Unbeknownst - Chapter 1
Author: Mousling1014
Story: Unbeknownst
Chapter 1 of ?
Rated: T
Pairing: AOS Spock/Uhura
Warnings: Mind-control, sexy times (rating will change to R for that)
Synopsis: What happens when you thought you were in control, but you're not....
Disclaimer: I don't own them - Paramount does and I'm making nothing from this.
Unbeknownst
Chapter 1
Amanda Grayson stared out of the window of the kitchen and into the walled garden and the quietness of dawn. It had always been her favorite part of the day since arriving on Vulcan all those years ago, the contrast between the coolness of night on a desert planet to the heat of day never ceasing to amaze her. The rising of the Sun created shadows within the garden, shades of lavender and grey streaked with hints of orange and peach. She sighed and turned away and faced the man standing behind her.
“Sarek, is there any point to all of this? I’m tired of my son being discussed as if he were a commodity that is somehow lacking. Are you so certain that this particular family will look beyond his so called inadequacies?” She bit her bottom lip and continued. “At the very least we should explain to him what’s going on in more detail. I don’t like the fact that all our son knows is that he is going to meet a complete stranger, another child no less and bond with her, and we don’t even know if he can successfully bond on his own!”
“My wife. Amanda.” Sarek quickly amended seeing her eyes narrow. “There is no reason to explain beyond that which has already been given. As you have clearly stated if Spock is unable to perform the necessary bonding without the help of a healer would not the in-depth discussion you wish only cause embarrassment?”
“Embarrassment Sarek, isn’t that an emotion?” Amanda couldn’t help herself.
“Which is all the more reason to bond Spock, the bonding will give him balance, the balance he will need as a Vulcan.” Satisfied that the conversation was over, Sarek turned to leave the room. Amanda’s voice however stopped him.
“You stated embarrassment Sarek, but I wonder would the embarrassment be yours or Spock’s?” And with those words ringing in the air, Amanda Grayson silently walked by her husband and out of the room.
Spock sat on the edge of his bed waiting for his mother to come and get him. His family was going to spend the day in the settlement of Tal’Laiya a farming community west of Shi’Kahr. Spock mentally digested the names of the Vulcan elder and his wife whom they were going to be visiting with. He knew all of his father and mother’s acquaintances and friends and Elder Sokal and his wife T’Pana were not among the list. He quirked an eyebrow and tilted his head to one side as he continued to ponder. Curious, this would be the fourth outing this month that he had attended with his parents in which there was no prior connection to the people in question. He wondered if the outcome of this meeting would be the same as the others. His brow furrowed in puzzlement, his hands in his lap fingers clasped together as he continued to think upon it.
“Spock?” Amanda’s voice was quiet, soft. “It’s time to go.” She held her hands out to him and he took them and stood in front of her. “Here, let me look at you.” Her eyes alighted on his face, a study of indecision, worry and love.
“You’ve grown up so fast.” She stated wistfully and then a gesture that was hers and his alone, she gently placed a kiss on his forehead. “I’m very proud of you Spock you will always have a proud mother no matter what path you forge in life.” And with a hand still clasping his they walked out of his room, out of the house to the waiting hover-car.
The journey to Eldar Sokal’s residence was uneventful, the settlement like many others on Vulcan set to harmonize with the surrounding environment, not compete with it. Sokal and his wife stood at the door of their dwelling waiting to greet their visitors.
“Live long and prosper Sarek, Lady Amanda.” The words were accompanied by the raising of Sokal’s hand in the traditional Vulcan greeting, fingers splayed out to form a V shape. Sarek returned the greeting and then turned to Amanda. It was Sokal who spoke as host.
“Lady Amanda you and my wife T’Pana may take your son Spock to our outer chamber to wait there.” Sokal glanced at his wife and nodded to her, she stared back at him and without nodding her assent moved to where Amanda and Spock stood.
“Lady Amanda you and the boy will follow me please.” Amanda noted quickly that T’Pana did not use Spock’s name nor had she looked at him at all as she had spoken, in fact it appeared, if Amanda could use the words to describe the Vulcan woman’s manner, that she was uncomfortable with these proceedings.
Amanda’s guess was that T’Pana, like the others before her did not want her family tainted with that which was ‘human’ that part which came with Spock through no fault of his own other than parentage. Or as Amanda thought, how did that old earth saying go? Fine to be friendly with them but you wouldn’t want your daughter dating one.
“Of course Lady T’Pana, Spock and I would be honored to follow you.” Amanda placed the emphasis on her son’s name as they followed T’Pana into the house and through a long corridor to a small room. T’Pana’s eyes did not quite meet Amanda’s as she gave a slight nod of her head and left mother and son alone.
“You stay here Spock. We’ll come and get you in a little while, ok?” Amanda looked like she wanted to say more but instead opted for another gesture, another of theirs she placed her fingers gently under his chin to tilt his head and his gaze to hers. “I love you Spock.” Her eyes shimmering with tears she quickly turned and left the room leaving Spock alone.
The room Spock found himself in was like many found in Vulcan homes, this one no doubt used for meditation, no decoration adorned the room save for a plaque on one wall inscribed with one of the teachings of Surak, a small indent underneath the plaque held a place for candles and incense. A small round raised area in the middle of the room could be used for seating and that was where Spock placed himself to wait. This was the fourth time he had been made to wait in a room by himself in a stranger’s home while his parents no doubt discussed this bonding matter that somehow had to do with him and obviously the daughter of this household, or one of the daughters. He actually had yet to meet any of the children of any of the households. The ritual so far had been his mother coming back into the room to fetch him and telling him that it was time to go, no other explanation. So Spock sat and calculated the odds of that scenario coming to fruition.
A child entered the room, a girl and Spock quickly rose to his feet and stood waiting for her to come closer. This was a new development. Physically they were the same height, her hair straight dark and long, the sides pulled back from her ears and held in place by some sort of clip, her bangs lay perfectly across her forehead. Her eyes were darker than his, her facial expression passive her features delicate. She looked him over slowly, very slowly. Spock felt himself trying not to flush, even though there was no change in her expression, he felt like he was a lab specimen. She eventually brought her gaze back to his.
“May I inquire what it is that you are staring at? Is my attire not appropriate?” Spock waited for her response. He was not disappointed.
“I wanted to see if your humaness is readily apparent. It is not entirely, though I would surmise after meeting your mother, the Lady Amanda that you have inherited her eyes.” The girl stated this as fact.
“Indeed, you are not the first to have said that.” Spock regarded the girl steadily. “May I inquire as to your name?”
“T’Pring, and you are Spock. I will go and speak to my father and yours.” She said and left the room. Spock sat back down and resumed his wait.
The next visitors to the room were as Spock had correctly predicted, his father and Elder Sokal. He rose to his feet and straightened, placing his hands behind his back and looking at his father. Sarek simply stated, “It is time Spock.”
He was led from the room between the two men into a room that his mother would have described as a conservatory, not quite part of the house but not part of the garden either. His mother and the Lady T’Pana waited there as well as the girl T’Pring and another Vulcan male, much older than either his father or Elder Sokal. Spock stood tense as his father placed his hands on his shoulders, he noticed that Sokal went to stand behind his daughter and placed his hands on her shoulders as well and brought her towards Spock. The two children stood within a foot of each other. Spock wanted to look away but even if he could Sarek’s grip on his shoulders was too tight.
The older Vulcan male stepped forward and stood with the children on either side of him, he spoke in a voice that carried age and years of traditions honored. “Spock, T’Pring, thee are to enter the Bonding as your ancestors have done so shall you.”
He placed Spock’s hand onto T’Pring’s face positioning fingers onto points of her face and temple he then did the same with T’Pring’s hand and stood back and waited.
Spock closed his eyes he could feel the heat of T’Pring’s fingers, the pressure slightly uncomfortable and then, color swirling in his mind, dark crimsons, browns, almost violent in their intensity, and images that floated too fast for him to mentally grip onto. And there was pain almost physical, it felt like he was being pummeled, it felt like all those punches he had received from the bullies at school. He tried to jerk back and immediately felt a hand on the back of his skull pressing tightly and new colors appeared, these were aqua and green in tone, more calming and the images were slowly entering his mind, he could grasp them. He could see himself and T’Pring standing facing each other. He could see his parents looking on, his father stoic and his mother trying very hard not to show emotion. He could see T’Pring’s parents standing in a similar position as his father and he could feel the older Vulcan’s hand, a healer Spock understood now on the back of his head as well as feeling his own strands of hair tickling the skin of the healer’s hand, a most interesting experience.
The healer gently guided Spock past the swirling colors and into a place that seemed void of anything. No color, no image just an experience of an empty expanse of space. Time seemed to be of no consequence here and yet it felt like he stayed within the expanse forever. And then he was back into himself looking out of his own eyes at T’Pring and hearing the healer state to both sets of parents that the bonding was complete. He looked back at T’Pring and noticed an expression in her eyes that if he were completely human he would almost call calculating. His father and mother came to him, his mother biting her lip and looking him up and down in that way she had after his altercations at school. Satisfied that her son had received no damage, she and his father led him out of the house, into the hover-car where they soon were on their way home. As Spock gazed out of the hover-car window he replayed the bonding and tried to see if he could perceive anything of T’Pring, to his disconcertion not only did he not find any trace of T’Pring within his mind, he in fact felt absolutely nothing at all.