Jim was finally back to work after his recovery from the sadistic alien torture. He hummed happily to himself as he worked away on a faulty replicator panel. Keenser stood nearby, handing him tools and making the occasional grunt/squeak.
It was nice being able to move freely again without pain. He had been confined to quarters for a solid week before the Captain would allow him to resume his duties. He really didn't need THAT long, but he appreciated the Captain's concern, oh yes he did.
She had made his recovery a lot smoother and he was very happy. Bones was the only one who knew they were a couple now and he had been sworn to secrecy, until they thought the time was right. Their clandestine dates had been quite enjoyable, though.
As Kirk was replacing the repaired panel, his comm squawked. "Kirk here," he answered. It was Spock's voice.
"Lieutenant, the Captain requests your presence planetside. Some unforeseen complications have arisen and you are urgently needed."
The way Spock hesitated made Kirk wonder what sort of "complications" the landing party had encountered.
"Yes, Sir", he responded, "will I need my tool belt, Commander?"
"Negative, lieutenant. Please report to the transporter room. You will be informed of the situation when you arrive on the surface."
"Yes, Sir." Kirk was mystified and somewhat alarmed by this. He made sure his phaser was tucked into his belt as he headed for the transporter room. What in the world they needed him for without his tools was a complete puzzle to him. He dearly hoped it wasn't another trap. Jim had had enough alien torture for the rest of his life, thank you very much.
But if the Captain was in danger... his heart rate sped up at the thought and he set his teeth grimly. No one would hurt her on his watch. Sure, he wasn't security and she was very capable in a fight, but it was the principle of the thing. Scotty nodded at him and he said the magic word. "Energize."
Jim found himself rematerializing on a hot, humid planet that appeared to be mostly jungle. Spock was waiting for him. He looked ticked, but not at Jim. Kirk took one look at his face and his fears were confirmed.
"Captain's in trouble?" he blurted, ready to fight the whole planet if necessary.
"It appears the aliens have given the Captain something that is causing great discomfort. She told us to get you at once."
Fear came back to Jim. "They poisoned her?", he asked, sick inside. "Not necessarily," Spock looked very uncomfortable. "Doctor McCoy believes it is an aphrodisiac of some sort. I am puzzled as to why she requested you, but the Doctor seemed unsurprised."
Kirk almost choked back laughter at Spock's bewilderment. It WAS pretty hard to believe she would be interested in someone like him, he understood Spock's skepticism. Then a sick thought occurred to him. "Spock, are they gonna make us get it on for show? I've heard certain species tend to be overly curious like that."
"That has been known to happen, lieutenant, but this incident appears to be an accident," Spock assured him as they reached the outskirts of the village, "No one knew the fruit had those effects on humans and it would have been a grave offense to refuse it when it was offered to her. The creatures seem much distressed and offered a private room to the Captain and whomever she requested to aid her in this... Issue."
Spock's face was so pinched by this statement that Kirk grinned again. "Don't worry, Spock. Uhura and I have been dating ever since my little torture experience. We would have told you eventually. It's pretty new." His face grew troubled again. "We were taking it slow. This isn't how I wanted it to happen at all."
"Perhaps you will not have to, Jim. We do not know the potency of the reaction." Spock was walking faster now. They passed several houses before stopping in front of a small orange colored dwelling, outside of which stood most of the away team and a group of worried looking aliens.
Bones broke away from the group and met them as they arrived. "Jim, thank goodness you're here. She's been beggin' for you. It's really got her worked up."
"It is hurting her, Bones?"
He asked his friend worriedly. He was ready to do whatever he could. "Not horribly. Mostly making her hot for you, literally," Bones winked at him. Jim felt his face grow warm.
"Well, after she saved me from an awful fate, it's only fair I return the favor, right?"
Bones grinned. "Sure, Jim. She's right in there. I'll clear the crowd away."
Jim nodded his thanks and knocked on the door. "Unless your name is James Kirk, you really don't want to see me right now," came Uhura's voice from inside.
"I happen to answer to that name, so you're in luck," Jim called through the door. He heard a squeal and the door was yanked open.
"Jim!" she gasped and pulled him inside, wrapping her arms around him. "Hey," he murmured, dropping a kiss in her hair, "how are you feeling?" She sighed against him.
"Like I need to jump you."
He smiled. "But do you really want to?" he inquired, searching her face. "There's got to be an antidote to this."
She looked up at him, conflicted. "Appealing as it sounds, I wanted to enjoy the courtship with you some more before we got physical. I called you down here because I can't go through this alone, but I don't want anyone else to see me in this state. I'm sure you're a fabulous specimen under that uniform, but I need to be sure we work well together as a couple outside the bedroom. Are you okay with that?"
Her gaze was anxious as she silently begged him to understand. Jim might have been a bit disappointed, but in his heart felt she was right. He had rushed relationships too fast before and ended up bitterly regretting it. If she said no, he would honor it. He loved her, after all.
"Yes, Nyota, of course I am." He took her face in his hands. "I just don't like the thought of your physical stress while this stuff works its way out of your system."
"It's won't be as bad with you around," She whispered, "you can tell me goofy engineering stories to distract me and there's a bowl of cold water to help keep me cool."
Jim smiled at his beautiful captain and gently kissed her, careful not to make things worse.
They camped out together on a springy cushion/couch thing inside the hut. Jim held Nyota while she trembled and sweated, gently wiping off her arms and forehead. He told her the crazy story of Scotty getting stuck in a Jeffries tube and how he and Keenser had to pull him out. He described the Roylan's amazing ability to perch on tiny ledges that scared Scotty half to death, and his incredible knack for having just the right tool ready before they even asked for it.
She laughed a lot over his anecdotes and teased him about his grease monkey habits.
After six hours or so, just as the planet's moons were rising, Uhura finally felt like normal again. Kirk gave a sigh of relief and they both got up and stretched, rather stiff and cramped.
"Jim," she whispered, gently kissing his strong jaw, "thank you so much for this. It means a lot to me that you respected my wishes. I'm glad to have a man I can trust." He looked down at her with his heart in his eyes.
"And I'm glad to BE someone you can trust. I love you, Nyota." She smiled tremulously back.
"I love you too, Jim. Now let's let the crew know we're still alive. I can only guess what they're imagining by now." They grinned together.
Shortly afterwards, negotiations were wrapped up, and the team returned to the Enterprise. Jim said goodnight to the captain and made his way back to his quarters. Bones caught him in the hall on the way there.
"Hey, Jim. You have a nice day?", he asked with a smirk.
"Yes, actually, I did." He looked his friend straight in the eye. Bones looked stunned.
"You didn't do anything, did you? That is not the face of a man who just got lucky."
"There are different kinds of lucky, Bones," Jim said quietly. "I consider myself extremely lucky every day I spend with her." He left the doctor staring after him.
Jim did have to take a very cold shower that night, but he fell asleep with a smile on his face. In the captain's quarters, Nyota Uhura was dreaming of big blue eyes.
