"They want what?" Carissa asked her husband "And you're truly the only person that can help them?"
"As I have already mentioned, the rebuilding of the Vulcan Science Academy requires the help of Starfleet"
"Oh and so they thought 'Hey, remember that guy we rejected some years ago and who's in Starfleet now? Let's ask him for help"
"As a matter of fact it has been I who has declined their offer" she made a dismissive hand movement
"Whatever. They still have no right to ask this of you. Just because they're too… clever to work with other Starfleet officers. It would do them good to have more contact with non-Vulcans" she scoffed "Maybe that'd somehow help their racism and they might learn to accept people with another background at their Science Academy" she huffed
"Would you prefer to accompany me to New Vulcan?"
"I don't know… I mean you'd be gone all day and I don't want to sit around all day alone. The only Vulcan I know is your father and I can't and want to be around him all day"
"I understand"
"Do you want to go? I mean would it have been something you would have volunteered for if they had just asked Starfleet to help?"
"I do not know. However, it is logical they consider me for the position since I have a connection to both Starfleet and Vulcan culture" she sighed
"Well, how long do you have until you need to come to a final decision?"
"23.46 hours"
"So they just gave you one day to decide whether or not you want to help with a project that could take years and would mean you might have to quit Starfleet?"
"I have the impression they granted me the supplemental 24 hours reluctantly"
"Even better, then they thought you'd just be like 'Yes of course I come and help and throw my old life away like nothing. And for what? People who used to judge me for my heritage and might judge me again for my choice of mate and my quarter-human son'"
"The member of the High council has reminded me that I had a duty to my people"
"Oh do you?" she crossed her arms "I think you've done more for them than anyone else. At least Ambassador Spock has"
"He and I are not quite the same person"
"He is. And even if not, it has been him and not that member of the High council who more or less ensured that everything that's happening on New Vulcan at the moment was possible. The only thing you could have done was to not marry me but the woman you were initially bonded too. Although then it still would have been a hybrid child and I can't say how much they'd have liked that. And I bet that people would have thought it would be a waste to give a full Vulcan to a half-Vulcan" he was silent for some moments
"You are correct"
"About what?"
"Your last assumption"
"And who told you that?"
"I came to that conclusion myself after I have learned of a new ordinance concerning marriage"
"That would be?"
"As of Stardate 2263.30 all consisting bonds between a Vulcan and a Vulcan hybrid have been dissolved and new bonds between them may not be forged again for at least three generations" she glanced at him in disbelief
"You're telling me that if you had married this Vulcan woman you'd be divorced now?"
"Affirmative"
"And they have the audacity to make such a rule? I mean… how many hybrids are there possibly? Adult ones, I mean? Five or six?"
"Before the destruction of Vulcan there have been five I have known of"
"And now?" he was silent for a moment
"Two" she crossed her arms
"So you're telling me, they decided to just be like 'Let's ruin that one person's marriage'. Besides, did you consider the date? It was at the end of that January, not even a month after Ambassador Spock's death. Don't tell me that's a coincidence"
"There are no coincidences"
"They were planning to enforce that rule at a given time, you knew that! They just didn't want to do it as long as he was alive and did so much for them. Of course, they might have argued to advise against such relationships once today's hybrid children are grown up but still. That's how they thank him? Besides, aren't such decisions made by the High Council? And isn't your father part of that council?" she looked at him. "And as we all know, he knew at that time that you're gonna have a child so he thought 'let's make sure my grandchild can't find his true love on New Vulcan'. And he knew about V'Lini too!"
"I doubt this has been his intention"
"You're defending him?"
"There would have been nothing he could have done if he had not approved of the ordination"
"Do you think he did?"
"I cannot know that" she sighed
"Okay, whatever. But do you really want to help those people? Those who would have just separated you from me had I not been human! You might want to consider that during mediation tonight" he raised an eyebrow "What?"
"You remind me of my mother"
"Oh do I now? I bet she's had to tell your father a lot too. And let me guess it had had to do with you, right?"
"Indeed. My mother has tried to persuade my father that I could benefit from living among humans for some time"
"And your father thought that could 'ruin' you?"
"He has used the words 'distract' and 'disadvantage further'"
"I bet your mother liked that"
"She hit him in the face" she chuckled and leant up to plant a kiss on his lips
"Just that you know. I'm not mad at you or so. Just at the other Vulcans who made that rules" he placed a hand on her cheek and lightly traced his fingertips over her cheekbone what nearly drove her crazy so she grabbed his hand and brought it to her lips instead "Was that the reason you said it would be good to raise Erik the human way? Because you were afraid that I could react badly to you saying you want him to live like a Vulcan?"
"No, I am merely confident that his life will be more pleasant among humans because I have made the discovery that they are more welcoming than Vulcans" she chuckled
"Unless they're people that believe that Vulcans only plan to take over Earth" she said with a giggle and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her lips "You do know I love you, right?"
"Yes, I do"
-oO0Oo-
Of course her mind strayed to the Vulcans request that Spock helped them rebuild the Science Academy and a part of her almost considered to accompany him should he actually go there. But she didn't want to be alone and knew she'd probably have to deal with a lot of vicious looks or comments which was something she could easily give a miss. To her disappointment, Spock told her that he chose to go to Vulcan the next day but he had made it clear that he would only be there until the new Enterprise continued its mission. She gulped because that still was almost a year. A year in which he'd miss so much of Erik's developments. Like his first steps. Or his first words. She gulped and while he was at work, she considered going with him. Mainly for Erik's sake. But she couldn't make up her mind and when Spock left, she didn't tell him that she had considered to come after him in a couple of weeks probably. Just in case she changed her mind. With a sad mien, she accompanied him to the ship's dock and tried to bite back her tears.
"Promise you'll be careful" she said while hugging him deeply
"I doubt I will get in danger"
"You'd better not" she chuckled "I can't believe it, this is gonna be the longest time we haven't seen each other in ages. I mean… ever since we started the mission, we've never been separated for much longer than a few days" she chuckled and nuzzled his neck when he gave her an exact time "Truth is, I'll miss you like hell"
"Why would you long to be at a place like hell?"
"It's a measurement" she replied "I don't actually like hell. But I'll miss you a lot"
"I am not looking forward to being without your company either" he took hold of her arms and looked at her "Are you certain you do not wish to accompany me?"
"I want to accompany you but… I don't like New Vulcan. Well mostly the people there"
"I understand" she pulled him closer again
"But I'd follow you to the edge of the universe"
"It would not be possible to travel this far in a lifetime with our current starships" she chuckled
"That's exactly what I'll miss. This over interpreting of statements"
"I do not over interpret, I merely..." she cut him off by pressing her lips to his
"You'll miss your ship"
"The departure is not scheduled for another 21.6 minutes"
"Are you doing that on purpose?"
"What are you referring to?"
"Correcting me wherever you can while you still can?" he didn't reply and only pulled her closer. She almost had the impression that he was sad and she started to feel bad that she didn't come with him. Slowly, she pulled away. "You also need to say goodbye to Erik" she said slightly pointing at the stroller beside them.
"He is asleep"
"But…" she glanced at their son who was sleeping peacefully and just didn't find the heart to wake him up. "Okay. I'll cuddle him in your name" Spock only gave a nod and carefully adjusted Erik's blanket. "Do you think it is egoistic of me to stay here?"
"No, I would be egoistic to expect you to accompany me"
"Those Vulcans better appreciate your willingness to help" she squeezed his hand "Promise me to write when you arrive so that I know you're safe"
"I believe you would be informed in case the ship encountered problems"
"Still… just let me know when you're there"
"I promise" he said, pulling her into a kiss.
"Good. And I'll call you tomorrow, as promised. It'll be weird to be calling you again. Kind of reminds me of the start of our relationship, you remember? When you were my professor and we had to postpone meetings because we couldn't actually go and see each other and just called each other instead. Funny if you think that by then we've only been about five minutes walking apart and now we're lightyears apart. Oh man, I can't understand how couples can do this if they're not assigned to the same ship"
"I am certain you would get accustomed to this as well"
"But I don't want to" she whispered looking up at him
"Neither do I, Carissa"
-oO0Oo-
Carissa had a feeling as if the following weeks passed even slower than usual. Jim, Leonard, Uhura and Tomita were on the Endeaveour right now and wouldn't return almost until they continued their mission. A part of her felt sorry for Jim because Carol had broken off things with him and decided to raise their child alone. She had also only told Jim about the pregnancy after Carissa had more or less ordered her to do it because she didn't want to keep it a secret from him. Somehow the Captain had seemed like he was about to throw away his whole career to go after his ex-girlfriend but then he caught himself and went on that mission, claiming distraction would do him good. Unfortunately, the mission meant that Carissa was as good as alone here on Yorktown. Except for Erik of course and she sometimes spent time with Tisi. But the Carisi woman had found new friends in the past months and while Carissa was happy for her she also felt a bit jealous. What upset her most was the fact that she had nothing to do all day long and when she tried to find a light job to which she could also take her son, she wasn't successful. So, after almost two months, she decided to make out the next ship that went to New Vulcan and to visit her husband.
When she arrived on the planet, she happily showed Erik around a bit but felt bad for telling him that that wasn't his father's real home. But after half an hour, she had to find her husband because she had not told him that she was coming to visit and wanted to surprise him. It took her quite a while and she had to ask five people before she knew where to go. She had the impression that most Vulcans were not quite fond of her but they had seemed surprised about Erik. Someone had even asked why his parents would allow a human to babysit their son, to which she replied that not all Vulcans were as racist as he was. (Needless to say that he didn't want to help her after that although she couldn't truly know because she had just walked away) After she had found the building where she would meet her husband, she took a happy breath.
"Guess what we're gonna do, Erik?" she squealed and nuzzled her son's head "Guess who we'll meet" Erik only babbled something, making her chuckle "I bet it'll make you super happy, little one" before she found Spock's office, she had to ask for the way twice but then stood in front of the respective door and when she had no idea how to ring, she just knocked against the door. After about two seconds she heard him say something but it was in Vulcan. Not knowing what to do, she decided that maybe it couldn't hurt to open the door. But this was easier said than done and she found herself looking at the control panel, not daring to touch it. Suddenly the door opened, making her jump slightly and Erik shriek. She peeked around the corner, into the office and smiled when she saw her husband "Hi"
"Carissa" he said, and got up, walking towards them with quick steps. He placed a hand on her cheek as if he had to check that she was real "What brings you here?"
"A spaceship" she said chuckling and just wanted to grab him by the robes and crash her lips to his, when Erik seemed to have noticed him and started struggling in her arms "Fine then, there you go" she let Spock take him and watched with a smile how he instantly dug both his hands into his father's robes and let out a row of happy sounds and started babbling nonsense in ecstasy. Spock looked at him for some seconds then leaned his head onto his son's and pressed him closer against his chest. Erik's hand shot up and tried to make a grab for Spock's ear. Although he usually removed the hand, he didn't do so today and actually seemed to enjoy the display of affection. With the arm with which he didn't support Erik, he pulled her closer and when she was flushed against his side, he leaned his forehead to hers
"I must admit that it fills me with joy to see the both of you. Why have you not informed me about your arrival previously?"
"I wanted to surprise you"
"I see" he slowly kissed her and then Carissa almost took Erik from his arms
"Erik, show sa-mekh what you've learned" she said as she placed him on the floor a few feet away. He lifted himself up, glanced at her before he started crawling towards his father "Now I can't even leave him somewhere unattended if I didn't put him in a play pen. He can also sit up by himself" she reported proudly as she squeezed Spock's arm. Once he had reached him. Erik wrapped his arms around his father's shin and looked up at him, letting out a row of adorable sounds. But one piqued her interest "What was that?"
"Sa-sa" Erik squealed again, making her smile
"I think he means you" Carissa said "He's started to call me Ma-ma about two weeks ago"
"Ma-ma" Erik said as if to prove it
"See? He'll be talking in no time"
"I am certain it will still take him some time until he is able to effectively communicate with others"
"I know that… but part of me wants him to say his first real word"
"He will do so when he is able to" when Erik started pulling in his clothes with a protesting sound, Spock lifted him up.
"Well as you can see he is already able to crudely show you what he wants. I also noticed he kind of tries to tell you what he has. Like when he's hungry he starts sucking on his thumb and when he soiled his diaper he tries to take off his clothes. If he's sleepy you can notice that anyway by his yawns" suddenly a Vulcan entered and after he threw a judging glance at Carissa he started talking to her husband in Vulcan. Erik looked at him with great interest, then tried to rip off the metallic Vulcan letters that were attached to his robes, only to start wailing when the older man seemed to scold him for it. Still the man continued to talk to the baby in Vulcan, making him bury his face in his father's robes and mumbling his nickname over and over as if he expected Spock to do something. Not much later, her husband seemed to have introduced her and she nodded at the Vulcan, offering him a greeting but the man didn't respond "Can't he speak Federation Standard English?" she asked Spock with a frown, finding his behavior odd.
"I know the language" the Vulcan replied and added that he just preferred to converse in his native language because he wanted to preserve it from dying out.
"As if greeting a human once will wipe out an entire language" she muttered to herself, not caring he could most definitely hear her. A part of her found it rude they just talked Vulcan when she was around, on the other hand, it probably was none of her concern what they talked. So she just started looking around in the office until the other Vulcan finally left. Spock placed Erik in her arms, making him protest and reaching and calling out for him again
"I must leave" he said "Do you believe you will be able to find your way to Ambassador Spock's lodgings"
"His house?"
"Affirmative"
"Why that?"
"He has bestowed it to me upon his death and therefore I chose to live there during my stay here"
"Wow" she muttered "he must have known you'd be coming here one day" she gave a nod "I think I'll find it. Do you want me to go there and wait for you?"
"Yes. The hottest time of the day is yet to come in half an hour and I would prefer if you were inside at that time"
"Good, I'll try to be in the house in half an hour" she gave a nod and kissed him again, this time more passionately than before. A part of her hoped she'd find a babysitter for Erik this evening or at least a way to occupy him for some hours that she could spend some time with her husband alone.
-oO0Oo-
In the end, she couldn't fully settle in in the house because Spock had called her and said he'd come to take her to his father this evening. Apparently he had met his father at the Science Academy and told him that she was here and found it would be a good chance to have his father meet his grandson. A part of her was quite nervous about it because she didn't know what he'd think of Erik and the fact that he would be raised among humans. Much to her surprise, Sarek wasn't alone but also Sybok as well as a woman she didn't know and a baby were at his place. A part of her was quite happy to see Sybok, despite everything that had happened the last time she had seen him but she almost instantly disliked that woman. She concluded that the baby was Sarek's child, a boy, he had informed them about during their last visit. And she thought that the woman probably had something to do with the baby, she either was a babysitter or the mother. A part of her wondered if the baby had been created through artificial insemination as most Vulcans nowadays were because they obviously were reluctant to make them the natural way. Upon realizing that by now Sarek had three sons that all had different mothers and that all of them were here, she snorted with laughter.
"What is so amusing?" the woman more or less spat, making Carissa glare at her. She wasn't sure what to say so she just shrugged "I would appreciate it if you managed to contain your emotions as long as you are around my son, I do not want him to be negatively influenced" Carissa only snorted and turned away. She placed Erik on the ground and looked at the other baby
"Erik look. Do you want to go and meet him? This is your uncle. Which is quite weird because he's two months younger than you…."
"I do not want your son to come into contact with Defak" Carissa really had to bite back another fit of laughter when she heard the name that sounded so much like 'the fuck' "Okay" she said, picking up Erik "Come here Erik, we don't want to anger that woman and make her express emotions, now do we? She shouldn't be a bad example for her son" she nuzzled Erik's head
"Excuse me?"
"You're excused" Carissa replied coolly. The woman's son started babbling nonsense and she glanced to Spock "Is he actually saying something or just babbling?"
"My son is only practicing his oral abilities and not 'babbling'"
"Oh I'm so sorry, I hope I didn't offend anyone" she was already more than pissed with that woman and hoped she'd leave soon. She glanced at Sarek to find out if maybe he was annoyed with his youngest son's mother as well or if that was what he wanted too. But of course it had to come even worse. Namely, when Spock started asking questions about his younger half-brother and his development and the woman just straight up started criticizing Spock's own upbringing and his heritage and implied that their son would be even worse.
"However, this time I will ensure that Sarek's son will not attract attention because he is different like you or your other brother who chose to allow himself to feel emotions just as humans do" Carissa started to wish that Defak would chose emotions for himself too or do some other crazy stuff, just to annoy his mother. A part of her wanted to give her a display of the human emotion of anger and snap her neck. She'd probably do that baby a favor. Unfortunately, the woman wasn't done yet and seemed to question Sarek's ability to raise a child and added that it was good she was there to help now, to bring their child to the right path, unlike his other children. Again, she looked at her father-in-law to see if he might felt upset with what the woman said. But then the woman already continued and told Spock that she found it egoistic of him to not take a Vulcan mate, or better said stay single because he knew exactly that once they were bonded and their mate lived they wouldn't want to have kids with someone else, even through artificial insemination. Luckily, Erik started crying in the middle of her next sentence so that she was distracted and pressed him closer to her
"It's all okay, darling. Shh" she mumbled kissing his head
"This child needs education and guidance instead of love" the woman criticized
"As you have so nicely stated before, we raise him human rather than Vulcan in his first years. So forgive me if that's not logical for you but I love my son and I'm not afraid to show that. One could think you want to have the perfect role-model son but what does it bring you? You won't love him or be proud of him. Somehow I feel sorry for him because I know that Erik will have a better relationship with his parents"
"You have agreed to raise him like a human?" Sarek asked his son, who explained the reasoning behind this. Sarek suggested that if he stayed here on New Vulcan and would be raised accordingly then they might be able to make up for what he had missed out in the first months of his life. And as if that wasn't bad enough, he also added that it would only be efficient if he was not exposed to distractions such as herself and her emotions. Carissa wanted to say something but she didn't know what and just stared at Sarek in disbelief. She buried her face against Erik's chest and only when she saw the wet stains on his onesie, did she realize that she was crying. Quickly, she tried to get rid of them, not wanting to give that horrible woman another chance to say something against her. She winced when she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Spock beside her. Doing her best to smile she squeezed his hand and when he asked for Erik, she gave him to her husband. As so often, the crying ceased not much after.
"As you could just see, your son is not in need of his mother anymore" the woman said "You are able to give him more if you chose to not raise him with your mate"
"You're suggesting we separate just so he can raise the child, a three-quarter human like a Vulcan?"
"It would be the best for the infant"
"No" she protested "That's what you would want! That your culture doesn't die out. That's what you're afraid of…" to her surprise, Spock now started to defend her too by finally speaking up
"Furthermore I myself have made the experience that my heritage has offered peers a reason to exclude me and I am certain the same would happen should we choose to raise Erik on New Vulcan"
"You are suggesting that humans will be more accepting of him?"
"I am certain" he explained that he too had made better experiences with humans because they respected he was Vulcan and made less comments about the fact he even had chosen a total different way of life than them. "Therefore I have concluded that humans are not as adverse to others as Vulcans are"
"It is your mother's fallacy. Had you been raised without her you would be aware of the fact that humans are in no way better than Vulcans"
"Are you implying humans are inferior to us?"
"It is a fact which you as well would be able to see were you not biased due to your mother and the years you have spent among humans" Unfortunately, the Vulcan also started listing up facts why her statement was correct.
"So if you think humans are that pathetic… why did you chose to have a kid with Sarek, who is Ambassador to Earth? Who was married to a human?"
"He is from a respectable family" she pointed at Sybok and explained his mother had been a princess and that she and Sarek had been bonded as children. "Following his marriage with the human, the respect for his family has decreased. I plan to restore it by helping him to raise a son without any external influences. He deserves a son who he does not need to be disappointed in" she almost glared at Sarek, begging him to say something
"So you just let her talk shit about your loved ones?"
"She has merely expressed logical facts"
"You're not even denying that you are disappointed of Spock" Sarek said nothing and she saw how Spock handed Erik to his older half-brother and then left the room after excusing himself. Carissa glanced after him, not sure if she should follow him or not. He often preferred to be alone for a while when something bothered him but she wanted him to know that she knew he was not feeling well and that what the woman said was bullshit in her eyes. Therefore, she nodded to herself, got up and went after her husband who was standing on the patio behind the house, staring into the distance. Although he showed no reaction when she approached, she knew that he was aware of her presence. She stopped a few feet beside him and glanced over the railing, to the ground "Hm it's not as high up as I thought" she muttered. At least Spock threw a quick glance at her and she moved a little closer "is that the first sunset?" she asked, pointing at the reddish sun at the horizon.
"Correct. The second sun will begin to sink in approximately 2.73 hours" she noticed the 'approximately' which told her he probably hadn't calculated the exact time for that day because like on Earth, the sun didn't always sink or rise at the same time during the year.
"Oh okay" she moved closer again "Have you seen Defak before?"
"I did once. His mother has not been her at the time yet my father has told me she would not want me to touch him" she made a disapproving sound
"Do you want to hear my opinion? Despite you might find it trashy"
"You are mistaken. I always value your opinion" she smiled
"That's good to hear. Anyways, I think that woman has some kind of problem. Don't ask which one, she might just be mad. Crazy, I mean. She had no right to talk about you or humans in the way she did. And she's wrong. I mean Vulcans are better in some things than humans but what she said isn't justified. I mean you said it yourself, humans are much more open to other species than Vulcans are and they also kind of appear to be more welcoming. Nothing against Vulcans. Okay, maybe against that bitch"
"Would you think she might experience jealousy?"
"For what or who?"
"I cannot say for certain but I have the impression it might have to do with the fact that she does not have the impression someone cares for her"
"Hm. That could be true. Maybe her parents didn't love her. Or she got married to someone who didn't care about her. Or he died" now she slipped in between his arms that held to the railing and turned around to hug him "And I want you to know what nothing of what she about you said is true to me. Your human heritage is nothing to be ashamed of, it only proves that you are better than them because if people don't know they wouldn't know you're not a full Vulcan. As for what concerns me… I think the fact that your mother has raised you, made you the man you are. The man I respect and love above all else. You are totally like Vulcans yet you are different in your personality. You're accepting and kind and helpful. You have your own way to show you care about someone and that's something I admire. You don't say that you love me but you show it and that counts so much, much more. And you also are a great father. Just look how much Erik loves you. I bet if I asked Sarek if you ever greeted him like Erik greets you when you come home in the evening he could not give me one example. And I also know that our son will be a great man one day, no matter which way he chooses for himself" she got onto her tiptoes and gave him a long, loving kiss "That woman has no right to talk about you or Erik in such a way" he didn't reply but took her hand in his, gently stroking the back of her hand and pressing a kiss to her fingers. "If you want, I can leave you to yourself for a moment"
"No" he said after a while "Please stay"
"Okay, whatever you want" she gave a nod pulled down his forehead to her own "And just that you know, I am so, so happy to have you at my side. I couldn't wish for a better husband"
"I too am greatly pleased that you chose to be my mate, k'diwa"
"Also, don't listen to what that woman or your father say, they don't know you as I do, they haven't seen that much of you and they don't understand you"
"Your words are appreciated"
"You're welcome" she pecked his cheek and traced a finger over the cloth of his robes "I don't reckon anyone's ever told you that you look hot in that robes?"
"I find the temperature most adequate and comfortable" she chuckled
"Not that kind of hot" she replied, letting her hand travel to his cheek "sexy" she whispered into his ear "When I was back in your office I was that close to ripping them off your body"
"I trust you just stated you liked my clothes which is why I fail to understand that you wish for me to remove them" now she was actually laughing
"Why do you think I could want my husband to take off all his clothes?" she muttered as she began trailing kisses from his neck to his jaw.
"Carissa" he said quietly "I do not believe this is the right place or time…" she kissed his lips
"I think that woman deserves a reminder that I love you, despite everything she thinks"
"Are you certain?" he asked, cupping her face
"I only want to do what you're willing to do. If you don't like the thought of it that's okay. If that's the case I want to apologize for having suggested it, I didn't want to make you uncomfortable"
"I know you did not. While I can comprehend your reasoning behind your suggestion and am almost inclined to accept it, I do not deem it logical or wise to execute it" she chuckled
"Of course. I wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable… in fact I don't even know if I'd really like that"
"Why did you suggest it then?"
"Good question…. Was just what came through my mind" she shrugged
"I am certain there will be other ways to make it obvious that we do in fact love each other"
"Mhm" she made an approving sound "I believe you want to stay outside a little longer to calm down?"
"As a matter of fact I have been much better after you have joined me"
"Aw that's cute" she pecked his cheek "I wasn't sure if you'd appreciate it. And if I should ever go after you when you actually want to be alone… well you know, tell me"
"I will although I am certain that it will not happen"
"Oh that kind of surprises me because I thought you'd prefer to meditate first or something like that. I mean that this helps…" Erik's crying stopped her and she instinctively just rushed back to the living room where her son was struggling in Sybok's arms "What does he have?"
"He started crying and I do not know why"
"It certainly is because he has never been taught how to calm himself" the woman said and a part of her regretted coming back. Also Spock had returned and took Erik from his brother but the woman wanted to hold him
"Oh wow, she's not afraid he could influence her own emotions anymore…." she muttered. To her surprise, Spock actually handed her son to the woman who almost let out a gasp and then almost protested that Erik did not possess any kind of mental discipline. Sybok intervened and said that they could have only started teaching him that about a month ago or so and that Spock had not been around at that time.
"In that case his mother should have considered the possibility to bring her son to New Vulcan to give him a chance to learn our ways"
"Spock will teach him about Vulcan ways when he's older. And then he can decide for himself which way he chooses. Because this is his life" the woman asked if maybe they'd take that decision from him if they raised him among humans "Same if we raised him among Vulcans… he could be biased towards that way"
"Are you insulting our culture?"
"Oh that's where you draw a line? Talking shit about humans is fine but as soon as I question Vulcans you get upset? Or no probably not upset just… whatever" she let out a groan. Meanwhile, Erik seemed to have taken interest in the woman's robes and started pulling what earned him a lecture that was also spiked with insults towards Carissa's and Spock's way of raising him. And that probably seemed to upset Spock again because he stepped closer to the woman
"I demand that you hand back my son"
"This child lacks discipline"
"As you have mentioned earlier it is Carissa's and my task to guide him which is what I plan to do. Now please let go of my son so that I may take him. I wish to prevent that he adopts any kind of xenophobic personality traits by being in close proximity to you over a longer period of time" Sybok laughed and so did Carissa. She just loved it when her husband once decided to use his sass to tell someone off who had been far too annoying. "Are you ready to depart, k'diwa?"
"I took the view you planned to eat the evening meal with us?" Sarek asked
"I have planned to do so, yes. However, the mother of Defak has made me change my mind. Besides, I am certain that your other two sons, in which you might be less disappointed, can bear you company"
"Okay I'm ready" Carissa said and gave a nod. So did Spock and he approached her, lifted her chin before he captured her lips in a passionate kiss. His hand wandered to her hip, then to her back and pulled her closer against him, making sure Erik wouldn't be squashed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and ran a hand down his back while the other stroked his hair. They parted almost half a minute later and Carissa grinned at him
"I did not forget about your suggestion" he then muttered, making her grin broader and peck his lips before glancing past him to see that the two oldest Vulcans had averted their eyes while Sybok raised an eyebrow at them.
-oO0Oo-
Much to her surprise, Spock asked if she'd like to go out with him alone one evening and have Sybok watch their son.
"Of course that sounds lovely. I've always wanted to go to a real Vulcan restaurant or whatever you have"
"In case you remember, I have promised to invite you to one during our second meeting after we have established our relationship"
"Right. When you told me more about Vulcan. Wow, I can't believe that was so many years ago… but that still doesn't change my answer, I still want to go with you. Any time I can go out with you is one I am willing to take. Especially now that we've been apart for so long. A part of me can't believe you're actually here. Okay well rather that I'm here. When will we leave?"
"Sybok will come here in 1.27 hours"
"Oh alright. Did he volunteer or why is it him?" he admitted that he was the person he kind of trusted most with their son right now. "Okay, makes sense. All others might try take away his emotions or so" she decided to make sure Erik was satisfied before his uncle arrived so that there wouldn't be too much he had to do. Not only because she didn't want to inconvenience him but also because she thought he had very little experience with babies and she was worried he wouldn't know what to do. Once he arrived, she also told him more about Erik's habits before kissing her son goodbye on the forehead and then followed her husband outside. A part of her felt weird to leave him alone for several hours because she hadn't been apart from him that long in the past weeks. But she had started to shortly leave the apartment for about five minutes or so that he could get used to being alone in slow steps. She hoped that in about two months, she would be able to go shopping for a short time without Erik. But maybe she'd have to start over after she came back in about sixteen days.
-oO0Oo-
Despite the fact that there wasn't much she could do, she always visited Spock at work after she had taken care of Erik (which wasn't always necessary because Spock sometimes did so before leaving). Her husband didn't have much time for her but she just enjoyed to be in the same room as he, her chair right next to his and her leaning against his shoulder while she read something or watched a movie. Erik on the other hand didn't seem to like the spot he had gotten next to the desk and always crawled under the table where he, as she thought, held onto his father's legs tightly. Most of the times, Spock would pick him up and place him in his lap, where the little one would pretend that he too was working something important on his PADD.
One day, when she was in the office alone with Erik because Spock had to go to the Science Academy to manage something right there, she got visited by three older Vulcans
"You are the bondmate of Spock, is that correct?"
"Yes, I am, why are you asking?" she hadn't even finished when they had taken out tricorders and were scanning her, while the third one was doing the same with Erik "Oi, what are you doing?" she didn't get an answer
"May I have your hand?" dumbstruck she held out her hand
"My hand? For wha- ouch! What the hell are you doing?!" she complained when he had pricked her finger and collected some blood samples "Stop that, you have no right to do this. Just wait, I'm gonna tell my husband about this" crying from where Erik was made her look and she saw they were taking some of his blood as well "Leave my son alone" to her surprise, they complied and not even two minutes later they were gone. "What the fuck was that?" she muttered to herself before picking up her PADD to call Spock and tell him about it. But he didn't answer any of her four calls so she just put her device away and let out a sigh. Much to her dismay, the men came back about half an hour later "What? Do you also want something else?"
"We apologize"
"Oh good, you're at least sorry" she muttered with a sarcastic tone in her voice.
"Those samples and scans were necessary to determine whether or not our assumption was correct"
"What assumption?"
"That following your pregnancy with your son, your body will be able to carry full Vulcan children, with a few supplemental hormones and nutrients"
"Yay cool, I can have more kids" she sneered
"We were positive you would not decline"
"Decline?" she screamed, when one of them rammed a hypo into her neck "What was that?"
"A first injection to prepare your body. Will you be able to meet us in one of the laboratories in 3.7 hours?"
"Why? What is going on?"
"You will be meeting the future parents"
"What future parents?"
"The three couples that wish to find a surrogate mother"
"What?!" of course by now she had realized what they wanted, to carry out a Vulcan baby. One of them explained that the three couples in question found a pregnancy to be inconvenient but since it was forbidden to abort Vulcans, they had to find a solution. "So you want me to have one of the babies because the females don't like being pregnant?"
"Not quite. It is difficult to come upon a person who is able to carry Vulcan children"
"Means you want me to have all three babies?"
"It would solely be for the pregnancy. Two of the babies will be living with their biological parents and the third one will surely find an adoptive family" Carissa almost didn't know what to say
"Can't there be a Vulcan surrogate mother?"
"Most of the woman who have volunteered are already with child as of now. We have been able, however, to find one who will carry a fourth child that the parents do not wish to carry out"
"And why do they not want to carry out their kids themselves?" he explained that a pregnancy brought many inconveniences and made the woman deal with the baby's emotion "And why don't you ask that Vulcan surrogate mother to take more than one baby?"
"The danger for the surrogate mother would be too high. The possibility that she will either die or become infertile are about 19.7 percent"
"And what about my chances?"
"The chance of your death when carrying three Vulcan children amounts to approximately 24.3 percent"
"And you do realize that is higher than for the Vulcan, right?"
"We are aware but humans are not an endangered species"
"So you'd rather I die than one of you? What the fuck is wrong with you?!"
"It is preferable to do everything we can in order to preserve Vulcan lives"
"So instead of telling those Vulcans to people to just suck it up and carry out the child, you find it okay to ask a human to risk her life?"
"We do not consider anything below 35% percent to be a risk"
"Oh wow. It still raises the chance of my death about 25 percent!"
"We understand this is a lot to ask of you but we are certain you are willing to do your part to preserve our race."
"What is that supposed to mean? I am not obliged to help you! The only reason I have to do with Vulcans is because I married one"
"A Half-Vulcan"
"Wow" she let out a groan "Is there really no one else you could ask to take those babies?"
"Most of the human surrogate mother are either with child or need to recover from a recent one"
"Has it occurred to you that maybe my body needs to relax after a pregnancy too?"
"Yet you have only carried a quarter Vulcan, which is not as tedious as a full Vulcan"
"And you plan to give me three full Vulcans? Do you even know what it'll do to me?"
"We would need to run more tests to determine this but we assure you that the chances of any lasting damage or even your death are considerably low" she rolled her eyes and somehow a part of her thought it would be egoistic to just say no… maybe she could at least have one of the babies? Then she would have a good reason to stay on New Vulcan with Spock. The question only remained if she'd be in form for her new job when they continued the mission on the new Enterprise. Because depending on how old the fetuses were right now, it wouldn't even three months until they left Yorktown for good.
"But is it even possible for me to take all three babies? I mean, what if they develop differently. Like one's much older?"
"No, all of the embryos are less than two months old"
"Okay but…. Why would I need to take all of them… it's really not my problem, you see. They got pregnant and then I think it should be their duty to carry out the kids" she held the view that who could fuck could also take responsibility, just like she had. Even if Erik hadn't been Vulcan it would have never crossed her mind to get an abortion. "Maybe two of the couples can be persuaded to keep their babies?"
"They do not wish to carry them out since a pregnancy brings many inconveniences"
"So do you believe it is fair that I undergo these things instead? Three times that bad? Has it ever been tried with three?"
"Not yet" she didn't want to be their guinea pig, of course but she also had no idea how to politely refuse. A part of her did feel bad and could understand that the women didn't want to carry out the baby. And she also didn't want that the women then died. Or maybe, if they had a kid now that they carried out themselves, they wouldn't want to have another later. A part of her even suggested the babies had been conceived during Pon Farr, which basically didn't give them a choice because both of them were fertile at that time and anti-contraceptives were banned for Vulcans. To her dismay, the men added that, as a matter of fact, they were viewing it as an experiment to see what happened if a human carried out three Vulcans because they had only tried two babies so far.
"Aren't there females that are willing to do this experiment?" in the middle of the Vulcan's answer, the door opened and Spock entered. Carissa breathed out in relief while Erik called for him and started crawling towards him. Spock picked him up and then asked Carissa if she was alright.
"Yeah, I'm fine"
"Then may I inquire you have tried to contact me four times in a short time? I have tried to reach you 6.3 minutes ago but I received no answer which is why I decided it would wise to come and ascertain that you are feeling well" she smiled
"That's sweet. I'm okay. It's just these guys…" she nodded her head at the Vulcans and then explained what they had done to her and what they requested.
"That is beyond question. I will not risk my wife's life over three Vulcan embryos"
"Spock we understand your concern but will you truly put your wife about the continuation of our race?"
"With all due respect, I do not believe the survival of our race will be depended on those three individuals. I hold the view that their biological mothers should carry them out"
"I urge you not to forget about your duty to your people"
"As you have mentioned it is my duty not my mate's. Therefore, I order you to accept her decision"
"She has not decided yet"
"She has expressed her concerns which means she does not wish it, which I find to be a logical reaction"
"We were trying to alleviate her concerns by elaborating the matter further"
"As a matter of fact, I am certain you solely wished to take advantage of her feelings and attempt to make her feel remorse and psychologically make it impossible for her to decline your request"
"This is an outrageous assumption"
"Your reaction implies, however, that it is correct" for a while, they were silent then one told him that they had asked the Vulcan Minister who had agreed and more or less ordered them to persuade Carissa. At that, Spock raised an eyebrow then glanced at her "Carissa, please gather your belongings"
"What? Why?" she asked but started to pick up her PADD and also put Erik's things into her bag. Spock opened a drawer from a cupboard and took out a second PADD. Also the Vulcans wanted to know what they did to what Spock replied he wanted to have word with that minister. On the way to said man, Carissa asked who he was and heard that apparently he was something like the 'highest' Vulcan. They reached his office and Spock instantly started complaining about the incident.
"It is regrettable that you chose a simple human over your people"
"If I may ask, Minister, what have Vulcans who are not related to me done for me?"
"This is not the issue at discussion"
"Yet it relates to the matter since I do not believe that my services and work for your people are truly appreciated and I doubt I was treated with the respect I or my wife deserve"
"Your wife is human, what respect should she deserve, in your opinion?"
"Upon the destruction of Vulcan humans have instantly agreed to help us build this colony and reestablish our race and culture"
"Which is indeed respectable. Yet your wife has contributed nothing to any of this"
"Am I right to conclude you believe that the only way to earn your respect is by helping rebuild our culture?"
"Certainly not"
"May I remind you that my wife has carried out a quarter Vulcan?"
"Which is why she is surely prepared to carry out other Vulcans as well" he turned to Carissa to ask why she didn't want to take the challenge
"I…" Carissa started but shrugged
"You will not attempt to manipulate her into agreeing to your request" Spock insisted
"This was not my intention"
"Then I ask you to accept her decision"
"As her husband, you could order her to change her mind" for about five seconds it was dead silent, then Spock stepped forward and handed the minister the PADD he was holding.
"If you are this willing to impose on humans in such a way you might want to consider enlisting someone else for the rebuilt of the Vulcan Science Academy"
"How can I understand this?"
"I will no longer work with you under that circumstances. Live long and remember that your life would have been over had it not been for me" he didn't even offer him a greeting before he placed a hand on Carissa's back "We should get back to Ambassador Spock's house in order to prepare ourselves for our departure"