Disclaimer: See Chapter 1. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, especially Mariah. Your review made my day! Thanks so much!

"Do you think you can do one more lap?"

I watched Soval closely for signs of weariness, walking backwards as I led him at a slow pace around the gardens. Thankfully there were several benches spaced along the path should he tire soon. But he lifted his chin, his eyes gleaming with determination, and I took that as a yes.

His cane made a continuous clacking noise as we made another round, the cool winter breeze shifting his bangs and making goosebumps prickle the back of my neck. We made it halfway around the circle before he made his way to the nearest bench and leaned the cane against it.

I rushed to his side, helping to ease him down into his seat, and he stared up at me with a soft expression.

"Thank you for your assistance," he said, his voice a quiet rumble. I smiled and sat beside him.

"You made it two laps longer than yesterday. You're doing so well." I leaned back into the bench and looked up at the partially cloudy sky. "You're getting stronger day by day. I think you'll be over this by the end of the month like the doctors predicted."

He grunted in agreement. "A great deal of my progress can be attributed to you, and your constant encouragement."

I looked over at him, staring incredulously. "Telling you to watch out for benches isn't exactly encouragement."

"I do appreciate your warnings too." He straightened and faced me fully, and I followed suit. "I could not have made it this far, this quickly without your assistance, Genevieve. You have done me a great service." His gaze and voice softened. "I cannot thank you enough for everything you have done since the attempt on my life."

I felt myself flushing, but I shrugged and leaned back. "It's nothing, really. Anyone would have done the same."

"No," he insisted. "You have gone above and beyond reasonable expectation." He paused. "Genevieve..."

I stopped watching the skies and set my eyes on him again. He took a deep breath. "How are you feeling today?"

My brows furrowed into a frown. "Do you mean emotionally or more of in a physical sense?"

"Did you not once inform me that such a question was often an inquiry into one's health and well-being?"

I nodded before leaning back and resuming my cloudgazing. "I'm doing alright. It's a nice day out, and you're doing better, so both of us will be out of that infirmary before too long." I glanced at him sidelong. "You probably think it's too cold out here to be nice."

He smirked, relaxing his posture. "To a Vulcan, anything below sweltering summer weather is too cold on this planet. My homeworld is known for its vast deserts and searing heat."

I shook my head at the sky. "Even your people in Canberra can't catch a break..." The breeze blew harder, racing the clouds across the blue expanse above my head. "Why didn't you set up shop in San Diego or Phoenix? Someplace warm and sunny all year long?"

I heard a quiet sigh from him, and I looked over to see him also contemplating the clouds. "As pleasant as that sounds, your warp program and your government are here." He paused a moment. "And if we had lived in San Diego or Phoenix, would I have ever met you? Would our paths have crossed as they have?"

Still staring into the blue, I mulled over the thought. "Perhaps not quite in the same way as now, but I think if my father was still an admiral in the fleet, we would know each other."

"Mm," he grunted, and I closed my eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sunshine on my face despite the chill wind tousling my hair.

"What's the weather on Vulcan like right now?"

I could feel his eyes on me, but I couldn't bring myself to open mine. "In the capital, they are currently halfway through their dry season. It is the harshest time of year. In my hometown of Ra'al, the weather is slightly milder, but we will not receive what little rain there is to have for approximately five more months."

A smile spread across my lips as his voice floated through the darkness. "Do you realize you speak English with a slight accent?" I murmured.

I heard silence for nearly ten seconds before my eyes snapped open and I looked to see what was wrong. Soval looked pensive, his eyes dark. "Do you find it distracting?"

That gave me pause. "Define distracting?"

"Distracting in that you cannot understand what I am saying, that my accent hinders my speech in some way."

"No!" I said immediately, turning fully towards him. "No, no, no, no, no, your English is perfect! I have no problem understanding what you're saying, I've never had a problem! It's just you do have a slight accent and I can hear it every once and a while if I listen closely. And it doesn't really have any comparable Earth accents to judge it against, you know, like how Timok has that posh British thing going on, and then Sorak and Tos kind of have a Trans-Atlantic accent...it's just really fascinating to see how even on someplace as – excuse me for generalizing – fairly homogeneous as Vulcan, everyone has a slightly different way of speaking English. Does that accent carry over when you're speaking Vulcan too? Do Timok and Tos and Sorak all speak differently than you in Vulcan?"

He blinked a few times before responding, bowing his head slightly. "Yes, we speak Vulcan differently. Tos, Timok and Sorak are all from the capital city of Shi'Kahr. I am from Ra'al. My accent is...softer, less...clipped than someone from the capital, and certainly less so than a Vulcan from Gol. Their speech is exceedingly pronounced, every word clipped just so. Ra'alians never saw the logic in speaking that way. Of course, this does not come without some repercussion. We are sometimes stereotyped as...less sophisticated as our Shi'Kahrian and Golian peers."

A wild grin spread over my face. "So...they stereotype you as country bumpkins? Is that what you're saying?"

He raised an eyebrow at me, looking slightly miffed, but then his eyes twinkled in amusement. "I suppose that is an apt comparison."

I shook my head. "They've never met a real country bumpkin. You are as far from unsophisticated as the Earth is from the moon. And I like your accent. Without it, you wouldn't be you."

His eyes brightened further, his shoulders relaxing fully. "I am pleased you like my accent." But his expression darkened again. "We have gotten further from our original topic than I intended. The reason I asked about your well-being...I sense you aren't getting adequate rest in the infirmary. You look tired at breakfast, your afternoon rest is fitful...I do not wish you to fall ill on my account. Perhaps it would be best if you spent your nights back in our quarters."

I frowned. "No...no, I wouldn't be able to get a good night's sleep there. It wouldn't be the same being in those rooms all alone."

"I could have Timok stay with you, if you wish."

"No," I said, more firmly this time. "I'd rather stay where I am. I promise, I'll be okay."

He didn't look quite convinced, but he dropped the subject, leaning back into the bench. I smiled at my success, leaning back with him to resume our cloudgazing. The air was fresh, the sun warm in our faces, and I thought privately to myself that perhaps this new year wouldn't be so bad.

…

The next afternoon was quiet, with a gloomy overcast sky and the threat of rain in the air. I found I couldn't sleep, so even though Soval was taking a short nap after lunch (sleeping off one of his last large pain medication doses), I was restless, and rose from my bed to sit back in my chair at his side.

I silently read through one of the Chronicles of Narnia books (I was currently reading the third book to him), but I stopped and looked up when I heard footsteps behind me.

I thought it might be Timok or Sorak coming to visit their superior, but two strangers strolled purposefully towards Soval's bed, both of them Vulcan. The older man walked slowly but steadily towards us, his white hair gleaming in the low light. A younger man followed behind, watching the elder Vulcan carefully, as if worried that he might fall. He had brown hair silvering at the temples, and a lightly lined face, so middle-aged in Vulcan terms. As I watched them walk towards me, I thought to myself that they looked oddly familiar.

Both stared me down with piercing eyes, but while the younger Vulcan continued to stare (making me slightly uncomfortable), the elder approached Soval and looked down at his sleeping form.

He reached out, tenderly stroking two fingers down Soval's face, but the ambassador did not stir. The man's eyes found mine once more, his gaze curious and keen.

He said something to me in Vulcan, but before I could try to explain that I didn't speak his language, the younger Vulcan stepped up beside me. "Forgive my father, he doesn't speak very much English. He only wished to know if you are my brother's exchange partner."

My gaze searched his face, and it finally clicked for me why these two looked so familiar. Soval's brother shared his bright brown eyes, and something about his jawline and the way he held himself reminded me of the ambassador. I looked to the older man, and the resemblance was even more pronounced. Same nose, same lips, and something around his shocking blue eyes looked so alike his son.

"I am," I finally responded, and I stood, prepared to leave. "Should I go so you can visit? I don't want to be in the way."

He turned his head and presumably relayed what I said to Soval's father, and the older man frowned at me, speaking softly to me in his native tongue.

"He asks if you are afraid of us," the younger Vulcan said, and I turned to him with an incredulous expression.

"No, I just don't want to be in the way. You can have my chair, and I can go back to my room if you two want to visit in private. I just don't want to intrude. This is your brother, and your son," I turned to his father and gestured to Soval, "I'm his exchange partner. You two take priority. And if I'm not wrong, you've come a long way to see him, so even more reason for me to be out of the way."

"We did not come here to drive you away," the brother said, and he raised the traditional hand gesture that Vulcans used for greeting. "My name is Sitar, and this is my father, S'Vas." He nodded purposefully to me. "You are Genevieve Forrest, then."

I glanced down at my own hands, and upon quickly deciding that I couldn't return that hand gesture, I forced a smile on my face and settled for a wave. "That's me. It's very nice to meet you. I wish I would have known you were coming so I could have dressed nicer."

His gaze wandered over my thin t-shirt and sweatpants, and he raised an incredulous eyebrow. "There is no need to try and impress us, if that is what you mean." He sighed, tilting his head. "My brother has told us of your beauty, and his words hardly do you justice. Even dressed as you are, you are still very lovely."

I flushed and stared at my shoes, and I heard them murmuring to each other in Vulcan before S'Vas reached out for Soval again. I looked up through my lashes as the elderly man touched Soval's shoulder, gently shaking him awake.

Soval's eyes opened slowly, a frown furrowing his brows, but after a moment, he gingerly sat up and clasped his father's elbow. "Sa'mekh," he murmured, and he glanced around the room, his eyes falling on his brother first. "Sitar..." And he spoke something in Vulcan before his gaze finally found me, standing awkwardly by his bed. His posture immediately relaxed and his frown melted into a neutral expression.

"Genevieve...may I introduce my father S'Vas and my brother-"

"We've already been introduced," Sitar interrupted, and I lowered my gaze to my shoes again.

"Very well..." The ambassador murmured something else in Vulcan before I felt his eyes on me. "Genevieve, there is no need for you to continue standing. Sitar, there are chairs outside the door. If you would kindly fetch two..."

"I could do that," I protested, making to move past Sitar and get the chairs. But the ambassador sat up even further and told me to stop, his voice low and firm. I stared back at him.

"Sitar will do it. Please sit back down."

I sighed and shrugged, placing myself gingerly back into my chair. Sitar glared at his brother for a moment, his expression turning sour, but he turned smartly on his heel and exited the room.

Soval let out a slow exhale, his expression hardening as he watched his brother leave, but he turned to me, his eyes warming marginally. "Genevieve, I am not sure if my brother mentioned, but my father does not speak but a few words of English. Please know I am not excluding you if I speak to him in Vulcan. I will translate when appropriate."

"That's perfectly fine. I understand," I said gently, and I folded my arms across my chest. "And you don't even have to include me anyway. I can leave if you'd like to visit with your family alone."

His eyes darkened, and I knew his answer before he even opened his mouth. "You will stay, Genevieve."

I leaned back in my chair and kept my gaze focused on the floor, listening to the almost musical tones of Soval and his father conversing in their mother tongue. I heard Sitar's footsteps before I heard one chair being set down on the other side of the bed, and then a chair leg edged into my peripheral as Sitar set down the second chair and took a seat next to me.

It seemed for a moment that he was listening to the conversation at hand, but then he turned to me and lowered his voice.

"You look rather out of sorts," he murmured. "Is my brother not taking adequate care of you?"

I looked up at him, frowning. "Your brother is doing just fine. I'm just a bit tired, that's all."

He smirked, his eyes flashing with an unreadable expression. "But I can feel your discomfort from here. Do we make you uncomfortable?"

"Nope, just tired," I lied, and I folded my arms across my chest. "So, uh, if you don't mind my asking...what is it that you do on Vulcan? What's your profession?"

His smirk widened. "I am an agriculturalist, as my father was in his time. Our production is the fourth largest in all of Ra'al. Surely my brother has mentioned that at some point?"

I shook my head, my arms squeezing my body a little tighter. "No, never really came up in conversation. I know he's from Ra'al, but I never asked much more than that."

"He never mentioned our home? Or myself or our father?" Sitar frowned, looking almost offended at the notion. I looked pointedly at the floor.

"Look, we started off really rocky in this exchange, and we get along fine, but we've missed a lot of conversations over my ineptitude, okay? I wasn't exactly prepared for this, and I didn't do a great job of meeting expectations, so...yeah, there's a lot I don't know about him, and plenty he doesn't know about me. We're working on it."

Soval glanced briefly at me, but then his gaze slid back to his father and he continued his conversation. Sitar glared at him, his brown eyes darkening, and he turned to me with an incredulous expression.

"I would think, with the current climate on Vulcan, Soval would have told you everything you need to know. After our mother-"

"Sitar!"

Soval had ceased his conversation with his father, and was glowering at his brother as if he wanted to leap from the bed and attack him. I didn't think I had ever seen him so incensed, and the tension between the two men felt palpable, like an electric spark in the air.

The ambassador growled something in Vulcan, and Sitar stared blankly back at him, then smirked.

"It would appear my brother would rather you wallow in ignorance, instead of be told the truth you deserve to hear. So be it."

This time, S'Vas was the one to speak, and he spoke firmly to his sons in Vulcan, leaving the two of them placated and looking slightly ashamed. And he turned to me, his blue eyes glittering, and his expression softened.

"Soval and Sitar...fools, both of them. Forgive them."

I nodded quickly and looked at the floor rather than make eye contact with any of them, and soon the quiet conversation resumed between Soval and his father, and Sitar remained silent. He brooded beside me, throwing a pointed glance my way now and again. I kept my mouth shut, listening in silence to the alien conversation in front of me.

But their talk did not last must longer, and it seemed the father's attention was now on me. He spoke to Soval in a low voice, and the ambassador turned to me.

He hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth to translate. "My father wishes to know how you are finding the exchange."

"Oh, um..." And I trailed off, unsure of what to say. I thought of all the arguments we had faced over our time together. I thought of every time I had missed an opportunity to learn more about him, all the times I had poured over my homework or gone for a run when I could have been asking him questions. I couldn't think of anything to say.

"Your son has been very kind to me," I said finally, my voice quiet and hesitant. "I'm very grateful for his kindness and hospitality."

S'Vas' eyes softened, and he nodded, asking another question.

"He knows that children on your world are mostly free to choose their own path in life. He would like to know about your profession and why you chose it."

"Oh," I started, and I smiled at S'Vas, quickly gathering my thoughts. "Well, I never really wanted to go into Starfleet like my dad. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate all that they do, it's just...it wasn't my cup of tea." Soval frowned at me in confusion, and my smile widened. "I mean it didn't seem like something I would enjoy," I revised, and he nodded in understanding, quickly relaying my words to his father. I paused a moment.

"I guess I chose Media and Communications because journalism and advertisements have always fascinated me, just the way you can frame anything through any lens, any bias...and I guess I wanted to go through this major to do some good in the industry, like I hope if I ever go into the journalism field, I'll be a truthful, unbiased source? Like I know that's kind of impossible, I mean, everyone has a bias over something, but it always bothered me that you could skew information in your favor however you please and warp the truth to fit your own agenda. That never sat right with me, and I think I'd like to fight that, even if it's just in a small way. I don't know...but yeah, that's why I chose Media and Communications, I guess."

Soval stared at me with an odd expression. "You never told me this," he said softly, and I looked down at my shoes.

"It never came up in conversation, and I've never really articulated my reasons why until now, so..." I shrugged and looked out at the rain lashing against the high windows.

S'Vas fell back into conversation with the ambassador, his voice lowered, his gaze trailing to me more often than I'd like. I continued to watch the rain outside, waiting to see if Soval's father had any more questions for me.

But after a few minutes of nothing directed my way, I relaxed back into my chair. I glanced towards Sitar, who looked pensive.

"How long are you and your father planning to stay?" I asked him, and he turned to me with an unreadable expression.

"We are only staying until tomorrow morning, Ms. Forrest. Our purpose in coming was only to check on my brother's well-being, and visit for a short time. We cannot stay for long. There is too much to do at home."

"I understand," I said softly. "I think it's very nice that you came to see him."

He bowed his head, his eyes roaming over my face. I looked back to the floor, unsure of anything else to say.

"I wish I could stay longer," he murmured, leaning towards me, "and know you better. My brother has had all this time to know you, and what does he have to show for it?" He straightened in his chair, and I glanced sidelong at him. "I would not have wasted these months."

"If you're going to blame him, you have to blame me too," I said firmly. "I'm just as culpable. Thankfully, we still have time to make up for our mistakes. It's not over yet. We've got 'til August."

Sitar's gaze darkened, and he looked away, his expression almost sour. I looked over to Soval to find him staring at me, and I shrugged and looked back to my shoes. I might not have done much in the five months I had spent in this Consulate, but there was still the next seven to rectify past mistakes, to salvage this exchange as best we could. I glanced up again, and he was still staring at me, and he nodded slowly, as if he had guessed my thoughts.

I couldn't hold his gaze, though, and focused my attention once more on any point but him, letting the soft conversation between him and his father fill the silence in the room, carrying all of us from the blustery afternoon into night.