A/N: Thank you all for your thoughtful reviews! You are each amazing and I love the way you think, it is a valuable thing to me to see how you see the story! You all pick up on stuff that makes me smile, especially when it's stuff I know I have a plan for ;) Sometimes what you pick up on makes me make a plan! So without further adieu...LLAP!
Kov was bouncing on the balls of his feet as the shuttle approached. He looked between the stoic Kuvak and Sarah grinning wildly, "She loves stuffed animals, I had this made for her!" he held up a stuffed sehalt and a stuffed tribble, "She is going to love you both!" he turned away and began bouncing again.
Kuvak leaned over to Sarah, "Standard is so imprecise a language. You love stuffed animals and you love people, but there is no difference in the word. It seems to...cheapen the concept."
Sarah bit her lower lip and nodded, "Yes, Osu, I suppose the difference is implied with the context, but I agree. There are other languages on earth that have different words for different types of love."
"That would be wiser, it would save offense, and misunderstanding." Kuvak said straightening as the shuttle landed.
When the shuttle opened, Kuvaks' mouth dropped slightly and his eyes widened, Sarah noticed instantly. It proved her theory that men were men, pointed ears or not. Kov's wife came into view, she was beyond stunning. She had long slender legs, accented by her very short and tight black miniskirt, her thin waist only accented her chest which was covered in a bubblegum pink angora sweater, which V-necked down exposing ample cleavage. Her long fingernails, and the streaks of pink in her full loosely curled platinum hair matched her sweater perfectly, which also went with her stiletto heels. She was stunning, completely stunning, in a Marilyn Monroe meets the 24th century kind of way and Sarah had to put her hand over her mouth as she watched Kuvak's reaction. It wasn't like a human reaction, no, it was much more subtle, but from a vulcan perspective he was practically panting.
Missy saw her husband and ran down the ramp toward him jumping into his arms, planting a kiss firmly on his lips and then all over his face, "Oh baby!" she squealed in delight, "Oh, my Kovvy-wovvy! I've missed you baby!"
Kov caught her easily, wrapping his arms around her, soaking in the open affection, "Oh, I've missed you too, Missy!" He managed to say between passionate tongue kisses.
Kuvak managed to look to Sarah, blinking, he didn't know what to say. Sarah kept a neutral face and asked, "What?"
Kuvak looked away without asking anything.
Kov smiled, "We need to introduce you to my Uncle, and our domestic, Sarah."
Missy grinned, "Anything you want, Baby." She slid provocatively off Kov's waist, smoothing down her skirt, and fluffing her hair a bit, taking Kov's hand letting him lead her to the pair waiting on the side.
"Remember, Sweetheart, don't offer to shake my uncle's hand," Kov whispered discreetly as they approached.
When they got close, Kov beamed as he spoke, "This is she who is my wife, Missy Bae. My love, this is my uncle Kuvak, and our domestic, Sarah Blanc."
Missy curtsied toward Kuvak, "Pleasure to meet you, Kovvy has spoken of you so much I feel like I already know you." she said grinning.
Kuvak straightened, "Welcome to Vulcan, T'Sai. It is agreeable to meet you."
Missy's hand shot out to Sarah, who took it and shook it, "Domestic? Is that like...his lover or something?" Missy asked.
Sarah coughed, "No, Madam, that is like his servant. I am his household domestic, maid, housekeeper, house-manager."
"Ooooh," she said, "Like wife with with no benefits."
Sarah shrugged, "But I get paid." she said with a soft smile.
Kuvak cleared his throat, "Let us take you to dinner, and then home, T'Sai. It will give us a chance to get to know you, as we know little of you."
Missy smiled, "That's lovely of you, Uncle Kuvy. I'd love that! Kovvy said he'd have to break you into the idea of him marrying a human." She turned to Kov stroking his cheek, "He's so thoughtful, always considering everyone's feelings. He's such a good boy."
Kov smiled, "Come my wife, I'll get your luggage let me get you in the flitter." The pair walked away.
Sarah looked after them, "Vulcan is never going to be the same." she said to herself and then turned to Kuvak, "Are you ok?"
"She is not what I expected." Kuvak said, putting his hand behind his back.
"A little jealous?" Sarah said with a small grin.
Kuvak blinked, "Of course not."
She held up her fingers about an inch apart, "Just a little?"
His eyebrow rose, "Is this your attempt at humor?"
The small grin widened a bit, "Maybe, but the look on your face when she stepped across the threshold." she shook her head, "that seemed a little hungry to me...in a vulcan way."
Kuvak stiffened, and began walking toward the flitter, "Don't be foolish."
Sarah stifled her chuckle, "Of course, Osu"
Beth was pacing in the room as time passed, a half hour turned into an hour, which turned into two hours. At the two hour mark, she turned to Skol, "It seems like we should have heard something by now."
Skol nodded, "Agree. May I go inquire for us?"
"Would you?"
"Of course." Skol said and he walked toward the nurses station. He spoke with the nurses, and then returned to the room. "They are going to go get a report from the surgery and relay it to us, they thought it had already been done."
He approached Beth, "Please, let us both sit. We do not yet know how long we will be here, it may be some time and fatigue will not help."
Beth slowly moved and sat down, "Do you think…"
"Speculation is unwise, T'Sai Beth. All we know is that at the moment she is in good hands." Skol said softly.
Beth nodded.
Sabrina entered the room with a small smile, "Hi, Mrs. Forrest. I'm Sabrina, I've been assisting Dr. Strom in the surgery. I don't want you to worry, but things are moving slowly. She had an extensive infection, and while in there we discovered a bowel obstruction, Dr. Strom is working now on both things. He's very confident she is going to be just fine."
"Bowel obstruction?" Beth said frowning, "She's never had any issue with using the bathroom, and hasn't complained of pain at all."
"It could have been brought on by the appendix, Ma'am. We will know after the analysis." Sabrina said, "Now, I have to get back to surgery, we expect another hour."
Beth nodded, and Sabrina left.
Skol turned to her, "I will stay here, why don't you go and call the babysitter, and get a beverage now that we know it will be a bit longer."
Beth nodded, "Ok, can I bring you anything back from the cafeteria?"
"I am fine, thank you. It is most considerate given the duress you feel." Skol said standing as she stood. After she left he sat back down, and pulled out his hand padd and he began recording a message.
Greetings, T'Sai Sarah. I wish to thank you for the good advice you gave me. As it happens, I did not need it, and may have made a worthy arrangement to rectify things, but it came with a terrible event. I will not speak on it now, as I do not have Beth's permission to do so, but I will let you know at some point. There is something I discovered today that has me curious. One of the top doctors on Vulcan, a Dr. Strom, of the interspecies medical exchange is serving here in California at a hospital. I had the occasion to meet him today. He introduced me to his human wife. This was not something I was aware existed. If I get the opportunity I would like to question him about his bonding. If you could also ask Osu Kuvak what he knows about it, I would greatly appreciate the information. I will send another message soon, and will expect your reply when you can send one. Peace and long life, T'Sai Sarah.
Skol sent it off with a sigh. Part of him wished he had a human to give him an orientation of the planet before coming, or that he'd have thought to ask more questions of Sarah before he left.
His mind went back to Beth, and he wondered why she wanted to know "hypothetically" how he would have reacted had she known about the behavior. That had him curious. He looked at his padd again, and this time formed a typed message, rather than a visual one like he had just sent Sarah.
Dear Ambassador Soval,
Greetings, Osu. I am writing to inquire if you have given T'Sai Sarah a vulcan etiquette book. She and I are experiencing some cultural misunderstandings, which I think could be cleared up if she was more aware of our ways. I am working toward that education with her now, but one of your well written pamphlets may quicken the learning process. Things are well here, Osu, please do not think my inquiry indicates trouble. We are just in the process of mutual understandings.
Peace and long life,
T'Gia S'Chv Skol.
The moment he pressed send on the letter Strom entered the room, and Skol stood up, "Yes, Dr. Strom? We were not expecting you this quickly. Is everything...well?"
"Yes, and no." Strom said, "Where is Mrs. Forrest?" he asked.
"She is in the cafeteria. I sent her for a beverage."
"Then we will walk there together." He said nodding, motioning for him to follow.
He walked through the halls toward the staff elevator where they both entered. Skol glanced at the thin lipped vulcan. He had a reputation for being picky, even among vulcan people, seeing him bonded to a human did not make sense. "May I ask you a personal question, Doctor?"
"It is about my human mate?" He replied, his eyes staying forward.
"Yes."
Strom nodded once. "Proceed."
"How did it happen? How did you manage to bond with a human, and does it...work?" Skol had spend his life in service, he was used to being subtle, but not about things that were of a personal nature, not like this.
"It was not planned, it developed. We have been together now, four years, and all I can say is that it works more than sufficiently." Strom glanced in the direction of Skol and then looked ahead again as the doors to the elevator opened.
"It works in every way?" Skol pressed further, not mentioning the unmentionable.
"In every way." Strom stated flatly as he moved through the halls quickly. "There she is." he said pointing to Beth who was just leaving the line for coffee.
Beth saw them and met them halfway down the hall, "Dr. Strom, is my baby ok?"
"Please let's sit and speak." Strom motioned to one of the couches in a waiting nook. When they were all seated he began, "She will recover, but right now she is in intensive care. The infection was extensive, and as my nurse told you there was a bowel obstruction. That was a pocket of infection, I had to remove part of her bowel and reconnect it to the healthy bowel. She will be down for a few days as she heals. I've ordered three IV antibiotics for her over the next three days. She is weak at the moment, and has lost some blood. We are going to keep around the clock watch on her until we feel she is completely stable."
Skol could tell that Beth didn't know how to react. Her face and eyes were conflicted. He heard it as generally good news, but there were some troublesome issues that he saw Beth heard louder than the good news, so Skol spoke, "Thank you, Doctor, may we see her?"
"She will be out of first recovery in an hour." Strom said, "And then taken to intensive care. You may see her once she is in that room."
"Thank you, Dr. Strom." Beth said, standing as Strom stood.
Strom gave Skol his card, "This is how you contact me with any concerns, or" he looked at Skol, "Any further questions." He raised the ta'al to them both and then left.
Skol turned to Beth, "We need to make a plan, and I have one to propose."
Beth slowly blinked, "Ok, I'm listening."
"After we visit, Noreen, I will stay here tonight, and you should go home and take care of the other children. Then, tomorrow, we will switch places. I will take the night shift and you the day until Noreen comes home."
Beth's brows furrowed, "But when will you rest if you are watching the toddlers through the day, and then coming here at night?"
"I am a vulcan, T'Sai, I can go much longer without sleep and not lose function. It is logical for you to go home so you can rest properly, and be here when Noreen is awake, so she feels the presence of her mother."
Beth wrapped her arms around Skol, hugging him tight, "I don't know what I'd do without you right now, Skol. You are such a blessing."
Skol stood there awkwardly for a moment, and then tentatively returned the embrace. "I told you, Beth, I have come to serve."
"Do you really think she's going to be fine?" Beth said trying not to whimper into his shoulder.
"I do, or Dr. Strom would have said so. Vulcans do not lie, and he is not known for any deception in his work." Skol said patting her back just before she pulled away.
"How do you know him?"
"I don't. I only know of him from reading the vulcan news feed. He was very well known, and very well published. He was in the news many times, enough that even common vulcans like me have heard of him."
"Then I guess we were lucky to have him." she said, motioning that they should go back upstairs.
"What is...luck?" Skol asked, looking at her curiously.
"Oh, it's um...well...it means fortune smiled on us." Beth replied using the best description she knew.
"I see." he said, not truly understanding, but not feeling it was something pressing to understand.
Skol sat in the corner of the room, giving the ICU nurse plenty of space to work. He had folded his hands to meditate when Nurse Sabrina entered, checking in on the stats, and blood work. Things apparently looked fine, because she smiled, and thanked her. Then, to his surprise, she approached him, "Is there anything we can get you? I am told you are spending the nights here."
"I will manage, T'Sai." Skol said looking up at her with no small fascination.
"My Adun tells me you are curious about our bonding." Sabrina said with a wry smile.
Skol nodded twice, "I am."
"It works, Skol, it really works, and our bond is very strong." she moved closer, "Do you have a human in mind to bond with?"
Skol's eyes widened, "No, T'Sai, it's just that.."
Sabrina chuckled, "It's ok, it's fine, look, my husband and I are off tomorrow, if you would care to join us for dinner here we'd answer any questions."
"That is most generous. If Noreen is well and stable, I may contact you." He said, very honored they would give him such time.
"In two hours, you'll receive some new robs. Strom noticed that the child vomited all over you, and thought since you were staying overnight, it might be wise to have a clean robe. He said something about how your nose was probably suffering."
"You don't have to go to such trouble." Skol said, humbled by the kindness.
"It's no trouble, he keeps extras around." She said with a smile, "I'll see you later."
He stood as she left the room, fascinated that such a frail looking human could take a vulcan mate, and he mate indicated she handled his time. He never would have believed such a thing possible.