The First Year

Title: The First Year
Authors: T'Lea and Selek
Series: TOS
Pairing: Sa/Am
Rating: NC-17
Feedback: Yes, please. Either as a post to this newsgroup or e-mail to tlea@cinci.rr.com or selek@powersurfr.com
Acknowledgements: Many thanks to T'Thrill for suggestions on how to make this a better (i.e., sexier) story. T'Thrill, you are a Beta Reader Extraordinaire!

Summary: Sarek researches the Terran concept of an anniversary, then formulates a plan of action for celebrating his first wedding anniversary with Amanda.


Sarek of Vulcan pulled his cloak tightly around him as the cool breeze blowing across the bay gusted stronger. Sunlight had peeked out from the overcast sky earlier in the morning, its warm tendrils coaxing Sarek outside. Now it was turning gray and blustery. And cold. Winter had definitely arrived in San Francisco. The young Ambassador, both to Earth and the Federation, strode toward the Vulcan Embassy.

'It smells like rain' Sarek thought.

He shook his head ruefully. It was illogical to make predictions about the weather based upon an olfactory sensation. The first time he heard Amanda's father comment that it smelled like rain, Sarek had believed that his own translation of Federation Standard was faulty. Later, Sarek had asked Amanda for clarification but she had simply laughed and told him that his translation was indeed correct.

Sarek reluctantly turned away from the railing at the edge of the promontory. He retraced his route through the park, his mind turning from forecasting the weather to the work that awaited his return. Emerging on the far side of the park, Sarek joined the throng of people scurrying about their business. He moved gracefully through the stream of humanity, keeping his own sedate pace.

Humans were always in such a hurry. Sarek did not understand their propensity for being late, and then rushing to compensate for their lack of planning. Terrans did not possess a perfect internal sense of time like Vulcans, but they made up for this by having chronometers everywhere. Sarek failed to understand how someone wearing a chronometer, constantly surrounded by other indicators of time, could still have problems being punctual. However, he had come to expect habitual tardiness from most humans after he had been on Earth only a few weeks. He still didn't comprehend it, though. Thankfully, Amanda was unfailingly on time.

Sarek's mouth curved slightly upward as his thoughts turned to his wife. No one but Amanda would construe the small twitch at the corner of his mouth as a smile. Sarek's reassertion of control was so swift that passers-by would not have noticed any change in his expression at all had they bothered to look in his direction. Fortunately, the Terrans he passed were too wrapped up in their own affairs to take much notice of him. The Vulcan ambassador deftly avoided head-on collisions with preoccupied human pedestrians as he made his way back to the embassy.

Sarek waited for the crossing light to change, his hands folded placidly at his midsection.

"Oh, for Pete's sake! I can't get over how long this light is," a man next to him commented.

Sarek could not understand the man's outburst. The lights were computer controlled, and accurately timed to allow for the optimum flow of traffic. Sarek knew that the timing for this particular intersection did not vary at all. The light changed at a constant interval. It was neither slow nor fast. It simply was. It was illogical to think of time as anything other than a constant.

"This is taking forever. I'm gonna be an old man by the time this light changes," the man next to him again said to no one in particular.

Sarek did not bother to tell the man that the light would change in exactly 5.7 seconds and he seriously doubted that the man would age significantly in that period of time. Five point seven seconds was definitely not *forever*. Another human exaggeration. Sarek wondered if Amanda's phrase "making a mountain out of a molehill" would apply to this situation. The corner of his mouth was tugged involuntarily upward again.

Despite his fierce discipline, Sarek's control was eroded whenever Amanda intruded into his consciousness. His wife would no doubt find it amusing that he was teaching her Vulcan techniques for mastering emotion when he himself slipped up so often. Not that he would ever admit it to her, of course. He was quite certain that if she had any inkling of how often he found himself daydreaming about her that she would indeed "make a mountain out of a molehill." This time, he consciously suppressed the hint of a smile threatening to break across his countenance.

"It's a miracle," the man next to him exclaimed as he surged forward.

The light had changed and people spilled into the intersection. Sarek did not understand their haste. The light would permit crossing for several minutes. Sarek stifled a sigh as Terrans bumped into him from all directions. He wondered bri if if it would be safer for him to take his chances by jumping directly into the snarl of groundcar traffic.

Sarek took one last breath of air before he entered the Vulcan embassy. He would be in negotiations with the Andorian ambassador for the rest of the day and there would be no further opportunity for any outdoor activity. As the chill air hit his nostrils, the smell wafting across the bay evoked a strong memory of his wedding day nearly a year earlier. He accepted the feeling the olfactory impression triggered, despite the illogic of doing so. This time, he did not bother to suppress the soft smile that played across his lips.

It *did* smell like rain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sarek rode the turbolift to the upper floors of the Embassy. He attempted to focus his mind on the upcoming round of talks with the Andorians. As he organized his thoughts, his attention was drawn to the conversation of the two human males who were also passengers on the turbolift. During his tenure on Earth, Sarek had carefully observed turbolift behaviour. Do not speak. Do not make eye contact. Face straight ahead toward the door. Look up at the lights displaying the building levels. He was interested that these two men were breaking with protocol and talking in the lift.

"Man, oh man. I have to do something big for this one or I'll be in the doghouse for sure," the blonde man commented.

Dog house? Sarek did not understand. Amanda's parents had a dog, but it lived with them in their house. Amanda's mother often stated that the creature thought that it owned the place. Did other humans have dwellings built specifically for their canine pets?

"Don't sweat it. Send her some flowers. A little dinner at a swank restaurant where she can gawk at some of the beautiful people. Rub elbows with some celebs. Spring for a bottle of French champagne, and not the cheap stuff like you usually buy. I guarantee she'll be eating right out of your hand, compadre," the other man told his companion sagely.

Eating right out of his hand? All of the restaurants Sarek had been to on Earth had silverware, however, Amanda's favourite establishment in Chinatown did provide wooden sticks, called 'chopsticks', to its customers. Why would this female with the doghouse want to eat right out of the blonde man's hand in a public place? Amanda often proffered him tidbits of whatever she was eating or cooking but she had never done so in public. Nor had she ever expressed any desire to eat out of his hand while they were dining out.

"When I came home empty-handed for our last anniversary, I thought it was curtains for sure," the blonde man continued.

Empty-handed? Well, that would make sense if the blonde man's female was expecting to eat out of his hand. Unless, of course, he was supposed to have the food item in his hand upon arriving home. Sarek was not sure of the etiquettvernverning such a situation.

"Yep. Not doing the wedding anniversary thing is very dangerous, amigo. Could have been instant divorce, right on the spot. You were lucky to dodge that bullet," the other man told his blonde friend.

Bullet? Had the blonde man's bondmate actually shot at him with some archaic Terran weapon? Sarek was fairly sure that Amanda did not have such armament. On the other hand, her father might have access to such relics since he was an archaeologist.

Instant divorce? Sarek had never heard of such a thing on Earth. Most divorces that he knew of were long, drawn out, complicated negotiations between the two party's legal representatives. If he came home "empty handed" on their anniversary, would Amanda divorce him on the spot? Or worse, would she invoke the kalifee at his next pon farr? His blood ran cold at the thought. Perhaps this was some clan ritual that dated back to ancient times just like the ceremonial lirpas and ahn'woons used on Vulcan. However, the Vulcan weapons were still deadly, even if they were simply a reminder of pre-Reform tradition. He did not want Amanda to be tempted to invoke the kalifee. Sarek's musing was diverted by the two men's conversation again.

"Face it. You're gonna have to cough up some major credits to get back in her good graces," the blonde man's friend continued.

Cough up? Sarek did not want to know what that meant.

"I suppose you're right. I'll just fork over the credits and then it will be smooth sailing," the blonde man said.

Fork over? Maybe the blonde man's bondmate would not be eating out of his hand, after all. Sarek had no idea where boating came into this. Perhaps sailing was the blonde man's hobby since there were several marinas in the area.

"Look at it as an investment," the blonde man's companion told him.

"Yeah. Hopefully I'll be getting a lot of, uh, returns on my investment," the blonde man answered. Both men laughed out loud as they exited the turbolift at their floor.

Sarek gazed thoughtfully at the turbolift door as it closed behind the two men. He would have to thoroughly research this anniversary custom quickly as their first wedding anniversary was next week and he did not want his wife to seek the Challenge at his next Time.

Since the Andorian ambassador took up his day, he would ask Saran's advice. His aide was well-versed in Terran protocol. If he did not have the information at hand, he would make discrete inquiries. Saran would probably have a complete operating procedure for anniversaries on his desk by tomorrow morning. Sarek did not wish to appear ignorant of Earth practices, nor did he wish for Amanda to feel slighted in any way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was after 2:00 a.m. when Sarek wearily boarded the lift again. He rode to the top floors of the Embassy that housed the Vulcan staff. Quietly, he entered his suite, not wishing to wake his wife. When he saw the lights on in the living area, he sighed outwardly.

He had quite logically presented Amanda with the reasons why she should not wait up for him last night, when he also came home very late and found her still awake and reading through her presentation for an upcoming linguistics conference which featured her as the keynote speaker. She had smiled at him and asked if he'd eaten anything, but her eyes had been red with fatigue. She was barely able to keep them open long enough to go to bed. He had insisted that she would be in no condition to teach the following day. Then he made her promise that she would go to sleep early tonight. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't certain that she had actually agreed. Whenever Amanda could not find any flaws in his logic she simple chose to ignore his arguments.

She had listened patiently, then shook her head and smiled at him. "You argue well, my logical husband. But all the logic in the world can't make me sleep well when you're not beside me," Amanda told him.

"You sleep well when I am in the other room. You slept well without me beside you for 23 years," Sarek pointed out.

"That's different," Amanda said, ending her argument on that note. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him goodnight, and then stumbled off to bed. Sometimes she made no sense at. P. Perhaps it was the fatigue.

Sarek placed his satchel on the chair near the door, careful not to make any noise just in case his wife had actually listened to him last night. He padded softly across the carpeting to the living area. Another smile threatened to break across his face.

Amanda was stretched out on the sofa in her nightgown, one arm flung out to the side. The notes she had been making for her conference presentation were scattered on the floor beside coe couch, her fountain pen dangling precariously from her open hand. Her lips were parted slightly, and Sarek could hear her slow, steady breathing. Sarek leaned over and carefully plucked the pen from her hand, sliding the cap into place so that the ink would not dry. He stood for a moment longer, watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest, then bent over and lifted her into his arms. She did not even stir. How long had it been since he'd held her like this? Saresoresolved to remedy the situation as soon as possible.

He delicately placed her on their bed. Desperately trying not to wake her, he managed to extricate the covers from beneath her sleeping form. He pulled the bedclothes over her, then leaned down and lightly kissed her forehead. Amanda mumbled something unintelligible and rolled over onto her side. Sarek undressed and slipped into bed next to her, his arm automatically encircling her waist.

"Mmmmfffrrrrmisse," ," Amanda muttered, her voice thick with sleep.

"And I you, my wife," Sarek whispered into her hair. Moments later he drifted off as her body molded comfortably against his own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Sarek arrived at his office the next morning, a document was on his desk. He saw who it was from, then opened it with interest. It was Saran's research on anniversaries. Sarek sat down and read it, occasionally stopping in contemplation. He was pleased to see Saran was most thorough in his research of this topic and wondered who his references were.

He sat back in his chair when he had finished the report. His mind was considering many options, gift ideas swirling through his brain. There seemed to be considerable leeway in what was considered appropriate ways of celebrating the occasion. Sarek mentally sorted and catalogued all of the information gleaned from Saran's investigation.

On one page of the report, n han had listed traditional anniversary gifts. According to Saran's table, *paper* was the customary offering for the first anniversa Pap Paper? Sarek could not comprehend why paper would be a suitable anniversary present, and could not begin to fathom what the symbolic meaning of it would be, if any. On the other hand, Amanda wrote almost exclusively with her old-fashioned fountain pen. He could obtain some fine writing paper for her, or perhaps another of the bound volumes thhe whe wrote in every night. It was similar to the computer log that he kept, or so he believed. He had never actually looked inside one of her journals since he knew it was a private thing. Amanda once commented that it was her form of meditation.

Sarek unfolded one of the ads that Saran had included in the Appendix of his report. The ad showed a sparkling, faceted diamond illuminating the dark background of the advertisement like a beacon from one of the lighthouses Sarek had seen along the coast. The text at the bottom proclaimed "Is two month's salary really too much to spend?" Then underneath that "The diamond anniversary ring. Show her that you'd marry her all over again. Exclusively at Kingston Jewelers."

Diamond anniversary ring? Amanda was not overly fond of jewelry. She only wore it for official Embassy functions or for "special occasions" which also seemed to be related to her using her grandmother's lace tablecloth and the "good" china. At those times, she usually favored earrings or pendants, sometimes bracelets. When she did wear jewelry, she preferred sapphires and the fiery red zeotite stones from the Antares sector over diamonds. onl only ring she wore was a thin, gold wedding band that she and Sarek had picked out together.

He remembered that day quite well. He had cleared his calendar completely, expecting to devote the entire day to the selection of this piece of jewelry, which was apparently crucial to their marriage ceremony on Earth. It must be vital, otherwise there would not have been so much discussion among her female family members and friends devoted to the topic of "the rings." Sarek did not wish for Amanda's clan to think that he was ignorant of Terran customs so he had offered to take several more days of leave to search for a ring, but Amanda hadn't thought that it would be necessary.

It had taken exactly fifteen minutes from the time they entered the first shop to the time the tiny velvet box was in the palm of Sarek's hand. Amanda had been very decisive, walking directly to the display case, looking briefly at the shiny metal objects displayethinthin. A clerk approached them, asking if she could show them something in the case.

"We are searching for a wedding ring," Sarek told her. The clerk had looked at his ears curiously, then at Amanda.

"I have several nice pieces that might interest you," the clerk told them, smiling.

As she unlocked the , sh, she prattled on about the various metals and gemstones. The metal Trillium was apparently quite popular that year with brides throughout the Federation. It seemed that absolutely *everyone* who was anyone was getting their rings made from Trillium. When she looked up at Amanda expectantly, Amanda pointed to a plain, unadorned band way in the back corner of the case.

"That one," Amanda told her simply. The clerk looked at Amanda doubtfully, then at Sarek who was standing with his hands clasped behind hack,ack, his expression impassive. It was obvious to the clerk, who knew all about such things, that the woman's alien fiancé was well off financially. He was handsome, the clerk thought, regarding him unobtrusively, but, he was, well, obviously *not* human. The clerk took the ring out of the case and placed it on a piece of black velvet.

"Let me show you something with some diamonds. I have just the thing," the clerk said as she ducked her head back into the case.

"No, thank you," Amanda said politely, slipping the delicate gold band onto her finger to check the size. Sarek had not noticed how beautiful the ring really was until Amanda put it on her finger. In fact, he had not noticed it at all amid the overwhelming glitter. It was exquisite. Its simplicity appealed to Sarek's restrained sense of aesthetics. Amanda's eyes positively sparkled when she looked up at him. That, as humans say, had been that.

Two *months* salary? Sarek wondered if it could possibly be a misprint. That figure seemed somewhat excessive, particularly if he was supposed to buy Amanda paper for their first anniversary. Unless he bought her some very expensive paper. Perhaps something like the historical documents that her father was always unearthing. Such antiques were considered quite valuable on Earth, and were oftectioctioned off. On Vulcan, it would not occur to anyone to profit from historical objects. Amanda's wedding ring had certainly not cost him two month's salary, far from it, actually. Sarek mentally marked the dnd and anniversary ring off of his list of potential gifts.

Sarek perused the other data Saran had assembled in the Appendix section. As he ned ned it, his slanted eyebrows shot up momentarily. Saran's intelligence source must be very well placed indeed. As Sarek absorbed the information, a course of action finally crystallized.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sarek had spent the rest of the morning in Council Chambers and when they finally adjourned for lunch, he decided to implement his plan. He walked through the center of San Francisco until he came to the shop that was mentioned in Saran's report. He walked into the store and was greeted by a pleasant-looking, human female.

"May I help you?" she said, walking toward him.

"I am here to purchase an anniversary gift for my wife. I was advised that this establishment would have such a gift."

"I see. Yes, I'm sure we can accommodate you. Won'on't you look around and see if anything appeals to you. My name is Moira, and I own this boutique. If you have any questions at all just let me know, and I'll take care of it personally." With that, she left him to browse.

Sarek wandered around the store, looking at the candles, oils, and accessories. He picked up one item and examined it closely to determine its use. It was shaped as a phallus, but he could see no logical use for it. According to the placard on the shelf, it was to relax tired muscles, but if this were true, surely it would be shaped differently. Then it dawned on him. Taking its shape into account, the only reasonable deduction he could make was that it was for... He quickly replaced it on the shelf. He looked up and saw clothing toward the back of the store and headed there to investigate. Moira discretely hovered in the background rearranging a display, close enough to answer any questions but far enough away to insure privacy. Her experience over the years with males of every species imaginable told her that it was a universal principle that they did not like to be accosted while shopping for intimate presents. Except for the Orion trader who had wanted her to model something for him, which she refused to do since she did not want him to get the impression that she herself was for sale as an accessory to the leopard-print bodysuit.

Sarek stopped in front of a nightwear display. His eyes were drawn immediately to a red, floor-length nightgown with a sheer covering. The iridescent material clung to the lifelike mannequin, giving him an indication of how it would fit a human female. 'Amanda would find this a most appealing garment,' Sarek thought. Hencednced at the price tag and turned to Moira. When she had finished straightening her display, she looked up at him.

"I will purchase this," Sarek told her.

"What size is she, do you know?" Moira inquired.

"I do not know her size as your system of measurement is different than mine, but I know her weight and height. Will that be sufficient?"

"Yes. I can determine her size from that information." Most men told her "about your size." She took a padd out of her pocket and waited for Sarek to supply the information she needed. Once he did, she found Amanda's size on the chart on her padd. "That one on display is too large. I'll look in the back for a smaller one."

Sarek waited for her return. Three minutes later, she returned with another red nightdress over her arm. "This will be perfect. Of course, if it doesn't fit, just bring it back for an exchange or refund. But I'm sure this will do the trick. May I ask what anniversary it is?"

"Yes, you may. It is our first anniversary."

"Since it is a special occasion, would you like me to wrap it for you?"

"Yes. That would be acceptable," Sarek answered, knowing how much Amanda enjoyed unwrapping the brightly coloured packages at Christmas.

Moira expertly packaged up Sarek's purchase, slid it into an elegant bag, and handed it to him.

"I've put one of our catalogs in the bag in case you ever want to do your shopping from home or when you are away on travel," Moira told him, her smile genuine with warmth.

"Thank you." Sarek responded politely. Bowing his head fractionally in acknowledgment, he turned and made his way to the front door.

"Good luck on your anniversary," she called after him.

Good luck? Sarek did not understand the human concept of "luck", but he did not wish to appear rude. Sarek turned his head toward her as he opened the door. "Yes. Thank you," Sarek answered, hoping it was the appropriate response.

On the walk back to the Embassy, he started thinking about his life lately with Amanda. They had been so busy, that he had been 'lucky' to see her for more than five minutes a day. And when they were 'lucky' enough to have some time alone, one of them was usually interrupted by the comm unit. If it wasn't about the Andorian trade agreement, it was regarding the up-coming conference on linguistics. Amanda was agonizing over her keynote speech. Sarek kept telling her it was adequate, but that did not seem to satisfy her in the slightest. When they both went to bed at night, she was so tired and tense that Sarek abandoned any thought of mating with her. Instead, he would gather her up in his arms, stroke her hair soothingly, and watch her until he heard the deep breathing of sleep.

As he ruminated on what to do about their situation, he glanced up at a neon billboard. He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, walked back to the sign, and read the billboard more carefully. A strategy coalesced in his mind. Memorizing the address, he made another stop on his way back to the Embassy.

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END PART 1