The Other Woman, chapter 4

0600 hours. Stretching, Uhura leaned back in her seat and glanced around the room. Admiral Kirk sat propped in the corner, his head leaning awkwardly against the wall as he snored softly. Saavik had stayed with them until around 0400 hours, but she had finally decided that Spock would be displeased if she neglected her schoolwork. Uhura hoped that she'd take a little time to rest, as well. This entire experience had been so hard on Saavik. Even though she seemed to take it all in stride, Uhura could tell that she was terribly shaken. Thank heavens Uhura had happened to be on Earth. She would hate to think of Saavik having to face it by herself.

She rubbed her eyes and looked back over her shoulder at the open door behind her. She could have sworn she'd heard Kirk's voice out there a little while ago, but he didn't look like he'd budged all night so she'd probably dreamed it. She'd been in and out of a light doze for the last hour or so and had actually imagined all sorts of wild things. Evidently her little talk with Saavik in the cafeteria had made her mind go off in strange directions, because she woke up at one time thinking that Spock had come to and accused her of treating him badly. And then a little later, she really thought that she'd heard his voice telling her that he was marrying Helen, but only because Saavik needed a mother. Of all things! How bizarre.

And just now, she thought that she'd felt his warm, warm hand on her own, as he told her that regrets were illogical. His intonation had even exactly matched Saavik's, when Saavik had said those very words yesterday.

Uhura smiled and shook her head as she thought about that conversation. It wasn't surprising that it had stayed on her mind, for she and Saavik had never before talked like that, really talked, like two adults rather than an adult and a child. She had been amazed at Saavik's sudden maturity. Where had that come from? It seemed like Saavik had grown up almost overnight. Uhura had left that conversation filled with pride over Saavik's clearheaded reasonableness, yet filled with sorrow at the realization that the little girl might have finally vanished for good.

Yawning, she leaned forward in the chair and rested her elbows on her knees so that she could study Spock closely. It was hard to tell in this low light, but he really did look better. He had made it through the long night very well. At one point, his heartbeat had become slightly erratic, and a couple of doctors had rushed into the room, but they had ended up doing nothing more than stand over him, poised to take action if the problem didn't right itself. And of course, it did.

She turned again at the sound of voices in the hall, and a moment later Kirk stirred and opened his eyes.

Yawning, he said, "Is that coffee I smell?"

"I think so. Maybe it's coming our way."

They watched as McCoy stepped through the door with a steaming cup in each hand. "Good morning, folks."

"Good morning, Bones! It looks like we made it through the night."

McCoy handed a cup to each of them. "Yes, everything is looking very good. Lights up, three-quarters power." Moving to the head of the bed, he checked the monitors, then pointed at one of the indicators. "As a matter of fact, this reading here shows that his brain activity is increasing. He's probably going to regain consciousness any minute now."

"Really?" said Kirk. "That's great news. How do you think he'll feel?"

"Like an elephant sat on his chest. But you know that darned Vulcan, he'll act like nothing..."

McCoy's voice trailed off as he looked at the doorway, and Uhura glanced at Kirk to see him lean back in his chair in relief. Uhura had heard footsteps but not paid any attention to them. Maybe it was Saavik. Turning, she smiled, and saw...

A tall, blonde woman wearing khaki shorts, work boots, and a dusty, loose-fitting shirt.

The woman didn't step into the room immediately, instead standing there as she took in the scene before her. Finally, she nodded politely and moved toward the bed.

"I just received the message a short time ago. How is he?"

McCoy smiled reassuringly. "He's fine, Helen. I operated late yesterday, and he made it through the night with flying colors."

Helen. Uhura looked up at the woman towering beside her. Heavens—she was tall. She and Spock must be practically eye-to-eye when standing next to each other.

"Good." No expression on her face, the woman inspected Spock's still form. "I wish I could have been here sooner, but it appears that he had plenty of company through the night."

Uhura quickly pushed herself out of the chair and stepped behind it. "Please take this seat. You must be Helen. My name is Nyota—"

"I know. Nyota Uhura. We met many years ago in England."

Helen's cool gaze assessed Uhura, and suddenly Uhura realized how awful she must look. She'd jumped up out of a dead sleep, flown here in a panic, and sat up all night. She didn't have on any make-up, her hair was smashed, and it seemed like a week since she'd last taken a shower. She tried to smile graciously and feign confidence.

"We did? I'm so sorry, but I don't recall you." The woman did appear familiar, but Uhura couldn't place her.

"At the dig in Bath. You and Spock were on vacation in England, and you spent an afternoon investigating our site at Bath. I explained how we had found the Roman temple and showed you around the ruins."

Uhura slapped her hand against her forehead. "Of course! You're Doctor, uh Doctor..."

"Singleton. Dr. Helen Singleton."

"Yes! I remember you now. Really, I'm sorry. I guess I'm just too exhausted to think clearly." She motioned toward the chair. "Please, sit down here. I know you must be very worried about Spock."

The woman nodded once and sat gracefully in Uhura's vacated chair, and Uhura felt the heat rise to her face at her own bumbling behavior. Helen probably thought she was a complete buffoon. She looked up to see the amusement in Kirk's eyes as he tried not to smile, and she shrugged slightly in response.

Helen sat very straight in the chair. "Leonard, could you give me some details?"

"Well, according to Jim and Saavik, they'd just had lunch when..."

Uhura tuned out McCoy's summary of yesterday's events while she surreptitiously studied Helen. Helen was pretty, but not as stunning as Uhura had expected. Of course, her hair was pulled back in an untidy ponytail, and she'd clearly just come from a dig, but she sure didn't look like a vid star or a high-fashion model. And aloof. Boy! Cold as a penguin's posterior. How could she walk into this room and see Spock—Spock!—just lying there, ill and for all she knew dying, and act as if she were simply discussing the weather? She'd actually been more concerned about exchanging introductions with Uhura than about seeing Spock.

And she had made no move to touch him. None at all.

True, Spock wasn't one for a public display of affection, but an emotional moment like this would surely allow an affectionate caress or a comforting pat on the hand. Or a tender look, soft words, acting as if she cared or even gave a damn! Uhura pressed her lips together with disapproval as she watched Helen sit there, so calm and composed. Maybe it was time for her to take a break, to find a reason to leave before she said something foolish—

All thoughts of leaving fled when she saw Spock stir slightly on his pillow. He licked his lips and pulled his brows together, and moved his fingers restlessly against the blanket. She met Kirk's eyes again quickly, then put her hands on Helen's chair and leaned over the other woman's back. Kirk, McCoy, and Helen all bent toward Spock as well, while they waited for him to awaken.

His eyes fluttered open. He was obviously too groggy to be completely aware of his surroundings, but his eyes suddenly widened when he focused on the two female faces hovering overhead.

He swallowed, and Uhura could see that he didn't know how to react to the sight that met him. Finally, he said, "Ah... greetings."

Although his voice was hoarse and raspy, it was oh so familiar, and Uhura had to blink past a sudden burning in her eyes as she felt a huge smile spread across her face. Yes. He would be fine. If he could wake up after something like this and utter words so completely normal for him, he would be fine. She didn't reply because she knew that Helen should speak first, but the expression on her face spoke louder than words, anyway.

Instead of Helen, Kirk spoke up. "You're at Starfleet Medical, Spock. You had a heart attack."

Spock transferred his gaze from the two women to Kirk, and Uhura could see that he was still too dazed for Kirk's words to completely register. Deciding that Helen had missed her chance to be the first to welcome him back to the world of the living, she came around the chair to stand directly beside the bed.

"You gave us all a real scare," she said softly. "You had the same condition as your father, and Dr. McCoy operated. How do you feel?"

He cleared his throat. "Fatigued. Somewhat sore."

Kirk chuckled. "Somewhat sore? Bones said that you'd feel like an elephant had sat on your chest."

Just barely raising his eyebrow, Spock said, "That is an exaggeration. Not an elephant. Perhaps a horse."

As Uhura laughed, she noticed a small smile on Helen's face, and the tall woman finally leaned closer to the bed. No one spoke as Spock's gaze shifted to Helen, and Uhura suddenly felt like she should find somewhere else to go.

She took a step back. "You know, Saavik stayed here into the wee hours of the morning, but she knew that you wouldn't want her to neglect her studies, so she went back to the dorm to complete yesterday's assignments. She planned to just drop them off before returning. I'll bet if I tried her right now, I could reach her before she leaves." She headed toward the door. "She'd want to know that you're awake. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Spock nodded, so she hurried away to call Saavik.

...

Sitting in the corner of the waiting room with her head propped up on her hand, Uhura thumbed through the contents of an old padd that she had found tossed carelessly on the table by her chair. It was hard to become interested in it. Every article must be at least three years old.

She heard the murmur of quiet voices in the hall and looked up to see McCoy standing with a padd in his hand, discussing something with the nurse. After a short conversation, the nurse nodded and took the padd, then walked away. McCoy happened to look up at Uhura, and he smiled crookedly when he saw her. He strolled in her direction.

"Hello, Doctor. Out for a walk?"

"Oh, I just thought I'd come over here and see how you were doing. When's the last time you slept?"

She stared at the wall as she counted the hours. "Well, I dozed off for a while in Spock's room around four or five this morning, but I guess it's been about twenty hours since I actually had my head on a pillow."

"Why don't you go take a break? Find an empty bed somewhere."

She flapped her hand at him. "I'm okay. I booked a seat on a shuttle to Gibraltar, and it leaves in a few hours. I can last that long."

"Good enough." Sitting next to her, he rested his head against the wall and rubbed his face. "It's been a long, tough haul, hasn't it?

"Yes. I'm just glad he's going to be all right." She paused. "He is going to be all right, isn't he?"

"Oh yes, he'll be fine. It'll be a while before he's really back on his feet, but his heart is as good as new." He chuckled. "Actually, his heart is better than new, since he's carried that defect around since the day he was born."

She shook her head. "Hard to believe it was there all this time, just lurking like a time bomb. I'm so glad he was in a situation where he could get help quickly. It makes me shudder when I think what could have happened on a mission somewhere, or when he was by himself."

"No kidding. He was lucky that Jim and Saavik were right there with him." McCoy studied her face for a moment. "And he was lucky to have you right there with him through the night, too."

"I was there for Saavik."

"Oh yes, that's right." He nodded as if he had forgotten that fact. "You know, I think it's ironic that you stayed through the night, but Helen didn't show up until it was all over. Don't you?"

"She didn't know." Too tired to talk in circles, Uhura scowled at him. "What's your point, Doctor?"

"I just think it's a shame that she's sitting there now instead of you."

She looked up at the ceiling in exasperation. "Dr. McCoy, I appreciate the sentiment, but if Saavik has accepted that he and I aren't a couple anymore, I think that you can too. He has Helen, and she belongs there. Not me. Now that he's better, Saavik doesn't need me anymore, so it's time for me to leave. End of story."

He watched her without comment, and she managed to ignore him for almost five seconds.

She finally folded her hands with exaggerated patience. "Doctor, I'm happy for him. He accepted it when I found someone new. And then someone else." Relenting, she chuckled. "And then someone else again. Actually, that sums up the difference between me and him. It was no big deal when I found someone new to date, but Spock, well, he doesn't do something like this lightly. Therefore, I know he's found a good woman."

McCoy nodded at the nurse waiting patiently in the hall with his padd. Patting Uhura on the knee, he said, "Commander, I'm glad that you have confidence in his choice, because I don't."

He pinned her with a meaningful stare, and then rose and headed toward the nurse before she could reply.

End chapter 4