The first stop when returning the ambassadors back to their home planets was Vulcan, and again Kirk had agreed to give Spock and Alex some time off so they could spend a little time on the planet's surface. Rather than beaming them down, Spock and Alex joined the ambassador and Amanda in the shuttle they had taken from the planet to the Enterprise.
They landed on the planet and Alex smiled as the door to the shuttle opened, the heat rushing in. As they stepped out of the shuttle Alex took a deep breath, happy that she was able to do so. Dr. McCoy had given her a booster that allowed her to process the thinner atmosphere easier than last time.
"The signing was amazing, but it's wonderful to be home," Amanda commented to Alex who smiled at her.
"I do enjoy having a planet beneath my feet," she admitted as they stepped off the shuttle onto the landing pad the shuttle had landed on.
"What are your plans for your time off of the Enterprise?" she asked and Alex shrugged before gesturing to Spock.
"It's his planet, I'm following his lead." Alex explained.
"If you don't have plans for lunch, we would love for you to join us," Amanda offered as she looked hopefully between Spock and Alex.
Spock looked at Alex who gave him a single shoulder shrug. "I find the prospect of spending more time with your family an un-upsetting one," she smiled at him, the corners of his mouth twitching just slightly before he looked back at his mother and nodded.
"We will join you for lunch Mother." he agreed before Alex turned and looked at the building that the landing pad was in front of. It was gorgeous. A huge house on the top of a hill, surrounded by red trees and mountains.
There were double stairs leading from the landing pad up to the house and continued past the house. As they started to climb the stairs, Alex looked over the edge down at the forest, Spock laid his hand on her lower back, guiding her up to the large house that was at least four stories tall and had walls consisting of curved floor-to-ceiling blinded windows and glass walls.
Alex felt herself smirk as she looked at the house and then to Sarek who had his back to her as he unlocked the front door.
"Spock, will you give your T'hyla a tour while I get lunch together?" Amanda asked and Spock gave her a single nod.
As they walked into the house Amanda removed her cloak and handed it to Sarek who took it from her before looking at Spock.
"I will return," Sarek told them and Spock nodded while Alex looked around the entryway. It was beautiful, sparse white floors, orange shutters on the windowed walls and a piece of art on the far wall.
Amanda walked to a different room and Spock laid his hand on her elbow. "Come this way," he said and she followed him to a staircase, blue walls on either side of the staircase.
They ascended into a beautiful hallway, but Spock led her down the hall to a door that he pushed open, revealing a beautiful room with that same white floor and orange shutters on the windowed walls. There was a shelf with some interesting art pieces and some figures on the shelves.
Against the far wall there was a desk but the room seemed fairly sparse, after looking around she looked at Spock who ran his fingertips over the shelf lightly. "This was my drawing room as a child," Spock told her and she smiled as she looked around the room.
"Do you still have your drawings?" she asked and he showed her a line of drawers under his shelves, after he opened one of the drawers she looked into it and found two stacks of neatly stacked drawings. "May I?" she asked and he nodded before she reached into the drawer and smiled gently as she started looking at some of the pictures.
"It was a much enjoyed pastime in my childhood," he explained as she looked through the pictures.
"You're a great artist," she told him.
"Thank you,"
As she looked through the pictures she found a beautiful watercolor picture he had done of snow on the mountains, the red trees of the forest looked beautiful against the snow, the stars in the sky shining even in the drawing.
"This is beautiful," she told him as she ran her fingers over the drawing ever so gently.
"I painted it when I was twelve," Spock told her and she nodded.
After putting the paintings back she followed Spock on the rest of the tour, loving the house, and the history Spock told her about his family and his life. As he was showing her the backyard the door opened and the two looked over to see Amanda standing there smiling at them.
Alex realized Spock had his hand resting against her lower back and looked up at him as Spock gently stroked her back with his thumb.
When Amanda walked over to them she looked up at her son and gently touched his arm above his elbow. "Will you please tell your father that lunch is ready?" she asked and Spock nodded as he let go of Alex, running his two fingers against Alex's before leaving the two human women alone.
"You have a gorgeous house," Alex said as she looked at Amanda who smiled gratefully at the young woman.
"Thank you," Amanda said softly. "I've never seen Spock with someone before, it's very obvious how much he cares for you," she said to Alex who smiled gently, if not a little embarrassed at the comment.
"I care for your son very much," Alex told her as the two women walked into the house. Looking back at the view Alex sighed and then walked into the dining room, a long black table made of likely the same kind of wood as the trees outside since it was the same color as the trunks was the centerpiece of the dining room. Chairs lined either side of the long polished table and Amanda took the seat to the right of the head of the table while Alex took the seat next to the seat to the head's left, leaving that seat for Spock.
When Spock and Sarek came into the room, Sarek took his seat and then looked at Spock who cleared his throat and pulled out the chair to the left of Sarek's, looking at Alex who realized what he wanted and moved from her seat to the one that he had pulled out for her.
Alex looked across the table to Amanda who raised her eyebrows but said nothing. There was a bowl in front of each seat with a rich yellow soup in front of each of their seats. Alex waited for the others to take a bite before Sarek spoke.
"On Vulcan, it is customary for the guest to eat first," Sarek explained and Alex nodded.
"Understood," she said before lifting her spoon and taking a spoonful of the soup, sipping it lightly, the soup was rich and sweet and served cold.
"You will learn much about the customs of our planet should you continue your relationship with our son," Sarek said to Alex who was surprised that Sarek was contributing to a conversation during a meal. Maybe living with a human for as long as he had had given him some bad habits.
The thought made her smile softly as she sipped the soup again. "I love this soup," Alex said as she looked at Amanda. "Before we leave do you think you can give me the recipe?"
"Of course," Amanda said, her eyes lit up with excitement at sharing the recipe.
"It's one of Spock's favorites," Sarek explained and Alex smiled, despite their misunderstanding over Spock's life choices, it was obvious to Alex that Sarek cared for his son- in his own way.
"Well, I'll have to learn to make it myself- if I'm to continue seeing your son," she said as she took another spoonful of the soup onto her spoon and lifted it to her lips, glancing at Amanda who smiled and gave her a small nod.
"I don't imagine you'll have much chance to cook on the Enterprise," Sarek commented. "Do you think about your future after your five year mission?"
"Admittedly, I think of it often," she told him, Spock looking at her as she set her spoon down, folding her hands in thought.
"We have not discussed our plans for the future," Spock told his father and she nodded.
"That's entirely true," she said. "But I have had goals since I was in my own time." She explained as she looked at Spock. "I'd like to continue my education, I'd like to have a family of my own, and lately I've been thinking I'd like to write a book," she told them all.
"What would you like to study?" Sarek asked and she unfolded her hands, picked up her glass, taking a sip of the shockingly sweet juice.
"It is the juice of a local plant," Spock explained and she nodded.
"It's really similar to the prickly pear from earth," she explained as she licked her lips and took another sip.
"I'm not familiar with that particular pear," Spock explained.
"It's used in a lot of Hispanic cooking," Amanda explained and Alex looked at her curiously. "Well I am from Earth," she explained and Alex smiled before nodding.
"That's true," she conceded.
The rest of the lunch was spent discussing the future, Spock's declaration at their first formal meal together never mentioned, but instead Amanda told Alex stories of Spock growing up, she told her stories of herself growing up and what it was like on Earth in the years Alex was asleep.
When it was close to the time they would need to be leaving Alex and Amanda were sitting in Amanda's room looking at pictures of Spock as a child, Amanda as a child and a young woman, and pictures of her with Sarek at their wedding.
"Spock was such a precious baby," Alex smiled as she looked at one of the pictures. "Ohhh que linda," she smiled at a picture of Spock when he was about two. "Mira su carita,"
"Do you think you two will have children?" Amanda asked and Alex smiled as she looked at the picture.
"I hope so," she said. "But not for a while, I still have things I'd like to accomplish, and a child just isn't right yet. Besides, we're on year one of a five year mission," she smiled. "And I'm on year one of a five year birth control."
"That was very smart of you," Ambassador Sarek's voice said from the doorway and the two looked up. Spock stood in the doorway alongside his father and Alex smiled at him.
"I agree," Spock said as he walked over to Alex, putting his hand on her shoulder.
"He and I have not discussed children," Alex explained as she looked back at Amanda while the two started to put the pictures away. "But I know that I don't want them for at least five years."
"A practical decision given your current commitment to your five year mission." Sarek stated as they put the pictures into boxes.
"Is it time to say goodbye?" Amanda asked.
"We have half an hour and I would like some time to speak with Alex," Sarek told Amanda who nodded and then looked at Alex who handed her the box she was holding and stood.
She wordlessly followed Sarek down to the ground floor and then down another level to a room of pure white with large cushions on the floor. Taking one of the cushions Alex recognized that this talk was less likely to take place with their words and when Sarek sat down in front of her, her suspicions were confirmed.
Sarek held his hands out to Alex, laying her hands on Sarek's before closing her eyes, letting Sarek merge his mind with hers. This was different than merging her mind with Spock's, Sarek didn't give her the full access to his mind that she had grown accustomed to. Sarek probed into her mind, seeing things, filtering through memories, thoughts and feelings.
Fifteen minutes later Alex followed Sarek back up to the ground floor, then went to stand next to Spock who was holding a shoulder bag. She gave him a curious look and he sighed. "My mother has sent some things along for us both," he explained and she smiled.
"Thank you for your hospitality," she said to Amanda who smiled and then hugged Alex.
"We will be happy to have you in our home whenever you would like, whenever you have time for a shore leave." Amanda assured Alex who smiled at the woman.
"Thank you," Alex said to her. "I really appreciate it."
Sarek was next to say his goodbyes, standing in front of his son he stared at him for a long moment before glancing at Alex and then back to Spock. "You have chosen wisely,"
"I agree."
"She will make an adequate partner for your present and your future." Sarek explained and Alex looked at Amanda who was beaming at her husband.
After speaking to Spock, Sarek looked at Alex who stood with her shoulders back, her back straight and her chin tilted up just slightly to look into the eyes of the ambassador. "Ambassador Sarek,"
"You are most welcome into our family," Sarek told her and she kept her face neutral before giving him a nod.
"When it comes to that day," she said. "I will look forward to being a member of this family."
After their goodbyes, where Alex promised to write to Amanda and Amanda promised to write back, Spock called up to the Enterprise and they were beamed aboard, away from the glimpse of what life could be like if she stayed with Spock, and back to the present where she was the yeoman to Captain Kirk, and Spock was second in command.
When they got back to the Enterprise Dr. McCoy took Alex to check and make sure the booster had worked and that she hadn't spent too long in a lower oxygen atmosphere.
"How does Amanda do it?" Alex mumbled as Dr. McCoy ran the scanner around her.
"Amanda has lived on Vulcan for over thirty years," Dr. McCoy explained. "The longer you spend there, the more you'll adapt- not that it's great for your body to be adapting to that kind of situation, but it's not dangerous."
"I wonder if Spock was like weirdly high because of the difference in atmosphere when he came to Earth?" Alex wondered out loud and Dr. McCoy grinned slightly as he looked at her.
"That would be quite the sight," Dr. McCoy said with an amused look before he set down the scanner. "You're okay, the booster did it's job. Next time you go to Vulcan I'll be sure to give you another dose." he said as he walked to a cabinet and pulled out a bottle and two glasses.
"I don't really feel like drinking synthahol," she told him and he gave her an insulted look.
"Synthahol? Bite your tongue." he said sharply, Alex grinning in response as he poured two measures and handed her a glass. "You deserve a real drink after dealing with that pointy eared ambassador,"
"I agree," she said as she accepted the glass. "I do deserve a real drink." she took a sip and let out a sigh of pleasure.
"And you still have to deal with the other ambassadors," he added thoughtfully as she took a slow second sip. Lowering the glass she nodded before holding it out.
"I think that earns me a double." she told him and he grinned before adding a little more of the drink into the glass.
"Doctor's orders," he winked and she grinned before taking another sip. It was a wonderful liquor that warmed her up and made her sigh as she sipped it. "How long has it been since you've had a real drink?" he asked as she lowered the glass.
"Mm," she said thoughtfully. "I'd say about two hundred fifty one years and however many months since I woke up." she grinned as she took another sip.
"My god I can't even imagine going that long without a drink."
"Luckily I was asleep for most of it." she said as she sat back on the table, crossing one leg under her and tucking her food under her opposite leg.
"You know I've been curious about that," he said as he looked at her thoughtfully. "Do you remember much from when you were asleep?"
"What, like, did I hear things around me?" she asked and he nodded. "No," she shook her head. "I was asleep the entire time," she explained.
"Did you dream?" he asked and she sighed as she thought about it before shrugging.
"Sometimes I think I did," she told him as she tapped her fingers against the glass lightly. "I wake up thinking I-" she shook her head as she smiled softly. "It's not important."
"No, what?" Dr. McCoy looked at her and she sighed as she looked down at her glass.
"Sometimes I wake up thinking I'm still in the hospital, and sometimes I wake up thinking I'm back in my time. I wake up thinking I'm smelling my mom's cooking- or hearing one of my uncles fixing the car," she explained as she sighed. "I know that going back is impossible, but- I wonder what happened to my family- I know they never got closure about me and I wonder what they did about it," she explained as she took another drink of her drink. "I wish I had pictures of them."
"I'm sorry," Dr. McCoy said gently as he looked at her sympathetically. "I understand that has to be extremely difficult."
"It can be," she admitted. "But Spock has helped me through a lot of it."
"How?" he asked, sipping his own drink.
"Meditation, he's been teaching me how to work on controlling my guilt and my emotions."
"Guilt?"
"Oh sure, you know, I feel guilty because I wasn't there to see my nieces and nephews grow up, I wasn't there to give my parents grandchildren or to help them when they got old- I let my family down and I let my country down when the experiment failed-"
"Now hold on a second," Dr. McCoy said suddenly. "You didn't let anyone down, what happened to you was a misuse of authority and a misuse of manpower, it was a perversion of science to experiment on on a soldier who didn't have a choice-"
"I had a choice," she told him and he blinked a few times in surprise.
"What was your choice?" he asked.
"It was do the experiment or do another deployment," she explained. "I figured one year of being asleep- or," she shook her head. "I had been deployed before," she said softly, taking a larger sip of the drink. "Twice."
"There's an old saying; war is hell," Dr. McCoy said and she nodded.
"I've heard it, but I don't agree with it." she told him and he looked at her with a questioning tilt of his head.
"Hell is hell," she explained. "Hell is the place where the sinners go to be punished. War punishes everyone," she told him as she looked at him. "The aggressors, the defenders, the innocent bystanders," she explained as she stared at her drink. "Not to mention, after you go to war, the system that is supposed to be there to help you when you get home doesn't help."
"Your time seems like it was a messy time."
"It was," she said as she looked up to smile at him softly. "But it was my time. Of all the life on earth, all the time in the universe, I was born at that time, I was raised in that time, and I experienced everything I could in the time I had in that time period." she explained.
"But then you came here," Dr. McCoy said gently. "To this time,"
"I did," she agreed as she took another sip of her drink. "And as different as it is- I think I'm starting to get the hang of it here."
"That's the spirit," he agreed, gently tapping his own glass against hers.
