The BLTS Archive- Tears in The Rain
Four: A Moment in Time IV
by Laura Jacquez Valentine (jacquez@dementia.org)

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Paramount owns Star Trek. I own a computer, a couch, and a couple of
kittycats.  Also three rats and a Persian rug.

----

I find myself reaching for her mind even now, seeking comfort from
her. I have to catch myself, prevent this--

But oh, my oldest friend, she-who-was-my-wife, I miss you.

And I have sensed your distress.  The bond between us never should
have been marriage--and perhaps this is why it has survived.

It is, perhaps, a breach of custom for me to contact you, but I am not
master of myself without you.

"Spock!"  The hope in her eyes was as bright as the sun on the desert.

"She who was my wife."  I simply looked at her.  It had been too long
since I had looked at her.

She stepped closer to the terminal.  "Spock, I--"  and naked fear
crossed her face.

"Old friend, let me help."

She said nothing, and moved not a muscle.

"T'Pring, if you cannot tell me, look within.  Our minds are still
linked--tell me there.  Let me help."

"Our minds are not linked, Spock; you are deluded."  She cut the
transmission.

But I felt her open her mind and reach for me.  She was desperate and
terrified, and alone in a way I would not wish on anyone, let alone
her.

//My mind is all I have left, and I thought you would not--it doesn't
matter what I thought.  Please, my old friend, he-who-was-my-husband,
please forgive me.//

//I forgave you long ago.  I am concerned for you--what is wrong?//

She did not answer at first, and I sensed she was checking all the
barriers of her mind, keeping close watch for--for something.  Or
someone.

//T'Pring, is it Stonn?//

//I should never have challenged, Spock.  And I should never have
trusted his word that he would free me.//

//No, you should not have challenged.  But had I not allowed myself to
resent you for taking your rights, I would have freed you rather than
given you to him.  Is he treating you badly?//

//Spock, I am terrified of him.  I believe he may kill me.  He--I know
now why he so wished me to challenge you.  Why it was all he could
speak of.  Stonn never desired a wife or consort.  He desired a slave.
And a slave I am--and I became one of my own will, without thought to
the consequences.  I trusted him, Spock.//

//What does he do to you?  You must tell me.  It is legal to abuse and
even kill chattel--but the Council does not look favorably on it.  If
I make formal complaint, as your previous owner, they can arrest him
and restore you to me.  You must tell me.//

//I cannot tell you.  My pride may cost me my life, but I cannot tell
you.//

//My oldest friend, you must let me help.  Remember all that has
passed between us?  Everything we shared?  Can this be more
embarrassing than the time your father found us shaving his cat?//

//That was a youthful prank, Spock, not--he's home.  Stay with me,
don't leave me, please.//

//I'll be right here.//

I could hear him speaking as if I were there.  The names he called her
I will not repeat; the terror and mortification she felt I will feel
to my death.

She tried so hard to please him, but there is no pleasing a man like
him.

When he hit her, I called T'Pau.

"Eldest Mother!"

"Son of my brother?  What troubles you?"

"She who was my wife, now the chattel of Stonn.  He abuses her
extremely."  He slammed her into a wall and her mouth began to bleed.
"He abuses her as we speak."

T'Pau raised an eyebrow.  "He has not freed her?"

"No, he has not.  Eldest Mother, she is an intelligent being, although
legally a slave.  This cannot be borne."

"And it shall not be, Spock, son of my brother.  Do you make formal
complaint?"

"I do, T'Pau.  Please help her.  She is in danger of losing her life."

"At once."

//My friend?//

//Spock, I...//  T'Pring was only semi-conscious, trying with all her
strength to hold on to me.

//Old friend, help is coming.  Do not worry, I am here.//

//You see now why I could not tell you, for all the moments between
us?//  She was fading fast, struggling against the darkness.  Stonn
kicked her, hard, in the ribs.

//I see.  Do not worry, I am here.  I will always be here.//

//I do not deserve you, he-who-should-have-been-my-husband.//

Stonn's next blow never landed.  Vulcan Security took him, quickly,
quietly, efficiently.  T'Pring let herself lose consciousness.  I took
emergency leave and went home.

Two days later, she was mine again.  Barely an hour past that, she was
a free and full citizen, and my wife.

We sat in my mother's garden and talked.

"Your captain?" she asked.

"My captain...never desired the accidental bond between us.  Though he
desires me, he does not want to be my bondmate.  I have severed the
bond with him.  Though--perhaps he and I will be lovers, one day.  And
you, my wife, should heal and then find a lover for yourself."

"I think I will be a long time healing."

I tweaked her nose, gently.  "Perhaps.  But I will be here for you, my
oldest friend.  Never forget what is between us."

"Time, he who is my husband.  Moments of shared time."

"Yes," I said, and traced her outstretched fingers with my own.

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The End