AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Although I do not own Star Trek itself, or any of the original characters, those characters which I have developed myself, and those situations which I have written about, and the story names I have created, belong to me, and may not be used by anyone else without my permission.
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Unfinished Business
Chapter 51 : Visiting Vulcan
January 2278
Once again, the Enterprise was passing close enough to Vulcan that a shuttle trip was feasible. Spock made a subspace call, and received his mother's enthusiastic invitation to come and visit. He and Nyota packed, and set off. They would spend a week on Vulcan, simply visiting. Saavik would undoubtedly be overjoyed to show them everything that she had learned in their absence.
The trip was short, and uneventful. Their greeting was as wild and joyful as expected. Amanda hugged them both, and Saavik danced about, so excited that she could not stay still. Fortunately, by the time Sarek arrived home from the meeting he had not been able to reschedule on such short notice, she had settled down some. Her sehlat, on the other hand, was still feeling the results of her vivacious activity, and charged up to Sarek when he entered, almost knocking him over. Abashed, she quickly drew him off to the kitchen, and gave him a large plomeek root to chew on, much to his delight.
This visit was much easier than the last. There was now a definite give and take between father and son. Although there were still periods when they struggled to find the right thing to say, they were slowly working out how to react to one another.
In the evenings, they sat on the patio behind the house, surrounded by the lush flowerbeds that Amanda had created, glasses of cool juice in their hands, and talked until the stars shone out. Nyota particularly enjoyed these evenings, settled in comfortable padded chairs, the gentle breeze bringing a measure of relief from the mid-day heat. She and Amanda found much to discuss, including the misadventures of a much younger Spock, somewhat to his dismay and discomfort. He did try to persuade his mother not to bring up such things, but without much luck.
Saavik showed them everything there was to see, in great detail. At times she seemed to forget that Spock had grown up here himself. He allowed her this forgetfulness with some amusement, finding that seeing his childhood home through her eyes was extremely interesting. She was attending school now, and he wondered how she was fitting in. He could tell that she was more reserved when Sarek was home, and wished there were some way he could question her about her school experiences, but thought it better not to. He had no wish to discomfort her, or cause her to see problems where none might exist.
He took Nyota on a few short trips about his parents' estate in their flitter and once on his father's hoverbike. He showed her places where he had roamed when he was a child, and she marveled that he had come so far on foot in the merciless desert heat. Perhaps he began to understand his mother's concern over his adventures. He was glad that Saavik had not taken to such wanderings.
Their visit ended too quickly. He did admit that. Nyota hugged his mother and Saavik, and said they would be back when they could. His father clasped his arm, but said nothing, and he did not know what might be said. In the end, he only said farewell, and allowed his mother to kiss his cheek, and hug him, as she always wished to do. It was when they were in the shuttle, on their way back to the Enterprise, that Nyota laid her hand softly against his face and told him that it was all right to miss them. He looked at her, and started to protest, and then nodded. She was correct. He did miss them. He could accept that now. He had changed and grown, and expanded himself, and he found that he liked his life much better for it. He pulled her over, into his lap, and wrapped his arms around her, just sitting there quietly as the shuttle flew silently home.