Disclaimer: Don't own it.
A/N: The movie 'Walk with Me' that is mentioned in this chapter is fictional. I made it up purely for this chapter. If there already is a movie with this title (which I'm sure there is somewhere) it is entirely by coincidence.
Reviews are like cooking chicken; most of the time the chicken is cooked perfectly, then there's the odd occasion where you contract salmonella poisoning. Please, don't be the salmonella poisoning. Be the succulent chicken.
Okay, so my beta is still abroad so this chapter has not been edited. All mistakes are my own. Let me know what you think of the story so far.
Origins: The Journey Begins
Chapter 12: One Mighty Kick
STARDATE: 2231.131 (Wed, May 11th, 2231) [9 months, 13 days Pregnant]
"41 weeks. 41 weeks!" Amanda exclaimed as she used the arm rest of the sofa to hoist her large form up from the seat in the library. She fell back into the pillows on the sofa and exhaled disappointedly.
"Do you realise how long it has been?!" Amanda cried out from the sofa. S'Reiyah had been given strict orders by Sarek to keep Amanda in sight and protected when he was otherwise engaged.
Sarek was at the office. He was completing as much work as he possibly could before the arrival of his second son. Sarek knew that humans were pregnant for approximately nine months, whereas Vulcans gestation period was exactly 13 months from conception.
Amanda had reached her ninth month of pregnancy only 13 days ago. The child within her, being half human and half Vulcan, could arrive anytime between now and August. It was only May.
It only seemed logical to complete as much work as he could before the baby was born. Without any way to determine the exact day of when the child would be born, Sarek began to sort and organise his workload so that he had plenty of time on his hands to help Amanda with the child once it was born. Amanda said he was 'nesting'. He disagreed.
With Sarek out of the house, Amanda was home alone with the house servants, cooks and bodyguards. She had gotten to know everyone of them by name. That was a real accomplishment for her, considering that there were exactly 24 house servants (including gardeners), 10 chefs and cooks, and 30 bodyguards. That's 64 Vulcan names to remember. No Vulcan in the House of Sarek disrespected her. She was welcomed and accepted as the wife of Sarek and she was grateful for that.
"It has been 9 months, 13 days and 6 hours since the child's conception, my Lady," S'Reiyah informed her hands behind her back in the traditional Vulcan way.
"Exactly. Now help me up off of this chair!" She ordered and S'Reiyah quickly obeyed. S'Reiyah came to her side and offered her arm to her Lady. Amanda smiled and grabbed for S'Reiyah's covered forearm, using it as leverage to hoist herself from the sofa.
She started to stumble forward once she got to her feet. S'Reiyah reached out and steadied her, only moving away when she thought Lady Amanda was stable enough on her own feet. Amanda smiled at her again. There is something strangely comforting about Lady Amanda's smile. S'Reiyah thought as she resumed her position.
S'Reiyah looked over her master's wife and cocked her head to the side in confusion. Lady Amanda, noticing her guard's unusual posture, queried her on her stance.
"It is 2:17 p.m," S'Reiyah responded to her Lady's question.
"I guess you're wondering why I am still in my pyjamas, huh?" Amanda asked.
"That is correct," S'Reiyah stated.
"Promise you won't laugh?" Amanda said before realising her illogical statement. Amanda laughed at her own stupidity.
S'Reiyah stood silently and lowered her head in a slight bow before responding with, "I will try my hardest, my Lady."
"Very well," Amanda began after she composed herself from her small laughing fit, "I have trouble undressing."
S'Reiyah's eyebrow shot into her hairline.
"You promised you wouldn't laugh!" Amanda playfully scolded.
"Would you like me to assist you, my Lady?" S'Reiyah asked, purposely avoiding Amanda's last statement.
"I would love for you to assist me." Amanda was almost pleading. S'Reiyah simply turned to exit the library, leading the way to the master bedroom.
Once inside the room S'Reiyah walked over to the built in wardrobe and waited for Amanda to pick out the dress in which she wanted to get changed into to.
Amanda wobbled over to the wardrobe and disappeared into it only to reappear 7.2 seconds later with a long flowing blue and silver dress. The dress was long enough to cover Amanda's feet, yet not so long that it would cause any hindrance.
The back of the dress covered the shoulders and length of the arms in an electrifying blue velvet. Up near the nape of the neck was a large blue velvet hood. The sleeves were designed to hug the flesh around the biceps before flowing out into a long wing.
The chest and bust of the dress were of a softer, more breathable material (must be a Vulcan material). It was a strong, shining silver that travelled from the chest to the floor, making the electrifying blue velvet look like a cape rather than part of the dress.
Down either side of the front, where the silver material meets the blue velvet, a long thick band of black material extends up around the shoulders under the blue hood and down the other side. The words 'House of Surak' is stitched, in silver and blue, into the black band.
"This is my favourite dress," Amanda said as she very carefully placed it on the nearby couch. The couch already had many clothes strewn upon it, but they were all covered when the Vulcan dress was placed on top.
"I understand that it is common for humans to establish attachments to inanimate objects, however, if you cherish this garment as much as you say you do, I insist that you change this item of clothing for a more… flexible piece of clothing." S'Reiyah said as she examined the beautiful ancient robe. This robe was handed down to Lady Amanda from T'Pau a couple of days before Sarek proposed to her. T'Pau must have known. S'Reiyah looked back at Lady Amanda's shape and did a few quick calculations.
"Are you saying that I am fat?" Amanda inquired as she crossed her arms. She wasn't angry. She was just curious to see what S'Reiyah's response was going to be.
"I am merely mentioning that this dress item you have chosen will not fit around the circumference of your abdomen," S'Reiyah answered.
"So you are saying I'm fat!" Amanda couldn't help but smile.
"You are not fat, Lady Amanda, you are only pregnant." S'Reiyah began and placed her arms across her chest. Her stance changing from formal to casual. "Pregnant women naturally look 'fat'." S'Reiyah finished hoping to make her master's wife laugh. She enjoyed hearing happiness in the household, even if her Vulcan upbringing disallowed her to express the emotion herself.
Amanda burst into another fit of laughter. She thoroughly enjoyed the company she kept with S'Reiyah.
"Yes, I am pregnant. A pregnant human woman. Here is quote from Earth, 'Pregnant women always get their way.'" Amanda said as she picked up the blue dress and marvelled at it.
She delicately placed it back down on the couch and stood in front of S'Reiyah. Amanda lifted both arms high above her own head. "Undress me, please."
S'Reiyah did the Vulcan equivalent of the human eye roll; exhaling minutely, "The chances of you fitting into the dress is less than 7%."
"7%, here I come." Amanda just managed to say before S'Reiyah had hoisted her night robe up over her head. Amanda stood only in her under-robe and clapped her hands excitedly as she watched S'Reiyah pick up the majestic blue dress carefully.
S'Reiyah held the dress up high so that Amanda could get in underneath, put her arms in then pull the rest of the dress down over her protruding stomach. Simple, right?
Wrong.
Amanda guided her arms up through the arm holes and waited for S'Reiyah to pull the dress down over her bust before she attempted to move her arms down to her sides.
S'Reiyah actually managed to get the dress down over Lady Amanda's bust, but when the dress reached Amanda's pregnant belly it wouldn't go any further. S'Reiyah tugged it down as far as it could go. The dress was becoming tighter the further down the body it managed to reach.
"It cannot go any further," S'Reiyah stated.
"It's nearly there, I can feel it."
"If there is any more pressure applied to the dress, it will tear. I insist that we desist."
"Okay. You're right. Help me out of this."
S'Reiyah tried to gently hoist the garment back over Amanda's head but to no avail. She applied a bit more strength to try and dislodge the material that was stretched across Amanda's belly. Still not movement.
"S'Reiyah?" Amanda asked.
Understanding what Amanda silent question was she responded, "It appears the dress is stuck. I cannot seem to remove it."
"What? But you have to! I can't do it, my arms are up here!" She panicked and wiggled her hands around to prove that they were the only part of her arms that she could move.
"And your arms will remain there unless there is a way to get this dress off of you," S'Reiyah stated as she stepped back and surveyed the problem. She was trying to figure out the most logical way to approach this.
"Work fast please, S'Reiyah. I'm claustrophobic. I can't do this. I need my arms! S'Reiyah, help!" Amanda's started to pant heavily. "I can't breathe! I need air! Help!"
"Your head is not covered by any part of the dress. You should be able to breathe in a sufficient amount of oxygen to remain alive." S'Reiyah spoke in calm tones.
"Remain alive?! Oh God, I'm dying!" Amanda's panic grew wild.
…Precisely 21 years, 2 months and 21 days ago…
STARDATE: 2210.51 (Tues, Feb 20th, 2210)
It was late afternoon on Tuesday and 14-year-old Amanda was waiting for her father to return from work so her entire family could go to the Simulator Cinemas for the premiere of 'Walk with me'.
In Simulator Cinemas viewers are required to wear silver glasses over their eyes. These glasses are then activated so that the viewers can see the screen of the movie and look around as if using a simulator. The movies that play in Simulator Cinemas are always viewed in first person. This makes the viewer feel as if they are the main character.
The movie 'Walk with me' had been on the Grayson's watch list ever since the previews first aired over five months ago.
"What time is it?!" Amanda called out as she ran out of her room into the hallway.
"3:45!" Came her sister's voice from beyond the bathroom door.
"Come on, Mia! Get out! We have to get ready! The Simulator starts in," she paused to look up at the clock in the hallway, "5 hours and 15 minutes!"
"Calm down, girls." Amanda's mother, Georgie, said as she appeared in the hallway, adjusting her earrings. "We've pre-booked our tickets and snacks. As long as we get there half an hour before hand we'll be fine."
"Half an hour?!" Amanda turned sharply to face her mother. "That's not long enough!"
Georgie laughed at her youngest daughter's antics and knelt down in front of her. Amelia appeared from the bathroom and Georgie ushered her over to stand in front of her. "Amanda, Amelia. I want you to go to your room and play a game until I say you can come out." Her girls were about to interject, "We still have plenty of time before we have to leave. Your father isn't home from work yet and we're picking Trevor up from his apartment on the way. Now go and play."
"But-" Amelia began.
"-Play!" Georgie laughed.
Once in Amelia's room Amanda turned to face her sister. "Now what?"
"I guess we play a game."
"What games do you have?" Amanda asked.
"Sudoku." Amelia shrugged from her spot on the ground as she continued to toss the Sudoku book in the air.
"That's not a game!"
"It's a mind game!" Amelia retorted. She caught the book again, opened it, then thought about it, "Not really a game for two people."
"Do you have any games that are fun?" Amanda asked as she flopped down on her sister's bed. Amelia joined her on the bed, their eyes looking up at the opened cupboard.
"Are those sleeping bags?" Amanda inquired with a smile.
"Yes," Amelia responded cautiously. "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking we should have a race."
"I'll get the sleeping bags." Amelia gleamed with excitement as she rose from the bed and jumped up to get the sleeping bags from their spot at the top of the cupboard.
Once in their respective bags (Amelia in the blue, Amanda in the green) they hopped to the door and opened it to see the hallway. The perfect length for a sleeping bag race. Amelia's room was at one end of the hallway, the lounge room was at the other.
"First one to the lounge room wins," Amelia said as she adjusted her feet inside the sleeping bag.
"Got it," Amanda replied, also adjusting herself.
"We need someone to count down," Amelia suggested.
"Why can't we do it?"
"Because either you will get it wrong, or I will get it wrong, and then we would want replay, but if mum finds out she'll put a stop to it immediately," Amelia stated.
"Ah, I see. But mum's the only one home, besides us," Amanda said.
"Hmm, good point."
"Oh, I know!" Amanda exclaimed almost tripping over her sleeping bag, "We'll ask her what the date is today. When she says '2210' that's when we race."
"Excellent idea. You ready?" Amelia asked and Amanda nodded.
"Mum?!" Amelia yelled.
"I'm in the kitchen!" They heard in response.
"What's the full date today?!" Amanda yelled. "Don't forget the year!"
"You should know this, you've been wanting to see this movie for months! You've been counting down the days on every calendar in the house. It's even on the tickets!" Georgie yelled from the kitchen.
"We just wanted to make sure!" Amelia called from her position at the end of the hall.
Georgie sighed before answering the girls, "The date is Tuesday, February 20th, 2210!" That was it. The girls took off down the hallway in a ruckus of laughter and thumping feet. Amanda being slightly smaller made her way between her sister and the wall and hopped out in front of her. Realising she was now in the lead she hopped faster to make sure she stayed in the lead.
Amelia, seeing her younger sister in front of her, managed to jump on the small tail of Amanda's sleeping bag, sending her sister falling to the ground.
Amanda was still in shock when she saw her sister looming over her. Amelia bent down grabbed the zipper of Amanda's bag and zipped up the entire sleeping bag so that Amanda was trapped inside… in the dark.
Amanda heard the thumping of her sister's feet continue on down the hallway. She was still in shock. It was dark and she didn't have much room inside the sleeping bag.
That's ok. I can just unzip myself. Stay calm, 'Manda. She thought calmly to herself. Don't panic. But the zipper was on the outside, while she was left stuck on the inside. I'm trapped in the dark. I can't breathe.
She started flailing her arms out trying to break out of the heavy duty sleeping bag. Nothing was working. "Mum! Mummy! Help!" she began crying loudly, her body overtaken by harsh sobs. "Somebody! Help! Amelia! Mia!" She begged, her cries may have been muffled by the sleeping bag, but her pleas were loud and clear.
Amelia's heart jumped to her throat as Amanda's cries ripped through the air. I'm killing her. She thought. As she made a run towards the bag to help her sister, she was overtaken by her determined mother.
Amanda was crying so loudly she didn't hear the approaching feet. The light from the hallway flooded her vision as the bag was unzipped. Soft hands wiped away her tears and her vision came into focus.
Her mother was kneeling by her side, fear and shock plastered upon her face. She wiped the fresh tears away from her daughter's face and pulled her up out of the bag and into a fierce hug.
"Amelia Bethany Grayson! Come here, right now!" Georgie seethed as she continued to cradle Amanda in her arms.
16-year-old Amelia approached the pair with sobs of her own. She had never heard her sister sound so scared in her life. It frightened her, to witness her sister rolling around, trapped in a sleeping bag, screaming for help.
"What happened?!" Georgie spoke, anger rising in her voice.
"We were racing and I… I tripped her and… zipped the bag up." Amelia confessed through sobs.
Georgie, seeing how distraught her older daughter was, calmed slightly. "Amelia, I want you to tell your sister why you are crying."
Amelia bent down to look into the scared face of her sister, who was cradled against the chest of their mother. The look of fear in her eyes made her guilt feel twice as heavy. "I thought I had killed you." she sobbed harder now, which cause her sister to sob slightly again. "You screamed. I never heard you scream like that before. It scared me." She sniffled. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."
"Go to your room, Amelia. We'll be in shortly. After we've all calmed down."
…Present Time…
"You are clearly not dying," S'Reiyah said calmly as she examined the frantic woman in front of her. She was trying to figure out the best approach to rid Lady Amanda of the blue dress without damaging it.
"I strongly urge you to take deep breaths," S'Reiyah spoke firmly.
Amanda, shocked by S'Reiyah's sudden 'Vulcan outburst', stopped moving and drew in a deep breath. Suddenly, the child within her moved and extended its foot, rapidly kicking Amanda in her abdomen.
The force of the kick was so powerful that the tight blue dress that was currently stretched across Amanda's belly tore. The small rip in the dress grew at great speed until the entire dress was ripped in half. Right down the centre of the dress.
Not only did the blue dress tear, but Amanda's under robe also suffered the same fate.
S'Reiyah's mouth opened and closed in shock. She even gasped a little. "The dress from the House of Surak." She uttered in disbelief. The blue dress had been tossed to the floor after Amanda's arms became mobile once again. Amanda now stood, completely naked before her servant.
Upon noticing that her master's wife was completely nude she looked to the floor, not out of embarrassment, but out of respect.
"Did you see that?!" Amanda said joyfully as she stepped in front of S'Reiyah. S'Reiyah's gaze still transfixed on the ground.
"To what do you refer?" S'Reiyah asked, her calm, steady voice had returned.
"My baby saved my life!"
S'Reiyah's head shot up and stared at Amanda's happy face before remembering her place and turning her gaze away once more.
"Come, feel him." Amanda offered as she managed to pick up the remnants of the blue dress and draped them over her shoulders to cover her breast and nether regions.
S'Reiyah stepped forward and gently placed her hand on Amanda's abdomen.
"He is strong." S'Reiyah's Vulcan upbringing betrayed her momentarily as shock and awe filled her voice. "Both in mind and in physical being. Much stronger than any other young Vulcan I know of."
Amanda beamed, "Sarek says the same thing."
"He will be stronger than any other male Vulcan." She shifted her hands to where the child's head was situated, "His mind is sharper. He is powerful."
"He saved my life." Amanda beamed, her big brown eyes full of adoration for her unborn son.
"May I point out to you that you were in no real danger?" S'Reiyah asked.
"You may not," Amanda replied with a smile.
"Very well then."
"He saved my life."
"Indeed, he did."
