- "Can Wisdom be put in a silver rod?
Or Love in a golden bowl?" -
William Blake, "The Book of Thel"
The house was quiet when they finally went back inside. Almost a little too quiet. Jim had half expected Joana to assault them the moment they stepped into her sight – his adopted little sister, if you could call her that (and she insisted on calling him her big brother), was a little too curious for her own good and everybody else's peace of mind. Poor Bones. Sometimes, Jim really didn't envy him the task of explaining the world to Jo.
The silence did feel a little ominous, and Jim hid a sigh of relief when Chris stepped into sight. He had probably been standing by the window, seeing them walk back towards the house and waited for them. He greeted them quietly in his usual calm manner. Chris was very good at not showing his emotions, especially, if he deemed them inappropriate, and curiosity about his adoptive son's love life was certainly inappropriate from his point of view. Chris was a firm believer in discreetness. Nevertheless, Jim felt certain that he was concerned, and probably even worried.
Hell, I can't blame him. Spock is probably not what he had in mind as a future son-in-law, and considering that we've never talked about my preferences, I guess he was hoping for a daughter-in-law and grandkids. Well… looks like he got the latter, even though it was by accident only. But Spock…? Chris likes Spock, but he would be the first to point out that any kind of intimate relationship between captain and first officer would be scandalous…
"You seem troubled," Spock said, interrupting Jim's train of thought. Jim was about to reply Duh, what did you expect?, when he realized that the question hadn't been addressed at him.
"A little," Chris admitted. "Your father arrived not long after you, looking somewhat anxious. And to see Sarek worrying worries me."
"I'm surprised he even knows how to do that," Jim commented, and instantly sensed Spock's disapproval through their new link. "Sorry," he apologized briefly, "but it's true – your father is the single most composed person I know."
"He's upstairs," Chris told them, "Leonard is keeping him company. It was a hard piece of work to convince Sarek to leave you alone. He wanted to rush into the garden and protect his son from the unwholesome effects of true love. It was even harder to prevent Joana from throwing you a spontaneous party – it's a good thing Sarek brought Nyota and Delia, otherwise you'd have been rudely interrupted by a nosy little sister. She has already announced that she'll be your wedding planner. You'll have to give Nyota plenty of love for distracting her tonight… she took the little menace and the little princess out to watch a movie."
"Well, thank heavens – or Nyota – for that. Hold on – why is Jo in on all this?"
Chris smiled. "Jim – she's thirteen. Everything remotely related to intimate relationships interests her right now. Besides, she is just as smart as her father and twice as insistent."
"And I thought Bones was bad. How do you survive between the two of them?"
Another wry smile. "I manage. Even though I preferred to go downstairs for a little while instead of listening to Leonard and Sarek carry on their conversation." He looked over at Spock. "They have been discussing you from a medical point of view for the last hour or so. I think by now, they must be down to the cellular level. Trust me, it was unpleasant. I learned things I never wanted to know."
The look on Spock's face was almost comical, but the wave of displeasure that flooded through the bond, was not. "I totally agree," Jim said, frowning, "parents can be a real pain sometimes."
"They do have your best interests in mind, though. As does everybody else… Nyota has already called in twice, asking me to check on you and to see if everything was okay. I don't know what she's thinking, but apparently she knows something I don't and it's making her a bit edgy." He raised his brows at both of them. "I think, it's time we all sat down for a little chat."
"Can I go back to being an orphan?" Jim asked, rolling his eyes. "Have you all been talking and conspiring behind our backs?"
"Pretty much," Chris replied, shrugging. "Even though Sarek would violently refuse the notion that he'd been part of a conspiracy. We weren't expecting his visit, either. He appeared on the doorstep, not too long after you had arrived, Spock, and as I said, he seemed worried. But since he was being what Joana calls 'all-Vulcany' about it, there was no way to find out what had ruffled his feathers, until Leonard started asking those medical questions. Now, I've got no medical expertise whatsoever, and I usually blindly trust Leonard with my health and sanity, but from what I gathered, this is a serious matter. Don't get me wrong, no one here wants to meddle with your private life – or at least Leonard and I don't, I don't know about Sarek – and I myself would be perfectly content with whatever makes the two of you happy, but I would prefer if nobody got hurt in the process."
"That is reasonable," Spock said, nodding.
"I'm glad you approve. Anyway, be prepared for a rather awkward, unpleasant conversation. I'd have preferred to skip both the 'meet-the-parents'-routine and the 'are-you-sure-you-know-what-you're-doing?'-talk, but it seems that we are going to have them anyway. But Jim, since you and I have been through plenty of unpleasant conversations in your Academy time, it will feel rather familiar." He winked, and Jim groaned.
"You're actually enjoying this, aren't you?"
"Only a tiny little bit. Of course, it would be a lot more fun if there weren't a real possibility of one or both of you getting hurt due to weird Vulcan neurological phenomena. Come on. Let's not keep Sarek waiting. There's no way to be sure, but he did seem a little impatient."
"There you are," Leonard greeted Jim and Spock when they entered the room. "I was starting to wonder whether we'd have to fish you out of the goldfish pond." He looked at them for a moment, before noticing: "You seem awfully quiet, both of you."
"Whereas you, doctor, are as annoyingly eloquent as ever," Spock countered.
"Don't be insulting, you do know my first name. I've even heard you use it when you thought I wasn't listening. Now, for the interesting part – everybody has been awaiting your entry with avid expectation. Are you both well?"
"Are you kidding?" Jim asked, feeling more than a little annoyed by all this.
"No, actually it was a serious question. You see, we've all been slightly worried."
"Do I hear sarcasm in your voice?" Spock asked, frown lines forming on his forehead.
"Oh, absolutely. Why the hell didn't you tell anyone, Spock? An uncontrolled, possibly defective bond is no laughing matter. It could have seriously harmed you or Jim. And don't tell me you didn't know or at least suspect, that's bullshit. You've known how a bond works all your life, how it's formed, and even what can go wrong. Your parents made sure you knew, because they couldn't be certain how your mixed heritage would affect your ability to bond with someone. And because at least one of them knew how badly things can go wrong." He looked at Sarek, who sat across the table, his long, slender fingers toying with a teaspoon.
Everything in Jim protested that this wasn't Spock's fault, and he wanted to rush to his defense, but Spock shook his head. Don't. The sentiment was a clear, as if he had clad it in words.
But they are being unfair!
Spock briefly touched his hand in a reassuring gesture that did not go unnoticed and caused Sarek to raise an eyebrow. Jim, who knew a Vulcan kiss when he saw one – and was the one being kissed – had to smile despite himself.
At last, Sarek spoke, and his words probably surprised them all. "Love is the most illogical of all emotions," he said, "so I think we cannot blame Spock for being… confused. But you should not have waited so long to tell me."
"Actually, I never told you," Spock replied. "You just assumed. Though correctly, I must add."
"Precisely."
"Well, you do not exactly invite tearful confessions, do you?" Jim asked acidly.
"No, I am afraid, I do not… however, I notice that you did not want to enlighten your family about the nature of your feelings for my son, either."
"To cut this short," Leonard interrupted, "we think you behaved like a right pair of idiots. Nevertheless, everybody here loves you, and is gathered here to help as best we can. Sarek has contacted a Vulcan healer from the colony, and she should be here by tomorrow."
Jim felt Spock's relief, and decided that if Spock felt good about this, he'd go along with it.
"Furthermore, let's clear up some misunderstandings – nobody has any objections about the two of you being in a relationship. That is, if you leave Chris' professional persona as a Starfleet Admiral out, but he left it at the office today, judging that it'd only be in the way."
"Really?" Jim looked at Sarek, unable to conceal his surprise. "You have no objections?"
Sarek smiled briefly, but the smile was genuine, and that in itself was answer enough. "No. I want Spock to be content. If he finds that his happiness lies in being with you, I will accept that. I always suspected that he might be more comfortable with a human mate than a Vulcan one. Humans are a lot more tolerant than Vulcans in some matters."
"And it doesn't bother you that I just happen to be male?"
"If it does not bother me that you are human, why should I be concerned about your gender?"
"Maybe because most parents want to be grandparents one day…?" Jim suggested.
"When I married a human, I knew that I would put an end to my genetic line, unless I fathered any more children of pure Vulcan blood. I fully accepted that fact. Now fate has surprisingly granted me a granddaughter, so I have no reason to be displeased. The only thing that worries me is what this will do to both your health and careers. I am afraid Starfleet has rather strict rules against officers of the same vessel entering a romantic relationship."
"We can deal with the latter in time," Chris cut in. "And I am sure we'll find a solution. For now, I'd like to have Leonard run a few tests on both of you. You seem fine, but let's make sure, shall we?"
"This is probably the most unromantic love story ever," Jim said to Spock. "These guys can take all the fun out of it, and they keep stamping on the roses and bursting the little pink bubbles with all their reasonable talk."
"Pink bubbles?" Sarek asked.
"Never mind. You don't even want to know," Leonard assured him, before turning back to Jim and Spock. "You can make up for it later, Jim. In fact, I am sure you will. For now, let's take care of those scans. I'm sure, we will all sleep better, knowing that you haven't lost your mind yet… not that it'd make much of a difference."
"Can I hurt him?" Jim asked Chris. "Just once. Please. I promise not to do any serious harm."
Chris laughed. "No, I'm afraid I can't permit that. But I'll see what I can do about it. Leonard?" He turned to his husband.
"Huh?"
"Be nice," Chris chided.
It just ocurred to me that a "meet the parents"-scene in which all the participants are male would be considered odd everywhere outside of fanfiction. One more reason to love this particular genre ;) I must confess that I'm not entirely happy with the way this last chapter turned out, put I can't exactly pinpoint why. Just tell me what you think about it. Is there anything that seems strange?