10. Christmas Dinner
Her parents had not taken the news well. She explained to both of them in the plainest possible way that she had not known until this year that she could qualify to be an officer within two years instead of three, and because of the late breaking information, she was going to have to push extremely hard until the end of the academic year, to be certain that she reached her goal by then. She eagerly wanted to come to see them, but it would negatively affect her chances at becoming a lieutenant within the year.
Their disappointment was apparent, despite the fact that her mother claimed that they both understood. Her father, however, began in the same way he had since she left for Starfleet. He grimaced and informed her, "Nyota, the field of communications is one of the broadest careers in the universe. You have a degree already and here you are, wasting your life, using your talents and intelligence for Starfleet. What kind of a person feels justified in forsaking her family for a chance to die in space?"
Nyota shrugged her shoulders as she looked at the screen and answered, "I don't know, but if I do end up dying in space, I hope that our last conversation will not have been one where you point out everything that you think that I am doing wrong with my own life. Am I not an adult? Did I not choose this for myself? I just contacted you to let you know that I wouldn't be able to make it home for the holidays, why did it have to become "punch Nyota in the gut" session?"
Her father, Mwinyi shook his head and said, "That is not what I am doing..."
"Then, just leave it, Mwinyi," her mother, Ashaki said. She smiled at Nyota and said, "We will miss you, but it'll only be a few more months away, then you can come see us over the summer break."
"She'll probably fill up her schedule then, too," he complained.
Ashaki snapped, "Then we can make arrangements to go and see her!" She talked to her mother a little while longer, then ended the transmission.
Gaila presented cookies to Uhura the night before leaving for the winter. "Nyota. I told my mother that you couldn't spend winter break with your family, so she sent you these cookies." The green girl was smiling broadly when she held the container out to Nyota. Nyota thanked and hugged her, then tried one. They tasted pretty good, but she did not have much of an appetite, so she put them away for later.
Gaila had been in and out of the room several times in preparation to leave for the winter break, which made Nyota feel even sadder about not going anywhere. Then again, she had not wanted to leave the room for anything at the moment, either. There were several students who would remain on campus and several who would leave shortly and come back, but Nyota did not know any of them. She had heard that Kirk and McCoy were both staying on campus, evidently spending their first Starfleet winter break right there at Starfleet Academy. She might not have minded McCoy's company, but Kirk's would have been an issue.
Honestly, the only person that she genuinely knew who would be on campus for the break was Spock... To her, that meant that she would be spending Christmas alone. Vulcans did not participate in the celebration of old Earth holidays. The only reason that humans celebrated it was to have dinner with loved ones, or a party, and for gifts, of course. She would have no one to have dinner with, no party to go to, and if she got any gifts, they would be sent through mail, like the cookies. Well, she had to consider the fact that once she got onto a ship, she would not see her family for many Christmases, or New Spring Days, or birthdays... This was just a warm up, for that.
Nyota's disposition had changed. For the last two weeks of the semester, while coming to work in the simulation room promptly on time, doing her job dutifully, and almost effortlessly handling all of her additional responsibilities as well... he knew that there was something different about her. She had not smiled as frequently, which generally, he would prefer of others. The frown on her face appeared misplaced, and her eyes began to look differently, as well. It perplexed him.
On the last day of simulations, he had asked her, "Has something changed about your disposition?"
She managed a small smile and answered, "I suppose that my countenance is negative. It's an illogical thing. You would not understand," she told him.
"Are you feeling poorly?" He asked.
She chuckled and said, "Yes, I am feeling poorly. I am feeling very poorly. Trying to get things taken care of for my advancement, I won't be able to see my parents for the holidays."
Spock answered, "I have not seen my parents since I came to Earth." She jumped a little, at first, but then, she thought about it – they were Vulcan. It was logical not to see each other for extended periods of time if there was no specific purpose of seeing each other. Still... it hurt her even more.
"I will have plenty of time not to see my parents when I get on the Enterprise. I want to see them as much as I can before I go."
The logic in Spock stated, "Your wants are irrelevant. Starfleet is the life that you chose..."
"I know that. Enjoy your winter break," she said before walking off, too frustrated to talk anymore. He could not possibly understand, and she was not the type of fool to stand there and try to make him understand. He had his beliefs, she had hers, and hers were what mattered to her at the moment.
Spock wondered what Cadet Uhura would be doing with her spare time in her winter break? He also wondered if she might need any assistance with her winter class. He was deciding on whether or not to send her a transmission to ask her if she believed she might need assistance when his door alert sounded. "Yes," he spoke through the intercom.
"Professor Spock, open the door, please," he heard a woman's voice say from the other side.
He was puzzled as to why she would be visiting him in his quarters, but said, "Enter."
Gaila walked into Spock's room with two arm fulls of what appeared to be groceries and she headed right for his kitchen, as though she had been inside before, as though he had expected her, as though this was entirely appropriate... He stood from his desk and entered the kitchen with his hands behind his back. "Cadet..."
"Before you start, let me say this... this is for Nyota," she said. He was even more puzzled, and she began to explain. "Nyota is very depressed about missing the holidays with her folks, so I figured that she could spend Christmas here with you, or at least have a nice Christmas dinner. I know that it isn't important to you, but it's important to her and well... what's important to her is important to me. I just don't want to leave her all alone for the whole break. I'll feel much better if I know that you'll be there for her."
Spock's face had not changed. He was not pleased with Gaila. She had come to his personal quarters, uninvited, bringing in groceries and trying to obligate him to "be there for" someone else while she was gone. It was not his responsibility to be there for anyone. "Cadet Gaila..."
"Professor Spock!" She said sternly, "I think that you owe me one."
"I am indebted to you nor to anyone else," he said.
"I know something about you," she teased. He did not respond. "I know that the night that you popped into Party Hardy's to catch Nyota's act, you had been with a woman. I'm sure that if I sniff around in the right places, I can tell what woman it was. Up until now, my lips have been sealed. Nobody knows."
"Are you attempting to blackmail me into performing a favor for you, Cadet Gaila? Under regulation..."
"No, I don't want to hear that. Look, I know that you don't have a problem spending time with Nyota, so why not do so for Christmas? It would be a good gesture as her friend. No wait... logical. It would be a logical gesture as her friend." Spock was sometimes amused when cadets thought that if they claimed that something was logical that saying so made the thing in question logical. This was not logical, not logical, at all.
"If I invite Cadet Uhura into my personal quarters for personal matters, that would be fraternization," he said.
"Then invite her for professional matters, Professor, and you two can have Christmas dinner over Starfleet conversation." She shook her head and made her way towards the door. "If your answer is no, then I guess that I'll just have to accept that when Nyota could have been with a friend, she was alone and sad." She walked right out of the room and down the hall, smiling to herself. "Merry Christmas, Nyota," she said.
Spock stood silently, alone, staring at the bags in his kitchen. Ultimately, the decision would be his, no matter what kind of power Cadet Gaila seemed to think that she had over him. A thought entered his mind... his first Christmas on Earth, his mother had confessed that she missed him greatly. He had not understood, because when he was on Vulcan, she never made any attempt to celebrate the observatory day. She had told him, "Just being with people I care about around that time was enough celebration for me, especially being with you. You were the only thing besides my own reflection that made me feel like there was still some part of Earth here with me." It had hurt him deeply to hear how lonely his mother was, but she assured him that it would be better after that particular time of year. That particular time of year, she had told him, "No human wants to feel alone."
Nyota heard her comm link sound at her desk and sighed. She did not particularly wish to check any of the transmissions coming through, because she assumed that it would be some cheery friend or relative wishing her a happy winter holiday and that would probably make her feel worse, but this message paged her. Her computer's voice announced, "Incoming message from Professor Spock." Nyota was confused for a brief moment, then surprised, then eager as she rushed over to open the transmission. "Professor?"
"Cadet Uhura, something most illogical has taken place in my personal quarters, and I request your help in the matter..."
She curiously headed for the building in which he directed her to and to the room which he told her was his. She pressed the button and waited for his entry approval. When she entered, her was standing near the doorway with his hands behind his back. "Cadet Uhura, your roommate came to my room before leaving campus and stored a gift here for you."
She laughed and shook her head, "I am really sorry. I have no idea what to say. I'll take it and leave."
"It is not as simple as that, Ms. Uhura. The gift is on the kitchen counter." He led her to the kitchenette and she stared at the grocery bags. "She gave me these items and insisted that I attend to inviting you here for a Christmas dinner."
"Oh, no. I... I'll..." she had no idea what she intended to do.
"Ms. Uhura, as a matter of fact, there is no stasis unit in a cadet's dormitory, nor are there instruments for preparing a proper meal. It would not be wise of you to attempt to take the items back to your dormitory. It would not be prudent to allow the items to go to waste, either." Nyota stood there, silently for a moment. What exactly had she just walked into? "I am told that it is a tradition of humans around this time of year to engage in dinner with a friend and according to the Starfleet regulations, in off periods of school, such as summer and winter breaks, students and instructors are allowed to amicable gatherings. Also, I recall you stating that you enjoyed having the opportunity to prepare food..."
Now, a bright smile formed on her face. It was the first time that he had seen her give him a smile like this in the past two weeks and three days. Though he did not react, it pleased him that she would smile.
"Professor Spock, do you think that it would be alright if I stayed over and prepared us some dinner? I mean, you have these groceries sitting here, with nothing else to do with them, and I can't take them with me," she figured that he would probably accept a somewhat illogical decision better if it had been the idea of an illogical being.
"That plan is logical," he said. Nyota laughed and headed for his sink to wash her hands before digging through the bags.
With the materials, she was able to make a delicious vegetarian meal of stuffed turnips, spinach, almond and pepper salad, seasoned rice, roasted potatoes with garlic and onion, and pecan pie. Spock found Earth food generally tolerable, but this dinner was quite good. He, of course used the word, "Acceptable" when speaking to her about her food preparation, but she did not take offense.
"Thank you for letting me come here," she told him as he placed the used dishes into his washer unit. He did not reply at first. She guessed that he did not really know how to respond, as he had not really wished to invite her over, but probably felt obligated to... but he had seemed to enjoy having her over, so she did not dwell on the fact that Gaila practically forced them together tonight.
"You are welcome," he finally said. And she was. Although her roommate had placed him in a rather uncomfortable and seemingly illogical position, he believed that the events had unfolded well. His decision to comply had been appreciated. Nyota smiled at him and he added, "Is it not customary for a friend to welcome another friend into their place of residency occasionally?"
She nodded her head and told him, "Yes, usually."
"According to that parameter, you are welcome to visit my place of residency in the future... Although, it would be more comfortable if those visits were related to Starfleet, in some way."
She laughed, lightly and said, "Yes, Sir."
He began to discard the grocery bags that she had accidentally left on his counter and he shook one. "I believe that you left something out of the meal, Ms. Uhura." He reached into the bag and pulled out a tiny branch of plant. He stated, "It appears that your roommate supplied us with phoradendron serotinum... Perhaps she accidentally placed it in the bag by mistake, as this plant is not edible." Nyota studied the plant. It was somewhat familiar, but she could not remember where she saw it before, and she did not know plants by the scientific name, as he obviously did. Then, Spock reminded her of its familiarity, "Unless perhaps she intended for us to follow the ancient Earth tradition of standing beneath it to engage in a kiss."
Nyota heard herself gasp. Mistletoe. Nyota had seen the plant in old footage, but never in person and wondered how in the world Gaila got some of it, anyway? She said, "Gaila is a very illogical woman, Professor Spock."
"Indeed she is, Ms. Uhura," he agreed. He went to throw the bags and the mistletoe into the disposal unit, but Nyota reached out to salvage the plant from him. When she did, her fingers brushed his and they looked at each other.
She smiled and placed the plant behind her back. "I want to keep it," she said.
He replied, "Ah, yes. For sentimental purposes, I presume."
She simply smiled at him.
On the way back to her dorm, she passed by McCoy and Kirk. She had not even noticed the two of them until Kirk rushed over to her, lifted her arm above her head and kissed her on the cheek. It happened so quickly that she almost got confused. When she realized that he had just taken advantage of the fact that she was holding the mistletoe in her hand, she almost struck him. Then, she saw Dr. McCoy, standing very sheepishly, and clearly embarrassed by his friend's behavior. T'was the season for jolliness. She had just had a wonderful evening and she did not want James Kirk to ruin the spirit that she was in, but he had to pay for that transgression. She wondered how he would handle this one.
Nyota held the branch over her head and leaned over to Dr. McCoy to plant a tender, gentle kiss right on his cheek. He smiled, of course and even slightly blushed as Kirk's lip dropped. Nyota said, "Happy holidays, Dr. McCoy," and she walked away without so much as acknowledging that she had even seen Kirk there.
Kirk patted McCoy on the back and said, "Bones, you lucky dog! Hey, maybe she'll tell you her first name." Now Nyota turned to see Kirk smile at her and she rolled her eyes and kept going.
Gaila entered the dormitory carrying far more bags than she had left with. When she walked in, Nyota practically jumped on her with kisses across her face. Gaila laughed and joked, "Oh, Honey... let me in door, first." She glanced up and saw Nyota holding the mistletoe over their heads. She smiled excitedly and said, "You found it!"
"Yes, he found it," Nyota said, helping Gaila with the bags.
"So...?" Gaila inquired.
Nyota reminded her, "It's Professor Spock, Gaila."
Gaila frowned and said, "He'll grow out of it."
The two of them sat on Nyota's bed and Gaila told her all about her visit home, then they talked about Nyota's winter course. A few times, Gaila tried to pull out information about the dinner that Nyota shared with Spock, but Nyota remained aloof about most of it, insisting that there truly was nothing to tell. Gaila did not fully believe her, but seemed to let it go as they continued to share how their breaks went. Nyota wished that she could have sat and talked with Spock as easily as she did with Gaila. After all, she was just as comfortable with him as she was her roommate, but being friends with a Vulcan was no easy thing. They did not have the same friendships. She was glad that Gaila was back, but also, she was glad that her winter break had opened her life to entirely new possibilities...