A recess may be called, but the drama doesn't stop during Spock's court-martial.

Didn't they tell you that I was a savage?

F*ck ya white horse and ya carriage

Bet you never could imagine

Never told you you could have it

Rihanna – Needed Me

Recess!

Since they called a recess in the trial, Uhura was free for the day and she wandered around the station alone. It didn't make sense to beam back to the ship when she'd could be needed to return to the hearing room in a few hours. She didn't want to be holed up in her quarters all alone either. She didn't care about seeing any of the sights or shopping during the shore leave, and unfortunately she wasn't allowed to visit Spock while the hearing was going on. So she was adrift.

The captain had a private room reserved in the crew section of the station, which he invited her to use whenever she needed to. He had little use for the room himself since he preferred being on the ship whenever he wasn't needed on the station. Spock might be his best friend, but the Enterprise was his true love.

So Uhura ended up in a less-trafficked area of the station near a bank of lifts that led to the crew living quarters when she spotted Lieutenant Riley walking towards her with a lazy gait. She looked around trying to find some alcove to duck into or some way to avoid him seeing her, but he caught up with her before she could escape.

"So," Riley said, blocking her path ahead. "You finally did it, huh?" Uhura tried to sidestep him in the corridor leading to the lifts but he slid in front of her.

Uhura huffed in frustration. Okay so, I guess we're doing this now; she thought. Fine. She smiled politely as she would to a stranger. "Finally did what Mr. Riley?"

"You finally landed that big fish you were always angling after, right?" He asked her angrily, ignoring her body language which said she didn't want to do this.

"I beg your pardon? What 'big fish'?" she asked.

"You heard me. Did you think I didn't notice? Did you think I didn't know I was never good enough for you? I knew it. But I see you finally got what you wanted. Commander Spock, right?" Riley spat the words at her.

Uhura shook her head in disbelief. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about Riley. Now if you will excuse me..." She tried to sweep past him again, but he stopped her.

"No, I will not excuse you. You know very well what I'm talking about Uhura. You and Spock are married? I guess you can't gloat too much, seeing as he is only the first officer. I always thought you were holding out for the Captain. What happened? You couldn't turn his head? I bet it wasn't for lack of trying though." He gave a nasty sneer as he racked his eyes up and down her body.

"I wasn't trying to turn anyone's head. And we didn't work out because you ghosted me, not because of Spock."

"Bullshit! I watched you. I saw how you were with the others," he accused.

"There were no others Riley! Only you, and you walked away without a backward glance."

"Oh, no sweetheart, there were others. You never fooled me. Scotty, Sulu, Spock, the Captain. Do you think I didn't notice how you chased them? How you teased them and flirted with them, smiled, and stroked their... uh, egos? You never were that interested in me, were you?"

"No, I'll answer for you," Riley continued before she could answer. "I wasn't enough for you. No rank, no power. But Spock, he was good enough? He's not even human! Apparently, men like him just take what they want no matter what though. But I think you bit off more than you could chew there, huh Nyota?"

"You don't have the right to call me that. Only my friends call me by my name. You can call me Lieutenant." Uhura snapped angrily.

"Lieutenant? Don't you mean Mrs. Spock? Isn't that what you go by now? Or didn't he bother to give you his name? Does he even have a family name or is Spock the family name? I never could work that out." He scratched his chin in mock thought.

"You could never work out a lot of things Mr. Riley." Once again she tried to turn and leave. But he ran around to block her path.

"Ooh, sassy as ever I see? Well, your husband is not here to protect you now. All that sass might get you into trouble." Riley said, and he leaned in closer to her.

"I don't need Spock or anyone else to protect me from you, Riley. You only get to hurt me one time," She held up her middle finger to emphasize the number one, "but never again."

"I never hurt you, NYOTA. At least I don't have to kidnap women to get them," he laughed.

Now Uhura was fuming. "You believe that, don't you Kevin? What do you think transferring out without telling me did? Do you think ghosting me was fun? Did you think I enjoyed finding out you were transferred through the grapevine? You think I don't have feelings!" She shouted. She felt just as angry as she did that day when she went to his quarters, only to find it empty.

"I didn't think you'd notice. You never noticed me before I left," he whined like a brat.

"Are you kidding? We were dating!" she yelled and then remembered they were in public and were drawing attention. "Look," she took a calming breath. "I was there for you, Riley. When Kodos' daughter tried to kill you, I was there right by your side while you recovered in the sickbay. When you sabotaged the engines of the ship and nearly killed us all, I was there defending you when nobody else would give you a second chance. But how about you, hmm?" She asked standing her ground now with her hands on her hips.

"Where were you when Nomad tried to kill me or when Khan's thugs assaulted me, huh? Gone! But you know who was there for me? My real friends were there! The ones you hate so much. Scotty nearly died trying to protect me. Where the hell were you? Whenever I've needed someone to have my back, Spock had it. Even when you and I were together he was there when you weren't. So for once in your life you're right. I didn't need you then, and I damn sure don't need you now. Go live your life, Riley. Be happy and keep doing whatever it is you do best." She turned to leave once and for all, having said her piece, but Riley grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"You're right about one thing, Nyota. Mr. Spock was always there even when I was with you, always between us. You think I liked hearing Spock's name come out of your mouth telling me HIS opinion on everything? You didn't care about my opinions. If I said I didn't like your hair, you'd asked Spock if he liked it!"

"That's right! Because Spock never tried to tell me how to wear my hair or how much makeup to use, or how to dress, or how to act! He never tried to... never mind. I don't answer to you, Riley."

Riley laughed. But there was no humor in the sound, only bitterness. "No, you never answered to me. But now you answer to Spock. You've got him all to yourself just like you always wanted. So congratulations Mrs. Uhura, well done. Hard work really does pay off." He yelled at her.

Uhura was so angry she didn't notice the people in the area staring at the scene like it was a movie, nor did she hear anyone approach them. "Iz there a problem here, Nyota?" Chekov asked, breaking the angry silence and making his presence known to the arguing pair.

"Nyota? Hmm, who is this? Another one of your little minions?" Riley asked as he raked his eyes up and down Chekov.

"I'm Lieutenant Chekov, navigator on the Enterprise; and who are you, Mister...?" asked Chekov.

"My replacement?" Riley grinned. "Oh no, that would be Spock. This must be another one of the little hangers-on that you keep on your hook in case of emergencies, right Ny?" Kevin said while leering at Chekov.

"That is enough, Mister," Chekov said and he shoved Riley back away from him and Uhura. When he got a whiff of Riley's breath, he said, "You're drunk. I suggest you go somewhere and sleep it off." Uhura yanked her arm out of Riley's grasp while he was distracted by Chekov.

"I think I will. Would you two care to join me?" he asked, looking at Uhura and Pavel suggestively.

"Get away from me," Uhura said with disgust.

"Oh, I forgot. Little miss frigid doesn't like the touch of us mere humans, do you? Only the big strong Vulcans will do, is that it? Is that why you couldn't sleep with me, because of Spock? I'm not surprised by you, but Spock? I can't believe he would sink to your level. Who would have thought that a tight uniform and a big um... smile would turn the Vulcan's head? Wonders never cease." He laughed.

"Shut up!" Chekov shouted and pushed Riley back again. "You will not speak of the Lieutenant or the Commander that way. You do not know anything about them. Shut up and get out of here!" Chekov took Uhura by the wrist and turned to leave. "Let's go," he said angrily, and lead her away from the scene.

"And you better hope that the Commander never hears you speak to his wife that way," Chekov said over his shoulder to Riley. "You would regret it."

Chekov pulled Uhura along through the crowd of pedestrians like a misbehaving child. Uhura's anger at Riley turned into amusement at Chekov's rescue. "Pavel, stop," she said, trying to pull her hand free all the while trying not to draw more attention to them. She had been the subject of way too much attention and gossip, as it was. "Chekov!" she said under her breath, but he kept marching her along.

"You shouldn't have been talking to that Cossack! He had no right speaking to you in such a manner." She could tell Chekov was fuming mad. Uhura thought it would be cute if he wasn't towing her along like a tugboat through the busy halls of the Starbase.

"Alright Pavel, calm down." She told him while she affectionately patted his shoulder. He finally stopped when they came to the closed doors of a lift.

"How can I remain calm when someone attacks my friends? I would have taught him a lesson, but he was clearly drunk; that tosser. But you," he scolded her, " you should not have been alone with that man."

"I didn't mean to be. He sorta cornered me in that walkway." She explained.

"That is serious, he attacked an officer!" Chekov said, tugging her along again in a different direction.

"Chekov, he didn't harm me, at least not physically. He just said some hurtful things. I thought he was better than that. I guess I was wrong."

"You dated that cretin?" he asked with disbelief while he stopped to look around for someplace to go.

"Yes, but don't hold it against me," she said sadly.

"Then it is a good thing Mr. Spock has taken you in hand." He nodded his head emphatically and headed off again.

"Spock has not taken me 'in hand'." Uhura pulled away from him. "Look, I appreciate your timely intervention. But if one more male tries to tell me what's best for me or what I ought to do, I think I will scream. I am not a damsel in need of rescue. I'm not a victim of kidnapping, I haven't been brainwashed, I'm not trapped in a diplomatic marriage of convenience, or any other crazy conspiracy theory that is going around the subspace channels. And I am sick of everyone blaming me for their own shortcomings and prejudices!"

"Perhaps you could use a vittle drink?" Chekov asked, having now calmed down in the wake of Uhura's tirade.

"Ya think?" she said and grinned at her friend.

Chekov hooked his arm with Uhura this time and they walked side by side to one of the space station's pubs where they found seats at the bar. Now that the excitement was over, Nyota stewed. How dare Kevin Riley confront her? How dare he accuse her of being unfaithful or disingenuous? She had taken their relationship seriously while she was with him, too seriously. She gave him the benefit of the doubt when everyone else on the Enterprise had written him off as a bad investment. She stood by him through ridicule and gossip. She hadn't needed to do that. She did it because... Well, she had done it because she felt sorry for him, if she was being honest with herself. Kevin had needed her, and she couldn't resist helping him. She liked being needed. Kevin had called Pavel one of her 'hangers-on' but it was Riley himself who had been hanging onto her all the time they were together like a remora fish.

Nyota had been fine before she met Kevin Riley, and she was just fine after he transferred off of the Enterprise. While they dated, she had tried to find ways to boost his self-esteem. She had tried to find ways to reassure him that he wasn't the screwup everyone thought he was. But now she realized she had just been wasting her time. He was a screwup and there was nothing she could do about it.

As she sipped her drink, she began to feel much calmer. And with calm came clarity. Fuck Kevin Riley! She never loved him anyway. Hell, she barely even liked him. He was just a distraction. Seeing him again made her realize how lucky she was that he transferred to another ship when he did. She really dodged a bullet with his ghost act. She could have stayed with him out of pity and missed out on someone better. Someone like Spock. Spock was ten times, no a hundred times the man Kevin Riley would ever be. Why the hell had she wasted a single tear on that jerk?

Because she's too nice, she thought. She should have popped him in the mouth as soon as he opened it back there. If she ever saw his weasel face again, she would give him something he could feel.

As she sipped her drink, she felt herself becoming more relaxed, and she breathed easier. But all too soon the alcohol seemed to go to her head and her vision blurred. It was just one drink, and it wasn't even a strong one. Just a little ale. But suddenly she felt as high as a kite.

She turned to Chekov, and the motion made her dizzy. "Pavel,"

"Yes, Nyota?" he asked as he sipped his own drink.

"I don't feel well." That was the last thing she said before she fell off her seat and into his arms.

*/*/*

"What's the last thing you ate, young lady?" Dr. McCoy asked Uhura as he ran a medical tricorder over her again. She was laid out in the sickbay wearing one of those skimpy gowns everyone hated. How the hell did she get here? What had she eaten today?

"Um..." She couldn't remember. Since Spock's arrest, she had been so busy trying to save him she didn't have time to think about herself. Plus, she had been dieting ever since she discovered her clothes were fitting her just a little more snuggly than usual.

"You're dehydrated and malnourished," McCoy told her. "What are you trying to do? We're already worried about Spock. Now you add yourself to the list? You want to turn my hair completely gray?" he joked with her.

"I don't know, doctor. But I think you'd be a sexy silver fox." She teased McCoy, but she didn't have the energy to even flirt properly.

"Uhura," McCoy said gently and placed his hand on her forehead as if checking her for fever the old-fashioned way. "What's really going on? I've never known you to neglect your health. You usually have a healthy appetite, but replicator records show you haven't been consuming the recommended calories and nutrients. Are you okay? Do you need to talk to someone about it?" His tone was one part concern and one part pity.

"It's not what you think, doctor. I'm not doing anything on purpose. I just haven't been very hungry since the trial began. And anyway, I figured I could stand to lose a few pounds. Spock says I'm fat." She pouted playfully, trying to break the tension in the room.

"What?" McCoy asked in shock. "I don't believe that pointy-eared-"

Uhura sat up and patted his arm. "No, no. He didn't say it like that. I was joking. But you know nothing gets past his observation. He noticed I put some extra weight and so have I. I was just trying to cut back."

"Well, Spock is not a doctor. I am. And you don't cut back unless your doctor tells you to, Missy. You know our diets are strictly monitored just so something like this doesn't happen? What if you fainted while away on a critical mission or while the ship was on red alert? Now we'll have to monitor your diet even more stringently to get you back in ship shape. But for now, we'll put you on an IV. Just sit tight and I'll have a nurse hook you up." McCoy was about to walk away when Uhura pulled him back.

"Doctor, is Christine here?"

"No. I wouldn't do that to you. She's off duty until this travesty of a trial is over and we figure out what to do with her."

"Why? Because of her testimony?" Uhura asked. That didn't make any sense. The testimony was embarrassing for everyody but not that bad for Spock.

"That and some other things that have been brought to light. Nothing for you to worry about. The Captain will handle it."

"Okay. Thank you, Doctor."

"Don't thank me, just take care of yourself." Before he left something stopped McCoy and he turned back to Uhura and bent down to kiss her forehead like he used to kiss his daughter Joanna good night. Something about Uhura just looked small and vulnerable, he supposed. And as usual, everyone was rallying around Spock while Uhura had been left to her own devices and nearly worried herself to death.

"Nyota, you know you're not alone in all this? If you need anything, and I mean anything no matter how small, you come straight to me. And that's an order. Are we clear?"

"Aye Doctor," she saluted from her bed.

"Now get some rest. Tomorrow is another big day and if you're not at the trial Spock is liable to lose his logic or something. We don't want that now, do we?"

"No." She said thoughtfully. "Doctor?"

"Yes, darlin'?"

Uhura shyly asked, "Have you ever been in love?"

McCoy smiled fondly. Has he! "More times than I care to remember." He said, patting her hand.

"Well, how did you know? What are the symptoms?"

"Symptoms? Well, now... I'd say if you have to ask then you've never been in love or maybe it's only your first time? But usually, you don't even realize it until it's too late."

"What does that mean?"

"You're usually so far gone by the time you realize it, you'll do just about any darn fool thing to get em, or keep em. Like not eating," he teased her. And just to see how she'd react he added, "or snatching them off a ship."

Uhura snatched her hand away and turned her back to him. "Good night Doctor," she grumbled.

McCoy laughed. "Good night Lieutenant," and he kept right on laughing all the way back to his office.