Stardate 2261.52
For the first time in days, Voris awoke to the soft breeze of Dagny's breath on his cheek rather than a baby or young child demanding to have its needs met right that instant. He was exhausted but his heart was full. He wished he could allow her to sleep—humans had such a great demand for sleep and with four children to care for, Dagny hadn't had a chance to rest and recover from her injuries on Cestus III. Unfortunately, the Enterprise would be entering New Vulcan's orbit in exactly ninety-seven minutes.
He ran his hand up her bicep, stopped at her shoulder, and gave it a gentle shake. "Dagny?"
She responded with a disgruntled grunt. He shook more firmly and she cracked her left eye. "Which one needs a cuddle or a diaper change or a late-night snack?"
"None of them," he replied. "And it is morning. We will arrive on New Vulcan soon and I thought you would like to shower and get dressed while I tend to the children."
She closed her eye and frowned. "I just want to sleep. I hate being awake."
"Remaining in a state of perpetual sleep would be little better than being dead."
She snorted and buried her face in the pillow. "Fine, I just want to sleep until they're all in school."
He could not disagree with her sentiment. Christopher had been up most of the night with an upset stomach that had required a trip to sickbay and the night before that, Safi had been inconsolable for no apparent reason. Making matters worse was that Malen had a habit of waking in the middle of the night, wandering out of his bedroom, and taking things apart. Voris would need the assistance of a professional to reassemble his preferred medical tricorder.
"My human colleagues on Earth used to inform me that once sufficient time has passed since a hardship, it is often looked back upon with reverie," he explained.
"You're saying one day I'm going to look back on this and laugh?" Her voice was somewhat muffled by the pillow.
"Precisely."
"No, it's funny now," she sighed, rolling over onto her back and shooting him a wry smile. "Just not in a ha ha sort of way."
"Shower. Relax. I will dress the children and pack the last of our belongings."
She sat up, her breasts spilling out from beneath the blanket, and kissed him softly on the mouth. "Thank you."
Getting four small children up and dressed for the day by himself nearly proved to be more than Voris could handle. Twice he was tempted to ask for Dagny's assistance, especially when he got Malen out of the small sonic shower, only to have the little boy announce he needed to use the lavatory while simultaneously urinating on the floor. By the time she emerged from the bedroom twenty minutes later, Safi was squalling in his arms and Malen was throwing a tantrum over being denied the privilege of playing with the components of his dismantled tricorder.
"Give her here," she smiled grimly, stretching out her arms to collect Safi.
"I had intended to manage this on my own," he replied, eager to show her he was just as capable of childcare as she was.
"Divide and conquer," she shrugged, having to raise her voice to be heard over Malen.
She put Safi to her breast, poured out a cup of dry cereal into the tray of Christopher's high chair, and sat down next to Malen to try and talk him down from his fit. Voris was convinced he would never compare to her caregiving skills.
The family sat down to their last meal aboard the Enterprise and when they were done, Voris stacked the last of their baggage in the yellow square by the door for transport. Before he set his medical kit among their belongings, he extracted a hypospray and turned to Dagny, who was changing Christopher's sanitary diaper on the couch. There was a growing change in her mood, one of apprehension and uncertainty, and when he sat down next to her he sensed her body tense.
"Will you permit me to administer a tri-ox compound to help you more readily adjust to New Vulcan's climate?"
"Yes please." She gave a single nod of her head as she pulled Christopher's pants back up over his pudgy knees.
He injected the compound into her neck. "Is something the matter?"
She trained her blue eyes on him. "No, why?"
"Because you are nervous."
She hesitated before answering. "My last experience on New Vulcan wasn't exactly the best."
"Do you refer to your ill health caused by early pregnancy or my father's treatment of you?"
"Both, I guess," she frowned.
"I have already made arrangements to stay in a hotel and plan to visit the travel office as soon as you and the children are settled to arrange for our passage to Earth. I see no reason why we should encounter Silek or remain on New Vulcan for more than a matter of days."
"But maybe things are different now," she said, nodding to Safi in the infant carrier. "It's been almost a year. Maybe he's had some time to think about things."
"I sense you are proposing some form of reconciliation."
"It's just a thought."
"He informed me he no longer considered me his son and he called our daughter a half-breed."
"Both were very unkind things to say," she agreed. "But time and distance have a way of helping us see things more clearly."
Rather than explain the Vulcan heart was harder than she clearly believed, he packed the hypospray into his medical kit and stood up. "If Silek wishes to see me I will not refuse him, but I have no intention of seeking out his company."
They shepherded their hodgepodge brood out into the corridor, Dagny carrying Safi in a gravity-supported child carrier and Voris carrying Christopher on his hip. Maera and Malen walked between them, though several times they had to remind Maera not to get too far ahead. When the lift arrived to take them to the transporter deck, it revealed James Kirk, the ship's captain, as well as his cousin Spock and Nyota Uhura, the woman who had been gracious enough to lend them her quarters.
"Going up?" Captain Kirk beamed, looking down at the Romulan siblings.
Malen looked back at Voris, as if seeking clarification.
"We are," Voris said, nudging the children forward so they could board the turbolift.
"Nice to see you again, Dr. Voris," the captain continued. He looked from Voris to Dagny, extended his hand, and added, "And I'm sorry I never got to meet you until now. It's a pleasure. I'm Captain James Kirk."
"Thank you so much for taking us back to New Vulcan," Dagny nodded, adjusting her grip on the infant carrier to return his handshake. She was looking directly at the man, but it was clear she was intrigued by Commander Spock.
"And I guess you two know each other," the captain said, pointing both at Voris and Spock.
"I am familiar with Dr. Voris, but we have never met," Spock explained.
Both Vulcans raised their hands in the ta'al and said in rapid succession, "Live long and prosper."
"I thought you said he was your cousin?" Nyota Uhura blurted, just as the captain scoffed, "What do you mean you've never met?"
"Our paths have simply never crossed," Voris attempted to explain.
"I guess I shouldn't be all that surprised," the captain sighed. "I didn't even know you existed until you boarded my ship a week and a half ago. Hiding any other relatives, Spock? Maybe an aunt in engineering? A sister in Section 31?"
"What is your fixation with my family, captain?" Commander Spock said, canting his head in Kirk's direction.
Nyota Uhura rolled her eyes, turned to Dagny, and said, "Don't mind him. I'm Nyota Uhura, by the way. It's so nice to meet you."
"Dagny Skjeggestad," she replied. "I think it was your quarters we were staying in and I just wanted to thank you so much for letting us use them."
"It's not a problem. You have a beautiful family, by the way."
Dagny gave Voris a warm smile. "Thank you."
The turbolift door slid open and they filed out into a brightly lit corridor. Maera bolted to the right and Voris gave chase. He caught up to the rest of the group in the transporter room and discovered Nyota cooing over Safi in the infant carrier while Dagny proudly explained she was three and a half months old.
"I just want to pinch her little cheeks and ears," Nyota mused. She gave Dagny an eager and hopeful glance.
"Nyota, it is inappropriate to touch another individual's infant," Spock interjected.
"It's ok," Dagny replied. "I don't mind."
"Why is it inappropriate?" Lieutenant Uhura argued. "She's your niece, after all."
"She is the daughter of my cousin, making her my first cousin once removed, not my niece," he corrected.
Lieutenant Uhura rolled her eyes and tickled Safi's toes. "She's still your family and she's still adorable."
They entered the transporter room and Malen was immediately curious about the display of buttons and levers at the control station and he began to cry when Voris refused to lift him so he could get a better view. The engineer with the red shirt and unusual accent picked him up and pointed to each button in turn and for the first time that morning, Malen was calm. Spock and Nyota Uhura beamed down first, then it was their turn.
Unlike the Starfleet officers, they would first have to go through the customs office due to traveling with children of Romulan ancestry. It was pandemonium getting his entire family up on the transporter pad and standing still, but when he finally did, Captain Kirk raised his hand and smiled, "Good luck to you and your family, Dr. Voris. Live long and prosper."
Maera giggled and shouted, "Prosper!" just as they disappeared into the matter stream. They rematerialized on a pad in a warm, cylindrically-shaped room. A light crowd was visible through the glass panels, revealing the interplanetary arrival terminal. Once outside the customs office, Dagny's anxiety spiked.
"What is wrong?"
"The last time I was here it wasn't all that pleasant," she muttered. She looked down at Maera and Malen and added, "And I wasn't even trying to bring two full-blooded Romulan children and a half-Romulan baby onto the planet back then."
"The political situation has markedly changed," he replied, touching his forefingers to hers. "And I have all the necessary documents and health certificates for the children."
It took nearly an hour for all six of them to be processed through customs, but after the expected inquiries into Christopher, Maera, and Malen's presence on the Federation side of the Neutral Zone and close inspection of their documents, they were released. The crowds had thickened while they were in the customs office and Voris couldn't help but notice there were far more non-Vulcans woven into the fabric of people than there had once been.
"If you can wait here, I will arrange for transportation," Voris said, and noticing she already looked fatigued in the increased heat and gravity, he added, "Or there is a seating area near the door, if you would like to rest."
"Ok," she said. She turned and yelped. "Where's Maera?"
Voris quickly scanned the busy terminal. He had seen her not fifteen seconds ago, but there was already no trace of her.
"Maera!" Dagny shouted, drawing the attention of nearby travelers.
"Miss Skjeggestad?" called a polite and familiar voice.
They both turned to see T'Mir approaching them with Maera in tow. "I believe she belongs to you."
"Oh thank my stars!" Dagny cried. "And T'Mir, it's so good to see you again."
"Likewise."
Dagny wiped her brow and knelt down on the hard, stone floor to meet Maera face-to-face. "You cannot keep running off like this. Do you understand?"
While Dagny continued her stern discussion with Maera, Voris turned to T'Mir and after they exchanged the traditional Vulcan greeting asked, "What brings you to the interplanetary arrival terminal?"
"The First Minister has sent me to collect you, Miss Skjeggestad, and the children."
"We are certainly very grateful for his offer, but I had planned to stay in lodgings in the Va'ashiv district."
"And you are welcome to go there if you wish, but I assure you it will be no imposition if you choose to stay with the First Minister while you plan for your journey to Earth. The house is quite large and you would honor him by accepting this invitation."
Knowing that it would be rude to continue to refuse his uncle's offer of hospitality, the family was soon following T'Mir to a long car outside. The children seemed to enjoy the car ride, but by the time they arrived at the stately house of New Vulcan's First Minister, both infants required a change of sanitary underwear and Malen was beside himself because he had been forbidden from playing with the locking mechanism on the doors. His uncle greeted them at the front door.
"Live long and prosper, First Minister," Voris said, offering the ta'al.
"Yes, live long and prosper," Sarek nodded, surveying the flock of children in their possession.
"I wish to thank you for your hospitality, as well as your efforts to permit us to bring the Romulan children with us," Voris said.
"Yes, thank you so much," Dagny added breathlessly as she set Safi's carrier on the ground. "And congratulations on your election."
"Thank you. Perhaps you would like to come inside."
They passed through the large entrance hall and into the sitting room with a bright red carpet and decorative mirrors along the walls to enhance the natural light from the long windows. His cousin Spock and Nyota Uhura were seated on one of the large black couches facing the doorway and greeted them for the second time that day when they entered the room.
The day passed like most days had since adding three more children to his household—quickly and chaotically. Lieutenant Uhura—Nyota, as she had insisted—was enamored with the children. She was a linguist with a strong command of the Vulcan language and a fair understanding of Romulan and so Maera and Malen seemed captivated by her as well.
In an effort to expend some of their boundless energy, Voris took Maera and Malen in the back courtyard in the early afternoon while Dagny elected to nap with the babies. He watched the siblings chase each other for a time and was just considering trying to teach them to play karo, a handball game, when he sensed someone standing behind him.
"Good afternoon, Minister Sarek."
"Yes, good afternoon." Sarek's eyes fell on the children and Voris thought he detected a brief hint of sadness in his uncle's eyes, though it would have been impolite to speak of it. "T'Mir informs me that you intend to travel to Earth."
"I have been offered the opportunity to resume my former position at Sarah April Memorial Hospital in San Francisco. Dagny plans to attend medical school and I believe it will be a better environment for the children."
"It is logical to want safety and security for your daughter and your wards. There is a civilian transport route between Earth and New Vulcan. I believe the next ship is set to leave the day after tomorrow."
"I am appreciative of your hospitality, minister, but I am eager to have my family settled on Earth as soon as possible."
"Speaking of family, Silek was on Earth meeting with the Federation Council and is due to return tomorrow," Sarek said.
Voris took a moment to collect his thoughts and replied, "How is my father?"
"I believe he is well. He has taken a mate."
He did his best to conceal and neutralize his shock. "I wish them peace and long life."
They grew silent as they watched the children continue to run around the yard. He had vague recollections of chasing his own older sister in a garden very much like this one. It was strange to think of his father with a woman other than his mother. It should have been strange to think of himself with a mate other than T'Sala too, but it wasn't. Time went on and so did life.
"She gave birth to a son four months ago," Sarek continued.
It was becoming more difficult to keep his utter astonishment at bay. It took several seconds to process all the information contained in his uncle's brief statement. father had taken a mate who bore him a son who was several weeks older than Safi. That meant his father had taken a mate before they had become estranged and yet his father had never mentioned her. It also strongly suggested his father had been coping with pon farr in the weeks before Voris was, which could perhaps explain some of his father's agitation and inability to control his temper. Most importantly, it meant that Voris now had a half-brother and a step-mother to add to his rapidly expanding collection of relations.
"You do not respond."
"I am not certain how I should respond," Voris admitted. "Do you approve of your new sister-in-law?"
"Your step-mother is a pleasant woman. I believe you have already met her. She is sister to Vinem-lar leader Velik. Her name is-"
"T'Rya," Voris finished, fighting to keep his tone neutral. "She is the woman my father urged me to bond with."
"At the time, your father believed you would have made a more suitable match for her, being closer to her in age and profession than he was."
"My step-mother is sixteen years my junior," Voris said hollowly. "She was pregnant with my half-brother when I initially agreed to take her for a mate. My father could not have known this."
"It is a delicate matter and it is in the past," Sarek said.
Voris repressed a mild feeling of embarrassment. Perhaps he should not have been so candid with his uncle—they were family but had never been particularly close.
As if he were privy to Voris' thoughts, his uncle added, "I did not know you as well as I would have liked during your formative years."
"I am aware you have had many disagreements with my father. I am sorry that I did not make more of an effort to know you once I had reached an age of majority. I confess his views regarding your marriage to Amanda may have influenced me in ways I did not realize. It was illogical of me to form an opinion of you in this way."
"We all have unconscious prejudice, myself included. Vulcans take pride in logic, but pride is itself illogical. We are a race of many contradictions. The past three years have done much to illustrate this to me. Whatever preconceptions you may have held against humans, you seem to have made great strides in overcoming them. I overheard Miss Skjeggestad telling Miss Uhura that the two of you intend to marry."
Voris gave a small nod. "She is the mother of my daughter and we have accepted responsibility for three more children. Marriage to Miss Skjeggestad is logical."
"Will you permit me to offer some unsolicited advice?"
"I welcome it."
"Your union with her may have practical purposes, but it tends to please humans when you also remind them of the sentimental nature of your regard for them."
"I will try to remember that," Voris replied.
"I do not know what form of matrimonial ceremony you had planned, but if you choose to honor the Vulcan custom, I invite you to use my home."
"You honor us immensely, minister. I will speak to her about your offer."
And it was a momentous honor indeed. Vulcan bonding ceremonies traditionally took place in the home of the head of the family, or if a family were wealthy enough, on land set aside specifically for bonding and death ceremonies. His family had once had such a place on a narrow mesa overlooking Vulcan's Forge. He had married T'Sala in that place, just as his father had married his mother there. But that had been the old way and that place existed no longer, nor did most of the S'chn T'gai family.
He wished to continue his conversation with his uncle, but Maera rounded a corner near a tall statue of T'Plana Hath too sharply and crashed hard onto her hands and knees, resulting in bloody rivers winding down her shins and forearms and howls of agony. He carried her inside and patched up the scrapes with a dermal regenerator, and soon enough she was back to bouncing down the halls after her younger brother.
They consumed a late end meal with the entire household and retired to their room early to prepare the children for bed. He excused himself for twenty minutes to meditate and when he returned, he found her curled up in bed next the Maera and Malen, reading them the story of Queen Safi from the time before Surak. She clearly was as fascinated by the tale as they were.
Each time she mentioned the character's name, Maera's eyes would grow wide and she would point to Safi's cot and murmur, "Safi?"
"Yes, like our Safi," Dagny replied each time.
She was halfway through the story before she became aware of Voris standing in the doorway. Her eyebrows flicked expectantly, urging him to join their nightly ritual. He sat down on the opposite side of the bed from Dagny. They had tried to get them to sleep in separate beds but they ardently refused. Dagny recommended that they create a more stable environment for the Romulan siblings before encouraging independence a second time and so for now, they continued to sleep together.
"Why don't you give this one a shot, dad?" Dagny asked, extending the PADD toward him.
"Yes. Dad try," Maera nodded seriously.
Dagny had used the term several times in reference to Voris, usually in a teasing manner, but it was the first time he'd heard any of the children utter this informal word for father. He was not Maera's father and yet… Maera no longer had a father. Was she implying she wanted him to serve as a de facto paternal figure, or did she not understand the meaning of the word? Her Standard was improving but was still far from perfect.
He accepted the PADD from Dagny's hand and began to read, "A storm descended on the Vulcan's Forge, trapping Commander Safi in a cave. She was without food and without water and feared she would die."
"No," Maera scowled, touching the PADD. "Like she do."
"I do not understand."
Dagny giggled. "I think she's complaining about your reading."
"What is wrong with the way I read?"
"I think she wants you to put a little more emotion- more inflection in your voice. Anyone can read a story, but it's more fun if you tell the story."
He read several more passages before Maera begged him to give the PADD back to Dagny so the story could continue in a more animated fashion. When the story was complete, she kissed Maera and Malen on the forehead and pulled the blanket up to their chins, leaned over each of the infant cots and kissed Safi and Christopher, then led Voris into the adjacent room.
"Your uncle was really nice to let us stay with him," Dagny mused as she began undressing.
It took Voris several moments to realize he was staring at her and he looked away and began preparing himself for bed also.
"And I really like your cousin and his girlfriend. She didn't want to put Safi down. They're planning to get married next year."
"On the matter of marriage, my uncle has offered us his home, if you decide you would like a traditional Vulcan ceremony."
"Do Vulcans usually get married at home?"
"Either at home or at a location common to the family."
"Is that what you want to do?"
"I want to be your mate. The details of how it is accomplished are not of high importance to me. However, in addition to genuine hospitality, I sense the First Minister had a political motivation in asking us to wed in his home."
"He had an ulterior motive?"
"He is the leader of the moderate Storilayar party and since his election has likely fought to bring some unity to the various factions on New Vulcan. I believe he intends to send a symbolic message by having a Vulcan nephew and his human mate undergo a Vulcan bonding ceremony in his home."
She slipped a night dress over her head. "You think he wants us to get married here to help his political position?"
"I do not believe that is the only reason, merely that it may have been a factor in his offer. Does this trouble you?"
"I feel like it should but it honestly doesn't," she confessed. "Your Uncle Sarek has been very kind to us, to me, and if marrying you in his house helps him politically, I'm fine with that. Weddings were always a very casual and last-minute affair on the Albret so it wasn't like I imagined myself getting married in some grand castle with thousands of guests in attendance. It's like you said, the details of how and when we do it aren't hugely important to me. In a lot of ways, I feel married to you already. I think at this point it's more of a formality than anything."
"A very logical explanation."
"Maybe you're rubbing off on me," she replied, a warm smile crossing her face.
"There is a transport vessel that can take us to Earth the day after tomorrow, so if we are to be bonded here, we will either have to do it tomorrow or return at a later date."
"Tomorrow?"
"I thought you had said the details weren't important."
"They aren't but do we need to give him some kind of notice?"
"The basic components of a bonding ceremony only include a priest or priestess, a ceremonial drum, gong, and two witnesses unrelated to the couple. It would be a simple enough thing to arrange."
"I guess if it's really not that big of a production…"
"So are you saying you are willing to be bonded tomorrow?"
"Sure, if that's what you want."
"Then I will speak with the First Minister."
Dagny's complexion reddened and she slowly sat down on the bed. "We're really getting married then. Wow."
He sat down next to her. "I look forward to becoming your mate."
"I look forward to becoming your mate too." She stared down at the floor, giving the stone pattern an incredulous smile.
"We should rest."
"Yeah."
Once tucked into bed with the lights off, Voris began to focus on slowing his breathing to transition into sleep more readily, but the sound of Dagny clearing her throat indicated she wasn't yet ready for sleep.
"I was thinking," she began, her voice cracking slightly. "It's been a couple of days since- well, I know we're getting married tomorrow and all but would it be weird- should we-"
"Speak plainly."
"Would you like to have sex?" Her sentence slurred together into one long, poly-syllabic word.
"I would," he admitted. "But only if it would please you also."
She laughed and soon she was kissing him and sliding her hands under the tangle of sheets to draw herself closer to him. He readied himself to pull off his nightclothes and climb over her petite frame but instead she threw her left leg over him and adopted a straddling stance. She was nervous and he was fast becoming aroused. Her hips swayed over his pelvis in a slow and steady rocking motion and rather than try to subdue his emotions about this very sensual experience, he opted to set them free.
"Touch my face," she whispered. "Meld with me."
All she had to do was ask. He reached up to grip her face, his hands rolling along her ribs and breasts on their way to his destination. Just as their minds began to blend into one, Dagny's hand slipped into his underwear, forcing him to expel a soft cry of surprise. How badly he wanted to flip her over and enjoy the feel of her small body beneath his, but he was too intrigued by her sudden assertiveness.
"Do you like this?" Her voice echoed through his mind through their telepathic link, thunderous and shaky.
"I do. Will you please mate with me?"
He hadn't quite finished communicating the thought when Safi's sudden shrieks from the next room sprung them apart. Dagny fell back onto the bed, frustrated and breathing heavily.
"I will tend to her," Voris said as he pulled up his underwear and grabbed for the robe hanging on the hook near the bed. "You rest."
"Let me know if you need any help," she groaned.
Voris shook his head. "Rest."
When Dagny awoke, she wondered how long she'd been asleep. She had no memory of crying babies or children waking up at 0400 hours wondering why breakfast wasn't ready yet. She felt well rested and confused about how she accomplished this feat with four children under the age of five.
She rolled onto her back and yelped when her eyes spied T'Mir standing at the foot of the bed.
"What are you doing in here?" she choked.
"Forgive my intrusion. Dr. Voris has asked if I would assist you in getting ready, since you have no female relations to perform this task."
"Huh?"
"Dr. Voris told me that you intended to perform the bonding ceremony today."
Dagny blinked, trying to figure out what that had to do with waking up to T'Mir standing over her bed. "What time is it?"
"0540 hours local time."
"Is there a reason we're doing this so early?" Dagny asked, rubbing her eyes and sitting up.
"Vulcan bondings typically take place just after sunrise."
No wonder Voris had told her to rest the night before. She rubbed her forehead and asked, "What do I even wear to a traditional Vulcan wedding?"
"A dress and usually a veil passed down from the groom's family. Your future step mother-in-law has offered hers."
"Step mother-in-law?"
"Yes, Minister Silek's mate."
"I didn't realize Silek had a wife."
"They were bonded shortly after your departure from New Vulcan."
Dagny sat in the bed, staring at T'Mir, doing her best to process the wild happenings of the past minute and a half. She had so many questions. Did that mean Silek was coming? Was his wife like him or was she kinder? What was this ceremony going to be like? Rather than ask any of those questions, she murmured, "Where is Voris?"
"Meditating. It is customary for the prospective mates to be separated before the ceremony so that each may reflect on the momentous decision they are about to make."
"I see."
"The sun will rise in forty-eight minutes," T'Mir said. "We have much to do."
Dagny flung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood, feeling like these events were happening to someone else and she was just an outside viewer. She hurried in the sonic shower and when she emerged, she saw a beautiful blue dress hanging from the back of the door.
"Have you finished washing?" T'Mir called through the door.
"Yes."
"The blue gown is for you. I realize it may be too long, but try it on and we'll make adjustments."
Dagny ran her hand along the skirt, deciding it was the softest, silkiest thing her skin had ever encountered. Much to her disappointment, it ended up being too big in the bust and too long. She emerged from the bathroom ready to tell T'Mir that she would just have to wear something else, but she found Nyota instead.
"I'm here to help you with your hair," she smiled.
She was ushered back into the bathroom and ordered to stand facing the wall. T'Mir began pulling at the excess fabric and tailoring the dress to fit her with a handheld tailoring device.
"What kind of style did you have in mind for your hair?" Nyota asked with a smile.
"Um, getting my hair clean is usually as far as I go with it and sometimes not even then depending on how the kids are behaving on any given day," she confessed.
"Something simple but elegant then?"
"Whatever's easiest for you," Dagny mumbled, feeling very strange to have two women devoting so much time to making her look beautiful.
Nyota rubbed her hands together with joyful glee and started to smooth out her hair with a styling iron and insert all kinds of clips and pins to arrange it in a neatly braided bun.
"This is going to sound really silly," she said, looking down at T'Mir who was kneeling to finish adjusting Dagny's hemline. "And I'm really so grateful that you're both up so early to help me with this, but I didn't realize this was supposed to be this big of a deal. Voris said it was really simple and that there would just be a priest and a drum and a few witnesses."
"I get the feeling you've never been pampered and made up," Nyota said, pulling a pin from between her teeth and inserting it into the back of Dagny's hair. "It's your wedding day and you deserve to feel pretty."
"And I do feel pretty and like I said, I'm so appreciative. But I'm starting to get the feeling this isn't going to be as casual as I thought. I don't even know what takes place at a Vulcan wedding. What do I do? Where do I stand? What do I say?"
"The traditional vows are really simple," Nyota said. She then began reciting something in the Vulcan language.
"I'm sorry," Dagny interrupted. "Could you go a little more slowly?"
"Vuhlkansu not a strong suit of yours?" Nyota asked.
"No," T'Mir answered before Dagny could.
Dagny couldn't even be offended. It was true.
"I believe some mixed species partners are choosing to say the traditional vows in Standard or their native languages," T'Mir added. "You may find that is a better solution than trying to teach your tongue to handle Vuhlkansu in the next nineteen minutes."
Both Nyota and T'Mir spent the remainder of their time drilling the appropriate words into Dagny. It was just a few lines, but she'd never been good at rote memorization. When Nyota finished affixing a light purple veil into the back of Dagny's hair, T'Mir announced it was time to go to the main hall for the ceremony. Nervousness twisted her stomach into tight knots.
"You look beautiful," Nyota sighed, gently taking Dagny by the shoulders and turning her to see herself in the mirror.
The woman staring back at her was a stranger. Would Voris even recognize her? Her red hair, which was not as red as it used to be but also not as blonde as it had been a year ago, was styled to perfection. The dress made her seem taller and trimmer and the color accentuated the light blue shade of her eyes.
"Thank you both so much," she whispered. "I don't think I've ever looked this good."
She had a strange yearning for her mother and before the tears could come pouring from her eyes, she shook her head, took a deep breath, and tried to remember the vows she was supposed to say in the near future.
They led her into the corridor and the sound of voices echoing from the stone walls made Dagny's blood run cold. There seemed to be dozens of people waiting in the main hall. She held her breath and silently cursed Voris for telling her it would be a priest and a few witnesses and that was it.
To Dagny's relief and still slight dismay, there were only fifteen people currently standing in the hall and five of them were children. A little more than a dozen, not dozens. Yet it was still more people than she had imagined might show up and she did not recognize most of them.
To her incredible relief, Silek was not present but she recognized Voris' cousin Spock as well as Ambassador Spock. A woman in a regal purple robe and ornate hair was speaking with Sarek and three other women, one of whom was holding a baby she did not recognize, were minding the children. Voris had apparently managed to coax Maera and Malen into traditional Vulcan robes but that did little to change the fact that they were three and four years old and had no patience for standing still. There were also three men Dagny didn't recognize, one of them human and wearing a suit and the other two Vulcans clad in shiny gray and black robes.
She stood in the hallway feeling paralyzed by the thought of so many people present to witness her mangle a Vulcan wedding ceremony. This wasn't what she had pictured at all. She wanted to be with Voris, but she also wanted to turn and run.
"Are you feeling ok?" Nyota asked. "You're really pale."
"Dagny?"
She would recognize the warm voice behind her anywhere. She whirled around and came face to face with Voris, who was wearing a patterned cloak with a deep green hood.
"We will excuse ourselves," T'Mir said with a bow.
"You are frightened," Voris said in a low voice after they were out of earshot, extending his two forefingers to her.
The warm feel of ozh'esta helped quell some of her terror but didn't completely erase it. "I didn't realize this was going to be so formal or that so many people would be here."
"We do not have to do this if you don't want to."
"I want to be your wife, I just don't want to get this wrong and embarrass you."
"It is a fairly simple ceremony."
"I think you underestimate my ability to ruin things that are supposed to be simple. I couldn't even say the first few words of these vows in your language so T'Mir taught them to me in Standard but every time I look at all those people out there, my mind goes blank and I feel like I can't even remember my own name."
A muscle in his brow twitched and he said, "I will help you if you need it."
It took her a moment to process that he hadn't said the words aloud but instead had delivered them telepathically. She couldn't help the incredulous and relieved smile that formed on her face.
"Do you know how the ceremony should begin?"
She blinked and shook her head. "Don't I just go up to you and kneel?"
He looked over his shoulder. "Do you see the green carpet on the floor in the middle of the room next to the gong?"
"I kneel on the right half of it," she breathed. "Or is it the left? Where am I supposed to be in relation to the gong?"
"You were correct; to the right."
"And you're supposed to strike the gong first and that's my cue?"
"No, I will raise my arm as if to strike it, then you will approach, kneel, and then I will strike the gong."
"Ugh," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. "I don't want to do this wrong."
"Anything you do will be acceptable," he encouraged. "All I ask is you don't stop me from striking the gong and declare kal-i-fee."
She gave him a blank look. "Huh? What- what does that even mean?"
She almost thought she detected a smile on his face but instead he clasped her hand and said, "I will help you. Just follow my lead."
"Are you ready?"
Dagny nearly jumped when she discovered the woman in the purple robes was standing at the entrance to the hallway. Voris looked at Dagny to confirm and she nodded numbly.
Voris squeezed her hand and led her out into the main hall. The first rays of light were beginning to stream in through the windows, casting a soft glow over the room. Someone extinguished the lights and it became quite dark, causing Dagny to groan inwardly. It was hard enough trying to not look like an idiot without the added fear of tripping over something in the dark.
The Vulcan woman cleared her throat and announced, "What you are about to see comes down from the time of the beginning."
A steady drum beat began and the room grew quiet. The Vulcan women in the corner collected Maera and Malen and urged them to stand still which incredibly, they did. Everyone turned to face the woman in purple. She continued.
"This is the Vulcan heart. This is the Vulcan soul. This is our way." Then she points to the gong and says, "Kal-i-far."
Voris squeezed her hand a second time and walked toward the gong, stopping at his uncle to collect a mallet made of some kind of green stone. Either her eyes were adjusting or the sun was coming up more quickly than she imagined, because things were a lot clearer than they'd seemed just moments earlier.
Voris took his place to the left of the gong, made eye contact with Dagny, and lifted his arm. "Approach now."
She wandered forward, extremely conscious of each step and all the people watching her. It took an eternity to make it to the green carpet but when she did, she slowly dropped to her knees. Voris gave a small nod and struck the gong with the striker, handed it to his cousin Spock, then knelt down in front of her. He lifted his right hand and offered his first two fingers to her.
"Join your fingers to mine," he urged telepathically.
She did and fought with everything she had to avoid grinning like a fool. This was really happening. They were doing it. All the other people in the room began to fade away and all she saw was him. She was vaguely aware of the woman in purple saying something in Vuhlkansu, then Voris looked at her and began speaking in his native language.
Were these the vows Nyota had been trying to teach her to say? She swallowed hard, thinking she could study for the rest of her life and still not be able to recite them properly. Suddenly, he switched to Standard.
"As it was in the dawn of our days, as it is today, as it will be for all tomorrows, I make my choice. You are the one I choose to honor and support. I pledge my loyalty to you, Dagny, today and for the rest of my life."
Vulcan wedding or not, she couldn't help but smile. She was so happy she felt certain she was going to burst.
"It is your turn," Voris reminded her through their bond. "Do you remember what to say?"
"As it was in the dawn of your days," she said, swallowing hard and pausing to catch her breath. She had been holding her breath and not even been aware. "As it is today, as it will be for all tomorrows, I make my choice. You are the one I choose to honor and support. I pledge my loyalty to you, Voris, today and for the rest of my life."
The woman in purple made another short speech and soon everyone in the hall replied with, "Kal-if-ni. It is so."
Dagny's eyes quickly darted around the room before landing back on Voris. His mouth didn't move but she heard him say in the back of her mind, "That was all. We are now bonded."
He rose and helped lift her to her feet. Dagny was suddenly swimming in disbelief and bliss. After everything they'd both been through and everything they'd lost, here they were, married. It wasn't the ending either of them would have chosen for themselves several years ago, but it was the ending they'd arrived at nonetheless and they were happy.
They spent the next hour greeting, and in many cases, being introduced to their guests. One of the Vulcan men turned out to be Deputy First Minister and one of the women was his wife. She was content to allow Voris to do most of the talking and felt horrible for feeling incredibly relieved when she heard Christopher crying.
She cautiously approached the woman holding the baby, who was also trying to console Christopher. For a brief instant, she thought the baby in her arms was Safi but realized Safi was currently in Nyota's arms and being presented to Spock, almost as if she were seeking his approval.
"I can get him," Dagny insisted. "He can be a handful when he really gets going. And thank you for watching him during the ceremony."
"You are welcome."
"I'm Dagny," she said, pointing to her chest as she leaned down to pick Christopher up from the infant carrier.
"I am T'Rya."
"Live long and prosper, T'Rya," said Voris from behind her. "It was an honor to have you here today."
Dagny bounced Christopher up and down and patted his back. In an effort to make casual conversation she asked, "Do you two know each other?"
"We do," they answered simultaneously. Voris turned to her and added, "It was T'Rya who loaned you the matrimonial veil you currently wear."
There were many times Dagny wished she were as keen with logic and deduction as Voris was, because it took her several painful seconds to piece together that it was Silek's wife who had offered this veil and if Voris was claiming the veil was T'Rya's then that meant T'Rya was also Silek's wife.
"Oh," she said, desperate to put an end to the awkward silence. "Thank you so much."
"You are most welcome."
She turned her focus to soothing Christopher but her mind was stuttering as it tried to read between the lines of this very strange situation. This woman looked so young, barely older than Dagny. She knew Vulcans aged much more slowly but surely she couldn't be over forty, which would make her younger than Voris. And whose baby was she holding? Was that her baby? Was that Silek's baby? Silek's baby would be Voris' brother.
"I regret that Minister Silek could not attend today, but he is not presently on New Vulcan," T'Rya said.
"I am aware," Voris said.
Dagny noticed he couldn't take his eyes off the baby in her arms, but neither could she. The resemblance to Safi was pretty undeniable, but so too was Safi's resemblance to Voris. That had to be Voris' little brother, which would also make him Safi's uncle. She'd never really given much consideration to what extended lifespans could do to a family tree, but it was all she could think about right now.
It was impossible to tell what T'Rya was thinking but eventually she looked down at the baby and said, "His name is Loren."
"May he live long and prosper," Voris said.
"He's beautiful," Dagny added.
"I should go," T'Rya said. "Minister Silek will be home soon."
They said their goodbyes and when they were alone in the entrance hall, Dagny tilted her chin in Voris' direction and asked, "Was that baby your brother?"
"My half-brother."
"How old is he? He can't be more than four or five months."
"I suspect he is just over four months of age."
"And sorry if this is an inappropriate question, but how old is T'Rya?"
"I believe she is thirty-five years of age now."
"So, your step-mother is younger than you, closer in age to me than she is to you, as it turns out, and your little brother is only a few weeks older than your daughter?"
"That is all correct, yes."
"I can't imagine how this could possibly be any weirder."
"What if I were to tell you T'Rya and I were betrothed for a short time?"
"You're joking."
"I am not in the habit of telling jokes."
Dagny finally turned to look at Voris. The lines of his face were smooth and appeared untroubled. "So… your father married his son's fiancé, a woman who is younger than his own son?"
"Why do you keep stating obvious facts about this situation?"
"I'm trying to grasp it. There could be intense family drama on the Albret from time to time, but nothing that compares to this."
"It is quite unusual, I agree."
"I knew you were married before, but I didn't know you were engaged," Dagny said quietly.
"It was a very brief betrothal that began several days before I met you," he admitted.
"So you didn't marry her because of me?" Her mouth suddenly felt very dry.
"Consider all of the facts," he said, canting his head toward her. "Her son is several weeks older than our daughter."
"Oh my stars, your father was sleeping with your fiancé."
"We were not betrothed then. She was already pregnant when she agreed to bond with me. I believe my father encouraged us to bond because he considered me a more appropriate match for her than he was himself, based on age and occupation. It appears they decided to bond despite their incompatibility."
Dagny turned to look back at the door, then back at Voris, then at the door again.
"Your mouth is hanging open," Voris finally said.
"It's just too weird."
"So is the foundation of our relationship and yet here we are."
Dagny smiled a stoic smile. "Fair enough. I hope they're happy together."
"As do I."
A short time later, the last of the guests departed the house. Dagny went to change into less formal clothes but when she tried to give the dress back to T'Mir, she insisted that Dagny should keep it. They sat down to breakfast in the kitchen and played with the children throughout the afternoon in between packing for the journey to Earth the following day.
Just after dinner, or end meal, as the Vulcans called it, Sarek, Nyota, and Spock departed for some kind of state function and Dagny, Voris and the children were in the sitting room cheering on Christopher as he repeatedly tried to take his first steps. Dagny's heart was bursting with pride and a touch of sorrow, knowing that Khel and Jake were missing this wonderful milestone.
Maera announced that she needed to use the toilet and looked at Dagny expectantly. She was toilet trained and Malen was getting better, but their small size meant that they still often needed some assistance with washing their hands. She escorted the little girl down the hall and just as she shut the door behind them, she heard Malen go zipping through the corridor, cackling with glee. Several seconds later the sounds of Voris' footsteps thundering after him rang through the corridor and naturally several seconds after that, Safi began crying in the sitting room. Dagny closed her eyes and smiled.
Being pulled in all directions by four young children was just going to be their reality for the next few years. They would get through it somehow and probably look back on all of it and laugh, just as Voris had said. When Maera was finished, they hurried back to the sitting room but Safi was no longer crying. She expected to find that Voris had returned and calmed her down, but instead there was a tall, slender man standing on the blanket Safi had been laying on, holding her daughter in a cautious and curious way as if he were examining some exotic new species.
"Silek?"
Safi screamed in delight and stretched her palms outward to touch Silek's face, a maneuver she often tried with Voris.
Silek turned to face Dagny and gave a small nod. "Miss Skjeggestad. Or perhaps you have elected to take my family name. I understand you bonded with my son this morning."
"Who he?" Maera asked, looking up at Dagny.
"This is Silek, Voris' dad," she explained.
Silek regarded Maera with intense curiosity and she wondered whether he'd spoken with T'Rya about Maera, Malen, and Christopher.
"Silek, this is Maera. She's a Romulan orphan from Cestus III. We're in the process of adopting her and her brother, as well as another half-Romulan orphan."
"I see," Silek said, his voice totally void of any emotion. "Hello, Maera."
"Hi!" the little girl replied, looking up at Dagny for approval.
It would have been incredibly tense were it not for Safi being so obviously intrigued by her grandfather. She continued to giggle and coo and reach for his face and when he eventually pulled her closer to his chest, she began to paw at his cheeks in wonder.
"She seems to like you," Dagny said. "Her name is Safi."
He gave a small nod. "After the legend of Queen Safi, I suppose."
"Yes."
"Voris enjoyed that story quite a lot as a boy."
"He did?"
"Yes."
Watching the Safi and Silek together was truly stunning. "I used to think she looks like Voris, but she really looks a lot like you. I suppose Voris does too."
"That is the simple result of genetics," Silek replied.
Dagny cringed at his curt remark and desperately wished Voris would return. She prepared to excuse herself to go find him, but Silek chose that moment to speak.
"I would say she favors my late wife quite a lot, as well as my daughter, T'Liri. Your daughter is lovely."
Dagny nearly choked on a dozen emotions and found herself in the strange predicament of trying to fight back both tears and a grin. She suddenly felt sorry for the man, even after everything he'd said all those months ago.
"I wish to say I regret the things we said to each other at our last meeting," Silek began. "I should-"
"Silek?" Voris said from behind her. His tone made it seem like a challenge and the sudden sound of his voice nearly made Dagny jump.
"Voris."
"I did not expect to see you here."
"I regret that I could not attend your bonding ceremony this morning," Silek said. "I am not certain I would have been invited even if I could have been present."
"I would have invited you," Dagny blurted.
"Dagny," Voris began.
"What? I would have. He's your father." It was true she had been relieved when she found out Silek wouldn't be making an appearance, but if she had had any say in her wedding at all, she would have asked Voris to invite him. Family was family.
"Miss Skjeggestad-"
"Please, call me Dagny."
"Dagny," Silek corrected. "Will you please excuse us?"
"Of course," she said, shooting a sidelong glance at Voris, shocked to find his expression was unrecognizable. She took a few steps forward and said, "I can take her."
"May I hold her for a while longer?"
She gave him a faint smile and escorted the other children out of the room, brushing her hand against Voris' on her way out. She was so desperate for them to make peace but she couldn't remember ever having seen Voris so on edge.
Once back in the children's room, she took her time getting each of them ready for bed and packing the last of their things. Several hours passed and eventually the little ones went to sleep. It was nearly 0130 hours when her husband finally crept into their bed with Safi tucked into his arm.
"Safi hasn't eaten in a number of hours," he whispered. "I was hoping you could feed her before I put her in her cot."
"Hand her over," Dagny replied, stroking her baby's cheek as she unbuttoned the top of her nightgown to expose her breast. "How did things go with Silek?"
"We discussed many things."
"Are the two of you going to be ok?"
"We are both in adequate health."
"That's not what I mean and you know it. Are you father and son again?"
"I cannot forget the things he said, but he wishes to know Safi. And you. It is as you said—he is my father."
She reached for his hand. "I know this can't be easy for you."
"I regret we spent the first night of our marriage apart while I made amends with my father."
"The night isn't over," she said, shrugging.
He glanced down at the baby hungrily suckling on her breast and then gave her a pointed look. She laughed. "Let us wrap things up and we'll see how it goes."
Safi ate her fill and they set her down in her crib in the next room, and after checking that the others were sound asleep, they snuck back into the adjacent bedroom.
"It's been a crazy day," Dagny whispered, leaning against Voris and wrapping her arms around him.
His arms engulfed her. "I am sorry if the bonding ceremony made you uncomfortable."
"It didn't," she admitted, craning her neck to kiss him. "I was terrified I would mess it up in front of all of those people, but I think it went alright."
"You did exactly as you should have."
"You know it's weird, I thought it would feel different once we were officially married but it doesn't feel like anything has changed at all."
"In a way, we've been bonded the night I touched my hands to your face aboard the Sekla," he said, his voice growing slightly somber.
"We've been through a lot together," Dagny agreed. "And I have a feeling those four are going to put us through the ringer before it's all said and done."
"I look forward to it," he said, looking down at her.
"Me too."
Stardate 2261.55
It had been a little more than three years since he'd last been on Earth. The skyline from the shuttle landing pad looked a little different than it had prior to Nero's incursion, but the bay was the same, as was the humid, salty air and the cries of the birds overhead.
He was nearly at the bottom of the ramp when he realized Dagny wasn't behind him. He turned, adjusted Christopher on his hip, and found her standing in the threshold of the hatch, gawking at the scene before her. Their eyes met several second later and he gave her a small nod.
"Welcome home, Dagny."