Title: To Old Friends
Author: Wildcat
Series: TOS
Rating: K+
Codes: S & U
Summary: When Kirk invites some friends over to his apartment, Spock and Uhura encounter each other for the first time in over a year.
Disclaimer: Paramount owns Kirk, Spock, Uhura, and company. I have just borrowed them for a while, and I will not profit from any of this.
This story is a part of my continuing Spock/Uhura universe. It follows Ondine.
Feedback is desired.
To Old Friends, chapter 1
"Hey, Bones. Hold this for a moment, would you?"
"Sure, Jim."
The melodious sound of clinking bottles echoed in the hallway as Kirk handed the heavy carton to McCoy and turned to palm the lock. He couldn't help but smile to himself. While he always considered the Enterprise his true home, it definitely felt good to be back on Earth again. They were only here for three short days, and he vowed to enjoy every minute of that time. As if encouraging this thought, his apartment door slid open to reveal a wide expanse of familiar blue sky, and he couldn't resist gazing out the window for a moment before he stepped back and ushered the other men in.
He headed toward the small kitchen. "Just set those things on the counter. I'll figure out where to put it all later. There's probably not enough room in my stasis unit for all that food." He pulled open a cabinet. "I think the liquor will fit up here, though."
McCoy put the carton on the counter and began to sort through it. "Now, don't be in such a hurry, Jim. I think at least one of these bottles ought to stay out. At least for a little while."
From his position by the open stasis unit, Spock pulled out a container and eyed it suspiciously. "Jim, when were you last home?"
Snorting, Kirk leaned past his friend and began rummaging through the stasis unit. "It hasn't been that long. This stuff is all still good."
"While I have no doubt that everything was preserved adequately, I question whether you can identify certain items. Such as this."
Kirk took it from his friend and opened it, then shrugged and tossed it into the recycler. "We need the room anyway."
"Of course."
Kirk glanced up at Spock's sardonic tone, but before he could reply, McCoy asked, "Would either of you gentlemen care to sample the bourbon with me?"
Kirk turned to see that McCoy held three glasses and an amber-colored bottle. "Not for me, Bones. I have to run back over to HQ this afternoon. You go ahead, though."
"Don't mind if I do." McCoy poured a tiny amount into one of the glasses. "Spock?"
"No thank you, Doctor."
"Well, I knew you wouldn't. I was just asking to be polite." McCoy lifted the glass as if in tribute, then sipped. "Mmmm. This is good stuff, Jim. Nice and smooth. Oh, I forgot to tell you. I talked to Chapel, and she's coming tonight."
"Great!" Kirk closed the stasis unit. "I ran into Janice Rand earlier, and she'll be here. It sounds like we'll have a good-sized crowd, despite the fact that we're pulling this together at the last minute."
McCoy leaned against the counter. "Well, everyone wants to see Chekov. I'm just glad we discovered that he happened to be on Earth this week."
Spock pulled a bottle out of the carton and examined it, then placed it on the shelf. "I am also gratified that we learned of his presence. Except for the occasional communication with the Reliant, I have not had the opportunity to speak with him since he was transferred. Starfleet recently upgraded the Reliant's science lab, and I am interested to hear his opinion of the new equipment."
"Is there anyone else we should invite?" asked McCoy. "What about Kevin Riley? He was always good friends with Chekov. Isn't he working at HQ?"
"Yes, he is. Good idea, Bones. I'll look him up when I go over there later."
McCoy crossed his arms and slid his gaze toward Spock, who was studying the label of another bottle. "Now the only person we're missing is Uhura."
Spock stiffened minutely but did not look up from the bottle. After a moment, he said, "Yes. It does seem as if she should be with us, too. The Lexington is currently on assignment far from Earth, however, so the point is moot." Kirk could tell that he was careful to keep his tone conversational.
Spock abruptly placed the bottle on the shelf and continued unloading the rest of the carton, his movements efficiently deliberate. McCoy watched Spock with a sympathetic expression on his face, then looked over at Kirk, clearly regretful for bringing up such a painful subject.
Kirk broke the silence. Looking at his chrono, he said, "I guess I need to be getting on down to HQ. Anyone want to go with me?"
Spock put the last bottle in the cabinet. "I must decline, Jim. I have a number of tasks I wish to complete today."
McCoy drained his drink. "Me too. Joanna ought to be out of class about now, and I promised I'd call her. She has the day off tomorrow, and even though she's at that age where she'd rather hang out with her friends than spend time with her old dad, I'm going to see if she can squeeze me into her busy schedule." Following Spock toward the door, he asked, "What time do you want us to come back over?"
"Say around 2100 hours?"
"Sounds good. See you then."
Kirk waved just before the door closed behind them, then walked to the bedroom to put on his uniform. He'd take care of his errand at HQ and be back here in plenty of time to get his apartment ready.
...
Trying her best not to nervously scan each room she passed, Uhura walked briskly down the hall at Starfleet Headquarters. She hadn't believed it when she saw the Enterprise in spacedock at her arrival late yesterday, and now she felt like a nervous schoolgirl on the first day of class, pretending not to watch out for some boy that she liked.
And his friends. Just as she turned a corner, she heard a very recognizable voice call out behind her.
"Commander Uhura!"
She turned quickly to find Admiral Kirk hurrying to catch up. Genuinely happy to see him despite what she feared might be an awkward situation, she moved forward to accept his embrace.
"Admiral! What a wonderful surprise!"
"Yes it is, Commander. I didn't expect to find you here."
"I'm on dual assignment now. Have you heard about the new communications training facility being built on Gibraltar? I'm helping design the curriculum for non-Federation communication."
"That sounds interesting. How is it going?"
"Very well. This is my second trip to Earth, and I've been pleased with how smoothly everything is coming together at the new school. If we stay on schedule, we should be ready to start accepting students in about six months. And how about you? Is everything going well?"
"I'm fine. The Enterprise is in spacedock for three days while Spock and I meet with the Admiralty staff. I'm not sure what it's all about yet, but I expect that they're going to brief us on upcoming assignments and rearrange some of our personnel." He motioned toward the corridor ahead of them. "Were you on your way somewhere?"
"I have a meeting in E wing at 1400 hours."
"I'm heading that way myself. I'll walk you there." Falling in step beside her, he said, "Did you know that Chekov is here?"
"Is he? It's been ages since I saw him. I'll have to be sure I look him up."
"Actually, I'm having a little get-together at my place for him tonight. Will you come? I'd love to have you, and I know that everyone will be thrilled to see you. The Enterprise senior crew is coming, as well as Christine Chapel, Janice Rand, and anyone else I can round up."
Her step faltered as she looked up at him uncertainly. "I don't know. I mean, I'd love to see everyone, but..."
He stopped walking. "But you're worried about Spock."
"Yes, to be honest, I am. It's just that I haven't seen him in over a year, since, well, since we split up, and it's bound to be awkward. I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable."
"Uhura." He rested his hand lightly on her arm. "You and he are still friends, aren't you?"
"I suppose, although relations are certainly strained between us. For a while we tried to stay in touch, but it finally became too hard. I haven't talked to him for months."
"Then maybe it's time that the two of you talk. You're my friend. He's my friend. The two of you have many, many friends in common. You can't expect to go through life without ever seeing him again. C'mon. It'll be fine."
She looked at him warily. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. We'll have a good time."
"Well... All right. I'll come."
"Perfect." He pointed toward a corridor that branched off the main hall. "I'm heading this way, so I should let you go on to your meeting. We're all gathering around 2100 hours. My place."
She smiled. "I'll see you then."
He started down the corridor, but turned after a couple of steps. "Now, don't change your mind. I expect you to be there!"
Laughing, she said, "I'll be there! I promise."
He grinned and nodded, and she watched his departing back for a moment before walking away. Well. She would see Spock again tonight. She didn't know whether to feel excited, apprehensive, or any one of the hundred other conflicting emotions that coursed through her right now.
...
Noting a definite chill in the air, Spock consulted his computer and verified that the environmental control for his apartment was set precisely as he wished. Therefore, the fault must lie in the sensors. He dismissed a slight twinge of exasperation over the fact that he had uncovered several small problems since his arrival yesterday. This apartment building was popular among Starfleet personnel who spent most of their time off-planet and therefore needed a permanent address more than an actual residence, but if the building manager did not rectify his lax attitude toward maintenance, that trend would cease. Resolving to assemble a list of the items that had required his attention, he opened the desk drawer to retrieve his small tool kit.
Before he could locate the particular calibration device he sought, the computer signaled that someone was at the door. He closed the drawer and walked quickly to the door, then pressed his fingertips to the control. It opened to reveal Admiral Kirk.
Raising both eyebrows, Spock said, "Admiral. I did not expect to see you again until this evening. Please come in."
Kirk stepped just inside the door. "I only have a few minutes, but I wanted to talk to you before tonight."
Spock frowned slightly, detecting Kirk's uneasiness. "Very well. Did you receive unsettling information at Headquarters today?"
"No, no. Nothing like that. I just ran into someone and thought you'd want to know. Remember earlier, when we said that the one person we'd be missing was Uhura?"
Spock froze for a moment, then clasped his hands behind his back. "You saw Commander Uhura."
"Yes. She's part of the team organizing the new communications training facility on Gibraltar. I hope you don't mind, but I invited her to come tonight."
"Of course I do not mind. You would have been remiss had you not invited her." He hesitated. "Perhaps, though, it would be best if I did not attend. I have not found the time yet to complete all the tasks I wished—"
"Spock. You have to come. It would be like a slap in her face if you didn't."
Spock tightened his lips, then nodded. "You are correct."
"If it's any consolation, she's really nervous about seeing you again, too. I'm sure it'll be all right. You two were too close for too long to allow this estrangement to continue." Kirk backed toward the door. "I've got to go now. Don't change your mind at the last minute and stay away."
"I will be there."
"Okay. Good. See you then." Smiling reassuringly, Kirk left.
Spock stared at the closed door. He had not seen her since that night twelve point eight months ago when they had sat in a space station lounge and hurled recriminations across the table at one another. Each of them had said much. She had insisted on honesty between them, but when the honesty finally came, it was brutal. And in the end, he had not been able to offer that final honesty and tell her that he did not want to lose her. They had parted, agreeing that they would remain friends.
And so the months had passed. They had attempted to remain in contact, discussing Saavik's accomplishments and coordinating their leave so they did not both visit Gamma Cygnus at the same time, but the communications had become increasingly spare as time went on and eventually ceased entirely. The last they spoke, she had admitted that she was casually seeing someone. Although it was not serious at the time, he knew from the way she talked that she was open to the possibility of a serious involvement in the future. It was just as well. He wished her happiness. He, on the other hand, had rededicated himself to his work and found new rewards in his own controlled and precise life.
Tonight they would meet again after a longer separation than during any other period since the day they met. Perhaps it would not be too uncomfortable. At any rate, he would survive, and by tomorrow it would be over.
Taking a deep breath, he turned in search of his tools.
End chapter 1