The next few weeks were spent in a holding pattern. Spock had initially called her every day. She knew that he had been dragged into yet more debriefings, and wondered why they hadn't called her in for a statement. On Friday, at 7:00, he showed up at her door, wondering where they were eating that night.

"Presuming, of course, that you are feeling well enough, Cadet."

She was a little surprised to see him, almost equally surprised that he had gone back to calling her "Cadet", and then dismissive of both of those notions when she realized that they reflected opposing concerns. They returned to the Katsidis' restaurant. Mrs. Katsidis made a fuss over Uhura's bandage, and told Spock he was supposed to "keep the young lady safe." Uhura told Mrs. Katsidis that Spock was the only reason she was standing there at all, at which point Mrs. Katsidis embraced Spock and kissed his cheek. When Spock dropped Uhura off, he did not attempt to make any physical contact with her., but Uhura didn't really mind. Clearly, the fact that he had plunked himself on her doorstep that evening indicated that their connection meant as much to him as it did to her. It would take them a while to find their footing.

They continued to have dinner every Friday. When the lab was finally repaired, they returned to work. Uhura had been nervous about going back. Starfleet constantly warned its officers about the dangers of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. People laughed at Bones McCoy, but on some level, he was right that space exploration meant explosions, decompressions, planets with acid pools, and mutant viruses. It was not uncommon to experience trauma or see others die, and the debilitating effects of PTSD were a common reason for medical leave. Uhura was pleasantly surprised to find that the happy memories of working in the lab outweighed the bad ones of their last few hours there. Somehow, being there with Spock made it easier.

They only had six weeks though, before the end of the year. They tried to get as much done as they could. Spock found that the Romulans had changed all of their codes, perhaps because Starfleet's action to protect its outposts had signaled that the earlier codes had been broken. Uhura was receiving a lot of new traffic, including some from Klingon vessels, which had not previously been known to have been that far out.

She kissed him just once more before the week that marked the end of everything they had known. After final exams, most of the cadets in their final year took a few weeks of home leave, since they would ship out on their first assignments shortly after they received their commissions. Before Uhura went to the transport bay, she slung her bag over her shoulder and went to Spock's quarters. It was early, and clearly she had caught him in the middle of dressing, as his hair was still wet and he was just wearing a t-shirt with his uniform pants.

"Spock, I just wanted to say good-bye before I left."

"Have a pleasant and safe trip home, Cadet."

She reached up and put a hand on his shoulder to pull him down to her level. With that one kiss, she was trying to communicate all that she felt, and that she would be coming back, and in particular, coming back to him. She could tell by the tremor in his shoulder that she had surprised him, but when he began kissing her back, she knew that her feelings were reciprocated.

"I'll be back soon," she said softly.

"Good-bye, Nyota."

She wasn't sure exactly what the future held for them. She hoped they would both end up on the Enterprise, but they had both seen first-hand how unexpected events could upend best laid plans. She was sure, though, of him.

When she returned from her parents' house, she felt rested, and she was reasonably certain that their ordeal in the lab would probably be one of the more remarkable events of her Starfleet career.

Then everything changed.

Spock stared at the transporter pad where, a day or so before, his mother had failed to materialize. That was the wrong way to think of it. The pad where he had failed to enable her to materialize, failed to keep her from falling, failed to save her.

He was not the same man he had been a week ago.

Then, he had occupied himself with things that seemed now so trivial. Whether Kirk had reprogrammed his computer simulation. Whether he was being self-serving, or worse, exposing Nyota to scurrilous rumors, if he recommended her for the Enterprise. How could he have attached any importance to those events?

But now, who was this creature he had become? A man focused on important events to be sure, but a man ruled by emotions, drifting. First too unsure of doing anything but hiding behind the fleet, now a man hell-bent on revenge. Could any good come of his vacillation, his haste, his rage? A week ago, he would have said no. Now, though, now he knew. He had lost his mother, and that had reminded him more than anything that he was his mother's son. His father knew it too, had even given him permission to finally explore his human side. Was it the loss of his planet that had made Sarek bolder or more prone to re-examine his beliefs, or was it grief for his dead wife that spurred him to allow some of her to live on in Spock? No matter. Spock would live with both sides of himself from now on. There was no going back.

His observations of human teams and their ability to exceed their mission told him that these strong feelings could be harnessed to good end. He did not know exactly how.

Nyota knew how. She had somehow known how to give him something that he didn't know he needed, and she had done this by letting her feelings for him guide her, feelings that he too had been able to feel when she touched his neck or kissed him.

Kirk also knew how. He would need Spock, of course. Kirk came up with the big ideas. He knew what they should do. He couldn't, however, generally figure out how. For that, he needed experts. So, Spock decided, he would allow Kirk to draw the outline, and he, Spock, would fill it in. As a child, he thought ruefully, he had always been good at coloring inside the lines.

Spock turned and headed for the turbolift to the bridge.