A very groggy Dr. Gomez awakened ten minutes later.

"What the...," he queried. Shara's face hove into view as she helped him to sit up.

"Are you unwell," she whispered.

"No, but I feel like I was hit in the head with a brick," he replied, as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I repeatedly admonished you to relax and trust me, but you would not. I had no intention of hurting you,"  she told him.

"My head...,"  was his only response.

Although Doctor Gomez had personally witnessed the Vulcan Mind Meld several times, nothing in the known universe could have prepared him to be a willing participant.

Tony, do you require silon, Shara asked mentally, testing out the link. Gomez blinked and stared at her. Not only did he hear her loud and clear, but...

"What did you call me," he asked aloud, incredulous.

"Tony. That is your name, is it not?"

"Wait one. How do you go from refusing to call me Tony to..." Gomez started.

Since we are linked mentally there is no need for you to ask, Shara replied mentally.

Dr. Gomez's mind was instantly flooded with mind's eye images of Shara sneaking peeks at him when he wasn't looking. Though she maintained her proper and stern Vulcan visage, her thoughts were entirely different.

Gomez shook his head and chuckled.

"What is so humorous, Tony?"

"One of the greatest mysteries in the universe is a woman," his father had repeatedly told him. Fortunately, his father had never encountered a Vulcan woman. He would've been utterly flabbergasted.

"All this time you loved..."

"Grew exceedingly fond of you," Shara corrected.

"Fond? Is that what you call it?" Gomez chuckled.

"Technically, Vulcans do not love. They have strong preferences or are fond of certain people, places, or things," Shara explained.

"Are the tenets of Surak talking, or your heart? Shara, why do you insist on clinging to a race and culture that has caused you so much pain," Gomez asked, quietly.

"I do not know." Shana replied softly, almost too softly for him to hear.

Gomez knew why. Shara's adoptive parents were well aware of the culture gap their daughter would suffer, having been raised by Humans, so they'd hired a succession of Vulcan tutors to teach her about her Vulcan roots. After about four to six weeks they would quit, citing Shara as being incorrigible. In desperation the Hercules' reached out to an old and trusted friend, Ambassador Spock.

After eighteen months of Spock's intense tutoring, Shara thought she would be able to face living on Vulcan. She was not. After six months of attending the Vulcan Academy of Sciences and dealing with unprecedented bigotry, Shara abruptly quit, went back to Earth and joined Starfleet, one of the best decisions she had ever made in Gomez's opinion.

"You simply wanted to fit in, Shara," Gomez said.

"Affirmative."

"Shara, you graduated at top of your class, you have a host of devoted friends and colleagues, you have a successful career, you have your crew, and you have me," Gomez told her.

"Which career I fear I will no longer have after we are rescued."

"Why? It wasn't your fault that the Valkyrie suffered a serious engineering malfunction causing it to crash..." Gomez started.

He suddenly realized that not only would there be a Starfleet investigation into the incident but Vulcan would demand an additional investigation into why all five of its valued scientists died. Despite her fortuitous discovery of the Alforians and their telepathic track cats, Shara was going to be raked over hot coals by her own people, again.

Gomez turned the air blue as he swore in Spanish. Unfortunately, Shara understood every word. Her dark chocolate skin tone hid the fact that her ear tips turned red.

"Tony, are you alright," she asked seeing him wince.

"No, my headache is back with a vengeance. I think I'll take that silon you offered," he sighed.

Silon was the Alforian equivalent of willow bark, a common remedy for aches. The native tree bark was ground into a fine powder and wrapped in paper.  Being quite bitter to the taste, measured doses of silon are mixed into a favored liquid such as tea or  fruit juice.

Shara opened and emptied a dose into a hot cup of sweet grass tea, stirred it with the cheese slicer, and handed it to Gomez. She sat back and nibbled on a piece of cheese and a cracker as she watched the doctor sip the tea.

"Please explain why you had to establish our link again."

"Tradtionally Vulcan children at age six are betrothed and linked so that before pon farr sets in they can call out to their mate. By the time one is overtaken by the plak tow, the mind has become far too chaotic to establish a link. To attempt one at such a time would cause either permanent brain damage or death. Sometimes both," Shara replied.

"Jesu! Why do Vulcans hide this stuff?"

"I do not know, Tony, Shara replied. “Perhaps it is considered a method of weeding out imperfections in the race. Those who do not mate during pon farr and are not helped medically are left to go mad and die…a needless waste of life."

He was well aware of the practice of keeping a Vulcan under heavy sedation and closely monitored until pon farr had abated. Starfleet Medical had adopted it as a standard emergency practice just in case. However, there was another method.

"What about el syh," Gomez asked.

"Only the very rich and influential utilize that secret and abhorant practice. In my opinion it is akin to prostitution," Shara replied, as she gazed back at him with both eyebrows raised.

She didn't have to ask because he sensed her question in his mind:  Why do you know this?

"Because I am a doctor and I have a need to know how to treat those under my care. Even if said treatment is radical and taboo."

"Captain Christopher Pike and Talos…," Shara said.

"Exactly," Gomez affirmed to her.  Then, turning to his Silon laden tea, Gomez exclaimed, "Zounds! This stuff is nasty!” Apparently the Sweet Grass Tea was not Sweet enough. "Tastes like poison!"

"Not all poisons are bitter, Tony."

"Yes, I know. I was speaking metaphorically." he replied. However, she didn't put it past him to have engaged in some sort of experiment out of curiosity.

"Vulcans have a saying that Humans are the nosiest race in the universe," Shara said.

"Funny they should say such a thing. If Zefram Cochrane hadn’t built the Phoenix and taken that first warp flight we would not be here today. If the Humans were nosy, the Vulcan's were stalkers hanging out watching Earth for signs of intelligent life. Boy, were they surpised! I wonder if old Zefram offered them a couple of cold ones when they came down to visit," Gomez wondered aloud.

Despite herself, Shara grinned, chuckled, then laughed out right.

Afterwards they both sat and glanced at one another.

"Listen Lady, I've go to because I have an early day at the infirmary tomorrow. The community children are putting on a grass dance show tomorrow evening and everyone will be there. I would be honored if you go with me," Gomez offered.

"I would be honored to attend with you," Shara countered.

He leaned over and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips.  Then he was gone.

As she set about cleaning up the remaining cheese and crackers she mentally hummed to herself.

A slight noise distracted her and she looked back. Her track cats were back. All three had their ears back and wore the most pitiable expressions on their faces. Any other day they would've all been in trouble and scolded for the stunt they had pulled…but not today. In fact she rewarded all three with praise, scratches, and taro fish treats.

Accomplished mission, Kiki thought as she gratefully crunched her treat.