Title: My Lover, My Wife Author: Istannor Series: TOS Part: 1/1 Rating: [PG13] Codes: Summary: Part four in the Gol series Disclaimer: These are the characters of Paramount and Viacom, they own them, I only check 'em out from the Library. I promise to bring 'em back. Thank-you to the Beta Dominitrix Editor, Mary Ellen, the Doc of Science. If there are no errors, thank her, not me. Feedback to Istannor@Aol.com or the old addy, if you wish. My Lover, My Wife "What have you done to him?" S'Alal-doe barked at Sarek and Amanda as she rushed to examine the unconscious human. "I left him in this room with his nu-skin intact and his mind healing. You have called me back to a bloody mess." Sarek stood and bent his head in apology. "It was necessary, Healer. He was suffering from the Devastation; he attacked me." She grunted as she began to pull Kirk's clothes off. "I am sure this weak human put you in great danger, Sarek." Sarek maintained his silence. It was always unwise to anger a healer, even a Vulcan one. "S'Alal-doe," Amanda began in a soothing tone, "he is our son. We would not do him harm unless it was required." The Healer turned to them both. "Your son? He is fully accepted?" Amanda nodded and began to silently help while she waited for the Healer to absorb the news. Amanda paused and looked at the comatose man. She could not escape the look of pain that marred his face; he showed his pain even while he slept. S'Alal-doe's open stare brought her back from her thoughts. "I have touched his mind. He is worthy, Lady Amanda. You have chosen well. Now assist me or get out." They followed S'Alal-doe's terse instructions, holding her equipment and manipulating Kirk's body at her direction until she told them to, stand back. The Healer gave the final touches to Kirk's nu-skin while they watched, then shooed the couple from the room. Her parting instructions were to not return until the morning, or face her wrath. On Vulcan, Healers were the one group universally expected to be emotional and ...difficult. Kirk had not stirred once during their ministrations. Sarek and Amanda returned in silence to Sarek's library. Amanda sat in her favorite chair while her husband crossed over to the refrigerated cabinet on the far wall. He poured two tall glasses of cool wine and brought one over to his wife's outstretched hand. "Give me your thoughts," Sarek requested while he stood and watched the setting sun play over the fine features of his wife. It was a face that held so many memories and so much of great importance for him. It was the face he valued above all others he had ever known. He felt the low hum of their Bond in the background of his mind. He turned his attention on it and felt his wife's fatigue, frustration, fear, and misery over the plight of their two sons. Beneath it all ran a deep wellspring of inexhaustible love...directed at him, at Spock, and now encompassing James. He renewed himself in its waters while he waited for his answer. "Husband, who is James Kirk?" She raised her hand and began to count off her questions. "One: Do you realize he contemplated killing me upstairs? Two: If it had not been for his mother's call this morning, our conversation might have ended quite differently. Three: How did she know he was here, my husband? Four: Did you tell her? Five: Why was I able to hear his thoughts as a reflection of what you heard? Six: What is he -- human, or something else? Seven: What have we gotten ourselves into? Last, but not least, why are we both drawn to him so strongly?" Sarek raised both his eyebrows and pursed his lips slightly. He sat down in his chair, opposite hers, and leaned against its high back. "I do not know which question of yours I should attempt to answer first, Wife. All of these questions are ones I have asked of myself, and of my sources. He is human... and yet there is something deep and hidden running beneath his surface. Had he not been weakened by his ordeal at Gol, it is possible he could have broken my hold on him today. He is stronger than can be easily explained for a human of his stature. The mere fact that he lasted as long as he did in front of the gates of Gol speaks to this. Combine this with his ability to shout psychically to all the residents of Gol, and we are left with a mystery." He sipped slowly from his glass. "When I was downstairs and you were with him, I continued to feel his inner turmoil, his pain, and something... something I am unable to classify. As he struggled against me, I felt that... difference again. I do not know what he is, but he does indeed draw both of us to him." "You were very good with him today, Sarek. He needed your understanding and your patience. He needed the soft side of you." "I sensed that." Sarek smiled gently. "I am trying, Wife. James taxed me. His emotions were so strong they threatened to overwhelm my shields. He shouted telepathically, and on some level, empathically, also. He must be taught to shield if . . . no, when, he and Spock reunite." "Agreed. Do you think he could be a product of the Eugenics War?" "No." He rose, crossed over to the library shelves, moved a book, and opened a safe set into the wall. He pulled out a binder and closed the safe door. When he returned to his seat, he handed the binder to Amanda. "This is my folder on Captain James Tiberius Kirk." Amanda began to flip through it, looking for any information new to her. Sarek continued while she read. "The Federation has tracked all probable progeny from the Eugenics tyrants very carefully. Not many survived the pogrom after the war, and he is definitely not genetically linked to any of them. Genetically, he has no preponderance of inheritance from any Human subgroup. He seems to be a... genetic amalgam. "In this folder are his test results for telepathy and empathy. They were only slightly above average in both categories. His intelligence tests were above the 80th percentile for Terran humans. I suspect he manipulated all of the results, especially the intelligence. The VSA has estimated his raw intelligence to be greater than 99.5% of Terran humans, if we base the figure only on his performance to date. This is really not that far outside of the expected range for a Starship Captain. They usually test out in the 95th percentile or above. I have not yet been able to ascertain how he manipulated his test results." He reached his hand out with his two fingers held up and Amanda reached over to stroke hers against his. "Had I thought he might harm you, I would never have left you with him. I did not call his mother and I have no idea how she knew he was here. I did speak to her before you did. Did you know Winona Kirk has top-level Federation clearance?" "No." Amanda did not try to hide her surprise. "Did you?" "No, a regrettable lapse on my part." Amanda gave her husband a gentle smile. "Not even Vulcans are perfect, Dear. Sometimes it's possible for even *you* to miss things." Sarak ducked his head to acknowledge her sally. "Perhaps, but I have no excuse. You sought information and I was lax." "Acknowledged." "I did learn something quite useful from her, Wife." His eyes twinkled, as he no longer tried to hide his simple pleasure in his ability to surprise her. "Would you like to learn what I have discovered?" "Would you like to sleep without covers tonight?" She felt a surge of amusement through their bond. She made him sleep in an air-conditioned room controlled to her comfort level. It made him snuggle enjoyably close to her for warmth. "Should I take your response to indicate a willingness to learn new things?" She gave him a warning glance, and he continued. "Winona Kirk speaks Vulcan." Amanda pursed her lips at that bit of information, but beckoned him to proceed. "Winona Kirk was able to sense her son's distress on Earth and tracked him to our home. Winona Kirk expressly instructed me to notify her when her son left Vulcan. She specifically told me not to allow him to leave the planet if he was still emotionally unstable. I was to use, and these are her words: 'any means necessary to keep him here and prevent that eventuality.' Amanda, she told me to knock him out and keep him sedated until a *family member* came for him, if we were not able to secure his complete cooperation." Amanda leaned back and took a long drink from her glass. "Fascinating. I can't believe I just said that... but it's true. What is she afraid of, another Tarsus, or worse?" "She offered no further explanation." "Hmm, dear me. Well, I should let you know what she said to me. Perhaps if we put it all together, the picture will become a tad less murky. Winona told me I was the best person to get through to him. She said he had a great deal of difficulty in directing acts of violence towards older women. I was told to be myself and trust in my own intuition. Then she told me to call him Baby to get his attention, and when I really needed him to listen to me to say: 'Choisir le verite, choisis la vie.'" Amanda translated the phrase for Sarek: "'To choose truth, choose life.' Odd, don't you agree? No-one speaks French in rural Iowa and few North Americans speak anything but Standard." "Odd is an understatement. The Kirk family is not from any sphere of French cultural influence, as far as we know." Sarek stroked the side of his face and leaned back again. "Where *are* they from, Husband? All James ever says is, 'I'm from Iowa.' He never claims to be, North American, Aboriginal, African, Asiatic, or any specific cultural group or nationality." "Nationality?" "I am speaking of the pre-WWWIII national boundaries which denoted the limits of localized governments. There were no local governments on Earth when the first expedition from Vulcan arrived." She shuddered. "That was a dark and frightening time." "Ah, yes, I recall the historical reference. Vulcan had of course outgrown local governments 1263 years prior to the first Earth expedition." "Except for Gol," Amanda corrected him. Sarek nodded. "I believe the phrase is: touché." Amanda nodded. "So, we are back to the question of how to classify James Kirk." "I think you would classify him as a mosaic, Amanda." "Please explain that, Dear. It is late and my mind is slow right now." "I investigated his Family tree extensively -- you can see the chart here. There is not a sub-continent, continent, major group of islands, or archipelago, that he does not have a relative currently residing on, or originating from." "Not a mosaic, Dear: we would call that a Sooner, or even a mutt. Many Terrans consider mutts the best dogs to have: they're stronger, healthier, smarter, and live longer. I wonder if the same is true in Humans... or Vulcan-Human hybrids?" He raised his left eyebrow. "I have no information on that phenomenon, Wife." She chose to ignore his response. "Do all of his relatives look alike?" "In what regard? They are all Humans." "No, Sarek. What I mean is, are they all pale skinned, or brown-haired, or green-eyed, or is there any one trait or groups of traits that separates them out?" "No. They are pale-skinned, Kirk's complexion: almost bronze, brown-skinned, yellow-skinned, dark brown-skinned, black-skinned (all non-scientific descriptive terms, of course), tall, short, asthenic, hyposthenic, dysmorphic, blue-eyed, hazel-eyed, brown-eyed, with brown hair, black hair, blonde hair, red-hair, albino, curly hair, and straight hair. In short, they are Human. Why do you ask?" "I was trying to group them." "Are you asking me if all humans look alike, Amanda?" Sarek raised one eye in gentle amusement. "No, don't be ridiculous, I would never give you that type of opening. I was thinking the relatives might all look alike and we could look for evidence of genetic engineering or cloning." "If they are cloning, Wife, their equipment is faulty." She smiled at his humor. "I haven't finished telling you what Winona and I talked about. She also said that she *knew* we had investigated her son and found out about Tarsus, among other things. She warned me I might bring up a subject that made him angry enough to attack me. She told me if it looked like he was going to hurt me, all I had to do was sit very still and offer no threat. She assured me he would never hurt me if I did that. She was absolutely right, Husband. You realize we are being manipulated." "Yes, of course. But whether we are being manipulated, or not, it would not change our decision to help our new son. My real question is, other than Winona Kirk, who else is causing us to play out this role in their drama?" Sarek sighed and turned to his wife with a look of Vulcan chagrin. "Unfortunately, whenever I feel extremely manipulated, only one name comes to mind." "T'Pau!" Amanda exclaimed. Sarek nodded. "Thus putting to rest, once again, the accusation that I married you solely for your appearance." Amanda blew out a hiss of frustration and finished the rest of her glass in one draught. "Your mother is going to be the death of us both... one day." She rose from her chair and went to sit in Sarak's lap. "You married me because I'm brilliant, beautiful, thoughtful, patient... and because I told you, in a ladylike fashion, to go screw yourself on the first day we met." Sarak buried his face against her breast to hide his smile. His muffled voice floated up to her ears. "It did stand out in my mind as the most unusual greeting I had yet had on Earth." "Dear, you were uncommonly rude and egotistical, even for a Vulcan. I think it was just your way of asking for a date." "It succeeded, if that was my plan." He leaned forward and traced his lips around her left ear. "My little round-ear, I think it is time I reminded you why Vulcans are so *egotistical*." He sent a little thrill through the bond and was treated to the sound of a low moan. He trailed his fingertips lightly over her meld points and sensed her arousal beginning. "I have need of thee," he whispered urgently. Amanda pulled away gently, gracefully rose to her feet and held her hand out for him. She pulled him up and led him towards the door. "Don't ever stop needing me, Beloved. Come, make a middle-aged woman feel young again. Let's leave behind our mysteries and our hurting children for one short night." Sarek pulled her around into his arms and stared intently into her eyes before he kissed her, deeply, with all the love of their years together, both the good and the bad. "Thee are My Lover and My Wife. I shall always have need of thee." "Sarek, always is a very long time." She looked up at him wistfully. "Not long enough for what I wish to share with thee." He led her from the room. The door closed on Amanda's answer.