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Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 23:30:23 -0600
Subject: [ASCEM-S] NEW:"Never a Bride" 4/8 (TOS:K/S:NC-17)
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Never a Bride
Part 4 of 8

      *

 "It is the formal acknowledgement of our bond," Spock said 
slowly, reading the High Vulcan script that had come to the 
Kirk farm without benefit of translation.  "It is from T'Pau."

"Finally!"  Spock turned briefly to intercept Jim's grin, and 
felt his partner receive the disquieting emotions that were 
boiling in his belly.  Jim's smile faded.  From her seat on the 
other end of the couch Winona Kirk looked from one to the 
other.

"What's wrong?"

Spock held Jim's gaze and let his best Vulcan mask control 
his features.  "Nothing is wrong, exactly.  However, my 
parents do not approve the acknowledgement of our union.  
That means..."

Kirk cut him off, his lightning-quick mind outracing Spock's 
reluctance.  "You mean that the clan recognizes the union but 
Sarek disapproves."

With a nod of agreement, Spock averted his eyes.  "I regret 
that my family finds my choice of bondmate unacceptable," 
he said formally.  "However, the clan acknowledges that the 
bond is made, and therefore you are a Son of Vulcan.  This 
means..."

"We are not welcome in Shi'Kahr?"

"Not welcome, no, not as a Human would understand the 
term 'welcome'.  It is still my home, our home, and should 
we choose to go there we could do so.  In Human terms, I 
believe that clan Surak will tolerate us.  Vulcan is open to 
both of us.  But that is all."  He hesitated, feeling the pain and 
disbelief emanating from Jim.  "I am sorry, Jim.  Our joining 
is logical from my point of view, and apparently from 
T'Pau's as well, but Sarek appears to have applied a different 
set of conventions than I.  It is well that T'Pau is the clan 
leader.  My father continues to disapprove of me.  I regret 
this deeply."

Jim stood up and stared at him.  "Are you sorry we're 
bonded?"

"No!"  Spock was on his feet before he realized the impulse 
to stand.  He stared at Kirk, and forced himself to relax.  "No, 
I am not sorry.  You are my life, Jim.  I have never been the 
favourite son my father wanted.  I am, however, an 
accomplished man, a celebrated scientist, a capable and 
decorated Starfleet officer, and a credit to Vulcan as a whole 
even though my father feels otherwise.  It is the clan's loss 
that he insults us in this manner.  I do not care.  You know 
what my relationship to my father has been for the last 
twenty-one point three Standard years, the incident en route 
to Babel notwithstanding.  I only regret that he is so narrow-
minded.  He is behaving in a most un-Vulcan fashion."

He was distracted from Jim's face by Winona pushing herself 
up off the couch.  "Are you saying that your father thinks my 
son isn't good enough for you?"

A moment of hilarity came from his bond to Jim, but Spock 
regarded Winona seriously and nodded.  "Yes, Doctor Kirk, 
that is the basic underlying message of the letter.  Although 
in truth, I was never good enough for my father, either.  It is 
interesting to me that he now wishes I had made a better 
match than Jim, when he has cared nothing for the other 
aspects of my life, within my memory."  It wasn't quite a lie.  
Sarek had cared once or twice, trying to purge the shame of 
Spock's rejection of his plans by various means, but he didn't 
want to discuss that with Winona.

"What, you're supposed to marry some nice Vulcan girl and 
have babies?"

"Is that not what you were hoping for your son, that he would 
marry a nice Human girl and have babies?"

"It was a pipe dream, Commander Spock," she replied, and 
spread her hands in a gesture so like Jim's that Spock almost 
smiled.  "You took me by surprise; give me a little credit for 
having gotten over it.  I know we can't force ourselves on our 
children.  And, as I learned so painfully two days ago, we 
can't expect to play on their team if we reject their choice of 
team-mate."

Spock puzzled through that for a second or two, and then felt 
a hint of pleasure.  "Are you saying that you accept me... as a 
'Kirk' team-mate?"

Winona shrugged.  Jim was looking at her with such bald 
affection Spock could almost see it moving between them.  
"My son is who he is.  Like he said, I used to trust his 
judgement in people.  I guess I still should.  After all, 
Starfleet does.  Besides, you have to have a family to go to 
somewhere, Commander."  Spock bowed slightly, little of the 
overwhelming emotion that her statement caused showing in 
his face or bearing.  Jim's mother had accepted him.  It was 
very satisfying.  Jim would be so pleased.  He straightened up 
as Winona went on.

"Tell me what this means, that your father rejects your choice 
but Vulcan acknowledges your bond.  I'm afraid I don't 
understand, and if I'm in your corner I need to know the 
other guy's moves."

Spock sat back down, reflecting that he knew now, beyond 
doubt, where Jim's patterns of speech had come from.  "It is 
a long story, but as my adoptive mother you certainly deserve 
to hear it."

"In that case, go and make some tea, Jimmy.  I'm all ears, 
Commander."

This time, and at that particular phrase, Spock did smile very 
slightly.  "Please.  Call me Spock."

"And you can cut that 'Doctor' crap.  My name is Winona."

"Thank you.  Winona.  Let me explain the duty of a Vulcan 
child to his or her clan..."

      *

"Thee hast made a grievous error, Husband.  In fact, thee hast 
made several."  Amanda dusted invisible flecks of sand from 
her robe and pretended to be staring out the window.  "Where 
is thy logic?"

Sarek, astounded, looked up from the report he was 
reviewing.  "In what have I erred?"

"I will not begin with the mistakes you made in assessing and 
attempting to control the nature and future of our son.  You 
must, by now, be fully aware of your failings in that arena, 
and I had thought that you had made suitable adjustments in 
your familial paradigm to accommodate the difference 
between your expectations and your reality."

"Do you not mean, 'Spock's reality'?"

"I do not.  Spock is no longer having difficulty with 
understanding his reality.  It is you who fail to understand 
Spock's reality, and therefore are modeling your actions 
regarding him more as reactions to your faulty hypothesis 
than true actions aimed at re-securing his loyalty to the clan.  
That is a failure of your understanding of your reality, is it 
not?"  He didn't respond, but his silence was as good as an 
admission.  Satisfied, she continued. 

"This last case, which you encompassed without my 
permission or even consultation, is an obvious example.  
Your rejection of his choice of bondmate is almost certain to 
result in his never returning to Vulcan.  He will be lost to the 
clan if your wishes are allowed to remain representative of 
Vulcan's wishes.  All the honours he accrues will be 
independent of our people."  She let her eyes move then, to 
the wide ones of her husband.  "Is that your wish?  And why 
did you not consult me regarding Kirk?"

"As long as you have lived on Vulcan, you are still not 
completely familiar with Vulcan ways when it comes to our 
clan." 

Amanda noted that he had not answered her questions, but 
she didn't pursue it.  "And as long as our clan has existed on 
Vulcan, it has yet to realise sufficient tolerance of other 
cultures.  My Husband, you are behaving in a Human manner 
that I would describe as 'childish'.  Our son is a brilliant 
man, covered with honours and glory by the Federation, and 
yet Vulcan still sees him as a rejected son because of your 
bile, Sarek.  Yes, bile, I use the term advisedly.  You so badly 
misunderstood him that he was the first of your species in 
eons to face the Kal-i-fee, and yet you still deny that which 
led him to his own choice of mate.  Can you deny that the 
bond began that day on the sands?  T'Pau does not speak of 
it, but her silence is deafening."

"I will not speak of it either."  The shields, that at certain 
times fell to allow them to share their innermost feelings with 
one another, were up firmly.  Still, Amanda thought, he was 
so obvious, so transparent.

"Because you did not choose it."  She didn't shout.  She 
knew better than to shout.  Instead she let her hands spread 
before her and stared down at them.  "Your choice of 
bondmate for our son was disastrous, and almost led to his 
death.  You acknowledge that?"

"Yes, yes."  Sarek stood up almost testily.  

"Because of the nature of the Kal-i-fee, Spock established a 
bond with the combatant rather than the intended bride, you 
acknowledge that?"

"Yes, yes, yes!  However, this alternative match..."

"Is not different in the realities of the clan than your bonding 
with me, Sarek."  Amanda let her hands drop and turned back 
to the window.  "I am no different from Kirk, in terms of the 
continuation of the clan.  I could not have children by you 
without surgical intervention."

"A child engineered by Spock with a Human would be too 
far removed from the bloodline."

"Nonsense.  I cannot believe that you would even say such a 
thing.  The engineering of a child could include enough genes 
to make such a child as close to a full Vulcan as you wished.  
As close as Spock is himself."  Sarek was absolutely still 
behind her.  "It is not the question of offspring that is most 
troublesome to you.  It is that Spock is bonded to a man who 
it the fundamental antithesis, in your mind, of the Tenets 
espoused by your clan.  He is a warrior.  You are angry, still, 
that Spock chose Starfleet, and now that he has chosen 
Starfleet again your anger is almost beyond your control."  
She turned now, deliberately, and faced him.  "You are livid 
that he still denies you the right to control his destiny."

Sarek was so still Amanda briefly feared for his health, but 
she kept her hard-won shields firmly in place.  It was a shame 
that they differed so about their son.  In all other ways she 
found Sarek the most wonderful and desirable of mates.  
Even now, in the extremity of emotion, he pulled himself 
back into focus and imitated her earlier spread of hands.  
"What would you have me do?"

"I would have you acknowledge Jim Kirk as our son."

"I will not."

"Then you will, perhaps, not enjoy seeing me taking my 
proper place beside him on Earth, Sarek.  Because I will let 
my son know that I, at least, approve and acknowledge him.  
That I am proud of him."

"I forbid it."

"You do not have that right.  I am not to be denied in this, 
Sarek.  If necessary I will lodge a complaint with T'Pau.  
Spock is my son, and I will speak my mind on this issue."  
She turned to the door and paused.  "I will be holding a hope 
in my inmost, Human, heart, that you will review your logic 
and see the error of your ways.  If you do, please join me on 
Earth to celebrate our sons' marriage in the Human 
tradition."

"Marriage?  He would not dare."

"You are not the only one who wishes to control the strings 
to these poor puppets, Sarek.  The Admiralty has been 
gracious enough to forewarn Spock's parents of their 
intention, which they certainly had no need to do considering 
how badly you have maligned Starfleet in the past.  The file 
is on my terminal."

     *

"Oh, no."  Jim let his head down onto the edge of the desk 
and began to bang it softly.  Across the room Winona and 
Spock looked up from their game of gin rummy and stared.  
He lifted his eyes to theirs and shook his head.  "Spock, 
remember that ancient dream of quietly getting on with the 
mission and having a little reception with the command team 
in the observation lounge?"

"Yes, Jim."

"It has been phasered out of existence."  He looked back at 
the message from Nogura and felt slightly sick.  "We are 
commanded to attend a briefing regarding the official 
position on our bonding.  It is this afternoon at 1400, 
followed by an interview with the Fleet PR department, with 
a press conference afterward."  He swallowed noisily, and 
couldn't meet Spock's disbelieving gaze.  "Nogura has 
announced that considering the nature of our work, our 
relationship and Vulcan's reaction to us, and furthermore 
taking into consideration the... Mom, I'm not making this up, 
it really says this... the adulation of the masses that the events 
of our voyage provoke, Starfleet has decided to throw us a 
proper Terran wedding."

Spock's cards dropped to the floor, and the little link that told 
Jim what Spock was feeling surged so violently that Jim 
cringed.  "Spock, shields, please."

"Sorry, Jim."  The violent feelings withdrew and Jim wiped 
his brow as he looked up again.  The horror on Spock's face 
was something he had never seen before.  "They are... 
throwing us a wedding, I believe you said?"

"Lord, believe me Spock, I wouldn't lie to you about 
something like this."

"When?  Where?  What sort of service?  With whom?"

"I guess that's what we find out when we go to this briefing," 
he responded, standing up and turning off the terminal.  "Oh, 
my god, and we can't even escape to the ship, they're 
painting our quarters as we speak.  You know, we'd better 
get out of here and find a hotel.  Once this sort of thing gets 
rolling it will take on a life of its own.  Mom will be 
swamped here.  Damn Nogura!"

"We cannot leave Winona to face..."

"I'm not suggesting we do, Spock.  Mom, how do you feel 
about a vacation in the big city, and a chance to help your son 
plan his shotgun wedding?"

To his surprise, his mother chuckled and began to gather up 
the cards.  "I'll go pack, Jimmy.  If they're going to make 
this tough for you, I'm glad to help you deal with it.  
Honoured, in fact.  Besides, just imagine how nice Spock will 
look in a tuxedo."

"Winona, I have no intention of wearing such a garment."

"Now now, Spock.  When fate forces your hand the best 
thing to do is stare it down until it cringes and gives in.  Right 
Jim?"

Jim felt true mirth bubbling up in his belly.  "Mom, you may 
have gotten off to a slow start, but you sure crossed the finish 
line in a hurry.  You can help me pick out a morning coat, 
cause 'fleet is definitely not gonna get me into a dress 
monkey suit."

"That's my boy.  Go on, you two, pack your things.  I'm 
thinking that Starfleet can pay for a fancy hotel, right?"

Jim rose from his seat grinning, and then a sudden thought hit 
him like a punch in the gut.  He saw Spock's body jerk in 
reaction, but he couldn't contain his dismay.  "Spock.  Bones.  
He's going to hear about this..."

Spock rose and stood very still.  "Doctor McCoy is our 
friend.  We must contact him immediately, or his feelings 
will be very hurt.  I do not wish that on him or you."

"Not to mention my crew.  They'll have to be told."

"Perhaps you can deputize.  In this instance you should not 
have to be the one orchestrating the entire crew.  This will be 
very draining for you.  I suggest you leave Commander Scott 
in charge of the ship and concentrate on getting through the 
next few days.  You must allow the senior crew to help us 
with this; they would be dismayed if they were left out."

Jim turned again at the sound of Winona's laughter  "And I 
was worried about my little boy having an emotionally 
supportive partner.  You're talking about Leonard McCoy?"

"Yes.  I really don't want to hurt his feelings, or have him 
caught by surprise.  We couldn't tell him before, because he 
didn't have access to the private portions of the Tenets of 
Vulcan.  He deserves better than to find out on the evening 
news."

Winona nodded.  "Spock and I will pack.  You call Doctor 
McCoy.  Maybe we can get a three-bedroom suite at that 
fancy hotel.  Once you figure out which one of you is the 
bride, he can either give you away or stand in as best man."

A smile grew over top of Jim's anxiety.  "Mom, you're the 
best."

"I'm making lemonade as fast as I can, Tadpole."

Jim cringed as Spock's eyebrow rose.

"Tadpole?"

End Part 4 of 8



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