Thank you to everyone who read or reviewed the last conversation. You are all fabulous. Time to spend a moment with our other favorite Vulcan.

Day 240: Ghosts of Timelines Pass

From: Vulcan_Embassy_Ambassador_Selek

To: Spock's_cuddlebunny

Time sent: 10/20/2260 22:56:51

Subject Return Greetings from the New Vulcan Colony

It is wonderful to hear from you, old friend. Although I do enjoy receiving pictures from you and your spouse on occasion, I treasure your letters even more. I am pleased that you found time to write to me. I am aware of how busy the life of the First Officer of Enterprise can truly be.

Yes, something similar happened in my time, but several years later. I wonder why the incident occurred significantly earlier, but I have no definitive answers. Many things have happened sooner in this timeline, such as the fact your navigator is several years older than the Chekhov I knew. Although genetically, they are probably not the same person, just mere genetic siblings that share the same name.

I am uncertain regarding Arlene's family life. I do know that Winona was granted full custody of Peter after the death of his parents; all other options were unsuitable. Although he was born later in my original timeline. This is not surprising; the universe has a way of setting things right. This may be an opportune time to renew my research into string theory. Although, I am grateful that despite losing Sam earlier, you will still have Peter in your life.

Yes, I have met Spock's new foster sister. I know her from my previous life. I considered fostering her myself, but I am unable to do so for health reasons. Not to alarm you, but I am having some heart-related issues. I am under treatment, but I think it is best that my father will be her foster parent than myself. I will instead function as a mentor to the other young Vulcans of the colony.

At tea this afternoon with Dr. Suarez, I did find out that you and Spock will be nearby soon. I hope you will have time to stop by and have tea if time permits. I also got to see your pictures of young Peter. He looks more like you than the Peter of my timeline, and that makes sense because they wouldn't be genetically the same child. I assume Peter's mother in both timelines just really liked that name, the same with Sulu and Susan. Their daughter was born 10 years later under slightly different circumstances. They were best friends who wanted to have a child, but never met anyone to start a family with, so decided to do it together.

I'm sorry to hear about the consequences of the radiation incident. Because I was brought back with the Genesis machine instead of the way you were, I did not have the same side effects. I am grateful that you found a new pathway to parenthood.

Like Spock, I did have a foster sister growing up. Amanda always wanted another child after I was born, a daughter. They tried for many years, but were unable to conceive again. And then, due to tragic circumstances, Michelle came into our lives, and we were enriched because of it. Maybe I did not feel that way at the time, but as I got older, I genuinely begin to appreciate her.

My mother and, now I know, my father loved her just as much as my brother and me. Parents love their children no matter how they come into the world. The great ones anyway, and I know that you will be an exquisite parent. All the qualities are there, you just need to believe in yourself.

I am sorry to hear that your Spock only had his Michelle in his life for a few months, but I am sure she made an impression in that brief time. I have also heard that she's captain of Discovery, which does not surprise me in the least. She was an exceptional woman.

I am sorry that you had to go through this loss, although very different than what my Jim went through. I am sure you might be feeling angry because you did not know about your nephew, and you're not able to ask why he was kept from you. Or maybe you're feeling angry because you could not prevent what happened before Peter became an orphan.

I was planning to keep the parasite from reaching the colony, but I thought I had more time. I must remember to tell myself that things are different here and that my past cannot predict this present. Sometimes it is difficult to reconcile that, but despite some of the "bumps," I am enjoying this present.

I look forward to spending time with you as well as meeting Peter if our schedules align. I think it will be an enjoyable experience and I hope you do find the time.

PS: I was also told to tell you that Dr. Suarez received a letter from both your brother Kevin and your mother. Apparently, both were happy that she reached out. Although I know nothing else of what the correspondence said. Dr. Suarez takes the confidentiality of her friends very seriously. I expect nothing less of her because she has been an excellent companion to me so far. It's helpful that I can be honest with her. With other people, I must pretend to be someone else, which can be stressful at times.

From: Spock's_cuddlebunny

To: Vulcan_Embassy_Ambassador_Selek

Time sent: 10/20/2260 22:56:51

Subject: Re: Return Greetings from the New Vulcan Colony

It must be exhausting trying to be your own grandfather 95% of the time. There's so much that you can't say, and that must be very difficult for you. I'm thrilled that you have at least somebody in your life that you can be completely honest with. Dr. Suarez is someone you can be honest with. I've told her things over the years that no one else knows about, not even my husband and she's always kept that trust.

I'm not surprised she wouldn't tell you more about her correspondence with my mom and brother. She really believes in the integrity and sanctity of doctor-patient confidentiality, even though none of us are technically her patients anymore, but at the heart of the situation, it's still the same principle.

I knew Amanda had fertility issues. My husband told me about those to make me feel better about my own problems. Apparently, that's one of the things that both timelines have in common. You make it sound like your Michelle never became a captain. Was the Starfleet glass ceiling worse (a.k.a. the assholes contingent), or did something happen that you don't want to talk about? Maybe I am better not knowing.

Maybe some things in life can't be changed, or perhaps if you do change them, things can be a lot worse. In the long run, it might be better to let the world go forward without interference. At least with the little stuff. Feel free to meddle with the important things.

For example, I am grateful that my husband never died, mainly because we wouldn't have a way to bring him back. In this reality, Marcus was such a warmonger that Carol never developed the Genesis device. She was too busy working on the perfect torpedo to make daddy happy. I'm not sure the magical blood would work for my Spock and to be honest, I don't think I would be strong enough to catch the ass hole. However, I totally would have tried.

She's going back to the Academy to complete her biology doctorate with her wife tagging along. Let's just say, I'm happy for some things being different. Rebecca is such a great person. I'm sad to see her go, but sometimes your other self acts like a jealous toddler.

What's wrong with your heart, or is that something that you can't tell me? I feel like that's probably something you are unable to disclose to me. I hope whatever your medical issues are, you'll make a quick and fast recovery. You probably don't want to hear this, but it's kind of nice to have a grandfather/father-like figure around. I miss Chris, and George was never there. Because of George being gone, all Kirk family relationships were strained at best. Okay, it was a hot mess. It would be nice if you were sticking around for a little while.

Yes, a first officer's work is never done, and the last 24 hours have given me such a headache. Did you know that there is such a thing as sentient volcanic rock creatures? We met some yesterday. As you can imagine, it went badly until Spock realized that he could mind-meld with said rock creatures. Of course, we lost a redshirt before Spock realized he could mind meld with said volcanic rock creatures. Spock refuses to let me write the condolence letter because he is totally blaming himself. Do you ever have a mission that weird before? This is like one for the books for us.

I'm not even sure Rodriguez believes us. She's probably going to need the body cam footage. Just watching it made me nauseous. I am tired of watching my husband almost get killed by volcanoes. Technically the last time happened before we were married, but we were engaged at the time. So, it still counts.

We are waiting for orders right now. If they tell us to go back to continue the survey, I think we might have a mutiny. I really wish they would hurry up and tell us what's going to happen next, but they probably do want to watch the footage, and that's going to mean another 24 hours just holding in place. I hope the volcanic rock creatures don't have a way to attack us this far out. Fingers crossed. They were ridiculously annoyed with us.

I don't think you should fix everything. I don't fault you for not trying. You're just one person, and you can't do everything. There are moments where you need to focus on yourself for your own mental health. Or in your case, even physical health. Stress can't be good for one's heart. Also, now you're going to make me drag Spock to Bones for a preventative health checkup.

I don't know if we will have time to stop by with Starfleet being Starfleet. Also, if we do have time to do anything not mission-related, you know we are going to have to go over to Spock's dad's house. We might even have to stay there again. At least Peter will get his own bedroom and will get to hang out with someone else's age. He already adores his foster aunt. Or maybe we should just view them as cousins. This age gap thing is weird.

Your father built an enormous house for someone who was planning to live there alone. Although maybe he always knew he was going to be a foster parent. Who knows with your father? I've already decided not to question the motivations of my father-in-law. I think it's easier that way.

Anyway, write back when you have time. Attached are more pictures of the kids being adorable. They're mad that I took shots during classes, but the Admiralty is making me write a report about the program. Because of course, they are. Anyway, write me back when you get a chance. I'll try to be better about including longer messages than "I sent you pictures of My Space children" in the future.

PS: I am not surprised about Sue and Sulu coming to an arrangement in the other timeline. Sulu's fiancé is only free to marry him because his first husband died during the Battle of Vulcan.

To be continued