Chapter 15: Temptation

Vafer-tor'es was certainly a work in progress...yet it was amazing how much the Vulcans had accomplished in just three months.

The 'temporary homes' Spock had mentioned were low, stone buildings built along a sandy road...they were crude, but they had a certain elegant air to them at the same time. Here and there was a slightly larger building that housed a shop, or a physician's office...the building they had beamed down in front of served as New Vulcan's Embassy.

The sandy road led away, into a nest of building projects. The homes and structures that were being built there were sturdier, more refined...they were obviously the beginnings of the permanent city. As they watched, several Vulcans left their humble stone homes to walk along the road to the building sites, carrying tools. Everyone helped here...and Vulcan strength and precise delegation of duties would finish the work twice as fast than if it were humans assisting their efforts.

Vafer-tor'es...Regeneration. The name suited the city perfectly. To regenerate means to form, construct, or create anew in an improved state. It means to give new life, revitalize...and that was exactly what the Vulcans were trying to do.

As Nyota looked around her, she found it hard to believe that the Vulcans she saw were the same proud Vulcans who were renowned for their scientific advancement, known for their peace-keeping efforts for forming the Federation of Planets and, by extension, Starfleet. These were the same race of people who had assisted the humans in their last leap into space travel, the first alien contact, the same people who had looked down upon them almost disdainfully for their primitive lack of emotional control...

They looked beaten, tired. They no longer looked proud. They had been humbled by the loss of their world. They had lost families, friends...all in one brief second during which the great planet of Vulcan folded silently in upon itself.

Now, they were trying to salvage what hope they had left. The mighty Vulcans had been knocked backward thousands of years...they were starting all over again, completely from scratch. They lived in tan-colored stone huts no better than shacks, they worked hard all during the daylight hours...all so that they might, one day, see some semblance of normalcy in their lives.

Granted, it would not take them as long as before for them to return to the state they had been in. But it was still a long, hard road.

Nyota glanced sideways at Spock. He did not look at her- his head was tilted slightly towards his father as they walked along the road, listening as Sarek described their rebuilding efforts. The link had been closed since that morning, so she did not know how he felt about all of this...but if she, a non-Vulcan, could be saddened by what had become of his people, then certainly he was saddened as well...perhaps that was why he had closed the link before they beamed down. She had not questioned it at the time, and she would wait for him to reestablish the bond on his own terms.

Sarek led them down a side street. Here, the houses were slightly larger, although still identical in style and material to the ones they had seen previously. She assumed these belonged to members of higher class...or simply to those who required larger living quarters.

"I had planned to have a hover-car to assist you." Sarek said as he led them up to the door. "However, T'Shan required it. It was time for her to go to the city and collect supplies."

"Who's T'Shan?" Nyota whispered to Spock as Sarek disappeared inside.

"She has been a servant of my family for many years." Spock replied. "She was off-planet when Vulcan was destroyed...on Earth, to be precise."

Nyota wondered why T'Shan had been on Earth, but she didn't ask. Spock followed his father inside, and she walked in also.

She had expected the interior to be as humble as the exterior...but she was quite wrong. Other than the rough stone walls and floor, it looked relatively comfortable. The room they entered appeared to be a living room, with a sofa, several chairs, and a low table set before them, where there sat a communications console. Through a doorway, Nyota saw a hall that apparently led to other rooms.

"You will stay here for one week. Ms. Uhura will visit with females over that time, who will instruct her in what she may need to know. I will not be here often, as I have work in the Embassy...however." Sarek turned to face them, his eyes boring into Spock's. "T'Shan will be here. I expect no...improper behavior."

Nyota bit her lip, hard. Even then she couldn't totally keep the smile off her face. Well, Sarek certainly didn't have to worry about that...but seeing Spock's father telling him not to get any ideas was something she had never thought she would live to see.

"Certainly not, Father." Spock replied without pause. Sarek turned away again, leading them down the hallway.

The house was more spacious than it had seemed. It contained four bedrooms, a kitchen, a small dining room, and two bathrooms. Nyota wondered how even this house was able to be built in three months, let alone so many others also.

"And you said these houses are only temporary?" Nyota asked Spock.

"Our ancestral homes are much larger than this. Ours is not likely to be finished for several years." Spock replied. "It is logical to make this one as comfortable as possible in the meantime."

Nyota wondered how Sarek had known to have four bedrooms built in. One for him, one for this T'Shan, one for each of them...the coincidence was uncanny, and she wondered just how long Sarek had known about their relationship, and how he had known that they would eventually marry.

She also noted that her and Spock's bedrooms were separated by T'Shan's.

Spock placed her duffel bag on her bed, and went down the hall to his own room. She took this time to look around. There was a small bed, a closet, tables...nothing out of the ordinary. Except for one thing...Nyota spotted a red box sitting on a shelf in the closet. She looked at it for a moment, unsure of whether or not she should look in it...after all, this was Sarek's house. But soon, curiosity overcame her, and she stood on her tiptoes to get it down.

She set it on the bed, and was just opening it when Spock returned. Startled, she made as if to close it, feeling her cheeks grow hot. She had been caught snooping.

"It was not my intention to alarm you." Spock said, coming to stand beside her, his eyes on the box. "I recognize this container." he said, reaching out to touch the lid, his fingers skimming over hers lightly as he did so.

"Whose is it?" Nyota asked. Spock looked up, his eyes meeting hers.

"My mother's." he replied quietly. "I have only seen it once, when I accompanied her to Earth to visit her relations. She kept heirlooms in it...it was her intention, if she ever had a daughter, to pass them on to her. She never did, and instead gave them to her sister for safekeeping."

"Why is it here, then?" Nyota asked. Spock looked away from her, at the box.

"That is an illogical question, as I believe the answer is obvious. The container is in your room, is it not?" Spock asked.

"So your father...?" Nyota trailed off.

"It would seem so." Spock replied. Nyota felt her eyes watering, and she blinked away the tears. Spock reached out and touched her arm gently. "Open it, ashayam."

"No...I want to wait." Nyota said, picking up the box and placing it on a table underneath a window that afforded a view of the desert. "I consider this to be a wedding gift, so I'm going to wait until the morning of our official wedding to open it." No matter how much she wanted to see what was inside.

Nyota returned to her bag and began to unpack it. The room was silent for several minutes, as Spock watched her. His eyes followed her every movement, and she wished the link was open so she would know what he was thinking. Soon, it became obvious.

"Nyota...it is apparent that my father approves of our marriage. Is your family even aware of my presence in your life?" he asked. Nyota froze.

"Spock...I've told you how my family is." she said stiffly. She was done unpacking, but she wished that she wasn't, so that she would have something to do- anything to excuse her from looking Spock in the face. She folded her arms over her chest and looked down at her feet. Spock, who had been sitting on the bed, stood and walked in front of her. She winced slightly. He was obviously trying to force her to meet his gaze, and she reluctantly did so.

"That is no excuse, Nyota." he said firmly. She sighed.

"You know my father doesn't like...non-Terrans." she said. "And my mother is still furious that I entered Starfleet. Well, actually, both of them are...I haven't spoken more than once a year to them since I entered the academy. They would probably have heart attacks if they found out about Scorpius Three and Kathosia...then have strokes if they found out that I'm married to a Vulcan- one of the non-Terrans they dislike the most."

Her entire family was distrustful of aliens, but especially of Vulcans. They had been ever since the first contact. She often wondered, considering the negativity about non-Terrans that had surrounded her all of her life, how she had ended up not only as a xenolinguist, but as a Vulcan's wife. Perhaps it was a form of rebellion. If there was one thing her parents would have aneurysms about, it was Spock.

"I have not pressed this issue before...perhaps I should have." Spock said, and reached out to place his hands gently on her shoulders. "Nyota, even if they dislike it, you must tell them."

"Spock...please don't ask that of me." Nyota said with a sigh, and leaned forward to rest her head against his chest.

"I informed my parents of our relationship when it began, risking that they may disapprove. But I did not hesitate to do it."

"That's because you had to tell them, to let them know why you were breaking it off with T'Pring!" Nyota said, pulling away.

"That does not change the fact that I did it." Spock said. "My ashayam, I plan on being part of your life throughout the duration of it. They must find out eventually." Nyota groaned.

"Fine! I'll do it...but not until we're back on the Enterprise. And you can't be around when I break the news. I don't want you to see their reactions...it's not going to be pretty."

"I am amenable to that." Spock said, and brushed his lips softly against hers before pulling away. She turned back to the now-empty bag on her bed, about to put it in the closet. Then she felt Spock's hand, high up on her ribcage. He slid it down slowly, sensuously, his fingers brushing against the side of her right breast, then down her waist, to her hip...moving to the side...ending with a gentle squeeze to her rear. She gasped.

"I believe you did say that the game is still on." Spock breathed in her ear, before leaning forward to gently bite her shoulder. Nyota couldn't speak. His hand was still on her bottom, the other now on her hip, kneading it with his very nimble fingers. She licked her lips, which were suddenly dry. She felt her temperature rising...and then he pulled away.

"If you include the first time you rejected me, and also last night when you rejected me again...I believe we are now even." he said as he headed for the door. Nyota gaped after him. Damn this game! she thought.

Whose idea had this been? Hers? She wanted to kick herself. What a stupid, stupid idea. But she couldn't end the game now...if she conceded defeat, or even suggested that they quit, that would mean Spock had won. And she wasn't even about to let that happen.

"You just wait, S'chn T'Gai Spock." Nyota said through gritted teeth. "The tie is temporary, I assure you."

She caught a glimpse of his 'non-smile' as he left.

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When Nyota joined Spock and Sarek in the living room ten minutes later, they were again discussing Vafer-tor'es. She took a seat in a chair to Spock's right, across from his father.

"Almost every surviving Vulcan has joined the rebuilding efforts." Sarek said, his hands folded before him- a habit of Spock's that she was very familiar with. "The exceptions are those who hold duties to other causes. I myself act as one of the ambassadors for New Vulcan...we do require assistance from the Federation. We do not have funding, and must lean on others for it. The Terrans have offered to send workers to assist us, but their offer has been refused. We do not need humans to slow us down, as our rebuilding is, at this moment, ahead of schedule."

Nyota was surprised to find that she wasn't insulted by this. She had grown used to Spock's blunt remarks about how humans are inferior in efficiency to Vulcans...it didn't bother her, because from what she had seen, they were correct. In three months, humans could not have accomplished even half of what the Vulcans had.

"Father, have you yet met...my older self?" Spock asked. Nyota looked up- Spock had told her about his run-in with that elder version of himself. It had just occurred to her that, if he was here, she would get to meet him for the first time. She couldn't deny that she was curious about him, about that alternate reality. What had she been like in his time? Had they been married? Did they have children?

"Yes." Sarek replied. "I see him quite often. He chose this planet as our rebuilding site, and acts as lead planner and ambassador. He works at the Embassy also...it is highly likely that you will see him this week."

Before the discussion could continue, the front door opened and an old Vulcan woman entered. She stopped when she saw Spock and gave him the traditional Vulcan greeting.

"T'Shan, it has been several years." Spock replied. Nyota studied the woman. She must have been at least a hundred years old, although she only appeared to be about fifty. She was a handsome woman, but not beautiful, her black hair streaked with gray and lines beginning to set into the corners of her eyes and mouth.

"It has been 7.3 to be exact." T'Shan replied.

"Have you acquired the supplies I listed?" Sarek asked. T'Shan bowed her head.

"Yes, osu Sarek." T'Shan said. "Shall I put them away in the kitchen now?"

"Yes." Sarek replied, and she left. Nyota looked quizzically after her, and then back at Spock.

"I didn't realize that Vulcans have servants." she remarked.

"Members of the thol'es, the nobility, often do." he replied. "Most of our servants perished on Vulcan. Only T'Shan remains. She lives here because all of her family is gone. It was only logical for her to be taken in."

"Oh." Nyota said, and fell silent for a moment, digesting this information. She was sure that T'Shan shared this history with many on New Vulcan, but it made it no less regrettable. Then she latched onto something else he had said. "Wait- thol'es?"

Sarek looked at his son, almost frowning. "You have not told her, Spock?" he asked.

"I saw no logical reason to bring it up." Spock replied. "Nyota, the S'chn T'Gai clan is an ancient family. We are of the Vulcan nobility. This is why our...elopement...is particularly unacceptable. The thol'es set an example for other Vulcans."

"And you didn't see a logical reason to tell me this?" Nyota asked disapprovingly. Oh, yes. He was certainly going to pay for this- and for his behavior of twenty minutes ago. She was already forming a plan. He was going to regret it.

"You have never asked me if my family was noble." Spock replied. She couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes.

"Spock- perhaps we could participate in a game of 3D-chess." Sarek interrupted before Nyota could retort. She looked at him- he was looking at Spock, but she knew he was trying to avert the situation. She had to admit- he had learned exceptionally well from his human wife. She could only hope Spock would become just as wise, over time.

________________________________________________________________

They had spent the day quietly- even dinner had been peaceful. The only interruptions to their calm conversations had been Nyota's occasional laugh at something said that was not intentionally humorous, but which she still found to be so.

It was strange, to be on New Vulcan. To see the rebuilding of a once-great civilization. It was strange to be in this stone house. It was strange to see his father without his mother at his side. Even without outward displays of emotions, Spock knew his father missed her greatly. He could almost feel his sorrow radiating in the air.

He had been able to bury his pain over his mother's death remarkably well for the past three months. But being here, where she should have been, made him think about her more than he had in that whole time. It brought his pain back to the surface, and he was grateful that Nyota could not feel it due to the closed bond.

Spock wondered if perhaps his father's insistence that they come to New Vulcan had a less logical motivation than the repair of their marriage. T'Shan, his only companion, was Vulcan- and undoubtedly, Sarek had become accustomed to human company. Perhaps he had needed another human woman to look upon and listen to as she laughed, even if it was his son's wife, not his.

Spock had rarely seen his parents acting affectionately with one another. He assumed that they had refrained from such displays in front of him, because his mother was always a happy woman- he could not imagine her being so happy if she did not receive shows of affection. He knew Nyota certainly would not be- she had made that obvious before. Even a light caress of her cheek, a kiss on her neck, was enough to ascertain her contentment for at least an hour.

He looked over at Nyota...they had retired to the living room again after dinner, and he and his father were again playing chess. Nyota watched, but he knew that she wasn't particularly interested in it. He had tried to teach her chess before, but she simply did not enjoy it. He had tried to explain that chess was not meant to be enjoyed, but played as a test of strategy. She had only rolled her eyes, and kissed him, saying that she had better things to do with their evening than try to play chess. He maintained, even to this day, that the real reason she disliked the game was because she had never beaten him at it. She refused to admit that it was the truth, which Spock found highly illogical, and representative of human stubbornness.

"I'm going to bed." Nyota announced after several more minutes of watching the game. He reached out across the bond, and sensed her impatience. He wondered what she was impatient about. "I'm just tired of watching you two take ten minutes each to make a move." she replied. He sensed that she was only telling half the truth, but he did not inquire further.

After she had left, Spock returned to the chess match. There was precisely 3.4 minutes of silence before his father spoke.

"Spock, I am...relieved, that you came to make amends for your error." Sarek said.

"I am as concerned about what we did as you are, Father. It was an illogical decision to make. I wish for Nyota to be given all privileges she should as a member of our family. I wish for you to recognize our marriage."

"I approve of her entirely. You have made a wise choice, even if you have not been wise in how you made her your wife." Sarek replied.

"Why do you approve of her so readily?" Spock asked, looking up from the chess board at Sarek, who did not look up.

"I have two logical reasons." Sarek replied. "And perhaps an illogical one, as well."

"Please clarify, Father." Spock prompted.

"While it was always my wish that you take a Vulcan wife, it was logical- perhaps even predictable- that you turned to a human in the end. T'Pring did not look upon your human genetics with favor. Her parents were only agreeable to the match because of your family's position. Very few of our kind can accept your mixed heritage without question.

"A human, however...I have found that most humans are not likely to be prejudiced against those with mixed origins. Certainly, this is not true of all humans, but many are accepting. Your mother accepted me, and Nyota has accepted you. It is because of this accepting characteristic that I believe it logical for you to marry a human.

"The other logical reason is the fact that Vulcan males do, at this time, outnumber Vulcan females. The margin of gender percentages is not great, but it is inevitable that some males will not have a mate. You have enabled one Vulcan male to have a mate by taking a human instead."

"And the illogical reason to accept our match?" Spock asked, and Sarek finally looked up to meet his son's gaze. Even Spock, as lacking in 'eye-reading' talent as he was, could see the fathomless depths of his father's sadness in his dark eyes.

"Your mother would have wanted me to."

___________________________________________________________

Nyota waited until she heard Spock enter his room down the hall. Then she slipped out the door, crept down the hallway, and entered.

He was taking off his blue shirt when she came in, and turned to look at her, puzzled.

"Nyota? You should not be here. My father has instructed T'Shan-"

"Shh." Nyota said, laying a finger against his lips. "We can be quiet. I've changed my mind."

"Nyota-"

"I said we can be quiet." Nyota said, and slid her arms around him, raking her nails against his back, slowly moving him toward the bed. She began to kiss him, and she could feel him relenting, giving in to the feel of her lips against his, her hands on his back, pulling him flush against her body.

She pushed him backwards onto the bed, and then crawled over until she was straddling him. She bent down to kiss him again, their tongues meeting in a fight for dominance, her nails now raking against his chest, running through the sparse hairs, then up to cradle his head, her fingers threading through his hair. She sighed against him, and moved her hips. Oh yes...he was very aroused.

It took every ounce of the willpower she possessed to pull away from those lips, which were so hot, so enticing...his eyes were dark with want, with need, as she looked into them.

"Three to two, Commander." she whispered with a smirk. She then sat up, and moved off of him. She moved over to the door, making sure to swing her hips a little more than usual. When she looked back at him, he was sitting up, his hair in complete disarray...if he didn't insist that he didn't display emotions, she would say that he looked disgruntled. "And still six days left to go." she added with a satisfied smile before slipping out the door.

A/N: These two are going to be heating up New Vulcan before they even get to the caves ;)

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