Disclaimer: I don't own star trek or any of its associated content.
While Nyota was visiting her father just before the baby was born, he told her that the house on the edges of Nairobi had finally sold. He pointed out a pile of boxes that stood out against the cleanliness of his own recently purchased house in San Francisco and explained that he had found a bunch of old things that had been relegated to a dusty storage shed behind their posh suburban home.
"What sort of stuff Baba?" Nyota asked Kiano absently as she stretched.
"Stuff from your grandmother mostly. Lots of things from when your granddad was alive."
Nyota knew that her grandfather had died shortly after Kiano had met her mother, several years before she was born. She'd grown up with stories of his bravery during the Earth-Romulus war. Charles Abasi Uhura had been an archivist that worked for the Federal Archives of the United States of Africa; however, he started his career in a more exciting way, leading a Vulcan ship into a fight at the Battle of Cheron during the Earth-Romulus War. Nyota loved hearing stories of her grandfather's courage and skill when she was a little girl. It had been what drove her to join Starfleet. Nyota slid her hand over her belly.
"Baba, do you mind if I look through some of it? I'd love to have something of babu's for the little one." Nyota looked somewhat distant whenever she spoke about the baby.
"Of course." Kiano said as he walked toward the boxes. He inspected the boxes for a few seconds and seemed to settle on the one he wanted. He hefted to his coffee table and set it down. "This is your babu's box of old awards from the war. He was a quiet man, you know, but he really treasured these old trinkets. He treasured the people that surrounded them." Kiano looked at his daughter, her face glowing more than usual, and wished that her grandfather had lived to meet her. Kiano often thought that he saw much of his father flowing through Nyota. "You can have Spock carry this back to the transporter sight.
"Oh, great." Nyota sat down again and awkwardly tried to find a comfortable position on her father's couch. They sat and talked for a few hours about interesting things that were occurring at his job. Kiano worked in intelligence after a long career in politics and the new challenges of the position made Kiano seem to be even livelier.
Eventually, Spock came to accompany Nyota back to the ship. She hugged her father goodbye and Spock took the box in his hands, eying Nyota and Kiano skeptically. Nyota explained that she might find something interesting in the box that she could share with the baby. Nyota had been thinking a great deal about history and wanted her child to have a strong sense of who she was on both sides of her family. Nyota also secretly hoped that the contents of the box might help her think of an appropriate name. She had been stumped and Spock's suggestions had not been helping. Perhaps the box would hold the name of a comrade about the ship or an old forgotten friend.
When they got back aboard the Enterprise, the box languished in closet for weeks until Dr. McCoy ordered Nyota, who's Human body was not taking the extended Vulcan gestation period particularly well, onto bed rest. Nyota had no desire to be confined to the quarters that she shared with Spock and protested that she would be fine to work with some slight accommodation.
"Uhura," McCoy looked at her chart on the PADD. "The stress is going to start to affect the baby if you don't stop being an overachiever. Your body is barely able to maintain the pregnancy as it is. I've had to figure out a way to make sure your placenta doesn't dry up and that your cervix doesn't start to dilate. Your body desperately wants a nine month gestation and the baby needs longer. The Vulcan DNA is winning out on her needs Uhura. She may be three parts Human but her in-utero development is all Vulcan." McCoy sighed. "I know it isn't what you want, but it'll be the best for both of you Uhura. Trust me."
"But I feel fine Len. I'm a little uncomfortable but that's just how it goes right?" Nyota tried to reason with him. "I promise that I will stop working just as soon as anything starts to feel unusual."
"You are being illogical Nyota." Spock had been delayed with an emergency in engineering. Spock strode up behind McCoy. "Even among Humans your body is below average size. It is highly unlikely that it will be able to continue to support the ongoing needs of a Vulcan fetus, especially if you use the majority of your energy stores in the often stressful environment of the bridge. Our child is presently engaged in her natal telepathic development. Insisting upon continuing work at this stage is beyond illogical Nyota." Spock's face was still but she could sense his concern through their mind meld. Spock was very serious. He rarely called her illogical and he never did so in front of other people.
Both Spock and McCoy enumerated the reasons that Nyota should take rest. They unified in their rejection of her arguments for her continued work. Finally, McCoy declared the argument over. He told Nyota that she would be on bed rest from that day forward until there was clearance from him to change it. She was not to exert herself for the duration of the pregnancy. Nyota looked at Spock for back up against McCoy's stern conclusion but she got no support. Nyota hung her head when she realized, outnumbered by Spock and McCoy, she'd lost the argument.
Stuck in their cabin for the final five weeks of her pregnancy Nyota grew restless quickly. She caught up on all of the projects that she could from her bed, a PADD in hand. She moved to the armchair that she had received from her father in law and caught up on academic journals. Both tasks only took her nine hours. Nyota damned her own efficiency when she realized she had nothing else productive to do to fill the time. She eventually wandered to the bridge out of boredom. When she saw that Spock was not in the immediate vicinity she was able to talk her replacement, Junior Lieutenant Pablo Garza, into taking a break while she looked everything over. She was happily reviewing the nine hours of communications that she had missed when Spock appeared behind her and told her to leave the bridge.
"Lieutenant Uhura, may I remind you that we have received orders from the Chief Medical Officer that indicate that you are not meant to leave your quarters without his approval? It would be a breach of authority to allow you to remain aboard the bridge." Spock said calmly. Nyota could see everyone leaning in their direction, straining to hear.
"I'm fine Commander." Nyota said with a small frown. "Dr. McCoy's orders said I had to rest, not that I couldn't leave my quarters. I'm not exerting myself now."
"Lieutenant. You are ordered to leave the bridge. If you defy this direct order it will be noted in your record as insubordination." Spock said firmly. "A report of insubordination will not reflect favorably upon your upcoming review for promotion." He added quietly as he raised an eyebrow.
"Understood sir." Nyota glared at him and then at the rest of the bridge which had suddenly become hushed. Nyota slowly walked to the turbo lift and ascended to her deck. Nyota knew that Spock was serious about his order. He worked very hard to maintain professionalism when it came to their work together, even when it made him look like a pill in front of the rest of the bridge. Still, everyone on the bridge could sense Spock's increasing anxiety levels as it came closer to Nyota's due date. What had been an occasional nod in her direction when they were on the same shift had quickly morphed into hovering as Nyota began to show and then into micromanaging as Nyota came into her final segment of the extended pregnancy. Nyota decided that Spock's concern was cute and ignored his interference with her duties for the most part; however, now, he had McCoy behind him which meant that he would take his anxious acting out to a new level. Nyota sighed as she sunk into the bed.
Nyota took a short nap and then stood to replicate a light meal. She shook her head at the idea that she wasn't even capable of heading to the mess hall on her own. Nyota acknowledged that her back hurt and that it was getting more difficult to take a deep breath. She also acknowledged that she hadn't been able to sleep properly in weeks and that it felt like a large man was standing against her intestines but that didn't mean she couldn't work. Nyota took her soup to the little dinette that also functioned as an office in their quarters. As she spooned the hot broth into her mouth, Nyota's eyes finally fell upon the box that Spock had carried up from Earth.
Author's note: Thanks to ayachan1412 for being my beta reader! This is a story about Nyota's paternal grandfather who was mentioned briefly in First Contact and Surprise Surprise.