Nyota had told him she would be in the long-range sensor lab that night, but he'd received a late afternoon notification from the Communications Department that the long-range arrays were offline for the weekend. He hadn't suspected she had lied to him, but he had still wondered what function she would serve in a laboratory that was not operational.
His primary purpose for visiting the Tarkington building on a Friday evening actually had nothing to do with Nyota. Much had happened while he'd been quarantined with Tarkalean flu. The experience had demonstrated just how little his presence was actually required for his position. He'd caught up on more than 1,800 messages, written recommendations and exams, graded assignments, recorded lectures, and teleconferenced with students in place of meeting them face-to-face for office hours, all from the confines of his quarters.
He'd kept abreast of updates to the Enterprise – it had finished its last phase of trials and had been certified for commissioning a full 38 days ahead of schedule. Captain Pike was coordinating with Starfleet and other Federation officials to plan an official commissioning ceremony for the following month, but less than twenty percent of the assigned crew was available to report to the ship early. Not only had the cadets not graduated yet, but much of the fleet had been called away to the Laurentian system the prior month to quell disturbances over a territorial dispute, and that included most of the Enterprise's future senior officers.
Aside from helping Pike coordinate the upcoming commissioning ceremony, Lieutenant Nowak and Cadet Maloney had managed to restore the Kobayashi Maru simulator and had even added additional file protection and locking subroutines. Spock had been interested in testing the results, but he'd also been interested in making a few modifications.
The Information Security Office had thanked him for bringing the suspected breach to their attention and explained they would resolve the file transfer utility flaw with the tertiary mainframe during the summer's regularly scheduled updates. The simulator was fixed, but the flaw that had allowed it to be exploited remained.
Meanwhile, Cadet Kirk had not ceased in his quest to secure a third attempt at the scenario. His dogged interest in the simulator was certainly not proof he'd tampered with it, but when added to the other circumstantial evidence, he was the only logical culprit.
So Spock had gone to the Kobayashi Maru observation deck and inserted a small monitoring subroutine within the graphics module in the event the hacker managed to find a workaround for Maloney and Nowak's patches. Then he'd sent Kirk a message explaining the simulator had been repaired and to contact the training office to schedule a third attempt at the scenario.
He had been on his way out of the building when he'd just happened to pass by the long-range sensor lab. He knew Nyota was in there just by the characteristic scent of spearmint gum and coconut lotion lingering in the hallway, and when he paused by the open door of the lab, he saw her kneeling on the floor, surrounded by a maze of disassembled communications components and tools. Her knee length skirt was hiked up well past the middle of her thighs and her black undershirt clung to her shapely body, forcing him to suppress not only an instinctive emotion, but a physical response as well.
Due to conflicting schedules, duties, prior commitments, and his unfortunate quarantine, he hadn't seen her since she'd stayed the night with him two weeks ago. He'd spent much of his confinement reflecting upon their relationship, spending many hours in meditation. Time and consideration had only solidified his realization that he wanted her for a mate.
Were she Vulcan, he wouldn't have hesitated to declare koon-ut-so'lik and inform her of his desire to become her husband. But Nyota wasn't Vulcan.
While it seemed logical to make his ultimate intentions known, human interpersonal relationships of any variety were rarely logical. He thought of Gaila's checklist and his futile attempts to understand human courtship rituals – none of her points were relevant to his current situation, as they only enumerated criteria for determining whether two individuals were on a date or dating. They were dating, that was no longer in question, but what set of criteria did humans use for judging whether or not a person was worthy of becoming a lifelong companion? He did not know.
She sighed and brushed her hair behind her left ear, revealing more of the left half of her face. He watched her work for nearly a minute, wishing to speak with her but unwilling to disturb her while she was locked in concentration on the fine optical fibers of the quantum coupler in her hands. He waited until she uttered another sigh, set the part down on the floor, and stretched.
"Good evening, Nyota."
He hadn't meant to startle her, but a look of surprise flashed across her face as she twisted around at the waist to see him. "What are you doing here?"
"I had come to work on the simulator decks," he explained, stepping through the threshold into the laboratory. "But my task is complete. May I inquire what you are doing in the laboratory at this late hour?"
Her jaw tightened and her eyes shifted between his face and the door behind him. He stepped completely through the threshold and engaged the door release. They were alone and the building was nearly deserted, and now with the door closed, it seemed illogical to continue the charade of neutrality toward her.
"I'm just working on repairing a long range receiver," she mumbled.
Spock considered her confession and their agreement to keep their personal and professional lives separate. He was conflicted. Students were only permitted to make repairs to Academy equipment under the supervision of maintenance personnel or faculty members. He knew repairing a communications receiver was well within her capabilities, but her mood was rapidly shifting into discomfort. Was she knowingly violating Academy regulations?
"Have you contacted maintenance?"
"Um, not exactly. Not yet anyway. That's what I was hoping to avoid."
"Reporting broken or malfunctioning equipment to maintenance before attempting repairs is the proper protocol," he reminded her.
"I know." She reached for a multipurpose tool and twirled the tip between her thumb and index finger.
He was her partner, but he also a Starfleet officer and had a duty to maintain the school's equipment and protect it from damage, theft, and vandalism. Yet it was difficult to believe she would intentionally do any of those things. He wrestled briefly with the situation until she rose to her feet, crossed her arms, and jumped into a garbled explanation.
"I screwed up, ok? Last night I left the lab unlocked and the equipment on and now everything's broken and Lieutenant Bautista gave me until Sunday to get it fixed and the receiver is turning out to be way worse than I initially imagined and I don't even know where to begin with fixing the server and this turned into a giant mess and if I don't get it straightened out I'm going to get a formal reprimand in my file and what if I don't graduate-" She took several deep breaths and started pacing.
"Perhaps you could calm yourself and explain more coherently," he suggested.
She ran her hands through her hair and inhaled slowly. "So last night I left the equipment on and the dedicated wide-band array receiver went out. My best guess is it picked up a powerful, sustained subspace broadcast nearby, probably something in orbit, and I must have disengaged the subspace monitor when my mom called, which would have automatically shut it off, because the front-end quantum circuits are fried."
"Why would you leave the laboratory unsecured and the equipment in operation?"
She closed her eyes and chewed her lip. "It was late, I was tired, and I wasn't thinking."
"I see."
"Ugh, don't say that," she groaned.
"What would you have me say?"
"I don't know. Not that. Anything but, 'I see.' This is the worst mistake I've made in a long time and I didn't want you to know because… I know we said our personal lives are separate from our professional lives, but the way you're looking at me right now, you look a lot less like my boyfriend Spock and a lot more like Commander Spock."
"May I speak plainly?" he asked.
"Have you ever not spoken plainly?" she sighed.
"Occasionally I have elected not to speak at all," he explained.
She rolled her eyes, uncrossed her arms, and sat down in the chair by the nearest computer terminal. "Whatever it is, just say it."
"Though I would prefer to distance myself from you professionally due to our personal relationship, it is illogical to believe that distance will always be easily maintained, particularly once we are aboard Enterprise. Starfleet's fraternization policy is far more lenient than Starfleet Academy's, but I shall still be your first officer and you will have to comply with my orders, regardless of the nature of our private relationship."
She blinked several times and looked up at the ceiling. "That's not what I thought you were going to say."
"Explain."
"I was ready for the whole 'I'm so disappointed in you' speech just like Lieutenant Bautista gave me. I don't have any issues with taking orders from you because I trust you, but getting reprimanded by you, that's different."
"You were negligent," Spock admitted, noting a grimace flash across her face. "Yet everyone is negligent at times, myself included."
She laughed and stared at the floor.
"I also would like to mention that though I possess a superior rank and will eventually be in your direct chain of command, we shall both be members of the same crew and it is to our mutual benefit to assist one another in correcting mistakes. I am willing to assist you."
"You mean right now?"
"Earlier you mentioned being uncertain how to begin repairing damage to the server."
Her eyes widened and her moth drifted open, but it took approximately fifteen seconds before she replied, "You're offering to help me?"
"I believe that was the only reasonable inference."
She exhaled loudly and rubbed her neck. "You're probably the best computer engineer I know, but I don't want to ask you to fix my mistakes."
"You did not ask. I offered."
"But you don't think it's crossing some kind of line? I'm still a cadet and you're still a professor."
"That has been the case ever since I first made your acquaintance and the initiation of our relationship has not altered that. Were my duty as a Starfleet officer in conflict with assisting you, I would not have made the offer. Yet in this circumstance, assisting you as a member of the faculty and assisting you as my mate are in concert with one another. This server is necessary to the operation of the long-range sensor lab, it has been rendered non-operational, and I am qualified to perform maintenance and services upon it. The fact that it would benefit you is a secondary consideration."
"So you're saying I should let you fix the server as Commander Spock, not as my boyfriend?"
"Precisely. Furthermore, to answer your earlier question, according to Starfleet Academy's policy, we are already crossing a line."
She rose from the chair, folded her arms across her chest, and inched in his direction. "And if I were any other student, you would make the same offer? Because you believe that strongly in making sure every piece of equipment on this campus if working perfectly, regardless of what department it happens to belong to? Because you do know this server belongs to the Communications Department, not the Computer Science Department, right?"
"I am aware. And if you imply I am showing favoritism, it is because I am."
She scoffed. "At least you can readily admit it. Let me ask you this – if I were your student and this were your lab and your server, would you write me a letter of reprimand?"
"Based on my rudimentary understanding of the situation, yes. But none of those conditions apply. I cannot offer punishment, I can merely offer aid."
"Lucky for me I guess," she groaned, stopping in front of him and gazing at the tips of his boots. "I hate this."
"Clarify."
"I hate that I need your help, but there's no way I'm going to be able to fix this on my own before Sunday," she explained, looking up to catch his eye. "I'm not even sure if it can be fixed."
"You have not granted me the opportunity to even identify the problem," he reminded her.
"I had asked Gaila to come take a look at it but she hasn't gotten back to me yet. If you're willing to help, I don't feel like I should refuse, even if I feel like I'm using you."
"What is wrong with using me if I am willing to submit myself to the task?" he asked.
She started to respond but shook her head and eventually said, "Every so often I wonder what I did to deserve you."
Minutes later, Nyota was sprawled out on the floor with the receiver components and Spock was beginning an assessment of the long-range sensor lab's dedicated file server. He scanned the logs and quickly set to work assessing the damaged modules. He was just at the point where he'd decided it would be more practical to rebuild the server than attempt to restore it when Nyota said, "This kind of reminds me of being stuck on the Dalton with you."
He looked over his shoulder to see her on the floor with the receiver's quantum coupler in one hand and a miniscule screwdriver in the other. He thought of fixing the bone knitter with her and the beautiful way her eyes glowed when she was angry. He hadn't realized it at the time, but that had been the first occasion he'd found himself attracted to her.
"Our lives are not in danger," he reminded her, turning back to the computer screen.
"True," she replied. "How does the server look? Do you think you can get it running again?"
"There is more extensive damage than I had anticipated, but I believe I can have it operational within the next six hours."
"Six hours?" She stood and looked over his shoulder.
"You had said Lieutenant Bautista gave you until Sunday to correct the damage."
"She did, but I feel bad that I'm taking up your whole night. Also, if it's bad enough it's going to take you six hours, I don't even want to think about how long it would have taken me or Gaila to figure it out." She sat down on the high counter next to the workstation he was sitting at and watched his progress.
"Why did you disengage the subspace monitor?" Spock asked, his eyes scanning through lines of error messages. The subspace monitor was a secondary transceiver that kept track of all subspace signals being received and would regulate the operation of the arrays. A functioning subspace monitor was also a necessary component for protecting the computers against data overload.
"My mom called and the signal began interfering. I'd meant to shut everything down, but obviously I didn't. She actually called right when I had found something useful too, but that's not surprising. She's always had a way of interrupting at the worst time. She still wants to meet you, you know."
"As I have already told you, I look forward to meeting her also, though I believe it would be prudent to wait until you have graduated."
"Agreed."
"Will you permit me a personal query?"
"You don't have to ask if you can ask me a personal question, Spock. Just ask. The worst thing that can happen is I refuse to answer."
"You once said meeting someone's family is something usually done in a more serious stage of the relationship after an acceptable period of time has passed, but you never defined how long an 'acceptable period' was."
"There's no standard," she shrugged. "Just when it feels right. I don't know if it will ever feel like the right time for you to meet my mother, but I blame her for that more than our relationship. You know, sometimes I feel like we're moving way too fast and other times I feel like it's going painfully slow."
"Explain." He glanced at her, noting her eyes seemed distant.
"Well, I've dated lots of people but none that I just clicked with the way I click with you. Dating you is easy: it doesn't feel like work. We see each other when we can and we have great conversation and you respect me and treat me so well."
Spock considered her confession, thinking that the opposite was actually true. While he enjoyed Nyota's companionship and her remarkable mind, he thought dating her was difficult – it often forced him into situations he felt ill equipped to manage. Humans were highly complex creatures with changeable emotions and Nyota was no different. Being with her was a constant challenge because she was unpredictable, but he could not envision spending his life in the company of another female.
"I believe you would make an exceptional mate," he admitted.
Her features froze, except for her eyes, which widened until he could see the whites all the way around her irises. "What do you mean when you say 'mate?'"
"A wife. It would be illogical to pursue someone romantically if one did not believe they were compatible enough to eventually lead to marriage."
"Eventually," Nyota replied, uttering the word slowly as signs of relief spread across her face.
The fear and subsequent relief in her expression were puzzling and just one of many examples why he found maintaining a relationship with her to be so complicated. Had he read her facial features incorrectly, or was she subtly implying she did not wish to be his mate? It would be illogical to speculate. He should just ask her directly. But before he could, she asked, "You know how I said sometimes it feels like we're moving too slow?"
"I recall."
"Sometimes I wonder if we're compatible. I mean, we obviously get along, but…"
"You do not believe we are well-matched to forge a bond long-term?" he asked, concentrating on his breathing to suppress budding anxiety.
"No, I mean, yes? Maybe?" she stammered. "I think I could see myself with you, but what I'm saying is, I sometimes wonder if we're sexually compatible."
"Mating between our species is certainly possible," he replied. "I myself am the product of such a union."
Her cheeks darkened and she stared at the floor. "I was mostly wondering if we'd enjoy having sex with one another."
"The only way to know for certain to is to engage in sexual intercourse."
"Ugh, I know."
"What are you implying?" he asked, sensing he was venturing into dangerous territory by the expression on her face and the tone of her voice.
"I think it's obvious," she groaned.
It wasn't. Was she implying she wanted to mate with him, or that she didn't want to mate with him?
The computer beeped and Spock turned his attention back to it. Nyota sighed and returned to tinkering on the quantum coupler. He tried to focus on rebuilding the server but it was difficult because his mind continued to analyze their conversation, along with every conversation they'd ever had about the act of mating. Should he ask her to mate with him, or was that the exact opposite of what he should do? He could not understand why Nyota thought their relationship was so easy.
For twenty minutes neither of them spoke a word to each other, but eventually Nyota slid across the counter to observe his progress and began questions about the server. He answered each in turn and soon Nyota asked if she could help, and they fell into a steady rhythm of questions and explanations. He'd always appreciated her active and curious mind and her willingness to learn.
The hours flew by and the task was completed by 2300 hours. He stood and analyzed the disassembled communications equipment on the counter and floor.
"Perhaps you should finish repairs to the receiver so we can test the arrays and server."
"Yeah, I guess I should have been working on this while you worked on the server, but I like knowing how to do things for myself. I miss this."
"Clarify."
"I forgot how good of a teacher you are," she replied, giving him a wide smile.
"You were an exceptional student."
She leaned forward, tilted her chin upward, and kissed him gently on the mouth. The same formidable impulse he'd experienced so many times during their more intimate encounters resurfaced, but he allowed it to linger briefly before attempting to quell it, but by then, his hands were already sliding past the hem of her skirt and along her smooth thighs.
They moved higher until his fingers found the soft fabric of her undergarments. She hadn't asked him to stop, but that wasn't the same thing as allowing him to touch her in such an intimate way. She shifted her hips forward and the tip of his left middle finger moved along the hem of her underwear.
A small part of his brain understood this was dangerous, engaging in this kind of behavior in a public place on campus, but as the seconds ticked by, he found it was becoming more difficult to control himself. Her tongue broke away from his and she started tracing her mouth along his neck and jaw and rocked her hips forward again, pushing herself against his left hand. He was startled to find warm moisture there and his hand instinctively moved along the soft skin.
She shivered and Spock immediately recoiled. Had he overstepped his bounds? He should not have assumed; he should have asked her express permission before touching her in such a way.
"Why did you stop?" she gasped, staring at him. Her eyes were alert and untamed and she was breathing hard.
"You want me to continue?"
"Yes," she snapped.
He examined her face, allowing his eyes to run along the arches of her lips and the curves of her jaw. He wanted to mate with her; he wanted her to be his mate. He was about to ask if she would consent to retreat to a more private location – his quarters, a nearby hotel – when the laboratory door slid open.
Nyota visibly jumped when a young first year cadet stepped into the lab. He looked wholly confused by the scene before him – receiver parts all over the floor and Nyota perched on a counter with her skirt hiked up and jacket off and Spock standing in front of her in such close proximity.
"Is this a short range sensor lab?" he asked.
"There are two of them down the hall," Nyota barked, before smiling faintly and softening her tone. "Um, this is the long-range sensor lab and it's currently offline for repairs."
"Oh, yeah, I've never been down here," he admitted, surveying the scene.
Spock took a few steps back and Nyota leapt from the counter.
"I didn't mean to interrupt, sir," he added, looking nervously at Spock. "I'm just trying to work on my final project for my Introduction to Scanning Techniques class and I had one of the short-range labs scheduled but the one I normally use is locked."
"Lab B is the lab that's open for after hours," Nyota explained. "It's on the backside of the hallway by the first floor entrance."
"Oh, ok. I guess that explains it, because my class is assigned to Lab A. So um, great. Thanks. Sorry to bother you both," he mumbled, backing out of the lab.
As the door slid shut behind him, Nyota clapped her hands over her face and groaned. "Do you think he saw anything?"
"It is possible," Spock admitted. "Do you know him?"
"No. I have no idea who he is. This looks bad, Spock."
"We cannot alter what he has seen. We can only attempt to be more discreet in the future."
"What if he says something?"
"It will be his word against ours. We have a reasonable explanation for working in this lab together."
"Yeah, I was given the opportunity to fix a major screw-up before anyone found out. If he reports this to anyone, it'll come out anyway, along with-"
"You cannot control what he will do," Spock interrupted.
"How do you stay so calm?" she snapped, her voice cracking at the last word.
"Because I accept that panicking will not contribute to a more positive outcome."
"You should probably go before someone else comes wandering in," she mumbled. "I'll get the receiver fixed. Thank you for all of your help."
He nodded and left without another word. He still wanted to mate with her, but it was evident she was distressed and their reckless behavior had put them both in serious jeopardy. Why had he allowed himself to behave so impulsively, to surrender to his baser urges?
He was halfway down the hall and headed toward the exit when he saw someone turn the corner up ahead and approach him. Lieutenant Bautista.
"Commander Spock, what are you doing in my neck of the woods?" she laughed, striding toward him.
"Clarify."
"Well, the south wing is all communications labs. What are you doing roaming around here on a Friday night?" As she got closer, her expression shifted from friendly to curious.
"I had come to work on one of the training simulators," he explained. It was not untrue.
"But those are on the north side of the building. Why would you come out through the south entrance? Oh, and you have lipstick on your neck."
He resisted the urge to touch his neck, where Nyota had been kissing him just minutes ago. Bautista crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.
"You know, Holly Akamatsu has been talking," she said quietly. "Whispering, mostly. Insinuating. I don't think anyone is taking her seriously, because you know, it's you. But the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. The last minute switching of advisors, her slipping grades and recent mistakes. Cadet Uhura told me she went to Florida for her birthday, and Ashley Riegelman had mentioned you said something about going to Florida recently too. Sure, it could be a coincidence, but it could also be something else."
He opened his mouth to attempt to offer an explanation but she held her hand up to silence him. "I don't want to know. If I know, I'd have to report you both, and I don't want to do that. Whatever is going on between you is none of my business, but if what Lieutenant Akamatsu is saying is true, you're both playing with fire."
"A fitting euphemism," Spock replied, tucking his hands behind his back.
She stepped closer and lowered her voice to a volume barely above a whisper. "I care about you both – you're my friend and she's my student – and you are both way too smart to throw your careers away over something like this. She graduates in less than two months. I'm not going to tell a soul, but if this comes out, I'm not going to lie for you either."
"Thank you," Spock replied quietly. "For your discretion and advice."
Bautista shook her head and said, "Well, I have a student in the long-range sensor lab that I thought I would check up on, but I'm sure you already know about that. See you Monday, Commander Spock."
He nodded and headed in the direction of the door, rubbing his neck to remove Nyota's makeup. Lieutenant Bautista had spoken logically – Nyota was graduating in 46 days and after that time, their relationship would no longer be forbidden. He walked slowly in the direction of the faculty housing building and by the time he arrived his quarters, he'd made his decision. The only logical solution to prevent more people from finding out about their relationship was to cease seeing one another until she graduated.
But he'd failed to account for how little logic was involved in acquiring a mate. While he was in the middle of dictating a message to Nyota informing her of his decision, he received one from her that said, "You really think I would be an exceptional mate?"
He erased his message and replied, "I do."
Seconds after he'd transmitted the message, he received a response. "What are you doing tomorrow night?"
Author's Note: Ok, ok, before you start throwing digital tomatoes at me for leaving them sexually frustrated once again, I have some news. Back in January, I wrote a short three-shot titled Spock and the Bodice Ripper, which directly intersects with this story. I want to keep this work T-rated, and trust me when I say Spock and the Bodice Ripper is a solidly M-rated story. You don't have to read that fic to keep up with this one, so if smut isn't your thing, you can safely skip it and still be able to follow on with the upcoming chapter to An Algorithm for Dating.
This site won't allow me to link to it, but you can find it through my author's page or the search feature. Here's a summary:
"There is no logic in anxiety, but each time his hands find their way to her warm, coconut scented skin, he worries about pleasing her. Information is power, so as their relationship grows more intimate, Spock decides to research human sexuality. What could go wrong? Rated M for language and sexual content."
So please don't be too mad. I apologize that it's taking me longer and longer to update, but I'm in the final stretch of the semester and I've been super busy. Reviews are always greatly appreciated.