A/N: I don't know if anyone else is having this problem, but every other time I update, Fanfic doesn't move this story up the queue. So, please make sure you check the summary every day, because I will say there whether or not a new chapter has been added. I have reported this error, but it has now happened four times in all and they still haven't fixed it.
Chapter 3: Discovery
Spock rose early the next morning, as always. Nyota lay on her stomach on the bed, one arm pillowing her head, the other tucked into her body, her hair spilling over her shoulders. He drew the sheet up over her and stroked her cheek one last time before getting up to start his day.
He started with a shower, and then wearing only his cloth pants sat cross-legged on the floor in the living room to begin his morning meditation. He was in peaceful repose for perhaps an hour before there was a knock at the door. His eyes fluttered open, and he was unable to repress his annoyance. He recognized the knock as the same one that had interrupted his and Nyota's activities the day before.
He listened for any stirring in the bedroom, but he only heard her deep, even respiration. The knock had not awoken her. Usually, she was an early riser, but they had stayed up rather late the night before 'christening the bedroom' as Nyota put it. He estimated that she would wake up on her own in twenty minutes. He was well attuned to her sleeping habits, and knew the precise amount of time that she slept.
There was nothing for it- he would have to answer the door. He rose from his place and got there just as Omarr was starting to knock for a second time.
"Nyota is still asleep." he said. "She will be awake soon."
"Well, can we come in?" Aminah asked. She was sweeping her eyes over his bare chest. He felt no modesty around others, but Nyota had told him once that sometimes, it bothered other people to see others half-naked. Perhaps he should have put on a shirt.
He stepped back to let them in, and while they seated themselves on the sofa he quietly went into the bedroom to pull on a black t-shirt. Part of him wanted Nyota to wake up so that he would not have to be alone with her parents, but mostly, he wanted her to receive her rest. He slipped back out into the other room and sat across from Aminah and Omarr.
"We came because Nyota mentioned that you're going to the academy today." Omarr said in a low voice. "She said we could come if we wanted."
"I have no objections." Spock replied, although he would have preferred that they not come. It was not that he was uncomfortable around them- he just had not planned on spending his shore leave with them everywhere he and Nyota went. It seemed that they were determined to follow them everywhere. He briefly wondered if they would soon decide to lodge with them also- perhaps even in the same bedroom.
Realizing that his annoyance was directing his thoughts, he tried to center himself. This was difficult, as Aminah chose that moment to speak to him.
"So you said that you're a science officer?" she asked. Spock decided to give up on any form of meditation.
"I am. I am also the first officer." Spock replied.
"So you're her boss?" Omarr cut in. Spock rose an eyebrow.
"To an extent, yes. However, Captain Kirk is above us both, and handles Nyota's schedule and any other details of her duties that it would be unethical for me to control."
Omarr continued to stare at him, and then leaned back on the couch. They did not speak for several more minutes. Spock listened to Nyota's breathing in the other room, hoping that she would wake soon, before her father began his interrogation. Too late.
"So how did you meet my daughter, Spock?" he now asked. Spock knew that he was taking advantage of the time that Nyota was not there. Spock decided it was only logical to answer his questions.
"I was an instructor at the academy, waiting for my posting on the Enterprise. She came to me for tutoring in Physics." Spock replied.
"So you took advantage of her needing help?" Omarr asked, frowning.
"Not quite. We became friends over that time. Our tutoring sessions were over with long before we ever pursued anything more." Spock replied. He now heard soft rustling sounds in the other room. Nyota was getting out of bed. He was relieved.
"Baba, leave him alone." Nyota said as the bedroom door opened. She wore a robe, and her hair was tangled from sleeping and from their activities of the night before. "You're here too early, you know. We weren't planning on going to the academy until at least noon."
"Well, you know we're early birds." Aminah said with a smile. Spock noted that Nyota resembled her mother closely. They had the same high cheekbones, sparkling dark brown eyes, and full lips, although her mother was lighter even than she.
"Well, once I get a shower and get dressed we can get going, I suppose." Nyota said. She stifled a yawn as she turned back to the bedroom. "And Baba...please behave." she added as she disappeared. Spock was disappointed about being alone with them again. Both Aminah and Omarr were staring at him, and he sensed that there was something he was supposed to say. He did not know what it was. He wished he did- while he disapproved of their opinions on non-Terrans, they were still Nyota's parents, and he wanted them to eventually learn to accept him. He planned on being a part of their daughter's life for a long, long time. He did not want them to disapprove of Nyota for that amount of time.
"Do you have any tea here? Or coffee?" Aminah finally asked. Ahh...so this was what they were waiting for. Other than Nyota, in the early days of their friendship, he rarely ever 'entertained' humans. He had forgotten that it was customary to offer them sustenance after their arrival. He really did not understand why they did not simply eat or drink beforehand.
"Nyota and I drink tea, and we brought some with us." he said, standing and going to the kitchen. He began to make tea- he found that it was much easier to occupy himself physically instead of sitting on the sofa as they stared at him.
Ten minutes later, they were again sitting across from each other, waiting for their tea to cool down. Spock could hear the shower running in the bathroom- Nyota always preferred water showers to sonic showers- and knew that she would be ready to leave within twenty minutes.
"You know..."Aminah said, clearing her throat. She seemed to be trying her best to relieve the tension. "Nyota always did have a knack for languages. By the time she was ten, she already knew four. Omarr and I only speak Swahili and English, so I don't know where she got it from. And by the time she was in high school- she spoke about eight or nine. She learned some Terran languages from classmates and in school, and learned a few non-Terran languages from old data chips in the library. Her gift is amazing. I always thought that she was destined to use her gift for something great."
"She has, Mrs. Uhura." Spock said. He found that learning more about Nyota's past contented him. She had shared memories with him in their occasional mind melds, but an objective view was actually more informative.
"She was always a beautiful girl, too." Omarr said, smiling slightly. "I hated it when she hit the teenage years and started becoming interested in boys. But our Nyota has a good head on her shoulders- I wasn't worried about her getting mixed up with the wrong kind."
They had found a medium, something to discuss that they all had in common- their love for Nyota. The tension began to slowly leave the room as Spock listened to his wife's parents talk about her fondly. He was unaware of how much time had passed until...
"Hey, you can stop talking about me now!" Nyota said, and all three of them looked up. She stood in the doorway to the bedroom, leaning against the frame with her arms crossed over her chest. She was always beautiful, of course, but Spock could not stop himself from admiring her. She wore a pale yellow tank top and a white knee-length skirt that seemed to float around her as she walked over to the sofa. "What have they been telling you about me?" she asked Spock, smiling.
"They mentioned the fact that you used to carry around a stuffed toy rabbit named 'Peter'." Spock said, and rose an eyebrow. "I believe you may have shown me a memory of that once, but you did not tell me that you carried it around until the age of ten."
"Mama, I know that was you!" Nyota said, placing her hands on her hips. "You tell everyone about that!"
"I found it to be quite an amusing story." Spock thought at her.
"Shut up." she said, pointing her finger at him, but she was smiling widely. Aminah and Omarr exchanged confused looks. "They don't know about the bond!" Nyota thought, comprehension dawning. "That's going to be fun to explain."
He knew she was being sarcastic, because it most certainly would not be 'fun'. Both McCoy and Kirk found the idea of bonding to be 'creepy'. There was no knowing what two anti-non-Terrans would think about the fact that Spock was inside Nyota's mind at all times.
"I will dress, and then we will leave. I have prepared tea for you, it is in the thermos on the counter." Spock said to Nyota before heading into the bedroom. He felt her appreciation for him as she turned to the counter, smiling even wider at his thoughtfulness.
_______________________________________________________
The academy grounds looked the same as they had over a year ago. The fall quarter had only begun two weeks before, and the quad was crowded with cadets making their way to classes, early morning sunshine filtering through tree leaves to cast shadows intermingled with spaces of light on the brick path. It was already a warm day, and it was only 0800.
"I forgot how beautiful this place was." Nyota said as she inhaled the scent of leaves and freshly mown grass. "Spock, remember how we used to go on walks around the quad every evening?"
"I do, as you are well aware." Spock replied. "That was in the very beginning of our relationship."
They walked along the path among the students with Aminah and Omarr not far behind. Nyota was reminiscing about those walks, about how much convincing it had used to take her to get Spock to join her in the shadows of a secluded tree for a quick kiss. Even if it was nighttime, and no one was around, he refused to partake in displays of affection when not in a private room.
"Nyota!" came a familiar voice from behind them. Nyota grinned as she turned around, and one of the cadets came toward her, also smiling. "I did not expect you here!" she said.
"Nice to see you again, Remaja. Since you stopped calling me." Nyota said, accepting the fierce hug Remaja gave her.
"I have been busy." she said as she pulled away, smiling widely. Nyota gasped.
"What happened to your teeth?" she asked. Remaja placed a hand over her mouth self-consciously.
"You don't like it?" she asked, frowning. "I had them filed down. I was tired of the stares. I no longer wanted to look Tenoban."
"No, they look great- you look great!" Nyota said. "I just didn't expect it, that's all."
Remaja smiled again, showing off her now-humanized teeth. She looked Terran, except for her yellow eyes. She wore a red cadet uniform, and her thick black hair was tied back with a hairband. Remaja now turned to Spock.
"Ears. I suppose it is good to see you again." she said, raising both eyebrows. Spock rose his as well.
"It is, Remaja." he said, and Nyota had to stifle her laughter.
"That's going to be my new pet name for you, Spock." Nyota said. "I still like that- Ears."
She felt Spock's disapproval over the link, and laughed again.
"Remaja, these are my parents." Nyota said, gesturing to Aminah and Omarr, who were staring at Remaja. "Mama, Baba, this is Remaja. We saved her from a planet we were investigating."
"It is nice to meet you." Remaja said nodding her head at each of them. "I am grateful to your daughter for taking me away from Tenoba, especially because of the damage my people inflicted upon her."
There was a short silence, during which Nyota's parents turned to look at her, obviously confused. Nyota bit her lip, unsure of what she should say. Her parents didn't know about Scorpius Three- and she didn't want them to.
She was saved from having to get out of that mess when someone shouted to get their attention. Spock and Nyota looked over to see Admiral Pike, making his way toward them on his electric wheelchair. He was grinning to see them.
"Spock, Uhura! Nice to see your familiar faces." he said. They walked over to meet him. Nyota did not hear her mother turn to Remaja and say;
"What do you mean by that? What happened to Nyota?" and she didn't hear it when Remaja began to tell her.
"I heard the Enterprise was on shore leave." Pike was saying. "And Captain Kirk sent me a message saying he might drop by to see me. Having fun, up there in space?" he asked. Nyota noticed the slight bitterness he asked the question with. Even after several surgeries, the damage to Pike's spinal cord had not been fully repaired.
"It's dangerous up there, Admiral, but we're still alive." Nyota replied.
"Well, don't be in too much of a rush to come back here permanently. It's boring as hell, I tell you. Paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork. I miss being up there." he gestured vaguely toward the sky. "Relish the danger- that's what I always did. Well, as long as it's not too dangerous, anyway." he added.
Across the grounds, a loud bell rang. Pike sighed.
"I'd better get going. Spock, why don't you come by to play some chess sometime? I've gotten better the last year."
"If my time allows it, Admiral." Spock replied. Pike turned the chair around and left. Remaja then caught up to Nyota.
"I do not have the same classes as everyone else, but I must report to the library for my computerized class." Remaja said. "Admiral Pike says that I only have four or five months left before I can graduate. Come see me later, Nyota!"
"I will, I promise." Nyota said, and Remaja flashed her one last grin before disappearing into the crowd that was now rushing to get to their classes before they were late.
"Nyota." Aminah's stern voice came from behind her. "I think we need to go somewhere private. We need to talk. Now."
Nyota winced as she turned back around. She knew that tone. It was the same tone her mother had used when she once snuck in two hours after curfew only to find her parents waiting for her in her bedroom.
Aminah's eyes were blazing, like Nyota's did when she was angry. Her lips were pressed together, her arms crossed over her chest. Omarr was equally displeased.
Nyota glanced at Spock, but his face was as placid as ever. And just when they were really starting to come around...she knew this would only prove to them that they had been right.
Nyota followed them across the quad, and not even the gentle caress of calm that Spock sent her over the bond alleviated her dread.
A/N: I know, not much happened. But I'm setting it up for the angstiness.
