You mean we're still not friends?

“So that was what the argument was all about”

“You saw it?”

“If something happens at such gatherings soon everyone knows”

“Oh. Does-does it sound like someone’s saying something against Spock?”

“Your husband?”

“Yes”

“They are mostly talking about you and that you should behave better” you groaned

“I should have known. I don’t fit in his world”

“Of course you do. My husband told me how he protected you and cares about you”

“How… when?”

“My husband is Seth Longobardi”

“Oh right, the new Romulano underboss. Now I know what you mean. I guess he didn’t tell it as if he admired Spock for it”

“Oh no, he sounded rather pissed” she chuckled.

“Are we even allowed to talk?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, our husbands don’t like each other at all… I don’t think they’ll like it if their wives become friends”

“Look, our husbands’ businesses or rivalries are not our concern. We can talk to whoever we want” she smiled “Sometimes we even help them bury the hatchet. Directly or indirectly”

“Could we do that too? Go and talk to them?”

“Perhaps”

“I mean if you look at it, they’re even. Seth killed Spock’s mother and thanks to… us Medusa died”

“That is not quite the same in their eyes”

“What if we remind your husband of the fact that Spock spared his life?”

“I did that already. And that he also saved my life. It’s what kept Seth from going after him after the incidents”

“Oh… thank you”

“No need to thank me. Sometimes men do need us even if they think they don’t”

“Are you part of the family business?” you wanted to know

“No”

“Me neither. And I’m glad about it although I sometimes wish I could help. Or at least know what is going on”

“I know”

“But… earlier you said that Spock saved your life… how?”

“Indirectly by sparing Seth”

“So Seth saved you then?”

“Yes, kind of. We have been friends forever. And when the tragedy with the Vulcanos happened, my first husband was greatly involved. It was clear that for this, the remaining Vulcanos would kill me too. But Seth had the saving idea to kill Ayel first and let it look like suicide before fleeing with me”

“He killed his friend?”

“Sometimes such things are necessary”

“Or maybe there was more… what if Seth loved you? Maybe he was jealous. I mean now you married Seth. There must have been something?” as you started to mull things over, you suddenly had another realization and gasped “You-you were married to Ayel. But you had a lover all the time”

“Shhh” she grabbed your arm “How do you know that?”

“You had a baby, a daughter, and brought her to the Stella” she looked genuinely shocked.

“Have you known her? Or how do you know?”

“So it’s true?” you asked more asking if she truly was your birth mother

“I-I don’t know how you found out. What are you gonna do with the information? It could be our death. That’s why I gave her away”

“I know” you said

“But how?” despite everything you could smile

“You’re probably just as bad with names as I am. It must be in the family. I’m (Y/N)” her mien changed, from horror more to confusion and surprise, then she smiled and cupped your face, studying you.

“It is you” she then said, pressing a kiss to both of your cheeks

“I… don’t know what to say” you said “I got the letter but I never thought I’d find you”

“I too didn’t believe I’d ever see you. But Seth’s been at the Stella two or three times to check on you”

“With Medusa” you remembered “Wait… this means he knew me. He knew I’m his daughter” you realized about the mission and gasped “He tried to kill me!”

“He did what?” she sounded horrified

“There was a bomb in my neck and he activated it to kill me! I mean he probably acted on Medusa’s order but still. He knew it was me!” you felt tears in your eyes and started packing your stuff back into your bag

“(Y/N)?”

“I…” you swallowed “I guess I need time to digest the news”

“Oh sweetheart, I can understand this is much for you” she took your eyeliner and a paper to dry the hands, writing something down on it “If you want to talk one day” she said, handing both back to you. She left and you stared at the paper that now had a phone number on it. Scared you’d lose it, you took a photo of it before continue packing and leaving the bathroom to find Spock. When you did, you ran towards him and flung yourself around his neck

“(Y/N)” he sounded surprised, wrapping his arms around you. Your tears started flowing and you sobbed against his shirt “What happened?”

“Not here” you whispered, tugging on his sleeve a bit later

“(Y/N), the negotiations start in less than five minutes”

“But can I sit in your lap during the meeting or hold your hand at least?” you whined, strengthening your grip on him. For a while he was silent and you thought this couldn’t be a good answer.

“You cannot be with us during the negotiations. You are not part of the family, therefore cannot hear about business” you sniffed, digging your fingers into his back “What is troubling you? Please let me know. Is there anything I can do for you to help you feel better wile I am away?”

“Dunno… Guess I just want to talk” he rubbed your back

“Can it wait until the negotiations are done?”

“Yeah” you said slightly pulling away from him and smiling at him. He kissed your lips and you wrapped your arms around his neck to pull his head down.  “How long will they take?” you then asked

“It depends. Half an hour to six hours or more”

“That long?”

“As I said, it depends”

“I hope it won’t be six or more hours today”

“Me neither because it means there is a lot that has to be discussed”

“Well, in that case I hope the discussions help to prevent arguments or quarrels after the meeting”

“I do so too” he pressed his lips to your forehead and a part of you couldn’t believe that half an hour ago you had been incredibly mad at him that you didn’t want to see him again and now you wanted nothing more than to stay with him.

“What about Stacey?” you whispered

“According to Hikaru she is safe”

“Really?”

“Yes” you beamed and kissed him again. Before you parted, there was a gong “It is time” he said, slightly pulling away from your lips. Sadly, you gave a nod and pulled him down for another kiss before you let go of him. “We will talk when the negotiations are over”

-

What you didn’t know was that the women had organized their own program for the time the men were occupied. The music was changed to something more lively and more drinks were poured out and a little poker tournament had been organized. A part of you had not even realized how much time passed and you were quite surprised when the door opened and the men returned. Suddenly, Spock was behind you, placing his hands on your shoulders

“Hey” you greeted “I’m doing better than I thought” you said with a gesture at the chips you owned. Some of the women left with their husbands and the Don of the Romulanos demanded that you brought the tables back where you got them from and stopped playing. Somehow you wanted to retort something, to tell him that they had taken their time too and should let you finish if you wanted but since at least a third of the women were gone you knew that you couldn’t properly finish.  “Can we at least see who won first?” you asked and the Don made a gesture that he didn’t care. Despite the fact you believed you were doing good, you only had made it to place nine out of sixteen, at least the sixteen that remained to count.

“Do you wish to talk now?” Spock asked, making you shrug because now you had calmed down a bit.

“Yeah. Go for a walk?”

“Of course” he took your hand and led you to the clothes racks

“You’re not already going, are you, Spock?” you turned around to see Seth coming at you.

“We are going for a walk” you said

“How about we talk first?” the man opposite you suggested and Spock pulled you closer to his body

“She has wished to talk to me before the negotiations”

“Considering her mouth and mind she surely can decide for herself” you had the impression that Spock wasn’t willing to let you go, which you understood.

“Why should I trust you with her?” he then also asked

“Oh come on. Do I look like I’d hurt her?” he leant closer, running a hand through your hair before moving even closer to Spock “Be a good boy and do Dad-in-law a favor” your husband looked at you then to your father. “Oh yes, her search is over. She found her family”

“I’m staying with him” you said “I mean… I won’t come to live with you” Seth laughed

“That’s not what I want. To be frank I didn’t want you at all” you felt a lump in your throat and Spock pulled you closer

“That is enough” he handed you your jacket and then took his before pulling you outside. Again you had tears in your eyes. “Is this that you wanted to talk about with me?” he asked and you gave a small nod.

“I-I talked to his wife in the bathroom… my… mother” it felt weird saying it.

“Can I ask how it went?”

“Good, I suppose. She seemed happy to see me. And she gave me her number so I can call her if I want”

“Will you?”

“Don’t know yet. But maybe”

“I trust you have not talked to your father before?”

“Only when he came over before we left”

“I see”

“I’m scared about what he wants”

“He probably will ask you not to tell anyone. They cannot afford people knowing they have been a couple while she was engaged with someone else”

“If someone found out who shouldn’t, would they also be after me?”

“Most likely. But I will do anything to protect you”

“I was sure you’d say that” he chuckled and rubbed your upper arm.

“Is there also something else that I can help you with?”

“Dunno. It’s just… Seth he’s my… father. And now you know what he did to your mother”

“If you are trying to say that I should be mad at you in any way you are mistaken. The fact who he is does not change anything what I think about you. None of what happened is your fault in any way”

“What will you do to him? Will you kill him if you ever see him again?”

“I cannot say. Now that he is the underboss it could lead to a war between our families if I decide to get revenge. Besides, I had the chance to kill him years ago but I did not. So the only person I should blame is myself”

“You didn’t know. And in a way it’s good you didn’t… because otherwise I might have never met my mother”

“So you did want to find her?”

“To find out who she is and how she’d react. I saw that now”

“How are you feeling?”

“Weird. But kind of glad that she reacted like this. I mean… if I’m gonna meet her again I might tell her that I don’t want her to treat me like a daughter but more like we’re friends”

“I trust she will understand this”

“Somehow I wanted to tell the girls at the Stella but now I’m scared. What if they let something slip while a Romulano is there? We’re not always good at keeping our mouths shut”

“I understand your reasoning.

“That we don’t know when to be quiet?”

“I would never imply that”

“Yeah, I can shit myself” you chuckled, nudging his side. He stopped and took your hands in his

“Please never forget one thing: no matter what you have found out today, it does not change anything between us”

“You already said that”

“I wanted to be sure you truly understood it” he pecked the tip of your nose.

“Do we go back?”

“If there is nothing else you want to talk about”

“Not right now. I guess just the distraction before helped me calm down”

“That is good to hear. If there is something else you can let me know”

“I know that” you said taking his hand and more or less pulling him back. You were not even back for five minutes when Seth approached you again

“All settled between you?”

“Always was” you replied, gripping your husband’s hand further

“Just thought it must be hard to have your hero and savior hitting you”

“I hope for your sake you never hurt your own wife” you retorted

“Will you allow me a moment with her?”

“(Y/N)?” Spock asked you

“It’s okay” you said, patting his arm and letting go of him. Seth held out his hand to you but you ignored it “Let’s go” he led you outside and suggested you’d walk around the building. “I’m sure you want to tell me that I should tell no one the truth or we’ll all in trouble”

“You’re clever. But I also thought you had some questions”

“Oh yeah… Thank you. When did you recognize me?”

“What when do you mean? When I first saw you?”

“No. The mission against Medusa”

“I knew it from the first moment I saw you”

“And you told Medusa nothing? That I worked at the Stella, I mean”

“I eventually did during the second time you danced for him”

“That’s why he knew”

“Among other”

“Do-do you have a problem with Spock?”

“That is all that interests you? Not your dear Dad?”

“Spock is the most important person in my life. And the last thing I remember about you is you trying to kill me. Besides, didn’t you say you never wanted me?”

“Fair enough. I just think he should have died along with his family. It’s his fault Medusa is dead”

“On the other side, now you’re his successor”

“He was my friend and mentor”

“I’m sorry about what happened but he chose to go against Spock first”

“He never told you what happened?”

“That Medusa hates him? Spock already told me that during such a meeting a fight broke out and his wife was killed, so he makes him responsible”

“That’s correct. What does vendetta mean to you?”

“Isn’t that a ship race?”

“That’s a regatta”

“Oh. What’s the other then?”

“Blood revenge”

“Oh. He wanted to kill Spock I suppose?”

“A vendetta is blood for blood”

“So if Medusa thinks Spock’s responsible that his wife’s death, he wants to kill his wife”

“Clever girl” there was a clicking sound and you turned around only to see him pointing a gun at you.

“What’s going on?” you asked but of course you knew.

“A vendetta is a solemn vow and if you die before you can fulfill it, before your death you often task someone else”

“But… I’m your daughter”

“I consider this a win-win”

“What?”

“See, you being alive is a danger to me and Marianna. It was fine as long as you were at the whorehouse but now someone could find out.”

“But…”

“You believe you can talk yourself free?”

“You can’t do this”

“Oh I can and will”

“Spock will know it was you. He’ll never let you find peace again”

“That is why you’ll call him, saying that talking to me was tedious or something and that you wanted to go home. No cries for help or whatever”

“He’ll still find out eventually. My body will be here” you crossed your arms

“Not for long. Someone will take care of it. It will be weeks before you’ll be found. Or longer”

“I hate you”

“Kids shouldn’t hate their parents”

“Parents shouldn’t give their kids away to an erotic club, hurt them or even try to kill them. So I have my reasons”

“Call him”

“Can I also say I wanted to go to the Stella?”

“I don’t care what you tell him where you go. I mean, if you went to the Stella he might not be looking for you so soon. Even better. I like your thinking. Call him”

“What if not? Will you kill me?” he came a step closer and you moved back against the wall

“See, I can make this quick or very painful. Your choice” you grumbled and took out your phone. Sure, it would not make him go looking for you but you could still use the chance for a hidden distress call. “Put him on speaker and don’t make it obvious this is goodbye forever”

“I’m not stupid”

“You lived in an erotic club. I’m impressed you can even do something else than spreading your legs”

“Fuck you” you muttered as you took out your phone and called your husband after checking that your GPS tracker was on “Spock hi” you greeted when he answered

“Is something wrong?”

“No. Not really I mean. I just found the talk with Seth a bit hard… Guess I had enough for the day”

“Do you want me to drive you home?”

“I’d rather walk. I mean take the bus. And I guess I go to the Stella anyways”

“I understand. Are you sure you will manage?”

“I’m not a baby”

“Very well. Please be safe”

“Always. I mean I can’t miss that the girls at the Stella prepared lemon pie and strawberry cake. Theresa just told me” you felt quite proud that you could use the safe words you had during sex. You only hoped Spock would get the hint and that Seth wouldn’t notice.

“Of course. I will see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Guess I’ll come home in the morning sometime”

“Will you let me know before you come home?”

“Of course” you tried to sound annoyed “Bye, have a nice evening”

“I wish you the same” you ended the call and Seth made sure you had actually ended it.

“Give it to me” with a sigh you gave him the phone and he pointed the weapon at your face

“You’re sure no one hears the gunshot? Not even one of the other mobsters? Or if they see dragging the body away?”

“I had similar concerns” he came closer and placed a hand on your shoulder, turning you around and pressing the gun against your neck “That’s why we’ll go for a walk”

“We haven’t been doing that before, of course, Dad”

“Don’t call me that”

“Fine, shall I go back to asshole? Or idiot? Maybe you prefer bastard”

“If I were you I’d shut up”

“Oh yeah or else you’ll kill me?”

“Go”

“Which direction?” you were trying to buy time “Just straight ahead? I mean you’ll show me when you want me to turn?”

“Just walk”

“Okay” you sighed and started walking slowly. “Will I at least get a last wish?”

“If you shut up now”

“Last words?”

“That can be your last wish but as I know you, you won’t keep your mouth shut anyways. Probably doing your husband a favor by getting rid of you.”

“I’m sure he’ll be grateful. If not, it’s not my problem. I’ll be watching his own vendetta from heaven”

“That is if you go there”

“Hope dies last”

“As long as you die today I’m fine”

“Then you better make sure that gun shoots properly. Or do you want to kill me in another way?”

“I’m just about to rip out your tongue”

“Spock will find it”

“If you mention him one more time…”

“Then what? Scared of him?”

“You had better be” you heard Spock’s voice behind you “Now, if you want to get out of this alive you should drop your gun and release my wife”

“How did you know?”

“Consider it a marital duty. Drop the weapon” the object disappeared from your neck and you heard how the weapon fell to the ground. Next, Seth let go of you and you heard how he probably got a hit to the face. “That was long overdue” you watched how he pressed your father against a wall “Go (Y/N). I can handle him” you gave a nod and ran back towards the entrance but tripped over something. Then someone pulled you up and threatened you with another gun.

“Oh, come on” you grumbled as he pulled you back to where Spock was. Your husband seemed surprised and displeased about your situation

“What?” Seth laughed “Did you really think I’d work alone? In contrast to you I have friends. Now let me go”

“Don’t, Spock! He said he took over Medusa’s vendetta because you ‘killed’ his wife” but Spock pulled Seth away from the wall but still holding him by the collar.

“I release him if you let my wife go”

“Do it” Seth allowed and then he was pushed away. To your surprise, the man helping him let you go and in the next second you were in Spock’s arms. While you tried to hug him, he only turned you around and jumped aside then you heard a shot. Your husband turned around and from what you heard he shot one of the men (or at least hit him) before he quickly tried to lead you away, occasionally turning around to fire other shots. When you heard how someone ran away, Spock turned you again that you faced him

“Have you been injured?”

“No. Not at all. Just angry and upset”

“That is understandable” he pulled you closer to peck your lips and you placed your hands on his waist. But you pulled them back once you felt something sticky on his jacket and looked down.

“You’re bleeding” you screamed when you saw the huge amount of blood that was seeping into his jacket and trousers “No, no, no!”

“(Y/N)” he took your hands but you shook your head

“You need to have this treated” you tried to rip off his jacket so that you could press it against the wound “Sit. Relax. Press it to the wound” you felt tears in your eyes. From behind you heard a chuckle.