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༄ chapter forty eight
-ˋˏ THE EVAL PT. 2 ˎˊ-
LUNCH WAS, as expected, tense. To remain impartial, the council wasn't allowed to sit with the evaluees, despite a few of them clearly wishing to have words with Sarek based on their rigid Vulcan nods. In more than one way, Vera owed her life to Sarek. Despite not knowing the man very well, he was already incredibly influential. For one, he gave her Spock, whom she would have been lost without. Besides that, he had somewhat fallen into a complicated role with Nath that he was certainly not constrained to. Without him, the group may not have gotten a hearing with the council in the first place. He had taken up the mantel of a semi-grandfather without even being related to Nath and without Spock claiming any official title with the boy. They had both been beyond helpful with Nath. Without either of them, she would not be where she was, with even the slightest chance at winning her case against her father and for her brother.
And, fittingly so, Vera gushed over Sarek, thanking him for allowing them such opportunities. He refused to meet her eyes, but she could tell he appreciated her praise. He accepted none of it, though, instead throwing it all on Spock, claiming that he would have never known of their problem if not for him. He insisted he was just doing what he thought was right, saving a young Vulcan from abuse and claiming he was repaying a debt to his son. Vera suspected he may see a bit of Spock in Nath, but that was not her place to comment on.
All throughout lunch, the not-so-official team brainstormed statements, responses to hypothetical questions, and possible outcomes. Being surrounded by Vulcans (even if two-thirds of them were Halflings) put Vera's ideas at a disadvantage, but Spock was sure to always hear her out, interrupted Sarek to allow her to speak. She knew his father appreciated no such thing as interruptions, but was grateful that she didn't have to stand up to him herself.
Spock had been incredibly gracious when it came to Nath. Like with Sarek, she would be forever in his debt -- only, that debt was increased ten-fold. Without Spock, she would have no clue how to intersect Nath's cultures. He was the one to tuck him into bed when she was working late on her plans for the new USS Enterprise. He would tell the boy stories about his childhood on Vulcan to cheer him up in his darkest thoughts of his past life. He was there when Vera couldn't be. He was the exact person that both Nath and Vera would be lost without.
In a way, she felt guilty when it came to Spock. Guilty that she was so harsh on him all the time -- always starting petty arguments, always wearing him down with her stubbornness, always insisting that she was right and he was wrong and he knew less than her. She knew he was better than her, and perhaps that was why she was so obsessed with having an upper hand in their relationship. But, she was also guilty when it came to Nath. She knew she had forced a fatherly role onto him that he didn't ask for. Sure, he took it in stride, but what would happen when he suddenly woke up and felt like she had been using him? He was, essentially, stuck with the both of them, and it was all Vera's fault.
