Author's note: They circle each other like moths to a candle, spiraling ever nearer. Spontaneous combustion is inevitable. But not quite yet :-)
____________
New Day Coming
Chapter 10 : Good Day Sunshine
Spock
StarFleet Academy, San Francisco, Earth
Mid October, 2257
It is Thursday morning and they have half an hour until it is time to walk down the hall to the classroom. Perhaps time enough to make tea again. He starts to rise from his chair when Captain Pike walks in and seats himself in the chair on the other side of his desk. "Good morning, sir."
Nyota turns her head and sees who has come in. "Good morning, Captain Pike, sir. Would you like some tea?"
"Good morning to both of you. A cup of tea would be quite nice, thank you, Cadet."
Nyota rise from her chair and goes to the mini-replicator to make hot water. She retrieves the empty tea pot from his desk. Unfortunately, since Captain Pike is here, she is very careful not to touch him at all.
While she is busy making the tea, Captain Pike begins to speak. "I need to make a recruiting run back to the east coast tomorrow. You haven't come with me in a long time, so I think you should come along. There are a couple of computer geeks that I could use your help with."
He is not particularly eager to go. While he is searching for some remark he can make, Captain Pike continues. "And Cadet Uhura, your major is Xenolinguistics, is it not?"
"Yes, sir" she replies as she sets a cup of tea in front of the captain, and then brings him one as well. As she pours herself a cup, the captain continues.
"Well, there is a bright young linguist out there I'd really like to get. Why don't you come along too?"
"If you need me, sir, I would be glad to."
Suddenly he is very much interested in going. "What time do we need to be ready to leave? This is the evening that we are both in the message array lab until 0000."
Captain Pike thinks for a minute. "Well, I was planning on leaving at 0500, but that doesn't seem like it would work very well. But, we could leave right after you get out of the lab. You could sleep after we get checked in to our hotel out there. I'll even spring for food in the shuttle - I remember how hungry it gets on those late shifts." He beams at them. "Just come on over to the shuttle hanger after you shut up the lab. And don't forget to bring some casual clothes. There are a couple of nice watering holes at the college we're going to be at. Oh, and I plan to take a hike on Sunday before we start back. The fall foliage will be really magnificent about now. So bring hiking boots and jeans and a good jacket." He finished his tea and took his leave.
This weekend begins to look interesting.
***
At 1200, after answering the last few student questions, they come back to the office briefly. Nyota takes the PADD with her notes on it and drops it into her bag, saying she will organize the notes on the shuttle flight. Before she can leave the office, he turns to her. "Cadet, you will need to pack for this trip and I know that you have classes all afternoon. If it is necessary for you to be late to the message array lab this evening, it will be acceptable."
"Thank you, sir, it may indeed to necessary. But I will take as little extra time as necessary." She gathers up her carrybag and heads out. He knows she will be going to the mess hall to meet her roommate for a quick lunch before her afternoon classes. After she leaves, he locks up the office and returns to his quarters to pack. He wishes that it would be possible to carry her duffle across the campus for her, but knows that this will not be possible. He feels that she will be quite tired by the time they get to the hotel near the college where they will be recruiting.
Nyota
She practically ran to the mess hall, grabbing Gaila at the door and going through the food line as fast as possible, telling Gaila to just wait until they were seated to hear all about it. Gaila could tell that she was very excited about something.
"Captain Pike came into the office this morning about 0930 and asked the both of us to go on a recruiting trip back east! We leave straight after our message array shift tonight and don't get back until late Sunday. I'm so excited!"
Gaila was excited, too. "Wow, not many cadets get to go on those trips!" Then she thought for a moment. "Hey, when are you going to pack? You hardly have any free time on Thursdays. I could pack for you." She leered across the table at Nyota.
Nyota laughed out loud. "Oh, no, you don't! I would arrive there with fancy lingerie and nothing else in my duffle! I'll pack after I get out of class. Commander Spock said I could be a bit late reporting in to the lab."
"Okay, if you insist. But I still think you ought to take some fancy lingerie with you - it always comes in handy."
"Maybe for you, but not for me." She was still laughing.
***
After her classes were over, she hurried to the mess hall and grabbed a sandwich to go, which she carried back to her quarters, where she gulped it down while packing her bag. She put in a clean uniform, a pair of nice jeans, her hiking shoes, underwear and socks, a sleep tee, a couple of sweaters and a heavy shirt. She didn't know how cool it might be on the East Coast, so she put a knit cap and gloves in as well. She took her warm, thigh-length jacket and folded it in on top, then zipped the bag. At the last minute she remembered to tuck the PADD with her class notes into the middle of the bag, where it wouldn't get bumped. Then she realized that she had no shoes to wear to those 'watering holes' Captain Pike had mentioned. She could wear her jeans and a sweater, but needed shoes. She sorted through the bottom of her closet and found a pair of plain black flats and stuck them down the side of the bag and zipped it up again. Okay, she was packed. She picked up her duffle bag, hoisted the strap over her shoulder, and set off across the campus to the message array lab. She was only 15 minutes late.
***
She shouldered open the door to the lab and started across the floor towards her console. Spock turned his head at the sounds of her footsteps and rose quickly, striding across and lifting the strap of her duffle off her shoulder, taking the heavy load off her. "Oh, thanks, my shoulder was starting to feel that! That coat and the hiking boots are really heavy!"
Spock set her duffle in corner, next to his. He looked uncomfortable, although she couldn't imagine why. He turned to her. "I am sorry that you had to carry that weight so far. I could not come to assist you because it was necessary to keep the array manned."
She was astonished. She knew that her jaw must have dropped open. "I..I didn't expect you to come help me, sir."
He looked at her, something quite strange in his eyes. "I would have come to assist you if it had been possible, Nyota."
"Oh, well, I.. I do appreciate your coming to take it from me as soon as I got here." She rubbed her shoulder. "The strap was really digging into my shoulder."
Spock hesitated. He appeared to be trying to form words, but he did not say anything. He straightened up. One hand rose towards her, stopping at chest height. He looked straight into her eyes. Finally he spoke. "I..I do know a Vulcan technique for relaxing muscle spasms if you think it might help..." His voice trailed off.
She licked her lips. She wasn't entirely sure what the correct response might be here. But her shoulder really hurt. "I..I think that might help, I mean.. It's pretty uncomfortable."
"Please turn around, Cadet. It will be necessary for you to remove your uniform jacket as well." Did his voice sound strained?
She turned away from him and undid the fastening down the front of her jacket and eased it off her arms, hissing a bit as it strained her shoulder. Immediately she felt warmth on her shoulder through her sweater. One of his hands was molded over the top of her shoulder, cupping it protectively, while the other hand grabbed her jacket from her slackening grip. He tossed her jacket onto her chair, then both hands were warm against her shoulder, kneading the sore muscles. Careful fingers applied pressure to selected points. It only took a moment for the pain to begin to subside. She relaxed as her shoulder began to feel more normal.
"Oh, thank you, Spock. That's so much better."
"Try to move your arm and shoulder now. See whether there is any pain." His voice was soft in her ear, just behind her.
She carefully rotated her shoulder, then moved her arm in several directions. "No, there isn't any more pain." She turned to face him, finding her face only centimeters from him. "Oh, sorry." She started to back up, only to find that he was still holding her shoulder.
He looked at her, his eyes darker than she had ever seen them. Then he released her shoulder, clasping his hands behind him in his normal stance. "I am happy to have been at your service." He looked at her for another moment, then turned and reseated himself at his console.
She walked over to her chair and started to put her jacket back on, but found it lifted from her hands.
"I do not think that you should rotate your shoulder that much just yet. Wait until we are ready to leave to put your jacket back on." He did not look at her, but at the console in front of him.
"Okay." She sat down and activated her console.
Spock
He could not imagine what had possessed him to do such a thing. To put his hands on her! She would be entirely within her rights to have him brought up on charges of sexual harassment. He almost shuddered. But she did not seem to have been in any way upset about it. In fact, she had thanked him. He considered all that happened again, then he went back over it all from the beginning a third time. She had shown no fear, no hesitation, nothing except total acceptance of his hands on her, helping to remove her pain. Perhaps she had not taken it in any unacceptable way? Did she not consider what had happened improper at all? He thought back again, going over her actions carefully. At no time had she flinched from his touch. She had not protested at all, nor complained. She had thanked him. Finally, he began to assess his own feelings during what had happened. His hands trembled just slightly, remembering the feel of her. He had wanted desperately to relieve her pain. He had not had any prurient reason for his actions. He would need to meditate on these actions. For now he would put them out of mind. But then he remembers something else - he had addressed her as 'Nyota', not as 'Cadet Uhura' - and she had not corrected him. In fact, she had addressed him as Spock, with no honorific, in return.
****
Contrary to Captain Pike's statement, they will not be shutting up the lab, as it is manned around the clock. Their replacements will be here in a few minutes. Beside him, Nyota stretches, bending her body from the waist in different directions, then rises from her chair and goes to retrieve her jacket. Before she can strain her shoulder, he takes the weight of the padded jacket and holds it so that she can slide her arms in. She turns her head slightly to the side and grins at him, then seals the front of the jacket.
The door to the lab opens and there are the two cadets who will have the next shift. As one their eyes go to the two duffle bags against the wall. Nyota turns to the young woman and excitedly informs her about their trip with Captain Pike to the East Coast.
"Oh, you are so lucky! I head that those trips are so much fun! Captain Pike always knows the best bars no matter where he is. You will have to tell me all about it when you get back." The young woman settles down in the seat Nyota has just vacated and begins to check over the console. The young male cadet takes the other seat and puts his earbuds in.
He lifts his duffle from the floor. Hesitating a moment, he then lifts Nyota's bag and hands it to her. He notes with satisfaction that she settles the strap over her other shoulder. They leave the lab and head outside. When he is sure there is no one else on the pathway, he reaches over and retrieves her bag, carrying both easily. He is aware that she tilts her head sideways to look at him, but neither makes a comment.
When they are just outside the shuttle hanger, he hands her duffle back to her and she settles the strap on her shoulder once more. Inside they find Captain Pike halfway down the row of parked shuttles, eager to be on the way. They enter the shuttle and stow their bags in the cargo net at the back. Captain Pike looks from one to the other.
"Spock, how about you take this one and let an old man just rest. Cadet, have you ever been in the navigator's seat of a shuttle?"
"Just once, sir, but it wasn't at night."
Pike wonders when she might have gotten the opportunity to sit in the navigator's seat, but it isn't really important. He waves her into the front of the shuttle, pulls the door closed, and seats himself in the back row. Let the two youngsters stay up, he was going to sleep through this flight. Everyone fastens the safety webbing and the warning light goes off and the hatch seals. He watches the young cadet take the communications control unit from the socket on the console and insert it into her ear. Spock begins the pre-flight checklist, occasionally using one long finger to point to some control or display before him. Cadet Uhura works beside him as if they have done this countless times before. The synchronicity of their movements is similar to ballet, graceful and with no wasted motions. Cadet Uhura is talking to the air traffic controller now, requesting flight clearance. He has observed some of the simulations she has participated in and added her name to the list of candidates being considered for the crew of the Enterprise. This trip will give him an excellent opportunity to watch her in action.
The shuttle lifts from the floor of the hanger, swivels in place, and heads down the broad center corridor towards the slowly opening bay doors. Soon they are rising high above the city lights, heading east. Captain Pike settles back in his seat and falls asleep.
He sets the course and locks it in. There will be little to do for the next hour besides monitoring the instruments. Captain Pike is already sleeping. Without so much as turning his head, he begins to converse with Nyota in Cardassian.
***
The next day is filled with student interviews, trying to convince them of the opportunities and advantages of enlisting in StarFleet. After supper, Captain Pike insists that they change into casual clothing and accompany him to the bar he has selected. He would much rather have found a quite corner where he could sit with Nyota and discuss the latest book of poetry which they had read. However, he has no control over the situation, so he puts on the jeans he has brought with him and a dark red sweater and takes the elevator to the lobby. He cannot even escort Nyota. He is not happy.
***
They enter the dimly lit bar. Music is blaring out, much too loud. Captain Pike leads them across the floor to a booth against the far wall. He sits in the middle of one side, leaving only the other side of the booth for both him and Nyota. He is not sure what to do, but Nyota slides into the booth and softly pats the seat beside her, so he sits stiffly down, keeping as much clear space between them as possible. She is also wearing jeans, and a soft sweater the color of dark honey. The neck of the sweater is a deep vee that does not quite reveal the curves of her breasts. As she reaches across to take her drink from the waiter, it slides sideways, showing him more warm skin. It is very esthetically pleasing.
They sit and talk a bit. Nyota is enjoying the music. Her foot is tapping on the floor and her body sways, just a little, in rhythm to the beat. Captain Pike tilts his head at her and asks if she would like to dance. He must move and let her up, but he does not want to. She skips out onto the dance floor, the captain following her, and begins to sway her whole body to the beat of the music. He clenches his fists under the table top. She should not be dancing with anyone else, she should only dance with him. He knows this is illogical, but he cannot stop the feeling. She is smiling at the captain, enjoying herself. He is not enjoying this at all.
The music stops, then starts again. They are still dancing. He is becoming increasingly agitated. He must calm himself. The music stops, then starts again. This song is much like the music that was being played in that bar in Oxford. Captain Pike hesitates, he does not know what to do with this music. Nyota bends and twists in the opening movements of the first suus mahna kata he taught her. The captain is confused and does not know what to do. Before he can think, he is rising from the booth, crossing the space between them, and has begun to move with her, following her movements, turning about her, making her the center of his universe.
Pike stands at the edge of the dance floor in shock. Spock is dancing? This is something he never thought to see. The two young people are completely concentrated on one another. It is like there is no one else on the dance floor - or possibly in the entire universe. Pike smiles and goes back to the booth to sit and watch.
Nyota
She enjoys talking with the college students they are trying to enlist. She tells them of the many interesting things she has done at the Academy. She speaks with the young linguist in several languages and then employs Spock to demonstrate some which the young linguist has never heard before. She is quite eager to sign up after that. At supper, Captain Pike tells her she has done an excellent job. She is quite happy when she goes to change for the evening's fun.
The bar is not too crowded, but it is very noisy. It is nice sitting so close to Spock, even if he is very stiff. Then one of her favorite songs is being played and she can't help keeping time. She is eager to join the captain on the dance floor, enjoying the music very much. Captain Pike is not a tremendously good dancer, but that doesn't matter.
Then the music changes. This is so similar to the music that she and Spock danced to in Oxford. She cannot help attempting what they did then. The captain is confused. He does not recognize her movements as dance. But in only a moment, she has another dance partner. Spock has insinuated himself between the captain and her. She smiles at him. She glows with happiness. She would not have asked him to dance here, but he has come to her on his own. This is so wonderful. She bends and twists and sways and he follows her every movement, arms gliding long so close to hers, body moving first in unison, then in counterpoint. She hums with energy. If the music never stopped, it would be too soon.
But of course, too soon, too soon, the musics stops, and the next piece is not the same. Spock stands in front of her, his eyes locked to hers, dark, dark. She cannot look away. Not until someone bumps into her and she staggers for balance. Spock's hand shoots out and grabs her upper arm, steadying her, giving her balance again, drawing her away from the dance floor. She savors the heat of his hand upon her arm. And then he drops his hand and her arm is cold without his touch.
Captain Pike is there beside them now, saying it's time to head back to the hotel. But she has had this one lovely, lovely dance with Spock to dream about tonight. She smiles all the way back to her room.
***
Saturday was very similar to Friday. There were several more students to meet with. Most of them would probably decide to enlist, from the comments that had been made. But she was very glad to get to her room and out of her uniform. She wasn't used to wearing it all day on Saturday. She changed back into her jeans and another sweater - this one was a pale green turtleneck, made of some soft fuzzy fiber. She loved it because it was so cuddly, so caressing to her skin.
They were going to eat supper in wherever it was that Captain Pike was taking them tonight. She left her room to go down to the lobby. She remembered in Oxford how Spock had always been there to walk her to and from her room. That had been so nice. Spock and Captain Pike were there in the lobby, waiting for her. They walked down the sidewalk two blocks and entered into the bar the captain has selected. They found a booth, sat down, ordered food and drinks. The music here is not as nice as in the bar last night. They sat and talked over a while after they were finished eating, and then walked back to the hotel.
***
Sunday morning was bright and sunny. She sat in the hotel restaurant with Spock and Captain Pike, eating breakfast and discussing their plans for the day. The captain had rented an ATV for them to drive out to the trail head in the hills and had ordered the hotel to fix food for them for the day. The hamper was sitting on the extra chair at their table, ready for them. They had all brought their wraps down to the restaurant with them so that they would be ready to go as soon as they had finished their breakfast.
Just as their were finishing up, Captain Pike's communicator beeped at him. He flipped it open and spoke with someone for a few minutes, then turned back to them with a sigh. "Well, that young computer geek we were working so hard with yesterday has brought his parents to talk with me. If we want to get him enlisted, I am going to have to spend the day answering their questions. Guess you two are going to have to go hiking without me. Have fun and tell me all about the gorgeous foliage in the shuttle this evening, okay?" With that, he got up and walked out of the restaurant, then turned around, came back, and tossed Spock the keys to the ATV before exiting again.
She had really been looking forward to the hike before, now she eagerly anticipated it. All day, out in the hills and woods, with just Spock!
Spock
He sat there in shock after Captain Pike made his announcement. Nyota's face was covered with a wide smile. Alone with her all day? Out in the hills? He still had not entirely adjusted to the wonder of it when the captain hurried back in and tossed him the keys to the ATV. He looked at them in his hand, then up at Nyota. She was standing up.
"Spock, I want to go to the ladies' room before we leave, OK? I'll be back in a minute." She walked quickly across the room.
He watched her perfect bottom, molded by the tight jeans, as it swayed across the room. His mind was whirling. They had been ordered to spend the day alone. Together. And Nyota seemed very happy about it.
He still was not completely composed when she came back across to the table and picked up her coat, looking at him with a question in her eyes. He stood and picked up his own coat, the keys in his hand, picked up the hamper of food with his other hand, and they left the restaurant. Outside in the parking lot, they both shrugged into their coats before seating themselves in the open vehicle and fastening the safety webs. Nyota pulled down the navigation panel and found the trip guide that had been preprogrammed, giving him directions to get out of the parking lot and start towards the trail head, which was 30 kilometers away from the hotel. They drove through the crisp fall sunshine both so excited they could hardly contain it.
***
They arrived at the trail head and parked the ATV in the small parking lot. They opened the food hamper and found three small packs inside. Nyota pulled one on over her coat and Spock took the other two, tied the straps together with a tie-lock he found in the hamper and slung them over his left arm, so that they hung behind him. They didn't see any reason to leave any of it behind. They detached the small PADD with the trail data on it from its connection on the dash of the ATV and set off. The trail led through a small woods, into a large meadow and across to some rolling hills, covered with trees in every shade from pale yellow to dark burnt orange. Scattered in among the deciduous trees were dark green pines. It was a beautiful sight. They hiked down the trail, walking steadily at a good pace, across the meadow, up into the hills. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they walked silently, side by side, enjoying each other's company so much that words were not necessary. By lunch time they were at the crest of one of the hills and sat down on a large rock to eat. Afterwards, they sat for a while, so close together they were almost touching, looking out over the hills and valleys, memorizing the scene so that they could describe it to Captain Pike. He wished they could just stay there, he wished he could touch her, he wished for things he did not quite know how to put into words. However, as all these things were impossible, he simply relished being so close to her. It was much more than acceptable.