Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last section. You are all wonderful. I would like to say this is the beginning of normal size chapters again, but the next one will be on the big side once again.
For the sake of consistency, emails will be date stamped from the perspective of the Enterprise server. The ship is four hours ahead of New Vulcan.
Day 305: Greetings from the Vulcan contingent
From: mental_health_help_desk_Suarez
To: Spock' s_cuddlebunny
Time arrived: 12/23/2260 00:00:01
Subject: The 27th works for me
Yes, the 27th works perfectly. I'll make reservations. There is a café near the clinic that I absolutely adore. It opened about six months ago, but it's the best. I prefer it to the restaurants in the shopping district. It's less pretentious there. Vulcans have perfected the art of being pretentious.
I entirely believe that these messages are being screened. I didn't get this until two days after meeting Peter, Josephine, and all of their friends. They are all great kids. The one you call Ashley two said wonderful things about you. Apparently, you've been her mentor in the support group that you're running on the ship. I am so proud of you. You've come so very far from that scared little kid that I had to pick up from lock up all those years ago.
It is good that you're being an advocate. You're in a position to change things. I think you can change things and create a better environment. You're a survivor; therefore, you're going to see things differently than others. You have to push for real policy changes. I think you can. I believe in you.
Peter said all great things about you as well. The child absolutely adores you and Spock. He is surprisingly well-adjusted, considering the trauma that he went through. See, you're good at this parenting thing.
Peter loved all the stories about you and Spock. Well, once the ambassador took over anyway. Thank you for rapid messaging me permission to tell him some of the more crazy things. I still don't know how you managed to get that pig in the Dean's office without anyone catching you.
Although I didn't tell Peter about the car incident. That's something you have to tell him about. I don't know if he's ready to know that you tried to kill yourself when you were a child. I don't know if you're prepared to talk about it, but someday you'll need to. Maybe not today but eventually.
Leonard's daughter was also lovely. Nyota sometimes emails, so I've seen recent pictures, but it was great to see her in person. I'm still sad you didn't bring everybody up for the wedding. However, I could understand that you wanted to keep the New Vulcan ceremony small, and it was ridiculously hot. Most of the humans, including myself, were lightly red by the time it was over with.
Oh, I heard all sorts of things about Chris 3 when I did a little shopping with the kids. He was radicalized by outside sources. You definitely want to check what he's reading. Also, take a look at who else he's been hanging out with on the ship. I think you might have a little human supremacist cell on Enterprise. Look for the people that resent having only a half-human for a captain.
Actually, with Spock as captain, you really want to be careful with these people. They may be more vicious. This is definitely something to look into.
I will let your husband's counterpart tell you about his experiences with the kids. Although, I did learn how much the timeline branched. The butterfly effect is real. Do you think I would be allowed to write a paper on it? Probably not.
Anyway, when you get to the colony, shoot me a text message. Email is obviously working strangely.
Xxxxx
From: Vulcan_Embassy_Ambassador_Selek
To: Spock' s_cuddlebunny
Time arrived: 12/23/2260 00:00:01
Subject: Re: We must have tea together
I would be happy to have tea or possibly lunch with you on the 26th. I believe my schedule will allow me to attend the demonstration that my counterpart has prepared. Spock will take the kids to lunch, and we can dine separately. Although I am still taking you to the tea house. I'm sure there are some things that you would like to pick up. Although many things are probably different, I am sure my other self has an exemption. The exemption is also applicable to you by virtue of being his spouse. You do share living quarters, after all.
I hope you received all the pictures I took of Peter and Josephine during our afternoon together. Both are very sweet children. They always have been, and I'm grateful for that universal constant. But I can also tell that Josephine is a young lady raised by Nyota. She's a little fiercer and more concerned with injustice. She is also the first one to get in a fight. Thankfully, her friends were able to creatively prevent such an incident when they encountered s bullies.
This is a very different timeline. It became even more obvious when I told Peter and Josephine stories about my childhood, only to come to realize your Spock's childhood was very different. This should've been obvious when I discovered that Michelle only lived with my father and Amanda for six months. I thought that was the only difference, but I was wrong. It seems that ripples eventually become waves.
Normally, I do not discuss what happened in my other life. However, since the events have already passed in your timeline, I'm comfortable sharing this with you. Yes, your counterpart did have a stronger relationship with Nana Kirk. In the sense that he had one at all. I assume that because your father was alive, he was reluctant to terminate his relationship with his mother, despite her more toxic behavior. My James did spend summers with her. I fear that some of her ideology may have been passed to him. Not all, he was never human-centric, but I don't think he was anywhere near as comfortable as you are with being nonheterosexual. He mostly engaged with those who consider themselves female.
I was usually the exception. Because of that, things did not run smoothly. Not like your relationship with my counterpart. So once again, not all changes made in this timeline were for the worst.
Of course, some things are constant. I am so sad that Peter lost both of his parents, even if the circumstances were different. But he seems so happy with you and Spock. He talked about the two of you constantly. I also enjoy seeing my father be a doting grandfather. Unfortunately, this is something I was not able to witness during my first lifetime. I'm grateful to see it in my second.
I hope this email reaches you before seeing you at the dedication ceremony. If it does, please text me any details about our meeting on the 26. I look forward to seeing you then.
Xxxx
December 23, 2260 7:32 AM planet time
Jimmie: Hey, just texting to let you know that Spock and I are on the planet. We actually got here at like 5 AM local time yesterday, but we went straight into meetings for the rest of the day.
Jimmie: I had to pass on your Intel to Nyota regarding Chris 3. BTW the Ashleyes confirmed and gave me more details. The investigators are looking into it.
Jimmie: We are too busy to eat and breathe right now. Chen was delayed, so Spock had to take over most of her meetings. I had to do his solo. Considering they had no trouble beaming over the event planner 3 days early to the planet, they could've done the same with Chen. Allegedly, it wasn't possible once they realized the ship would not get here in time. I think she wants more baby time without having to share.
Suarez: Probably. It's okay. I understand your job. Did you actually get my last email? If you haven't, the 27th works for me.
Jimmie: Good to know. Yes, I got your email. It arrived around 8 PM last night, but at that point, we were chaperoning teenagers and trying not to fall asleep in the pizza since it was midnight ship time. Spock was fabulous because Vulcans need less sleep.
Jimmie: I, on the other hand, ended up with a drawing of a dick on my face. Don't fall asleep first at a sleepover
Suarez: And your husband let this happen?
Jimmie: There is a 50-50 chance that Spock was the one who did it. Especially because washable markers were used. My husband is nowhere near as sweet and innocent as he appears.
Suarez: I'm aware. What are you doing right now?
Jimmie: Ensure the hordes eat breakfast before dropping them off at the VSA.
Jimmie: Good news, I can make a proper Vulcan porridge. Bad news none of the kids other than the sister-in-law want to eat it. But I made my father-in-law happy, so that's all I can really ask for.
Suarez: Do I need to send you a link for a bakery near the VSA?
Jimmie: Yes, and not just because I don't want the kids to starve. I want to pick up some Vulcan pastries. I did bring a stasis box because I want to get Spock some local treats.
Suarez: You should probably wait until your last day to do most of that shopping. Especially for food items. There are also many shelf-stable treats that don't need the stasis box you can pick up. I'll send you a link to the good grocery store.
Jimmie: Thank you. And you're right about waiting. Theoretically, I only have two meetings that day. I'll have Spock give me a list of his favorites. I don't know if Vulcan junk food production has come back online yet. There were no factory tours on the children's itinerary.
Suarez: There's some small batch and artisan stuff available. But a lot of what's available is either replicator produced or made off planet. You can buy replicator codes for a lot of old Vulcan junk food. The ambassador says it's passable.
Jimmie: Okay, I will make time in my schedule to pick those up. If nothing else, it can be a bonding activity with Ashley and JoJo. Ashley loves stuff like that. She's definitely science track.
Suarez: You're very over-programmed. I'm worried about you eating and sleeping over the next week.
Jimmie: You have no idea how bad it is. However, I did schedule a meeting with Chen to discuss some suggestions like raising the minimum age requirement for the semester on ship internship.
Jimmie: You're right. I'm going to have to be the catalyst to actually change things. For example, someone trying to have sex with a 15-year-old should not be an HR matter.
Suarez: I completely agree. How is that going, or are you not able to tell me?
Jimmie: I can't say much. The cadet wants things to be handled as quietly as possible. However, he was stalking the cadet, so it's definitely no longer an HR matter. He's getting picked up while we're on the planet, so he's not my problem anymore. Thank the universe.
Suarez: Good.
Jimmie: Last night, Peter did ask me about the pig incident.
Suarez: Did you tell him how you did it?
Jamie: No. Spock wouldn't let me. He's afraid that they might get ideas if I tell them some of the more illegal things I did. I did some stupid things. There was a reason why I was a genius-level repeat offender.
Suarez: You don't process grief well. I don't think they will need you to get into trouble.
Jimmie: Oh, I'm sure they can do it all on their own.
Jimmie: What table are you going to be at today? As of now, I'm towards the front with the kids and my father-in-law. Spock is at the table with Chen.
Suarez: I won't know until I get there. The invite did not contain that information. Although I trust you to put me somewhere not horrible.
Jimmie: I forgot to look after fixing the protocol fuck up. We barely avoided a galactic incident. They didn't listen to Ms. Sulu when she told him not to put two people together. Sure, the rule says they should be by each other, but they are from planets that have been fighting for like a century. That's usually when we break the rules.
Suarez: Do I want more details?
Jimmie: I might be in the market for new protocol people. Unfortunately, this means I will be using part of my vacation to look at resumes. They are lucky I caught the problem, not Spock bear.
Suarez: I think this whole thing is the definition of working vacation.
Jimmie: It is. I have three meetings today, and Spock has four. Although I might get to join the kids for lunch at the VSA.
Suarez: Good luck, and fingers crossed I'll see you tonight. We should at least have a drink together.
Jimmie: I'll probably be Spock's arm candy, but I will make time for you.
Suarez: Thank you.
Jimmie: Also, speaking of drinks, can you be Winona's sober friend tonight?
Jimmie: I'm probably going to be doing mocktails for the sake of appearances, but I probably won't have time to run interference on the bar. I don't want Kevin to have to do it.
Suarez: I'm on it.
Jimmie: Thank you
Suarez: Besides, it's a bar on a Vulcan planet. Most of the drinks will either have cannabis or chocolate in them. Although I don't know if it's a good idea to let Winona have any drugs outside of strict medical use.
Jimmie: Honestly, probably not. Although this is not a problem at this event. This is a Starfleet event, so there won't be anything cannabis, but I wouldn't mind feeding the kids chocolate. They're enjoying lemon bars, but they missed chocolate.
Suarez: So, do I. My niece occasionally sends me care packages.
Jimmie: Good for her. I'm losing my hookup with Kevin and Liz going off into space for the next semester. But maybe Winona will send goodies now.
Suarez: No matter what, Winona always sent you stuff while in boarding school, so probably.
XXXX
1:23 PM New Vulcan time
James: So, your email actually did not get to me until I was already on planet.
Ambassador Spock: I do not find this surprising. This is why I suggested that you reply via text message.
James: Very smart. The emails got here about 8 PM local time yesterday, but I was busy at a very Enterprise kids sleepover. I also discovered that Vulcan has teen melodramas.
Ambassador Spock: There is also a version of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet where the director calls out the illogical behavior of the teenagers and frames it in the correct light as a tragedy.
James: Okay, I will try to pick up a copy before leaving. You know I love Shakespeare. It's in Vulcan, not standard, right? We want Peter to work on his Vulcan language skills. So we're going to do Vulcan night. Nyota picked up some stuff, but I had no idea there were Vulcan Shakespeare adaptations.
Ambassador Spock: It is. I'll provide a list of other recommendations.
James: Okay, I am definitely looking forward to old English being translated into contemporary Vulcan. Possibly with a strong cup of whatever tea you have me pick up. And some of those lemon bars. Those were good.
Ambassador Spock: I will send you back with several possibilities. Some of which you can share with the children.
James: Oh, good. Although, Nyota and I have a mutual babysitting agreement if we ever need to partake. We don't drink or take drugs in front of the kids because Josephine's mom died because of her alcoholism. Peter's grandfather murdered his daughter during an alcohol-filled rage. That's not even touching Winona.
Ambassador Spock: That is unfortunate.
Ambassador Spock: What does your schedule look like this afternoon? Maybe we could meet for a few minutes before the dedication ceremony.
James: Chaos. I'm only texting you right now because we are in transit. I have another walk-through with the Admiral. The shuttle just touched down like 30 minutes ago. So, I'm definitely going to have no time before and probably no time during. I'm not even sure if I'm actually going to get to see the kids at the thing if we are not at the same table. I am supposed to sit at the same table with them, but I might have to sit with the hubby because I have to be the best arm candy.
Ambassador Spock: That seems typical for Enterprise diplomatic events. Although in the past, I was "arm candy."
James: Oh definitely, especially one organized by Sulu's sister. She managed to throw me an actual wedding in a couple of hours, so I'm not surprised at all.
Ambassador Spock: Neither am I.
James: Thank you for confirming my suspicions about other me and, unfortunately, Nana Kirk. I'm definitely going to make sure that she gets nowhere near Peter. Also, just to let you know, I will tell Winona, so she feels better. At least she kept one toxic person out of my life.
Ambassador Spock: Nana Kirk would not attempt anything as ridiculous as trying to challenge you for custody? Isn't she in her mid-80s?
James: I think she would if she actually knew of Peter's existence. Thankfully, most of the legal paperwork is sealed. Even the citizenship papers on New Vulcan.
Ambassador Spock: I feel that is most prudent.
James: So very prudent. Especially because the tell-all book is available here. However, my father-in-law managed to get them to put it in the fiction section. Other than the recycling bin, it is the most appropriate place.
Ambassador Spock: I agree.
James: Okay, we just arrived. I got another meeting in five minutes. I will talk to you later.
Ambassador Spock: Of course, James. I'll see you then.
To be continued…
Much like his ship, the designate for the communicator is still Ambassador Spock instead of his alias. Because that's just how Spock Prime rolls.