Today was the fifth day of great-grandfather Sageth’s first visit to Earth. Luckily, the old man’s visit coincided with the Christmas season, and although the Vulcans at the embassy felt a two to three week long holiday was extreme at best and highly illogical at worst, it did give both Sarek and Silek free time to spend with him. Sageth was their mother’s father’s father, and at nearly two hundred years of age, the old man had decided to fulfill his longtime desire to visit Earth before he died.

     While Sarek and Silek showed correct and proper courtesy and respect to their great-grandsire, they could not help but be struck by the old man’s eccentricities. Perhaps it was merely his venerable age, but there had been several unVulcan-like lapses in the mere five solar days he had been visiting at the embassy. For instance, Sarek had seen the old man moved to tears as he read some Earth literature, and Silek had caught him laughing aloud at the antics of some old Earth video. After that, the two younger men had conspired to keep their elder from reading any more works by Fred Gipson as well as stopping him from renting any more Three Stooges videos.

     During this holiday season, work in general on Earth seemed to be suspended. What made things worse, in Sarek’s eyes, was the fact that even the weather here in Virginia seemed to have conspired against him. Several inches of snow had already fallen, and more was expected all throughout the upcoming week.

     It was not the precipitation itself that slowed the workload. The humans at the embassy carried on as usual; however, they did tend to hum and sing much more frequently as they performed their tasks. No, it was his Vulcan staff that had nearly stopped all work. All of them, it seemed, were far too fascinated by the snow and spent much of their time watching it fall. He would be glad when the embassy moved to San Francisco after the turning of the calendar year.

     Even though there was no pressing work to be done, Sarek sat in his office “catching up” on his work. At least that is what he had told his staff. Instead, he was sitting on his window ledge staring out of the window watching Miss Amanda Grayson try to create some type of humanoid snow sculpture. Secretly, he wished to go down and help her with her construction, but he knew such an idea was illogical, and yet, illogical or not, he wished to be with her. The pale, weak winter sun shone on her fair hair, reminding him of the angel atop the Christmas tree at the Federation President’s home. What is it about her? he asked himself for the four hundredth thirty-second time today. Had he been less in control (and lately when he was near Miss Grayson, his control did waver), he would have smiled.

     “And what has taken your full attention, my grandson?” Sageth whispered suddenly in Sarek’s ear.

     Startled, Sarek jumped back from the window. He had been so deep in his musing about Miss Grayson, he had not even heard Sageth enter the office.

     “Have I disturbed you?” the old man asked. He stepped to the window to see what had Sarek so engrossed. “Ah,” he murmured as he saw Miss Grayson. Sarek frowned and moved to stand beside his great-grandfather. Even in front of a family witness, he could not stop watching her. “I do not understand,” he muttered his reply.

     “Then more’s the pity,” his great-grandfather told him. Then, without losing a beat, Sageth snorted and jerked his chin towards the young human woman below. “It is she who disturbs you,” he stated firmly.

     “You are mistaken, Grandfather,” Sarek argued. “I was–”

     But Sageth cut him off. “ ‘Extreme feminine beauty is always disturbing’,” he quoted softly. The old man turned to look the younger one in the eye. “She is beautiful, is she not?”

     Reflexively, Sarek’s inner eyelids descended as if to keep the older man from reading more of the truth hidden there.

     “But you need not answer a question with so obvious an answer,” Sageth went on. “She is also highly intelligent,” he whispered as if confiding a secret to his great-grandson. “I have looked up her intelligence scores in the personnel files. Very impressive even for a Vulcan.”

     “Grandfather!” Sarek spoke sternly. “You had no right to read any of our personnel records.”

     “Oh?” Sageth’s eyebrows lifted. “Forgive me, Grandson. I did not intend to break any rules. I simply thought it the most logical and efficient way to learn about the people here.”

     Sarek frowned. It was a logical reason…sort of. “I understand your reasons, Grandfather, but it is simply not to be done.”

     Both men turned back to the window, watching the young woman below as she struggled with her snow creation. Minutes later Sarek realized that instead of watching Miss Grayson, Sageth was watching him as he watched her. The old man had a faint smile. Momentarily, Sarek was embarrassed, and the tips of his ears grew green. In the next instant, he had his control back and his emotions and reactions under an iron grip. His ears returned to a normal color, and his face froze into a mask.

     “Is there something wrong?” he asked coolly.

     Turning back to the window, old Sageth rapped loudly on the pane, attracting Amanda’s attention. Quickly, the sly old fellow stepped back and pushed Sarek forward.

     When Amanda looked up and found Sarek standing at the window, her face lit up with a tremendous smile. With gestures, she asked him to join her in her task.

     “So the road runs both ways,” the old man mumbled to himself.

     Sarek turned to face his elder. “Excuse me?” he asked politely.

     But Sageth did not answer. Quickly, he stepped forward, unlatched the window, and raised it high. Then the old man called out. “Yes, we will come down.”

     Within minutes Sarek found himself leading his elderly great-grandfather outside in order to help Miss Grayson create a snow being, but as they neared Amanda, Sageth stopped.

     “Is there something wrong, Grandfather?” Sarek asked, solicitous of the old man’s frail health.

     “Sarek,” Sageth spoke urgently, “I have left my gloves in my room. Please continue. I will be back to help you two as soon as I have retrieved them.”

     It did not take much urging for Sarek to agree to help with the snow being, now that Great-grandfather Sageth had created a legitimate reason for doing so. Without another thought, Sarek joined Miss Grayson.

     Sageth had promised to return to help them as soon as he had retrieved his gloves, but he did not. In fact, he neither intended to look for his gloves nor to return. Instead, the old gentleman walked briskly to Sarek’s office. Smiling to himself, he secretly watched the young couple playing in the snow.