Enterprise cruised along at warp 3, she was still a day out from Vulcan, and her Captain, Jonathan Archer was having the hardest time of his life. Learning Vulcan wasn't as easy as he had thought. Tossing the PADD aside he decided that he needed a break, and walking Porthos was as good as any. Jon got up from the couch and grabbing the Padd again and called out to Porthos, the dog who had been napping on his bed in the corner instantly sprang to life and eagerly jumped to his masters side.

Jon: "let's go for a walk, I think we both need to get out for a bit."

Porthos: "Woof"

Jon smiled and with Porthos in the lead, they left the cabin and headed for the Mess Hall. Jon walked along the corridor slowly, he was still re-acquainting himself with his ship after her 5 month refit, he wasn't sure if he liked the new blue door scheme yet or not, but he definitely did like the new chair. Jon's thoughts turned to Vulcan and what would be happening once they arrived there. T'Pol had done her best at coaching him on how to behave and how to act towards her mother as they would be staying in her home rather than on Enterprise. Jon thought back to their last discussion on it.

T'Pol: "Jonathan, my mother is not going to act the same towards you as your relatives did towards me during our wedding on Earth."

Jon: "I know, and you've told me she is more inclined towards human's than Soval seems to be. I just hope she doesn't nag like most mother-in-laws seem to do." he said with a smile.

T'Pol: "My mother does not nag, she suggests. She is a respected member of the University and her classes are highly sought after."

Jon: "Everything will be alright T'Pol, besides you'll be there to make sure I don't make too much of an idiot of myself."

T'Pol: "I cannot watch you at all hours of the day Jonathan, also remember while we are married by your laws and customs, we are only betrothed by mine. While we will be staying in my mothers home, we will not be able to stay in the same room together."

Jon: "I know, it'll be hard trying to sleep without you next to me."

T'Pol reached out and caressed Jon's cheek: "I too have become accustomed to your presence Aisha. Do not fret, it will only be for 2 nights, then we may once again be together."

Jon hoped that T'Pol and her mother, T'Les, would be pleased at his learning of Vulcan, Jon had asked T'Pol if he had to learn any special Vulcan phrases for the ceremony, She had informed him that it would be unnecessary as it would be held in English for his benefit and for the benefit of the other Human dignitaries who would be attending. Jon and Porthos soon reached their destination and Jon grabbed a plate of fruit and a cup of coffee. He lead Porthos to his dining room. The Mess hall itself was actually empty but Jon still preferred the added privacy of his dining room.

As he sat down at the table, Jon felt the ship drop from warp, glancing out the window he saw the stars had gone from the usual rainbow effect back to normal. Reaching behind him he keyed the COMM panel.

Jon: "Archer to Bridge."

"Bridge, Reed here sir."

Jon: "Why have we dropped out of warp Malcolm?"

Reed: "Commander Tucker wanted to run a brief check on the new plasma relays and see how they're holding up."

Jon smiled, count on Trip to want to keep his engines at peak performance, now that he had competition out here with the Columbia and her Chief Engineer.

Jon: "Understood, How long till we're underway again?"

Malcolm: "I'm informed that it should be no more than an hour Captain."

Jon: "Alright, Archer out."

Jon sat back and picked up the Padd and began reading Vulcan again. Sure enough, after an hour the ship leaped into warp and they were once again on their way to Vulcan. Jon was busy reading and didn't notice Porthos's ears perk up, he did however notice when the pup barked at the exact same time as the door chime went off.

Jon looked down at the dog: "Nice warning"

Porthos merely wagged his tail.

Jon called for the person to enter and was mildly surprised when the door slid open to reveal T'Pol. She arched her eyebrow when she sensed his surprise, but did not say anything, she simply walked over and took the seat next to him.

Jon: "I thought you wanted to be left alone to meditate before we reached your home."

T'Pol: I was meditating, when Lt Sato forwarded a message to me from Vulcan."

Jon: "A message? What was it?"

T'Pol: "It was from my mother, she wished to inform me that all is ready for our arrival and she is anticipating meeting you."

Jon: "I see, so does that mean she's going to be happy to see me?"

T'Pol: "Jonathan…"

Jon: "I know T'Pol, I was simply teasing you. Vulcan's are neither happy nor unhappy."

T'Pol: "Precisely. What are your plans for later?"

Jon: "Nothing really, everything is under control, the roster is done and everything is working fine. Trip already has plans to work on the engines while we're in orbit. Why?"

T'Pol: "I was hoping we could discuss more about how the wedding will proceed and how you should behave."

Jon: "Alright, how about after dinner?"

T'Pol: "That will be fine."

Soon enough, Enterprise reached Vulcan. Jon felt he was finally ready for anything. Soon enough he and T'Pol had shuttled down to the planet. When they arrived Jon was surprised when there was no one there to meet them. T'Pol explained that her mother would be at the university and that they were to proceed to her home and meet her later. Jon was glad that Phlox had given him some tri-ox injections to carry with him, as soon as they had stepped off the shuttle, he felt as if he had walked into a wall of heat. He'd have to remember to drink lots of water while he was here.

He and T'Pol boarded Vulcan's version of public transportation and shortly they were on the outskirts of Shi'Kar. Jon saw that T'Pol's childhood home was actually quite nice, there was what looked to be a garden in the front of the home that was entered by an ornately carved gate. There was a rather large bell off to one side. Jon noticed that the garden was quite large and spacious.

T'Pol: "This is where the ceremony shall be held."

Jon nodded and turned at the sound of the door to the house opening. He saw a woman who looked very much like T'Pol emerge. She walked forward until she was only a few feet from where he and T'Pol were standing.

T'Pol: "Mother, I had not expected you to be home."

T'Les: "I departed from the university early. I wished to be here to greet you when you arrived."

T'Pol: "I see, that was very gracious of you mother. Please let me introduce you to my betrothed, Jonathan Archer."

T'Les turned and studied Jonathan with such scrutiny that he felt as if he was under a microscope. After a few minute she held her hand up in the typical split-v greeting.

T'Les: "Greetings Captain Archer. I welcome you to my home."

Jon held his hand up and returned the greeting.

Jon: "I thank you and please, call me Jonathan. After all, we're are about to be related."

T'Les raised her eyebrow " Yes. We are." She turned and headed back into the house, Jon looked at T'Pol.

T'Pol: "She is pleased to see you."

With that T'Pol also headed into the house, Jon had no choice but to follow her.

Jon entered the foyer of the house and stood and looked around, the architecture was open and the colouring was mostly neutral browns and earth tones. Jon found it rather refreshing and relaxing. T'Pol gestured for him to follow her, Jon sighed and picked up his bags and trudged off down the long hallway, near the end T'Pol stood next to an open doorway.

T'Pol: "This is where you shall be sleeping until after the ceremony."

Jon looked in the room, it was roughly the same size as his original cabin had been back on Enterprise. There was a single bed along with a desk and chair and a small dresser. Another door led to a small washroom which held a shower, sink and toilet.

Jon: "It's very nice."

T'Pol: "My room is back down the hall, my mother's room is there in the middle."

Jon: "Hmm, guess that means I can't sneak down the hall for a late night visit huh?"

T'Pol: "Jonathan, please behave."

Jon smiled, T'Pol sighed.

T'Pol: "Please take your time in putting away your things, I wish to discuss the ceremony with my mother. After that if there is time, I will give you a tour of the grounds if you wish, we have a rather large garden which I believe you would like."

Jon: "Ok, just let me know when you're done, I think I might even take a shower, I hadn't counted on this heat, I think I should take another shot of tri-ox as well."

T'Pol: "Did Doctor Phlox provide you with a sufficient amount of the compound?"

Jon: "Yes he did, so long as I don't exert my self too much, or try to do any marathon's while we're here."

T'Pol: "The ceremony is in three days, I was hoping to be able to take you on a tour of my world before then, as you showed me yours. We will have the use of a small personal shuttle, so you do not over-exert yourself."

Jon: "Gee, thanks dear."

T'Pol merely raised her eyebrow, she then looked around to make sure they were alone, then leaned forward and gave Jon a quick kiss on the lips.

"I must go see my mother, I will see you soon." she then turned and walked back towards the main part of the house.

T'Pol found her mother in the kitchen, she was busy cutting up vegetables for dinner.

T'Pol: "Do you need assistance?"

T'Les: "I do not. What I desire is an explanation."

T'Pol raised her eyebrow. "It would be easier for me if I had knowledge of that for which you require an explanation."

T'Les stopped cutting, laid the knife on the counter and turned to face her daughter. " A Human?"

T'Pol: "Surak teaches Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. Jonathan and I are bonded. There could be no other."

T'Les: "Is he why you broke your betrothal to Koss?"

T'Pol: "He is one of many reasons why I did that."

T'Les: "Many of our family will not attend the ceremony. Some elders say that you should not have come here to do this."

T'Pol: "I was under the impression that the High Command sanctioned our relationship."

T'Les: "High Command does, it helps further our relationship with the Humans. However, I stated that it was the elders of our clan who did not."

T'Pol: "If you wish for us to depart, we can leave shortly, we will hold the ceremony aboard Enterprise."

T'Pol turned to leave when T'Les's hand reached out and stopped her.

T'Les: "I do not wish for you to go. You have always been rather, impulsive. I wish for you to remain."

T'Pol: "Do you support my marriage to Jonathan?"

T'Les: "Despite what the elders say or do, you are still my daughter, this is still your home. I will stand by your choice. And I believe your father would have as well."

T'Pol nodded: "I am pleased. I have a request I would like to make of you."

T'Les: "Go ahead."

T'Pol: "The Priest who will be officiating, he will need to perform the ritual in Earth standard. There will be some Enterprise crew as well as Earth dignitaries in attendance."

T'Les: "I will speak with him."

T'Pol nodded. "Shall we continue to prepare dinner?"

T'Les agreed.

Meanwhile back down the hall, Jon stepped out of the shower and towelled himself off, He wondered briefly if he was going to get used to the heat and higher gravity before either one overcame him and he'd have to be carried to the ceremony.

While Jon was getting dressed in a loose fitting shirt and trousers, his communicator went off, Jon frowned then picked it up.

"Archer here, go ahead"

Hoshi: "Captain, we received a message for you from Admiral Forrest."

Jon: "Is it important?"

Hoshi: "No sir, he just wished to let you know that he along with the Earth delegates who will be attending the ceremony will be arriving tomorrow afternoon."

Jon: "That's pretty quick, I thought they weren't going to be here until the morning of the wedding. Is Columbia bringing them?"

Hoshi: "No sir, apparently they were offered a lift."

Jon: "A lift? By who Ensign?"

Hoshi: "They will be arriving aboard the Vulcan cruiser, Surak, Ambassador Soval is bringing them."

Jon smiled: "I see, thank you for the message Hoshi. Oh, why are you still on the ship, I thought I authorized shore leave for everyone?"

Hoshi: "You did sir, I am waiting for Lt. Reed to end his duty shift before we head to the planet."

Jon chuckled "Very well, Archer out."

Jon tossed the communicator back onto the bed and finished dressing. His command crew would be attending the ceremony as well. He hoped the are where it was being held was going to be large enough to hold everyone who was apparently showing up.

Little did Jon know that while not one of the more powerful and prominent families on Vulcan, T'Pol's family still had quite extensive land holdings. When she had pointed out earlier the small courtyard in front of the house as the place of the ceremony, T'Pol had neglected to mention that would be just where it was starting.

From there they would go to the area that was traditionally used in her family for the Kun-ut, or place of marriageIt was here that Jonathan was to give the Kun-ut so'lik, the marriage proposal. Jon had read that much in the Vulcan database. T'Pol had told him that there would be no need for the other part of the ritual, the Kal'i'fee, the challenge, as she had ended her bond to Koss and had actually spoken with him and he accepted her choice.

Jon was glad because he didn't think he'd have much chance against a Vulcan in a fight with the heat, air and gravity against him. Jon grabbed some bottled water and set off to find T'Pol to see about that promised tour of the garden.

Jon found her still in the kitchen with her mother, He stood silently and watched the two of them work, suddenly it dawned on him that he'd have to go vegetarian for the next few days. Oh well he thought to himself, it won't kill me.

T'Pol: No it will not, Besides, Phlox has stated you need to eat more vegetables

Jon smiled.

T'Les: "Captain Archer, please come into the room, do not stand in the doorway."

Jon felt like he'd just been caught by the school principal doing something bad.

Jon: "My apologies ma'am, I thought it would be rude to interrupt you."

T'Les: "It is not rude when you are a guest in this house and my daughters betrothed."

Jon decided to not mention that he was T'Pol's husband, not her betrothed.

Jon: "Please, call me Jonathan.."

T'Les studied him for a few moments.: "Very well, you will call me T'Les."

Jon: "Well T'Les, I was wondering if it would be alright to borrow T'Pol, she had mentioned a tour of the garden."

T'Les: "That would be acceptable, but please do not stray too near the back wall, the d'mallu vines have begun to grow in rather vigorously this season."

Jon looked at T'Pol

T'Pol: "An omnivorous plant."

Jon: "I see."

As Jon and T'Pol left for the garden, T'Les was surprised to here the front door chime. She answered the door and was more surprised to see the person who had arrived. It was Koss.