Work Text:
Disclaimer: Star Trek and its characters are not mine. I just play with them a bit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rain, pouring and pouring. 'Rain? No, waterfalls from the sky', Amanda thought while she stood near one of the floor length windows in the panorama lounge of Aquatica station on Daron 5.
'Why panorama windows?' she mused while the wind blew another sheet of water against the thick glass in front of her. 'Four hundred and fifty three days of rain on average, during a five hundred and seventeen earth day year. There's nothing to see but water anyway.' She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered despite the warmth of the lounge.
The door to the ballroom behind her opened and a soft glow of warm light and audio bits of laughter and conversation floated into the lounge. She briefly looked over her shoulder and saw a human couple leaving for the evening, between them a little girl, holding one of the adults hands on each side. She looked on while the little girl chatted on, rattling down her Christmas wish list, the parents smiling indulgently.
Despite the warmth of the scene a wave of sadness swept through her. Their hosts had made sure to make up for the belated transports, going out of their way to organize a social gathering for the human delegation complete with seasonal ornaments and dishes as close to the original as possible. She knew that she'd probably have more Christmas flair here than she would have on Vulcan, but it was not helping. Nothing could replace home and family. The thought startled her. When had Vulcan become home? She smiled softly when the answer came to her on the spot and the picture of an elfin boy, barely fourteen months old, fluttered through her thoughts.
She knew that in order to preserve at least a bit of good mood she had pretended to her colleagues before she excused herself for a couple of minutes she should not do what she was about to do, but the longing was too strong. She took out her communicator and pulled up the folder of family pictures.
A soft smile played around her lips as she flipped through the images. Spock shortly after he was born - Sarek holding Spock - herself holding Spock - Spock surrounded by a mountain of stuffed toy animals (gifts from her family and human colleagues). The smile grew into a chuckle. Spock tasting porridge - porridge on Sarek's robe...
The screen of the device flickered briefly and a soft chime announced incoming messages. When she switched the menu to check, she saw that not one, but a whole bunch of messages had just arrived.
First message 'From Sarek: Your mother has arrived unexpectedly.'
Uh-oh...
Second message 'From mom: Oh honey, I wanted to surprise you, but Sarek told me of your delayed departure. We hope you can come soon. P.S.: Spock smiled at me!'
Of course he does - and the gesture is all mine.
Third message 'From Sarek: Your mother wants to decorate. As usual, she is immune to logical arguments against such an undertaking. It is unfortunate your transport is still delayed.'
Amanda sighed. Her mother and Sarek had never been a good combination. She had to smile, though, at the thought of the debate the two of them would be having over the decorations. It was unpredictable who'd have the upper hand since her mother made up with insistence for what she lacked in logic.
Fourth message 'From mom: Geez, how stubborn can a person be? Sarek is his usual self. I wished you could be here.'
Me too, mom.
Fifth message - her face lit up in wonder when she saw it was a picture of her mother and Spock. The image had been taken in their garden, in front of the most amazing sight she had seen in thirteen months. The small ic'tan tree in the back of their garden was decorated with lights and bulbs and other Christmas ornaments, her mother kneeling in front of it with Spock sitting on one of her knees. An oversized Santa hat just barely balanced on his head, hanging in his face and almost covering his left eye. Her mother was smiling widely and held one of Spock's hand up in a waving gesture. The picture was titled 'Merry Christmas, mommy. - P.S.: I couldn't get that stubborn Vulcan to pose with us for the picture. He will not tolerate the decoration any longer than necessary to get a few shots, but he was at least nice enough to hold the camera.'
Of course he wouldn’t join you - he is Sarek.
Amanda's eyes lingered on her son and tears welled up upon seeing such a recent picture of him. Had he grown already in the last two weeks? It didn't sound like a long time when she took on the assignment, but the separation was killing her after two days already when not even half of the trip duration was over. Now their departure had been delayed for over a week due to ion storms raging through the solar system and she was feeling the pain of separation almost physically. As a human she lacked the mental bond that Vulcan parents shared with their children and relied solely on Sarek's reports on Spock's health during the time she was away. And Sarek... oh how she missed him. She would feel him brush the outskirts of her mind once in a while, like the occasional sun ray chasing through the thick clouds of Daron 5's atmosphere. But since she was psi blind that was all the closeness they would get until seeing and touching each other again. She wiped a tear from her cheek and smiled through another bout of fresh moisture when she opened the second picture attached to the message. It showed Spock reaching for one of the large colorful bulbs on the tree, his yet uncontrolled expression glowing with wonder. How she would love to have such a picture with Sarek being the one holding their son...
Sixth message - she gasped and her hand flew to her mouth. As if a higher power had heard her thoughts and transformed them into actual bits, the image showed Sarek and Spock in front of the makeshift Christmas tree. Sarek had donned his red ceremonial robes and even Spock was wrapped in the miniature replica of his fathers clothing. He was reaching out for the camera when the picture was taken. The Santa hat now throned on Sarek's head, tucked neatly behind his ears. His face was impassive as always, creating a stark contrast to his attire. The picture was titled: 'Merry Christmas, my wife.'
She noticed that the angle of the picture was different, too high for her mother to be holding the camera. He must have placed it somewhere and activated the automatic programme. Also the sky was much darker than in the other pictures. He must have taken this once her mother had gone to bed. Of course! He would not be willing to share such a display of affection for her with anyone. A wave of warmth flooded through her at seeing what he was willing to do for her - to please her, even if it meant bending his own way. She softly stroked his face on the picture.
Her eyes lingered for a bit longer on her two favorite men and then she scrolled down to the bottom of the message and laughed out loud when she read the text.
'P.S.: Should this picture ever find its way to the public, it is likely to cause an intergalactic incident.'
She grinned while she typed her response: 'Your secret is safe with me, Mr. Ambassador.'
'P.S.: I love you.'
THE END