Something is changing. Can Spock figure it out?

Something in the way she moves

Attracts me like no other lover

Something in the way she woos me

I don't want to leave her now...

Something - The Beatles

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Being cooped up with Spock in his quarters for days was supposed to be relaxing, but it was anything but. There wasn't much to do except work or make love, and they did that a lot. Sex was not the problem though. It was afterward when they were quiet and relaxed and suddenly Uhura's mind ran rampant on all the things she had not had a chance to digest in the past few weeks. Like how she felt about her new husband and her role as a wife or what their future would be. Instead of being relaxed, she was more anxious than ever.

Therefore, today she needed a break from all the thinking aka worrying she had been doing. Dr. McCoy had given them permission to leave their quarters so long as they didn't return to duty or put themselves under any stress. Just relax. For Uhura, not thinking meant moving her body. So she was in one of the ship's private gyms trying to do a bit of exercise to calm her frazzled nerves while Spock had a conference with the Captain and McCoy. She had been out of commission for far too long for her liking and she needed something to take her mind off of Spock for just an hour or two.

Normally she would pester Sulu to be her workout partner as he was a fellow athlete, but since he had kicked her out of his quarters he would not respond to the messages she had sent him unless she 'confessed'. "Ha! Fat chance Sulu!"

Dancing usually cheered her up; listening to good soulful music really got her body moving and once she worked up a sweat she was in a zone. But today the exercise was not going as well as Uhura expected. It seemed during the past few weeks she had neglected her physical conditioning and she was really paying for it now. Her joints were stiff and her muscles were weak, and she felt unusually uncoordinated. It took her longer than usual to warm up and finally feel a little like her old self, just enough to perform some of her old routines. Once she was finally in the zone, the cares and worries of the day were temporarily forgotten.

Spock watched from the observation window in the door of the gym while Nyota executed a fairly intricate-looking dance routine. He knew his wife was an accomplished athlete, and that she had extensive training as a dancer, but he had never seen her perform like this before. She was exquisite. Though she was not as tall and lean as some classical dancers, she had shapely legs, and the way she moved her body was mesmerizing. Her lines were beautiful and her movements were precise. Spock allowed himself the indulgence of emotion. He felt proud to be married to such a phenomenal woman.

Soon the music ended, and Nyota fell to the floor in an exhausted heap. She rolled over on her back and lay spread-eagle, trying to catch her breath as the room spun around her. Dancing had never tired her out so much before, she thought as she panted, trying to catch her breath. She was out of shape!

She heard the door open and though she couldn't see who had entered her private workout space, she could sense that it was Spock. That was a neat trick she had discovered she had. She just knew how Spock felt when he entered a room. The energy that surrounded him, and the unique smell that was purely Vulcan and Spock, enveloped her. In her imagination, he smelled like sun and wind and sand.

"Mmm, they should bottle you up," she said aloud, not bothering to sit up or even look at him. She felt him sit down beside her on the mat.

"Are you well Aduna?"

"I'm fine, just a bit tired and winded. I have been neglecting myself lately and I'm kinda out of shape." She patted her belly playfully. "My abs are shot but with all this free time we've got, I can work out and I'll soon remedy that."

"Are you sure you are well?" He asked with concern. With all the things that have happened to Nyota and himself in the past few months, Spock didn't want to take any chances. What if the virus he had contracted was communicable to humans after all?

She sat up. "Yes, I'm just not used to putting myself through the paces like this. I didn't realize I missed dancing so much. I've been aboard the Enterprise for nearly five years can you believe it? And in that time I've let myself go." She bemoaned and mimicked the voice of an older woman, "I'm not as spry as I used to be sonny."

Spock stood and assisted Nyota to her feet. "You are as spry as ever. I watched you dance, and you were magnificent. You are as graceful as a swan."

"Why would you compare me to an aquatic fowl?" She joked the way Spock often did when he feigned ignorance of human metaphors. He just stood there staring at her as if at a loss for words.

Nyota giggled. It wasn't often she caught Spock without a comeback. "Anyway, you're biased. I'm only 30 years old and here I am huffing and puffing through a dance routine. I need to get it in gear and get back to my fighting weight."

"You are at an ideal weight for your height and age demographic," Spock reassured her.

"It's just an expression, but now that you mention it..." Uhura contemplated him for a long moment. "Spock, you wouldn't lie to me about something important, would you?" She questioned him.

"Vulcans endeavor to speak the truth on principle, however, the truth can be subjective," Spock answered cautiously. He wondered where his capricious wife was steering this conversation.

"How can the truth be subjective?"

"If you were to ask 10 different people what color a certain star is, you would likely get 10 different answers, all of them the truth, from a certain point of view."

"I see. Well, I was going to ask you something but now I'm not sure if I will receive a nonsubjective answer."

"For you lieutenant, I will endeavor to answer your questions without subterfuge."

"Ok then," Uhura spun herself in a mock pirouette, "does my butt look big? Or my thighs? I know I'm curvy but I've had too many people say I "fill out my uniform" a little too often lately."

Spock stood dumbfounded. He had not expected such a question. But he had learned from very good authority, his mother, that one must never tell a woman the 'truth' when she asks such a loaded question about her appearance. It was a trap, and he had walked right into it.

"Well?" she asked while swaying her hips and twirling around. "I really do feel like I may have put on a little extra weight recently." She rubbed her hands up and down her thigh while bending over to give Spock a better look at the posterior in question.

He had promised to tell the truth, but if he told the unadulterated truth he could hurt Nyota's feelings and also any chance he had of pleasing her. But Spock had never intentionally lied to Nyota. He valued her friendship and honesty and he could be no less honest with her now.

"Aduna, I believe you look, quite... um... attractive."

"Attractive? That's not the kind of answer I expect from you. I expect you to know my measurements to the nearest centimeter and can determine my weight to the nearest ounce."

Spock indeed knew her measurements and weight, but he was not foolish enough to admit it. "What is the purpose of this question?"

"The purpose is to determine if you think I look fat," she huffed and shuffled over behind a barrier where she changed her clothes. "And you are stalling Mr. Spock."

"Nyota-"

"You promised," she cut him off.

"So I did. Very well. Lieutenant, I find your appearance to be aesthetically pleasing. However, I have noted an increase in your weight. It is not just in your posterior but there is an increase in your, ahem, your breasts as well."

"Really? My breasts?" She looked down at her chest. "You girls getting a little out of hand," she giggled while cupping her breast. Then she sobered "Spock, be honest, is my uniform and the way I dress... distracting? Unprofessional?"

"Of course not. Your uniform fits you properly, you carry yourself professionally at all times. If someone is distracted by the appearance of your uniform that is their failing, not yours. Who has complained about your appearance?" He asked.

"Spock. Nothing fits anymore." She stepped from behind the divider. When she reappeared, she was wearing her uniform, much to Spock's surprise.

"Your uniform looks adequately tailored." He told her.

"Not my clothes, my life, me. I don't fit. Nothing is the same."

"How so?"

"I don't know. Usually, you're the one with all the answers," she said going over to sit on the small bench in the gym. "Since returning from Argelius I have not felt the same. It's not just our bonding either, it's been brewing for a while now. Since Vulcan, I think. I'm different. You see it, don't you?"

Spock sat beside Nyota, extending his first two fingers and she eagerly joined them with her own. "Lieutenant, do you believe you are suffering ill effects from ... our bonding... or the virus?"

She shook her head. "Nothing new, just old stuff. You already know about the dreams and mood swings..."

"Yes, the shared dreams and mood swings appear to be a side effect of our stronger than usual bond and the virus seems to enhance the effect. That is why you must learn to shield your mind from mine for your own safety."

"Yeah, you don't do anything by half measure, do you? Sometimes I feel like I don't know where I end and you begin."

"Nyota, you know that I never intended to-"

"Yeah, yeah," She stopped his speech. "I know you didn't mean to infect me with your Katra or have this virus affect us. It wasn't an accusation, but an observation; you're just intense. I understand that. I like that. What I don't understand is why I feel this way now? Same uniform, same ship and crew, same job, but somehow I don't know where I fit in anymore. Sulu won't talk to me. Christine hates me. She said I was spilling out of my uniform, and Riley-"

"Kevin Riley?" Spock asked, surprised to hear that name from her past.

"Am I a tease?" She asked suddenly.

"I beg your pardon?"

"A tease. You know what it means. Did I attract you with my appearance? Is that why you chose me to bond with?"

"Of course, I am attracted to you. However, your appearance is not why I wanted you as my wife. You are very beautiful, Nyota. But you are also very intelligent, and brave, and kind, and you possess qualities I cannot even put a name to. All of these things attracted me to you. There are many beautiful women on this ship. I've encountered beautiful women all over the galaxy, but none of them are you. None of them compare to you."

Nyota leaned over and kissed him. "Thank you, Spock. I think I needed to hear that today."

"I am always at your service," he said. Spock accompanied her back to his quarters and when she had put her workout clothing in the recycler, she turned to him. "So, you think my breasts are too big, huh?"

"I did not say that," he corrected her.

"Well, what do you think of them?" She pulled his hands up to cup her breasts.

"Aduna, I don't think we should..." his voice tapered off as he felt her nipples tighten beneath the tight red fabric of her uniform tunic.

"What? I'm asking you a simple question for an objective opinion. Did you think I was seducing you?" She flashed a wicked grin that boded ill for Spock.

"Well... they do seem... Um..." Spock didn't know how to answer without incriminating himself.

"Well?" she whispered impatiently.

"In my opinion... I do not think your breasts are too large at all."

"So you like them this size?" She asked looking up at him with wide eyes.

"Um... What I prefer doesn't matter..." Spock didn't know why his hands involuntarily squeezed the aforementioned breasts and his thumbs slid over the solid nipples protruding through the fabric of her dress.

Somehow he found himself walking her backward towards their bed. Nyota fell gracelessly down on the mattress with a bounce and Spock followed her down.

"Aduna," he whispered breathlessly. Before he knew what he was about, he was kissing her very gently and he unfastened her dress and peeled it from her body. Nyota started clawing the shirt off his back and raking her nails across his skin. They scrambled frantically to remove their clothing and once they were naked Spock went back to kissing Nyota and he made it his job to give her magnificent breasts the attention they so richly deserved.

Spock could find no logical reason for him to be ravishing his wife in the middle of the day. His reason often flew away when Nyota was concerned, but in the back of his mind her words plagued him. Something was off about her. Something didn't fit. Was he that something?