The BLTS Archive - Change of Heart
by Momthing (momthing@yahoo.com)

---

Disclaimer: Paramount owns 'em. I just take them out and play with
them. No hamsters or lematyas were harmed in the writing of this
story.

Feedback: Of course. Oh, I hope I got the list protocols right.
I'm not used to this.


---

The shuttlecraft Copernicus sped silently through space, making its
way to the mighty starship that awaited it like a mother waiting for
her child. Inside, the two passengers and her pilot were engrossed  in
their own thoughts as the shuttlecraft drew nearer.

For Lt. Geoffrey Moore, piloting the shuttlecraft was a thrilling
experience that never got old; and today he was especially excited  to
be sitting next to two legends. He had only been with the  Enterprise
for six months; in all that time, he had seen members of  the bridge
crew a handful of times and usually from a distance, so  he was
delighted when he was assigned to pick up his two passengers.  To be
sitting so close to the legendary Commander Spock and the  equally
legendary Lt. Uhura was almost as thrilling as piloting his
shuttlecraft. His two passengers sat lost in thought as the
shuttlecraft drew nearer to its destination.

Lieutenant Nyota Uhura was both dreading and anticipating the end of
the journey. So much had changed since she had left the Enterprise
six months ago. One of the changes was sitting in front of her next
to the shuttlecraft pilot. He was the reason for her suddenly  growing
anxiety. Until this moment, she hadn't realized what her  decision to
help out a friend in need would cost her. She felt  guilty, although
she had no real reason to, at least not as far as  Spock was
concerned. He found her uneasiness illogical and had told  her so
repeatedly. But that had failed to reassure her. She still  felt that
she had betrayed a dear friend when she had made her  choice. . . not
just three months ago, but on a certain night when she  had decided to
commit herself for life. It was a hard pill to  swallow.

Commander Spock smiled inwardly to himself as his eyes feasted on  the
starship growing larger and larger in the shuttlecraft window.  He had
been away from it for too long. It was good to be going  home.  He
tried not to think that he might never have seen it again  if it had
not been for Uhura. He half-turned in his seat next to the  pilot and
looked briefly at her. She was seated just behind the  pilot. She
seemed to be looking over the pilot's shoulder at the  starship view
through his window. Outwardly, she appeared calm.  But  she kept
rubbing her hands on her uniform skirt; a sign that Spock  had learned
meant that she was extremely nervous.

"Everything will be well," he said to her, trying to ease her
nervousness.

"That's easy for you to say," she almost-snapped at him  peevishly.
"You're not the one that has to deal with. . . " then she  abruptly
remembered their pilot and shut up.

"That is true," he nodded. "But I will have to deal with her superior
officer."

"It's not the same," she protested. "He's a man. He won't see it the
way she will."

"It is illogical to worry about something that has not occurred  yet,"
he reminded her.

"Well, I'm an illogical woman, so sue me."

He raised an eyebrow at her. He knew by now that she wasn't really
angry with him; but he wished that there was something he could do  to
reassure her.

Uhura sighed. "I'm sorry, Spock. I'll be all right, really I will."

He almost reached out to touch her when the shuttlecraft's radio
interrupted their discussion.

"Enterprise to shuttlecraft Copernicus, do you read?"

"Roger, Enterprise. Copernicus here," the pilot replied.

"Copernicus, you are cleared to land in Hanger Deck Six. Stand by  for
tractor beam."

"Standing by, Enterprise. Copernicus out."

Nyota Uhura closed her eyes for a moment and breathed a short prayer
that this homecoming would go smoothly. If she had known six months
ago what she knew now, she might not have accepted the six-month  tour
of duty working alongside Spock on the colony planet Gilead.  But then
again, she couldn't exactly say she regretted it either, in  spite of
the changed circumstances.

The shuttlecraft glided smoothly inside Hangar Deck 6 pulled in by
the tractor beam. There was a short wait while the hangar
depressurized. The three people inside made their various
preparations to disembark.  Lt. Geoffrey Moore went ahead of them to
open the hatch and lower the landing ramp. Spock took a moment while
the lieutenant's back was turned, to briefly put his hand on Uhura's
back. She leaned back against it slightly and looked up at him.  Their
eyes locked briefly; she saw tenderness and concern in his and  he saw
her affection for him in hers.

"Mr. Spock, are you ready to disembark?" the lieutenant's voice  broke
the spell.

"Yes, of course," Spock said as he placed his hand on Uhura's arm to
guide her down. He was not surprised to find James Kirk and Leonard
McCoy waiting to welcome them.

"Permission to come aboard, Captain," he said.

"Permission granted, Commander," James Kirk grinned. "It's good to
have you both back."

"It is good to be back," Spock nodded, and then, he held two fingers
out to Uhura.

"My wife, attend."

Uhura moved up to his side and touched her fingers to his in the  same
two-fingered gesture.

Neither McCoy nor Kirk seemed surprised. They knew this was the only
way he would ever have been allowed to rejoin his ship. Regardless  of
the reason, however, Kirk would do right by his people.

"Captain's privilege," he said, as he reached out to hug Uhura and
kiss her on the cheek.

"Don't hog the bride, Jim," McCoy said. "I get a turn too."  Uhura
laughed as the doctor embraced her. Her husband watched bemusedly.
Uhura had always been popular; and she had deserved her popularity.
He didn't begrudge his two human friends their embraces.

"We shall report for duty as soon as we are settled into our
quarters, Captain," he said, as  they started walking out of the
hangar deck.

"Oh, yes, I've had Lt. Uhura's belongings sent to her quarters and
yours to yours," Kirk said.

Spock stopped abruptly and gave Uhura a sharp look. "Did you not
request married living quarters? I thought we had agreed to continue
our present living arrangement."

"I did request married living quarters," Uhura protested. "I most
certainly did.  I don't understand how that could have happened."

"I'm afraid it was my fault," Jim Kirk admitted, a little taken  aback
by Spock and Uhura's reaction. "When Yeoman Barnes showed me  the
paperwork, I decided that it must be somebody's idea of a  practical
joke, so I just tabled it. Given the conditions under  which you two
were married, I naturally assumed. . . "

"Captain," Spock interrupted him firmly, "despite the actual reason
for our marriage, this is not a marriage in name only. I consider
Nyota my wife in every sense of the word, and I will not tolerate  her
being treated with disrespect. I hope I make myself clear in  this. I
will not have her distressed by malicious gossip."

Kirk looked at his first officer and his communications officer. It
had never occurred to him that there might be something more behind
Spock's marriage other than the mandatory new regulation from Star
Fleet that all Vulcans serving on board a starship must be married
and have their wives with them and that their wives must also be
qualified to serve aboard a starship.

He had been extremely pleased when he had gotten word that Spock
would be returning back to the Enterprise with his wife; and very
surprised when he found out who she was, but when he took time to
think about it, it was an eminently logical decision for them to
make.  He had assumed, however, and so would probably everyone else
on the ship, that it was strictly a marriage of convenience; a
marriage in name only. Obviously, this wasn't the case.

"My apologies, Mr. Spock, and you too, Mrs. Spock.

"I'm still using my maiden name, Captain," Uhura smiled at him,
appreciating his attempt to acknowledge her new status. "I'm afraid  I
still haven't mastered the family name."

"Oh, I see. . . maybe that's why I assumed. . . well, never mind. I'll
see to  it that the matter is taken care of immediately.  I'll see you
both  back on the bridge as soon as Dr. McCoy gets through with you in
Sick Bay."

"Very well, Captain," Spock and Uhura followed along behind McCoy.
Uhura still wasn't sure what to expect when she got to Sick Bay, but
the fact that Spock had made no bones about how he intended to treat
their marriage went a long way towards making her feel better. Just
before they got to Sick Bay, McCoy turned around and told them both:

"Christine knows."

---

Christine Chapel was in her office ostensibly going over her nurses'
duty rosters for the coming week, but after viewing the same page on
the monitor three times, she still couldn't seem to concentrate on
what she was seeing. She sighed and finally gave up. She knew she
wasn't going to be able to give anything her full attention until
after she'd seen Spock and Uhura. She went over to the nurse's  lounge
and keyed herself a cup of coffee from the replicator, waving  in
passing to two of her nurses who were taking a break and had  stopped
talking the minute she entered the room. No doubt they were  talking
about her.

It was no secret, Christine mused, that she had been in love with
Spock for years. She sat at her desk and sipped her coffee slowly  and
pondered over the fact that she wasn't more upset over Spock and
Uhura's marriage.

Maybe it was the fact that she knew Spock wouldn't have married  Uhura
under normal circumstances. But the near-rape of a female  crewman by
a supposedly crazed Vulcan, who had never shown any  interest in said
female before had changed all that. Vulcan realized  that as long as
Vulcans went out into deep space, it wouldn't be too  long before its
dirty little secret was out: the pon farr. The only  reason it hadn't
come out before was that, heretofore, any Vulcan  wanting to serve in
deep space had automatically been assigned to  the USS Intrepid, which
had an all Vulcan crew, with the exception  of Spock.

With the loss of the Intrepid, more and more Vulcans had been
assigned to ships with more diverse races. The new regulations that
allowed only married Vulcans and their spouses to serve aboard a  deep
space vessel had been a compromise between Vulcan, the  Federation,
and Star Fleet, and so far, the only people that really  knew why were
the Chief Medical Officers of the starships in which a  Vulcan
crewmember might serve. The regulation only affected a tiny  handful
of Vulcans; nevertheless, Spock was one of them.

At any rate, Spock and Uhura were married, and she took secret
comfort in the fact that it was surely a marriage in name only.  She'd
find out, she supposed when she saw Uhura. . . then she heard the
sound of familiar laughter. Nyota was back! She jumped up
impulsively, grinning in delight. She had sorely missed Uhura's
company these past six months. She was about the only woman with  whom
Christine could talk freely and unreservedly. Nyota was  discreet and
knew how to keep her mouth shut.

Many was the night they'd sat and cried on each other's shoulders
over their love lives, or in Christine's case, lack thereof. Many
were the shopping sprees they had gone on together, giggling like
schoolgirls and spending a month's pay on clothes they would only
wear at best one or two times. These thoughts were running through
Christine's mind as she strode into the main sickbay, grinning.

"Nyota!" she exclaimed, walking up to Uhura and hugging her. She was
so happy to see her friend that she barely noticed Spock standing in
the background watching the two women's reunion with a bemused look
on his face.

"Christine!" Uhura exclaimed, hugging her back. The two women stood
back and looked at each other. Christine noticed that Uhura looked
well rested and seemed happier than she had ever seen her.  Uhura  saw
nothing in her friend's face that would indicate that Christine  was
upset about her marriage to Spock. In fact, the head nurse had  not
even looked at Spock; her whole attention was focused on Uhura.

"I'm so glad you're back," Christine said. "You'll have to fill me  in
on all your news. How was Gilead?"

"Wonderful," Uhura laughed.  "But it's good to be home again. By the
way, aren't you forgetting someone?"

Christine blinked for a moment and then noticed Spock standing back
watching the two women. She suddenly felt very awkward and shy, and
felt her cheeks turn pink in embarrassment at her lapse in manners.

"Of course," she said. "Welcome home, Mr. Spock. It's good to have
you back."

"Thank you, Miss Chapel," he nodded to her in acknowledgement. "I am
pleased to be back on board the Enterprise."

"Well, I hate to break up this little family reunion," McCoy  drawled,
"but these people have to get back to work. Chris, why  don't you take
Nyota into exam room 3 and prep her for a diagnostic  scan while I
take care of Spock.  I'm fairly sure Jim wants them  back at their
stations yesterday if not sooner."

"Of course, Doctor, right away." Christine took Uhura's arm as they
walked into an examining room, and McCoy turned to Spock.

"After you, sir," he drawled. "I hope you realize it took me an hour
to recalibrate all my diagnostic equipment for Vulcan norms."

"Indeed, doctor," Spock said, following him into another examining
room. "I am pleased that you have found a shortcut."

McCoy ignored the jab and told Spock to take off his tunic and lie
down. Spock sighed, but complied without argument.

Meanwhile, in exam room three, Christine handed Uhura a thin paper
gown, which Uhura slipped, over her head, while Christine took
Uhura's uniform and laid it carefully across a chair. "Dr. McCoy will
be here as soon as he finishes up with Spock,"  Christine told her.
"So, make yourself comfortable. Oh, by the way,  are you free for
dinner tonight? We've got so much to catch up on."

Uhura shook her head regretfully. "Sorry, Christine, but Spock and I
still haven't had a chance to get settled in. Would you believe that
we put in for married quarters and got reassigned to our regular
quarters? Honestly, Starfleet beaurocracy is something else. The
Captain promised he'd have the glitch straightened out by this
evening."

"I can see why you'd be upset," Christine said in a sympathetic  tone,
but a warning bell suddenly went off in the back of her mind.  She
refused to think about the implications of what Uhura had just  said.
There would be time enough to think of it later.

McCoy stuck his head in just then. "Uhura, Spock's gone up to the
bridge. I'll just give you a quick look-see and then you'll be free
to go. And Chris, Dr. M'Benga's been asking for you. Seems Yeoman
Chen's taken a turn for the worse."

"Of course, Doctor," Christine replied. "See you later, Ny."

"Count on it," Uhura said as Christine left.

"How are you feeling?" McCoy looked at Uhura sharply.

"Relieved," Uhura said. "That went much better than I expected to."

"Well, don't get too cozy," McCoy warned. "I have a feeling it  hasn't
quite hit her yet. But I do have to ask you one question. I  asked
your husband the same thing. This isn't being nosey, but as  your
kindly family doctor, I need to know. . . are you happy being  married
to Spock?"

"Yes, I am," Nyota replied. "Very happy. You know, it's funny. We
were at the hotel where we were staying having breakfast together
when Spock got the communiqué from Captain Kirk about the new
regulations. At first, he didn't want to show it to me, but he must
have realized I'd find out anyway. So, he just handed me the data
padd and let me read it for myself. I said the first thing that came
out of my head, 'I suppose we could get married. It's only three
months until the end of the mission, so it's not like it would be
forever.'"

She told McCoy how Spock had looked at her and said, "You would
sacrifice yourself for me?" She had laughed and told him she hardly
considered it a sacrifice to be married to someone whom she had
considered a dear friend for years, especially since it meant that  he
would be able to return to the Enterprise. She had been relieved  and
surprised that he hadn't put up too much of a struggle. They  were
married within the week, a civil ceremony performed by a
justice-of-the peace who had also doubled as Uhura's assistant at  the
small colony's communications center.

"It may have started out as a marriage of convenience, Doctor, but
somewhere along the way, it's become much more."

"I'm glad to hear that," McCoy said. "And just between you, me, and
the lamp post, I've never seen Spock look happier and more at peace
with himself. I think you've been very good for him young lady." He
quickly ran the diagnostic scanner over her as they talked.

"I think I have too, Doctor," Uhura smiled. "Can I go now?"

McCoy frowned. "Yes, but I'm going to want to see you again in about
a day or so. There's something a little off about some of these
readings, but I don't think it's anything serious. . . I'll call you.
Now get your uniform back on and scat!

"Yes, sir, scatting as ordered!"

Uhura grinned, jumping down from the diagnostic bed, as he left the
room.  She quickly took off the examining gown and put on her
uniform. Her mind was already on the bridge and her communications
station. She knew she was going to have a lot of catching up to do.
She waved to Christine who looked up briefly from reading a chart as
she passed by. Christine smiled and waved back.

---

Spock and Uhura had been able to settle into married quarters that
very evening, since Kirk had signed off on the paperwork and the
harried Quartermaster had quickly assigned two hapless yeomen to
prepare one of the VIP suites as temporary married quarters. Since
the Enterprise would be docking on Earth in three months anyway, it
seemed pointless to have the couple wait the mandatory month and a
half to get regular married quarters. The VIP quarters were  downright
luxurious compared to what they normally would have  gotten. There was
a queen-sized bed in the bedroom, a small sitting  room/work area and
even their own personal food replicator for those  evenings when they
decided to dine in.

They were getting ready for bed when Spock asked her how her visit
with Christine had gone.

Uhura sighed, as she slid beneath the covers.

"Well, she didn't seem to be too upset," she told her husband as he
slid in beside her, "but then again. . . I'm not sure she understands
that this isn't a marriage of convenience. She did do a kind of
double-take when I mentioned that we had applied for married
quarters, but she recovered quickly."

"You see?" Spock said, pulling his wife into his arms. "I told you
that worrying was illogical. I am sure Miss Chapel has seen the  logic
of the situation and has reconciled herself to the situation."

Uhura raised herself up to look at him, scowling.

"You just don't get it, do you? I've just stolen the man she loves
right out from under Christine's nose. Dr. McCoy is right. . . it
hasn't  hit her yet, and I dread to see what will happen when it
does."

He stroked her cheek. "It is unfortunate that Miss Chapel continues
to harbor such emotions towards me, in spite of the fact that I have
done nothing to encourage them. Nevertheless, the reality remains
that you are my wife now. It distresses me to see you so unhappy."

"I'm not blaming you, Spock," Uhura settled herself into his arms
again. "This is something Christine and I have to work out between
ourselves. But, you're right, there's not much point in my worrying
about it now, since there's nothing I can do about it."

She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "Good night, Spock."

"Good night, my wife."

---

It was to be two days before the two friends were able to see each
other. As Uhura suspected, both she and Spock had a lot of catching
up to do; although their replacements had actually done a good job  in
their absence. Still, it took them both time to reacquaint  themselves
with their stations and make sure that things were going  to their
satisfaction.

If it had not been for the fact that both were working the Alpha
shift this week, Uhura mused as she got ready to go to lunch on her
third day aboard ship, she would never have even seen Spock at all,
except in bed. She smiled to herself at the thought, and glanced up
to find Spock looking at her.

He had been "peeking" into her mind again, and knew the direction  her
thoughts were taking. She quickly looked down at her  communications
board pretending to study something on it. Spock  cocked an eyebrow
and returned his attention to the screen before  him, but not before
sending Uhura a quick mental picture of their  morning's activities.
There was one aspect of their marriage that  Spock never seemed to
tire of, Uhura grinned to herself. Hardly  surprising, considering the
fact that it took a month for them to  actually consummate their
marriage.

She shook her head slightly to dispel the mental images and handed
her post to her relief. She had an hour lunch and intended to take
every minute of it. She sorely needed a break from the bridge  and
"opening hailing frequencies, sir".  She had hoped that she  could eat
lunch with her husband, but Spock rarely ate lunch, opting  instead to
finish the updates on his station.

She left the bridge and headed for the Officer's Mess, waving at the
Captain on her way out. Five minutes later, she was holding her meal
tray looking for a place to sit. It was then that she noticed
Christine waving her over to her table.  Uhura realized that there
was no way that she could sit anywhere else without making it  obvious
that she was trying to avoid Christine. She reluctantly made  her way
to Christine's table and sat down.

"Whew! What a day!" she said, taking a sip of her iced tea. "I'm so
glad to be away from the madhouse for awhile. If I had to say  hailing
frequencies open one more time, I was going to scream."

"I'll bet," Christine smiled sympathetically. She studied her friend
closely, and couldn't help but notice, with a twinge of envy, how
happy her friend seemed to be, despite her frazzled state. "I take  it
you've gotten settled in?"

"Oh, yes, more or less, "Uhura said. "At least as much as we can  what
with having to work twelve-hour days. I'll be so glad when we  get
caught up enough to go back to the regular eight-hour schedule. . .
honestly, Spock and I haven't even been able to see each other long
enough to say boo!"

Christine felt a small stab of jealousy shoot through her at the
familiar way Uhura talked about Spock. Of course, she was entitled
to; after all, they were married. She knew Uhura didn't mean it in a
malicious manner and she tried hard not to take it that way. Still,
some small part of her couldn't help wondering what it would have
been like if she had been the one to go to Gilead with Spock instead
of Uhura. . . would he have asked her to marry him?

She wanted so badly to ask Uhura about the events leading up to her
marriage to Spock, but at the same time, she also didn't want to go
there. Sometimes, it was better to let sleeping dogs lie, and
besides, if the Vulcan ever found out that Christine was prying, he
would take it as a violation of privacy. The last thing she wanted
was for him to be angry with her.

"So, tell me the latest dirt," Uhura said. "Last I heard, Mary  Barnes
was having problems with Lt. Peterson, and that cute yeoman,  Susan
Charles had a huge crush on Captain Kirk."

"Oh, Mary Barnes and Greg Peterson are ancient history," Christine
said, "and as for Yeoman Charles, she's decided that Sulu is
definitely more her type. . . "

The two women were busily chatting away about the doings among the
Enterprise crew when they were abruptly interrupted.

"My wife, attend."

The two women looked up to see Spock holding two fingers out to
Uhura. He had actually been standing there for about forty-five
seconds listening to the them gossip, and had waited for a break in
the conversation before he interrupted.

Uhura quickly stood up and touched her two fingers to his in a  ritual
embrace.

"What's wrong?" she asked, sensing the irritation in his mind,
through their marriage bond.

"I left three data cassettes on the desk last night. A few minutes
ago, I stopped by our quarters to pick them up, and they were not
there. As you were the last one using the computer, I wish to know
where they are."

"Did you look in the drawer underneath the monitor? They should be
there, held together with a rubber band so they wouldn't be
separated."

"I see." Spock said, looking sternly at Uhura with his hands behind
his back. "Very well, I shall look there... In future, I suggest you
refrain from disturbing anything on the workstation. The experiment  I
am working on is of the utmost importance, and I cannot afford to
waste time looking for my materials."

"I'll keep that in mind for future reference," Uhura said, her calm
voice belying her anger. "Is there anything else?"

"No, I believe that is all that I require for now."

"In that case, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to finish my lunch so I
can get back to my work, which is also of the utmost importance."

"Indeed," he nodded in acknowledgement. "Nurse Chapel," he
acknowledged Christine with a tiny nod of his head just before
walking out.

Christine was horrified. How could Uhura be so calm about Spock's
arrogant attitude? If she had been his wife, she would never have
tolerated it, not for an instant! Uhura had picked up her fork and
was slowly eating her meal.

Inside, she was seething with anger, but she'd be damned if she'd
give Christine or any other crewmember grist for the gossip mill.  Not
that Christine would ever tell anyone, she mused, but the  incident
had been witnessed by at least a dozen people. The news  would be all
over the ship by nightfall, she knew. Hopefully, it  would soon die
down, and things would get back to normal. . . especially  once she
had a chance to get together with her husband and lay down  a few
ground rules.

They were no longer on Gilead, and she realized, she could not  afford
to continue playing the "little woman" role she'd been forced  to play
there. She only hoped the incident wouldn't lessen her  status in he
eyes of her subordinates, but that was to prove a  forlorn hope.

She had no sooner picked up her tray to leave when she heard someone
snickering behind her; and not just any someone. It was her nemesis,
Ensign Joe Bickers. She had been having problems with him since
before she'd left for Gilead, but it hadn't been anything she
couldn't handle, although it was clear that he didn't like being
subordinate to a woman.

"Something funny, Ensign?" she turned and glared at him.

"Not at all, ma'am," the ensign drawled, his tone just a hair shy of
being insolent. "Just a joke that Ensign Yamura here was telling me."

"I see," Uhura said, knowing that he was lying, but since there
wasn't anything she could do about it at the moment, she decided to
let it ride.

"You have fifteen minutes to finish your lunch, Ensign," she smiled
sweetly, but the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "I suggest you  do
so. You wouldn't want to be late returning to duty."

She walked out without looking back, but not before overhearing the
ensign tell his partner, "Now that's the way a woman should be
treated. I always knew there was something I liked about that
Vulcan."

In the meantime, Christine had also disposed of her tray and was  well
on her way to Sick Bay, fuming inwardly.  And here she had  thought
that Spock was the reason for Uhura's happiness, but  obviously, that
wasn't the case! For the first time, she began to  have her doubts
about Spock. She didn't see how Uhura was going to  endure being
married to him for the next three months, certainly not  if he
consistently maintained that kind of arrogant attitude towards  her.

Christine suddenly remembered how Spock's father, Sarek, had acted
around his mother. Although there was a current of affection in his
attitude towards his wife, Sarek had been somewhat autocratic  towards
his wife. Christine clearly remembered seeing Spock's mother  walking
slightly behind and to the right of his father.

Oh, good lord, I could never do that, she thought. Suddenly, she
didn't envy Uhura so much.

She resolved to let Uhura know that she would be there for her if
needed. After all, no woman should have to tolerate that kind of
abuse, she thought. She wondered if she should mention the incident
to McCoy, but decided against it. Right now, Uhura needed her
support. . . but if and when the time came, McCoy would be the first
to  know.

---

"Mr. Bickers, do you have that report I asked you for?"

"Ma'am?" Bickers looked up at Uhura reluctantly, loathe to have his
attention diverted from Mr. Spock's pretty yeoman, Teresa Brewers,
with whom he had been flirting for the past five minutes.

"What report would that be, Ma'am?" he asked with exaggerated
courtesy and with a barely restrained hint of condescension thrown  in
for good measure.

"The one I asked you for fifteen minutes ago," Uhura said in an icy
sweet voice. "The logs of incoming and outgoing messages for the
Enterprise for the past six weeks."

"Oh, THAT report," Bickers said. "I'm afraid I haven't had a chance
to get around to it."

"I see," Uhura took a deep breath to calm herself. She felt like
slapping the smug expression off Bickers' face, but she knew that
would be unbecoming behavior for an officer, and she didn't want to
appear like a hysterical shrew, which she knew Bickers was trying to
goad her into.

"Well, then, perhaps you would suggest how I might explain to the
Captain why the report he wanted on his desk by 1600 hours isn't
ready yet."

Bickers shrugged. "Sorry, ma'am. If you'd told me the Captain wanted
the report, I'd have had it ready for you. . . I'll guess I better get
on  it."

"Is there a problem?"

Spock's voice interrupted the discussion. He had gotten up from the
Captain's chair, where he had been sitting since Kirk had gone down
to Sickbay a half hour ago. He had been listening to the encounter
between his wife and Ensign Bickers, and decided that he didn't like
the insolent tone that Ensign Bickers was using with Uhura; his  every
protective instinct came to the fore.

"Nothing I can't handle," both Bickers and Uhura spoke
simultaneously, and then Bickers smiled at Spock, while Uhura fumed
silently.

"There's no problem, sir," he said. "Your wife here just neglected  to
mention that she needed me to do a report for the Captain, that's
all, and now she's got her panties in a knot because of  her  mistake.
You know how these women are. Give them a little bit of  power and it
goes to their head." He chuckled conspiratorially at  Spock.

Uhura was so angry she could barely speak. She straightened up to  her
full five foot two inch height, preparing to blast Ensign  Bickers and
put him firmly in his place, but before she could say  anything, her
husband spoke.

"Indeed," Spock said frostily. "I fail to see how Lt. Uhura's  failure
to mention that the report she requested from you was for  the Captain
has any relevance to this situation. She is your  commanding officer.
You were given specific orders and you should  have obeyed them.
Consider yourself on report for insubordination,  and you will be
confined to quarters until further notice. Now I  suggest that you
prepare that report right away."

"Yes sir," Bickers said, shocked beyond words that Spock would come
down so hard on him. Based on what he had seen that very afternoon,
he would have thought that the Vulcan would have reprimanded his  wife
instead of him. He slunk off to his station and was not heard  from
for the rest of the shift, except for when he handed Uhura the
expected report five minutes later.

Uhura turned to go back to her station, but not before jerking her
head at her husband to indicate that he should follow her. He leaned
down towards her as if they were discussing ship's business, while
she looked at her board.

"I could have handled that situation," she murmured sotto voce. "It
wasn't necessary for you to intervene."

"The Ensign was being insubordinate," Spock explained in a low  voice.
"I did not appreciate the way he was talking to you."

"That's as may be, "Uhura murmured back, "but I really didn't need
your help. . . "

"Captain on the Bridge!"

Sulu's voice interrupted the discussion, but just before Spock  turned
to go back to his station, Uhura murmured, "We have to talk."

Spock nodded. He knew from experience that when she said those words
it meant he had committed some major faux pas, and it usually led up
to some interesting discussions between them. He would not call  them
"arguments". . . that was a human term, and even though Uhura
occasionally gave free reign to her emotions, for the most part  their
disagreements were handled in a calm rational manner.

"Ship's status, Mr. Spock," Kirk said, sitting back down in his
command chair.

"Nothing unusual to report, Captain," Spock said. "Still on course
for Star Base 11."

"Good," Kirk said, as Uhura came up to him and handed him Bickers'
report for him to read and sign off on.

"Everything all right, Lieutenant? You look a little perturbed."

"Everything's fine, Captain," Uhura smiled. She was still upset, but
was trying not to show it. Kirk looked as if he wanted to say more,
but one look at his science officer's face changed his mind. Spock's
face was utterly expressionless as he watched Uhura return to her
station. Whatever was going on, Kirk decided, would probably be best
discussed in private.

"Are we on for our usual chess game, tonight, Mr. Spock?"

"By all means, Captain, I look forward to it," Spock replied.

At her communications station, Uhura took another deep breath. She
was so angry she wanted to scream. Not only had Spock interfered  when
he had no business doing so, but now, it seemed that he was  avoiding
the confrontation that she knew they were going to have.  She looked
at her chronometer. Fifteen minutes until end of shift. . .  she had a
feeling it was going to be the longest fifteen minutes of  her life.

---

"Checkmate"

Spock tipped his chess piece over in acknowledgement of defeat as  his
friend, Jim Kirk, leaned back in his chair.

"Out with it, Spock," he said looking closely at the Vulcan. "What's
bothering you?"

"There is nothing bothering me, Captain," the Vulcan denied  calmly.
"It seems your game has vastly improved in the six months  that I have
been gone."

Kirk laughed. "Well, so much for Vulcans can't lie. One more myth
shot down in flames. Come on, Spock, I know you too well. Even at my
best, it usually takes us two hours to finish a game. This time it
only took thirty minutes. It was like taking candy from a baby.
Something's bothering you, and I want to know what it is."

Spock sighed. "It is of a personal nature, Captain. Can you not
accept that?"

"Does it have anything to do with whatever happened on the bridge
before I came in?" Kirk asked. "I thought you and Uhura, of all
people, would be too professional to let your marital problems get  in
the way of your duty."

"It is not precisely a marital problem, Captain," Spock said  quietly.
"It is more of a command issue. Apparently, in coming to  the aid of
my wife, I inadvertently caused a problem, although I am  not
precisely sure what."

"Tell me," Kirk commanded. Spock did. When he finished, Kirk nodded.

"I don't blame Uhura for being upset. You should have let her handle
it, Spock. After all, you're not always going to be around when she
runs into trouble with her subordinates."

"The man was being insolent to my wife," Spock began, but Kirk held
up his hand to stop him.

"Spock, while she's on that bridge, Uhura isn't your wife. She's a
member of my crew and one of your subordinates. Would you have
interfered six months ago in a similar situation?"

Spock had picked up a chess piece and turned it over in his hands
while Kirk had been speaking, and now he put it down.

"No," he admitted. "I would have assumed that it was a situation  that
was best handled by the officer in question. She was upset with  me
because I had interfered. In fact, she and I were to discuss this
issue tonight in our quarters."

"Then what the hell are you doing here, mister?" Kirk snapped at  him.
"Go talk this out with your wife. I need my science officer and  my
communications officer working together as a team, not squabbling
over unresolved issues. That's an order."

Spock got up, stiffly. He was reluctant to go face Uhura, especially
since he could feel her anger through the bond. But he knew his
friend was right. He couldn't avoid the confrontation any longer.

"Very well, Captain, I shall endeavor to do so." He had barely
reached the door, when it opened to reveal Bones McCoy. The two men
nodded to each other in acknowledgement as Spock left and McCoy
entered the room. In the meantime, Kirk picked up the piece that
Spock had been playing with earlier. It was the Black Queen.

"Got a moment, Jim?" McCoy drawled. "I need to talk to you about
something that happened in the Mess Hall earlier today."

"Sure, Bones, pull up a chair," Kirk said. "What's on your mind?"

"It's about Spock and Uhura," McCoy started, and Kirk let out a  heavy
sigh.

"What did they do, have a lover's spat?"

"Not exactly," McCoy said, "but I heard this from Dr. M'Benga. . . It
seems Christine and Uhura were having lunch when Spock came along  and
demanded to speak to Uhura. Something about her moving some of  his
data tapes around and ordering her not to touch his stuff  because his
work was too important for him to waste his time looking  for his
tapes."

"Well, that just sounds like Spock acting the way his father acts
towards his mother, though personally, I would have left out that
last bit. What was Uhura's reaction?"

"According to M'Benga, she didn't bat an eye. Just told him where
they were and that she wanted to finish her lunch because her work
was equally important. But that's not why I'm telling you this. It
was what happened afterwards that I think you should be aware of."

Kirk raised his eyebrows inquiringly. "Go on," he said.

"It seems that right after Uhura left, Ensign Bickers started
shooting off his mouth, saying how it was time that that uppity woman
was put in her place and how women had no business being in any type
of command position, and how good it was to see a man who really knew
how to handle a woman, even if he was a Vulcan. One of the lady
security guards threatened to shut his mouth if he didn't shut it.  He
almost mouthed off to her, but two of her buddies, Harrison and  Ford,
convinced him otherwise."

"Smart man," Kirk grinned. "I wouldn't want to mess with Harrison  and
Ford either. Judith Harrison is a martial arts expert and I hear
Amanda Ford is really good with a knife.  Computer, location of
Ensign Joseph Bickers."

"Ensign Joseph Bickers is confined to quarters," the computer stated
in its mechanical voice.

"Computer, notify Ensign Bickers that I wish to see him at 0800 in  my
quarters."

"Ensign Bickers has been notified," the computer replied a moment
later.

"That's one problem I can take care of, anyway," Kirk smiled. "The
rest of it, Spock is going to have to deal with on his own." He told
McCoy what had happened on the bridge.

"Well, I can't say I blame her for being mad," McCoy said, "but if
anyone can straighten Spock out, Uhura can. Can't say as I envy him,
though."

"Neither do I, Bones, neither do I."

---

Uhura paced back and forth in their quarters, waiting impatiently  for
her husband's arrival. She didn't know why she'd had the  impression
that their quarters were so big, she fumed.  Twelve paces  forward,
twelve paces back. . . and that was just from side-to-side. The
ship's manual said the room was 8x12. . . somehow, it seemed smaller.

She thought about her current situation, and wondered how she was
going to be able to resolve it. She and Spock had gotten used to
playing their roles of husband and wife in a certain fashion; one
with which Spock had had no trouble adapting to, since it so closely
patterned what Vulcan marriage was like with man as head of the
household.

Uhura had to admit, that, at least when they were in the privacy of
their own quarters, Spock had treated her like a queen, often having
dinner waiting for her if she came home late from her shift at the
communications building, something that would have shocked her  fellow
co-workers if they had known about it. On Gilead, cooking and
cleaning was woman's work, though Spock also helped with the
housework.

Six months ago, she and Spock had stayed behind on Gilead, after the
Enterprise had answered a distress call from the fledgling colony's
main settlement which had undergone a massive earthquake. The dam
that they had built to harness electricity from the large lake where
they had been located had also broken, flooding the city and causing
great loss of life.

After the Enterprise had helped them to pick up the pieces and
provided medical and humanitarian aid, Kirk had offered Spock and
Uhura's services to the Gilead government to help them reestablish
their main computer systems and upgrade their communications grid.  It
was only the fact the Enterprise was on a milk run and they had  very
competent replacements that allowed Kirk to do this.

But Gilead was a frontier planet with all that implied, including
outmoded attitudes about women's place in society. It reminded Uhura
very much of Australia with its patriarchal attitudes regarding
women. Needless to say, she and Spock, being the only two 'Fleeters
there, had pretty much kept to each other's company, and not formed
any close ties with the citizens of Barringer, the newly relocated
capital city of Gilead.

She crossed swiftly to the intercom. She needed to get out of here
even though it meant she would have to get out of her robe and into
some clothes; and besides,  there was only one person that she knew
she could confide in. . . she keyed in Christine Chapel's intercom
code.

"Hello?" Uhura froze at the sound of Christine's voice. "Who's  there?
Nyota, is that you?"

What was she thinking? Christine was the last person she could
confide in, because of Christine's feelings for Spock! Uhura quickly
flipped the switch that broke the connection. Damn it! Why did her
best friend have to be in love with her husband?

A sound at the door made Uhura whirl around to see her husband  coming
cautiously into the room.  She took a deep breath to calm  herself.
She was still so angry, she didn't know where to start.

Spock crossed the room and held out his two fingers in a ritual
embrace. Uhura ignored it and turned away from him. He walked  towards
her and stood behind her. The fact that she had chosen to  ignore his
ritual embrace signaled her extreme anger. He sensed  immediately that
this was not likely to be one of their more  rational "discussions."

"I ask forgiveness," he started. "I have been given to understand
that I was wrong in my actions this afternoon."

"The Captain? You went to Jim about this?" Uhura  whirled around and
snapped at him.

"No, t'hy'la," he murmured. "I did not go to Jim about this. He
ordered me to tell him what had gone on in the bridge earlier. When  I
finished, he told me I had acted improperly. And he was right. Six
months ago, I would never have interfered."

"Six months ago, we weren't married!" Uhura exclaimed angrily. "But
we are now, and that could be a real problem. . . at least on the
bridge  and with how you treat me in public. We aren't on Gilead,
anymore,  Spock!"

"I am well aware of that," Spock sighed. "What would you have me do,
Nyota? I am a Vulcan; you are my wife. There are certain behaviors
that are expected of both of us. You know this; we discussed it the
night we consummated our marriage. . . "

"Yes, I know, Spock, and I told you I'd try. But this isn't Vulcan,
either. This is the Enterprise and we're both Star Fleet officers.
How can I expect my subordinates, especially my male subordinates,  to
respect me if I've got to walk three paces behind and to the  right
all the time? And if they know my husband's going to intervene  every
time they do something he doesn't like. . . "

"It will not happen again. You have my word on that," Spock said,
walking up to Uhura and trying to put his arms around her. She  pushed
him away.

"Don't even go there!" she snapped. "Don't think that you're going  to
get around me that easily, mister!  I'm still not finished with  you!"

Spock sighed. He was beginning to get a little irritated. Uhura was
almost always reasonable, and even when she wasn't,  he had learned
from experience that usually, all it took to get her that way was an
outward sign of affection on his part. For some reason, today, that
ploy wasn't working.

"It would be immensely helpful if you would clarify your reasons for
your anger, my wife."

"For starters, how about that little scene you pulled in the rec  room
earlier in front of Christine and about a hundred other people?"

"I do not understand. I believe all I did was ask a question," he
protested.

"Yes, but it was the way you asked the question. Spock, you made it
sound like I was your servant, not your wife. You were rude and
arrogant. I could tell that Christine was upset, even if she didn't
say anything, and where do you think Bickers got the idea that he
could talk to me the way he did on the bridge? He got it from you,
that's where!"

"I can hardly be blamed for the fact that Ensign Bickers is an
idiot," he snapped, his Vulcan control slipping for once. He stopped
himself from saying more. Uhura was beginning to get to him,
something which she was very capable of doing, although usually in a
more pleasurable way. He decided he had better leave, both so that  he
could recover his equilibrium, and to give Uhura a chance to calm
down. He started towards the door.

"You step out that door, mister, and you'll be scratching fleas
before morning!" Uhura snapped at him.  Spock froze. After a  moment's
pause, he decided that since he was "in the doghouse"  anyway, as
humans are wont to say, it was probably time for a change  of tactics.

He turned abruptly and started stalking her never taking his eyes  off
hers and wearing his sternest Vulcan face. Seeing the gleam in  his
eye, Uhura gulped and started backing away from him as he kept  coming
closer and closer. . .

"Stay away from me," she threatened trying not to look frightened as
he continued to stalk her, his eyes never leaving her face. She kept
backing up, and he kept coming closer, until she could feel the edge
of the bed behind her legs. He quickly moved to close the distance
between them, even as she began to crawl up on the bed. Before she
knew it, he had pinned her down to the bed, pinning her wrists down
over her head with one hand, while supporting his body which he had
positioned over hers with his other arm.

She felt his warm breath on her lips and closed her eyes as he  kissed
her thoroughly. She felt him through the link, his desire for  her and
his genuine contrition for having caused her undue distress,  as he
called it. She wrapped her arms slowly around his neck,  feeling her
anger slowly drain away from her, as he continued to  caress her body
with both hands now.

"You sexy devil, you," she whispered, as he brought his body down
over hers and pulled her into his arms. "You always manage to get
around me, somehow. . . "

"I don't understand," he murmured, although he really did. "I am
merely attempting to settle some unresolved issues between us. . . "
as  he lazily kissed her throat and unzipped her robe to expose her
breasts. He rained a trail of kisses down her neck and to her  breasts
until he had one in his mouth.

Uhura moaned and reached down to fondle the bulge she felt growing
through his trousers. "Well, I've never been one to let an issue go
unresolved for very long," she said, as she reached down, unzipped
his pants and began to fondle his now erect member.

"Neither have I," Spock murmured,  pulling off her robe. She let him
go briefly, just long enough for him to finish undressing, and then
pulled him on top of her again as their bodies joined in mingled
passion. They were so lost in their lovemaking that they never even
heard the insistent beep of the intercom. . .

----

Meanwhile, in her quarters, Christine listened to the unanswered  beep
of the intercom. She was still curious about the earlier  caller. She
had a strong feeling that it had been Nyota calling her.

Apparently, Nyota wasn't available, because after awhile, Christine
got their answering machine recording. She heard Spock's voice
saying: "You have reached the intercom of Commander Spock and
Lieutenant Uhura. I regret that we are unable to answer your call at
this moment. Please leave a message, and we will return your call as
soon as possible."

Christine didn't leave a message. She was tempted to play it back
just to hear Spock's voice again, even as her heart broke to hear  him
couple his name with Uhura's. It brought back to her the fact  that he
was actually married to her best friend. For the first time,  she
began to have doubts about her assumption that their marriage  was in
name only.

---

The following night, Christine found herself sitting down beside
Nyota with a big tub of buttered popcorn  preparing to enjoy the
latest romance holovid that the Enterprise had received in a  shipment
just a week ago.  At least, it was new to the Enterprise  crew; no
doubt it was already old news on Earth. She had been  pleasantly
surprised to find an e-mail from Uhura that morning   inviting her to
tonight's showing.

"I just love Terence Coltrane" she murmured to Nyota as the house
lights dimmed. "He's so sexy. . . though I've never cared for Lorelei
Adams."

"She's not everyone's cup of tea," Nyota replied, "Still, Heart's
Desire is supposed to be a very romantic holovid. It's nice to be
able to relax, for a change." She sighed contentedly.

Christine found it very easy to fall into the story about the  dashing
buccaneer, Skyhawke, and the runaway princess, Desiree,  although she
had to sternly remind herself that  she couldn't allow  herself to
play her usual game of pretending that she was the  heroine and Spock
was the hero of the story. ..Certainly not with  his wife sitting
right beside her. It was going to take some of the  fun out if it for
her, though, she mused as she munched on some  popcorn.

It didn't help any that Terence Coltrane bore more than a passing
resemblance to Spock. They could have been twins, in fact, except
that Coltrane was human. Still, with the right make-up, he could
easily have passed for Vulcan. . .

//The dashing pirate, Skyhawke, swooped onto the enemy ship and
caught the fair princess in his arms, carrying her across and  quickly
tossing her to his first mate, who then put her aboard the  pirate
ship "Avenger". . . Princess Desiree kicked and screamed but to no
avail. . . as soon as Skyhawke's men had disabled the enemy ship, and
stripped them of their treasure, they sailed away, with Desiree
locked into the Captain's cabin so that she couldn't escape.

"We meet at last, Princess," Skyhawke said with a devastating grin,
his sable brown eyes looking deeply into her clear blue ones. The
tall, blonde princess glared at him defiantly, her eyes shooting  blue
sparks of flame. . . Unperturbed, the handsome pirate took her in  his
arms and kissed her thoroughly. The princess struggled briefly,  and
then, to her shame, found herself giving in to the pirate's  kisses. .
. "//

Christine sighed dreamily. Uhura glanced at her and saw the dreamy
expression on her face. She realized then, that Christine was
probably indulging herself in her usual fantasy where she and Spock
were the characters in the holovid.

She turned back to watch the rest of the holovid, but she couldn't
seem to enjoy it as she usually did. She had just noticed how  closely
the actor resembled her husband, even though the actress  didn't look
at all like Christine. . . for one thing, she had red hair,  green
eyes, and a beauty mark next to her mouth, and she was petite,  where
Christine was tall. She was going to have to bring Christine  back to
reality somehow. She didn't want to have to be the one to  break
Christine's heart, but Spock was *her* husband now.

As soon as the movie ended, the two ladies got up, and as they
usually did, went to Christine's quarters for a cup of hot cocoa and
to discuss the holovid they had just seen.

"It's so nice to be able to watch a romantic movie again," Uhura
smiled as she took a sip of her cocoa. "I'm afraid Spock doesn't
share my appreciation for romantic holovids. Everytime I put one on,
he just gets this look on his face, like he's saying "humans!" and
then he leaves the room."

Christine laughed. "I can just imagine. No doubt his idea of a good
time is a rousing game of chess."

"Well, not really, " Uhura said. "His idea of a good time is reading
me a good book. He has a lovely voice. When we were on Gilead, there
wasn't much to do, so we used to entertain each other by reading
aloud to each other, or sometimes he'd play his lyre."

She didn't have the heart, after all, to tell Christine about the
other ways in which they had entertained themselves.

"So, then, I gather he didn't get down on one knee and propose,"
Christine said lightly, feeling a pang of jealousy shoot through her.

"Actually, I was the one who did the proposing," Uhura said, and  gave
her an abbreviated version of what she'd told McCoy. "He saw  the
logic of the situation and didn't put up too much of a fuss."

"Oh, I see. Well, Spock's always been the one to see the logic of a
situation," Christine said, a bit tartly.  Uhura looked up at her
sharply, as if to say something, and then thought better of it.

Christine looked into her cup of cocoa, not quite sure where she
should go next. She wanted to let Uhura know that she was there for
her if she was needed, but didn't want to pry too much into her
relationship with Spock. And she also felt a little guilty because  of
her earlier lapse in the theater, where she had found herself  falling
back into the old pattern of indulging her Spockian  fantasies, in
spite of her earlier resolution not to do so.

"Does he treat you well, Ny?" she asked abruptly. "After what
happened at lunch the other day, and what happened on the bridge
later. . . well, you know I'm here if you need me."

"It wasn't what it seemed," Uhura quickly reassured Christine,
somehow not surprised that she'd heard about the bridge incident,
too. The Enterprise grapevine was nothing if not efficient.

"You know Spock wouldn't hurt a fly. It was just a little
misunderstanding. We got it straightened out. He's a Vulcan, after
all. You can't expect him to act like a human would in those
circumstances."

The door buzzer interrupted their conversation. Uhura quickly got  up.

"That'll be Spock. I told him to pick me up here after he got  through
playing chess with the Captain."

Spock came in as soon as Christine said, "Come in". He held out his
fingers in ritual embrace to Uhura who returned it. "I trust you  were
suitably entertained, my wife."

"Yes, we were," Uhura chuckled. "I indulged in shamelessly emotional
romantic fantasy, husband."

Spock sighed as he almost, but not quite, rolled his eyes. "Ah well,
as long as you are pleased, I suppose all is well, although I should
think reading the Rules of Surak would be much more enlightening."

"The last time you read me the Rules I fell asleep, remember?"

"It is an acquired taste," he told her dryly. "Nevertheless, we
should be leaving. No doubt Miss Chapel is ready to retire."

Uhura laughed and hugged Christine, who had been watching the
exchange between the couple bemusedly. "Good night, Chris. Thanks  for
going with me to the holovid. Sleep well."

"You, too, Ny," Chris hugged back. "I had a good time. It's been too
long. . . "

"Good night, Miss Chapel," Spock intoned, and she nodded in
acknowledgement as the couple left.

After they were gone, Christine picked up the two empty cocoa mugs
and felt a pang go through her. It had been almost like old times
between her and Nyota until Spock had come along. Then she had
suddenly found herself feeling like an intruder as she had watched
Spock tease Uhura. And he had been teasing her. In fact, they had
sounded so much like an old married couple, that she'd had a hard
time remembering why they had gotten married in the first place.

"Stop that, Chris," she told herself. "Don't be silly. He's married
now. Accept it and get on with your life. If you really love him  like
you say you do, you want him to be happy, and if Uhura makes  him
happy, well then, that's it."

She took her shower and got ready for bed, feeling like she had
handled the whole situation well, on the whole. She knew that there
were those on the ship who were waiting for her to fall apart, and
some who had secretly been hoping for a cat fight between her and
Uhura over Spock.

Well, sorry to disappoint you folks, she thought grimly, but it's  not
going to happen. Christine Chapel is not going to be anybody's
laughing stock. It's only for three months anyway. I can wait three
months.

And with that thought, she settled down and closed her eyes, praying
that sleep would come, and eventually it did.

---

The rolling motion of the ship awakened Christine, and she sat up
abruptly, looking around her, somehow not surprised to find herself
on board a large sailing vessel. Obviously, this was the result of
the holovid she'd seen earlier that evening, she thought to herself,
wryly. It wasn't the first time she'd dreamed herself in the middle
of a romantic holovid adventure. It happened practically every time
she saw one. She always looked forward to them, as this was the only
way she would ever feel Spock in her arms.

She was dressed in a frilly negligee and the morning sunlight
streaming through the tiny window showed her the ruffled bedding.  She
had no memory of what had presumably happened the night before,  other
than the passionate kiss that the ruthless pirate, Skyhawke,  had
given her. She heard footsteps out in the hallway.

She took a deep breath in anticipation of seeing the bold eyes of
the pirate raking over her half clad body, but when she heard the
click of a key unlocking her door, it turned out to be only a Nubian
slave who was obviously sent to be her maid. It didn't surprise her
that she bore a strong resemblance to Uhura.

"Does my lady require anything?" Uhura asked, as Christine swung her
feet over the side of the bed. She placed a basin and a jug of water
on the night stand beside the bed, so that Christine could wash
herself.

"I require to be returned back to my father," Christine said
haughtily. "I demand to speak to Skyhawke at once."

"I am sure that you will be returned to your father as soon as the
proper arrangements can be made," Uhura replied. "As for milord
Skyhawke. . . that is another matter entirely."

"Did I hear someone take my name in vain?" the pirate came in, his
upswept eyebrows and pointed ears giving him the appearance of the
devil incarnate. He filled the doorway of the cabin and smirked at
Christine. Somehow, he reminded her of Henoch, and she shivered at
the unwelcome memory.

Somewhere, deep in her mind, she knew this was all a dream;
nevertheless, she found herself eagerly anticipating what was to
happen next. At this point in her dreams she usually found herself
locked in a passionate embrace with Spock, somehow. . . but not this
time.

Uhura turned and looked at Spock/Skyhawke, smiling seductively.

"The lady wishes to return to her father at once," she purred,
walking up to him, her hips swaying in obvious invitation. Spock  lost
no time in responding to her invitation. He reached out an arm  and
pulled her towards him.

"The lady will be returned to her father when the ransom is paid,"  he
grinned, fondling Uhura. "In the meantime, we have other matters  to
attend to, you and I. . . "

"Wait!" Christine protested, as Spock and Uhura turned to go. "What
about last night? You kissed me! Surely that meant something to you!"

Spock laughed. "I kiss every woman whom I capture for ransom. I am,
after all, every woman's fantasy. But as long as I have my little
love-slave to keep me satisfied, I need no other woman."

Uhura, also, turned and laughed at her.

"Foolish woman," she scoffed. "Did you think I would not know how  to
keep my master happy?" And with that, she threw her arms around
Spock/Skyhawke and he bent down to kiss her passionately. . .

---

Christine sat up abruptly, shaken by the racial overtones that her
dream had taken. At the same time, she felt guilty, because she had,
in effect, brought this on herself. Her harmless fantasizing at the
holovid earlier hadn't been so harmless after all. And she hadn't
realized  until now, how much she had secretly resented Uhura for
marrying Spock, even though she knew how Christine felt about him.
Her subconscious mind was telling her what her conscious mind  refused
to accept.

She swung her legs over the bed as she glanced at the chronometer on
her nightstand. It was 0300 ship's time. . . three in the morning, and
she had a full shift to work that day. She groaned, and realized  that
it would be a long time before she would ever allow herself to  see
another romantic holovid. It was too emotionally risky for her,
especially now.

There would be no point in trying to go back to sleep, she decided.
She took a brief sonic shower and put on her favorite sweat suit.  She
had a portable coffee maker in her unit and she made herself a  cup of
coffee . It was time she sat down and took a good long look  at the
situation she now found herself in, she thought to herself as  she sat
at her desk and took a sip of her coffee.

She began by analyzing her dream. She felt rather annoyed with
herself. Here she had taken such great pride at how she was handling
this situation of her best friend marrying the man she loved. Oh,
sure, there were mitigating circumstances, and it was easy to tell
herself that he wouldn't have married her except for that mandatory
marriage regulation that Starfleet had passed.

"Damn Starfleet and that stupid regulation," she muttered.  She got
up and started pacing the floor.  "Why couldn't he have married a
Vulcan woman?"

She stopped, shocked at the realization that she could have accepted
Spock's marriage to a Vulcan woman a great deal better than she  could
his marriage to Uhura. But it made sense to Christine that  Spock
should be married to a Vulcan. Christine had decided long ago  that if
he never responded to her affection, it must be because he  had every
intention of taking a Vulcan wife when the time came. But  now he was
married to Uhura.

Could it be possible that he loved her? Christine shook her head,
dismissing the idea instantly. In the two times she had seen them
together, she couldn't tell if he felt anything for Uhura at all.

Of course, the first time, he'd been bossing her around, and even if
he had been teasing Uhura this time,  for all Christine knew, it
could have been a performance put on for her benefit; perhaps Uhura
had told Spock that she had been upset with the way he'd treated her
earlier in the rec room, and this was merely his attempt to reassure
Christine that Uhura wasn't being mistreated. Perhaps.

"Still, the Rules of Surak," she groaned aloud  as she finished her
coffee. "Poor Uhura! If all she has to look forward to in the
evenings is Spock reading Vulcan philosophy to her, it's no wonder
she couldn't wait to see a romantic holovid! That's probably the
closest she'll ever get to romance until they reach Earth!"

Three months, she told herself. She could endure for three months.
No, it wouldn't be easy, but she could endure it. In the meantime,
perhaps she'd better start making her plans for what would happen
after the voyage.

She sat down in front her computer  and contemplated actually
downloading and filling out the application for the bioresearch
position that she had seen posted at the Vulcan Science Academy
website, although the download would actually be from information
stored within the ship's computer which had been updated a month  ago.
The position was probably filled by now, Christine thought  wryly.
Still, it couldn't hurt. . . and she began to read as the  information
filled her screen.

---

Uhura walked out of the Captain's office with a smile on her face  and
a lively step. She was on her way to Sick Bay, to where she'd  been
summoned while talking to Captain Kirk.  It had been a  satisfying
morning. The Captain had told her that Ensign Bickers had  been
reassigned to Engineering, and then had asked her to help him  draw up
a schedule so that she could log in at least forty hours of  Command
Training before they reached Earth.

It was going to mean a grueling schedule, but a chance for Command!
She couldn't wait to tell Spock; even though he, personally, didn't
want a command of his own, he was well aware that she did. She
wondered briefly, what McCoy wanted to see her about as she entered
Sick Bay. The nurse on duty waved her in the direction of McCoy's
office. To her surprise, Spock was already there, waiting. Thirty
minutes later, they walked out of McCoy's office in shock. Spock
reached for the wall intercom.

"Spock to Bridge."

"Bridge," Kirk's voice answered. "What's up, Mr. Spock?"

"Lt. Uhura and I will be in our quarters for the next thirty  minutes,
Captain."

"Very well, Mr. Spock. I trust there's nothing seriously wrong?"

"No, Captain, there is nothing seriously wrong. Spock out."

He turned to Uhura, who was looking up at him with a slightly  bemused
look on her face.

"I was not lying, was I? There is nothing seriously wrong, is there?"

"No, I guess not," Uhura murmured, looking away. "It just takes some
getting used to, that's all."

She immediately went and plopped down on the couch as soon as they
entered their quarters. Spock came and sat down beside her,  uncertain
as to what he was supposed to do next. Uhura sat back,  closed her
eyes, and sighed deeply.

"When I was a little girl," she began, "I used to dream about what  it
would be like to have a child. I used to imagine it; how I would  tell
my husband I was going to have a baby and what his reaction was  going
to be, and how happy we were both going to be. . . and now. . . " her
voice trailed off.

"And now?" Spock asked gently. He understood her distress. Kirk had
spoken to him earlier about his intentions to put Uhura on the
Command track. He also knew how much his wife wanted a command of  her
own. A pregnancy at this point in time would surely put an end  to
such aspirations.

"Oh Spock, I'm still happy about having your child," Uhura turned to
him, her beautiful dark eyes bright with unshed tears. "But I also
still want a ship of my own. . . it's just so unfair that I have to
make  a choice."

"Is there really a choice, my wife?" Spock asked her. He already  knew
the answer. Uhura was going to have the baby. She'd said as  much when
Dr. McCoy had asked her gently if she wanted to carry the  baby to
term.

"No, not really," Uhura admitted reluctantly. "I meant what I said
earlier. I do want to have your child. I'm just trying to get used  to
the idea. . . and you, how do you feel about this?"

"I, too, am having difficulty of adjusting to the idea of impending
fatherhood," Spock admitted. "But I am certain that you will be an
excellent mother to our child, Nyota."

"And you'll make a great dad," she smiled at him as she reached out
and gently stroked his cheek.

"We should be getting back to the bridge," he reminded her. "We told
the Captain we would only be gone thirty minutes."

"Yes, I know," she said, allowing him to help her stand up. She
smiled inwardly to herself. He certainly seemed to be taking her
pregnancy in stride, she thought just as she reached the door and
found herself being pulled back abruptly into her husband's embrace.
He kissed her very slowly and passionately, and she was afraid she
might melt from the force of his kiss, even as she returned it.

He looked down at her and his eyes were warm and tender. He  permitted
himself to smile at her. "You have made me a very happy  man, t'hy'la
aduna, very happy indeed. I cherish thee."

"I love you too, Spock," was all she could say, as tears streamed
down her cheeks. He gently wiped her tears away with his thumb and
bent and kissed her one more time before they walked out of their
quarters and went back to the bridge.

---

Christine looked blindly at the monitor in her office, where Leonard
had just left after telling her that Uhura was two months pregnant
with Spock's child. He had to tell her of course; she was the Head
Nurse after all, and she'd be in charge of much of the prenatal  care.
It would actually be Roberta Peterson that would be assisting  at
Uhura's weekly visits, but if anything went wrong, Christine  would
have to intervene.

At the moment, however, Christine was too busy dealing with the
concept that Uhura's marriage, whatever it might have started out to
be, was no longer a marriage of convenience. Her pregnancy proved
conclusively that she and her husband did more than just sit around
reading the Rules of Surak  together.

Damn you, Spock, and damn you Uhura, she thought again for the
thousandth time. And damn me too, for loving Spock the way I do.  Only
three more months. I can deal with anything for three months,  she
reminded herself, trying not to think about how hurt and angry  she
was. This was neither the time nor the place for that. She was a
professional, and she was determined to act like one.

"Chris?" Dr. M'Benga's voice interrupted her reverie. "I was just
going down to the mess hall for dinner. Care to join me? I could use
some company."

Christine took a deep breath. Her first impulse was to turn him  down,
but she found herself saying, "Yes, that would be nice. Just  let me
get my things. I was through for the day anyway."

"Take your time. I'll be in my office."

"I won't be long," Christine promised, and true to her word, in less
than five minutes she was knocking on his office door and she and
M'Benga were on their way to the Mess Hall.

---

Two more weeks passed. Christine found herself spending most of her
off-duty time with M'Benga, purely on a platonic level. Although he
was aware of her situation, they never discussed it, by unspoken
agreement. Christine wasn't ready to deal with it yet. She didn't
know if she'd ever be ready as long as she remained aboard the
Enterprise.

She made it a point to be elsewhere whenever Uhura came in for her
weekly examination. Of course, she ran into Uhura and Spock from  time
to time. It was a small ship, and there were bound to be times  when
they were thrown together. But usually, she was with M'Benga,  so it
was a lot easier to deal with than if she'd been by herself.

She and M'Benga had run into Spock and Uhura coming out of the Mess
Hall as they were going in the night that she'd found out about
Uhura's pregnancy. Christine had managed a smile as she'd murmured
her congratulations quietly, so that no one standing by them would
hear. She'd even allowed Uhura to hug her and agreed when Uhura
suggested that they get together soon. But, so far, she'd managed to
avoid any contact with Uhura. It was simply too painful for her. The
last thing she wanted to do was to lash out at her friend for
something that wasn't her fault.

Spock was aware of Christine's distress and wished that he could do
something about it. He felt guilty, somehow, because he knew that  she
had romantic feelings towards him, and even though he didn't  return
those feelings, he still admired her and valued her  friendship,
especially for Uhura's sake. Uhura needed a close woman  confidante,
and until now, Christine had been that confidante. He  pondered the
possibility of talking to Christine. It was to that end  that he
visited Sick Bay one afternoon.

"Something we can do for you, Spock?" McCoy asked as Spock walked
into Sick Bay.

"I was looking for Nurse Chapel," Spock replied looking around. To
his dismay, he didn't see Christine anywhere. "I see she is not  here.
I shall come back later."

"Is this something to do with Uhura? Is she feeling all right?"  McCoy
demanded, looking at Spock sharply.

"My wife is well. My business with Nurse Chapel is of a personal
nature."

McCoy grunted.  He had a good idea of why Spock wanted to see
Christine, and if his suspicions  were correct, that would not be a
good thing.

"I see. Well, you might as well step into my office while you wait.
She should be back shortly."

Spock reluctantly stepped into McCoy's office and sat down. McCoy
perched on his desk and looked at the Vulcan.

"Spock, I'm not someone that enjoys prying into other people's
personal affairs. But since this concerns my Head Nurse, and since I
have a strong suspicion that you're here advice: Don't."

"Really, doctor," Spock raised an eyebrow, dismayed that McCoy had
guessed his intentions. "I hardly see where this concerns you."

"It concerns me because my Head Nurse is having to deal with some
really rough emotional issues; her feelings about you, her feelings
about Uhura, and the realization that the man she loves has been
intimate with another woman."

"I can hardly be blamed for Miss Chapel's romantic fantasies about
me," Spock shot back. "I have never encouraged those feelings  towards
me, and in fact, I consider her obsession with me to be  illogical. I
also see no reason for her to blame Uhura for the fact  that I chose
to marry her."

"That's an interesting choice of words, Spock. I was under the
impression that you didn't have any choice in the matter. In fact, I
thought you were grasping at straws when you accepted her proposal.
Anything to come back to the Enterprise and Jim Kirk."

"I could have gotten an extension," Spock said quietly. "My father
had already contacted Star Fleet about making an exception in my  case
and allowing me to return to the ship until we reached Earth.  Then,
should I choose to remain in Star Fleet, he would have  arranged a
marriage for me. I did not want an arranged marriage. And  I realized
that I wanted Uhura. So I married her."

"Are you saying that if it had been Christine instead of Uhura, you
would have taken the extension instead?" McCoy demanded.

"Yes," Spock admitted. "I have a great deal of respect and  admiration
for Miss Chapel. She is a remarkable woman. But I have  never desired
to become romantically involved with her. I have  been "in love" as
you humans put it with Nyota for some time. It was  only after we
married that I realized this and why I did not find  her proposal
disturbing. I welcomed it, in fact, for I could never  have brought
myself to ask her to marry me."

"Well," McCoy said. "This is beginning to sound more and more like a
soap opera. A badly written soap opera. I stand by my original
suggestion, Spock. Whatever's going on between Christine and Uhura,
stay out of it. This is an issue they need to resolve between
themselves. You'll only do more harm than good if you interfere."

"Really, doctor, " Spock began again, but McCoy held up his hand. He
walked towards the door. He thought he'd heard something, but when  he
got there, no one was there.

---

Meanwhile, on the bridge, Uhura was standing next to the Captain's
chair as Kirk laid out a possible command scenario to her. "What
would your response be in this case, Lieutenant?"

"Well, I would. . . " Uhura began and then winced as she felt a sharp
pain shoot through her. She grabbed Kirk's arm and dug her nails in
to keep from moaning.

"Uhura, what's wrong?" Kirk asked, concerned. Her nails really hurt.

"Request permission to go to Sick Bay," she gasped as the pain  eased.
It was probably nothing, but better to be safe than sorry,  she told
herself.

"Permission granted. Wait, I'm coming with you," he said, getting up
and taking her arm. "Mr. Sulu, you have the con."

"Aye aye, sir," the helmsman replied as they left the bridge.

---

Christine leaned against the door of her quarters. It had been a  long
and grueling afternoon and early evening. Now at last, she was  in her
private sanctuary, and she no longer had to wear her  professional
Head Nurse mask. She engaged the privacy lock and told  the ship's
computer she didn't want to be disturbed as she slowly  peeled off her
clothes, preparing to allow herself the luxury of a  nice hot water
shower.

Uhura had lost the baby, despite all that she and Dr. McCoy could do
to prevent it. McCoy, later talking with the grief-stricken parents,
explained that there had apparently been too many genetic
incompatibilities between Vulcan and Human genes. The child had  never
really had a chance to develop properly. Christine had left,  after
leaving orders for Uhura to be given a pain killer and  sleeping aid
if she needed it. Her last sight of the couple as she  left was of
Spock holding his wife and murmuring endearments to her  in Vulcan as
Uhura wept in his arms.

(I respect Ms. Chapel. She is a remarkable woman, but I have never
desired her. No romantic involvement. . . )

Christine hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but she was passing by McCoy's
office and heard her name being mentioned by Spock. Her curiosity won
out, and she stood by a cabinet pretending to be busy while listening
at the same time.

(I could have had an extension. . . I did not want an arranged
marriage. . . I  chose Uhura. . . I am in love with Nyota. . . I
wanted her, so I married her. . . )

Suddenly, Christine moaned as she realized that what she'd heard
meant the end of any possibility that Spock could ever love her. . .
and  the tears and self-recrimination begin to flow. . .

"I can wait three months," she sobbed. "For what, Christine? Did you
really think that he'd divorce Uhura and suddenly realize how much
you meant to him? Oh god, I feel so stupid. . . I've been living on
fantasies. . . ever since Roger died, I've been living on fantasies. .
. " she  sobbed, sliding down the shower unheeding of the water that
poured  down on her. It wasn't until the water turned cold, that she
finally  got out of the shower and listlessly dried herself off, the
tears   still running unchecked down her face. She lay face down on
the bed  and finally gave herself permission to let it all go. . . she
screamed  and pounded her pillow and sobbed until there were no tears
left,  and all she was left with was a headache and a forlorn empty
feeling  inside.

She got up, finally, and splashed some water on her face. Her eyes
were red and puffy.

"Going to have to do something about that, girl," she chided herself
as she sat down in front of her vanity and ran a brush through her
tangled hair. "Can't have the ship's Head Nurse running around
looking like death warmed over. People will talk. . . not that they
don't  already."

She heard her door buzzer chime, and looked up to see M'Benga  walking
in the door with a bottle of wine and two glasses. "Medical
override," he smiled at her. "Thought you could use a friend."

"Go away, " she said, closing her eyes. "Just leave me alone. I  don't
want your pity. I just want to be left alone."

"I'm not doing this because I feel sorry for you lady," M'Benga said
evenly, refusing to let her bait him. "I'm doing this because I care
about you, and because I don't want to see you spending all night
beating yourself up for something that's not your fault."

"Oh, well that's mighty generous of you, doctor," she snapped,
irritated at herself as the tears began flowing down her face  again.
"Considering that I've spent the last four years of my life  making a
complete and utter fool of myself over a man who never  loved me and
never will."

"Don't do this to yourself, Christine," M'Benga pulled her up and
into his arms. He held her close as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"He-he t-told Leonard he's always been in love with U-Uhura," she
sobbed as she recalled the conversation she'd overheard between  Spock
and McCoy.

"I know." M'Benga said. "And so have I always been in love with
Nyota. But she only had eyes for Spock and he for her. Anyone who  had
ever seen them together could have seen it if they'd cared to  look. .
but everyone was always focused on you so they didn't see what  was
right under their noses all along."

"You're in love with Nyota, too?" Christine gasped, more than a
little surprised. "I never knew that. . . "

"Neither did anyone else, including Uhura," M'Benga admitted. "I
almost told her once, but once I realized how she felt about Spock,
even if she didn't know it, I decided that it would serve no useful
purpose, so I didn't say anything. It hasn't been easy watching them
together, and I knew it wasn't going to be for you either. But I
never fooled myself into thinking theirs was ever a marriage of
convenience. I knew better when I saw them together after they'd
gotten back from Gilead. A couple who are in love and meant to be
together have a certain look about them, and Spock and Uhura had  that
look. "

"So what are you going to do, now that you've lost her?" Christine
asked as M'Benga poured her a glass of wine.

"Move on. Get on with my life," M'Benga said. "And as for losing  her,
well, I never really had her. . . the same as you never really had
Spock, in spite of your fantasies. . . and don't feel too badly. . . I
had my  share of fantasies about Nyota, too. I think it's only
natural. But  sooner or later, we have to let go of them. I guess it's
time we  both did, don't you think?"

"I've applied for a job as a bio-researcher at the Vulcan Science
Academy," Christine said, holding out her glass for a refill.

"Do you think that's wise?" M'Benga frowned. "After all, you're  bound
to be reminded of Spock every time you look around. I'm not  sure
that's such a good idea, Christine."

"I did it before I knew about Uhura's pregnancy. Anyway, the posting
was a month old. It's probably been filled by now."

"What happened to your plans to go to medical school?" M'Benga  asked.
"You're more than qualified and can probably test out of a  lot of the
classes, especially if you went to Star Fleet Medical.  I'd be willing
to put in a good word for you, and I'm sure Leonard  would, too."

"I have to get off this ship," Christine murmured, looking down into
her wine glass and seemingly ignoring M'Benga's advice. "I'm not  sure
I  can afford to wait until the start of the semester."

"I think if you talk to Leonard, something can be arranged. There's
no reason why you should have to put yourself through any more  stress
than you've already done."

"You're right. There really isn't, is there?" Christine smiled up at
him and then stood up and hugged him close. "But what about you? How
can you stand to see them together, even now?"

"Well, let's just say, I haven't exactly been pining away. I've been
writing to one of my sister's friends, a girl I grew up with who's
turned into a remarkable woman. . . I think I might be open to a new
relationship. At least, it's a start."

He pulled away from her but kept her hands in his. He raised one  hand
to his lips and kissed the palm of her hand.

You're a beautiful woman, Christine. Don't shut yourself off from a
relationship because of one man. He's not worth it, but you are."

"Thanks for saying that, and for coming by. I'm going to miss you,
you know. You always know just the right thing to say."

"I'll be there for you if you need me. Count on it."

Christine sat at her desk and stared at the half-empty bottle of  wine
that M'Benga had left behind. She thought about drinking the  rest of
it, but then decided not to.

"Today is the first day of the rest of my life," she said to herself
as she reached for the intercom.

"Leonard, got a minute? I need to talk to you. Mind if I stop by  your
quarters?"

---

Christine looked around her office one last time. A week had passed
since her conversation with McCoy. He had been more than happy to
smooth the way for her and it was thanks to his and M'Benga's  glowing
recommendations that she'd been able to obtain an early  internship at
Star Fleet Medical. She'd still be required to attend  some classes
before she got her MD, but the internship guaranteed  that she'd be
busy until the start of the next semester.

She would be leaving the ship at Star Base 11 and taking another  that
was bound for Earth. The Enterprise's current mission had been
extended for another six weeks, so would not be landing on Earth on
their scheduled arrival date. Now she looked around her office one
last time. It had taken her many hours of overtime, but at last
everything was ready to hand over to her temporary replacement,
Roberta Peterson.

"Miss Chapel."

Christine whirled around, shocked to see Spock standing  just inside
the door of her office. She hadn't even heard him come in.

"Mr. Spock!" she gasped. "You startled me! What are you doing here?"

"I came to see if I might have a word with you," Spock said. "I
wanted to talk to you the night that Uhura. . . we lost the child, but
there was no time. And now, you are leaving the ship. . . "

Christine waved Spock in and sat behind her desk.

"Well, there's no need for you to stand there, Mr. Spock. Pull up a
chair. We still have time before the reception."

"Thank you," he said as he sat down. Suddenly, Spock found himself
wondering why he had come as he looked into Christine's clear blue
eyes. The serene expression on her face hardly suggested that she  was
a heartbroken woman running away from a painful situation, as he
suspected when he'd heard she was leaving the Enterprise before they
reached Earth to be decommissioned.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Spock?" Christine waited patiently for
him to get to the point of his visit, trying not to sneak a glance  at
her desk chronometer. Her shuttle was leaving in two hours;  barely
enough time for the farewell reception Roberta was throwing  together
for her before she left.

He cleared his throat. If she hadn't known better she would have
sworn he was nervous.

"I wish to ask forgiveness if I have said or done anything that  would
cause you to feel you must leave the Enterprise before we  reach
Earth. I assure you that I never intended for my actions to  cause you
distress."

Christine leaned back. She wasn't quite sure how she should respond
to this, except that she couldn't tell him the truth. Suddenly she
had a feeling of déjà vu. This scene had been played out before. . .
only  then, she had been in Spock's place and the other person had
been a  young researcher named Jeremy Something-or-Other, whom she
hadn't  thought of in years, but whose red-haired  freckled face and
bright  green eyes suddenly flashed before her.

Tall and gangly, he'd been the quintessential nerd in her research
group back during her college days when she'd been working for Roger
Korby. He'd had a strong crush on Christine, following her around
like a love-sick puppy. She'd tried hard to let him know that she
liked him without giving him false hopes. The day after she'd
announced her engagement to Roger, he'd come by to see her to let  her
know he'd accepted a job for a private firm that would take him
across the country. She'd asked Jeremy the same question Spock was
asking her, only in slightly different terms. And she realized she
was about to give Spock the same response that Jeremy had given her,
only in slightly different terms. Sometimes, she realized a lie
really was better than the truth, even if it wasn't entirely a lie.

"No, Mr. Spock," she smiled at him. "It's nothing to do with you or
Uhura. I wish you both all the best. . . and I am so sorry about the
baby. The truth is, I'd been planning to apply to Star Fleet Medical
when we reached Earth, but when Leonard told me about the early
internship program, I thought it was too good an opportunity to pass
up. It's going to cut at least two years out of medical school, and
I'll be first in line for a CMO job when I'm finished getting my  M.D.
That's really all there is to it."

"I see." Spock said. "Then, may I felicitate you on your good
fortune. I am certain that you will make an excellent Chief Medical
Officer."

"Thank you," she said standing up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have  a
reception to go to."

"One moment, please," he said, holding up his hand to detain  her.
"Uhura has been distressed at what she considers your "falling  out"
as you humans call it. Perhaps, if you could reassure her as  you have
me, it would do a great deal to alleviate her situation."

Christine felt a pang of shame wash over her. She'd been so busy
being focused on her feelings of anger and betrayal, that she'd
forgotten all the times Uhura had been there for her. Now, of all
times, her friend needed her, and Christine hadn't been able to get
past the hurt long enough to see that.

"Computer, location of Lt. Uhura," Christine said.

"Lt. Uhura is currently on Observation Deck A," the computer intoned.

"Mr. Spock, would you do me a favor and stop by the main desk and
tell Roberta I'll be a little late to the party? I have some fences
to mend."

---

Uhura was looking out the window of the observation deck when she  saw
Christine's reflection coming towards her. She didn't turn her  head
as she felt the Head Nurse move to stand beside her.

"I'm going to miss this place," Christine mused. "So many good
memories. . . so many good friends. And I'm going to miss you, Ny."

"Are you?" Uhura asked, still not looking at Christine. "You sure
haven't acted much like a friend, lately."

"I know. I'm sorry, Ny. I was too busy being mad at you to be there
when you really needed me. This can't have been an easy situation  for
you."

"It really wasn't, Chris. Knowing how much you loved Spock, and
knowing that I was betraying that love by marrying him. I was only
half-joking when I proposed to him, you know. I had no way of  knowing
he wanted to marry me. You have no idea how much I dreaded  coming
back here knowing we'd both be hurting you."

"He loves you very much," Christine was finally able to admit it out
loud. "I really think that if we'd gotten married under the same
circumstances, he and I would have made each other very unhappy.
You're a lucky woman, Nyota."

"Not so lucky," Uhura looked at Christine, her eyes bright with
unshed tears. "My baby. . . "

Christine hugged her fiercely. "I know, hon. I'm so, so sorry about
your baby, and sorry I couldn't be there for you afterwards."

Uhura sobbed in Christine's arms. It felt good to finally be able to
let go with someone who truly understood how she felt. Spock had  been
wonderful, but he was a man, and a Vulcan besides. He had put  up with
her mood swings only because McCoy had warned him about  postpartum
depression; and Uhura had been trying to shield him from  the worst of
it by burying her sorrow in work. But now, here, with  Christine, she
didn't have to pretend to be brave. She could just be  herself, a
grieving mother-that-never-was.   Finally, she stepped back and wiped
her tears as Christine handed  her a tissue.

"I know this is probably going to sound trite and cliché," Christine
said, "but medically speaking, you and Spock are both still young.
You'll be able to have a family of your own someday. Vulcan has some
of the best specialists in the galaxy."

"That's what Spock and Dr. McCoy tell me, " Uhura nodded smiling
while she wiped away her tears.

"And they're both right. You should listen to them." Christine  smiled
back. "Listen, I'm going to be late for my own farewell  party. Are
you coming?"

"Wild horses couldn't keep me away," Uhura smiled as the two women
linked arms and walked out of the Observation Deck.

Two hours later, Christine was on board the shuttle Copernicus as it
headed for Star Base 11. The Enterprise was orbiting the planet's
space dock putting in for supplies and minor repairs preparing to go
on its six week extended mission. She couldn't turn back in her seat
far enough to see the ship retreating behind the shuttle craft,
especially since she was sitting beside the shuttlecraft's pilot in
the co-pilot seat.

It had been a poignant and emotional farewell with many hugs and
kisses from her co-workers, promises to keep in touch and last  minute
instructions from Dr. McCoy regarding who she was to see when  she got
to San Francisco. Now, sitting back and watching the planet   where
Star Base  11 was located get larger on the view port, she  reflected
on her feelings about Spock, Uhura, and the whole  situation.

She had to admit to herself that a part of her was still mad at both
Spock and Uhura for what they'd done, but that was a wound that  would
take a long time to heal. Shortly after the night of Uhura's
miscarriage and her subsequent conversation with M'Benga, Christine
had gone in for some counseling sessions with one of the people she
trusted most on the psychiatric staff, Dr. Susan Bates, who had
helped her put things in perspective, and helped her to realize that
she was a strong person and would eventually overcome the residual
bitterness.

She felt more ready to face her future than at any other time in her
life. So when Lt. Geoffrey Moore invited her to have dinner with  him,
she lost no time in accepting, taking a leaf from M'Benga's  book and
leaving herself open to the possibility of a new  relationship. And
that night, before she went to bed, in her room at  the Star Base, she
made a note to herself to look up Jeremy Howard,  the young
researcher, as soon as she reached Earth.

Uhura stood on the observation deck and watched the shuttlecraft  move
away until it was only a speck. Her husband came up and stood  beside
her. She leaned against him and put her arm through his.

"Were you able to resolve your differences with Nurse Chapel?" Spock
asked, recalling the emotional farewell the women had exchanged
earlier as Christine was getting ready to leave the ship.

"Yes and no," Uhura said. "It'll never be the same between us, but at
least we're still talking to each other. That's a start. It'll have
to be enough for now."

Spock nodded. "Come, my wife. We are due back on the bridge."

"Of course, husband," Uhura said putting the two fingers of her hand
up in a ritual Vulcan embrace. He touched his fingers to hers, and
then the couple left the Observation Deck. Uhura never once looked
back.

---

The End