IV.

" He has this kind of… human vibe to him."

Nyota tapped her stylus against her chin as she looked up in thought. The a cool breeze blew across the promenade between the communication and science departments, rustling the leaves of the oak trees that lined the way. Their shadows danced upon her and Gaila as they sat on one of the benches under the trees. Spring was almost in San Francisco; she was two weeks closer to finally seeing the Enterprise.

" I wonder what brought on this change of heart." Gaila remarked sarcastically. Two male cadets, probably in the first year, walked past the two and Gaila flashed them a smile. The tallest one stumbled into his shorter friend.

" Nothing really," Nyota shrugged, " I finally 'get' him."

" This is about the Enterprise, isn't it? Please, for the love of God, don't bring up that ship."

" It's not about the Enterprise." She stopped tapping her stylus. " It's about Professor Spock."

" The same guy that got you on that trip to the Riverside Shipyards to see that ship. I don't want to hear about anything even remotely related to that thing. How about we talk boys or dates or normal stuff that rommies would talk about?"

" I don't want to talk about boys. I want to talk about male professors by the name of Spock. I finally get what makes him tick."

" I believe you've forgotten that thing I told you three months ago about me working with him on the Kobiyashi Maru?" Gaila sighed in frustration. " I would rather talk about finals than your obsession with the Enterprise and Professor Spock."

Gaila looked at Nyota from the corner of her eye. The gifted linguist was frowning directly at her. No matter what she said to her, Nyota was going to get her way. Gaila hung her head with an exasperated sigh and waved her hand for her to continue. Her roommate's fascination with the instructor could either be amusing or annoying; and most of the time it was annoying.

" Professor. Ticking. You know. Enterprise. Do tell." She summarized dryly, sitting up.

" He has some compassion. He's passionate about his work. I did not notice it before, but now I do. He loves what he does at this Academy. I have never met a Vulcan before that displayed such emotion as he did."

" I do not believe he would take kindly to that compliment." Gaila chuckled. " Being called 'human' to a Vulcan is an insult. But, I'm sure you already know this. Professor Spock is the last person that I can think of being human or compassionate. Whatever he does is from the most logical perspective."

Nyota shook her head, " I don't think he's being logical here."

" Don't read too much into it. Compliments are great coming from a Vulcan, but I would not take it to heart."

" Then why has he recommended me for the Enterprise? He has also gone out his way to help flesh out my abilities."

" You're thinking this way because he's given you what you wanted. I know you, Ny, and I can see you viewing this man with rose-colored glasses… which is not bad but you're loosing touch with reality." Gaila paused for the briefest moments, " Your head is in the clouds."

Nyota looks off into the distance in thought and Gaila, feeling as if her back-to-reality pep talk has done its good deed, returns to her studies. Was her head really in the clouds? Had she been so blinded by his recommendation that she failed to see the reality of the situation? Yet, there was really no other way to interpret his actions. Nyota was not his top student, he has made an example out of her more times than she can count, and the tension was so thick between them that she was pretty sure she hated him with all of her being.

Then he says the magic word.

Enterprise.

Was she really that gullible for that ship? She looked at Gaila and watched as she read her notes, biting her lower lip, brows furrowed together in deep thought. Nyota imagined what Gaila would have said next if she continued the conversion, " If you had to pick between your pet dog and that ship, you'd pick the ship."

It would not be the first time Gaila had told her that.

ooo

Christopher Pike had came into his office earlier in the day and asked him one simple question, " Why Cadet Uhura?"

Of course, Spock had a logical answer that was enough to satisfy Captain Pike's curiosity.

" The cadet's performance at the Academy thus far has been exceptional. Given her current academic record, I decided that she was the best choice from the rest of my current students."

He was not lying. Vulcan's never do. But, Pike was looking at him in a way that was all too familiar to him - a playful smirk that reached his blue eyes – that look which meant that Pike was expecting more than what Spock was letting on. All of which were within his right, of course. Out of all the students Spock had taught in his short tenure at the Academy, all those that have been recommended to honorary programs by him were at the top of his class.

Nyota Uhura was the first student that did not fall under that character trait and spontaneity was not a common characteristic known to Vulcans.

Yes, overall she was in the top five of her class, but so were many other students that had taken his courses and of those students, none of them were ever recommended by him. Spock was meticulous; he did not place his reputation on the line for anyone. But, this time, he did and not without question from the higher-ups.

Spock knows that their teacher-student relationship has reached a level where some might considered it to be a friendship. Many cadets and teachers have, in fact, had similar relationships on campus but each of those individuals dealt with the scrutiny from those around them due to the appearance of favoritism.

It is something that he does not want. It is something that he is trying to avoid. He helped her, awakened her potential, and now she's a strong cadet with a bright future ahead. Now is the time to cut ties.

People talked. It did not matter if you were Terran, Vulcan, Andorian or any other humanoid species – it was a natural instinct. Survival. Destroy competition with words and lies. He knew what it could do, and despite spending nearly six years of his life in Starfleet without having to deal with the ridicule he grew up experiencing as a child on Vulcan, it did not mean that the chances of it happening now did not exist. The stakes were higher than ever.

Pike didn't continue the conversation. He, instead, bid his former student – now co-worker – a farewell and a good luck with finals.

" I still don't know how you do it without a TA." He said, it was always the captain had to mention before leaving. If it were a joke, Spock could not tell.

Still, unlike the other times where Pike left with that light-hearted comment; Spock had to admit to the fact that his workload for this semester was more than he had anticipated. With finals approaching within two days, he had only prepared tests for three of his five classes. A delay that, on any other circumstance, would not have happened, but a peculiar interest in a certain student had thrown him off schedule by twelve point nine hours.

Now, it had been four hours since Pike had visited him and he was only forty-eight percent done with the exam for his Advanced Phonetics course. Spock was beginning to understand the need of a teacher's assistant.

" Permission to enter, sir."

The Vulcan did not need to look up to know whom that voice belonged to, " Yes, Cadet Uhura?"

It's late. It's after office hours and she knows this yet she still comes to visit because she knows that he won't turn her away. They have developed such a relationship over the past few months that, had they not been teacher-student, she felt they could have been friends. Late office visits were a norm; if she had a question, he would be there to answer. If she needed help, he would be there to help her.

The westerly skies outside of his windows were hues of deep oranges and cool purples. The sun was nothing more than a slit of light against the horizon; it's natural rays now replaced with the iridescent blues of computer monitors and electronics. Spock was still focused on his computer and Nyota watched, listening to the muted thump of his fingers against the flat panel keyboard.

" If I may be able to speak freely."

" You may."

" I just wanted to express my gratitude for all that you've done for me these past six months. I know I was difficult during the first three months, and I'm sorry for that, but you've really helped me look at my purpose here in Starfleet with a whole new perspective." Nyota pauses and notices that Spock has not looked up at her, nor has he stopped typing. She shifts, slightly, from one foot to the other and continues, " So, I… just wanted to say thank you."

The sun had already set and the oranges were now dark blues and light purples. Twilight was now setting in. Nyota waits for his response and only hears the sound of his typing.

Then, " Is there anything else?"

Nyota blinked, " What do you… I… no, no, sir." She's caught off guard by his response. " I'm sorry, I should have not bothered you."

He has heard that inflection in a voice years ago - small, broken, hurt – from his Mother. That time, he had said something in a moment of anger that had hurt her. He watched as her eyes watered up and with a smile, apologized before leaving. It was the only time he had ever made his mother cry. Now, after all those years, he heard it again come from his own student.

But, this time he can't pull himself to look up at her face. He did not want to see whatever tears were there… he did not want to remind himself of the pain he had put his mother through. When he does look up, Nyota is already gone.

This is for her sake.

She will understand. If not now, then later.


AN : First off FFnet is tripping. I had to override one of my previous drafts to get this chapter uploaded. Such a pain.

Now, for some notes. I am trying to avoid having them goo-goo eyed for each other at first glance. While they're both two smart individuals, they also have two very different personalities. I really don't see them having the hots for each other like a high school romance comedy.

Also, I usually write long chapters, around 7k - 10k, but this story is much short with an average of 2k per chapter. This story is designed to be a peek into the key moments of their developing relationship. That's why time is moving so fast (chapter 4 and we're already six months into their 'relationship', nearly six years since Spock graduated in chapter 1). Next chapter is... lol.

Again, I don't have a beta so grammar errors galore. I can read a story over but I won't catch every error. Also my muse is not wanting to play so updates might wane... as I beat it back into shape.

Reviews appreciated! Thanks to all of you that have added this story to your watch list, favs, and reviewed!