The First Year

PART 2

When Sarek returned to his office, he had twelve-point-seven minutes to prepare for the afternoon session with the Andorians. He was grateful for all the work he did yesterday evening, preparing for today's session.

He placed his purchase in his private filing cabinet. Then he gathered his padds and headed out the door to the conference room.

Late that evening, the trade agreement was completed and the Andorians were back in their Embassy, presumably pleased. It had taken many hours of negotiating, but now it was finally finished. Sarek returned to his office and sank wearily in his chair. There were two days before his anniversary and now he could devote more of his time to making further preparations.

He knew that Amanda would be pleased with today's purchase, but Sarek wanted more. He had not been truly alone with his wife in over two weeks, and he wanted their first anniversary to be special for Amanda. He thought back to the conversation that started this whole line of research. 'Perhaps if we went to a fine restaurant, she would be pleased with that as well,' Sarek mused. He knew Amanda was giving her keynote address the afternoon of their anniversary at the Federation Linguistics conference, but after that, she, too, would be free. Sarek wanted to celebrate that freedom with her. He coded in the comm number to the restaurant where he had taken her for their first real "date" and made a reservation for two for the night of their anniversary. He envisioned presenting Amanda with her gift at the table, but realized the box was far too big for that. Also, he was not certain that it was something that she would be comfortable opening in public. He would not want her to be embarrassed on their anniversary.

'It would be logical to present it to her after dinner,' Sarek reasoned. The corner of his mouth twitched upward. In fact, presenting it to her after dinner would logically compliment the other arrangements he had made this afternoon.

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Finally! It was over. Amanda breathed a sign of relief as she gathered up her notes and returned them to her attaché case. She had spent the last forty-five minutes patiently answering questions from students and other conference attendees. The crowd had eventually dwindled to just a few earnest students, everyone else taking advantage of the hotel's early Happy Hour prices. It would not do for the keynote speaker to bolt out the door immediately after her talk, Amanda thought wryly.

She had been tempted for a minute, though. Particularly when the man with the horrible goatee, and equally horrible attitude, had been blatantly trying to come on to her. He had taken the concept "goatee" just a little too far. Not only did the man actually look like an unkempt billy goat, he was incredibly rude to a shy first-year Tellarite graduate student who had timidly asked Amanda a question during the general session. That sort of behaviour always made Amanda's temper flare. She had controlled it, however, using some of the mental techniques Sarek had taught her. She had very subtly, but firmly, put the man in his place by outlining GoatGoat Man's, as Amanda had come to think of him, response was not in line with the current models of theoretical linguistics. It had been most satisfying to see the look on his face. The Tellarite had smiled and seemed to come out of her shell just a bit after that. No wonder Sarek used this strategy so often. She would have to remember to thank her husband for teaching it to her.

The remaining gaggle of graduate students invited her to join them for a drink at a pub across the street from the conference site. Remembering what a big deal it had been for her to interact informally with visiting scholars and professors when she herself had been a student, Amanda took them up on their offer. Seeing the young Tellarite woman hovering on the periphery of the group, Amanda made a point of including her in their plans.

Now Amanda was making her way back to the Embassy. The glass of chardonnay had been very smooth and had settled well. She had begged off having another. One more drink would have gone straight to her head on her empty stomach. She was never able to eat much before she gave a presentation, no matter how many times she gave them. She wondered if Sarek ever experienced this before speaking at important summits. She smiled at the thought of her calm, composed husband frantically pacing back and forth in private immediately before giving a speech. No, she decided, Vulcans would not waste energy wondering whether they were prepared enough. And, if they did, there were probably mental techniques for controlling the anxiety. Another smile crossed her lips. Perhaps this was why Sarek spent so much time in meditation.

She couldn't wait to see him. Today was their first anniversary. It was hard for her to believe that they had been married for a whole year. Best of all, they would both be home tonight. Amanda quickly catalogued the food alternatives she had in the small kitchenette in their suite at the Embassy. She knew they had several nice bottles of wine to choose from. She would put her grandmother's lace tablecloth on the table and set it with the good china and crystal. She would fix a few of Sarek's favourite dishes. She always kept the main ingredients on hand. And then, she thought determinedly, she would lock him in r ber bedroom as far away from the comm unit as they could both get.

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Amanda kicked off her pumps the minute she closed the door to their suite. Tottering on high-heeled shoes for the entire morning was no picnic in the park. On the walk home, she had been tempted to chuck the heels after only a block or so, but decided that skipping through the Embassy barefoot would not make a very favorable impression on the Vulcan staff or upon visiting dignitaries. Surleurled her toes into the plush carpet, enjoying the sensation of the thick pile massaging her toes. After she figured out what to cook for dinner, she would treat herself to a nice, long soak in the tub. Maybe another glass of wine while the bubblebath worked its magic on her tired, sore feet. She couldn't wait to get out of her confining undergarments.

She went through the bedroom to the bath to start the hot water running in the antique tub. When she and Sarek had decided to live at the Embassy after their marriage, Amanda had told him that the only thing she would miss about her apartment was the big bathtub. In typical Sarek fashion, he had consulted with her father and they had found something very close to the one in her apartment. Sarek had surprised her with the renovations when they returned from their honeymoon. Amanda smiled as she recalled his thoughtfulness. She had no doubt that all of the Vulcans at the Embassy used sonic showers, even though there were water showers in the suites. She had taught Sarek to appreciate the sensual aspects of water. She wondered what the other resident Vulcans had made of the plumbers installing the huge claw-footed tub in the Ambassador's quarters. Amanda had never been able to figure out exactly how the workmen had maneuvered the large tank into Sarek's bathroom. It would not surprise her in the least to find out that Sarek had simulated the entire procedure on the computer beforehand to make certain it was feasible. And, if it hadn't been, she could imagine him matter-of-factly contracting carpenters to knock the wall out. Her husband let very little deter him once he had decided on something. Which was a good thing, she thought, as she smiled briefly recalling their first date. Otherwise, they probably would never have married one another.

Amanda picked up a bottle of lavender-scented bubblebath and went to turn on the water. As she reached out for the hot-water knob, she saw a single red rose attached to the handle with a red ribbon. This time she smiled broadly. Sarek knew the most logical place to leave something he wanted her to find. Placing the bubblebath on the rim of the tub, she carefully untied the thin ribbon from the thorny stem. Sarek had taped a note around the stem, and Amanda pulled it off. She inhaled deeply from the rose petals as she read the note.

"Amanda, I would be most gratified if you would join me for dinner tonight in honour of our anniversary. It would please me to see you in your blue dress, the one that you wore the first time I took you out to dinner. My driver will be waiting for you at 6:30 p.m. in front of the Embassy---Sarek."

This was definitelyinteinteresting development. She had seen her husband only in passing the past few weeks, and he hadn't mentioned anything about their anniversary. Amanda herself had been totally preoccupied with planning for the linguistics conference. She had not expected this at all. Left to his own devices, Sarek could be suprisingly romantic even though he claimed to have no idea what the word meant. If she teased him about it, he always had a perfectly "logical" reason for his seemingly illogical behaviour, and if he needed to deconstruct his often spontaneous, inexplicable actions so that they conformed to his rational Vulcan mindset, that was fine with her. She could take a nice long bath since she didn't have to prepare dinner and set the table.

As water ran in the tub, Amanda went through to the bedroom to get her blue dress out of the back of the closet. To her astonishment, the mandarin-style dress was already laid out on their bed, along with the sapphire pendant and earrings she had also worn on their first date. It seemed that her husband had thought of everything.

Amanda undressed, finally extricating herself from the confines of her underclothes. She sighed with relief. Much better. She stretched, feeling some of the tiredness leave her muscles. She had been running on caffeine and adrenaline for several days now. She went back in the bathroom and eased herself into the tub. Sinking back into the bubbles, her mind relaxed completely, contemplating her evening out with Sarek. As the scent of lavender took the residual tension out of her face, a faint smile appeared. She decided that she would still lock him in their bedroom when they got back home.

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Amanda watched the scenery rush by as Sarek's driver wound through downtown traffic. Sepek had been polite as usual, but not very forthcoming. In fact, Amanda thought that he was even more tight-lipped than usual. She had questioned him in a roundabout way about their destination. He had answered her in a very imprecise, un-Vulcan, way. Not wanting to press the young Vulcan further, especially since he seemed uncomfortable with her line of questioning and since it was apparent that she wasn't going to get any more information out of him, Amanda settled back to enjoy the ride.

Sepek visibly relaxed when the Ambassador's wife made no more attempts at querying him. He had sworn an oath of secrecy to the Ambassador himself, and he had no intention of compromising that trust.

When he finally pulled the groundcar to the and and stopped, Amanda waited for him to open her door. At first, it had been difficult for her to get used to following Embassy security procedures. She had not wanted to contemplate the notion of herself as a moving target; it was bad enough that someone might want to attack her husband. Sepek opened her door and she stepped out of the vehicle. She smiled immediately when she saw that Sarek had selected the restaurant where they had gone for their first date. She remembered how they were unable to finish their meal. On that first dinner date, they had suffered constant interruptions from the press corps, and finally had left without eating anything at all.

The owner of the finest restaurant San Francisco greeted Amanda when she entered the foyer. The tall, elegantly-dressed man guided her to the upstairs level of the establishment. In the many times that they had eaten here since their first date, Amanda could not recall ever ha bee been in this section of the restaurant before. It was nearly impossible to get a reservation upstairs because of the commanding view of the bay. They were booked up every night of the week, not just on the weekend. Sarek must have made his reservations well in advance, she mused. Amanda hoped that they would not be wedged into a tiny, corner table by the kitchen.

To her surprise, Armand, the owner, led her to a private dining alcove with its own view of the bay. Candles illuminated a round table in the center of the room. Sarek sat with his back to them. When he saw their reflection in the floor-to-ceiling window, he stood up and turned around to greet his wife. Amanda's pulse quickened when she saw him. The candlelight glinted off of his shiny black hair and accentuated the chiseled planes of his face, making his eyes look mysterious and vaguely hypnotic. He was resplnt int in the formal black tunic that he had worn on their wedding day. Amanda could not take her eyes off of him. She nearly jumped when Armand spoke beside her.

"Enjoy your meal," Armand told her warmly, leaving her alone with Sarek.

Sarek moved forward to greet his wife, his paired fingers outstretched to touch hers. She smiled as she touched her fingers to his. Then Sarek stepped around the table to pull out the chair adjacent to his own. As he bent over her to push the chair toward the table, she could smell his familiar, spicy scent.

She looked out over the bay and said, "Remember when we went for a walk along the beach on our first date, Sarek?"

"How could I forget, my wife. I almost drowned that night." Sarek suppressed a shudder. It was a disastrous first date. It was a wonder that Amanda agreed to see him again after it. "I have never been so cold in my life," he said.

"I never saw that wave coming," Amanda insisted. "And your heavy robes dragged you down so quickly when they filled with water!"

Then her eyes sparkled with amusement. "As I seem to recall, it was also the first time I saw you naked," she teased, remembering how she had made him strip off all of his wet clothing right in the middle of her living room. He had been frighteningly close to hypothermia.

"Yes... it was," Sarek responded matter-of-factly, knowing that she was baiting him.

"Mmmmm," she said dreamily when another mischievous smile crossed her lips. "Then the next day, I saw you naked *again* when Sev and I washed you with ice water to bring your fever down. What a week that was!" She chuckled.

Sarek smiled with his eyes as he remembered as well. "Amanda," he chided softly. "I am beginning to think that my state of undress is the only reason you agreed to go out with me again..."

"Of course it isn't, Sarek," she told him with mock virtuousness in her voice. "But it *is* the only reason I married you," finifinished, grinning at him broadly.

Sarek simply raised an eyebrow in response. "Shall we order now, my wife?"

Their waiter materialized at Sarek's side, seemingly out of thin air. The young man recommended several of the vegetarian specialties of the house. As he hovered discretely beside their table, Amanda ordered the eggplant parmesan that he had indicated was his personal favourite. Sarek followed suit.

"Very good, Mr. Grayson," the waiter said, disappearing as quickly and quietly as he had appeared.

"Mr. Grayson?" Amanda asked incredulously.

"Yes. I am 'Mr. Grayson' am I not?" Sarek responded drolly. Amanda laughed out loud. Sarek continued, "I made the reservation in your name, so I am sure the waiter made the conclusion that my name is also Grayson. Obviously, he is unfamiliar with Vulcan naming etiquette."

"I suppose that technically you are Mr. Grayson, come to think of it. Does this mean that you are all mine this evening?"

"I am always 'all yours' as you well know, my wife," Sarek told her softly, his eyes growing darker with desire.

Suddenly, the wine steward appeared, just as stealthily as the headwaiter. While Amanda watched the candlelight play softly across her husband's face, Sarek and the steward discussed vintages. Amanda undressed her husband mentally, and was considering drizzling him from head to foot with melted chocolate, then slowly and thghlyghly licking it all off. She wondered if they had any chocolate sauce at the Embassy. She might have to ask Sepek to stop at the all-night market on the way home. She would start with his right ear...

Sarek's voice interrupted the fantasy she was having about him. "Is that acceptable, my wife?"

"Hmmm? Oh yes, that sounds wonderful," Amanda responded. She hadn't heard a word of the wine discussion, but had had never had bad wine or food at this restaurant. After the week she'd had, any type of wine would be acceptable.

The wine was opened with a flourish and the dark burgundy liquid was poured into their glasses. The steward left quietly and Sarek raised his glass to toast Amanda. "May our remaining years together be as satisfactory as this one has been."

Amanda raised her glass and clinked it to his, her eyes smiling at the rather unusual, formal-sounding sentiment. "Hear, hear," she said.

They chatted as thee the their meal, drinking their wine and enjoying the view from the floor-to-ceiling windows. As soon as the busperson cleared the dinner plates, their waiter returned bearing a large tray of desserts. Amanda perused the selection, then crooked her finger at the waiter. He bent over and she spoke softly in his ear.

"Yes, I believe the dessert chef can prepare that for you. I'll be right back." The waiter vanished like a ghost.

Amanda turned back to her husband. "I have plans for you tonight," she told him simply, her eyes narrowing.

"And what would those plans be exactly?"

"Sorry. I'm not at liberty to discuss them just yet," she said expansively, leaning forward to brush his lips with her fingertips.

"I was not aware that dessert was a Federation security matter."

"Ummm. Well now you know." Amanda let her fingers trail along his jawline. Pulling his face to her, she kissed him softly on the mouth letting her tongue lightly touch his own.

"I might just have *you* for dessert," Amanda whispered in his ear.

"Indeed."

"Indeed," she repeated, her tongue darting out to trace a route along the delicate folds of his ear, all the way up to the pointed tip. Under the table, her hand stroked the fastener on his trousers.

Sarek suppressed a moan. "We are not alone, Amanda," he admonished her, his body arching into her hand despite his logic telling him that he should behave with more decorum.

"I don't see anybody here but us chickens," Amanda murmured, popping open the first button of his fly.

"Chickens?" Sarek asked in a daze before her lips silenced him. Breaking the kiss, Sarek warned her. "The waiter will return shortly, my wife."

"Ummm. That's nice," Amanda responded, deftly unfastening his second button and reaching inside his pants. The warmth of her hand on his bare skin was almost more than he could stand.

"Perhaps we should forego dessert and leave immediately," Sarek suggested, his eyelids fluttering as she pulled him all thy ouy out of the restricting fabric.

"Oh, I'm not quite ready to leave," Amanda teased, cinching her fingers around his shaft.

"Amanda..." he began, then closed his mouth as she stroked his ridges in a most agreeable manner. Silently he calculated how long it would be before their waiter returned. He could not figure preparation time into his equation since he did not know the nature of the dessert beingparepared.

"My wife, I do not believe that there is sufficient time..."

"Shush. I know what I'm doing," Amanda reassured him.

"I do not doubt that, but..." Sarek attempted to construct a coherent argument, but was unable to do so. His body seemed to be of the opinion that he should defer to her obviously superior judgment in this matter, and his brain was beginning to concur.

Amanda let go of him suddenly and sat back in her chair, smiling at a point just over Sarek's shoulder.

"Great! The chef had all the ingredients, I see." Amanda commented enthusiastically. Sarek didn't dare move. He didn't even breathe. He mentally asserted his bio-controls for all they were worth. He knew there was no way that anyone could see under the tablecloth, or under his napkin, but he didn't want to take any chances. He felt the blood rushing out of his groin, flowing straight to the tips of his ears.

"Yes m'am," the waiter told Amanda from behind Sarek. Stepping around to her side of the table, he unfolded a tray-holder, then expertly set a silver tray on it. Sarek kept his eyes directly on the spot where his plate had been.

"Those look wonderful," Amanda exclaimed.

"The dessert chef is truly a master," the waiter told her. "Will that be all this evening, Mrs. Grayson?"

"Yes, I believe so," Amanda answered warmly. The waiter smiled at her, then glanced at the dark green tips of Sarek's ears.

"Would you like that on your account, Mr. Grayson?"

Sarek swallowed, then found his voice. "Yes, that would be acceptable," he said authoritatively, looking directly at the waiter.

"Very good, sir. I hope you've had an enjoyable evening," the waiter said pleasantly, winking at Amanda as he left the room.

END PART 2