Disclaimer: I still don't own Star Trek or the characters. I also know that these are not necessarily Romulan phrases, but these were what came up in the search results when I did look for them. Just go with me on this, please. ;)

Thank you to everyone for the reviews!

"Logic's Captive"

A Star Trek Fanfiction by IllogicalWoman

Dedicated to: ™PυяεLσgιc;

Chapter Two

The duration of their walk was short; mostly due to Spock's quick stride which Nyota had little trouble keeping up with. The library was deserted, as was normal for a Friday evening. As soon as the door slid shut behind them, the Vulcan Commander and his top student were greeted with the sight of dozens of shelves filled with books; the subjects of which were in a variety of topics ranging from history to astrology to starship guides to Xenolinguistics study guides.

Nyota followed Spock over to a table conveniently located next to the Xenolinguistics section. An illuminated computer rested faithfully on the corner of the desk, waiting for orders. She set down her notebook and only took a seat after Spock indicated she do so. The cadet quickly peeked inside of her notebook to get a glimpse of what Spock had been reading earlier.

Oh. It was only a few transmissions she had intercepted during her weekly scan of intergalactic solar systems. She had been doing this as a ritual for all three of her years in attendance at Starfleet Academy; and it was always very rare that she actually picked up dialogue and not just clicks and whistles. She opened the book completely and pushed it toward Spock, who reached his hand out and pulled it to him. He still avoided directly touching her.

Nyota had no idea what was up with that.

Spock's eyes scanned what she had written before placing one hand on top of another and resting them on top of the table. He sighed so lightly that Uhura could barely hear it, and then raised his eyes to look at her.

"Let's begin then." The tone of his voice was as dull as it would normally be in a classroom setting. "I have read over your notes several times over and, as is customary when it comes to your work, there are very few errors. This section, however," he circled it with his finger, "is not as well-translated as the others. This, for example," he underlined one of the phrases, "Draomn mnekha." He pronounced clearly. "Now you."

"Draomn mnekha." She imitated him. Nyota did not feel that she needed another lesson in Romulan – she knew vaguely what the transmissions meant – and they were not very important. How could she communicate to Spock that she was only hiding from Kirk without offending him? Think, Nyota, think…

"Again." Spock said. He underlined another sentence. "This one."

"Veherr." Uhura read disinterestedly. Spock's lips wanted to pull back in an amused grin. Instead, he wore his grin in his eyes. So, Nyota Uhura was human after all. Fascinating.

"No." What? "Look closer." Spock shifted his chair closer to her and was now reading the book over her shoulder. He reached out again and ran his fingers over the words – pronouncing them as he did so, "Ekhesai." Nyota's heart nearly stopped. That was impossible! She glanced at the book again. Spock was right. She slumped back down, defeated, and bit down on her lower lip. Spock, on the other hand, was surprised that she was taking being wrong so harshly. Romulan dialects were very similar to one another, and also had subtle pronunciation and conjugation differences. In his opinion, Nyota had done quite well despite the few mistakes she did make. He moved his still body (which had been shadowing hers previously) back in order to give her room to breathe and folded his hands in his lap.

Spock did not know how to comfort an emotional human being. Seeing Uhura's eyes desperate scan the pages for the source of the error, he was vaguely reminded of his mother. His mother was not of the Vulcan race. His father, Ambassador to Earth, had married a human; the reasoning for which was unclear. Sarek often told his son that his decision was logical, and Spock dared not question his father's judgment. His mother would seek attention from his father, and Sarek had little or no trouble denying her affections. As time passed, Spock was able to see the toll that it was taking on his mother. He would have felt sympathy for her if it were in his nature to do. Still, his mother was a strong-willed and independent woman. Spock knew that, if she were not content with his father and their circumstances, that she would have had no trouble leaving.

He could not help but hypothesize that it was due to his human mother that he felt tiny sparks of emotion well within him at times. His self-control often wavered in the presence of certain individuals that were capable of stirring his human half. He recalled feeling anger – burning, passionate – for those who insulted his mother and father. He recalled feeling something else – pleasant and indescribable warmth – whenever Cadet Uhura would smile warmly at him. She, unlike the other cadets, found his culture to be most fascinating.

Banishing any unrelated thoughts from his mind, Spock returned to the task at hand and regarded Nyota once more. She looked, as the Terran phrase was, 'like her goldfish just died'. He did wish he had more time to plan what he should say to her, but, instead, cleared his throat before speaking candidly, "You are…upset." This statement caught the cadet's attention, and she finally tore her eyes away from the sheets in front of her.

"Not upset," she corrected him, "just…surprised. It's been so long since there's been an error in my translations." The sentence was accompanied with a nervous laugh on her part. At least she had asked for help with it, she supposed. She pushed the book away from her and Spock exhaled sharply – the Vulcan equivalent of laughter. He found her reaction to be quite amusing.

"To err is human." He quoted with a shrug. Nyota looked over at him and folded her arms over her chest, raising a playful eyebrow.

"Really." She replied – the corners of her lips pulling up in a small smile.

"Why yes. I believe it was quite a famous quote, once. 'To err is human'…To perfect, on the other hand…Vulcan." He added, raising an eyebrow to match her. Uhura paused, registering that Spock had just made a joke, before parting her lips in laughter. It was light-hearted and uncalculated; much unlike the laughter she had to fake more often than not. Spock watched her antics, eyes glittering in amusement and fascination. He could feel pride swelling within his chest at having been the reason for such a pure reaction from her. Once her laughter had ceased, Nyota pushed her bangs out of her face and leaned forward in her chair.

"Commander, would you be opposed to putting the book away and engaging in conversation with me? Your last comment made me realize that Vulcans are capable of creating humour. It just raised so many questions I have about your race; I would love to ask you some of them." She quickly justified her request. She knew that, if Spock were to be given the chance to educate her about his race that he would be unable to refuse. As she predicted, he raised an eyebrow at her but complied by closing the book's cover and regarded her fixedly.

"I think it would be reasonable to digress to a more comfortable topic." He indirectly agreed. "And I find your curiosity for my race to be most flattering. As for the humourous comment that I made earlier…We are a race that is based mostly on scientific fact. Humour hardly plays a role in our way of life."

"So you've never…laughed at a joke before?" Uhura concluded; shock clearly written in her features.

"I can easily distinguish between tasteful humour and a bad joke," Spock retorted, "but no, I have never laughed at one." Nyota's eyes widened at his statement, and shifted in her chair so that she was now completely facing him.

"Have you ever wanted to?" She smiled to try and coax some form of reaction from him. Spock was caught off-guard by that inquiry. In order to maintain his Vulcan status in her eyes, he shook his head. "Never?" She could tell that he was lying in the way he was avoiding making eye contact with her. So, Mr. Commander Spock had felt the urge to laugh before. Interesting! Uhura pushed herself up and out of the chair. She walked around to Spock's other side, bending down so that the side of her face nearly touched his, "I have a hard time believing that." She responded before sitting down in the chair on his other side. Spock turned his head to watch her sit back down and raised an eyebrow at her. He would no longer doubt Nyota's perceptiveness.

"Vulcans refuse to allow their emotions to control them, but that does not necessarily mean that we do not feel them." he confided in her. That statement alone gave the cadet enough insight as to the inner conflicts that may be taking place within him. "We conduct ourselves with our sense of reason and logic."

"But where's the logic in not allowing yourself the freedom to express your emotions?" Everything stopped then, for both parties. Nyota had just questioned the Vulcan way of life; something that had often been considered but never voiced aloud. It was completely silent – almost as though both Spock and Nyota had both ceased to exist. Cadet Uhura's words had struck him very close to the heart, but he would be lying if he did not admit to wondering the very same thing in his youth.

Embarrassed, she lowered her eyes and adjusted her posture so that she appeared to be smaller. What had she just done? She chewed nervously on her lower lip. Why wasn't he saying anything? "I'm sorry," she apologized, her voice so faint she could barely hear it herself, "I just can't comprehend what it must be like not to laugh at something that's funny…or to cry when something goes wrong." Nyota reached out and touched his hand and repeated, "I'm sorry."

Spock hadn't heard her second apology. His attention was immediately drawn to the table; upon which rested his hand, and hers lay on top of that. He could feel his fingers twitch beneath hers, unused to such contact. He studied her hand carefully. Their skin tones contrasted drastically, allowing Spock to notice how unusually pale he was. He found the tone of her skin to be quite beautiful and exotic. Deciding it was likely best to answer her; Spock met her anxious eyes and nodded.

"Thank you, cadet, but your sympathy is unnecessary. I have learned all that I can about emotions in textbooks and consider myself to be an expert." This statement elicited a sarcastic smile from Nyota.

"You're telling me that a textbook can educate you on any subject." She rephrased, "That it can even educate you about…" Did she dare say it? "love?"

"I find myself to be quite educated on that subject, cadet." He retorted. Chuckling quietly, Uhura slipped her hand from on top of his and stood up, pulling him with her. "Are we leaving?" he inquired. She shook her head.

"You, Commander, are going to teach me what you've learned." She boldly challenged.