A/N: Have I told you guys lately that I love you? Y'all constantly inspire and challenge me with your reviews. All of your logical questions and suggestions really got my wheels turning with this one and I hope you like my solution, because this matter really wasn't resolved in a satisfactory way in the show. I had more fun taking on this episode a second time than I thought I would. I watched it AGAIN and made some decisions based on the fact that she could still speak her native tongue, she seemed to know who she was, who her friends were, the fact that she didn't question her surroundings at all, and the rapidity of her re-education. If this explanation makes any sense to you at all let me know, or if I made it worse than TOS let me know. Either way I'm interested. Now that finals are over, I'm kind of on a roll. Thank you to everyone who had read, followed and favorited. I'm so appreciative.
Uhura thought it was astonishing how quietly Spock was capable of moving as he rose from the bed and went into the bathroom to get ready for his day. He'd stayed with her, slept in the clothes he'd given her to get back to her cabin in while his uniform cycled through the refresher. Having his warmth and calming presence had been an asset.
During the night, she'd been restless, so he asked if he could touch her mind. She was hesitant, having had enough of anything tampering with her brain. But he explained his telepathic abilities to her patiently, in depth, and told her that he would only soothe her, nothing more. So she conceded and he took her hands. Peace, too strong to be her own, came over her until the knot in her chest came undone. Then he proposed that they try guided meditation later. It would be more intimate, but he promised that she would eventually be able to calm herself in a similar way. She agreed shortly before she fell asleep.
Now, she lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to forget that she too should be getting ready for duty. He emerged from the bathroom in just his trousers, brushing his hair forward into his usual style.
"Going to work?"
"Yes."
She sat up, tucking her legs beneath her, wrapping a hand around an ankle. "I guess I should get up and get ready for my first day of school."
Their reflections locked eyes in the mirror and his eyes glittered the way they did when he'd probably chuckle if he were human. "Is there a set time for you to report?"
"No, but I suppose in the early morning is best. I think Christine might get busier in the afternoon."
"Nurse Chapel will continue to proctor your education?"
"Yes, why?"
"Because she is a medical specialist and you are a communications specialist. Should there be a topic specific to your field that you find challenging, her ability to help you will be severely limited."
"I hadn't thought about that."
"I believe that Lieutenant Palmer would be better suited to the task. That would however, still render you at a disadvantage because the simulation labs are not at your disposal."
"Spock," she whined. "This is hard enough without you explaining all the reasons why it's hard."
"Forgive me. Did you, by chance, save any of your lecture notes from your time as a cadet?"
"Umm…"
"Computer." He commanded as he shrugged into his black undershirt and walked over to the monitor. "Search personal library for following tags and designations: Lectures, Academy, Communications."
"Working…There are 60 files tagged Lectures, 12 files tagged Academy and 1,786 files tagged Communications."
His eyes widened. "A considerable collection, Nyota."
"They wouldn't be on my work computer would they? My lecture notes from then would probably be on some old PADDs or tapes."
"When I complete my shift, I will help you look."
She beamed. "Sounds like a plan. I was an ace student, you know. I could probably teach myself based on my notes."
"That would helpful."
She darted into the bathroom, newly excited and started scrubbing at her teeth. Everything in the bathroom was immaculate and it would have been impossible to tell that Spock had been in there had it not been for an extra toothbrush sitting in the sanitizer. She liked seeing it there, such a mundane indicator of his place in her life.
She showered and left the bathroom in her robe, a tiny silk thing with a floral watercolor pattern. "You're still here?"
"Obviously." He deadpanned from his seat at her desk. At some point he'd gotten himself a cup of tea and had one waiting for her as well. "There are yet 30 minutes and 17 seconds until start of shift. My usual trip to the bridge takes 2 minutes and 38 seconds. Accounting for the distance between my quarters and yours—"
"Okay." She said opening her closet and finding mostly uniforms. Her first instinct was to snatch them all down since it felt like they were mocking her, but she took a deep breath and shifted them out of the way. She paired a high-waisted pencil skirt with her academy sweat shirt and t-strap pumps.
"The irony of your attire is not lost on me, K'diwa." He noted as he read the shirt.
"Thank you." She reached up and brought his face down to hers, pressing their lips together. "I couldn't get through his without you."
"You are my significant other. As a Vulcan, seeing that your needs are met is my chief priority."
"Well, you're very, very good at it, My Love."
Wordlessly, he handed her a still warm cup of tea. "I spoke with the Captain as you were completing your ablutions."
"And" she prompted, sniffing the contents of the cup.
"He agrees that Lieutenant Palmer would be a more suitable tutor for the latter half of your education. Instead of reporting to sickbay, you will report to the communications department."
"What is this?"
"Plomeek tea. You've been vowing to try it for some time and since it is known to have a calming effect—as are most Vulcan teas—I though now would be a most prudent time for you to taste it."
She kept her gaze on him as she tilted the liquid into her mouth. She rolled her lips and darted her tongue over them, nodding. He was briefly enraptured. "Not bad. Can it be sweetened?"
"It can be sweetened or spiced. Mother prefers hers sweet while I find it more appealing when spiced."
"Let me taste yours." He gave her the mug and she sampled it. Then she passed off her cup to him and walked away with his brew.
"I assume you too find it more appealing when spiced."
"Obviously. You know, I think I'll need a PADD with enough free space to take extensive notes."
"Anticipated and addressed." He gestured to the table, where he'd stacked three shiny new devices. "One for your major classes, one for your general education classes and one for any extracurricular courses you may be asked to undertake."
"I can't get enough of you. You know that?"
"That bodes well for the longevity of our relationship."
She giggled and kissed him again. This time she tasted like his favorite beverage and he deepened it until she hummed and pulled back.
"I still have to do my hair and makeup."
"Is not the purpose of cosmetics to correct perceived flaws?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Because your features are mostly symmetrical and your skin tone is even, free of any noticeable blemishes." He gently griped her chin angling her head from side to side. "Such measures seem unnecessary."
"Did you just tell me I'm too pretty for makeup?"
"I—"
"No take backs! In your own Spock-y way you just said, "You are much too beautiful for makeup.""
"I simply meant to imply that you could save time on your morning routine by omitting that step."
"Uh-huh." She offered him a peck and moved over to her vanity. "Anyway, I mostly use it to enhance my features, not really cover them up."
He shrugged, determined not to say anything else she could run with. "Do you remember the layout of the ship? Can you find your way to the com lab?"
"Isn't it Deck...6?" He nodded. "Then I should be fine. Go ahead to the bridge. You don't have to wait around for me to line my eyes."
"Very well." He started toward the door.
"You're forgetting something, Mister." He looked around, at a loss. "My goodbye kiss." He arched a brow by came back and kissed her anyway. "Love you." He dipped his head in acknowledgement and left for the day.
"How's our girl doing?" Kirk asked as he entered the communications office, giving Uhura a quick squeeze about the shoulders. She was in a cubicle, her notes spread out in front of her on the three PADDs Spock gave her earlier.
She craned her neck and grinned up at him. But before she could respond, Lieutenant Palmer came from around the partition. "I've never seen anything like it, Captain."
"What are you talking about, Palmer?"
"This is the log of the lessons she's completed this morning and the time it took her to complete them. She's breezing through it."
"Well, it is an accelerated learning program."
"Sir, I swear it's like she already knows this stuff."
Kirk took the tablet that the woman was offering and looked over the information on the screen. It was somewhat…unbelievable. "Bones," he said to the doctor who'd been standing quietly since following him in. "Get Christine up here with the rest of the logs."
"Sure thing, Jim."
"Oh, Captain, can I page her please? I think I can do it."
His eyes darted between Spock and Uhura briefly before the Vulcan nodded and he answered in the affirmative. She opened the channel and called the nurse over the intercom.
A few moments later, Chapel busted in. "Uhura? Are you back on the job?" she questioned excitedly as she gave the records to Kirk.
"No. Just testing my chops. Feels like the most natural thing in the world, though."
The three men pored over the two documents, huddled just outside the little stall. "What do you make of this? Is this even possible, Spock?"
"Not according to any educational standard I am aware of, Captain. To complete grades K-12 in one day and be on the sophomore level of the academy in a few hours is unprecedented and most likely impossible."
"You're looking at the proof, Jim. What more do you need?"
"Uhura, were you a certified or registered genius before you came aboard?"
"Not certified, no." she quipped lightly, pretending to flip her hair off her shoulder.
Jim chuckled. "So how do we explain her extraordinary learning capacity?"
"I am forced to conclude," Spock began "That Lieutenant Uhura has not learned this information at all." As soon as the words left his mouth the group recoiled from him and gathered around Nyota protectively as if he'd struck her with the full force of his Vulcan strength. The look of hurt and confusion on her face tugged at something in him and he realized belatedly how cruel that statement would have sounded to the human ear.
"Of all the coldblooded, heartless things to say…"Bones groused.
"You misunderstand. Allow me to rephrase." He resisted the urge to reach out and reassure her with his touch. "The probe was badly damaged at the time of the attack on Lieutenant Uhura. It was mistaken in his belief that our captain was its creator. It may also have been mistaken in its belief that it absorbed Ms. Uhura and wiped her knowledge banks clean. Indeed, all of its instruments were not in proper working order. More likely than not, it only scanned and probed her. I believe—given my own observations, including my fusion with the device, and the evidence presented just a moment ago— that she sustained more of a shock than a deletion. It is then, within the realm of possibility that the most pertinent information was sequestered in the subconscious as a defense mechanism, a concept that a logical machine like Nomad may not have understood."
"So you think Uhura's mind hid the important stuff from Nomad. But she hid it so well that even she can't get to it?"
"Something akin to a trauma induced amnesia. When she is reminded of the information, she recalls it rather than learns it. Much like an emotional trigger calls certain events or information to the forefront."
"But I struggled through those first few lessons. They didn't just come to me."
"It's true, Mr. Spock I was there…"
"It could be because that was at the beginning of the process, but once a safe is opened the valuables can be retrieved at will."
"How do I get the rest back? The languages? The music? I—used to know so much…"
"I think we should continue on this recovery path. And I believe we should allow her to return to work during the beta shift until she is fit to resume her post, Captain"
"Bones?"
"Well, it makes sense to me, Jim. My medical findings show absolutely no neurological damage. Uhura's firing on all the same cylinders she was before. She probably did suppress the knowledge—like memories—and the lessons act like a trigger. Sending her back to work is probably the best thing to do."
"You up to it, Lieutenant?"
She leapt from her seat, her eyes swimming in tears. She launched herself at Kirk and hugged him before she thought better of it. "So very much so! Thank you, Sir. Thank you so much!"
He returned her embrace and sat her back at arm's length. "School in the day and work at night, it won't be easy."
"Nothing is ever easy on a starship."