Warning: This section has a rape in it. You have been warned.

Spock and Nyota had wanted to spend some time on Earth after the wedding, but life in Starfleet didn't afford those sorts of luxuries. The day afterwards, they packed up their things and beamed aboard the Enterprise. Kirk gave them their choice of quarters and in the next few days several crew members came by to offer their congratulations. After that, it was life as usual.

But it was different as well. Life had a different routine. While before, Spock had spent every waking hour working, either on his daily tasks or extra research projects, now he spent most of his time outside his shifts with Nyota. They would have dinner in the mess hall with their friends and then go back to their quarters and watch the news. Then, they would read or catch up on work or talk until they went to bed. Usually, it was out loud, but sometime he would lean in and touch her and they would talk though the link. Spock liked to see her smile, so he would often send her humorous anecdotes from her day accompanied by wild speculation. Sometimes, he would feel her amusement accompanied by her affection through the link, and would be pleased that he could make her happy even if he wasn't quite sure she had picked the right man to do it.

The night it happened hadn't been a one for joking, though. Nyota was upset because an ensign standing next to her had been shot a day earlier. She was always a bit sensitive about these things. At first, Spock had held her and tried to calm her through the link, but she was human and needed to work through it, not suppress it. It was awhile before he realized that it was enough just to hold her.

Eventually, she was feeling better and Spock went and did some work while she caught up on messages to her friends back on Earth. Then they went to sleep, Nyota tucked under Spock's arm like they had slept on their wedding night. He could see in her mind that it made her feel safe.

Or well, they hadn't gone straight to sleep. As their minds had joined, their bodies had as well. In the dark, they had explored each other until the pleasure had ricocheted between them. It was beautiful, loving and intensely private. It was something that they hardly ever discussed outside of their minds.

Spock gave her one last kiss before they went to sleep and rested his hands across her forehead so he could share her dreams.

When Spock awoke later that night, he was surprised to find her gone. She would sometimes get called to the bridge in the middle of the night, but the Comm. usually woke Spock. For the past day, they had been on their way to meet a ship that had transmitted a distress signal, so it made sense that her translating skills had been needed. He figured that he must be sleeping more deeply than usual.

Spock put on his uniform and walked towards the bridge. It was then that he felt himself being transported.

"Where is the Vulcan?" he heard someone demand angrily in the distance as he felt himself begin to materialize.

"I have the others," another voice excused himself, and Spock felt himself fade away again.

"But it is the Vulcan we are after!" the first voice declared, sounding even more enraged, but distant.

Spock finally felt himself materialize again. He looked around and saw he was on the bridge of a small ship. A tall man in a cloak was talking harshly to a shorter man.

"There he is," the short one stated, sounding relieved. The tall one turned to look at Spock, his cloak flailing. It was a face that Spock would never forget.

Nero.

Spock looked at him, stunned, enraged and horrified. How had he survived? He was about to demand and explanation when he heard a friendly voice,

"Nice of you to drop in."

Spock saw Kirk standing next to him. Nyota was with him, still in her nightgown.

"Well, now that we're all here, maybe you could get to whatever business you have with us," Kirk proclaimed.

Nero looked at him and snarled,

"You are here so that I can avenge the destruction of my planet, the death of several crew members and the ruin of a plan that was so many years in the making."

He spoke the words clearly.

Kirk looked unimpressed.

"Nero," he said, stepping forward, "I've been thinking that maybe we can work things out."

Spock froze for an instant before he realized what Kirk was doing. He was trying to get a good look around the ship.

"I mean, we both have a lot of built up anger," Kirk stated with mock-reasonableness. Spock gave Nyota a glance and she moved towards the communications console.

"And we've both done some stupid things that have harmed people that don't really deserve it," Kirk continued in a loud, deep voice.

Spock scanned the rest of the bridge. The ship was small. It probably couldn't even make it to Earth. He looked at Kirk uneasily and saw that he had figured the same thing. Nero's motives couldn't be anything other than torture or death. He didn't have enough of a ship for any sort of plot.

The best they could do was buy time and try to contact the ship. Among the three of them, someone was bound to notice they were missing sooner or later. Kirk droned on.

"I mean, why do we have so much built-up anger? We could be moving on with our lives, letting bygones be by—"

Spock heard a snap. One of Nero's men had seen Nyota using the console and grabbed her. Spock wanted to go and help, but that would be leaving a good position and was the sort of behaviour that would get them banned from ever serving together. Eventually, she got herself free and walked back towards the two of them.

Nero looked irritated at this development.

"Follow me," he said, wielding a phasor and glaring at his crew, "I think it is best we get off these three off the bridge before they can do any more damage."

It wasn't far to the lower deck, and they followed carefully, knowing that Nero didn't have any good reason not to shoot them. The deck was filled with cargo crates, but there was a makeshift brig, a few cells with bars in the corner.

"Get in," Nero said, letting his finger brush against the phasor button. He pushed Kirk and Spock in one at a time with his free hand, and moved to do the same with Uhura, but on second thought pulled her away instead and locked the door.

With the phaser still trained on her, he took Nyota's hand and lifted it.

"I saw the most interesting news story a few weeks back," Nero mused, "That young Spock, hero of the Federation, belied by the tragic loss of his planet and his mother was getting married to a beautiful fellow crewman."

Nero leaned back and admired Nyota before adding,

"She is very beautiful."

He turned towards the cage to look at Spock, and then looked back at Nyota again.

"Of course, my wife was beautiful too, before you killed her."

"I think you have the wrong man," Spock said dryly, desperate to say something.

Nero almost smiled,

"I know who you are. And I need for you to understand the pain I suffer. I would have thought it would be enough to destroy your planet. To kill your mother. But no, you go on, having the things that you denied to me."

Spock felt a terrible feeling rise up in his stomach. He suddenly felt sure that Nero was going to shoot Nyota in front of him. Instead, he put his phaser on a crate.

"Very lovely girl," he articulated, putting a hand out and bunching her cheeks in it. She made a face at him.

"You're not giving me a chance," he smiled, his hand still on her chin.

Kirk gasped audibly as he suddenly grabbed her nightgown and pulled it over her head. Nyota struggled to get it back, but he tossed it behind a crate. She looked at him sternly, as if to say she didn't find his game amusing.

"Perfect specimen," Nero breathed, taking one breast in his hand, tugging on it and letting it fall back. Nyota tried to pull away, but he held her firmly with a hand around her waist.

Spock yanked at the lock on the cell, but it didn't yield. He knew a fair bit about locks. He didn't think he would be able to get it open, but still, he pried at it, not taking his eyes from Nero and Nyota.

Loosening his grip on her waist, Nero began to open his pants. He did it slowly and painstakingly, undoing each button and then pulling out his member and stroking it in his hand.

It was the horrible, disjoint moment when Spock realized what was going to happen next.

Nyota realized it too, and her face turned terrified. She turned to run away, but Nero's arm was already clamped around her waist. Spock felt momentarily hopeful as he saw her fight back: scratching, kicking and biting. But then logic struck and he realized that Nyota's strength was no match for his and therefore would be no match for Nero's. He had to get to her. He began slamming at the door of the cell wildly. He had to get it open.

Nero forced Nyota to the floor, as if he thought her attempts at resistance were amusing. That was when Nyota started screaming.

"Spock!," she shrieked, "Help me!"

She turned her head to look at him pleadingly.

She slapped at Nero's arms as Spock shook the door as hard as he could trying to break the lock. As he watched Nero bear down, he slammed harder and harder, pounding manically at the bars, pulling at the door until he thought his bones would break.

"Spock!," he heard her yell as Nero entered her fully. She let out a terrible shriek and started sobbing.

"Spock ..." she whimpered, a bit quieter this time, tears running down her cheeks.

"Admit you like it," Nero hissed, and Nyota began to sob louder, "Better than that Vulcan who calls himself your husband."

Spock moved to try the lock again, but Kirk grabbed his hand. It was bleeding. He had cut himself.

"Try not to watch," Kirk whispered. Spock looked at his face and it was full of disgust and disbelief.

Spock tried to come up with an argument or an idea, but started to shake instead. Kirk seemed to read his mind.

"I wish I had an idea, but I don't. All we can do is buy time and hope someone comes to get us," he whispered with a sigh which Spock could hear Nyota's sobs over.

Spock gave the lock one last tug not wanting to admit that Kirk was right.

But he couldn't stop watching.

She had ceased crying mostly, but her face was still red and swollen from the tears. Her eyes were closed and her face was blank as if she knew she wasn't going to be able to do anything and just wanted it to be over. It was an agonizing few minutes before he lifted up off her and did his pants up.

Slowly, Nyota sat up and looked around, but she wouldn't look Spock in the eye.

"Now you know what a real man feels like," Nero mused with a touch of amusement.

Nyota reached her hand out and slapped him. He found this amusing too. Spock shook the bars again in frustration, wanting to be free to fight him.

"What, you want me to let you out?" Nero teased, "You know you couldn't take me. You couldn't do anything for her."

Spock was thinking up Romulan vulgarities to throw back when Nero's first officer Ayel walked in. Nero grinned, as if he was pleased to see him.

"What, is this the Vulcan's wife?" Ayel asked, staring down at her naked body.

"No, just his whore," Nero answered, and then he threw his head back and laughed. Spock felt his teeth grind together and his fists clench. Ayel began to laugh as well.

"All yours," Nero continued with a glint of a grin moving his hand to indicate Nyota, "Don't want to be spending too much time with the trash."

The door opened with a whir as Nero exited, and Ayel looked down at the woman in front of him, grinning slightly as if he was unable to believe the good fortune bestowed on him. He was almost drooling as he undid his pants. Nyota gave out a gasp of pain as he pulled her up by her hair and shoved himself into her mouth.

"You can do better than that," he snapped, slapping Nyota across the face. She started moving.

Spock snarled and stared out dejectedly. He had been in her mouth before, but he had always thought it would be disrespectful to put her on her knees.

As Ayel put his hands on the back of Nyota's head and pushed, Spock heard the whir of a door opening, and then the thud of three more men's boots on the floor.

"Nero says you have something down here," one of their voices rang out.

"He's right," said another, almost singing, coming closer.

Spock looked out blankly in horror. He slammed at the door again in anguish. He was revolted by what they were doing to her and hated feeling so helpless.

"Turn around," Spock heard Kirk say. He ignored him.

"That's an order," he said a little more harshly, but still in a quiet voice. For a second, Spock considered throwing him across the cell and refusing, but feeling resigned he turned to face the crates behind him.

He heard the men walk up to Nyota, and then unzipping, and then a brief struggle that ended in an eerie silence.

"Tell me what you saw written on all the panels on the bridge of this ship," Kirk said slowly, and Spock knew what he was doing. He didn't care about panels. He was trying to distract him with questions, like they did when they were trying to prevent shock at the hospital.

He answered, but it didn't stop him from hearing. More slaps against her face. Muffled groans. A deep thump and then a voice exclaiming,

"Don't hit her head, Nero still might want some!"

And then later, a jibe,

"Man, you are sick!"

Spock sat in despair as he described the exact font and characterset.

Finally, they heard the boots leave the room and Spock immediately turned around.

"Nyota!" he yelled.

She was lying on the floor, groaning. She didn't respond.

"They hit her head, she's probably disoriented," Kirk whispered. Spock had thought she might be ignoring him.

"She is still breathing," Spock replied.

It wasn't quite a good thing. Her breath was far too jagged.

They stared for a few minutes, and then Kirk started to ask a question. Spock held out his hand making it clear that he wasn't going to play anymore. He sat down and watched Nyota vigilantly.

He still hadn't moved, hours later, when he heard a loud crash. The ship began to shake, and crates went flying through the cargo bay. One slammed into the cage and bent it. Without thinking of Kirk, without worrying that crates were still flying, he crawled through the bars and ran madly towards Nyota.

He saw her stirring slightly, and thankful that nothing had hit her, scooped her up into his arms and started running. The ship was still shaking, and there was nowhere to go, but irrationally Spock felt that he had to get her somewhere. He ducked underneath a fallen crate and ran towards the door.

Then, he felt himself being transported, and he was running through the transporter room and running into sickbay.