A/N: As I keep forgetting to include it in my author's notes, I want to give a big thank you to TeaOli for her assistance in this chapter and its predecessors.

Chapter IV

Finally, after five days, twenty-two hours and three minutes, the Enterprise was given clearance to leave.

Spock was relieved by their departure. The alternate Amanda Grayson was a source of both pain and confusion for him, and the sooner he left her behind, the better.

He felt Nyota's eyes on him as he watched the planet shrink away. She had followed him to the observation deck, no doubt in pursuit of another conversation about his feelings. She had let him be for two days after their last encounter in his quarters, but he had known it was only a brief reprieve. Nyota was extremely determined: it was one of the many traits he had always admired about her.

"We're on our way home," Nyota finally said, her voice full of forced cheer. When he did not respond, he heard her boots on the polished floor as she moved closer, stopping just behind him. "When we get back, I promise it'll get better," she said bracingly.

"How illogical of humans to promise that which they cannot be certain of," Spock said.

He did not mean to sound offensive, but he could see the hurt look on Nyota's face reflected in the observation window.

"I'm only trying to—" she began, sounding uncertain. He turned to face her, hushing her with a hand against her cheek.

"I know," he told her. "I appreciate your attempts to console me, Nyota, but I trust you will not be offended when I tell you they have not been successful."

Nyota smiled gently. "I know."

"Should you not be on the bridge?" His hand fell back to his side as he stepped away from her. He usually insisted that they maintain a distance of three feet when not in either of their quarters.

"Captain sent me to get you. He wants all bridge officers present when we return," she said.

They were entering warp speed as they headed to the bridge to oversee the transition back into their reality. Sulu was guiding the ship on the exact same route they had arrived by, Kirk watching the viewscreen intently.

"Captain, there is a 20.8 percent chance that the rift is no longer there," Spock said as he took his seat at the science station. To his left, Nyota did the same, fitting her earpiece into her ear.

Kirk's smile was tight. "Thanks, Spock. That's comforting."

They were nearing the point where the anomaly had occurred before. Spock kept a watchful eye on the sensors, waiting, waiting … part of him hoping nothing would happen….

The ship shuddered; Spock's seat lurched. Everyone grabbed their consoles, bracing themselves – for nothing.

Once again it was over as quickly as it had begun. When Spock checked the sensors, they showed abnormal readings: the anomaly had indeed occurred.

"Hail Command," Kirk instructed Nyota. "Put it on the main viewscreen."

There was a brief delay, then Admiral Pike's face appeared on-screen, looking flustered.

"Captain Kirk," he said, a relieved smile spreading across his face. "About damn time! What happened to you?"

"It's a long story, Admiral," Kirk said with a grin. "How long have we been gone?"

"Five days. It was like the Enterprise had completely disappeared. You didn't answer our hails and no one in the vicinity could detect you on their sensors."

"Like I said … long story, Admiral. I'll send you a complete report by 2200 hours. In the meantime, does Shen s'Vitush still need those supplies?"

"Captain Sang is still held up, so if you don't mind…"

"Not at all, sir. We should be there in twenty minutes."

"Good. And Captain? I expect that report by 1900 hours," Pike said, then signed off.

"Well, Uhura, Spock," Kirk said, swiveling the Command chair around to face them. "Do you want to try going to the surface again?"

Spock met Nyota's eyes and nodded once. "Yes, Captain. My father was awaiting our arrival and is likely … concerned that we never showed up."

"You are dismissed, then. Try to be back by 1600 hours. We're, uh … behind schedule as it is."

But before they could even reach the turbolift doors, Commander Scott's voice filled the bridge from the control console on Kirk's chair.

"Cap'n?"

"Yes, Scotty," Kirk replied.

"You might wan' to come down to Cargo Bay Four. We have a … situation."

"A situation?" Kirk frowned. "What kind of situation?"

"You'll need to come see for yourself, sir."

Spock and Kirk exchanged a look. If Mr. Scott did not feel that he could tell them over the intercom, it must be something quite alarming.

"We'll go, Captain," Nyota said. "We're on our way down to that level anyway."

Kirk nodded. "I'll come with you."

None of them spoke a word on the way down to Cargo Bay Four. Spock considered the possible reasons for Mr. Scott's mysterious message: it was clearly not dangerous, or he would have declared an emergency. When they arrived at their destination, he still had not decided on a theory.

The doors to the cargo bay opened: just inside, two Security officers struggled to contain a woman dressed in Vulcan robes. Each of them had a hold of one of her arms, but she was twisting in their grasp, trying to get away. Commander Scott waited for them with a bemused expression on his face.

"Let go of me!" the woman snarled, jerking her arm out of one officer's hands. Her veil slipped off, revealing long brown hair streaked with gray. Then her eyes – so painfully familiar – found Spock. She stopped struggling immediately.

"Mother?" Spock asked in disbelief.

XXXXX

"Spock," Amanda said, relief filling her at the sight of her son. She glared at her captors. "Can you please tell these idiots to let me go? I'm unarmed. I'm hardly a threat."

Spock nodded at the Security officers, who released Amanda at once. She rubbed her wrists, still casting dark looks at the men who had held her.

"Thank you," she said. Then she turned her eyes back to Spock. He looked just as he had before, just as her Spock had a year ago. Seeing him again assured her that she had done the right thing, after all.

"What are you doing here?" Spock's voice was low; he glanced at the others in the cargo bay, then back at her. "How did you get aboard?"

"It wasn't as hard as you might think," she said. "In fact, you should really work on your security – if I could get on this ship, anyone could."

Amanda had expected Spock to be surprised and at least a little pleased, but the anger in his eyes was unmistakable.

"You should not be here." His voice betrayed no emotion; his father would have been quite proud of the control he was clearly exercising over his anger.

"Security." The captain's voice was quiet as he looked from Spock to Amanda. "Please escort … ah…" He looked uncertainly at Amanda.

"You can call me Amanda. Or Ms. Grayson, if that would make you more comfortable," Amanda supplied.

"Escort Ms. Grayson to one of the guest quarters. We'll keep her there until I talk to Command and figure out when we can take her back through the rift."

"No!" Amanda's tone was as sharp as her gaze when she looked at the captain. "I'm not going back."

"We can't let you stay here," Kirk said, looking uncomfortable.

"The captain is quite right," Spock said. He was staring at Amanda in that cool way Vulcans had when they were not pleased. "You do not belong here."

"Yes, you can let me stay, and you will," Amanda stated. "I'm claiming asylum."

"The right to claim asylum is restricted to those from planets outside the Federation. It does not pertain to people from alternate realities," Spock pointed out.

"The right to claim asylum refers to any and all aliens to the Federation," Amanda corrected. "I am an alien to this reality, thus I meet the requirements." She smiled at Spock. "I was married to an ambassador for thirty years, Spock. I learned quite a few things from him."

Spock's shoulders slumped a fraction of an inch: always a sign that she had won the argument. His father had done it too. Smiling triumphantly, she turned to the captain.

"Well, Captain?" she said. "Am I right?"

"Unfortunately, Spock, I think she's right," Kirk said, throwing Spock an apologetic look. "We have no choice but to let her stay, at least long enough for the Federation Council to look over her case."

"Very well, Captain," Spock said, somewhat stiffly. "Then I will escort her to my quarters, where she will remain until all the proper authorities have been notified."

Amanda noted that Spock spoke as if she were a prisoner. She said nothing, her lips pressed firmly together as he and Nyota led her out of the cargo bay, up to the fifth deck and into his quarters.

"Please sit," Spock said, gesturing toward the table and chairs. Amanda sat; Spock and Nyota sat across from her. Spock looked at her for a long moment; this time she was unable to tell what he was thinking. Finally, he spoke again. "Why are you here?"

"I had nothing left there." Amanda looked at him, chin raised defiantly. "Tell me, Spock – wouldn't you seize the opportunity to see your family again if they were all dead and you spent a year alone, mourning them? Wouldn't you want to be with the people you love?" Amanda looked at Nyota as she said this; Nyota, who had been watching her, looked down at her hands, which were folded on top of the table.

"I may have wanted to," Spock admitted. "But I would not have done what you did."

"I would have," Nyota murmured.

Spock looked at her in surprise. "Nyota, there are consequences to what she has done. She does not belong in this reality any more than you would if it were you."

"I'm just saying I understand why she made this decision, Spock," Nyota said with a shrug. She did not look up at him. "If it were me, I'd want to see you again too. And logic, telling me it shouldn't be done, wouldn't be enough to stop me. I would react as a human – and yes, I would make the same decision."

He did not appear to know what to say to this, so Amanda stepped in.

"Spock, you may not agree with what I've done, but it's done, and that's that." She folded her arms over her chest.

Spock seemed to know that what she said was true, because he changed the subject. Yet another Vulcan tactic they used whenever they knew the argument had been lost.

"How did you manage to board the ship?" he asked, eyebrows drawn together.

"Well, like I said, it was actually quite easy. Even after Sarek's death, I do still hold some influence over the Council. Since I already knew about your presence in our reality anyway, they kept me abreast of the situation. I knew when they gave you clearance to leave. I didn't really believe until then that I'd go through with it, but as soon as the word came in, I went to the transporter station. It was busy – the workers were setting crates and boxes on the transporter pads, so they didn't notice when I slipped into a crate filled with blankets." Amanda smiled, perhaps a little smugly. "Then I just had to wait until I was sure we were in your reality. Nyota mentioned a disturbance, so I figured I'd know when the time was right – and I was correct. Mr. Scott, I believe his name is, found me before I left the cargo bay, but that was no matter. I was already here."

Spock shook his head, whether in dismay or wonderment, she didn't know. "Have you even considered the ramifications of your actions?" he asked, his tone sharper than usual. "This is a highly classified matter – how will you explain your sudden reappearance to those on Shen s'Vitush? More importantly, how will you explain it to Father?"

"Do you really think I'm such a fool that I wouldn't consider any of that before making my decision?" Amanda shook her head. "I'm no fool, Spock. I have all of that figured out. Everyone who personally knew me and your father are dead, with the exception of those on the Council. As far as I know from the survivor registries, there is no one else on Shen s'Vitush who will know my face. Anyone else would easily believe that my death was just a rumor." Then Amanda hesitated. "As for your father, well …"

She had thought of Sarek almost nonstop since making her decision to stow away on the Enterprise. She wanted so badly to see him again – to kiss him, to feel his mind in hers – but she had yet to figure out a way to tell him. "We can't let him find out with the rest of the Council," she decided. "But I can't just show up on his doorstep like you did – believe me, it's too much of a shock."

At that moment, the intercom buzzed and the captain's voice sounded throughout the room. "Spock, we've just dropped out of warp and we're orbiting the Vulcan colony. Transporter Room Three is standing by."

Spock got up and pressed the button on the intercom unit. "Thank you, Captain." There was a pause; Spock looked at Amanda, then said, "If it is possible, I would like to request that my father be given security clearance on the issue at hand, and that you not inform the Vulcan High Council until I have had the opportunity to tell him first. I think it would be easier for him to be told by me rather than to find out with the other councilmembers."

"I'll run that by Command and let you know when I get an answer. Kirk out."

The room was silent as Spock turned to Nyota and Amanda. To Amanda he said, "You will stay on the Enterprise with Nyota until I tell you to come."

Amanda sighed with relief, and then smiled. She got up to kiss Spock's cheek – something he'd always disliked, but she had always done anyway – but he tensed when she neared him. Amanda stopped short, her smile tightening. "Thank you, Spock," she said, reminding herself that his mother was dead and she was not, in fact, his mother.

"I am only doing it to spare my father the surprise of seeing you again," Spock said. "I am in no way validating what you have done."

"Thank you anyway," Amanda said, smiling up at him.

He was about to leave for the bridge when she reached out, taking his arm. She stepped closer to him.

"Spock, please understand that I did this with only the best of intentions in mind," she murmured, too low for Nyota to hear. "I wanted to see you and your father again. I … I didn't want to be alone for the rest of my life. I thought that maybe, if we were together again ..." She bit her lip, doubt about her actions beginning to creep in.

For the first time since he discovered her in the cargo bay, Amanda saw Spock's face soften.

"I know, Mother," he said quietly, then he took her hand and squeezed it.

And as he turned to leave, Amanda knew that he was at least a little happy to see her after all.