A/N: What I intend to be an interlinking series of one shots focusing upon the various relationships upon the Enterprise; romantic and platonic, humorous and serious. We start with a serious look at the aftermath of the tragedy with Spock and Uhura :)

"If you had been any less of a woman than you are, you would have perished that day, along with everything else I loved. And it would have been entirely of my own doing."

Uhura could only gape slightly. "Is this… is this what this has been about?"

"I can only ask for your forgiveness in regards to my coldness…" His voice softened slightly. "I would never intentionally hurt you Nyota. But had I assigned you to the Farragut that day… my regret… would have been insurmountable."

"Spock… Spock." She whispered his name so gently it surprised him slightly; not that it showed. She was in front of him before he could even register it, her arms enclosing him gently. As always, he remained rigid for a moment, before relaxing into her embrace, his own arms circling her waist and stroking her hair. "But you didn't. You didn't. And even if you had… how could we have known?" She felt a familiar lump rise in her throat, one that had been ever present for the past few weeks, threatening to constantly push her to tears. "How could we have known what we stood to lose?"

There was a silence in which he inhaled the exotic, wild scent of her hair. In a breach of what he had once considered to be polite and respectful, he had asked her why her hair always smelt as it did. Although he had been taken aback by what he assumed to be an act of extreme rudeness, she had been genuinely delighted at his question, rebuffing his attempts to apologise with a genuine glimmer of amusement in her eyes.

It had been early on in their relationship, when the concept of human bonding had still been relatively foreign to him. From his question he had learned all about Uhura's African heritage and how the scent of her hair products reminded her of brilliant childhood summers spent in the blistering heat of the beautiful African bush lands, as well as of her family and Earth in general.

He had vowed from that moment on to ask her more questions.

"How are you feeling?" He whispered it gently. After the Enterprise had defeated the Narada, every left at Starfleet had been left with nothing other than the serious need to reflect; the full weight of the loss thay had all endured hit them hard. When there had been an enemy to fight, they had been able to keep their minds occupied by battle. Now the battle had passed, all that kept them occupied was grief. There was not a single person left within the ranks of Starfleet who had not lost somebody they loved, whether romantically or platonically.

He had asked her this question many times, and each time she had dismissed the issue, despite the grief evidently being written across her features. For some time after the events, neither of them spoke much, instead using their time together to simply hold each other through the intensity of the pain. Despite their good intentions however, a rift had been growing between them over the past few weeks due to a sincere lack of honesty; one that both of them were keen to amend.

"I feel;" she began slowly, "like somebody has physically ripped a hole in my chest. And although over time the pain might fade… it will never truly go away. I feel like it's a part of me… A part of me that was once filled with all the friends I've lost."

He disentangled himself from her, cupping her face with his hands, his dark eyes gazing straight into hers. "I understand. I am sorry I have been so distant with you Nyota. Please forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive. She smiled slightly. "I've been cold myself because… because I felt selfish. You have lost… You have lost so much more than anyone else, and you have remained stronger than us all. I decided I should stay strong because I knew at some point… Some point we would have this conversation, and I would need to be strong for you."

He embraced her again, tighter this time. "There is no selfishness in grieving for loved ones who have unjustly lost their lives. This is something I believe we have both learned… And although I lost a lot that I held dear that day… I did not lose everything of value to me. You must understand that had I lost you too Nyota, there would have been nothing left in the universe to keep me going."

Uhura choked out a sob. "I can't believe my arrogance saved my life."

Spock's mouth twitched into a slight smile. "I have heard a certain Captain express that exact sentiment on more than one occasion." He felt her hiccup a laugh out between sobs. They had both been unyielding with one another. Now it was time to mourn, and to finally express a little honesty. "Nyota, it is my understanding that all sentient life forms commonly find it difficult to express the true depths of their emotion to one another. This is especially true for Vulcan's... but I need you to know that I love you… And that I thank you for teaching me to sometimes do what I feel to be right, rather than what I deem to be logical at the time. Had it not been for that lesson, we would not currently be stood here together."

"The teacher is taught by his student. The last time this happened was when we first…" She trailed off and smiled. "I love you too." Those words had never felt so right before. Her lips found his, the feeling of skin upon skin an electric kind of comfort for them both. He pulled away, brushing his lips gently down the soft expanse of her bare neck."

Jim Kirk could not have been any less prepared as he rounded that particular corner of the Enterprise. "Oh for the love of all things good, get a room!"