AN: Usual disclaimer, the rights to Star Trek etc. belong to someone else. The entire story is complete on my PC, and I'll try to load up a new chapter every few days. Please read and review – constructive feedback will help me finalise the remaining chapters.

Chapter 4

Before she knew it she was the only person left in the communications lab. Late, Uhura still had to read through the info sent by Kirk. The lights were dimmed, her terminal by contrast really bright. Not someone who believed in ghosts, even she sometimes found the solitude a little spooky. The low humming of the communications array; scanning space for messages. Picking up the PADD she opened up the relevant file. Their role was to ensure a favourable outcome for both parties, which did not rely on either tribe unrealistically having to compromise their way of life. All this was to be led by the Enterprise crew, with Dr Shanay taking over when she arrived. Uhura heard stories about how persuasive the doctor could be. She was one of the key people she had looked forward to hearing speak at the Debrovnitch conference. Unfortunately, as everyone had taken their seats expecting to see the sprightly 73 year old from London, England bound onto stage with her trademark walking stick, one of the organisers had stepped on stage and apologetically informed the crowd the speech was cancelled. No reason had been given. At the time she had been disappointed, but not thought much about it. Now she was intrigued to find out the doctor was participating in the intervention. If she was involved, Starfleet and heads of surrounding federation planets must be very worried.

Placing the PADD down, she caught sight of her watch - 19:42 'shit!' springing up and hurriedly gathering her gear. Her lean arm stretched over to switch off the terminal. She had promised Scotty they would have dinner at 19:00, Kirk was otherwise occupied with paperwork - senior staff performance reviews were due. She quickly tapped him a message 'don't work too hard, N x', next she had the ship's computer to locate Scotty. Since he had not tried to find her she had a hunch he was still in engineering. When the computer confirmed this, she made her way to the door. As she was about to leave, the sound of an incoming comm caught her attention. Behan's on screen display lit up, but just as quickly it faded to black. She hesitated, should she check? Should she go? In the end she decided to leave it, even though the lab was shut for the night, the comm officer on night duty would pick it up via the bridge. Through the door she strode, destination engineering with a quick detour via the mess hall, as she doubted they would have dinner tonight.

With two huge slices of chocolate fudge cake with a side order of ice cream, she momentarily paused as the door 'whooshed' open, then stepped inside. On entry, as always, the large room that housed the warp core was busy with frenetic energy. Enterprise staff rushed around tending to the delicate electronics, which kept the ship in, tip top condition. Grabbing the arm of a passing ensign, she happily asked 'Where is he?' Intimidated by the commander, the poor boy stammered and pointed towards some bulkheads before rushing away. She watched him disappear into the melee, before turning her attentions to one Montgomery Scott.

'For God's sake, you break that I break you! She is a lady, and should be treated as such…' he chastised a group of engineers, 'be gone out of my sight, I go away for three days! 72 hours, and you lot nearly wreck my ship!' His voice rose to ensure they understood he was deadly serious. 'Uhura, what brings you here?' he turned his attentions to the Commander. The crew stood idly by waiting for more instructions before he shook his hand to dismiss them.

Uhura suppressed a smile, observing them taking their stations. She came to a halt by his side, 'Two things-' she raised her hands and counted off her fingers 'one, we're meant to have dinner. Two, you need to lighten up Scotty, they're just doing their job…' His frown stopped her in her tracks, changing tack and remembering what brought her there 'I bring cake…' seductively waving the plate directly under his nose, he began to sway in time to the movement.

'Gimme!' as he broke into a large grin, happy to see his friend. He forked a piece of cake into his mouth, then another 'aye, this is good. Can't do dinner, too much to do'. Uhura figured as much, then looked around, distracted by the alert sign flashing behind Scotty.

'Eh do you need to get that?' pointing over his shoulder with her fork, drawing his attention to the impending problem.

'Right, you there. Fix this now!' he accosted the nearest engineer he could find. Before answering Uhura 'sometimes, I swear these guys are about as useful as a chocolate teapot!' his voice raise so everyone nearby could hear him.

'He doesn't mean that', Uhura felt it appropriate to pacify the crew before Scotty kicked off an insurrection. She grabbed Scotty by the arm and pulled him away to a quieter area. Sitting down on two bulkheads, 'Well, what's up with you?' It wasn't like him to bawl out his subordinates, okay, not as much as he just had.

'Nothing...' He took a deep breath 'I was going to ask Ensign Callaway out on a date, finally. But...What if she declines?' he tentatively faced Uhura seeking reassurance. His fork lay heavily on the plate of half eaten cake, he had desired her from afar for months, shy hellos and stolen glances had been enough, until recently - a rival for her affections had appeared.

Uhura placed her plate on the floor; she gracefully stood up and held out a hand for Scotty to receive. She pulled him his feet 'you can do this. She'll say yes because you are great. Greatness is what we do'. She planted a kiss on the crease of his forehead.

'Thank you Nyota'. It was his turn to provide a shoulder to cry on. 'So, any change with you and Jim?' Swiftly, her demeanor changed, 'I don't really want to talk about it', he could see she was hurting. 'Ok', he accepted her response, but thought to himself she would have to find out for sure sooner rather than later.

'Do you want me to kick his arse? I can take him you know...' She laughed 'I don't doubt it. With your fiery temper you probably fight real dirty'. With that she left him to it, the sound of Scotty yelling cut off as the doors closed behind her.

With no boyfriend or office wife for company, Uhura went back to her quarters. 'Computer play Uhura's music selection 2', soothing classical music filled the room. She began to run a bath, mentally running through her activities for the following day as she stripped. Easing into bath, the smell of jasmine and vanilla wafted around. She relaxed into the water resting her head on the side, gradually her eyes drooped closed. Not sure how long she had been asleep; the hiss of the door opening awoke her. Kirk walked over to the bath and squatted down.

'Hey', he said as he let the tips of his fingers stroke the surface of the water, intensely staring at the ripples that formed.

'Hey you', she gazed at him 'Want to talk about it?

Taking a deep breath, about to say what he longed to say, his voice caught in this throat, 'nope, I just wanted to see you'. Pressing his forehead against hers, taking what strength he could gather and then stood up, 'I need to get back...' and silently left. Noticing the water had cooled; she got out, unsure if she would see Kirk again that night.

'I don't understand the way you think!' Uhura awoke to an angry voice. 'Jim...what's going on', she hazily asked, before rotating onto her back. She focused on a point on the ceiling, it did not feel like it was time to be awake, her clock showed it was 03.06 and the room was empty. A one sided argument disturbing the peace.

'No! I don't accept that...'

She quietly got out of bed and followed the sound of irritation. Her feet led her to their shared closest the door was closed. Uhura bent her ear to the door, holding her breath convinced Kirk would hear her.

'Fine, if that's how you feel, leave it. It doesn't matter...I've got to go-'. Sounding beat, he abruptly ended the call.

'Shit, shit, shit' Uhura mouthed as he walked towards her. Quickly backing away from the door, she rushed back to bed. The covers flew over her head; she shut her eyes and deepened her breathing as if she were still asleep. Kirk's light tread soon followed, he was nervously tapping his communicator against his palm. The bed dipped where he sat and he lay down. Soon his breathing regulated once more and he was asleep. Uhura crept from beneath the covers to look at him; whatever had happened his face betrayed no tension. His chest rose and fell as she watched him for 20 minutes. She had not heard enough of the conversation to make a reasoned judgment. But something had upset him.

'So I asked Christine to join Spock and me in a threesome in your ready room. I wanted to use whips and chains, but it wasn't hardcore enough for them -' McCoy testing Kirk's attention with the most outlandish thing he could think of. He scanned for a reaction, anything. Kirk had not batted an eyelid or responded with a lewd comment. McCoy shoving his plate away, lent towards his breakfast buddy. The mess hall was full, but being senior officers their table was relatively empty affording him the privacy they might need. His brown eyes scrutinising Kirk, something was definitely bothering the Captain.

Rapidly clicking his fingers, 'Jim! Jim!' Kirk slowly looked at him, still 1000s of light years away 'As your doctor I am duty bound to look after you, as your friend I gotta say, you're acting cuckoo'. Worry etched on his face he wound a finger near his temple. 'Look...is it because I said you were fat'.

Kirk limply smiled 'I'm good Bones. And for the last time I'm not overweight'. He dropped his spoon into his porridge and gently thumbed the bowl away. He lent back in his chair contemplating the day ahead, suddenly comprehending what McCoy had said earlier 'huh? Threesome? As if...' He scoffed and for the first time that morning genuinely smiling.

McCoy mirrored his reaction, 'I know you hate when people try to analyse you...' thoughts of Theytan and the aftermath as Kirk's grin slowly faded. 'But if you need to talk, my door is always open...'

'I'm fine. Really. Just personal stuff'. He stood up and adjusted his gold tunic; McCoy's eyes followed him 'ok...' He mouthed slowly. He noticed the change in Kirk, and resolved to let him come to him when he was ready. 'I'll see you in transporter room 4 at 1400hrs', and off he strode. The mask of nonchalance plastered across his face - happy captain, happy crew.

McCoy frowned, fingers scraping across his stubble. He watched Kirk greet his crew before moving off through the doors. Whatever it was, he hoped it wasn't too bad. 'Computer, locate Commander Uhura' he stood waiting for a response. He had no appointments that morning. 'The Commander is in her quarters', came the robotic voice. Already making his way through the mess hall he set his sights firmly on answers to his questions.

Uhura answered the door, and came face to face with Getta. Taken aback, she opened her mouth but no words formed. 'Commander, I wanted to take the opportunity to see if you had any questions about the meeting with the captain later? He quickly looked over her shoulder expecting an invitation into their room. Those few seconds gave her the opportunity to compose herself.

'No. No thank you. I believe I understand everything'.

'Good, good. In that case I'll let you go.' He made to leave, but changed his mind and then encroached too closely for Uhura's liking, lowering his voice so she had to lean closer to hear him 'I also wanted to say I'm looking forward to working very closely with you'. Whether or not it was his intention, his final comment came across as slightly lewd. A shiver moved its way down her back; maybe he was coming onto her? She almost laughed out loud, coughing to cover her nervous snort.

'I'll see you in one hour for the briefing Officer Getta', she stepped forward hoping to encourage him to leave. '-Brendan, my name is Brendan...' he quickly smiled bounding away, his hands clasped behind his back. Uhura mouthed 'wow', hoping to God he was just being friendly. It pained her to think otherwise.

'That looked cozy', McCoy stepped from behind a corner, arms across his chest. 'Thinking of trading our prized stallion for a pony? Tipped his head down the corridor after Getta's departing form.

'Now why would I do that, when we both know it's you I want next...' She caressed his tunic and seductively licked her lips before bursting into laughter.

McCoy rolled his eyes, mumbling something ungentlemanly under his breath. Then continued 'We need to talk about Jim. I figure you want to do this in private. Loose lips sinks ships and all that', he stepped by her into the familiar quarters settling down on the closet sofa. Kirk and Uhura's quarters were far larger than the standard crew accommodation. The additional space allowed for a working area for the Captain and a walk in closet for the various official uniforms. They had personalised it to remind them of Kirk's cabin in the woods. The warm browns, honeys and ambers accented with splashes of burgundy.

'By all means, come on in Len, not as if I have a job to go to', she turned back into the room unenthusiastically facing him. Two unexpected guests meant a late start, which in turn meant a late finish. The audible sigh clearly heard.

'Lose the attitude Nyota, this is important. What's wrong with Jim? His confrontational stance unexpected, she settled on the edge of the bed. She had asked herself the same question umpteen times over the past few months. Honestly was always the best policy with McCoy, otherwise he was like a dog with a bone. Dig, dig, dig, dig, dig! He stared intently at her, waiting for an answer.

She weakly shrugged her shoulders, twisting her hands together, 'I don't know. He's been off for a while', she took a deep breath and then rubbed her lips subconsciously trying to prevent herself admitting too much. 'Last night I overheard him arguing with someone, he thought I was asleep'.

McCoy, felt sleazy asking his next question '...is everything ok? I mean...between you two' he whispered, 'you know, with Spock being back on board...' trying to avoid her eyes. . Uhura's expression told him everything he needed to know. Something was wrong in paradise.

As if reading his mind, 'No, but you of all people should know better. Spock has not been a factor in our relationship for a very long time', she spat at him.

Palms held up in apology, 'if it's not Spock, what is it?

She looked resigned. 'I don't know, I can feel him slipping away. He doesn't even seem to care', bitter tears refusing to hide anymore. Just as quickly, she wiped them away and stood up. The vulnerability locked away once again. 'I have a meeting in 10 minutes Bones, I have to go'.

Bobbing his head to indicate he was leaving. As he reached the door, 'For what it's worth, I really don't know what's wrong with him either...' and he was gone.