A/N: I realized as I wrote this, it's like...Downton Abbey with Vulcans...hmmm Also this will be my last post on anything for a bit, I have a board of directors who wants me to report...geeesh. :( LLAP!

Kuvak walked into his breakfast area and Sarah was standing in the same spot where Skol always stood. As soon as he sat down, she approached with his tray. She sat it before him, removed all the covers, and then stepped away taking her place again. It didn't seem odd to him, when Skol did it, but now that she was standing there something seemed off to him. He placed his napkin in his lap. "Would you like to join me?"

"No, Osu, thank you."

He looked over at her, and then back to his plate. It was his typical morning plomeek, some toasted root with legume butter, and tea. Everything was perfect. He began eating and he realized there was one new addition, she had placed the nightly news on his padd for him. He raised his eyebrows and began reading. That was very agreeable addition to his morning routine, and he wondered why no one, including himself, had thought of it before. At the end of the news feed, was the daily budget, the weekly budget, and all pertinent house information.

He looked at her as she moved silently to pick up his tray, "You are very efficient. Thank you for the new additions."

She bowed slightly, "You're welcome, Osu. Will there be anything else?"

He tried to think of something else, but was at a loss, "No, that will be all."

888

Sarah walked out of the room, and placed the tray on the cart. She had to get down to the market before the Tellarite left for the day. One of the cooks said he had new roots from Risa that, when stewed properly, became like an earth gravy. Skol said the man was hard to deal with, but she had traded with Tellerites before so she knew if she argued with him she'd get a better deal. Argue AND give them sweets, and you'd get the best deal, so she asked the cooks to candy some of the fruit. They argued about the logic of it, but in the end, she was the boss.

She put on her outer robe, with the cowl to shield herself from the sun, taking the candied fruit with her she decided to walk into town to see the sights. She noted, as she got closer, and the population of vulcans increase that no one seemed to notice her at all. She was blending in, and it felt good to be completely anonymous, it also felt weird that she wasn't melting in the sun. These robes were top notch.

As she approached the Tellarite stall she saw they had a great deal more than just the roots she'd came to get. They even had some earth bananas, sealed in bags to keep them fresh. She hung back watching the other vulcans simply buy their food stuffs, at majorly inflated prices. When there weren't so many around she stepped up boldly looking up and down the display, "All these items look like they were grown in your grandmother's beard." she started off, knowing that that was how they started conversations, with insults.

"What was that vulcan, I didn't hear you?"

"So deaf, and dumb for expecting people to pay good currency for such rotten produce." She scoffed, and pretended she was going to walk away.

"Not so fast, vulcan!" the one with the biggest beard and small tusks said making his way out of the stand, "Our produce is the best in all the quadrant, you clearly have no taste for the finer things!"

She turned, scoffing, "A fine thing, nothing in those stalls even has a hint of fine too them. Did you pick it up second hand from Ferengi?"

He grunted and growled, puffing up, but his brown eyes betrayed a sparkle, "The Ferengi are tuskless idiots who wouldn't know good commerce if they stood in a field of commerce, smothered in mating musk, and did the commerce mating dance!"

Sarah genuinely laughed, which made the Tellarite laugh too, "Come back to my stall, we will deal…"

She removed the tin of candied fruits from her cloak, "Will it be a sweet deal?" she asked raising the lid for him to see. He sniffed at the lid, and tried to get a piece but she shut it quickly, "Oh no, not until you tell me what you offer me, of your garbage scow leftovers."

The beast looking man slapped her on the back and lead her behind the stall where no one else was allowed to go, he sat down, and bid her to sit, and they spoke of business.

888

Kuvak got the communication he had been waiting for all morning, Soval appeared on his screen.

Soval raised the ta'al to him, "Greetings, Minister. I received your communication that you wished to speak with me."

"Yes," Kuvak said, "The human exchange, I wished to speak to you on this subject."

"Ah, yes, you have Sarah Blanc there now. Is she satisfactory?"

"I have no complaints. She has been proficient and much less...human than I expected." Kuvak replied easing into the conversation.

"Less...human?" Soval said, his nostrils slowly and slightly flaring, ready to be defensive.

"Yes, I expected humans in general to be more, emotional. She stated that she had lost her husband recently, and yet I detect nothing emotional from her. Is this common in humans?" Kuvak asked leaning forward.

Soval measured his words even more carefully than he might normally, "Humans are as emotional as klingons, at times, and as arrogant as Andorians, but just when you think you can quantify them, they will embrace logic. They are a confusing species, and very hard to quantify."

He remembered others saying similar to him when he was on the high command, "That seems to make them unpredictable."

Soval nodded, "And very noble."

Kuvak pursed his lips, "Is there anything I should know about her?"

"Minister, she's a human, not a pet. She will work diligently for you, and keep her private life, private. I cannot think of anything you need to know, Osu." He raised the ta'al and the monitor went black.

Just then, Kov entered his study, "Uncle, come quickly, something exciting has happened."

Kuvak stood and followed Kov down into the kitchens, they were taking delivery of a substantial amount of food. It was being offloaded by two young Tellarites from a cargo flitter. Kuvak's jaw dropped, "How much is all this?" he asked one of the cooks, he knew he could afford it, but he had always kept his budget very simple, proper stewardship was important to him. Administering his family's wealth so the offspring would be provided for, essential.

The cook handed him the bill of sale, the whole lot was half what a single item usually cost them with the Tellarite traders. He was about to question how it was possible, when the youngest of the unloading crew approached him, thrusting a bag of bananas in his arms, "This is for the black haired, blue eyed, female vulcan who came to trade with Grab. He says to say he will do business more come soon." He shuffled off to the cargo flitter and they left.

Kuvak handed the cook the bananas telling her not to tell Sarah he'd been there. He ushered Kov off quickly and they retreated into the family section of the estate.

"What Uncle? I thought you'd want to look at everything, let me rephrase that, I wanted to look at everything." Kov said with a half pout.

"I want to see how she handles this, I want to see what her plans are."

"Your testing her?" Kov said, perplexed.

"Yes."

"Do you not think she'll be honest?" Kov asked with a frown.

"No, I just wish to see how she handles this." Kuvak said with a shrug.

888

Kuvak entered his breakfast room, and Sarah was standing in the serving position. He sat down, and she approached with the tray. She uncovered it, and his normal food, plus the addition of the strange fruit that was shoved in his arms lay partially peeled on the side. He picked it up, "What is this?" he asked, inspecting it.

"It's an earth fruit I got from the traders in the market yesterday. I received a bunch as a gift, so I divided them among your family." She said evenly.

"You did not keep any for yourself?" Kuvak asked.

"I do not like bananas," She replied. "And it was not my business I was on, it was yours, and representing your house all business I do is to benefit the house." Skol told her that before he left, written in one of the unofficial house rules.

He sat the fruit back down and began eating, he cut off a piece, and forked it up, the taste was exotic, and the smooth texture appealed to him. He picked up his padd, and the news was there, like it had been, and the house news as well. His eyes widened slightly when he saw that the overflow of food had been sent to his other family in Raal and Gol.

When he was finished eating he turned to her, "How did you manage such a good deal from the Tellarites?"

"I used to go to the open air markets on Earth. I learned how to trade with them, it's not hard if you know how to speak to them." She said moving to take his tray, "If you don't they over charge you for the honor of your own ignorance of their customs."

His blue eyes sparkled with a mild amusement he kept in control, "Well done and your efforts are appreciated."

She gave her slight bow, and left with the tray.

888

She didn't know how, but she'd ended up working seven days straight, twelve hour shifts, and on the eighth day she told her second she was not working that day, at all. Her body was tired, her mind was more tired, and she felt like she hit a brick wall of emotions. She'd woke up from a dream she couldn't remember, crying.

After Roger's death she went into survival mode and now it was catching up with her. So, she was laying in bed crying. Not over nothing, but over everything. She wasn't going to do anything much today, but she slid out of bed, walked in the shower, and let the water beat on her as she cried.

It was all gone. All of it. The whole of her life as she knew it, and it was never going to be the same. Her children had not called. The normal she had treasured no longer existed. All she wanted was her life back, but it wasn't there anymore.

That deserved a day to cry, she wasn't going to shame herself for being weak. Anyone would cry, so she let a million tears fall over every little thing she missed, every moment she'd never get back, and to a future that was uncertain at best.

888

Kuvak walked into his breakfast room and paused. The edge of his mouth pulled downward, "Where is Mrs. Blanc?" he asked softly.

"It is her day off, Osu. Humans take them, apparently two in a row some times. Mrs. Blanc worked through hers, and today I believe she said to V'Sov, her second, that she was unwell. I am replacing her for the day, Osu."

Kuvak nodded and sat down. He picked up his pad and the frown that he threatened came fully to his lips. His padd did not have the news or the daily updates. That was disagreeable.

The replacement put his tray before him, and uncovered it, there was no banana or any other surprise that had become a new habit. Suddenly, he wasn't hungry.

Kov burst in through the door, "Uncle." he said with urgency, and he bent and whispered in Kuvak's ear, "I am told by my breakfast domestic that Mrs. Blanc is unwell, and that they have heard strange noises coming from her rooms."

Kuvak stood, waving at his breakfast he followed Kov out toward the domestic wing. He paused, "We do not wish to alert the staff, I'll go in from the private entrance outside. You stay out, I will call you if I require assistance."

Kuvak was surprised that Kov actually did what he was told. He wasn't going to question it, but use it as an opportunity to slip in quietly.

The rooms were dark, the window coverings closed completely and only the flicker of a few candles haphazardly placed allowed him to see. He heard what sounded like weeping coming from the bedroom, he found his heart beat a touch faster as he approached. The room was darker than that hall, and only two candles guided him to what looked like a moving pile on the floor. He knelt a foot away from her, and gingerly reached out placing the palm of his hand on the sway of her side, "Mrs. Blanc?" he said softly, "Are you unwell."

At the touch she stiffened, and pushed herself up, wiping her face hurriedly on the sleeve of her black robes, still sniffing she did not face him, but answered, "I'm, I'm fine. Do you have need, Osu."

Kuvak frowned, seeing wet streaks glittering in the candle light, trailing down her cheeks. He moved his hand and ran a thumb experimentally across the wet line. He realized he didn't know what to do, "I was told you were...well, are you injured?"

She held completely still seeing his hand move toward her face, and the softness of the touch surprised her. "No, Osu, I'm not injured." she whispered, her voice still shaking.

Kuvak blinked, that was the limit of his understanding, but clearly something was wrong. Her hair was damp and tangled, she was wrapped in robes laying in a fetal position on the floor. "Can I help you?" he asked his voice subtly begging for some way to aid her.

"I'm just emotional today, Osu, there is nothing you can do."

"Do you wish to be emotional?" Kuvak asked, now he had a way to help.

"No, no I don't." she bit her lip to keep it from trembling.

"Then I can aid you." Kuvak said with a nod, and that smile that only touched his eyes. "May I touch your face?"

She sniffed and shook her head no, "I appreciate whatever you are about to do, Osu, but I will be fine. Please don't trouble yourself."

"It would be no trouble." he offered, "If you will not allow me to aid you in that way, then," he moved closer and slid his arms under her body. From a crouching position he stood, lifting her like she of made of paper. He carefully placed her in the most comfortable chair in the room. Seeing her sitting, wrapped in the robe, eyes swollen, and face damp he realized that she was in fact human. It was not a bad thing, but something that he now understood.

"I am simply, grieving, Osu. I will return to work tomorrow."

"I will grieve with you." Kuvak said, "And I am told humans require one or two days off, I wish you to take your second day off." He shifted, "Do you wish me to give you privacy?"

"Please."

He nodded, and left the room without another word.

Kov was waiting on him anxiously, "What is wrong?"

"She is grieving, the sounds were tears."

Kov frowned, "I understand."

Kuvak turned to him, "You do understand, don't you?"

"Yes, I've grieved like this, and I've touched some of what she felt when I shook her hand. It isn't just her husband she grieves, though I know no more, but the emptiness, the agony, is profound."

Kuvak found it all very disagreeable, but what he truly did not like was that he had caught himself being childish. He had moaned inwardly about his lack of news, and how he had no banana, or treat. He was growing petty in his retirement, self-centered. That displeased him, and it displeased him she was in pain. He needed to meditate, he did not care much for this day.

"Where are you going?" Kov asked.

"I need meditation, Nephew."

"Don't you think you should do something to comfort, Mrs. Blanc?" Kov took a few steps to join him.

"She does not want my comfort." Kuvak said looking to Kov.

"That's where you are mistaken, Uncle." Kov said in his wisest voice, "What did she say?"

"That she does not want my comfort." Kuvak reiterated, this time a little slower so he might better understand.

Kov looked at his uncle like he was dumb, "You don't know women, my uncle. Especially human woman. Women like Mrs. Blanc aren't going to beg for help. They are strong and proud, but that does not mean they do not deeply want someone to help them."

"That doesn't seem logical and in efficient. If want help, I ask for help. Saying you do not wish help when help is offered, when you actually want help makes no sense." Kuvak said scoffing at Kov.

"I do not make the rules, Uncle. I only understand the game. Human women are much more complex than vulcan women. They will say they don't want help, but deep within themselves they do desire the help." Kov shrugged.

Kuvak stopped, "Then what should I do?"

"Bring an offering of food." Kov said, "Human women enjoy ice cream when they are sad, that is what one of the women I knew told me. It's a frozen milk treat that often includes toppings like strawberry, chocolate, and whipped cream."

"We are on Vulcan, Kov, where do you presume I would obtain such a thing?"

"We can use a replicator."

"There is, I am sure, no pattern in the replicator for such a human dish." Kuvak said, moving his hands upward as if to say he didn't know what to do.

"I may have one in my possessions, I collected alien food patterns." he rubbed his stomach, which was much more plump than Kuvak's, "If that's not obvious."

Kuvak sighed, "Go, I will wait here."

Kov trotted off and only a few minutes later came back with a very large dish, filled with balls of multiple colors, toppings oozing all around the balls, and two spoons stuck in the center. "Here, Uncle, before it melts."

"That must be for someone who is VERY sad." Kuvak said gently taking it in his hands, "And it is very cold."

"Yes, that is the way you are supposed to eat it, now go. Tell me how it goes later." Kov said watching to make sure he turned before he smiled.

888

The worst of her tears had passed, for now, she found no more desire to cry having been picked up from the floor so kindly. It made her feel a little bad, a little selfish, that she wanted her old life back when people in her current life had been so good to her. She jumped hearing a knock at her door, "Who is it?"

"Kuvak." he said, "I am sorry for disturbing you again, but I have brought you something to aid in your time of distress."

Sarah wrapped her robe around her a little tighter and opened the door. Kuvak stood there with a very large sunday. Her mouth dropped open.

"I'm told that this will add comfort to your grieving." He said wide eyed.

She moved so he could enter, "I can't eat all that by myself."

"There are two spoons, you can share." Kuvak said pointing at them.

"Then I hope you have time, Osu, because I don't want anyone else to see me this way, and you are the only person around."

Kuvak nodded, "Very well. I will grieve with you." he took one of the spoons.

"Let's sit, this is going to take a while."

Kuvak took a seat, but before he scooped up any of the treat he waited for her to go first. The pleasant look on her face after the first bite had him thinking, that perhaps Kov did know what he was talking about. He nodded and took his bite next, he would grieve with her.