Spock came out of his healing trance to find Uhura asleep on a chair next to his bed. She was still holding his hand. He had been able to hear her speaking to him earlier, but it had seemed like a dream. Most of his focus had been on healing his wound. He lifted his free hand to touch her hair, and found that it took more effort than he would have anticipated. She awoke when she felt his touch.
"You're awake," she said, quietly, perhaps not wishing to wake the other convalescents. It was 5:00 a.m. She moved from her chair to sit on his bed and then leaned over and kissed him, resting her head on his uninjured shoulder. "We – Dr. McCoy couldn't tell me why you weren't awake."
"I am sorry to have caused you worry. Vulcans often enter a meditative state to heal. It is quite deep, and sometimes resembles a coma." He paused. "I could hear you talking to me, but I wasn't able to focus as I usually do."
"Never mind," she said, stroking his cheek. McCoy wandered in, bleary-eyed.
"I see you decided to join the land of the living," he growled, as he inspected the readings over Spock's biobed. "All this looks normal, or as normal as you get. I'll need you here another day to make sure that skin graft is holding." Another member of the landing party moaned two biobeds away. "I'll be right there." He walked away muttering "of course, because that's the Starfleet oath I swore: 'to protect, defend, and never eat breakfast ever again'"
Spock turned to Uhura.
"Nyota, did you tell me that the Romulans claim that we are on the wrong side of the Neutral Zone?"
"I did. Chekhov is beside himself."
"We went over the coordinates of our search grids most carefully. I do not think the error was ours."
"Well, yes, if I had to choose between you and Chekhov and some random Romulan navigator, I'd certainly pick you and Chekhov."
"Who else was injured besides myself?"
"Both members of the security team, and the chief botanist. Only you and the security crewman were injured badly." Spock nodded.
"I must return to the bridge as soon as possible to go over our course headings."
"You'll be staying here for another day, as the doctor advised." Spock noted that she was using the same tone that she used when she had informed him that he was assigning her to the Enterprise.
"Yes, I believe I will be staying here."
Uhura was exhausted, but quite happy to be heading back to the bridge for her shift. Spock was settled into Sickbay with a pair of fresh pajamas and a PADD with his star charts, because good relationships rely on compromise.
She entered the bridge. Kirk was drumming his fingers on his armrest. They were awaiting orders from Starfleet, which she knew to be his least favorite position. Chekhov was moving back and forth between Spock's station, where he pored over some long text document, and his station, where he was poring over star charts. He was mumbling to himself in Russian.
"He's been like this all day," whispered Kirk to Uhura.
"Spock really doesn't think the error was on our part."
"Chekhov's seventeen. He doesn't really have the self confidence to say stuff like that."
Suddenly, Chekhov rose and shouted something in Russian. Whether it was a victory cry or a gasp of pain, Uhura wasn't sure.
"Captain, I am not quite myself,"
"Then who are you, Mr. Chekhov?," said Kirk, startled.
"I believe I need to see Dr. McCoy, Sir."
"By all means," said Kirk, gesturing toward the turbolift.
Uhura's board was quiet. Kirk's drumming grew more incessant. When her board lit up an hour later, she jumped, and then noted with surprise that the incoming transmission was from Sickbay.
"Spock here, Captain."
"Spock?"
"Yes, Captain. I believe Mr. Chekhov has discovered the source of the conflict with the Romulans. When the original boundaries of the Neutral Zone were delineated 100 years ago, apparently they did not exclusively use star positions as reference points. They also used astral bodies, including two asteroid belts and at least one planet, as reference points in the official language of the treaty."
"But planets and asteroid belts move, Mr. Spock,"
"Indeed, Captain. We have been using the actual positions of the asteroid belts from 100 years ago, which we translated using their relationships to stars at that time, while the Romulans have been referencing the asteroid belts where they are today."
"Let me guess, with each side selecting the interpretation that gave it more space."
"Affirmative, Captain. This issue should be communicated to Starfleet."
"If you will send both referenced boundaries to Lieutenant Uhura, I am sure she will compose such a message, and Spock?"
"Captain?"
"She doesn't look very happy to be hearing from you right now."
"Noted, Captain."
"Get some rest, Spock, and I trust Mr Chekhov is feeling better?"
"He has appeared in perfect health this entire time, Captain,"
When Spock had signed off, Kirk sighed.
"Do you know that Chekhov is so young that for legal reasons, his mother had to sign a form giving me permission to seek medical treatment on his behalf, if necessary?" said Kirk to Uhura. "Now he finds a mistake in one of the Federation's most important treaties, that all of the other legal minds have missed for a hundred years."
Uhura sent a message to Starfleet. She received no reply during the rest of her shift. Kirk sighed, but indicated it was no surprise. What Chekhov had discovered was a big deal, and the Council would probably have to rule on this.
Uhura stopped by Sickbay to see if Spock needed anything. Thankfully, he was asleep, although that fact made Uhura wonder how severe his injuries had been. He often went days without sleeping.
The next morning, she accompanied him back to his quarters. A lengthy negotiation between them had resulted in the compromise that he would work from the computer there today.
No sooner had she arrived on the bridge, than they received the long-awaited message from Starfleet. The Federation would attempt to make contact with the Romulan Senate, to discuss this matter. Until that time, they were to plot both boundaries of the Neutral Zone, and steer clear of all of them. The message indicated that this was a fleetwide order. Not that they were sending any other ship in this direction anytime soon, thought Uhura, grudgingly.
"Have we seen any sign of our Romulan shadow, Mr Chekhov?"
"No, Sir, but they do have the cloaking device."
"At any rate they aren't engaging us. Get me Mr. Spock, Lieutenant,"
"Spock here, Captain."
"Mr. Spock, Lieutenant Uhura indicated to me that you think that this planet is mineral rich, or so you indicated to her at some point when I wasn't in the room."
"Affirmative, Captain." Uhura was relieved to hear Spock ignoring the bait.
"And Mr Chekhov suggested that we missed the Romulans on that planet because they were underground, perhaps mining,"
"A hypothesis that fits the data, Captain."
"I don't think we've heard the last of the Romulans if they are mining in this area."
