Beginnings

by MyCedarChest

Beginning 'The point in time or space at which something starts.' Merriam Webster

6. Chapter 6

Most of the characters in this story belong to Paramount and whoever else has current legal ownership of all things Star Trek at the moment. No infringement on any corporate, business, or individual's rights is intended in any way. This story is not being written for profit, just for enjoyment.

A/N: What started out as a short chapter somehow developed a life of its own and quickly outgrew its cage.

Chapter 6

Nyota's smile grew even wider as she continued to speak with her oldest sister on the com link set up at the back of the linguistics study lab while doing her best to keep her voice low so as to not disturb the five students currently studying in the front of the lab. "Yes, yes!" she replied quietly cutting her eyes to the doorway as Commander Spock entered the lab, his padd in hand. "Of course I can babysit on Saturday while you attend your meeting." She was thrilled that her oldest sister was in town for a conference and had brought along her three year old twin daughters with her. Spending so much time with the precocious toddlers during her recent summer visit home had made her realize just how much she wanted to have kids of her own someday.

"Maybe you can take the twins to the zoo, Nyota." Her sister Akilah suggested as Uhura turned down the volume on the link even further, her eyes tracking Spock under her eyelashes as he sat down at his desk.

Even though she was no longer his assistant, nor his student, she had offered her tutoring to first and second year students in Spock's lab as part of her volunteer mentoring hours. The entry level courses Spock taught were tough. Uhura knew that although Spock meant well, his stoic persona prevented some of his students from accepting the free and very helpful tutoring services offered by the lab. So she had stepped in at the beginning of the fall semester in order to help him reach out to his students. Tutoring was something she truly enjoyed.

She noticed immediately when Spock raised one eyebrow at her as she continued her conversation with her sister. He quickly gazed back down at his PADD "Yes, the zoo would be wonderful, Akilah." She replied with a quiet giggle. "And I can just turn them loose to terrorize the animals in the petting zoo if they get to be too much for me!"

Spock could now hear laughter on the other end of the com link and quickly looked up to observe Nyota once again. He immediately furrowed his brow tilting his head back down to stare intently at his padd even though his curiosity was now peaked regarding the details of Nyota's conversation. Without moving his head he then glanced around the room to ensure that none of the students were watching him.

He sighed inwardly, his thoughts drifting back in time. He and Nyota had been given 'approval' of their relationship by the Academy Board of Regents only three days after Nyota's training exercise accident. That had been 14 days, 3 hours, and 35 minutes ago. T'Pau and his godparents had gone before the Star Fleet Board to petition for the protection of their bond and the Board had agreed to grant the young couple exemption from the rules and regulations governing relationships between officer/instructors and cadets.

He and Nyota had discussed the matter and had decided to continue to keep their relationship strictly professional while they were on Campus. And in the wake of the major changes in their lives that had occurred following Nyota's accident, keeping up the appearance of their previous professional relationship on Star Fleet property seemed most logical to Spock…and somehow comforting to Nyota.

Spock had heard enough of Nyota's conversation to hear her mention the name 'Akilah' and knew that she must currently be speaking with her oldest sister. Akilah was a well respected environmental engineer and he recalled that Nyota had mentioned last week that her sister was to give a speech at an engineering conference in San Francisco this weekend. And because Nyota had mentioned her sister's twin daughters in the conversation, he deduced that Akilah must have brought her youngest children with her on this trip.

Spock had hoped to meet Nyota's sister as well as her twin daughters at some point during the weekend. That is if Nyota had invited him to do so. Nyota had asked him to travel home with her during the winter break and he had agreed with some amount of trepidation on his part. Meeting Akilah this weekend would perhaps ease some of his anxiety about their upcoming trip to Africa. But he did not want to infringe upon Nyota's limited time with her sister this weekend. He had to remember to restrain himself whenever he perceived that his actions were threatening to overstep the boundaries of their current relationship. He focused once again on his PADD and forced himself to tune out the rest of Nyota's conversation.

"The animals would never forgive you if you did that to them, sister." Akilah continued laughing loudly.

"OK then" Uhura agreed still giggling. "I'll meet you at your hotel at 9:00 tomorrow morning to pick up the Terror Twins and I'll have them back to you by 6:00." Nyota promised "After that we can all go out to dinner."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Akilah agreed "And you better bring that certain someone with you, little sister." She continued her voice subdued as if wanting to keep the conversation private between them somehow. "I want to have total bragging rights in the family to be the first one to meet this special person in your life."

Uhura felt the beginnings of a blush spread upon her face. Her and Spock's 'official' relationship was still very new to her. They both had agreed that take it 'slow' between them through the first few weeks of the beginning of the new semester as they acclimated to their new roles in each other's lives. Their busy schedules had not even allowed them that all important first kiss yet. Her sister, however, did not believe in taking anything slowly. "I'll see." She told Akilah, sparing a glace at Spock who appeared to be deeply engrossed in studying his padd at the moment, much to her relief.

It would seem that none of the women in her family believed in taking relationships slowly Nyota thought to herself. In her conversation with her mother yesterday, her Mama had declared herself Spock's sponsor for their family something that she had never done with any other of her boyfriends before. Nyota then remembered back to her visit home last winter break when she had spent some private time with her maternal grandmother, Ishi. Ishi was a well respected leader and healer in her tribe whose had been blessed with great visions of the future during her long lifetime. Nyota made no mention of Spock to Ishi at first; wanting to wait for the proper time to tell her about him. Soon after their visit began, her grandmother surprised her when she told Nyota about a recent dream that she had about Nyota's future marriage. Uhura sat there transfixed as Ishi described her future betrothed to Nyota in great detail leaving no doubt in Nyota's mind that it was Spock that her grandmother had seen in her dream. Seeing the look on Nyota's face, Ishi then told her how happy she was to know that her granddaughter had now found her life mate. Ishi had quickly added with both a wink and a warm smile that she would be very pleased to welcome another grandson into their tribe as well as, more great-grandchildren. Yes indeed the women of her family were very pushy indeed.

Spock kept his gaze fixed on his padd, knowing without a doubt that Nyota was now watching him. He soon found he could not resist the lure of Nyota's gaze and he quickly cut his eyes over to look at her and watched her eyes dart back to him briefly as she continued her animated but quiet conversation with her sister, a large smile growing on her face as her eyes returned to focus once again on the com screen in front of her. Spock knew that Nyota was quite happy at the moment. During the course of their relationship as they grew closer to each other and became t'hy'las, he accepted the fact that her happiness had become most important to him. And now as a bonded couple her happiness seemed to flow seamlessly into him from her. This had pleased him.

A buzzer suddenly sounded indicating that this tutoring session was now concluded. The students in the lab quickly picked up their backpacks and padds and walked out the lab door leaving Spock and Uhura alone.

Uhura looked around the lab and watched as the cadets quickly left the room. "So I will see you tomorrow then." She declared wrapping up her and Akilah's conversation swiftly as she looked up to lock eyes with Spock.

Her sister laughed loudly at the sound of her little sister being so pushy with her "He must be there with you now if you're cutting your big sister off so quickly." Akilah teased.

Uhura frowned at her sister as she forced herself to look down at the com screen again. "No, that's not it. Class has just ended, that's all." She replied with a huff.

"OK, Nyota." Her sister continued to tease "Whatever you say, little sister." She continued "Just remember to bring him along with you tomorrow."

"We'll see." Uhura replied quickly glancing over at Spock who was still looking at her, his curiosity now quite recognizable to her. "See you tomorrow." With that she disconnected the com link Akilah's laughter still echoing in the silence of the lab as the connection closed. Nyota stood up slowly to face Spock who had now walked to the back of the room to join her.

Spock was silently watching her now, an obvious question hanging in the air between them. "Pardon the interruption in class, Commander, but my sister had only limited time to contact me between seminars this afternoon to discuss a major change in her meeting schedule for tomorrow."

"It did not appear that your conversation had interrupted any of the cadets' studies, Cadet Uhura, so there is no need to grant you a 'pardon'." He replied his eyes lighting up.

She smiled at him. She knew that he was now teasing her. His low key and dry sense of humor was one of the many qualities that she loved about him. "My sister has her two twin daughters with her on this trip and she wants me to babysit them tomorrow." She explained further as she began to walk around the lab straightening out both desks and chairs out of habit so they would be in order for tomorrow. She suddenly felt his hand on her shoulder, the feel of his warm fingers tenderly gripping her through the material in her uniform effectively stopping her in her tracks.

"Class decorum is no longer part of your duties, Cadet." He said quickly dropping his hand from her shoulder as he took over the task of moving chairs and desks back into their preset position within the lab. "You are here in the lab as an honored guest, and as such are not required to perform manual labor." He continued as he moved swiftly around the lab, relocating the furniture effortlessly and efficiently.

She watched him continue on with the task she had started. "Honored guest, huh?" she teased him back. "Then as an honored guest, I should be granted some priorities in any requests that I have. Do you not agree?"

He had finished moving all of the furniture back in place and had turned around to look at her, most curious about her intentions now. He slowly began to walk towards her. "Indeed, Cadet." He began, his eyes now crinkling at the corners. He bowed his head slightly towards her in a gesture of overt submission. "Your request will be my command, o honored guest."

She giggled, smiled broadly at him and watched as he almost smiled back at her in return. "Then I shall command you to join me tomorrow." She quickly teased him back. When he did not reply back immediately, she became concerned that perhaps he would not wish to be bothered with babysitting small children on his day off tomorrow. All of the men that she had dated in the past had felt uncomfortable being around younger children. "That is, if you don't mind being around toddlers." She added quickly hoping she had not offended him with her brashness "The twins can be a handful at times." She informed him allowing him a graceful out should he choose to refuse to accompany her.

Spock's face turned compassionate at her quick words knowing that she was somehow concerned about his hesitance to answer her. He wanted to immediately put her concerns to rest. "It would indeed be my honor to accompany you and your nieces tomorrow." He replied formally moving to stand in front of her. "I was the eldest child amongst my cousins and it had been my family duty to care for my younger relatives in my youth." He explained as she eyed him with curiosity. "Vulcan and human toddlers do possess many similar personality traits. Both have spontaneous and unique insights into the environment around them."

She reached up to him and laid her right hand on his left cheek and began to trace his cheekbone with her fingertips. She had never seen him with children of toddler age, but she knew for a fact that he was very good with older children. She smiled sincerely at him: he just continued to surprise her and in such good ways. As she continued to caress his cheek, he slowly closed his eyes at her touch. "Thank you for offering to help me with my nieces." She replied sincerely. She still couldn't help but tease him a little though. "With the two of us working together we now stand a chance of surviving the trip to the zoo with the terror twins."

He immediately opened his eyes to stare deeply into her eyes reaching out with his left index finger to gently stroke her face along her right cheek bone tenderly, inwardly pleased as he felt a small shiver under his fingertip in response to his touch. He then quickly dropped his arm back down to his side in order to avoid detection if some one were to enter the lab suddenly for the next tutorial session. Her last words to him now sparked his curiosity. "However I do not understand why you refer to your nieces as the 'terror twins'."

"You'll find out." Nyota replied enigmatically with a giggle.

In an effort to continue to keep their personal life more private, they met at their usual hover bus shelter many blocks away from the Academy at 8:30 the next morning. Cadets and instructors rarely used this hover bus shelter, so the chances for detection of their liaisons by someone they knew were significantly reduced by meeting there. This was to be their first family outing together as a couple and Nyota was looking forward to spending the day with Spock and her family. It was a rather chilly morning and she smiled when she saw him wearing the grey hoodie that she had bought him from the Academy Math Club fundraiser last year which had the words 'Property of Star Fleet Academy's Mathletic Department' boldly stenciled on the back. She remembered that he had politely thanked her for the hoodie when she gave it to him but of course had pointed out that there was no such word in the Standard language as 'Mathletic'. She had then patiently explained the play of words on the original phrase.

She admired his muscular form as he stood up to meet her as she approached the shelter. Sometimes her intense feelings for him caught her by surprise. As she continued walking towards him she watched him and he quickly placed his hands behind his back trying his best to be formal and respectful to her. During the past week it seemed her self control around him was growing steadily weaker. She had had another erotic dream about him last night and she was still quite unsettled about it. Thank goodness for the detachable shower head in her dorm's bathroom.

She quickly walked up and stood before him a huge smile now upon her face. "Wow!" she teased him trying to defuse her amorous feelings towards him with humor as she reached up to gently tug on the strings on the hood of his hoodie. But as usual her mouth became uncontrollable when her next breath filled her brain with Spock's unique and very masculine scent. "You look especially handsome this morning…must be that sexy hoodie you have on." Her hands froze on the strings as she watched his eyebrows climb into his bangs. Damn her mouth and her pent up hormones.

He looked at her, confusion clearly written in his eyes now. "I believe I am to respond with 'Thank you', Nyota." He began as she let go of the strings and placed her hands lightly on his chest. He hesitated slightly, then continued on in the softest of voices, the corners of his mouth quirking up slightly "For both the compliment as well as the garment."

She smiled broadly at him again as the hover bus approached. He stepped aside to allow her to enter the hover bus first and then used his credit chip to pay their fare. Given the day and the early hour there were only a few passengers on the hover bus. She sat down in an open area towards the middle of the bus and he quickly followed her settling in to the seat next to hers, their arms touching.

They sat in comfortable silence as the hover bus quickly moved down the street and swiftly pulled up to the next shelter stop. A tall muscular blond man who had just boarded the hover bus walked down the aisle towards them, smiling and winking at Uhura as he walked by. Uhura immediately felt Spock stiffen at her side as the man took the seat next to hers. Spock's left arm immediately went around her shoulders and she felt Spock's shoulders twist no doubt trying to look at the man now seated in the seat next to her. She slowly turned to look at Spock who was now staring challengingly over her head and directly at the blond man. Suddenly she felt the man move away from her and she turned back to watch him quickly slide into a vacant seat not one but five seats down from her.

She could now feel Spock pull her gently in to him and she smiled to herself as she felt their bond bristle between them. She now knew the single thought within Spock's head at the moment: 'Mine!' He had always been protective of her, but he had never behaved so possessively around her like this in public before. She had to admit to herself that she liked his unexpected public display of affection even though it had been prompted by his feeling of possessiveness. And with all of the empty seats on the hover bus, that guy really didn't have to sit right next to her. Judging by the look in the man's eyes as he smiled and winked at her, she knew without a doubt that left unchallenged this man was going to try to flirt with her and she was going to have to brush him off, possibly even causing a scene in doing so. Spock must have also noticed how the man was looking at her when he passed by them. This no doubt must have prompted his display of possessiveness. She leaned her head over to rest it against his shoulder and let out a sigh of contentment as she relaxed into his warmth, wanting to just enjoy his solid comfort for the moment as he gently pulled her closer to him. His left hand began to tenderly knead her left shoulder as the hover bus continued down the street towards her sister's hotel.

He sat there silently reviewing his recent actions as he continued to massage her shoulder. He knew that she took comfort in his touch as did he hers, so he gently pulled her closer in to his side as he continued his massage of her left shoulder. He inwardly justified the physical contact with her knowing that Nyota's left shoulder was quite sensitive on cold mornings like this one as the result of a volleyball injury from four terran years ago. He knew that massaging the joint would increase blood flow and thus relieve the stiffness and pain in her shoulder. As he continued to gently massage her shoulder he continued to dwell on his most recent act of possessiveness.

His overt reaction to the hover bus interloper was no doubt magnified as the result of yet another restless night with very little sleep. He remembered that when he finally did drift off to sleep, his dreams were filled with one very beautiful and very naked, Nyota Uhura. He had woken up just as he had orgasmed; once again soaking his sheets in what now had become almost a nightly occurrence. His erotic dreams about Nyota had become so frequent that he had even purchased an additional set of sheets for his bed. He then calculated the number of mornings remaining before Nyota's graduation. Far too many he concluded. Perhaps another set of sheets would be required in the interim.

But he knew that the lack of sleep was not the only cause of his possessive behavior this morning. Primitive and irrational though it was, he simply could not let another male within his Nyota's personal space. He did have the right as her betrothed to call her 'his' now did he not? He sincerely hoped that she would not be upset with him now over such an overt display of possessiveness. But given that she was still pressed in to his side, he reasoned that her acceptive behavior was a sign that he was already forgiven. He had hoped so.

About 15 minutes and six hover bus stops later, Nyota craned her neck to look ahead and she quickly reached behind her to hit the touch pad signaling that she and Spock were getting off at the next intersection. This would put them within one block of her sister's hotel. Spock released his hold on her. "This is our stop." She informed him as he stood up reaching out to hold on to her right forearm in order to steady her as she stood up next to him and the hover bus came to a silent stop. "Thank you." She said quietly to him.

He nodded to her in a respectful but silent reply as he stepped through the opening hatch first turning immediately and reaching out with his left hand to entwine with her right one as he assisted her in stepping down and away from the hover bus. He released her hand slowly as they began to walk together in the direction of Akilah's hotel.

As they walked into the busy lobby of the hotel Nyota felt him move even closer to her, their hands not quite touching, but close enough within each other's space to be taken now by any passing stranger as a couple. They quietly entered the lift and Nyota quickly pushed the touchpad marking the 24th floor as their destination.

She turned to him grateful that they were the only ones in the lift at this hour of the morning. "I feel I need to warn you about my big sister." She stated simply looking up into his face. "Believe it or not, Akilah is every bit as pushy and demonstrative as I am."

"Imagine that." He teased her quietly using one of Nyota's own favorite phrases, as he looked down into her concerned face. He could not quite conceal his amusement at her description of herself as seen through a comparison with her older sister. He noticed that her face now bore a serious look and his expression quickly changed from amusement to concern.

She immediately noticed the change in his expression and quickly smiled up at him hoping to reassure him that everything was still OK between them. "I just wanted you to know that" She began looking deeply into his now concerned eyes. "Akilah has somehow gotten it into her head that you are more than just a friend to me."

"I apologize, Nyota" Spock replied quietly looking deeply into her eyes in an effort to fully comprehend her statement. "but I do not understand what being 'more than a friend' in terran terms signifies." He added quietly. "Am I expected to behave in a certain manner? If so, then please provide me with such details so I will be able to fulfill my obligations to both you and your family."

"I am sorry that I am not explaining myself well at the moment" she apologized reaching out to stroke his left forearm. "Akilah means well but ever since I was a teenager she has always been pushing me to find that 'dream' husband that she had always envisioned that I would have. You see Akilah married at the age of 18 to her high school sweetheart who is such a good person and is the absolute perfect match for her as well as the perfect father for their children. And Akilah has been determined to find her version of an ideal husband for me for years now."

"I do not understand, Nyota." Spock replied still looking confused.

"It's just…" Uhura began staring down at the floor now embarrassed at what she was going to tell him next. "It's just that I have told her a few things about you." She continued glancing quickly up to gauge his reaction as he continued to stare intently at her trying his best to understand the meaning behind her words. "And like I said before, she can be quite pushy when it comes to getting what she wants."

"What 'few things' have you told your sister about me?" he then asked her quietly "I feel I must somehow prepare to meet your sister now, and knowing what you have discussed with her will assist me in responding properly to her questioning."

Nyota shook her head. "This is so awkward, Spokh." She replied "I did not mean to infer that Akilah will somehow interrogate you…although knowing her she will probably try to do just that." She tried to explain. "I have told her that you are an officer and instructor at the Academy, and that we have many things in common, and ….."

"And what, Nyota?" Spock then asked quietly at her hesitation to continue.

"And that we are now dating" She finished quickly as the elevator dinged suddenly announcing their arrival on the 24th floor.

Spock immediately stepped aside so she could step out of the lift first. As the lift door slid closed behind them Spock reached out to grasp her elbow gently turning her around to face him. "Is not 'dating' a prerequisite for marriage in most human cultures?"

She looked up and locked eyes with him, her breath suddenly short. "Yes, it is." She answered flatly.

"Then your sister should no doubt be pleased that we are following terran customs." He replied simply letting his fingertips brush her arm lightly as he let go of her arm.

She let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding in relief at his willingness to understand the complex emotional situation between her and her older sister. She smiled up at him and nodded her head in agreement as they both turned to walk down the hall coming to a stop in front of Room 2419. Inside they suddenly heard the loud laughter of small children and Nyota smiled broadly. "This is definitely the right room." She exclaimed with a laugh reaching up to press the touch pad to let Akilah know that they were now at the door.

The door quickly slid open and two very determined toddlers each with a thick, dark, wavy crown of hair totally covering their ears and eyebrows quickly bolted past Nyota and Spock. And with a fit of giggling the girls then set off at a dead run as fast as their short legs could carry them down the hallway. Spock reacted swiftly, immediately leaving Nyota's side and in just three long strides was able to scoop both of the children gently up into his arms, quickly turning back towards Uhura as Akilah ran past Nyota in rapid but lagging pursuit of the twins. Akilah immediately stopped mid step in the hallway and started laughing as Nyota walked over to her and put her arms around her sister and began laughing with her.

"Looks like the twins take after their mama, all right." Nyota teased her big sister "Off the leash and off at a dead run."

"As you can see they are quite excited that their Shangazi Ny Ny is taking them to the zoo." Akilah replied "They are just trying to get a head start, that's all."

Spock walked back to stand in front of Akilah and Nyota, the twins' arms now wrapped possessively around Spock's neck. "And they are also quite happy to be in the arms of their Mjomba it would seem." Akilah added in Kiswahili with a wink to Nyota who rolled her eyes at her sister.

"I am most honored to be considered as their uncle." Spock replied to Akilah in perfect Kiswahili. Nyota had taught Spock Kiswahili in exchange for him teaching her High Vulcan. Their private conversations usually flowed seamlessly between High Vulcan and Kiswahili.

Akilah opened her mouth in surprise as she looked first at Spock and then at Nyota. "Let's continue this conversation back inside your room, shall we?" Nyota suggested tugging on her sister's hand in order to get her attention.

"Let's" Akilah replied with a good natured laugh quickly leading the way back inside their hotel suite.

Akilah motioned for Spock and Nyota to be seated on the couch in the living area of their suite. Spock gently set the twins down on the couch before taking a seat himself. The girls immediately descended upon Nyota wrapping their arms around her neck and kissing her on both cheeks at the same time. Nyota squealed in delight and began to tickle the twins making them both giggle quite loudly.

Akilah glanced over to look at Spock who was now patiently sitting at the end of the couch watching intently as Nyota and the twins played. She had already noticed that he was very tall, taller than her own husband. He had gorgeous dark brown eyes and jet black hair which accented his chiseled and clean shaven masculine face. The fact that Spock had captured the twins so quickly and effortlessly in the hallway had shown his grace, balance, and strength. In her quick and superficial assessment of him, Akilah found Spock to a very handsome male. Akilah was now puzzled that neither Nyota nor her parents had made mention that Nyota's significant other was Vulcan. Not that it really mattered as long as Nyota was happy. She and her brothers and sisters were raised as children to embrace both cultural and racial diversity by their parents. Akilah was confident that her sister's decision to date Spock meant that Spock's inner self was just as appealing to her sister as was his obvious outward appearance. Nyota had become most discerning after her 17th birthday with regards to the selection of boyfriends and had finally replaced quantity with quality in her quests for male companionship.

Akilah couldn't help but notice that Spock's impassive expression changed as he continued to watch Nyota interact with her nieces. Akilah knew that Vulcans tended not to show their emotions outwardly, so she was somewhat surprised to see longing, amusement, and if she wasn't mistaken, love within Spock's eyes as he watched Nyota and the twins play. Akilah was now very curious about Spock's intentions in his relationship with her little sister. She was ready to start her line of questioning but she did not want to appear too aggressive in her methods of attempting to extract information from him…at least not yet. "Ny, aren't you even going to introduce us?" she questioned her sister forcefully raising her voice slightly above the din.

Nyota suddenly looked up from her tickle battle with the twins to meet her sister's now scolding gaze. "Sorry, but I'm a little busy here." She said grabbing both sets of the twin's hands at once, stilling them only momentarily. "OK…OK… Akilah this is Spock….Spock this is Akilah." She managed to get out before the twins wrested their hands from her control beginning the tickle war once more. Their combined shouts of delight became even louder. "And the twin terrors here are Hazina in blue and Hediye in green….I think!" Nyota struggled to finish.

"Very good little sister! You can tell them apart. Sometimes even I have trouble." She motioned to Spock with one hand. "How about we go into the kitchenette where it is much quieter?" Akilah asked Spock who nodded politely to her as he rose from the couch to follow after her. "Would you like some coffee or tea?" she asked as she motioned for him to sit on one of the bar stools. Yes indeed, definitely tall she thought to herself as he walked past her to sit down.

"No thank you, Akilah." Spock replied politely. "But please do not let me keep you from enjoying your morning's sustenance."

"Nyota tells me that you two are now dating." Akilah started wanting to get straight to the important questions given her limited time to converse with him this morning.

Spock could now see her eyes formally assessing him. "That is correct." He responded politely. "Our relationship evolved into more than a platonic one on August 17th."

The date of their change in relationship status was most interesting to Akilah. That was the day of Nyota's training accident. Her curiosity was immediately peaked. Suddenly she couldn't wait to pry the more intimate details out of Nyota, but later. First she needed a few more questions answered. "And you two have known each other since the Nyota's second year at the Academy?" she continued her questioning, walking over to sit on the bar stool next to Spock, placing her coffee cup on the counter in front of her.

Suddenly Nyota's voice rose from the other room. "Help!" she cried out.

Before Akilah could even blink, Spock had risen from the bar stool and had literally run into the living area, leaving only a breeze for Akilah in his wake. Akilah had to smile. She knew that Nyota was in no danger and that she was letting the twins overwhelm her on purpose. It was a game the three of them had played many times before. But apparently Spock did not know this. So it seemed that he was quite protective of her little sister. She liked that. Akilah had always been blessed with great intuitive sensibilities about people and she had to admit that she had a very good feeling about Spock from the moment that she had first seen him. The fact that her twin girls who had always been somewhat suspicious of strangers had immediately felt comfortable around Spock had 'sealed the deal' for her. She quickly got up and walked into the living area to watch what she knew would be quite the show knowing her sister and her little girls.

Spock gently picked the two toddlers up off of Nyota's chest and stomach. He had calculated their combined weight to be 82.5 pounds and although he knew Nyota was very strong for her stature, having such a live load bouncing up and down on her torso would no doubt be uncomfortable for her. "Would it please you to ride a sehlat?" He quietly asked the girls in Swahili setting the twins down and then kneeling down on the soft carpet and motioning for the twins to climb onto his back. "When I was your age, one of our family pets was an animal called a sehlat. His name was I-Chaya. His appearance was much like a huge teddy bear and a saber tooth tiger combined into one animal." The twins eagerly climbed onto Spock's back each holding onto his hoodie for balance. "I would ride I-Chaya like you are doing all around my house and up into the mountains of my home world, Vulcan." The twins were now hanging onto Spock's every word, their eyes wide with wonder as Spock began to 'walk' around on the carpet moving very much like a tiger would.

"A teddy bear?" Hazina asked tightly holding on to Spock's hoodie as he bounced both of them gently up and down.

"And a tiger?" Hediye asked, letting go of Spock's hoodie and then grabbing on to Hazina in order to keep her balance.

"Yes, both." Spock patiently answered continuing to 'walk' around on the carpet with the twins on his back. "And do you wish to hear the sound I-Chaya would make?" Spock asked the little girls.

"Yes!" both the twins shouted in unison.

Spock let out a low growl which immediately had the twins growling along with him.

Akilah turned from watching Spock and the girls and began to watch Nyota with interest. There in her little sister's face she could plainly see longing, amusement, and most definitely love for the tall Vulcan male now crawling around on the carpet, the twins proudly perched on his back all three of them now growling loudly together. Akilah was quite certain that she had never, ever seen Nyota look at a man in that way before. She now knew that the relationship between Nyota and Spock went well beyond the 'dating' stage. Her little sister definitely had some explaining to do before they left for the zoo. Akilah quickly motioned Nyota off the couch and then physically pulled her by the hand into the kitchenette area when Nyota refused to move fast enough to suit her.

"And why did you not tell me?" Akilah demanded as soon as they were in the kitchenette area.

Nyota blinked rapidly and looked at her in confusion as to meaning behind her sister's question. "Tell you what?" Nyota questioned back quietly putting her finger to her mouth to signal her sister to speak quieter fearing that Spock would hear them.

"All about Spock!" Akilah whispered intensely while waving her arms as if trying to fill in the blanks of her statement with her wild motions.

"I did tell you about him." Nyota defended in whispered tones as she glared at her sister warning her to lower her voice even further.

"Well you did not tell me that he was Masai tall and drop dead gorgeous, did you?" Akilah whispered accusingly. "Nor did you tell me that he was great with children, did you?" as she continued her onslaught. She then pulled Nyota into her arms and whispered into her left ear. "And you especially did not tell me that you are as in love with him as he is in love with you."

Nyota looked at her sister wide eyed at her words her mouth opening as if to refute her sister's words. Akilah held up her hand to her signaling that Nyota cease her protests immediately. "Don't deny any of that, Nyota. I have seen the way you two look at each other…and it is definitely not in the 'dating' way either." She said poking her sister's left shoulder with her right index finger to emphasize her point.

Akilah quickly turned to walk out of the kitchen area leaving Nyota standing there still speechless. "Now let's get the twin's backpack and get you all on your way to the zoo because I need to be at my first meeting in less than an hour." She told her as she looked up at the clock on the wall. "And I am sure that you cannot wait to get back to that dreamy boyfriend of yours either!"

"Shush! Akilah" Nyota fussed in a hushed voice. "He has really good hearing."

Akilah started giggling as Nyota flashed her yet another annoyed look. "I can't wait to find out what else he is good at." Akilah whispered back waggling her eyebrows suggestively at Nyota as they began to walk back into the living area, Akilah leading the way.

Nyota reached out with the index finger of her right hand and poked her sister softly in the back. "That's quite enough." Nyota warned.

"Until this evening, it is. And you know that I do expect details…lots and lots of details." Akilah replied with a big smile as she picked up a backpack showing it to Nyota. "Now then…the twins backpack contains snacks, sanitizing wipes, tissues, water and juice bottles, and a change of clothes for each of them just in case they get really dirty or jump into a mud puddle. I know that it rained heavily at the zoo last night and the girls love to get dirty."

"Wow!" Nyota teased picking up the backpack to assess its weight. "How on earth did you get all that stuff into this backpack?"

"Easy." Akilah replied with a smile. "I just used a little 'mommy' magic."

Spock had made the rounds of the living area once more and stopped directly in front of Akilah and Nyota, lowering his torso as the twins scrambled to get off his back. Spock then stood up and moved to stand directly in front of Nyota his eyes immediately locking with hers as she smiled broadly up at him.

"Zoo, Zoo, Zoo!" the girls began shouting in unison, happily jumping up and down in front of their mother.

"Do you two really want to go to the zoo?" Akilah teased the twins as they hugged her legs. "Well then you need to beg your Shangazi, not me."

The girls immediately launched themselves at Nyota and wrapped their arms and bodies around her legs.

"Zoo please Ny Ny!" Hazina squealed in happiness.

Yes, Shangazi!" Hediye cried out in glee. "Please, Please, Please!"

"And do you want your Mjomba Spock to go with you also?" Akilah asked earning her an instant eye roll from Nyota.

"Yes!" the twins answered in unison.

"Please go with us, Mjomba!" Hediye pleaded, her dark eyes wide as she turned and craned her dark curly head to look up at Spock intently.

"Please!" Hazina followed up her sister's plea, her eyes also imploring Spock who now looked down at both of the little girls, a glint of amusement now seen in his dark brown eyes.

"Of course your Mjomba Spock will go with you." Akilah answered the girls for him. "Is it not his duty as your Mjomba to take care of you and your Shangazi Ny Ny?"

Spock reached out and gently took the backpack out of Nyota's hands, adjusting the straps out to the end so as to fit him, and then quickly placed the backpack onto his back. He then kneeled down and held his arms open for the twins who immediately ran and jumped into his arms, their arms encircling his neck as he stood up with them securely held within his arms. "It is my duty." He replied simply, glancing quickly down at Nyota who was now frowning at her sister for being so pushy with Spock.

Nyota immediately turned away from her sister and looked up into Spock's face smiling broadly at him in relief knowing now that he was not offended at all by Akilah's words and he was actually quite comfortable in his new role as the twin's uncle. Her eyes now openly held her love for him within them.

Akilah saw the change in her sister's expression as she looked up at her tall Vulcan. "You've got it bad, little sister." She told her with a chuckle as Nyota began to blush with embarrassment not only at her sister's teasing words but at being caught openly showing her emotions for Spock in front of her big sister.

"What troubles you, Nyota?" Spock asked, now concerned at Nyota's sudden embarrassment.

"Oh nothing is wrong." Nyota replied cutting her eyes back at her sister again as Akilah began to laugh out loud. "Just Akilah being Akilah."

"Who else would she be?" Spock asked most seriously as Nyota took him by one elbow and led him and the girls towards the front door.

"I will get her to explain that comment to you over dinner tonight." Nyota replied looking back over her shoulder to glare at Akilah. "My sister needs to get to her meeting and we need to get to the zoo before Akilah starts any more trouble."

"Chicken!" Akilah teased Nyota who frowned at her in reply as she quickly caught up to Spock. "Be good for your Shangazi and Mjomba." She reminded the girls as she stood on her toes to kiss each of her daughters a goodbye on the cheek. She then quickly turned grabbing Nyota and kissing her little sister sloppily on the forehead. Laughing loudly she walked back ahead of them reaching out to open the door. "You be good too, little sister. And don't do anything I wouldn't do." She teased as Spock and the twins walked past her.

Akilah then teasingly moved towards Spock as if to kiss him goodbye as he walked past her and Nyota immediately pulled her back from him. "Don't even try it." Nyota whispered in warning to her as she tugged on her sister's arm effectively pulling her away from Spock and the twins.

Akilah laughed loudly at her little sister's act of jealousy. "I will meet you all back here late this afternoon. Com me when you are on your way back." She instructed happily "Have fun and be safe."

The twins waved happily back at Akilah with their free hands as she stood in the doorway, their other arm placed securely around Spock's neck as he walked down the hall with them.

"He is going to make a good daddy!" Akilah mouthed in an exaggerated fashion as she pointed at Spock when Nyota turned to wave good bye to her big sister.

Nyota playfully shook her fist back at her sister for her comment and Akilah laughed loudly as they all disappeared around the corner on their way to the lift.

Nyota pressed the 'Lobby' touch pad on the lift control panel and looked over at Spock who looked back at her, his dark brown eyes questioning the concerned look now on her face.

"Nyota?" he asked softly as the twins turned to look at their aunt too also.

On impulse, Uhura reached up to stroke his left cheek as he closed his eyes at her touch. "Thank you for being so understanding about everything." She said simply.

He immediately knew through their bond the meaning behind her words. He opened his eyes and nodded once to her as she smiled back at him.

On the 11th floor the lift stopped and the doors opened in order to let two elderly women into the lift. Spock politely stepped back with the twins to make more room for the women who immediately turned towards him.

"What beautiful daughters you have." The taller of the women said with a smile as the other woman looked at Nyota.

"You must be so proud of them." The shorter of the two women said to Nyota. "My two middle children were twins. It's a little tougher than having them separately, but so worth it." She told Nyota with a small wink.

"Thank you." Nyota replied, torn between explaining politely to the ladies that the girls were her nieces and just enjoying her unexpected happiness at the ladies mistaking the two adorable girls in Spock's arms as being the result of her and Spock's relationship. She glanced over at Spock whose face bore somewhat of a confused look. She locked eyes with him tying her best to communicate the need to just go with the women's assumptions for the moment.

"Thank you." Spock replied quietly to the ladies after a few seconds.

"We are going to the zoo!" Hediye said loudly as Hazina giggled.

Both women brightened at the girl's words. The taller woman reached out to pat Hediye on the arm excitedly. "You are going to have so much fun there!" she said happily. "Doris and I love to take our grandchildren to the zoo, don't we Doris?"

Doris nodded quickly. "We sure do, Edna." She replied reaching up to jiggle Hazina's foot in a playful manner. "Our grandchildren just love the petting zoo here in San Francisco. It's one of the best in the world."

"The petting zoo is definitely on our list of places to visit while we are at the zoo." Nyota replied with a giggle as she moved over to stand next to Spock. She reached up to put her right arm around Spock's shoulders.

"And the butterflies too!" Hediye added excitedly.

"And the snakes, too!" Hazina also added quickly reaching over to poke her sister.

Spock had followed all of the conversations with interest. Although he was still confused somewhat as to the reasoning behind the women's assumption that the twins were the progeny of Nyota and himself, he felt oddly satisfied with the women's words. He found the weight of the twins in his arms oddly satisfying to him also. Nyota then pressed herself closer to him, lowering her right arm from around his shoulders to rest her right hand upon the small of his back under his hoodie, her fingers gently massaging his lower back. The bond surged between them. He could now feel his bond mate's happiness through their bond. Most satisfying indeed.

Spock noted that he and Nyota received 19 unsolicited compliments on their 'daughters' during the 23 terran minute hover bus ride to the Zoo. Ninety-eight percent of the compliments were from elderly females. The remaining 2% were from who appeared to be the spouses of some of the elderly females. Nyota had fielded all the compliments with her usual diplomatic ease while Spock continued to engage the twins in conversation as the two girls sat between both he and Nyota. Exactly 12 minutes and 13 seconds into their trip Spock successfully negotiated an accord between the two toddlers as to the itinerary for their trip to the zoo. They had both finally agreed to visit the animals in Terran Standard alphabetical order. Spock had suggested this visitation order to both resolve conflict between the twins as well as further assist the twins with their use of Standard. Along with input from Nyota, they had also agreed that they would visit the petting zoo right before their lunch break and then again right before they left the zoo to return to their hotel. During his negotiations Spock had learned that the twins were most interested in learning to speak Vulcan in addition to Standard, so he patiently began to translate the zoo animal's common terran standard names into Vulcan words for them.

Nyota had enjoyed her conversations on the bus with the various women and a few of the men about the twins. And during the short ride to the Zoo, she had realized that she had become somewhat at ease with the general assumption by everyone on the bus that the twins were her and Spock's daughters. And Spock's actions and conversations with the toddlers had done nothing to dispel this perception as to the genetic origins of the little girls. Nyota had joined into the conversations between Spock and the twins occasionally as a tie breaker of sorts between the two strong willed toddlers and their equally strong willed 'uncle'.

Watching Spock interact with the twins had given her a new perspective on her bond mate. It would seem that Akilah had been right: Spock was definitely going to make a great daddy. Given her pushy and definitely not at all bashful family, she and Spock would need to have a private conversation regarding their plans for having their own children before they went to Kenya during winter break. She knew her family would no doubt be grilling both she and Spock about their intentions to start a family including the most important 'when' and 'how many' questions.

Spock had managed to secure a small table within the Petting Zoo area for Nyota, the twins, and himself. During their 28 minute and 45 second shopping excursion to the Zoo's large and heavily stocked gift shop, the twins had somehow managed to touch every item for sale in the shop at least once. But against all laws of probability, he and Nyota had managed to exit the gift shop with only two large bags of souvenirs for the girls. Nyota had been most adept at negotiating with the girls on their gift selections.

In his observations of Nyota during the day, Spock had concluded that his bond mate indeed possessed superior maternal instincts. Before meeting Nyota Spock had resigned himself to the belief that he would be the last of his father's line in their clan. However in his time spent with Nyota throughout the years, he had indeed changed his perspective on his role in the continuation of his clan. He now looked forward to the day that he and Nyota would become parents even though that event would be no doubt many years in the future for them given their current career goals.

With the use of the space on their 'acquired' table, Spock began to remove the items now remaining in the backpack and laid them out on the table. The water, juice, and snacks that Akilah had packed for the twins had been completely consumed before lunch by the little girls along with various purchased snacks and drinks during the afternoon, in addition to a large lunch. The toddlers' high level of activity during the day had required a high caloric and fluid intake to sustain them. The consumption of the juice, water, and snacks had created vacant storage space within the backpack. He then began to sort through the girls' gift bags folding the girl's many t-shirts in an effort to conserve space within the backpack.

Upon hearing the twin's loud laughter, Spock looked up and watched as Nyota began to video the girls as they rode once again upon the back of the brindled dappled burro aptly named 'Bo-Bo'. He quickly looked down once again and focused once again on his task. After a few minutes of rearranging all of items within the backpack, Spock found that he was able to store all the souvenirs except for the educational holos that he himself had purchased for the twins. He then securely placed the holos within the pouch of his hoodie content that they would remain protected there until they returned to the hotel and he could give them to Akilah for safe storage. He then fastened the backpack securely and once again placed it upon his back.

During their first visit to the Petting Zoo before lunch they had gotten to know the animals. 'Bo-Bo' had proven himself to be a docile and gentle creature as well as the twin's personal favorite. Nyota now felt more at ease within the Petting Zoo this being their second and fortunately their last visit for the day.

Nyota was continuing her running commentary as she videographed her nieces riding Bo-Bo. Akilah and her husband had taught all of their children to ride on the ponies that they kept at her husband's veterinary clinic, so the twins were very confident as they rode the unbridled, good-natured burro around the fenced designated riding area of the Petting Zoo. Both of girls suddenly yawned broadly and Nyota commented out loud that it appeared that the twins were finally getting tired judging by the sleepy looks now on both their faces. She also noted that she would ask about the availability of Bo-Bo for future babysitting duties.

The wisteria vines which bordered the entrance to the Petting Zoo had just begun to bloom and Nyota breathed in the wonderful scent as she paused in her video commentary. The afternoon had warmed up considerably and the afternoon sun had enveloped the Zoo in its warmth. The wind had also died down. Nyota noticed that the blanket under the soft riding saddle on Bo-Bo had begun show signs of sweat staining it. Poor Bo-Bo was most likely looking forward to getting that blanket, the saddle, and her nieces off his back soon. She glanced at her chron. It was now only 20 minutes before the Petting Zoo closed for the day. There were very few children left in the Petting Zoo now. Since no other children were waiting to ride Bo-Bo now both of the Petting Zoo attendants relaxed and enjoyed the warm afternoon as they chatted. The attendants made no move to retrieve the twins from Bo-Bo's back both of them now content to let the little burro wonder aimlessly around the fenced in area of the Petting Zoo with the twins atop him.

Nyota overheard one of the Zoo attendants remark that the bees seemed to be more numerous this afternoon as she gently waved one away from her co-worker's head. Suddenly a feeling of foreboding overtook Nyota. She continued to video her nieces but she found that she could not shake the feeling that this moment was somehow the calm before the storm.

Spock quickly began to walk towards Nyota. He could now feel her unease and concern and wished to understand the reasons behind her new found trepidation. Suddenly without warning, Bo-Bo let out a loud, anguished bray. The twins instinctively grabbed the handles fastened to the soft saddle as the small burro stiffened under them. Spock swiftly walked past Nyota towards the now frightened Bo-Bo with the intention of calming the animal as he retrieved the twins from his back for safety in the event that the animal could not be calmed. He was still 10 meters away from the burro and he noticed that a small cluster of bees had collected at the edge of the saddle blanket near the burro's flanks. The bees were logically the reason behind the burro's sudden unease.

"Nam'uh hayal, Bo-Bo." Spock calmly and softly called out to the now nervous burro. "Tor fam dvun-tor." He continued in the same voice as he slowly reached his hand out towards the animal in a gesture of offering comfort. He began to walk faster when he noticed that even more bees had begun to land on the burro's blanket. Spock glanced towards Bo-Bo's head and saw the burro's eyes begin to roll back exposing the white of his eyes.

Spock immediately broke out into a run. As he sprinted towards the small burro Spock saw the last of the bees disappear under Bo-Bo's blanket. He was still 3 meters away from the burro and knew now that he would not be able to reach the girls in time before the bees began to sting the helpless animal. "Hold on tightly!" he loudly commanded the girls in Kiswahili only a second before the burro bolted forward as if being fired from a cannon.

Bo-Ho's short legs were just a blur as he raced towards the Petting Zoo's short perimeter fence bordered with bushes.

Nyota's eyes now glued to the fleeing burro and her nieces, she immediately began to sprint in order to catch up to the attendants who were now rapidly closing in on Bo-Bo as the little burro neared the fence.

"Bo-Bo is being stung by numerous bees." Spock informed them loudly as he continued to close in on the burro.

"He can't jump that fence, it's too high." One of the attendants called out.

Spock believed otherwise. He knew that it was far too dangerous for the girls to attempt to dismount on their own at this moment. They would be far safer staying atop the burro until he could safely retrieve them. "Lean forward and close to Bo-Bo and do not let go of the saddle." He commanded the girls as he quickened his pace.

"I'm going to call Dr. Drake and get him to come over and help with Bo-Bo." The other attendant replied stopping dead in her tracks as she brought her com up to her mouth. Nyota quickly sidestepped the woman as she continued to race towards the little burro.

They were all within 3 meters of Bo-Bo when the still frightened animal suddenly let out another loud bray and with it hurled both him and the twins cleanly over the top of the fence.

Nyota slid to a stop in the wet sand and watched as the animal gracefully landed on the granite chip pedestrian path on the other side of the fence, the twins still firmly attached to his back.

Spock swiftly leaped over the Petting Zoo fence and was closing in once again on Bo-Bo. He had now hoped to quickly remove the girls before the bees began to sting the burro again. He was only two meters from the burro when he saw the muscles on the flank of the animal quiver and shake.

"Go Bo-Bo go!" Hazina cried out in glee as the animal suddenly turned and ran towards another fence adjacent to the path.

Hediye immediately squealed in delight behind her sister. "Weeee!"

Both the girls were still holding on to the saddle tightly and they leaned forward, their bodies low and snug against the little animal. Without even slowing down, the burro then gracefully leaped over the second fence taking him and the twins into a large grassy pasture. Bo-Bo let out another sorrowful bray as the bees no doubt stung him once again and he immediately picked up speed on the grassy field. Without hesitation Spock cleared the second fence as he followed the burro into the field immediately breaking out into a run in order to keep up with the increased pace of the animal.

Nyota had already climbed over the petting zoo fence calling out over her shoulder to the zoo attendant. "What kind of animals are in that field?" she yelled out fearing that Bo-Bo, the twins, and Spock were now trapped in a field with dangerous animals.

"Gazelles, Kudu, and Dik-Dik." The woman yelled back at her turning back once again to her co-worker. "Where the hell is Drake?"

"On his way with back up." Nyota heard the other woman answer.

A security officer suddenly ran up to Nyota from behind. "I think we can cut Bo-Bo off at the creek and stop him." He told her quickly moving past her. "Come on!" He said breathlessly setting off at a run along the pathway.

Spock quickly glanced over his shoulder in an effort to locate Nyota as he ran. He saw that she had joined a security officer and had begun to run along the road which he knew from his memorization of the zoo map would take them on a possible intercept course with the burro. He then refocused his attention on his own pathway which had suddenly turned quite muddy. He started to slow his pace as his traction began to rapidly decrease. His pace slowed even further as he saw a small herd of gazelles appear from behind a hill directly in the path of the little burro.

Nyota struggled at first in the loose rock until she found her footing and then followed close on the heels of the tall officer as they ran along the perimeter of the field. "I had no idea that old burro could jump and run like that." The officer commented his breathing already sounding winded. "Wonder what happened to the little guy."

"Bees." Nyota replied catching up to the officer as she continued to glance quickly out to the field every few seconds. She watched as a now panicked herd of gazelle veered suddenly into Bo-Bo's path causing the little burro to change course to the right as he maneuvered around the perimeter of small group of animals. Nyota saw that the field had become quite muddy around the burro now. Nyota hoped that the slippery footing would slow or stop Bo-Bo without causing him to fall and hurt her nieces. As she continued to watch the little burro, it appeared that Bo-Bo didn't seem to be having any trouble at all navigating the muddy field and in fact had actually managed to pick up even more speed. Spock however wasn't so lucky.

As he continued to run after the burro Spock watched in dismay as the gazelle herd quickly turned back heading straight for him now. The animals were not large, but they were numerous and their hooves could possible inflect some amount of damage to him. He readied himself for the onslaught.

The panicked gazelle herd was headed straight for her bond mate now. Spock managed to dodge around the first few gazelles and jump over several more of the hoofed animals before slipping on the now muddy grass. He quickly rolled as he hit the ground as the remainder of the herd leaped over his now prone figure. Nyota immediately slid to a stop, her heart lodged in her throat.

As the herd passed by him, Spock was mildly surprised yet grateful that he had sustained no permanent damage as he began to roll to his feet.

The officer stopped beside her and whistled as Spock rolled quickly to his feet once again gaining his footing, setting off once again after Bo-Bo at a dead run. "Looks like your husband is a pretty tough guy." He noted as both he and Nyota began running again. "Bo-Bo has to stop at the creek." The officer commented as his com began to call out to him. "Yeah, I am in route to Gate Charlie4. I think we can get across the bridge there and catch Bo-Bo when he stops at the creek." The officer huffed into his com.

As they rounded a bend in the path, trees now blocked her view of the field. She followed the officer as he turned right onto a service road at the end of which stood an 8 foot tall wooden gate designed so that the smooth side of the wood planks faced inward no doubt to keep animals from using the supporting boards to climb over the gate. Nyota briefly thought about the types of animals that now lay beyond the gate, then her thoughts returned once more to her nieces and Spock.

"What the hell!" The officer cursed in disbelief punching in codes furiously on the gate's touch pad. "The code's not working." He said gulping in breaths of air between his words. "The rain has probably knocked out the controller again." He then noted the desperate look on Nyota's face. "Tony is on his way in from the other side and when he gets here he can open the gate for us."

"I'm not waiting on Tony or anyone else." Nyota said firmly backing up approximately 6 meters from the gate and glaring at the officer. "Where do I go once I'm in?"

The officer looked at her in amazement realized that she was going to attempt to scale the tall gate. "Just bear right and follow the rock road to the creek. You should be able to cross the creek at the low water bridge there. Just be careful. The footing is really tricky in that area of the creek."

Nyota nodded once to the officer and then ran at full speed towards the tall gate focusing on the top most cross boards that she needed to grab and hold on to so that she could scale the gate.

Her adrenaline was pumping hard into her body as her legs propelled her up, the fingers of her hands just managing to grip the top of the high cross boards. With a grunt she pulled herself up and over the gate landing with a muffled thud on the other side. She immediately started cursing in Klingon.

"You OK?" the officer called out to her though the gate.

"I think so." She answered with a huff feeling a sharp pain in her right wrist. She hoped that she hadn't sprained her right wrist again. But her own personal pain didn't matter to her at the moment.

She immediately turned right and began to run down the rock road. As she approached the low water bridge she slowed down and then began to carefully walk across the algae covered surface of the concrete bridge. She knew that time was of the essence now but she also knew that she was of no value to her nieces or to Spock if she was unable to walk because of a twisted ankle.

She began to slowly walk up the muddy bank of the creek, slipping and sliding as she struggled in the thick mud, curse words in at least 20 different languages passing from her lips as she willed herself to move faster.

Once she managed to clear the bank she scanned the open field and found that Bo-Bo had come to a stop about 60 or so meters to her left. She slowly began to approach the burro not wanting to scare him into running away from her. The small burro had begun to graze upon the tall grass and seemed quite content to remain in one spot at least for now. Nyota found herself growing more impatient as she continued to walk towards Bo-Bo. She wanted to get to him and the twins before the bees decided to start stinging him again. She began to walk faster. She could now hear the twins talking to each other, their laughter now punctuating their conversation. Nyota was relieved that they appeared to be not only uninjured but actually happy.

Spock was quite please to see that Bo-Bo had finally stopped and was now grazing. The little animal's flight had hopefully dislodged the bees from under his saddle blanket. He slowly and quietly walked up to the burro as the twins turned to wave at him. He carefully regarded the girls noting that both of them appeared to be unharmed. In fact the little girls appeared to be quite excited and happy about their ride on the little burro.

He quickly pulled out the drawstring from his hoodie and fastened a loop from it, slowly slipping the loop around Bo-Bo's neck. "Are you injured?" he asked the girls softly as they both stared at him intently.

"We are fine, Mjomba." Hazina replied with wide eyes for him now as both the girls looked at him, concern clearly showing on their faces at his condition. "Are you OK?"

Spock quickly looked down at himself. He found that most of his clothing was now covered in mud and grass; his appearance no doubt had alarmed the little girls. "I am quite muddy but unharmed." He told the girls with confidence and watched as the girls began to smile once more. He began to scratch the burro between the ears remembering that Nyota had informed him that such action had a calming effect on the animal.

Nyota smiled broadly at all of them as she approached. The twins were smiling and laughing as they continued to sit upon Bo-Bo's back. She noticed that Spock was gently scratching the burro between his long ears as he continued to hold the makeshift halter. She also noticed that Spock was almost completely covered with mud and grass. She could only make out the 'M' on the front of his hoodie now. And the girl's backpack was not only covered in mud but there were very distinct hoof prints now visible to her on the backpack. Some of the gazelle must have actually stepped on Spock as they jumped over him. Nyota was now concerned that Spock had been injured.

"Hey there." Nyota greeted them more calmly than she felt as she walked up to stand on the other side of Bo-Bo from Spock. Spock's eyes had continued to track her during her approach and she could see the relief within them clearly now as they briefly locked eyes with each other. She now knew that he had not been injured and for that she was most thankful. "Did you two have fun riding Bo-Bo?" she asked cutting her eyes away from Spock as she looked the twins over checking them for any injuries. She was very relieved that the twins appeared to be unharmed. As she shifted positions Nyota felt her pants legs sticking to her. She spared a quick glance down at her own clothes. She saw that her pants were now covered in mud.

"Yes!" they said in unison huge smiles lighting up their cheery faces and Nyota could help but smile back at them.

"Can we ride Bo-Bo like that again, Ny-Ny?" Hazina asked Nyota pleading with her Aunt. "It was fun!"

"After all that jumping and running, Bo-Bo is going to need to rest at least a month." Nyota responded with a giggle. "Bo-Bo is an old man."

"Bo-Bo is only 19 years old." Hediye announced to the group. "You are much older than that." The little girl factually pointed out to Nyota.

"That is why Bo-Bo outran both Shangazi and Mjomba, Hediye, duh!" Hazina concluded loudly. Both of the girls then began to giggle and Nyota quickly found herself giggling along with them.

"Let's get you both down from there." She instructed still giggling as Spock handed her the end of the makeshift rope.

He reached down and carefully lifted each of the girls off the burro somehow managing to keep them mud free in the process. He placed each of the girls a short but safe distance from the burro.

Spock then walked back to take Bo-Bo's rope from Nyota allowing her to walk quickly around the burro and sink to her knees before the little girls hugging each of them in turn. The little girls began to giggle once again.

"You are very muddy, Shangazi!" Hediye teased her. "Mama will not be very happy with you!"

"Hey!" Nyota replied reaching out a finger to tickle Hediye "I promised your Mama that I would only keep the two of you clean." She replied as Hediye began to giggle. "Not myself."

"Mjomba is much muddier." Hazina replied also with a giggle, then quickly turning serious. "Please do not be angry with Mjomba for getting his clothes so muddy." she begged Nyota as Hediye immediately stopped giggling and joined her sister in pleading for Nyota's forgiveness of Spock. "He was running very hard in the mud trying to catch Bo-Bo. It was not easy for him."

Both the girls were now giving Nyota their very best 'puppy dog' eyes causing Nyota to break out into a smile once again.

"I am not angry with your Mjomba at all." Nyota replied to the little girls throwing a look back over her shoulder at Spock who nodded at her in reply. "I know that it was hard for him to run in the mud." The twins now smiled broadly at her words, visibly relieved that she was not angry with their uncle. In their short time together today, Nyota realized that the twins had become very fond of Spock. The thought made her smile widen even further.

They suddenly heard the sound of a motor from the direction of the bridge and they all turned to watch a four wheel drive vehicle approach them slowly.

"Hi everybody!" an elderly man stepping out of the vehicle said with a huge smile on his face. "I'm Dr. Drake, Bo-Bo's veterinarian." He said walking over to Spock and taking the 'rope' end from him. He immediately began scratching Bo-Bo between the eyes as he began to look the little burro over. "Looks like Bo-Bo here has been on quite the adventure….and you too judging by the looks of you." The elderly man remarked looking pointedly at both Spock and Nyota in turn.

Nyota couldn't help but smile at the man as Spock walked over to join them, his hand reaching out to gently pull Nyota to her feet. He then crossed in front of the girls to stand on the other side of the twins from Nyota so that the girls were now placed safely between them.

"Oh yes, Dr. Drake!" Hediye agreed with the kind hearted veterinarian. "And it was lots of fun!"

"Well I'm glad that you and Bo-Bo had fun together." Dr. Drake replied slowly unfastening Bo-Bo's saddle and removing both the saddle and the blanket handing them quickly over to one of his assistants as the burro began to graze once again on the tall grass oblivious to everyone now. Dr. Drake began to examine the numerous stings on Bo-Bo's back. "Looks like Bo-Bo here is going to be just fine." The veterinarian chuckled patting the small burro affectionately on the withers. "And it looks like his appetite is doing fine as well."

Another four wheel drive vehicle approached the group slowly as the Doctor and his assistants continued to examine Bo-Bo. Two women stepped out of the vehicle and approached the group.

"Hello there! I'm Judith Crownover, Director of the Zoo." The older woman announced with a smile as she knelt down in front of the twins. "And you two must be our intrepid burro riders." She said reaching out to give each of the girls a 'high 5' that the girls eagerly returned. She then stood up and looked first at Nyota and then at Spock. "And you must be our intrepid burro chasers." She noted with another grin.

One of the Doctor's assistants slipped a padded halter onto Bo-Bo's head and removed Spock's temporary one from the little burro. Another assistant quickly walked over to Spock to hand the muddy cord back to him. Spock placed the cord into his pouch next to the holos which he realized were now broken into several pieces. He would request replacement of the holos from the gift shop before they left the Zoo.

"How about we give you all a ride up to the main office?" Director Crownover asked them motioning them over to her vehicle. "Dr. Drake is going to take Bo-Bo back to his stall now and no doubt give him a nice bubble bath" She said glancing over at Dr. Drake who managed to shake his head and grin at the Director.

Nyota smiled at the woman's sense of humor. It had been a long day and she was definitely looking forward to riding over and not walking through the mud again. She suddenly heard a 'beep' and recognized the sound as the low battery signal for her camera. It would seem that she had forgotten to turn off her camera during all the commotion. It would be interesting to look at the video later to see just how much of their 'intrepid' adventure she had managed to actually record.

Director Crownover not only replaced the holos that Spock had crushed in his encounter with the gazelles but added four more holos for the twins at no cost. She also gave the twins 'official' Zoo Keeper hoodies, two Zoo backpacks stuffed full of souvenirs, as well as lifetime passes to the Zoo complete with honorary Zoo Keeper titles. The twins were ecstatic.

And as a 'gift' for Spock and Nyota, the Director insisted that all four of them were to be transported directly from the main office of the Zoo to the front door of the twin's Hotel in the official 'Zoomobile'. And of course they managed to attract quite a bit of attention during their trip in the heavy weekend traffic. After all it wasn't everyday that residents and visitors to downtown San Francisco were treated to the sight of a Gorilla driving the Zoomobile. The twins took turns waving at various people along the road as well as to other drivers and passengers most of whom waved back at the little girls. Nyota couldn't help herself as she joined with the girls to wave out the window.

Spock however had politely refused to wave and neither the twins nor Nyota could persuade him join them in this activity. Given that he had been outrun and outsmarted by a small brindled dapple burro, trampled underfoot by a herd of gazelles, and was now covered in mud, his pride it seemed was all that was left to him after their trip to the zoo.

The trip back to the hotel took over an hour because of the heavy late afternoon Saturday traffic. In between their turns at waving out the window of the Zoomobile, the girls kept both Nyota and Spock as well as their 'gorilla' driver quite busy answering their insatiable questions about San Francisco as well as the zoo. Nyota had managed to call Akilah and had firmly informed her big sister that they would all be dining in tonight. She then refused to answer her sister's resultant barrage of questions insisting that that her older sister hold all of her questions for later. The twins had requested pizza for dinner and Nyota had asked Akilah to order one vegetarian pizza as she reached over the twins to flick some of the mud off of one of Spock's mud-covered knee. Spock managed a quick nod to her in thanks. It was the least she could do for her long suffering bond mate.

The mud had begun to dry and flake off of both her and Spock by the time they arrived at the hotel, causing them both to leave a 'trail' behind them as they walked through the lobby and in to a waiting lift. Nyota was quite beyond being embarrassed by her appearance by this point of the day. She was now saving the rest of her embarrassment for Akilah who she knew was going to have a field day with both her and Spock when she saw them in their muddy clothing.

Akilah opened the hotel room widely and the twins immediately tackled her legs. "My babies!" Akilah called out to them dragging her legs with the twins still attached to them over to couch and quickly plopping all of them down in a heap.

Although some of the mud had managed to already fall off during their travels back from the zoo, Nyota could still feel her pants crackle every time she moved her legs. Once they were inside the hotel room she had turned to Spock and began helping him remove the muddied and beaten backpack from his back as the twins began to regale their mother about their adventures at the zoo. Nyota noticed that the back of Spock's hoodie where the backpack had been was fairly clear of mud and grass. Nyota sat the backpack down on the love seat as she and Spock began to focus their attention on removing the surprisingly clean souvenirs from the backpack.

The twins had jumped up to sit on Akilah's stomach both of them talking so fast and over each other. Each one of them was now trying their best to tell their mamma their own particular version of their trip to the zoo. After several minutes of non-stop talking, both of the girls were now completely out of breath in their excitement of retelling their stories about the zoo to their mother.

Smiling broadly at her now silent and panting youngest children, Akilah finally noticed that the girls were still dressed in the same clothes that they had left in this morning. She was suddenly curious to know just how it was that her girls had somehow managed to stay so clean after an all day outing to a wet and most likely very muddy zoo. "Wait a minute here. You two are much too clean to have had any fun at all at the Zoo today." Akilah commented her eyes now seeking out her little sister in order to find out just how it was that Nyota was able to pull off such a fashion feat. But when her eyes focused on the mud caked and grass stained backsides of her sister and her boyfriend, Akilah immediately sat upright and her girls quickly followed their mother's actions both of them turning to stare at their aunt and 'uncle' along with their mother.

Nyota realized too late that her sister had grown quiet. In the silence of the room Nyota now heard the sound of a camera being operated. She glanced up at Spock as he raised one eyebrow, obviously hearing the sound also. Nyota and Spock then slowly turned around to face Akilah and the twins and they were immediately greeted by yet another 'snap' of Akilah's camera.

Nyota instinctively held up one hand to cover her face. "Akilah, no!" she yelled at her oldest sister.

"Are you kidding me, Ny?" Akilah replied with a laugh placing the camera behind her back in order to shield it from her little sister. "There is no way that I am passing up an opportunity to show the world just how the crème de la crème of Star Fleet looks after a day at the San Francisco Zoo chaperoning my little girls, who, by the way, are spotless." Akilah then burst into another fit of laughter rolling back on the couch as the twins quickly scooted off of the couch knowing exactly what was to happen next.

Nyota quickly leaped onto the couch and began to wrestle the camera away from Akilah who was now laughing so hard that she was not able to put up much of a fight against her determined little sister. Within seconds Nyota was able to remove the camera from her sister's hand.

"Come on Ny." Akilah pleaded as she sniffled loudly, tears in her eyes from laughing so hard. "Don't erase all of them." She continued finally able to sit up as Nyota stood up from the couch and glared down at her. "At least let me keep one of them so I can show our family." She then let out another howl of laughter falling back onto the couch.

"Momma!" Hazina started reaching out to take her mother's hand "Do not be mean to Shangazi and Mjomba."

"Shangazi Ny Ny and Mjomba Spock can not help that they are muddy." Hediye explained passionately taking her mother's other hand as both the girls pulled their mother up to a sitting position once again on the couch. "Shangazi Ny Ny and Mjomba Spock are much older than Bo-Bo, so they could not run as fast as he could."

Akilah blinked her eyes rapidly, the realization of what her daughters were saying to her dawning on her slowly. She knew that there must be quite a story behind her children's words and she suddenly couldn't wait to hear it. Akilah knew that she now needed to make peace with her little sister so Nyota would be agreeable to telling the entire story to her. Akilah politely bowed her head in an exaggerated show of respect to both Nyota and Spock "My apologies to both your Shangazi and Mjomba." She told them as she pulled her daughters onto her lap and hugged them. "But I am still somewhat at a loss to understand just how it is that you two are perfectly clean and your Shangazi and Mjomba are perfectly…not."

"We will tell you the story then, Mamma!" Hediye told her wrapping her arm around her mother's neck.

"And it is a very good story, Mamma!" Hazina added.

Suddenly the door chimed. "That must be the pizza I ordered." Akilah said glancing up to check the chron on the wall.

Spock who had been silently watching the exchanges between Akilah, Nyota, and the twins with much interest swiftly turned and walked towards the door. "I will retrieve the food." He offered.

"Thank you Spock." Akilah replied still sniffling from her tears of laughter "I have already paid for the meal along with a gratuity for the delivery."

As Spock actuated the control panel, the door slid open silently revealing a very confused teen aged human male holding 3 pizza boxes and a bag of what must be drinks. The young man looked up at Spock with caution clearly showing in his eyes now. "Uh..delivery for Akilah?"

"Yes" Spock replied taking the pizza and drink bag from him. "Thank you."

"Well…enjoy!" the young man replied quickly turning on his heel and walking hurriedly down the hall way as the door quickly slid shut behind him.

Nyota began pulling the two low tables in front of the couch and the love seat together. "Since your Mjomba and I are too muddy to sit on the furniture, how about we all sit on the floor to eat our pizza?"

The twin's eyes immediately lit up as they hopped up from their mother's lap. "Yes!" they cried out in unison and began helping their aunt push the tables together.

"Good plan, Ny." Akilah agreed getting up and walking into the kitchenette returning with a large stack of paper napkins and paper plates. "We'll even use the good china."

Nyota looked up to see Spock's expression dissolve into one of curiosity with Akilah's comment. She caught his eye. "And here you thought that is was only me that was so full of human colloquialisms." Nyota teased him with a small smile.

"I had been under that assumption." Spock remarked setting the pizza boxes in the middle of the two tables raising one eyebrow up at Nyota. He opened the bag and began to place the bottles of water on the table as well. "It is somehow most reassuring to know that Nyota's propensity for spouting colloquialisms is hereditary and therefore not contagious."

Akilah smiled at Spock. In the relatively short time that she had known him she found his sense of humor quite engaging. It would seem that he could give as good as he got. And his sense of humor would serve him well in his dealings with Nyota's large and loud family. And Akilah was not about to let an opportunity to tease her younger sister's boyfriend pass her by. "I am quite positive that you will find several other of Nyota's personality traits are inherited, but please do not let this scare you away from our family."

"Mjomba Spock is not afraid of anything, Mamma." Hazina interjected with confidence. "He is a Commander."

"And he is teaching us to speak Vuhlkansu." Hediye added with perfect intonation.

"So it would appear that your Mjomba Spock is indeed most impressive." Akilah replied cutting her eyes over to Nyota and winking at her as she continued passing out plates and napkins around the table.

"Yes, he is." Nyota acknowledged her sister, reaching out and taking Spock's right hand in hers and tugging him gently toward the kitchenette. "But first things first. Everyone needs to wash their hands before they eat."

Spock was grateful for his bond mate's words as well as her close proximity to him now as they stood behind the twins, the two little girls intensely washing their hands as they stood on a chair next to the kitchenette sink.

Akilah stood to the side supervising her daughters. "Very nice job you two." She told her twin daughters as she handed them each a paper towel to dry their hands with.

"Mjomba Spock needs to wash his hands and his face." Hediye noted as she and Hazina jumped from the chair into Akilah's waiting arms.

"Yes he does. Here let me." Nyota replied with a smile wetting several paper towels. She reached up and gently wiped away the streaks of dried mud from Spock's face. The look on his face now was one of long suffering. Nyota giggled at him as she wet several more paper towels and proceeded to wipe his entire face for him, drawing a dramatic, for a Vulcan that is, sigh out of him. Throwing the muddy paper towels away she then reached up to grasp his stubbled cheek tenderly, slowly turning his head from side to side in order to admire her work. "There now…much better."

"Thank you." He told her quietly as she lowered her hand from his face. Nyota turned slowly around until she faced the sink. He reached around her gently brushing his arms past her shoulders, enveloping her small frame as he turned the water to warm. Spock then reached out with his left hand to gently take both her hands holding them out under the water flow. With his right hand he dispensed liquid soap into her hands, rubbing them together for her as he washed his own hands with hers.

Akilah and the twins watched Nyota and Spock wash their hands in silent but curious interest. And it was quite apparent that Spock and Nyota were quite oblivious to their audience as they continued to wash their hands together. Akilah was struck with just how tenderly her sister and Spock were behaving towards each other.

"Very nice job you two!" the twins said in unison smiling up at their aunt and uncle when they had finished washing their hands.

Nyota giggled realizing that they now had an audience as Spock handed her a paper towel to dry her hands with. "Why thank you!" she responded back to the little girls as Spock took her now used paper towel from her hands, throwing it away with his.

Back at their 'table' Spock had fastened a spatula of sorts out of a paper plate and began to pass out pizza first to the twins, then to Akilah, finally serving Nyota who smiled her thanks to him. Spock then placed two pieces of vegetarian pizza on his own paper plate before sitting down next to Nyota, their knees brushing together as they both began to eat.

Spock had discovered at lunch today at the zoo that shared meals with the Nyota's family were first and foremost a very social event and that the consumption of sustenance was at best secondary. Such conversation-intense meals were in stark contrast to the way he himself had been raised. And however illogical it may be, Spock found that he actually enjoyed these non-silent meals. There were many Vulcan traditions that he and Nyota would no doubt keep once they had children of their own, but he was now quite convinced that eating their meals in silence would not be one of them.

After taking a bite of her pizza, Nyota reached out and wrapped her left arm around Spock's mud covered waist and hugged him tenderly. She was so happy to have him with her and her family. She knew that the twins adored their 'uncle' and she also sensed that Akilah had already accepted Spock into their family. But unfortunately for her bond mate that meant that Akilah would no doubt begin to tease Spock unmercifully now. Nyota quickly leaned over and kissed him softly on his stubbled right cheek in an advance apology for Akilah's future teasing.

Spock turned to look down at Nyota who slowly began to pull her arm away from around his waist. He could feel her happiness through their bond. The feel of her lips on his cheek was a most welcome albeit brief sensation. He immediately missed the warmth of her touch as she withdrew her arm from around him. Although he enjoyed the company of Nyota's family, he suddenly wished that he and Nyota were alone. He had learned from his mother that humans valued kisses as a sign of affection. He knew that Nyota had been waiting on the proper 'time' for their first lip to lip kiss. He could sense just how important this exchange of affection was to his bond mate. Perhaps they could alter their course back to the Academy grounds tonight after dinner with her family and visit the flower gardens. There was a full moon tonight which he knew from his studies of human courtship was considered as 'romantic'. He reasoned that Nyota would consider this setting as appropriate for engaging in such a first kiss.

"And I do expect you to show me and the family the video of the twin's infamous ride on Bo-Bo when you two come home for Winter Break." Akilah demanded once again as Nyota led the twins away from their dinner table and towards the bathroom for the girl's bath. The little girls had decreed during their animated and story filled dinner that their Shangazi would give them their evening bath and their Mjomba would read them their bedtime story.

"Only if I can edit all the curse words out of it." Nyota called back to her sister as the twins continued to tug her towards the bathroom.

Spock had begun to pile the empty pizza boxes on to one another and then placed the plates and napkins on top of the pizza boxes. Akilah gathered up the water bottles. They walked into the kitchenette and Akilah placed the empty bottles into the recycling bin as Spock placed the used plates and napkins in the trash receptacle and the pizza boxes into the recycling bin.

"Would you mind if we sat and talked while Ny bathes the girls?" Akilah asked him as she pulled out two bottles of water from the refrigerator. "It won't take very long. The girls hate taking baths. Ny will be lucky if she gets them to sit still long enough to get soap and shampoo on them and rinsed off before they bolt out of there."

"Nyota had informed me that you would wish to complete your interrogation of me at some point during the evening." Spock replied cocking his head to the side to her in reply.

"Oh but the word 'interrogation' has such negative connotations associated with it." Akilah commented at his obvious taunt. With a chuckle she walked back into the living area and set the two waters down at their 'dinner' table. The more she talked with him the more she realized that Spock's personality was indeed a good match for her sister's sassy attitude and mouth. She comfortably sat down once again on the floor as Spock sat down across the table from her. She slowly pushed one of the water bottles towards him and he nodded his head in thanks to her. "But it is my duty as Nyota's sister to be concerned about her welfare, and that includes screening her boyfriends."

Spock looked into Akilah's eyes and saw genuine concern reflected there. "Nyota's welfare is of paramount importance to me as well." Spock replied calmly. "I will endeavor to address all of your concerns as well as answer all of your questions."

"Fair enough." Akilah agreed with a smile. She took a long swallow of water before she began. "You told me this morning that your relationship with Ny had changed from a platonic one on August 17th. And I know that was the date of her training accident." She declared nodding her head at Spock. "What happened to Nyota that would cause you to change how you viewed your relationship with her on that particular date?"

"The extent of injuries that Nyota sustained during the training accident on August 17th would best be discussed privately with Nyota." Spock began quietly. "As far as the change in how I viewed the relationship between Nyota and myself as the result of her training accident. This can be explained quite simply: As I feared for her life, I realized that Nyota's existence somehow defined my own." He stated his voice quiet and serious. "During the morning hours following her accident, we discussed our relationship at length. Nyota and I concluded from this discussion that we could no longer exist just as friends. We then felt impelled to deepen our relationship into a personal one."

Akilah's brow furrowed as she listened to him respond to her complex and emotional question. She certainly did not wish for her limited knowledge of Vulcan behavior in relationships to cause a rift to develop between her and Spock or between her and her little sister because of her questioning. And perhaps she was pressing her fledgling relationship with Spock too far now, but she wouldn't know until she asked all of her questions. But with the words he had just spoken to her, Akilah knew for certain that Spock had some serious intentions with regards to her sister. And in watching her sister this morning and evening, there was no doubt in Akilah's mind that Nyota was head over heels in love with the young Vulcan officer.

Akilah knew for certain that her family would welcome Spock into their clan without any reservations. But could the same be said for Spock's family's acceptance of her little sister? Akilah had to find out. "In my limited observations of the two of you today, it is quite obvious to me that you and Nyota are indeed very involved in a personal relationship." She responded with a knowing smile. "And this is just me being Nyota's nosey older sister here now, but how does your family feel about your relationship with Nyota?"

"My mother is most agreeable to our relationship although she has yet to meet Nyota in person." Spock answered quietly. "My father's mother has met Nyota and she has already accepted Nyota into our clan." Spock paused briefly. "My father is non-committable to our relationship at this juncture. He will need to meet Nyota in person before he will be able to commit his acceptance of her."

"I am glad to hear that your mother and grandmother are accepting of Nyota." Akilah replied with a small smile. "And I have no doubt that you will find our family quite acceptive of you when you meet them during Winter Break." She assured him noting in surprise that he actually seem to relax just a bit at her words. Akilah could only assume that his apparent stress over meeting Nyota's family meant that their relationship was not only serious but long term. She had been teasing Nyota earlier when she referred to him as Nyota's future husband. But now Akilah realized that Spock could very well become her brother-in-law someday….perhaps even someday soon. "Soooo…then…I need to ask you the all important question now: Exactly what are your intentions towards my sister?"

Spock tilted his head to one side and he reflected upon Akilah's question briefly before answering. "If by the word intention you are attempting to ascertain if I will ask Nyota to marry me then…"

Suddenly the twin girls now dressed in pajamas bounded into the room each of them taking Spock by the arm attempting to lift him by pulling with all their might. Akilah laughed at the determination of her youngest children to pull their uncle to his feet. "Looks like you are saved from having to answer that question by my darling daughters." She told Spock as she stood up so she could kiss her daughters goodnight.

"Saved from answering what question, Akilah?" Nyota asked as Spock stood up and the girls immediately took his hands in theirs as Akilah hurried to kiss each of them on the cheek.

"We are ready for you to read our bedtime story to us, Mjomba." Hazina informed him as they led him towards their bedroom.

"I am prepared to read to you as well." Spock answered them briefly glancing back over his shoulder to look at Nyota who smiled broadly at him. He then turned his eyes to Akilah quickly before turning back towards the twins.

"Chicken!" Akilah called after him with a laugh.

"A-ki-lah" Nyota said challengingly reaching out to pull her sister towards their 'dinner' table.

They both sat down at the same time as Akilah continued to laugh softly.

"Just what did you ask him?" Nyota demanded reaching out to poke her sister in the arm with her right index finger. "So help me if he ends up refusing to go home for Winter Break because of you, you are going to be so sorry…"

"Stop….stop!" Akilah pleaded still giggling. "Everything is fine, really I swear." She told Nyota as Nyota narrowed her eyes at her in disbelief. "Really!" Akilah continued convincingly, reaching out to pull her sister's arm across the table drawing Nyota's head close to hers. "I never even made it to the part where I threatened to remove his ability to have sex." She whispered to her sister.

Nyota's eyes immediately flashed with anger as Akilah buried her head in her arms and muffled her growing laughter. Nyota thumped a finger against the top of her sister's head in frustration.

Akilah raised her head and looked across at her sister as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Of course I did the nosey sister thing and asked him about his relationship with you, trying my best to pry into his motivation for becoming my younger sister's boyfriend…and perhaps something more…like a husband perhaps?"

"Akilah" Nyota warned her again.

"So tell me Ny" Akilah interrupted quickly "Is Spock going to become your husband?"

Nyota blew out a long breath trying her best to calm herself. She knew that Akilah had good intentions. And judging by her humor, Nyota guessed that Akilah's conversation with Spock had been on good terms. Nyota had already explained her relationship with Spock to her parents using broad terms. But she knew Akilah would want very specific details about their relationship. Nyota was now concerned that she would not explain herself well enough for Akilah to understand her and Spock's mental bond with each other. Akilah had always been overly protective of her. If Akilah somehow got it into her mind that Spock had mentally coerced her into bonding with him, then it would be really difficult to persuade her otherwise.

"We are planning to marry once I graduate." Nyota answered her sister truthfully.

Akilah's eyes went wide with her words. "You mean he proposed to you?" she managed to get out, her voice rising up an octave.

"Well….not exactly." Nyota answered making Akilah's eyes narrow immediately.

"What do you mean 'not exactly'." Akilah replied sitting up straight. "He either asked you to be his wife or he didn't."

Nyota breathed out a sigh, reaching out to take her sister's hand in hers. "Maybe I should just start from the beginning." She told her sister squeezing her hand gently within hers. Her sister and she had always been close and even though they fought continuously as children, they had always been very protective and trusting of one another. Nyota was counting on this trust between them now. "Remember when I came home for the summer break?" she began.

Akilah nodded her head in affirmation. She had thought it odd that her little sister had come home for an extended visit during the summer break. She knew that Nyota usually spent her summer taking advantage of the many internship opportunities that were offered to her. Akilah remembered that her Mama had mentioned that something had been troubling Nyota. And now Akilah regretted not being able to spend more time with Nyota during her visit home because of her own busy schedule.

"Well" Nyota continued on seeing her sister's nod. "you see… Spock and I had been discussing our future plans after my graduation at the end of the spring semester. He told me that he was quite serious about our relationship. Then he told me that Vulcans mated for life and that he intended that the two of us formally bond in the Vulcan tradition right after my graduation."

Akilah's eyes widened once again.

"And I guess it was the thought of me graduating as an officer and having the whole universe and my career in front of me…" she drifted off, rolling her eyes toward the ceiling "but I suddenly couldn't see myself tied down to any one being. And Vulcans are very closed mouthed when it comes to their intimate relationships, and I really didn't feel as comfortable with the idea of 'bonding' with a Vulcan as I should have especially considering how good of friends I am with Spock and how I trust him implicitly." Nyota hung her head now in shame. "I got scared Akilah." She whispered to her sister still not wanting to meet her sister's eyes. "And I did something that I would have never thought I would ever do: I ran. I caught the next shuttle home hoping I could sort things out in my mind before I had to face Spock again."

"Ny, no matter how you think you reacted, getting married is a big decision and you were right in wanting to spend some time away from him so you could think about the decision before letting Spock know your answer." Akilah replied reaching out with her other hand and gently tilting Nyota's chin up.

"But the only thing that spending time away from him did was make me miss him more than I would have ever thought possible." Nyota confessed looking up at her sister. "And then my selfishness took over and I found myself rationalizing my separation from him by convincing myself that our separation was good for him too, even though I knew deep down that I was only serving my own best interests. I planned to tell him that we needed to focus our energies on our separate professional goals and not personal ones." She continued sadly "So when I returned to the Academy, I began to treat Spock as if he were just another professional colleague…. as if he were no longer even a friend, though it killed me to do so. And I could tell that my actions were hurting him deeply. I became so depressed that I couldn't sleep or eat."

Akilah reached down and patted Nyota's hand in sympathy as they looked in to each other's eyes.

Nyota took another deep breath letting it out slowly. "But I was so wrong." She told her sister. "During my training exercise when the zip line broke and I was falling into the trees convinced that I was about to die, I realized just how much I loved Spock and that my education, my commission, and my profession could never take his place in my life." She admitted quietly. "And with what I thought was to be my last breath, I could actually feel Spock inside of my head somehow. I could feel his fear and his agony in my mind, as if our minds had somehow been linked…bonded to one another."

Akilah quickly pulled her sister into her arms across the table and hugged her. Nearly dying always makes a person reassess their priorities in life. She had learned this from her own personal experience. Akilah now knew just how important Spock was to her sister.

Nyota pushed her sister away from her gently, wishing to continue her story. "When I woke up the next morning, I found Spock at my bedside. We talked about what had happened to both me and him as a result of my accident. He told me that he had heard me cry out for him as I was falling into the trees and how terrified he was knowing that I could be falling to my death…that he felt my fear of dying as well as my love for him as I fell. And then he told me that we were now bonded to each other." Nyota paused and squeezed her sister's hand once more. "Vulcans are telepathic by nature, but only if they are in physical contact with another being. And during the course of over two years as friends, Spock had never attempted such physical contact with me. We were best friends but that was all. I mean, we've never even held hands or kissed before." Nyota admitted with a small smile watching as Akilah's eyebrows rose into her hairline.

"Spock's grandmother who is a Vulcan healer explained to Spock and I when we met with her two days after my accident that even though our bond was cemented by my near death experience, it was our compatibilities as well as our complementary differences which made bonding between us inevitable, fated if you will…..that Spock is, in essence, my soul mate as I am his. She told us that even though our type of bond is rare, it is very strong….and that our bond is, in Terran terms, more than an engagement but less than a marriage." Nyota smiled almost shyly at her sister now. "Akilah…I want you to understand that his link…this mental bond that Spock and I share between us is real. Spock's grandmother and Spock's godparents, who are high ranking officers in Star Fleet, have already given testimony before the Star Fleet Command Board attesting to the legitimacy of our bond. And the Board has since granted Spock and I exemption from the Star Fleet Rules and Reqs forbidding relationships between professors and cadets."

Akilah listened with rapt attention to her sister's words. And even though her thoughts were still somewhat fuzzy around this 'bond' that Nyota shared with Spock, there was no doubt in her mind that her sister was quite sincere in what she had just told her. She had always trusted Nyota. And Akilah had always trusted her own instincts too, and those instincts were now telling her that Spock was a being worthy of being her sister's best friend, fiancé, or even a husband. She smiled slyly at Nyota. "Only you could pull off being engaged to someone without even kissing him first." Akilah teased her sister standing up and walking around the table to enfold Nyota within her arms. "I am so happy for the two of you!"

Nyota tried her best, but she couldn't help but tear up at Akilah's acceptance as they continued to hug. Suddenly Nyota could feel Spock's presence and slowly pulled away from her sister to watch as he quietly closed the twin's bedroom door, turning immediately towards her. He began to walk quickly towards her.

"Ashayam" he said softly as he reached out his hand to touch her forearm tenderly. "For what reason do you cry?" He asked her in High Vulcan as he glanced quickly at Akilah who just smiled up at him.

Before Nyota could answer, Akilah spoke up. "Ashayam, huh?" she teased Spock as she let go of Nyota who turned into his waiting arms. "That's Vulcan for…?"

"Ashayam means 'beloved' in Vulcan." Spock answered simply as Akilah beamed first at Nyota and then at him.

"That is so sweet." Akilah responded motioning both of them to be seated once again at their 'dinner' table. "And you do make such a cute couple." She chuckled as she watched as Spock's eyebrow's shot up into his hairline at her comment. Akilah sat down across the table from them. "But no matter how cute the two of you are together, I still have more questions that need answering."

"Akilah" Nyota threatened once again. "Haven't you had enough answers for one day?"

"That is a rhetorical question, right?" Akilah responded with a quiet laugh not wanting to wake her little girls as Nyota continued to glare at her. Akilah quickly pointed at herself. "Remember….…nosey big sister here. Just a few more questions, I promise."

"Just a few." Nyota agreed curtly.

"What's the rush? Do you two have a hot date to get to or something?" Akilah teased them noting that the color in Spock's face begin to slowly deepen. Obviously she had stumbled upon something hidden with her question. "Ha! It is a hot date isn't it?"

Nyota turned to look at Spock and immediately began smiling as she too noted the look on his face. "Are you planning something for us?" she whispered to him.

Spock cleared his throat quietly. "Perhaps." He answered her softly, the corners of his mouth tugging minutely upwards.

Nyota's smile widened as she turned from him to look at her sister once again. "You better make your questions quick then, sister." Nyota replied "It seems that I have this hot date waiting for me."

Akilah giggled and smiled broadly at her sister. "I will." Akilah assured them. Then her face turned serious as she contemplated the wording of her next questions. She turned to focus her attention on Spock. "I have never been a huge fan of Star Fleet's militaristic policies, but I do understand my sister's motivations for becoming a Star Fleet officer. What was your primary motivation for joining Star Fleet.?"

Without hesitation Spock answered. "I wished to gain first hand scientific knowledge of worlds beyond my own."

Akilah glanced over at Nyota who stared pointedly at her with her best 'I told you so' face. Their mother had told Akilah about all of Spock's academic achievements when she spoke with her this morning. Akilah had called in order to brag to her mother about being the first in the family to meet Nyota's 'boyfriend' in person. "Geeks…in…love." Akilah announced quietly pointing at each of them in turn before continuing. "So Spock, now to reiterate my question that you were rescued from answering earlier by my darling daughters: Do you intend to marry Nyota after her graduation and commissioning as an officer in the spring?"

Spock glanced over at Nyota quickly before answering. "It is our intention to marry at that time."

"How many years are you committed to Star Fleet?" Akilah asked him quietly hoping silently that he would not be a 'lifer' as she had heard the term applied to those who intended to remain in Star Fleet for the rest of their effective work life.

"I have committed to the standard six terran years of service to Star Fleet after my graduation. I currently have 3.1 terran years remaining on that commitment." Spock replied then paused looking over at Nyota. "I am scheduled to ship out on the USS Enterprise as Chief Science and First Officer after Nyota's graduation.

Akilah couldn't help it, but she frowned with the realization that her sister could face separation from her husband so soon after their marriage. She knew that Nyota too had committed six years to Star Fleet service after graduation. "Will Nyota then be serving with you aboard the Enterprise?"

"Although postings have yet to be set, given Nyota's class ranking and specializations, a posting for her to the Enterprise is a distinct possibility." He replied sparing another quick glance over at Nyota. "It is my wish that she serve with me." He admitted quietly.

"Good." Akilah responded firmly as she looked over at Nyota and then smiled at her mischievously "Nyota definitely needs someone to keep an eye on her. After all it would be so unfair to turn my sister loose on all the universes at once without someone there to help rein her in."

Spock raised one eyebrow in reply as Nyota reached out to poke her sister's arm with her right index finger. "I think it's time that someone reins you in, sister." Nyota defended as she withdrew her hand from her and then reached out with her left hand, twining it with Spock's right hand as lay on the table in front of him. "You have already had way more than a few questions answered now so….."

"Oh, yeah" Akilah giggled rising up to her feet from the table. "I almost forgot about that hot date that you two have to get to."

"And you know how impatient I am when it comes to getting something I want." Nyota reminded her sister as she pull on Spock's hand, pulling him to his feet.

"Hey, you know that there are rooms here at the hotel you can get if the two of you can't make it back to Campus before spontaneously combusting." Akilah teased them earning a glare from Nyota and a stern look from Spock. She obviously had touched upon another sensitive topic.

"Akilah!" Nyota fussed at her.

"Nyota and I have not, and will not engage in intimate relations before we are formally bonded… married in Terran terms." Spock staunchly defended their enforced celibacy. "My Vulcan upbringing forbids such relations outside of formal bonding."

Nyota watched as her sister's look of surprise quickly changed to one of amusement at Spock's protective nature. Spock then reached out and placed Nyota's right hand in the crook of his left elbow his eyes narrowing at Akilah as she began to laugh.

Akilah snorted as she tried her best to stifle her own laughter. "So I bet you two are counting down the days until your graduation, huh?"

"Two hundred twenty three days, 16 hours, and forty two minutes." Spock answered for her automatically as Nyota leaned into him.

"Way too many!" Nyota confirmed with a laugh.

"Without question, the wait will be most trying." Spock replied looking down at Nyota as she looked up at him and smiled broadly.

"Just wait until you two come home to visit the family during Winter Break." Akilah warned them as she wiped away tears from her eyes.

"We have no choice but to wait until that time." Spock replied cautiously sensing another verbal trap, glancing quickly at Nyota for clarification of Akilah's statement.

"Akilah's just trying to warn you about our family." Nyota answered him with a smile. "You just think Akilah is nosey. Wait until you meet some of our aunts."

Akilah could have sworn that Spock's face actually blanched at Nyota's words. She giggled as she held her arms out to her sister for a hug. "That's right. Once you meet the rest of our family Spock, you will think that I am one of the meeker and milder members." Akilah teased Spock as even more color began to drain from of his face.

"Don't worry, Spock." Nyota comforted him as she hugged her sister back fiercely. "Mama has already proclaimed herself as your protector-in-chief. And no one messes with Mama." Nyota let go of her sister.

Akilah looked at Spock and smiled. "I know that it's considered impolite to touch a Vulcan without reason or permission, but you are going to discover that our whole family is a touchy feely bunch. So here goes." She held her arms out to him.

Spock quickly glanced at Nyota who nodded her affirmation. He slowly stepped forward and held out his arms to embrace Akilah, slowly pulling back from her after she quickly hugged him.

"We will see you at Winter Break." Nyota told her as they walked towards the door. "I will message you with our shuttle flight plans. Maybe you and the girls can pick us up at the transport base.

"Are you kidding?" Akilah replied holding the door open for them. "Our family has already set up a drawing in order to select the family members who will pick you two up at the transport base. It was either that or all 279 of us descending upon the transport base at one time which would have no doubt created a small riot with base security."

Nyota laughed at her sister as she once again placed her left hand in the crook of Spock's right elbow. Spock continued to stare at Akilah his mouth opening and then closing quickly causing Akilah to chuckle once again. He was just so much fun to tease. Nyota gently tugged on Spock's arm and they walked out of Akilah's hotel room and into the hallway.

"You have now been officially added to my prayer list, Spock." Akilah told him, her face now turning serious as she halted in the doorway. "Take care of Nyota and take care of yourself. Both of you be safe."

"We will Akilah." Nyota replied for them both. "I love you, sister."

"And I love you too, sister." Akilah responded with a smile. "Don't forget to com me once in a while. You too, Spock."

"I will protect and care for Nyota." Spock said quietly, nodding to her as Akilah nodded back at him in reply. "And thank you for adding me to your prayer list." He added causing Akilah to smile broadly at him.

Spock and Nyota turned away from Akilah and slowly began to walk down the hallway leading to the lifts. Nyota looked over her shoulder before they rounded the corner and waved at Akilah who waved back at them.

They entered the lift which was empty and Spock pressed the pad for the lobby. The door slid silently shut and the lift began to move slowly downward. Spock looked down at Nyota and noted that her expressive face had turned from happiness to sadness.

"Hug?" he offered to her as she looked up at him her face immediately morphing into a huge smile.

She then reached out to him and quickly pulled him into a hug. Her strength despite her small stature was most surprising, and he immediately found himself being pulled down into her arms. He quickly relaxed as he enveloped her in his arms and hugged her back tenderly.

She looked up at him, her eyes wide and dark and he could feel her longing now through their bond. She slowly began to rise up onto her toes bringing her face close to his. He knew that he could deny her nothing now and he felt his body quickly yielding to hers as he leaned down until his lips were exactly 5 centimeters from hers. He involuntarily closed his eyes as he felt her warm breath upon his lips.

Suddenly the lift door opened and the elderly ladies from the lift this morning slowly walked into the lift. Nyota looked over and them and giggled pulling away from Spock slightly, his gaze also turning to the two women.

"Parent's night out I take it." Edna declared happily as Spock slowly released his hold on Nyota.

"Must be." Doris answered quickly then looking the two of them over carefully. "The zoo must have really been muddy today after all the rain."

"Yes it was." Nyota replied smiling at the elderly ladies.

"Quite." Spock added entwining the fingers of his right hand with Nyota's left one.

Nyota quickly told them of their escapades with the runaway burro causing them to laugh until tears filled their eyes as the lift continued its way towards the lobby.

They left the elderly ladies in the lobby after saying their good bys and walked out of the hotel's doors. They slowly began walking down the sidewalk towards the hover bus stop. As they walked, Spock reached out and took her left hand in his right one totally enveloping her hand within his.

Nyota smiled to herself. Spock's displays of affection in public were very special to her. The wind began to pick up bringing a chill with it. Nyota was very glad that all the mud had dried on her pants. She glanced up at Spock and stopped suddenly. She then reached up to pull Spock's hood over his head tugging on the sides of the hood instantly missing the draw string that Spock had used as a rope for Bo-Bo.

"There now." She told him her fingertips grazing his cheeks gently as she lowered her hands. "I don't want my Vulcan getting cold."

"Thank you." Spock replied reaching down and removing his still clean stocking cap from his hoodie pouch. He gently placed it upon her head pulling it down to cover her ears. "And I do not wish for my Human to suffer a loss of body heat."

"Thank you for helping me with the Terror Twins today." She told him with a laugh. "Hopefully you have come to no permanent harm." She finished in High Vulcan.

"It was my honor to have been able to serve your needs in the care of your nieces." He replied to her also in High Vulcan.

As they began to walk once more, Spock slowly slipped his right arm around her shoulders, causing them to temporarily lose their individual strides as they adjusted to each other and began to walk in synchronicity. Nyota could feel Spock's contentment through their bond as they continued to walk together.

As they approached the hover bus stop, they saw several people in line waiting for the next bus. Spock pulled her closer to him as they walked to the back of the line. The wind then began to blow steadily and Spock unwrapped his arm from around her shoulders gently pulling her to stand in front of him so as to act as a wind block for her.

"Thank you." She gratefully told him looking up over her shoulder at him as she hesitantly leaned back into his solid warmth.

Spock stared down into his bond mate's face and watched as her eyes quickly began to dilate. He could feel her desire and longing as her body met his. He closed his eyes briefly willing his body not to respond inappropriately to her touch. Her eyes suddenly grew large with the knowledge shared through their bond that her close proximity was now making him uncomfortable and she began to pull away from him. He quickly reached out with his long arms and encircled her midriff pulling her back into him gently. "Kukaa." He whispered to her in Kiswahili as he gained control over his body sending out calmness and contentment to her through their bond. He could feel her immediately relax into him and he pulled her even closer to him.

Nyota leaned back in Spock and closed her eyes. It had been a long and eventful day and it felt so good to just to relax against him and feel him both physically and mentally. With the evening chill in the air she couldn't help herself from thinking just how much more wonderful it would feel if they were both laying under several blankets in front of a roaring fire…..naked of course.

Spock immediately leaned down to look at her face, his right eyebrow rising up into his hood. Nyota started giggling. "You can't blame me for dreaming." She told him as he straightened back up again.

The day spent with Nyota's family had been most pleasant. Even the runaway burro had been only a minor issue. Riding in the Zoomobile however was one event that he would have rather not engaged in, although the twins and Nyota had found it particularly enjoyable.

She craned her head back to look at him and smiled broadly at him as the hover bus silently glided up to the loading area. Nyota slowly pulled out of his arms as they began to walk towards the bus. Nyota held out her credit chip as they boarded the bus that only being fair since Spock had paid for their trip this morning.

They found two seats near the front of the crowded bus, Spock letting her sit down first. As he sat beside her he reached out with his right arm wrapping it around her shoulders. Nyota leaned into his body and sighed at the warmth she found there.

"My portable heater." She teased him reaching out to pat him tenderly on the chest with her right hand.

Spock obligingly pulled her closer into him relishing her own body heat. After almost ten minutes and several stops to unload and load more passengers, Spock reached up tapping the control pad to signal the bus that they intended to get off the bus at the next stop.

Nyota smiled up at him. "Well it's about time." She told him as he helped her to her feet. "I was beginning to think that your idea for a hot date was replicated tea back on campus."

"Not tonight." He teased her back quietly causing her smile to widen.

They walked hand in hand along the sidewalk which led to the Midtown Botanical Gardens. Nyota began smiling once again as they entered the Gardens. They had only 20 minutes left to view the gardens before it closed for the night. Obviously her super-efficient Vulcan believed that 20 terran minutes would be an adequate amount of time for what ever he had planned.

Spock quickly walked up the stairs to the top level of the gardens which featured roses from all over Earth. Once they had climbed to the top level, he led her by the hand to an overlook where he stopped. He then tilted his head up and focused all of his attention on the eastern horizon with Nyota quickly following his lead, and together they watched as the brilliant full moon began to rise steadily from behind the buildings and into the night sky.

She looked over at him and smiled broadly. "Very nice, mister." She remarked as she looked up to face him. The look on his face stole her breath away. His brown eyes were black with emotion and the glow from the moon made his dark hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes stand out against his pale skin. His evening stubble gave him a more rugged look, one she was now truly beginning to appreciate. She felt her breathing and heart rate increase in response to her sudden desire for him.

He tentatively reached out for her hands drawing her towards him slowly. He was unsure of his methods but not unsure of how he felt at the moment: it was as if he was once again at the track field where he first saw her. Longing and desire once again flowed through him. But underlying these emotions was a strong sense of fate; as if he was destined to be here with her at this time and place.

She began to tilt her head up as he drew her close to him. She reached her arms up and her hands met at the back of his neck. She slowly pulled the hood off of his head. Then she tentatively ran her fingers though the hair on the back of his neck and she was instantly rewarded as she felt a shiver run through his body at her touch.

He slowly leaned his head down until their foreheads touched together gently. Spock closed his eyes at the contact. The bond between them immediately brightened. Keeping his eyes closed he whispered "Only you, Nyota."

Her eyes closed as he spoke to her and she whispered back to him as she nuzzled her forehead against his. "Only you, Spock."

He began to lower his head once more, not daring to open his eyes for fear he would somehow be distracted from his goal.

Within seconds their lips were touching in a chaste kiss.

Spock immediately pulled back opening his eyes to watch as she opened hers.

"That was nice." She replied smiling lazily at him. His lips were so soft and warm. With that one kiss she knew that she would spend the rest of life wanting more.

"Indeed." He agreed reaching up with the index finger of his left hand to gently brush at her lips. Her lips were soft but firm, much like the rest of her body that he had already been privileged to touch. He now knew that he would never tire of kissing her. "But perhaps we should repeat the process in order to fully evaluate our options for continuing such activity."

"You were reading my mind again weren't you?" She teased him as he leaned his head down once again. Nyota took the lead this time, their gentle kisses becoming more intense. She changed angles and pressure until he was kissing her back with more confidence as he began to anticipate her movements. There were obviously many advantages to having a telepathic lover. And she was now looking forward to discovering more of these advantages. She could now feel his passion through their bond. His scent had begun to change. His normal maleness was now accompanied by a pleasant musky odor. She immediately categorized the smell as Vulcan arousal. She could feel her own arousal spike with that realization.

His normally accurate and automatic internal timer had suddenly ceased to function and he found that he had somehow lost track of time as they continued to explore each other mouths. He breathed in the scent of her, wanting to thoroughly memorize the smell of her obvious arousal letting out his breath in a long and very audible sigh. He could feel her smile through their kiss at his action as she began to deepen the kiss immediately, taking his breath away once again. And once again his mind went blank.

Suddenly the sound of a throat being cleared behind them brought each of them out of the reverie of their passion for each other.

"Sorry to break you two love birds up" an elderly man wearing a security uniform apologized to them. "But the park is closing in 5 minutes and I am going to have to ask you make your way back downstairs now."

"Certainly." Nyota replied to the guard as she looked up at Spock amused that he had temporarily lost the capacity for speech as the result of their kissing.

Nyota smiled broadly at Spock who blinked rapidly at her as if trying to regain his thoughts. She then reached out to tug on his hand pulling him along with her as she began to follow the guard downstairs.

"Have a pleasant evening, folks." The guard called out waving politely at them.

Nyota smiled and waved back at him. She looked up at Spock who still hadn't seemed to have regained his voice. She began to giggle at him and watched as he responded with a raised left eyebrow.

"Sooooo" she began slowly moving closer to him placing her right arm around his waist as they walked back toward the hover bus station. "what do you think about the Terran custom of kissing on the lips?"

His right eyebrow rose into his hairline as he looked down at her. He then cleared his throat quietly. "I find the custom most fascinating." He replied to her wrapping his left arm around her waist, tugging her gently closer to him as their steps became more in sync.

"I thought so." She confirmed with a teasing grin. "Just how many months, days, and hours do we have left again before I graduate?"

"Way too many." He answered her quietly as she quickly looked up at him in surprise, her own right eyebrow rising skyward with his most unexpected answer.