Chapter Seven: Calm Choices
Uhura returned to her station. She was only on the bridge for a few minutes when she started to feel faint. Her connection to Spock may not have been as strong as he wanted it to be but it was still pretty strong. Uhura was surprised that she could feel it while he was on Vulcan. She thought with distance the chill would fade, but it seemed to have intensified to a new level.
"Parted from me and never parted," she whispered to herself. She was now completely aware of how true those words were.
"Excuse me, Mr. Scott," Uhura said to Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott. "I'm not feeling well. I need to end my shift early."
She wobbled as she stood and had to take hold of the back of her chair so she could steady herself.
Scotty took one look at Uhura and saw that she was unwell.
"Will you need help getting to the Med Bay," he asked.
"No," Uhura said. She started to shake her head but found that it was too heavy and it made her feel worse. "I would like to go to my quarters. I'm sure I just need some rest."
"Of course you can lass," he said standing himself. "I will have Ensign Wilson assist you."
"No," Uhura protested. Ensign Wilson was male. The thought of being near any other male than Spock made her feel uncomfortable. "I would rather Ensign Daren escort me."
Daren was a female crewmember.
"Alright," Scotty said. "Ensign."
"Of course," Daren said.
The two women left the bridge and went straight to Uhura's quarters. Uhura thanked Ensign Daren before the door closed.
Uhura wobbled on her feet as she made it to her bed. She fell onto the soft surface when the chill became too much. When she collapsed she did not land correctly onto the bed and slipped off onto the floor.
Uhura awoke to a voice calling her name. She felt a warm hand on her arm. Her vision was blurred as she looked up to vaguely make out the form of Mr. Spock.
"What happened?" She asked in a daze.
"I am uncertain," Spock answered.
Uhura tried to stand but felt light headed and swayed. Spock held onto her arms and gently helped her sit on her bed. He then kneeled before her. His hands were removed from her body.
"If you would allow me, I would ask your permission to touch you," Spock said gently.
Uhura stared down at him before nodding her consent. Spock took her hands in his. She noticed that the heat that was plaguing him had subsided.
"The bond between us is stronger than I initially believed," he said. He sighed. "Vulcans do not speak of."
"But you're going to tell me anyway," Uhura said.
"I am," Spock answered. "When I made you my intended I was going through what Vulcan's call the Pon-Farr. It is the time of mating. All logic leaves us and we are faced with either mating or dying. While on Vulcan I had fallen into the Plak-Tow, the blood fever. I was beyond reason."
"What happened on Vulcan," Uhura asked.
"T'Pring refused me and I was either faced with fighting to the death or just dying. It is how a marriage is annulled on Vulcan." Spock continued. "I was forced to fight the captain and when I believed him dead, the fever left me."
A pause.
"I believe when I reached Plak-tow, you felt the fever as well, causing you to faint." Spock finished.
"Would I have died if you had died," Uhura asked.
"I am uncertain," Spock answered. "I have never heard of a situation similar to ours. If there is any, it is not talked about."
"How could T'Pring be so cruel as to want you dead," Uhura wondered.
"She wanted another and she could not have him with the bond between her and me in place. When I won the battle with the captain, my bond to T'Pring died. I am no longer tied to her."
Uhura took a moment to absorb all that Spock said. He was no longer married to T'Pring. He was free to live his life.
"Spock," Uhura said gazing down at him. "What will happen if you go through Pon-Farr again?"
Still holding her hands, Spock stood.
"May I sit beside you?" he asked.
"Yes, of course," Uhura answered and Spock sat beside her. Their bodies turned to face one another.
"Before I left for Vulcan, I asked you if the marriage with T'Pring were to end if you would become my wife. I have not changed my mind. I still want you as my wife. When my next time comes, you are to be by side. We would mate."
"Oh," Uhura said.
"Do you still want to be my wife?" Spock said gazing into her eyes.
"I do."
"Then will you allow me to meld with you and strengthen the bond," Spock asked. "After our bond is strengthened, we will go down to Vulcan. There, our bond would be acknowledged by a healer. You would be my wife in the eyes of my people."
"You have my permission," Uhura said.
"You will repeat after me," Spock said as he placed his hand on her face. Uhura felt him go deeper into her mind than he ever had before. T'Pring was truly gone and now she was going to be Spock's wife.
"My mind to your mind," Spock began and Uhura repeated the words.
When the melding was complete, Spock's hand drifted from her face and down to her arm to her hand. He gently caressed Uhura's hand with his pointer and middle fingers. The pads of his fingers reached under to touch hers. Uhura felt the chill give off a pleasant vibe. Both of their breaths had quickened and Spock was leaning in closer to her body. Their lips were about to touch when her door chime went off and soon Dr. McCoy entered her quarters.
"What in the hell is going on here?" the doctor demanded.
Spock removed his hand from Uhura's. Uhura felt the loss as she took a deep breath and stood. Her body was steady now that the time for Pon-Farr had stopped.
"Dr. McCoy, what brings you here?" she asked.
"Mr. Scott told me that you weren't feeling while. I thought it a good idea to come check on ya," McCoy answered.
"As you can see, doctor, my wife is well," Spock said rising from the bed. He took on his usual posture, hands clasped behind his back.
"Your wife?" the doctor sniffed. "You just got rid of the one on Vulcan and now you tell me you've taken another hour after. A human no less."
"What is wrong with me being human?" Uhura asked sharply.
"Nothing darlin, I'm just shocked is all," McCoy said gently to Uhura.
"Yes, I am Spock's wife. For the past week, Spock has been showing interest in me. Just before he left for Vulcan he asked me to be his wife if his marriage to T'Pring could be ended. I said yes. The first marriage has ended and Spock and I decided to keep our word."
"Well, damn," Dr. McCoy said. "Are you sure this is what you want, to be attached to an emotionless robot?"
"I couldn't be happier," Uhura answered. She smiled and stepped closer to Spock.
"Well, hell and damnation," the doctor cursed. He sighed. "I still want to take a look at you."
"And you may," Spock answered for Uhura. He turned to her. "I need to speak with the captain about returning to Vulcan one more time. I also need to make arrangements with a healer."
"Of course," Uhura said.
Spock held out his two fingers, the middle and pointer. Through their bond, Uhura understood what he was silently asking her. She touched her middle and pointer finger to his. The chill gave another pleasant vibe.
"I will see you in a moment," Spock said to her before turning to Dr. McCoy. "Doctor."
He left Uhura's quarters.
McCoy quickly began scanning Uhura.
"Are you sure you want this marriage?" He asked with a raised brow. "Cus' if he's doing some mind mumbo jumbo to get you to agree…"
"It's nothing like that," Uhura said gently. "I mean our minds have been connected all week, but I have always felt an attraction to Mr. Spock. I want to be with him."
McCoy gave a cynical chuckled as he stopped scanning.
"He chose me," Uhura continued. "He was already married to a woman that he didn't want and still he chose me in hopes that our bond would be stronger than theirs."
McCoy gave a curt nod.
"I'm going to ask you this just once," he said. "Are you sure this is what you want? Are you really happy with how everything turned out?"
"Yes to both questions doctor." And Uhura gave him her happiest smile because deep down she truly was very happy.
"Ok," the doctor said before sighing. "You check out. Your hormone levels are a bit high but I have a feeling that has more to do with your bond with your husband than anything else."
"Thank you, Dr. McCoy," Uhura said.
"Well, I better be off," he said. "Don't want the green blooded alien coming in here and thinking I'm trying to change your mind."
Uhura laughed.
"You can't," she said. "I wouldn't let you."
"Damn, I wouldn't want to be between the two of you when you get into a fight. You're both too damn stubborn."
Uhura laughed again.
"Then again, if anyone could win an argument with Spock, it would be you." Dr. McCoy said as he walked to the door. He opened it and turned to look at Uhura. "Congratulations."
"Thank you," Uhura said.
A couple of hours later, the Enterprise was back on course to Altar 6. Spock and Uhura had already beamed down to Vulcan and completed the marriage ritual. T'Pau officiated and let the couple know that though she was a bit disappointed by Spock's choice of a human bride, she was not surprised. When the elder entered Uhura's mind she could read why Spock had chosen her. She seemed satisfied when she melded with Spock.
When they returned to the ship, Captain Kirk was waiting for them in the teleportation room. He congratulated them on their marriage and offered to buy Spock a drink to celebrate. Spock, of course, refused the offer and said that the celebration was going to have to wait. Kirk accepted this.
"I guess you newlyweds would like to be alone," he said.
Uhura blushed and Spock stood straighter.
"You both are to take a two-day leave," the captain said firmly but with laughter in his eyes.
Spock went to protest and Kirk held up a hand to stop him.
"Don't argue," Kirk said. "It's called a honeymoon and you should enjoy it. And I don't care if it isn't the Vulcan way. You married a human Spock and it's the human way. Besides, I won't need either of you on the bridge until we reach Altar 6."
"Thank you, Captain," Uhura said.
The newly wedded officers nearly made it to Uhura's quarters, she wanted to grab a few things before they went to Spock's quarters to spend their two days leave when they saw Christine at Uhura's door.
At first, the nurse did not see the couple, but soon her reddened eyes turned to them. Uhura could tell Christine had been crying and she could see the hurt and betrayal in the other woman's blue eyes.
"Uhura, how could you?" Christine said not caring that they were in the middle of the hall. "You know how much I care about Spock."
"I'm sorry, Christine," Uhura said gently. She went to take a step closer to her friend and Christine took a step back.
"Don't tell me you're sorry. Tell me it isn't true. Tell me this is just one big, cruel joke."
"I can't," Uhura said with her head hung low.
It was Christine who went to approach Uhura this time and she would have slapped the lieutenant across the face if Spock hadn't had caught the nurse's wrist.
"Nurse Chapel," he said firmly. "You will not lay a hand on my wife."
Christine gave a choked sob when she heard the word wife.
"It is not entirely Uhura's fault. I pursued her. I bonded with her. I asked her to be my wife."
Uhura looked at Christine's face and could see fresh tears fall down her cheeks. She saw the nurse flinch with every word Spock spoke and she felt sorry for her.
"Yes, but she didn't have to say yes," Christine said in a small voice.
"But she did," Spock said. "Nurse Chapel, you will have to accept that I do not wish to change our relationship. You try to make me see you as a potential intended and though I never wanted to hurt you, I continued to refuse you. It was never going to be you."
Uhura flinched at Spock's last sentence. She felt sorrier for her friend, if she could still call Christine a friend, she wasn't sure.
"I see," Christine said. "I will leave now."
She went to walk away. Uhura cried out to her and apologized one more time. Christine kept on walking. Uhura wasn't going to be forgiven for a long time yet.
When they entered her quarters, Uhura allowed the tears that had built up when she saw Nurse Chapel fall. Spock said nothing as he watched her cry.
"I am certain that one day, Nurse Chapel will want to speak with again," Spock said after several minutes had passed.
Uhura understood what he meant. Her friendship with Christine would someday be repaired but it will always have a Spock sized chip in it.
"Maybe," Uhura said. "But not for a long time."
Spock nodded.
Wiping her tears away, Uhura went to collect her things.
"If you do not wish to join me in my quarters, Uhura, you do not have to," Spock said as he watched her gather a few things to place in a small duffle bag.
"I want to be with you," Uhura said softly. She didn't look at him when she said it.
Once her bag was packed, she approached her husband. Uhura placed a hand on Spock's cheek.
"I am your wife now," she said. "You really should call me Nyota."
Spock sent a pleasant pulse through their bond.
"Of course, Nyota." He said.
END OF CH. 7