K'hat'n'dlawa

Peace

It took an hour for the police to take her statement and give her permission to leave. When she did, they were lifting fingerprints with scanners and talking amongst themselves casually- not as if her home had just been violated. She was disgusted.

They did not speak as Sarek drove them away. She was incredibly tired and the gentle vibration of the seat lulled her into a light doze. She didn't come out of it until she heard someone saying her name.

"Miss Grayson, we are nearing my residence," Sarek was saying. She rubbed at her eyes as she sat up and looked through the window. Her jaw dropped accordingly.

"This is your home?" she asked.

"I am renting it for the duration of my stay on Earth, yes," he replied. Amanda continued to stare silently. The house was made of gray stone and it was large- more of a mansion than a house- with a long, curving gravel drive before it. It was elegant- not unlike the Vulcan who sat beside her. It was not overly fancy but it was still the most beautiful house she had ever seen.

They stopped ten feet away from the steps that led up to the door and got out. Amanda was pleasantly surprised when Sarek retrieved her bag from the back seat and carried it for her.

She followed him up the steps and the front door slid open by itself. He led her into an entrance area...there was a flight of stairs ahead that led to the second floor and doors that led off the marble-floored hall.

"T'Shan," Sarek called. Amanda stopped surveying her surroundings and watched as a Vulcan woman came out of one of the doors to stand before Sarek. He spoke in Vulcan to her and she nodded once, also replying in Vulcan. Amanda's limited knowledge of the language prevented her from understanding more than a few words...prepare, bedroom, and night.

She studied the woman. She didn't look much older than Sarek and wasn't bad-looking, other than the severely arched eyebrows, which somehow were more noticeable on her than on Sarek. With sudden horror, Amanda wondered if she was his wife.

Had she been attracted to a married man all along? She felt embarrassed, even if they didn't know what she was thinking...of course he was taken. No one that handsome and obviously rich as well would be unmarried. But it didn't matter if she hadn't known...she still felt guilty for harboring any sort of feelings for him at all. She was no home-wrecker.

She knew she'd had no chance with him anyway- what would a Vulcan want with her, a poor college student who barely scraped by and was completely unintelligent compared to him? What would a Vulcan want with an emotional human female?

Amanda couldn't bear to watch them any more and instead looked down at the floor. She felt her face burning...she knew there was no reason to be ashamed, but she was. If she'd known she had no chance, then why was she now so crestfallen? A part of her must have hoped...

"Miss Grayson." His voice interrupted her self-deprecating thoughts and she looked up. "T'Shan will show you to your room."

Amanda nodded and watched as he handed her bag to the woman whom she was now sure was his wife. She turned to lead her up the stairs and Amanda followed.

Neither of them spoke as she was led down a hallway and to a door. T'Shan pressed a button next to it and the door slid open. She went inside and placed Amanda's bag on the bed before turning to speak to her for the first time.

"Is there anything you require?" she asked, folding her hands before her.

"No...no, thank you." Amanda gave a strained smile. Well, this is awkward, she thought. She had a crush on this woman's husband.

Of course, crush was such a juvenile term...and it didn't really seem accurate. She didn't think this was just a silly crush. This was true, deep attraction- magnetism almost.