K'hat'n'dlawa

Biding Time

The next month passed quickly- and pleasantly. Amanda was truly happy for the first time since her arrival. And it wasn't just because she and Sarek were now "intimate" as he insisted on calling it- but also because she was finding it easier to adjust to her new life.

They had a routine. Sarek liked routines- which meant that it was followed religiously. He was always awake first in the morning, whether they shared a bed the night before or not- because she didn't always spend the night with him. He often worked in his office throughout the night, and when he did that she slept in her own bedchamber.

Once he awoke, he would then meditate and exercise, and by the time he was done, she was usually waking up. They met up in the dining chamber for breakfast every morning, no matter what. After that, he went to the embassy and she spent the day in her own pursuits.

She was finding things to do. She had to, in order to keep her sanity when she was practically alone all day. After breakfast, she and T'Shan retired to the living room, where she had her daily lessons in Vulcan and etiquette. Her Vulcan was progressing rapidly- both T'Shan and Sarek were helping her with it- but she was nowhere near fluent, and she knew that she needed to be if she planned to live on Vulcan. She couldn't even pronounce his clan name yet, and knew it would be some time before she could. Maybe even years.

The etiquette lessons, however, were going very well. The fact that she only had to follow the strict rules when in public or in the company of guests was a relief to her. She knew Sarek would never expect her to "become Vulcan". In fact, he told her one night- after a particularly satisfying experience together- that he preferred her humanism to anything else.

They had gone through an unusually long bout of lovemaking...almost the entire night, and she was thoroughly pleasured and at the same time, physically exhausted. While she knew Vulcans were much stronger than humans, she had never before experienced such...stamina... and she inwardly wondered where that had come from. It made her smile to know that she was the only one who could bring such passions out of him. And, picking up her thoughts, he remarked on his preference for her.

"I think that's only because I'm so different from everything you've always known," she had replied to this confession. He then pulled her closer, his breath hot as it tickled her ear.

"Even if that is so, it does not change the fact that I prefer it. You are welcome to emote while at home."

"You say the sweetest things," she had replied sarcastically. He silenced her with his lips against hers.

For him, she learned the correct Vulcan etiquette. She could not risk another encounter such as the one with T'Pau. She had lost her temper then- it could not happen again. No matter what insulting things were said, she could not rise to the bait. She was going to be a Vulcan's wife- which meant that she must tread carefully around others. She did not want to embarrass him, or herself.

By the time these daily lessons were over with, it was time for the noon meal- after which she would go to her bedchamber and take out her PADD to do her coursework.

Amanda was starting a project to occupy her time. She was researching Vulcan's history and culture with a fervor she had never experienced before. She had done such research in the past- mostly after she began dating Sarek- but now, she had more time on her hands and could delve more deeply into it. She downloaded all books on the subject- including several obscure titles that may have been translations of ancient Vulcan texts- and she was working through them steadily. She took notes on the facts or events that were the most interesting or surprising to her, and was often so engrossed in this work that hours flew by before she realized it.

Sometimes, Sarek was home in time for dinner. On the evenings when he was not, she ate alone- she preferred when he was there, but she didn't mind the peaceful silence, either. Often during dinner, whether he was there or not, she had music playing quietly in the background; sometimes recordings of Vulcan instrumental compositions, sometimes old Terran songs. Sarek found this somewhat amusing, especially when she sang along and tapped her foot in time to the beat. He would watch her, his dark eyes softer than they usually were, and she would smile across the table at him.