room they were staying in.

They were in a room Starfleet had given them while they stayed at Headquarters. They wanted the man that was shipping their precious cargo to be as comfortable as possible before the journey. They were in one of the most lavished quarters Amanda had ever seen, not far from where she met up with her sister and father. The quarters had two rooms, her parents shared one while her and her sister shared the other.

At that moment, she was with her mother and sister in her parent's room watching her mother and sister get ready for a dinner that night. The dinner had numerous Admirals, Ambassadors and Captains; they wanted to get together so they could talk about the historic shipment that was about to get underway. They wanted everything to go off without a hitch, not sparing one , who had nothing to do with the shipment and was only there at her father's request, would not go. Her parents had tried to weeks to get her invited, speaking to different personnel so she would be able to attend. In the end, she couldn't, they only allowed her mother and now she was actually thankful for that. She didn't want to get into any more embarrassing situations than she had already.

She was waiting for her father to come in, tell her that she had to go home immediately so she wouldn't cause any more disturbances. Her suitcase remained untouched on her bed in the room, so she wouldn't have to pack it again when he told her the news.

"I'm an idiot."

Her mother who had remained quiet for the first forty times Amanda had said it, spoke, "Amanda, please, your father is going to speak with the Ambassador for you. He will apologize and it will be fine."

Amanda covered her head with a pillow. "How could I have been so stupid?"

"You know you're right," Doris said. "For a genius, you sure are an idiot. You must be the only human in the twenty-third century to not know that Vulcans don't shake hands."

Amanda groaned. "Kill me." She lifted her head from the pillow. "It's a good thing First Contact didn't rely on me."

Her mother spoke up. "They did shake hands."

"Yeah, but Cochrane didn't know any better, it's supposed that I do."

Doris laughed, her professional demeanor from before gone, "You really are an idiot."

"Doris," their mother warned, "hush. Your father told me that he would talk to Ambassador Sarek about that and as far as I've heard, he is a very understanding Vulcan, he knows of human customs and behaviors."

Doris looked at Amanda's reflection in the mirror as she continued to apply eye-shadow over the dresser. "Seriously, Amanda, you're a schoolteacher, aren't you supposed to know things like that? Wasn't there a class or something like that?"

"There was a semester in college about extraterrestrial customs, legends and life. I didn't think I would need it since in Washington our town only has Humans."

"So you didn't take the class?"

"Yes, I took it, but I forgot. I forgot about how Vulcans greet people and everything." Amanda burst. "I panicked! It was the first time I met someone not from here!"

Doris eyebrows furrowed. "What about old man Jennings?"

Amanda knew who she was talking about. The old man who lived two houses down from them, alone. He was very old, one of the oldest people she had ever met. "He's human!"

Doris shrugged. "I thought he was a Cardassian, at least."

Amanda couldn't see how she could confuse him for a Cardassian, knowing that the Cardassians were reptile-like with their ridges on their foreheads and shoulders. "Those are wrinkles, Doris."

Amanda wondered briefly if she ever met one. Doris had met so many races on the three years she worked with her father that she wondered what race Doris didn't meet. Amanda never wondered about the world beyond Earth, she probably couldn't mention two more races than the ones she already knew.

The automatic doors of the room wooshed open and she looked at her father's excited face, the smile reaching his eyes. "Everything is going to plan, everyone. The voyage to Beta VI is almost here." Beta VI was the planet where they would take the shipment to.

"That's wonderful, William," Her mother said standing from her dresser chair and planting her father a kiss on the cheek. "That's great news."

He nodded and looked at the group in the room. "Are you almost ready?"

Doris answered. "Almost."

He began to take off his jacket, throwing it on the bed next to Amanda. "Amanda, I have news for you too."

Amanda got up from the bed, excited. "Did you talk to the Ambassador?"

He nodded as he looked through his closet for something to wear. "I did."

When he didn't say anything else, Amanda prompted, "Well?"

Her father took a blue suit from the closet and pressed it against his body, examining how it would look. "What do you think of this?"

Amanda hardly glanced. "Black is better. Well, come on Dad, what did he say?"

"I explained the reason you were nervous." He paused. "You were nervous, right? I mean your hand was shaking."

"Yes," Amanda said quickly, trying not to relive the embarrassment. "I think we got that."

"I think everyone got that," Doris added.

"Hush, Doris." Her mother said as she sat in front of the mirror again.

William continued. "I told him that this was your first time being away from home and that you were tired. Trains can be very exhausting. He said that it was logical to be nervous meeting a non-terran life-form for the first time and that he enjoyed meeting you."

Amanda froze. "He said that? He enjoyed meeting me?"

William nodded, taking the black suit out. "This one, right?"

All three women quickly said yes, and Amanda noted that they were all hanging on his every word about the Ambassador. They couldn't believe what he was saying either. So they did have the same worries as her, Amanda noticed.

"In fact, Ambassador Sarek said that if you were not too tired from your trip, he would look forward to seeing you tonight at the dinner."

Amanda stood shocked. Her eyes followed her father as he made his way around them room, looking for cufflinks, hairbrush or she thought so he could get ready for the dinner that would start in one hour.

Doris stood the same as her sister, watching their father. "I thought she wasn't invited."

He continued, nonchalant. "She wasn't, but then again, the Admiral can't refuse a request from the Ambassador of Vulcan."

Amanda's mother watched her husband too. "Are you telling me that Ambassador Sarek got my little girl invited to the non-invite-able dinner that we had been trying to get her into for weeks? The dinner that 'too many diplomats and admirals would attend and it would only be an affair for those only directly involved with the shipment?' That one?" Her mother quoted the letter that Admiral Nelson had drafted for them when they wanted Amanda invited to the dinner as well as the Gala.

William's chest swell with pride. "That's right. He and his brother, Silek, are looking forward to seeing Amanda tonight."

Amanda blinked. "Wh-why?"

"Does it matter?" Her mother stood up from the chair again. "You're invited. By the Vulcan Ambassador, no less."

Doris looked at her little sister. "What did you do?"

Amanda couldn't speak. "I-I don't know."

William looked at his watch. "You better get going, we don't want to be late."

Doris dropped the eye-shadow brush on the small dressing table they had the make-up on. "Come on, let's get you dressed."

Amanda couldn't move. "But I don't have anything to wear."

Doris grabbed her wrist and led her out of the room. "I do. It's a good thing we're the same size."

Amanda never felt so small in her life.

Not only small in stature, but small in everything else. She had never been in a room with so many important people. The party was small, she had expected many more people to show, given the nature of Admiral Nelson's letter but there were only about twelve people there. Admiral Nelson and his wife were there, with a beautiful gold dress and matching earrings. Two other Admirals, Manning and Haines were there, each with their own spouse. Amanda's whole family was there. The only party missing was Ambassador Sarek and his brother Silek.

She was thankful that her family was there, she didn't want to feel left out.

The officers dressed impeccably in suits while the women wore dresses that Amanda absolutely loved. Even her mother matched the same elegance as the other women, no one would think that this was the first time with people like that.

Everyone looked liked they belonged, even Doris who had some knowledge of what these men knew and worked for. She dressed perfectly, down to the last detail, obviously knowing what to expect, being at dinners like that on different planets and continents. She felt a little jealousy at her sister for knowing what to do in those situations.

She wrapped her fingers around the cold pendant around her neck as she tended to do when she was nervous. She then noticed that as hard as she was trying to fit in, she really felt left out.

She didn't know who to talk to or what to talk about. Everyone in the room talked about diplomatic agreements, disputes with colonies or vessels and a new Galaxy-class starship that was to be built in the coming years. Her father talked to Admiral Manning and his wife about the new doors this new shipment was going to open with other planets in the Federation.

Her mother talked to Admiral Manning's wife about the new trends in Paris, something that Amanda didn't like to talk about.

Amanda smoothed down her dress. Not her favorite but one of Doris's choosing. It was strapless, hugging Amanda's chest tightly then loosely around her stomach and legs. The dark violet fabric, she had to admit made her skin fair look flawless. Her chocolate brown hair had been placed up in a delicate bun, showing off her matching color dew drop earrings. She wore silver bracelets that jingled when she moved and dark colored eye-shadow that made her brown eyes stand out.

Though just as stylishly dressed as the other women in the room, she felt like she stuck out like a sore thumb.

Doris handed her a glass of champagne and she downed it quickly, trying to shake off the feeling. She hoped that they would announce dinner soon so she could finally do something rather than stand around in a small room doing nothing.

At that moment the doors of the small room wooshed open and everyone in the room turned to the pair of Vulcans that came in. They still wore robes only darker in color this time. The hoods were down and Amanda could see the heavily pronounced angular eyebrows and the pointed ears.

Their velvet black hair was perfectly cut in a straight line over their foreheads and closely cut to their heads. They were cleanly shaven and their young skin was perfectly smooth. The Ambassador, the one that she had given her hand to for the handshake, looked a little older than Silek, with dark brown eyes, almost black. Silek had light colored eyes and high cheekbones with a pointed nose unlike Sarek's slightly round one.

Ambassador Sarek being older looked surprisingly young, almost Amanda's own age. He didn't look a day older twenty-six. She remembered, briefly, that Vulcans aged slower than humans and that the man could be well into his ninety earth-years before showing a gray hair.

Amanda concluded that Ambassador Sarek was very handsome.

And to think, she wondered, he wanted me here for the dinner. She wanted to know why.

They walked into the room and everyone stopped their conversation. Admiral Haines greeted them. "Ambassador Sarek, Silek. How are you this evening?"

"Very well, I thank you, Admiral."

Sarek's voice was like velvet, making her feel almost at home.

Silek nodded and looked over the group gathered in the small room. "I take it dinner has not been announced?"

"Should be any moment now," Admiral Nelson said, taking champagne from the small table in the middle of the room.

The group continued with their previous conversations and Amanda watched the two men saunter over to where she stood next to her family. Amanda's breath caught and she knew that her cheeks were flamed red. She could only imagine what they were going to say to her.

Millions though flashed through her mind, each more negative than the last. She knew he would echo her thoughts from earlier in the afternoon. They would think she was an idiot. Say it, in front of everyone in the room.

She wished the earth would open up and swallow her whole.

"Miss Grayson." They each slightly bowed their heads in greeting, Amanda did the same.

Silek spoke. "I'm afraid Miss Grayson that we were not properly introduced, allow me to introduce myself." He extended his hand. "I am Silek, this is my brother Ambassador Sarek." Sarek stood perfectly still, his hands folded in front of his chest, looking only at Amanda.

Amanda stared at his hand then looked up at their serious faces. She knew that she would never meet a more serious race than the Vulcans. Silek really wasn't kidding. Sarek hadn't extended his own hand and Amanda could only guess what he was thinking. His face gave off no emotion but then again, no human could ever guess any Vulcan emotion.

She admired what Silek was doing. He showed her that what she had done earlier was all right and that they weren't insulted like she thought they had been. Or at least, Silek wasn't. In that moment, she felt instantly at ease, the Vulcan was being more inviting to her than the actual humans at Starfleet.

She smiled at first, not able to stop the grin. Laughter then burst from her lips, loud enough that everyone in the room looked at her. It felt like a weight was suddenly lifted off her shoulders. She didn't feel like the odd one out anymore, she felt more welcome than ever. She could feel moisture at the corners of her eyes and her cheeks hurt from the constant smiling.

She was starting to like Silek.

She finally shook his hand, the grip strong. "It's really nice to meet you too." She looked at him, grateful. "Thank you."

Another person walked into the room, he was dressed in white and she knew it was one of the waiters. "Dinner is served."

The group followed the man. Amanda turned to leave also until Ambassador Sarek spoke.

"Miss Grayson," he said coolly. "There is a matter of which I need to speak to you of."

She nodded, intrigued. "Yes, Ambassador?"

"I cannot divulge the details of the matter at this moment. It will have to wait until tomorrow," he told her matter-of-factly, unfeeling. "May I have your permission to call upon you in the afternoon?"

Amanda nodded slowly, unable to refuse. She couldn't refuse the Ambassador anything even if it was just to see her the next day. She was interested to know why it was that he invited her to the dinner and then asked to see her the next day. Had that been the reason she was invited to the dinner? To ask to see her the next day?

The motives escaped her and in the moment she could only nod, dumbfounded.

Sarek motioned for the door, allowing Amanda first through to the dining room. At first, she couldn't make her legs move. Then she finally moved and went through the same way the rest of the group had gone.

Yes, I'm guilty. When I think of young Sarek in this story I think of Zachary Quinto in the new Star Trek movie.

Thank you once again, please review! I hope this takes off like my previous story A Memory's Phantom. Take care, everyone!

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