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༄ chapter forty three
-ˋˏ LAST LOVE/LATE SPRINGˎˊ-
SPOCK hadn't said he loved Vera back. She hadn't expected him to, anyway. A week had passed; Darcey, being the expert lawyer she was, had easily managed to win over Vera's custody request, and so Vera Crynn was now the legal guardian of the newly-named Nath Crynn. Though it was a victory that was highly celebrated by everyone who knew the new mother, the fight wasn't completely over - on both Vulcan and Earth.
Vera Crynn was Nath Crynn's guardian, but that didn't mean Cassius wasn't still the boy's birth father, and with a birth parent still living, it was required that they, if of sound mind, sign a waiver giving complete responsibility over to the other party. That meant that Vera, desperate to keep her child as far away from their father as possible, had to go do what she dreaded most: talk to Cassius.
She really didn't know what she'd do if Cassius refused her request. Light blackmail couldn't hurt, but then again, how awful of a person was she to do that to her own father? Well, in her mind, he was less of a father at this point and more of a sperm donor, and she was willing to do whatever it took to make sure that abuser had no more access to Nath, including something slightly illegal.
The walk to Ambassador Lemuria's home was, to say the least, stressful.
Along the way to her father's home, Vera encountered the face of the man she both missed severely, feeling her heart aching at the mere sight of him, and loathing, remember all he'd said about her mother: Kit Pike. The two avoided contact all together, only sharing mutual heartbroken glances before turning away. As they passed by, Vera felt a potent urge to run to him, apologize for overreacting and beg for him to take her back as a sister and best friend, and it seemed like he had the same idea. Unfortunately, the Second Officer was beyond stubborn, and refused to do anything more than briefly consider it before rushing off the cobbled path just off Starfleet Headquarters.
The Lemuria house, just as undecorated and lifeless as ever, was foreboding. It wasn't the lack of homeyness, but the person that sulked inside, who Vera still had very little grasp of true character. So much could have been said for the father Vera knew - he used to be a good man, fair and caring and only ever paying attention to her - but now, she had no idea what to expect, other than the angry face of the man she'd taken his youngest child from.
"Fuck," was all Cassius managed to get out after Vera had shown up on his front doorstep with her PADD open to the contract he'd been dreading ever since he got official word of his son's shift in legal guardians.
Vera rolled her eyes, "Are you going to let me in or not, asshole?"
The two made their way into the cold and lifeless family room, sitting in opposite seats across the coffee table. Vera, though uncomfortable with the man in front of her, chose not to show it, sinking into the furniture like she owned it, and it was instead her father who was a guest in her home. Cassius, as always, sat with perfect posture, one of the few positive traits Nath had taken up.
