A/N: So, took me long enough to post an update, eh? But here I finally am, bringing at least some words with me.

Disclaimer: Still own nothing.

Three

"Your mind is troubled."

"I never expected to be here - well, at least not on some official capacity, that is. It makes me… nervous and strangely agitated to walk those corridors again. But you already knew that, didn't you, old friend?"

Jane finally turned towards the person who spoke to her quietly - she felt him approaching even before he announced his presence.

Old Spock, or Selek, as he went by now, was gazing at her with fondness in his eyes, before his gaze swept somewhere behind her.

"S'tark met his biological father for the very first time, I see. How do you feel about that?"

Side by side, they looked at S'tark, standing in front of Spock, looking slightly up to meet his gaze. They couldn't hear what they were talking about, but Jane could clearly see her son being elevated by something Spock said, excitement taking over his features before he tempered it down to match the man before him.

"Mostly…" Jane searched for the proper word, "weirded out, I suppose. As I said, I never expected to be here again - certainly not as an honoured guest. Funny how things change, no?"

She laughed nervously - the sound weak and fake. Selek looked at her knowingly. "Nobody would try to take your son away from you now," he said, his eyes returning to the scene on the other side of the rec room, where S'tark furiously nodded to whatever Spock said, and after saying something more and hearing a proper reply he dashed to meet with Pavel Chekov, who beamed at him approaching, both of them engaging in a discussion about some technical thing both of them had been banging their heads against for the last few weeks soon afterwards judging by all the wild gesticulation both of them had been prone to when having one of their talks, completely unmindful about what was happening around them.

Looking after his son, Spock's emotionless face showed so much feelings that it made Jane's stomach drop - but then wife of another ambassador came over and her attention shifted to her company.

The so far quiet and rather enjoyable evening came to a stop when all of sudden, there had been shouting, and with a sense of dread Jane rushed after the commotion.

Obviously, the Tellarite ambassador decided to start an argument, and her son just had to appear right in the middle of it.

-o.O.o-

Jane felt a headache beginning, and about to start in the worst possible moment. Obviously, S'tark had the infamous Kirk ability of being in the bad place at bad time, and his involvement in the argument between Gav, the Tellarite ambassador, and the Vulcan ambassadors had been that he heard Gav getting argumentative and decided to step in, defending Selek, and in addition of him Sarek, when Gav started insulting the Vulcans for their unwillingness to tell him how they would vote in the matter of Coriban issue.

Of course, the Tellarite then started to push her son around and after he knocked him off his feet (mostly because S'tark didn't expect the other man being quite so pushy), Sarek of all possible people decided to step in and disabled Gav with a single nerve pinch, causing him to crumble to the floor, just when Jane and Maiek arrived to the scene, both of them a bit out of breath.

"I believe I owe you my thanks for defending my son," Maiek told Sarek, Jane being too busy with helping S'tark up and trying not to embarrass him with worrying over him in public too much. Luckily, apart from his ego nothing had been hurt, but the sentiment remained. There was only certain age when it was proper for mother being all worrywart over her children - and S'tark was definitely of age when he started minding when she was like that. At least in public.

"It was only logical for me to defend him, when he stepped in our defense first," the Vulcan said.

Selek nodded his agreement. "Indeed."

Maiek gave them a small nod of acknowledgment and ushered his family to the quarters they were assigned. They had too much excitement as it was; there was no need to add even more to it.

Standing behind his wife as she brushed her hair in front of the vanity, he laid his hands on her shoulder, meeting her eyes in the mirror. Her muscles had been tense under his touch, and there had been that tight line around her mouth that made him question his motives when it came to sort of forcing his way aboard of Enterprise.

But then his wife gave him that particular small smile and he felt the tension he wasn't aware he was carrying leave.

S'tark was still working on something on his PADD, typing into it furiously with look of such concentration that they only quietly wished him a good night and went to sleep; Jane curled next to Maiek just like she always did and promptly fell asleep.

Maiek found himself unable to follow up her example for a time, his mind too restless.

Something was off with how events were developing since their arrival - he just haven't figured out what it had been and why.

Yet.

A/N: So, did you know I have my own WordPress and in addition to it also a Tumblr (which I still have only a very small idea how to use and so far use only for reposting my WordPress updates)? Check them out, and feel free to send me a message there (or follow me up on there - I actually plan to use it to post about my stories there). The adresses are nefindahouseDOTwordpressDOTcom and nefindahouseDOTtumblrDOTcom .