Hi everyone! I know, right? Been a while, huh? Well, a crazy six weeks at work plus a nasty sinus infection will do that to you! Hope you enjoy this date night part one! (also, you might notice I updated this chapter bc I realized I left out a key part when I cut-and-pasted into the uploading document window!)

Uhura did so, and behind her lids, she sensed the darkening of the room as she heard Spock's voice speak his native language to begin the program. The temptation to look around like a wide-eyed child was tempting - Spock had been her programming professor before becoming her thesis advisor as a fourth-year student, and his talents on the holodecks were known across campus for their realism - but she stayed as she was until he gave the word. She had no desire to spoil any of his hard work.

Then he was touching her brow, her cheek with his lips, and murmuring in her ear, 'Open your eyes Nyota.'

She did so and gasped as she looked around - they were in the lobby of the campus symphony hall where they'd had their first date. Every detail was there, from the way the stars looked in the night sky through the glass-domed foyer to the Tyrollean couple walking past them who were being escorted by Captain Pike towards what Uhura had assumed was a VIP lounge. Even the man serving drinks at the lobby bar had the crooked bowtie Uhura remembered from that night.

'Wow,' she exclaimed in a breathy sigh, 'this is…I can't believe you did this!'

'Given your appropriate reaction to my insensitivity towards your needs as I've been struggling with my own, I believed it was necessary to bring us back to how we became lovers and mates in the first place. To…to remind us both that at the roots of what brings us together is what makes our bond special,' he replied, fumbling his words a little as he lifted her hand to his lips in what he knew to be an ages-old gesture of affection in Earth culture. 'Even before we became who we are today as a pair-bond, you have always been special to me.'

'Spock.' Tears clogged Uhura's throat, made her vision blur; the man didn't always have the best words but when he did, they were gems. She turned her wrist so his lips grazed the inside of her wrist as she cupped his cheek in her palm. 'You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. That first moment you held my hand and I felt what you were feeling through that bond, I knew you were my one and only.'

The lights flashed and Spock took her hand from his face, let the bond form as they climbed the stairs to take their seats; flashes of the same bright colours Uhura now knew to be the visual equivalent of falling in love collided in her mind just as she knew they were doing in Spock's. She felt his hand at the small of her back to guide her to their seats where they relived that magical evening of listening to the great masters of the early twenty-first century.

Time travel wasn't always the wisest thing in the most literal sense of the concept, Spock new, but this type of time-travel was most invigorating. Just as on that first evening, Uhura clutched at his elbow when Elfman's The Ice Dance was played and he felt the golden shimmering swelling in his chest, radiating outwards from his heart into the rest of his being. That had been the moment when Spock had known that his affection towards Uhura hadn't been the product of his own half-human imagination, it was indeed real.

By the end of the concert performance, and they'd gone back to the lobby his hand had stayed joined with hers, both then and now; once at the base of the staircase, Spock spun her into his arms and told her once more, 'Close your eyes, Nyota.'

'O…kay.' She did as he asked, her senses still in flux as she felt wave after wave of sensation coming from him as their bond seemed to fuse even stronger. The noise of the post-concert chatter faded away in an almost dream-like fashion and was replaced with a gentle warm wind whistling over her shoulders and through her hair as Spock's hands gently gripped her elbows. 'Where are we going now?'

'Not where, but how.'

Spock studied the angles of her face, then leaned in to touch his lips to hers, the tips of his fingers stroking delicately beneath her chin to tilt her face up to his. Around them, he felt the pace of their travelling through space pick up speed. When he drew back from her mouth, he smiled when he heard the delighted sigh escape her lips. 'Open your eyes, Nyota.'

Uhura blinked, then let out a little yelp - they appeared to be floating in space; the floors, ceiling, walls of the concert hall were gone and were replaced with millions of stars. She saw the rushing past of purple nebulas and the Lithobates constellation, a surefire signifier of where in the universe they were located. 'If I remember correctly, we are in the galactic corridor between Earth and Vulcan, right?'

'Affirmative,' Spock agreed with a slow nod. 'More importantly, we are inside myself.'

That one had Uhura giving him a look. 'Uh, what?'

'This-' he waved one of his hands towards their surroundings '-this is what I felt when we shared our first kiss. I felt like I'd lifted off earth and was rushing through the universe towards something that made me happier than I ever thought possible.'

'Spock, you overwhelm me,' she murmured to him, tracing the tip of her index finger over the centre of his lips. 'How…how are you able to tell me all of this?'

'Because when I am with you, just us in moments like this, I do not feel the need to hide as I once did.' Spock kissed her brow once more. 'When we are in public, or even privately in the presence of others, propriety must be observed but when we are alone…when we are alone I do not feel the usual Vulcan compulsion to keep my emotions hidden from you. Added to which, being in the intermediate phase of pon-farr means that my emotions are much more uninhibited.'

'Wait, if you're in the intermediate phase, how are you holding it together right now?'

'I…I made a visit this morning to Doctor McCoy as his patient, and he gave me some medication so that our evening together would be enjoyable. I had no desire to put you in a position where you feel the need to be my monitor on what should be the most special evening of the year for our relationship,' Spock explained, and would have gone into a detailed recounting of what prescriptions Bones had given him had it not been for Uhura kissing him once more.

'Spock I love you, all of you. If you're truly feeling that off, we could have postponed our plans, I don't mind.'

'Nyota, I love you as well, and it is because I love you that I do not want to postpone this evening for us. We…we need this, to borrow one of your Earth phrases.'

'That's very true. So…' Uhura looked around, instinctively wanting to duck out of the way as they seemed to careen towards a large glowing star, then veered to the left at the last moment into safety. 'We've been to the music hall on our first date, what comes next?'

'Our first dinner as a pair-bond.'

Now her eyes went greedy and wide; she'd never forget where she'd taken him after the concert. 'You didn't.'

'Indeed I did. Just watch.'

She did and grinned with unabashed glee as the rushing past of stars slowed; the cosmic swirls and shapes began to take on more earthly forms, until there were on the waterfront wharf in a small neighbourhood far enough away from the Academy campus they would not likely run into anyone who could feed the gossip mill. The sky was the hazy meld of purple orange and blue of almost-sunset and the air carried the sweet promise of springtime while sparrows singing in the air ushered people on their travels in the tourist-friendly area.

The restaurant itself had been not much to look at on the outside - it wasn't flash or obvious like some popular places in San Francisco, just a simple converted corner-house with the trademark rounded gables of the city's style, painted a welcoming mint green and a hanging clap-board sign that read Surf City Pizzeria.

'As I recall, I remembered my father doing this with my mother when they would engage socially-' Spock offered his crooked arm to Uhura '-as a means to show her affection while remaining dignified in public.'

'And as I recall, I remember being so impressed by your willingness to demonstrate affection like this in public so I happily accepted it,' Uhura replied, looping her arm through his as he held open the door for her and they entered; upon being promptly seated, they were immediately greeted by the head chef who made a great fuss over them and congratulated them on their special day, that he had something extraordinary planned for them. When he'd returned to the kitchen once more, Uhura gave Spock a look.

'That's new,' she snickered, and Spock had to crack a smile at her amusement.

'It occurred to me as I was coding this program, that when we did partake in our first meal together that we came here because we felt the need to conceal our engagements to maintain measures of privacy lest either of us risk our respective positions. Now that both our relationship and our positions in Star Fleet have evolved, I felt certain liberties could be taken so that we might feel a certain level of celebration here.'

'I like it very much.' Uhura looked around, smiling in appreciation. 'I have to say, I'm impressed, I had no idea you remembered this so well.'

'Of course I remembered, it was a rather remarkable night for both of us. The finer points of the evening are well-stored in my mind.'

Spock reached out, took her hand to play a little with her fingers. He'd come to enjoy that little earthly pleasure he'd often seen other pair-bonds perform when he'd awaited Uhura's return from the ladies' room at various events. On Vulcan, it would be unthinkable to touch hands or fingertips so casually; he'd once likened it to being on Earth and reaching under a woman's shirt in public to grope her breasts in public in an explanation of the nature of touch in Vulcan culture to Uhura. The first time he'd taken Uhura to meet his father on New Vulcan, he'd felt her patience strain at having to keep her natural earthly instincts in check. Here, though, in such a private setting, there was no concern of it.

She really did have beautiful hands, he mused, long fingers with a slenderness that belied their strength and conviction of purpose. Spock had found himself drawn to watching her write with her stylus, often drawing comparison with her elegance and grace in her movements to a philharmonic conductor bringing a full orchestra to life. Then, when their relationship had evolved to include a more intimate element, he'd come to crave the touch of them on his body, awakening sensations in him he'd never experienced in his private life.

'Spock?'

'Yes, Nyota.'

'Did you hear what I said?'

Spock looked up, saw her eyes were dancing in amusement; he knew that look all too well, when his lover was trying to keep from laughing at him because something in his behaviour amused her Terran sensibilities. Because it was their special night, as she'd termed it, he saw no reason to deny her the opportunity to laugh and projected what he hoped was a bashful expression. 'Forgive me, I was lost in the beauty of your skillful hands.'

Uhura had to chuckle at that one; he had such a hilarious manner when he was trying to flirt. She turned her wrist so she could link her fingers through his and gave him an affectionate squeeze. 'I asked you if you wanted to wait to exchange presents until we were in your quarters or mine.'

'That would be highly illogical, as I brought your gift with me.'

'Me too. Would you like to open yours first?'

'As we are recreating our first date on Earth, I believe it would be logical to follow Earth customs and suggest that the lady proceed first.'

'Okay.' Uhura felt her insides turn buttery-soft when he pulled a small circular box the diameter of a pocket-sized cosmetics compact; it was made of polished black stone that appeared weighty but was light as paper in Uhura's hands as she accepted it. Finding the clasp, she lifted the lid and felt her eyes bug from her head. 'Holy shit!'

She lifted the necklace out to hold it to the light, loving the way it sparkled. The chain was just a chain, it was the pendant that was the focus, a beautiful turquoise stone flecked with black specks and silver threads fashioned into the shape of a diamond set in finely worked silver.

'Spock, it's gorgeous! Thank you so much!'

'It was my mother's.'

Uhura's heart gave a squelch in her chest as she looked up, saw the memories stir in his eyes. 'Spock, I-'

'It was given to her by my father as a gift upon the sixth anniversary of their marriage. My father gave it to me after her death, saying that she once told him that I should give it to someone who accepts me exactly as I am.' Spock reached out to take her hand once more, and pressing his palm to hers made the bond with her; he watched the tenderness he felt flow into her eyes. 'Yes, exactly that.'

'I love it, and I love you.'