This chapter centers a little around Amanda, cause face it, Jim would be curious. And I enjoyed writing what I thought Amanda and Sarek's first meeting and so forth were like. Next chapter, more wee!Spock, I promise ;3

Over the next week Jim found a routine in his days. No one would wake him up so it was up to him to do so. Amanda said that he was here as a guest and to rest, so he can sleep or stay up as long as he wants, so long as it didn't interfere with Sarek's work or Spock's studies. The first week he would wake up almost towards midday, which was nice but didn't sit well with his desire to get up and do things. Then he would come down stairs, usually to find Amanda cleaning, reading, or writing something. She would notice him as he came down though and smile, offering to keep going over lessons. Jim accepted gratefully. Every now and then he would say he thought he remembered something from his past, just to make it seem like yes, he was recovering, no need to worry.

In the Afternoon Sarek would come home with Spock, who would play with I-Chaya (mostly a game like fetch, to try and keep him a little in shape) then do his homework. The first night he was doing it down stairs, but when Jim sat down on the couch across from him, he gathered his things and headed back up to his room. He tried not to take that personally. Instead he would usually end up reading while Amanda fixed dinner and it would repeat again.

One day though he got curious.

"Amanda, can I ask a personal question of you?"

She looked up from going over a small test she'd made for him to see how much math he remembered (he fudged some problems purposefully, but knew he proved he at least remembered his high school education). "I suppose that would depend on the question…"

"I was just wondering…how'd you and Sarek you know…meet and get together?"

She stared before smiling and chuckling. "You wonder about that?"

"Well…yeah. I mean, Mr. Sarek is…" A little distant, to me at least? Not exactly cold, but definitely not warm? Intimidating? "Nice, in his own way…"

She did laugh now and nodded. "In his own way. You really want to know?" He nodded, the curiosity having gotten the better of him after more than a week of wondering. "Well, back on earth I was a school teacher up in Toronto. I was teaching freshman high school at the time, English and history. I had almost become a college professor, but found that high school students were more in need of learning certain skills."

"Toronto? You're Canadian?"

"Yep. And Sarek was visiting as part of his ambassadorial duties. He'd expressed an interest in going north of where the headquarters is, and there's a branch in Ontario big enough they thought it would impress him."

"I see…"

She nodded. "They were giving him a tour of the city and he was curious about our schools. So they brought him to mine, since I had a very good class." She smiled, recalling her memories fondly he was sure. "They called me at the school fifteen minutes before he would be there, and I remember I was very worried about making a good impression. My students were excited too. I had to remind them that Vulcans were more reserved than others, and to try and respect that. I dabbled in a little culture studies on the side."

"Impressive…"

She grinned. "Well, when they got there I went out into the hall to meet them first and prepare them and…" She blushed, but looked wistful. "I was rather surprised how striking he was. His hair was more of a steel grey then, and he was just so…so confident. I suppose I was smitten at first sight."

Jim smiled and wondered suddenly what his parents were like when they first met. He'd never had the heart to ask his mother after he'd first asked, at four, where his father was and watched her break down.

"The guide introduced us, and Sarek offered his hand to me to shake. But I remembered reading Vulcans didn't shake hands. So I decided to take a leap and do the greeting one of my books showed." She held up her hand with her fingers splayed but her index and middle snuggly against each other on one side of her palm, her ring and pinky on the other. "I didn't know any Vuclan at the time of course, so I just made do with a "Hello, nice to meet you." He seemed…very confused, if his slight hesitation was what I think it was."

Jim laughed a little. "You could read him that early on?"

"No, not really. I think he just let it slip that once because he wasn't expecting it. For a moment I was worried I made a mistake but he relaxed and did the greeting back. I smiled and led him in, showing him around and introducing some of my students. He was very reserved, but polite and the students asked him a lot of questions about Vulcan he answered very well. Sometimes too well…I had to translate as best I could from his multi-syllabic answers to everyday standard."

Jim chuckled again, wondering if that's what Spock was like as a professor at the academy. He'd never actually had a class with him and wondered if he'd have been able to keep up with all the jargon. No wonder then why Uhura liked him so much, with her love of complex language.

"Afterwards I just casually asked when his guide was in the restroom if he'd be interested in a local showing him some of the lesser known but interesting sights. He agreed, to my surprise."

"Ohhh, so you asked him out on the first date. How modern of you."

She laughed and swatted his arm gently. "It wasn't a date! I was…just trying to get to know him better. And show good Terran hospitality."

"Uh huh. So, how'd that go?"

"Fairly well. I will admit, I took a long time trying to figure out what to wear…"

"Not a date, huh?"

She gave him a wry smile but went on. "He got there right on time, and I showed him around. Places locals liked to go, certain customary things humans did that I was sure the guide wouldn't think he'd wanted to know, but he found them-and I quote-"Fascinating." I even tried to get him to go bowling with me, but he didn't like the idea of wearing shoes a lot of strangers had worn before."

Jim tried very hard not to imagine Sarek bowling in his Vulcan robes with a pair of bowling shoes under them. It was hard not to laugh if he did. He fought valiantly, biting the inside of his lip to keep the smile down.

"He did however agree to go to a hockey game with me."

"Never realized you were such a sports enthusiast."

"I'll tell you what I told him: My ex boyfriend was playing and I wanted to see him possibly lose some teeth."

Jim did laugh now, loud and long. "A-and how did he take that?"

"He asked "did he wrong you somehow" "Yes, he cheated on me with two other women. At once. A week before my birthday."" Jim winced. Playboy though he may be, he'd never led a girl on into a relationship and then cheated on her. Mostly because he never led anyone into a relationship since high school. " "…By human custom, I find such a desire logical. And I am curious how one loses teeth in a setting normally associated with you're human sport involving many sequined costumes and spinning."

"I had to laugh then, though I wasn't entirely sure if he was joking. I told him that was figure skating, big difference."

Jim laughed again then jumped slightly when he felt something on his leg. Looking down, I-Chaya was resting his head there as he laid the rest of his body on the ground. For such a large guy, he could approach fairly quietly. He smiled and started to pet the sehlat, imitating Spock and Amanda on how to do it. He felt a rumbling purr echo through his skin as he did. "So, what did he think of hockey?"

"He thought it was very fascinating. Said it reminded him of some ancient Vulcan war games, minus the ice of course."

"Of course."

"He said he was more…anxious I believe the word was of the fans around us than the hockey players though. I just got up and sat between him and the rest of the people in our section. He didn't seem to mind, though he didn't like when one guy almost knocked me over while he was cheering. Luckily we got out of there without much more cause for worry.

"After that I showed him a few more stops, local eateries and such. Then he offered to buy me dinner as a thank you."

"So was that the date?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not entirely sure Sarek was aware at the time what a date was. But he asked where I'd like to go and I took him to this nice little place I liked that I knew had good vegan and vegetarian dishes for him. He told me earlier when I offered to buy him a hotdog that Vulcans don't eat meat. I told him the hotdogs make everyone sick the first time anyway. And he said something pretty much akin to "then it is illogical to consume them"."

Jim smiled. "So, was any of that part of your romance?"

"Not really…more the start of what led to it. I was surprised when he sent me a message the next day thanking me again. And then he asked "At one time during the year does it normally snow in Toronto?" I was a little confused but I answered him and asked why he wanted to know." The smile here was so warm, Jim found himself blushing a little even if it wasn't directed at him. "He wrote back, "I have never observed snow fall. I had desired to observe it in order to better understand." I just had this feeling that meant "I wanted to see it snow." He didn't realize it wasn't the time of year for it when he asked to go north.

"We messaged a few more times during the year, I guess you could say we became sort of pen pals. Then, when it was close to the time I gave him, he just suddenly showed up on my doorstep one morning ringing the bell. Scared me half to death, especially since I had just gotten out of the shower and was in nothing but my robe."

"Oh, bet he liked that…"

She blushed and smacked his arm again then looked away. "He was…a little flustered, I think, under his control. He was blushing just a little, I could see the green in his cheeks. I was blushing more though, let me tell you, even if my robe was big and fluffy." I-Chaya made a slight sound and she smiled, scratching his ear. "He said he was here to see the snow fall, but had thought perhaps we could spend some time together again as he found my company "fascinating". I just had to smile at that and I told him to come in and I'd get dressed. It was the weekend, so he knew I had the day off of course. And I was happy to see him. I will admit, even if most of our conversations were carried out through video phones or email, I was really starting to…"

"I got you," Jim nodded.

"I had to laugh though, when I realized he was wearing about three layers of clothing, including a large black thermal coat, and even a padded knit hat. I asked him why he wanted to see snow so much if he didn't like the cold, and he said it was scientific curiosity. I just kind of left it at that and got dressed before we went out. We spent the day together and I remember thinking I hope it snows, I hope it snows, just for him. And then, right near sunset it actually did start to snow." That warm smile came back and Jim realized it must be the smile she got when thinking about Sarek. "Sarek just looked…awed. I mean his face was still as neutral as ever but he was looking up at the sky with this…wonder in his eyes. It was one of the most magical moments I can remember. And I guess I got a little wrapped up in it cause I leaned up and kissed his cheek," she said ruefully.

"And how'd he take that?"

"He was…surprised. And oh god, I've never been so embarrassed." She hid her face in her hands, laughing. "I thought for sure he was going to think I was some kind of hopeless girl with a crush on him, which I admitted in that moment I was, but he finally asked why I did that. I wasn't sure what else to do so I told him it was the friendly version of a kiss on the cheek. The one we do with people we like, a family member, friend or significant other. It was quiet for a while then he said "I am honored to be thought of as you're friend, Amanda.""

"Ouch, the old I'm honored to be you're friend line…"

She just shook her head with a chuckle. "I had another surprise though when he was there the next day too. Apparently he'd requested he work at the Ontario office for a while. I was surprised, confused, but very happy."

"That is nice…but I'm still wondering, when did you guys go from "friends" to "hey, this is the guy I'm going to marry?""

"Well, it was a while after that. Sarek and I spent a lot of time together. I helped him understand Earth, he helped me understand Vulcan and a few other subjects that are normally beyond humans. We even played chess together, though he typically won. I did beat him once though during that time.

"And then one day he showed up after I was done with classes. I thought he just wanted to go out to eat and talk again, like we often did, but he made me wait while he seemed to be thinking something over. I can still remember what he said too…" Her face suddenly became a mask of stoicism that made Jim almost jump. " 'Amanda, I find myself immensely gratified and at once seeking your company of late. Though at times it is nearly a distraction, I do not wish to terminate our companionship. Rather, I wish to move forward to a greater appreciation of it. I find the most logical course of action being that you allow me to initiate a courtship with you that we may better explore our compatibility.'"

"Wow…Romantic…"

"For him it was. I was mostly focused on the word courtship and not falling out of my chair. I said yes immediately and asked if he would like to go out on a proper date tonight. After I explained date meant a romantic outing and not a calendar day or piece of fruit, he agreed."

Jim smiled. "Very…logical."

"He says that, but I think I know better. There were dozens of much more logical reasons not to start courting me, and maybe a handful for that could be easily rebuttled, but he apparently ignored the arguments against it. I said as much to him once after we were married. He told me it was logical at the time, and after a little more wheedling, he admitted he might have weighed the logic in favor of courting me more than not."

"In other words he fudged the results."

"Yep. But I'm not complaining."

He smiled a little more gently. "You really love him, huh?"

"I do. It's hard to explain why to some, but I do love him. Very very much."

Jim smiled and once again thought of his parents. He wished now he had asked how they met and started dating, and wondered if he'd get the chance to. "I'm happy for you."

She smiled back and nodded before rising. "Would you like some lunch? I'm feeling a little hungry."

"Sure, sounds good to me."

Jim had wanted to ask more about Amanda and Sareks' past, but decided to wait. He had a feeling Amanda knew but was drawing it out as well.

When Sarek came home with Spock beside him later that afternoon though she immediately rose and went over to him with a big smile, raising two fingers. Sarek's fingers rose to meet hers, eyebrow arching at how her smile increased. Spock blushed and turned his head away from his parents.

Jim had seen them do this often. Amanda was usually the initiator, but Sarek was always ready to respond. As she set down dinner, as they climbed the stairs to go to bed, when he came home, and probably when he left too. Jim wasn't sure what it meant really, but it seemed to embarrass Spock a lot. He decided that should be what he asked next, but was distracted as I-Chaya rushed through and went over to Spock, nuzzling him. Spock stroked over his head and led him to the stairs to go put his school bag away.

"I am going to meditate for an hour on a problem from work," Sarek said.

"Alright. I'll have dinner ready when you're done," his wife replied. He nodded and headed up stairs.

Jim watched him go before looking back at Amanda. "So…when did you two decide to tie the knot?"

Amanda blushed greatly and looked up where Sarek had gone. "That's…a bit more of a private story I'm afraid. Just know we were dating for about a year and a half and then a few things out of our control happened. But I'm very happy they did."

"Okay…What about Spock?"

She looked at him, then up stairs again before sighing and walking over to sit by Jim. "Spock…We had some debates about having children at all."

Jim's eyebrows went up at that.

"It's difficult…being born into a proud culture as a child of two different races. I know he doesn't think I know but…Spock has his difficulties in growing up. He wants very much to be Vulcan, thinking it will gain the acceptance of the rest of Vulcan…and his father. And times I will admit, I get so frustrated with Sarek!" She hissed slightly. "If Spock wants to be Vulcan, that's fine. I will support him in it because I want him to be happy-no matter if he denies he is. But sometimes my husband just makes it such a big deal…" she sighed and rubbed over her temple as if to ease frustration there. "I worry he's putting to much pressure on him…" She looked up and smiled ruefully. "I'm sorry. I guess…I've been wanting to vent that for a long time."

"It's fine…but you said you debated it?"

"Yes. Sarek had trouble really deciding I think. I wanted children, had since I was a little girl of course. But when he explained to me how hard it could be for a half-Vulcan child to grow up on Vulcan…I admit, I was worried. Fortunately, fate had other plans."

"I take it then Spock wasn't planned?"

"Not by a long shot," she chuckled. "But…I could never be more grateful. Many were fairly sure we wouldn't be able to conceive naturally any way, but then lo and behold I got pregnant just two short years after first coming here with Sarek. It was the happiest surprise I've ever gotten. And the scariest too…I was worried Sarek would be…"

"A little more reluctant to embrace the idea?"

"Yes, exactly…" she smiled again. "I tried to keep it from him for a while. Which is not easy having a husband who can read your thoughts if he wanted to. I learned to keep things masked, but that made him suspicious. Especially when I, uh…started getting sick in the mornings. Finally he actually confronted me about it." She laughed a little. "He thought I was ill and was trying to keep it from him, and insisted that we go see the Vulcan doctors for a cure before it got any worse!"

"Wow…you must be good at masking thoughts…"

"It gets easier with practice. And he learned not to pry after I blew up at him once for invasion of privacy. But I laughed then too, because it was obvious he was scared and worried I was dying, but trying to keep it bottled up. It was kind of cute." Jim decided not to say that 'cute' and 'Sarek' didn't go together in his mind. "So I finally told him the news. He was…stunned I think. Then he…I knew he was happy too." She smiled again and sighed. "I can't say it got easier from there. But we're happy, and for that I'm thankful. I just hope…I hope Spock will someday find where he belongs. And Vulcans can learn to accept…"

She stood and headed for the kitchen before Jim could ask anything else. He was confused as he sat there, pondering what she said. Accept? Accept what?