By Recumbentgoat – archived with permission
Characters/Pairing: Sarek/Amanda, Soran
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Sarek shows signs of jealousy to Soran.
Amanda stopped by Soran's desk on the way out of Sarek's office. 'Soran, are things going well with the treaty negotiations? I've never seen Sarek look so tired. He won't tell me a darn thing. Do you know if he's even been sleeping?
'Amanda, it is very likely that he has not been sleeping. The Nodoazentians operate on little sleep and have been communicating with Sarek without regard to the time differential.'
'You're sure about this? Sarek's dealt with them before and I just don't understand why he hasn't done this in shifts with the rest of the team like he's done in the past.'
She tried to squelch the rise of alarm in her chest. Since researching the symptoms of pon farr, she'd been on guard for anything uncharacteristic on Sarek's part. Lack of sleep was one such symptom.
'Since it is the Ambassador's responsibility to keep the rest of the team updated with the latest developments, it appears that he has little choice. Vulcans do not need as much sleep as humans do.' Soran looked at her pointedly.
'Yes, but he does need to sleep even a little. Oh well, thank you for telling me anyway, Soran. It's nice to know that you can keep an eye on him for me.' She smiled at him as she breezed out the door.
She thought that she'd be treated to one of his small, private smiles that he reserved only for her. They were having a quick lunch together in Sarek's office while he was on a break from negotiations. She was, however, not prepared for the full-on belly laugh that came from Sarek after she told him about two of her young students who were arguing during a test. One of them was upset because his friend had left his test blank. She had asked him why that would bother him so much, since he'd left his blank too.
'Apparently, he was afraid he'd get into trouble for copying his neighbor's test.' She shook her head. 'Third graders have a very special way of thinking….'
By that time Sarek was laughing so loudly that Soran popped his head into Sarek's office, took one startled look around and then scurried away. Amanda was laughing too and felt so happy that she could provoke this stoic Vulcan into such a response. He had a wonderful, baritone laugh. Then she stopped short. This was a loss of emotional control and as wonderful as it was to share a laugh with Sarek, this was surely a sign of a larger problem. 'Sarek, are you sure you're all right?'
'Amanda, you insist on asking me that question and I have told you repeatedly that I am fine!' Sarek's face was impassive again, but his voice was decidedly piqued. He frowned at her before turning back to finish his meal.
She noticed that he still had dark circles under his eyes and felt terribly guilty for calling attention to his slip. He was under such pressure from everyone and who was she really to patrol Sarek's emotional responses?
'I know my dear. I'm sorry. Please don't be upset with me, it's just I was talking with Soran a few days ago and he told me that you weren't sleeping because of the negotiations. I've just been worried….'
'Soran? Why would you speak with him?' His voice was sharp then. Amanda looked up from her half eaten sandwich startled.
'Sarek, he's your aide. He knows you better than anyone. And you wouldn't tell me anything, so I asked him if he had noticed anything. I was just worried about you.' She gave him a wan smile. This conversation was rapidly degenerating into a tense argument.
'Indeed. If you and Soran are through interfering, you will allow me then to return to my work,' he ground out. His face was carved from a glacier and his posture was ramrod straight. He turned from her, his meal now forgotten on his desk.
Amanda felt a deep coldness work up her spine and seize her throat. She closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath. Sarek could be a bastard some times but this was cruel even for him. She would not cry and give him the satisfaction.
She jumped up and fled his office. Soran was down the hall in one of the conference rooms and stepped out the door as Amanda was half running down the corridor.
'Amanda? Are you well?' Soran's head was canted to one side as he looked down at her. His eyes flicked over to Sarek's closed door down the hall.
She sighed. 'I'm fine Soran. I'm just starting to think that this is harder than I first imagined it.' She looked at him sadly. She knew that there'd be challenges with Sarek. Not just for being Vulcan, but also for being 'The Ambassador' and all the responsibilities that go with such a high profile position.
'Soran, I have to ask you something that you'll probably not feel comfortable with answering, but you've known Sarek for a really long time….' She paused. No, she wouldn't ask when Sarek's last pon farr was—that was just too personal. And it would be humiliating to Sarek if he were to find out. She rubbed her temples. 'Well, in your opinion, do you think Sarek's well? These negotiations are just dragging on and on and I'm worried that it's grinding him down into….'
Sarek's office door banged open at the end of the hall and Soran and Amanda froze in their spots at the other end of it. Sarek was very tall and broad shouldered and he filled that doorway in a way that was rather intimidating.
Amanda knew it was irrational, but she felt his presence reach all the way down that hallway. Soran's eyes had widened slightly and he looked over at her in puzzlement.
'Soran, I require your assistance.' He spoke evenly to Soran but Amanda could feel his eyes bore into hers and she felt relieved that the exit was close by. No such luck for Soran though.
'Yes, right away Ambassador. Please excuse me Miss Grayson.' Soran hurried away.
She nodded weakly and decided that she needed to get out of there and back home.
In the end, she went shopping. Blowing her budget and acquiring things that she knew she didn't need or could fit into her small studio. But she didn't give a damn. She was busy. She had things to do and the last thing she would do was even think about that man. Or rather, Vulcan.
There were three waiting messages on her console when she got back. They were all from Sarek. Well, well. Maybe the bastard wanted to apologize for being such a jerk. She shook her head and played the first message.
'Amanda, I hope you are well. I have called your communicator several times but there has been no response. You were scheduled to meet with me ten minutes ago for dinner. I can only imagine that you are upset with me for some reason and have decided to cancel without telling me. Return my call as soon as you receive this message.' Sarek's mouth was pressed into a very tight line.
She winced and looked at the clock. That was four hours ago. Oh boy, this was going to get worse before it got better, wasn't it? She had completely forgotten about it and if things hadn't ended so tensely this afternoon she was sure she would've remembered or that Sarek would've reminded her-which was more likely. Plus, she realized that she'd misplaced her communicator. Her headache was returning.
'Amanda. Please return my call. Your prolonged absence is becoming a concern. I have also found your communicator.' Okay, that was only an hour ago. This last one was just ten minutes ago.
'Amanda. Your continued refusal to answer my calls or return to the embassy as I requested is suspect. My calls to Soran have also gone unreturned and I find this to be too convenient a coincidence. …' Amanda let out an outraged gasp and then jumped a mile in her seat when there was a loud knock on her door. What the fuck?
She cut the message short and ran to the door to look through the peephole. Sarek. And he look pissed.
'Open the door Amanda.' How could he sound so calm and look so mad? She opened the door slowly.
'Look, Sarek. I don't know what the hell has gotten into you, but I just got home and I got all your messages…'
He brushed past her and entered the bedroom. He looked over into the kitchen.
'Sarek! I'm over here! Why don't you look under the bed while you're at it. Do you honestly think Soran's here? My god, you've totally cracked.' She folded her arms. 'Sarek, please sit down and talk to me.'
He merely turned to her and looked down. His eyes were utterly inscrutable and his face a mask, but there was a cold fury in his voice. 'Where is he? Did you meet him somewhere else? Did you fuck him?' His large, dry hands were on her arms now gripping them tightly.
'Get your fucking hands off of me.' She wasn't going to let herself get provoked by him. She wasn't going to try and struggle in his arms. She had to try and get him to see reason.
'Sarek, you need to see a healer. You're starting to scare the shit out of me.' He was still for a moment. He hadn't let her go yet.
'You need to see a healer,' she repeated. 'I'm sorry about tonight. But I had forgotten about dinner because I was still upset with our fight this afternoon. I must've been so distracted that I forgot my communicator in your office. I went shopping after I left you and I've only just gotten home. And no, I did not see Soran at all and I have no idea why he hasn't answered your calls, but I'm sure he's got a life of his own.'
His hands began to slacken, but he didn't let go of her.
'You know Sarek, you've been under a lot of stress lately and between the lack of proper rest and eating, I'm sure there are a few things that are….out of perspective right now. Let Soran take over for a little while, between him and the rest of the team, I'm sure they can get through this….'
'Yes, let Soran take over is that it?' His hands tightened again.
'Ok, let's not talk about him. Let's talk about you sitting down now…'
Sarek jerked her hard towards his chest and stared down into her eyes. 'I will kill anyone who dares to touch you. Only I can touch you because you are mine.' His eyes weren't so inscrutable now. And before she could open her mouth to speak, he lowered his head to hers and kissed her hard. His tongue surged into her mouth and she responded, her hands finding their way to caress the back of his neck and the points of his ears.
He moaned and picked her up as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He held her with his left hand, her butt resting on his forearm, while his right hand found the meld points on her face.
Amanda braced herself for what was to come. Sarek hadn't actually melded with her before, had only felt whispers of him at times when they made love. He was still kissing her when his fingers made contact to her skin, his lips mouthing words that she couldn't hear.
The strangeness of him inside her like this was almost overwhelming, like being dragged slowly to the bottom of the ocean, but she tried to stay as focused as possible. These were raw emotions of passion, anger and jealousy. This was not the measured, articulate Vulcan she knew—no, he had been replaced entirely with someone who was sinking fast into a maelstrom of desire, desire to take his mate. He took his hand away and stopped kissing her. His eyes were wide and Amanda knew that she would have to talk him through this if they (or rather if she) were to come through this relatively intact and sane.
'Sarek, let's slow down a little and….' Amanda could feel Sarek's hand under her shirt fumbling with her bra clasp and then impatiently ripping it apart. He moved over to the bed and dropped her on it. He tugged her top and bra off together, then stripped off his dark brown outer robes. He was wearing a thin cotton shirt and tan pants underneath which also rapidly found their way to the floor.
He was more than twice her age in Earth years, but in terms of Vulcan physiology, he was in the prime of his life. For a diplomat he had an amazing body, he was built like a boxer with a powerful chest and torso. His arms were corded with sinewy muscle, muscles that were flexing as he leaned forward on the bed. His hands braced on either side of her thighs and she scooted up the bed as she struggled to get out of her pants and shoes. She tried not to think of getting pounced on like some little red riding hood as his face split in an unnervingly wide, feral smile.
'I believe I know what Earth story you are thinking of Amanda.' He smiled again before crawling up to cover her body with his own. She tried to send out soothing images over their mind link, but it was hard to focus on anything else when her senses were just filled with him, his scent, his mind, his skin touching her everywhere. She ran her hands down the bunched muscles of his back as he fitted his cock to her and thrust upwards quickly. She gasped as he filled her and he groaned, muttering lowly in Vulcan as they settled into such a brisk pace of fucking that Amanda thought she'd pass out after she came.
Sarek was still going strong though and Amanda could feel herself slowly get back into it. She'd heard that pon farr could subside after a few hours, but that was with both partners being Vulcan. She had no idea how it could be between her and Sarek. She grabbed Sarek's face and kissed him and he slowed down, his thrusts less frenetic. Then, on impulse she bit him right at the juncture of his neck and shoulder and sucked as hard as she could. Since she was going to have marks all over her body, well, she'd give him a few too. Sarek yelled as she bit down and his body stiffened as he came, she swirled her tongue and tasted his blood. The last thought she had before Sarek passed out and pulled her down into a dark, dreamless sleep was that he'd have a hell of a time covering the hickey she gave him.
As it turned out, it took three days for the plak tow to finally subside within Sarek. He was sound asleep next to her utterly exhausted and the mind link between them was serenely quiet. She retrieved the ice pack from her forehead and placed it between her legs. Her apartment was completely trashed, the mattress was askew and stripped of its linens. The desk chair was knocked over from where Sarek mercilessly fucked her doggy-style. She looked around—there wasn't a place where they hadn't had sex, not that it was a big place anyway.
She would sneak off to have some food and take a quick shower before he'd invariably wake up and follow her. He got her on the kitchen counter once and they'd knocked over her beloved basil plant, shattering the ceramic pot and scattering soil all over the floor. Then another time he followed her into the bathroom, where she'd been trying to relieve herself. She threatened him several times before he just folded his arms and turned to face the wall. After, he allowed himself to be coaxed into the shower and that was actually a very nice time.
This last round was a more sedate coupling, relatively speaking. He was certainly more verbal and the mind link between them seemed less precariously volatile. No one had called looking for Sarek, which she found tremendously odd, but she showered anyway and began dressing. When she popped her head out the front door, she squinted from the sun overhead. Sarek had apparently ridden a hoverbike to her home and it lay there on its side haphazardly on her lawn.
There was a flitter parked across the street and Amanda squinted again. Surely that couldn't be…? She walked over and knocked on the window. Inside, Soran jerked awake and sat up straight. 'Please tell me what you're doing here Soran.'
The window slowly came down and Soran asked in a most impassive voice, 'I am sorry but could you please repeat that?'
'I thought Vulcans had such great hearing? Please tell me you're the only one who's had the gall to follow Sarek here?'
'Lady Amanda, as you know I am tasked with the safety of the Ambassador. After his odd behavior, I had to be sure that everything was all right. I followed him here and waited for him to leave.'
'That was three days ago Soran. Please tell me you went home to rest and didn't spend three days in a flitter outside my house. Wait, don't answer that. You know, Sarek kinda had it out for you, you were brave to follow him because if he caught you here it could've ended badly.'
There was an almost imperceptible shiver that passed through Soran's frame. 'I am quite aware of the situation, but I had my duty.' Amanda noticed the empty paper bags and food wrappings next to him on the seat. She found it amusing that they were from a fast food outlet.
'You can come inside and use the facilities if you need to Soran.' When he turned to face her fully, her mouth dropped open. 'Oh Soran!' He had a huge blackened bruise encompassing his right eye. 'Oh Soran.' She looked at him with pity.
'There is no need to concern yourself. It looks worse than it actually feels. I will see the healer once I return to the embassy.'
'He hit you? When did that happen?'
'Some time after you left. He accused me of having an affair with you and then…then he punched me.'
'Oh Soran, I'm so sorry for all of this.'
'Do not apologize for something you had no knowledge of, if anything, the burden of responsibility lies with Sarek.' Soran re-adjusted his seat to the upright position and started the flitter. 'Since it appears that you are for the most part unharmed and I shall surmise that Sarek is also unharmed, I will return to the embassy and report to T'Pau.'
'T'Pau? Does she really have to know?'
'Since T'Pau is the head of Sarek's family, it is necessary that she is informed that her nephew has bonded. Be well, Lady Amanda.' The window went back up and he eased the flitter into the road as Amanda stepped back in shock.
She hadn't really thought all the ramifications through she guessed. Everything she'd read on pon-farr hadn't bothered to specify that the telepathic link was a marital bond. Of course, the writers probably assumed that was a given anyway. This was a rather conservative society to begin with.
She returned inside and found Sarek sitting up on the bed looking out the window. 'It was just Soran, he's going back to the embassy to let T'Pau know that you're alright.' She sat beside him, her hand reaching up to smooth down his hair, 'You seem to have returned to yourself. How are you feeling?'
'I am…fine.' His solemn eyes swept over her, 'You appear to be well, but I will take you to the healer at the embassy to be sure.'
'That's not necessary, my love. I have a few bruises and I'm sore, but some sleep and time will cure all of that. And ice packs.' Her fingers trailed down his neck to trace the bite mark with light fingers. He winced a little.
'Amanda, you are now my responsibility as my wife and I must ensure that you have not been harmed….by me.'
'You've been harmed too you know. Have you looked in the mirror recently? I must say that I'm rather proud of this here,' she tapped the hickey. 'It's quite large and pretty.'
'You are illogical.' He took her wandering hand and clasped it in his lap.
'And yet, you married me. Which brings up an interesting question Sarek, namely, why you didn't ask me properly. I've known you less than a year-and even though I love you very much, I'm disappointed that you couldn't tell me outright that you were so near your time.'
'For that, I am truly sorry Amanda. I had every intention of letting you know what to expect, but since living on Earth so long, I fear that I lost track of when my Time would be upon me. Living off world can interfere with the normal cycle.'
'Well, what happens now? This just seems so off, like I ran off to Vegas and got married at a drive-thru chapel.'
'Amanda, there is no cause to be flippant. We are married in the eyes of Vulcan law.'
'My parents are going to be less than pleased that I'll be shacking up with an alien. Much less with an alien they've never met.'
'Amanda! We are not 'shacking up'! We are husband and wife. Period. However, I realize that humans need to have their ritual ceremony….'
'Well, it's not like Vulcans wouldn't have had a ceremony either, if you had planned properly.'
'Yes, perhaps,' Sarek shifted uncomfortably. 'As I was saying before you interrupted me, would you do me the honor of marrying me?'
Amanda smiled. One certainly couldn't
accuse the Ambassador of being a slow learner. 'Yes, my brilliant husband, I
would love to marry you.' She reached over and hugged him tightly. She kissed
him on the cheek, 'Would you like to get dressed now and give me a ride on that
wonderful hoverbike you have out there? I'll take you out to dinner at
'Yes, that sounds like a plan,' Sarek stood up and wrapped a sheet around his waist and threw the excess over his shoulder. How did he manage to remain so dignified despite bed-head and hickeys? 'I shall go and put myself in order.' He picked up his clothes and robe off the floor and went to the bathroom while Amanda started putting the apartment to rights.