Hello all!! This is just a little one-shot that popped into my head while watching the movie. This takes place while everyone is still at the academy and I wanted to write an "Uhura-is-nice-to-Jim" fic :) Hope you all like it!!

I own nothing, just the scenary!!

The spring sunlight glinted off the surface of the lake, reflecting back brilliantly across the beach. A warm breeze carried the smell of lake water and the surrounding city closer, the sand shifting under the wispy currents. It was a little after two o'clock and the beach was mostly empty save for a few kids playing in the water and a couple of the students from Starfleet. Nearly everyone was still stuck at the academy this time of day but a few had managed to finish their day early enough to enjoy the warm weather.

Uhura sat up a little, propping herself up on her elbows and looking out across the lake. It really was a beautiful day and she was glad she had allowed herself to be dragged out of the academy. Lately she had been so busy with studying and tests she hadn't actually been out of her room in nearly a month and a half. So today, after Gaila had pretty much insisted that she get out and breathe some air that hadn't been re-circulated in a lab or a classroom, Uhura found that she really couldn't refuse.

The bathing suit may have been a little much though. Honestly, Uhura couldn't remember the last time she had gone to the lake, let alone swim, and being forced into a tiny black bikini by her overly enthusiastic roommate wasn't exactly how she thought she would be spending the afternoon. Still, as long as no one saw her, it may not be so bad…

Gaila flipped over onto her stomach, her green skin shimmering a little in the sunlight. She flashed a bright grin at her roommate and nudged her leg. "Good idea, huh?"

Uhura couldn't help but smile. Sure, Gaila was kind of ditsy sometimes but she really was a sweet person. "Yeah, okay. It was a good idea."

The redhead beamed at her and rested her chin on her crossed arms. They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, nothing but the sound of passing traffic from the road a couple yards back breaking the mood. The lake was only a few miles away from the academy, the river emptying out into a large, man-made reservoir behind a residential neighborhood. Tall, shady trees surrounded the waterfront to the north, their branches providing plenty of cover for afternoon visitors. The side they were on, however, was nothing but flat beach that stretched on for a few miles in either direction. The sand had been piled into tall dunes here and there to make it look more like a real beach (the closest one was just a little too far out of the way for a day's travel) and a few palms trees had even been planted along the shoreline. All in all, it was a perfect place to spend the afternoon.

There was a sharp whistle from somewhere up above them and both girls looked up to see a young man waving down at them. Uhura recognized him instantly; Gaila had been trying to hook up with him the night before. He was yelling something but it was hard to make out the words from where he was standing.

Gaila pulled herself onto her knees, pulling a t-shirt on over her lavender bikini. She flipped her hair over her shoulders and grinned at the other girl. "I'm going to go talk to him." She giggled, hopping up and slipping on a pair of sandals. "I'll be right back, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, she took off up the hill to greet the boy.

Uhura watched her go and smirked to herself, looking back over the water. Sometimes Gaila could be a little too flirty for her own good but as long as she could handle herself it was okay. With a sigh, Uhura pushed herself into a sitting position and stood slowly, still looking out at the lake. It was beginning to get a little warm and the idea of taking a dip in the shimmering water was a little too tempting. She adjusted her top absently, pulling the back strap of the bathing suit a little higher up her back. The top didn't have straps, it was more like a tube top with only a single clip in the back that held it in place. Still, it fit well enough and covered what needed to be covered so it was fine.

The water was pleasantly cool, the afternoon sun warming it to the point of being comfortable without being too hot or too cold. The sand shifted and moved beneath her feet as she waded out into the water, the waves lapping lightly at her stomach. When she was about chest deep, Uhura slipped beneath the surface of the water, closing her eyes her head went under. She stood still for a few minutes, enjoying the weightlessness of the water as it held her in place. This was nice, she was glad she had decided to come out today.

Surfacing again, she lay back in the water and simply floated on her back for a few minutes, the sun warming the excess water on her face. Her hair floated around her shoulders like inky tendrils, wrapping and curling around her arms and shoulders with the currents. She stared at the sky for a long time, lost in thought, until the sound of laughter pulled her from her reverie. Standing back up and looking toward the beach, she saw four young men walking along the beach, joking and pushing each other in playful banter.

Great, Uhura thought, her eyes narrowing a little. The men had decided to make camp only a few feet from where she and Gaila had been and it didn't look like they would be moving anytime soon. She weighed her options, wondering how much of a hassle it would be to swim down the beach and exit somewhere else to avoid the cat-calls she knew were coming. But then that meant leaving her clothes and wallet on the beach for them to go through. With a sigh, Uhura squared her shoulders and started back up to the beach.

As expected, the men began whistling and yelling various sexual comments her way as she approached. Uhura kept her focus forward, hoping that maybe if she ignored them, they would get the hint and leave her alone. It was wishful thinking.

Upon reaching the beach, one of the biggest men, probably about 6'5 stepped toward her, grinning wolfishly. "Well hey there beautiful." He drawled, his breath reeking of beer. "Want to come party with us for a while? You look like you could use some company." He attempted to wrap and arm around her shoulder but Uhura ducked away from the touch and offered him a carefully placed smile.

"No thanks. I was actually leaving." She stepped away from him and was just about to reach for her towel when a hand caught her wrist.

"Whoa there darlin'" Another man said, stepping a little to close and pulling her toward him. "I think you should hang around with us for a bit. You might have fun." He winked and Uhura fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"Thanks but I'd rather fall off a cliff." She snapped, tearing her arm away from the man's grip and backing away toward the road. She could handle herself, there was no doubt about that, but these four had been drinking and drunk, horny men hardly ever ended right.

The first man chuckled darkly to himself and shook his head. "Look, honey, we tried asking nicely-" He started, taking a step toward her again.

"And I declined. Nicely." The last word came out as verbal slap and one of the other men laughed.

"Well, I don't think you really have a choice in the matter." The second man said, lunging for her.

Uhura managed to dodge the attack but didn't step out of the way quick enough to avoid one of the other men grabbing the back of her swimsuit. The top ripped away in his hand and Uhura yelped, crossing her arms over her chest in a desperate attempt at modesty. Her towel and all of her clothes were now a few feet behind the men, trampled and covered in sand by now, so the idea of getting something to cover herself with was now dashed. A fierce blush stained her cheeks and hot, embarrassed tears welled in her eyes, threatening to fall. The men laughed wickedly and advanced, surrounding her on all sides.

"Hey!" A voice called from somewhere up the hill and Uhura unconsciously felt her eyes narrow again. Not him…anyone but him…

A few seconds later, Jim Kirk appeared at the base of one of the sand dunes and began striding toward them. Skipping class had been an easy decision today and he'd been thinking about visiting the lake all week. So imagine his surprise when he stumbled across Gaila, who was becoming a little too touchy with a young man near the restrooms. She had told him Uhura was down by the beach, probably in an attempt to get back to whatever she was about to do since it was known fact that her roommate couldn't stand the cocky young cadet. Jim had thanked her and was making his way down to the beach when he heard the men talking. He had seen the entire thing from the pathway leading down to the beach and felt his anger boil to the surface at seeing the way they had treated Uhura. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was guys who mistreated women. As he got closer, he could see Uhura glaring at him in a mixture of anger and embarrassment. Even in a compromising position such as this, she could still glare daggers at him.

Jim put on his best I'm-not-about-to-kick-your-asses smile and approached the group of men. "Hey guys, how about you leave the lady alone, alright?"

The tallest man sneered at him and spit. "Back off punk, this doesn't concern you."

"Actually, it does." Jim countered, stepping closer until he was right behind the man. "You see, this girl happens to be a friend of mine and I'm not too happy about the way you guys have been treating her."

Uhura blinked, not entirely sure she had heard him correctly. Jim was defending her? There had to be a catch…

"So how about you boys just walk away and I'll be sure not to beat you to death with you own spines?" Jim continued, stepping a little closer and clapping a hand on the leader's back.

"You little-" The man snarled, turning and swinging as hard as he could.

Jim avoided the swing and kicked hard into the back of the man's knee, sending him sprawling to the sand. The others were stunned just long enough for Jim to maneuver his way in between them and stand in front of Uhura protectively. He kept his back to her but glanced over his shoulder at her. "Stay behind me, alright?"

Uhura wanted to protest, to say that she didn't need his help, but she knew it wasn't the case. She was topless, surrounded by horny, drunk men; she needed all the help she could get right now.

The other three men attacked at once, swinging awkwardly as they each tried to hit a single target. Jim ducked and dodged each attack easily, landing a few blows of his own and knocking the men to the ground. He kept himself in front of Uhura the entire time, blocking any view the men might get of her. A few more sloppy punches were swung, each one easily avoidable, before the men were left beaten and bleeding on the sandy beach.

Jim clenched and unclenched his hands slowly, glaring at the men. "Leave." He snapped, watching as they slowly stood and dusted themselves off. They glared murderously at him, grumbling and muttering a few colorful curses under their breath as they stepped away.

The tallest man spit blood and winked at Uhura. "See you around, sweetheart."

"Try it." Jim snarled, clenching his fists again as if preparing for another round with the guy.

The man simply sneered at him and turned his back , following his buddies back to the pathway.

Once he was sure they were a good distance away, Jim turned and faced the shaken young woman in front of him. "You okay?"

Uhura couldn't manage words at the moment, tears of embarrassment streaming down her cheeks. Instead, she managed a weak nod and looked down, half expecting some kind of sarcastic comment to come from Kirk. Instead, he shrugged out of his over shirt and handed it to her, turning his back once again as she buttoned it up the front. Once she was done, he turned back and offered her a half-smile. "Feeling a little better now?" He asked, the concern in his voice evident.

Uhura was about to nod again when she noticed a glint of something sailing through the air. "Kirk, look out-!" She started to yell but the warning came a split second too late.

Kirk turned just in time for something to crash into the side of his face, glass shattering on impact. The world faded to white for a second before slipping into inky blackness.

Kirk blinked slowly, his vision adjusting to the ceiling tiles above his bed. He was back at the academy, in his room, on his bed. That's weird…

Everything felt hazy, like he was floating, and the ceiling spun briefly. Everything hurt; his head, his neck, everything. He blinked again and came to a sudden realization. He couldn't see anything out of his right eye. "Ah shit…I'm half blind…" He grumbled, irritated more than anything.

"Hardly." A voice said from above and an ice pack was removed from the right side of his face. Uhura looked down at him, brushing her thumb across his cheekbone gently. She was still wearing his shirt but the bikini bottoms had been replaced with shorts and her long hair was pulled into a messy bun.

Jim managed a small smile and winced as the movement caused his head to throb. "Ugh…what happened…?" He asked, trying to sit up a little.

"That jerk hit you with a beer bottle." Uhura explained, wincing at the memory of the Jim's blood mixing with the alcohol on the sand. The skin around Jim's right eye was beginning to develop a sickening yellow color, a few darker areas peaking out here and there. A small cut curled over the ridge of his eyebrow, dried blood clinging to the bruised edges thickly. His eye was swollen and bloodshot and it was going to form one hell of a shiner before everything was said and done.

"It knocked me out?" Jim asked incredulously, looking around the room carefully.

"Well the beer bottle only knocked you out for a few minutes but when McCoy mentioned stitches you started to struggle and he sedated you."

That explained the pain in his neck. Jim winced again and rubbed a hand across his eyes, wincing as it came in contact with the stiff material of the sutures running above his eyebrow. The pain caused a wave of nausea and he felt Uhura place a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe you should lay back down." She said, helping him lean back against the headboard.

"Good plan." Jim muttered, closing his eyes for a second.

A brief silence passed between them before Uhura managed to pull up the words she wanted. "K-Jim…what you did today…"

Jim simply shook his head, ignoring the way the room swirled around him. "Don't worry about it." He said, trying to wink but failing miserably. "I couldn't just sit back and watch them treat you that way, right?"

Uhura was silent for a second, trying to come up with something else to say.

"Of course, I'm sure this pain would go away a lot faster if you told me your first name."

Uhura felt all her previous irritation return at once and she dropped the ice pack on Jim's injured eye. "You're such a pig." She snapped, gritting her teeth as he chuckled, and jumping to her feet and stomping to the door. She paused before storming out into the hallway, her hand lingering on the doorframe.

"Jim…"

Jim blinked, looking at her. He wasn't used to her using his first name. "Yeah?"

Uhura bit her lip a little, battling internally with the words. "Thank you…" She said finally, offering him a real smile.

Jim returned to smile and nodded. "You're welcome."

There ya go!! Hope you all liked it!! If there's anything that needs to be changed please (politely) let me know!! Flames are just mean =(