Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek or any of its characters, I just play with them.
The light streaming from her dorm room window had never seemed so bright and Cadet Uhura groaned before rolling over onto her stomach to avoid the onslaught. Her consciousness was slowly seeping back, her muscles and limbs regaining their use from the night before and she made a silent vow never to drink again. She had never gone overboard and she was always so careful to watch her limits but last night, something had been pushing her toward that edge. Nyota knew what it was of course but the weight of her secret pressed down on her resolve as the drinks began to flow at the campus bar, Gaila urging her to "let go" and have some fun for once. Now she was dealing with the consequences of over-drinking and worst of all, that secret was still nagging at her subconscious. It wasn't leaving her alone and she groaned again, louder this time out of mortification, into her pillow.
The physiological response of alcohol consumption was catching up to her and the headache that sliced through her brain felt like a mortal injury, her stomach churning with acid and the remnants of last night noisily. She was too smart to have done something as stupid as getting… well, shitfaced and yet there she was incredibly ill and cursing herself. She had no concept of time and never had she felt as sick as she was then. It could have been eight a.m. or it could have been noon, either way there was no chance of Uhura making it to class. Her world spun behind her closed eyes and it felt like her brain was bouncing around the inside of her skull, her mouth dry and lips stuck together in an uncomfortable reminder of her dehydration. The thought of putting anything in her stomach however made the liquid she had ingested bubble disgustingly in the pit of her abdomen and she swallowed down the newest wave of nausea that flowed over her body. She didn't want to know what she looked like, but she imagined her makeup from the night before smudged and her dress discarded somewhere near the bed.
It started in the language lab with Spock leaning over her, translations strewn all over her narrow desk while his keen eyes raked over her progress and no doubt checking for potential mistakes. She had been granted access to the lab and all its books by the Board who recognized her proficiency in language, backed by the half-Vulcan's recommendation. Three days a week, Uhura was permitted to work on advanced translations, phonemics and tonal variation in a setting that allowed her to hone her skills exponentially instead of having to pace herself in classes that restrained her talents. She had Spock to thank, if she was being honest with herself. The lab contained priceless data that only professionals had been allowed to utilize but her sparkling grade point average and Spock's shining endorsement had shot her through months of red tape. She had been working with him for two months when the feelings began, although it had just been a seed of admiration at first and had flourished from there. Uhura would watch him pour over translations, his fathomless eyes narrowed in concentration and she wanted to badly to know what went on behind his carefully schooled face. It only worsened from there as she began to watch his hands while he held the stylus of his PDA, moving then along his jaw line to the tips of his delightfully pointed ears.
Uhura believed she had gone insane and there was no way she could confide in anyone.
Her mind had originally gone to Gaila and she knew the green Orion girl had probably done worse things than crush on a professor but she discarded that idea almost immediately. By admitting that she was feeling something, she could never take it back—the words would always be out there and once the infatuation passed, they would just be embarrassing reminders of the past. She did however take her roommate up on the offer to go out for the night and perhaps that was where she went wrong. Nyota Uhura enjoyed bars and went out often but never with her promiscuous friend and something told her that doing so would be a bad idea. She obviously should have listened to that voice in her head. Even still, she needed to get her mind off the placidly cold (yet for some reason, steaming hot) half Vulcan and some drinks would do the trick.
Now her roommate was gone and she was alone in the dorm; miserable and confused, irritated and absolutely ill. If she moved she risked vomiting and Uhura wasn't keen on rushing to the communal bathrooms down the hall as her stomach turned itself inside out, but she knew she needed to get moving. "Computer, time?" She managed to mumble out, her voice cracking from the yelling she had done and the electronic voice read 1p.m. back to her. A cold wave passed over her and she lifted her head gingerly from the pillow to look at her calendar only to see that it was indeed a Tuesday and she had missed Advanced Romulan, taught by Spock himself. As that thought injected itself into her muddled brain, she simply laid her head back down and passed back into unconsciousness.
Some time later, vaguely in the back of her mind she registered her door swishing open without the tell-tale beep that accompanied the swiping of a student identification card and groggily she found it odd. Cracking open one dark eye for a moment, she came face to face with the one person she wanted to keep herself hidden from. Spock peered at her curiously, concern mixed with the quintessential Vulcan blankness that she had grown to admire and for a moment Uhura considered playing dead. Before she could think of a way out of the inevitable confrontation, she felt a warm hand on her bare shoulder.
"Cadet Uhura, you were not in class today. You look ill, I will escort you to the medical ward." His words were as clipped as they usually were. Swallowing thickly, Uhura labored to roll herself onto her back and pulled the blankets up to cover her bra-clad chest.
"No Spock, I'm fine."
"You are most obviously not fine. Humans have the unfortunate habit of not seeking appropriate medical care when they need it. I am going to have to demand that you see a doctor." He responded, logically cold as he always was. She needed to forget the feelings he elicited in her and she squeezed her eyes shut, dark hair splayed messily on her pillow.
"You don't understand, I know what's wrong with me." She ground out, another pass of nausea claiming her. "I just have to wait for it to pass. I'll be fine."
She was met with a look of genuine puzzlement from the Vulcan as he stood, his eyes glued to her face instead of the silhouette of her body under the blanket. He knew she was running at least a low grade fever and her grimaces denoted that she was in a great deal of pain. "Well then, what is wrong?" A hint of aggravation crept into his level voice.
She mumbled incoherently into her arms before sighing petulantly, earning her a stern look. "Cadet Uhura, I did not hear you.
"I'm hung over Spock, okay? I just have to wait for everything to settle and I'll be back on my feet. I just… I can't function right now." She was embarrassed to admit it and color unrelated to the hangover itself flushed her brown complexion, her heart pounding in her chest. He could easily report her to the board and there would no doubt be consequences to her negligence. She chanced a glance at him and she rested her gaze on his face, waiting for her eyes to settle.
It was so out of character for her to be irresponsible and Spock was more concerned than he had been initially, lines creasing his face as he knelt down by her bed again. His Starfleet uniform seemed so bright that it hurt her eyes and she looked away while he spoke. "Why did you drink if you knew you had class?" It was illogical.
"I wanted a break, I had something on my mind." Every word she ground out felt like tiny knives against her larynx and she winced before swallowing again. She felt worse than she had when she woke up and she pulled the blanket up over her head to block out the light. She heard him stand again, his footsteps retreating as the door to her dorm slid open and shut—that was it. Nyota figured she would get her summons sometime before dinner and the Board would take away everything she had worked so hard for. Tension welled in her throat and she found back self-pitying tears, angrily wiping them away and closing her eyes under the covers.
Moments later she heard another swish of the door and the lack of beep as he returned. Standing patiently by her bed, she knew he was waiting for her to show her face and she pulled the blankets down reluctantly. In his hands were three ibuprofen and a glass bottle of water, his face infuriatingly calm while she blinked up at him. "Take these, Cadet. I have been told they will make you feel better."
She sat up slowly (oh, so slowly!) and took the proffered gifts from his hands, skin brushing skin as she popped the pills into her mouth and sipped the water. Uhura waivered where she sat and she closed her eyes once more, the heat of his gaze burning through her skin as modesty was pushed aside. She just wanted to feel better and the almost parental attention Spock was paying her unnerved her. What could he possibly think of her? Her face crumpled in self pity once again and she turned her face away from him, the migraine causing colors to flash in front of her closed eyes. The rough scrape of a chair snapped her out of her reverie and she looked up to see Spock sitting expectantly at the foot of her bed, his hands in his lap and his eyes trained on her. He sensed her question immediately.
"I am staying until you are better, Uhura." He didn't dare to use her first name, not yet. "Your roommate will be out for the entire day, I believe she is spending the night elsewhere and it is dangerous for you to be alone in this condition."
She blinked dumbly and opened her mouth to protest, but he beat her to the punch. "Lay down, Cadet." There was nothing she could do but comply and she lowered her body back down, promptly slipping back into unconsciousness.
A/N: Whoo! I love this pairing, although we'll see if I'm any good at writing them. This was written after a rather unfortunate night of my own. I hope everyone likes it and reviews are ALWAYS appreciated.