Nyota looked on as Spock gathered himself together again. His posture stiffened. His hands went behind his back. His face slowly loss all expression.

"Please forgive my outburst," he said formally. "As I informed you earlier, loss of control is one of the earliest harbingers of the Time. That is, however, no excuse for the way I just spoke to you. I am… sorry."

She chose her words with care. Torn between anger and fear (and fear was winning; he could die!), she didn't want either to render what she was about to say unclear to him.

"If there are any… consequences as a result of my participation," she said, "I expect you to fully support whatever way I choose to handle whatever may happen."

"I cannot make a promise to support an unspecified future decision, Nyota," Spock said. "You should be aware, however, that the probability of you conceiving is less— "

"Conceiving?!" Nyota's jaw dropped. "I'm not talking about having a baby Spock. We already know what will happen if you get me pregnant." She saw that Spock did not, in fact know what would happen if he got her pregnant, but she forged on anyway. "I meant that if there are any repercussions which end up having a negative impact on my career, I expect you to go to bat for me, Spock."

"'Go to bat for' you?" he asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

"I expect you to stand up for me," she said. "I expect you to protect me, as best you can, from any disciplinary action that might be traced solely to my compliance with your need for sexual intercourse."

For a moment, Spock continued to look confused, but he answered quickly enough to leave her almost reassured.

"I do not foresee such an action taking place as no one other than you, the captain and Dr. McCoy know of my condition and its best cure," he said, "but if it does, I am prepared to defend your actions to the best of my ability."

Nyota gave a small nod and somehow summoned a small smile.

"In that case, because I am your friend, and because I hope I always will be, I will do this for you," she promised. "But I don't want anyone else to know about this, Spock. That's important to me. No one who doesn't already know. Do you understand?"

"I understand."

"I mean it, Spock. No one. Make sure the captain knows it, too."

Spock stared her for a long moment, his expression as unreadable as usual once again. Too late, she realized the arms she had wrapped around her torso in a protective stance belied any sense of ease she meant to convey.

"Thank you, Nyota," he finally said. "I will speak to Jim and to Dr. McCoy."

At the slight easing of her tense posture, he continued.

"In two days time the Enterprise will pass by a small M-class planet called Sbelisdim. Perhaps you have heard of it?"

"Yes. These days it's best known for its beach resort, but it was originally colonized because its interior regions have large deposits of minerals that are hard to find elsewhere in the galaxy."

"Precisely," he said "Starfleet Command has requested a report on the current levels of those deposits and on how they are being retrieved. The captain has already agreed to send two outside observers to Sbelisdim to collect data from the three largest mines.

"Collecting the data should take no more than three days. However, Jim has agreed to give us two weeks on the planet to complete our tasks should you agree to assist me."

"Two weeks?! Is that how long this Pon farr lasts?"

Spock shook his head.

"The length of the Time varies depending on the individual, but the acute symptoms usually last between three and eight days. Since I am half human, however, there is no way to predict the parameters for my own experience of it. I doubt its duration will be longer than that which a full Vulcan would experience, but I believed, and the captain agreed, that it would be wise to prepare for as many eventualities as we could without unduly disrupting the operations of the ship."

"Because, heaven forbid the smooth running of the ship gets interrupted," she muttered. "It's just your survival that's at risk."

Spock frowned at her. He actually frowned. Oh yes, Pon farr was real.

"Lt. Uhura," he said reprovingly, "you are aware of my belief that the good of the many always outweighs the needs of the one. While I admit that this scenario is an extreme case, you must know that I would not compromise the Enterprise's mission simply to avoid the embarrassment of seeking treatment on the ship. The trip to Sbelisdim was Jim's idea. He knows how Vulcans value their privacy and thought that I, and you as well, would be more comfortable if it were not obvious to the rest of the crew that we were spending a significant amount of time alone in one another's company."

"Of course," she agreed, mentally stowing the thought that "the captain" would also find it more comfortable if the entire ship wasn't wondering why his first officer had suddenly forsaken his company for hers.

Spock shot her a quizzical look, almost as if he knew what she was thinking, but those days were seven months gone, so she just forced a bright smile onto her face. He raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything further before turning to leave.

"Spock?"

"Yes Nyota?"

"Just now, you said 'best cure.' That implies that there are other available avenues to addressing your condition. Why not choose one of those?"

He turned back to face her.

"As I have already stated, intense meditation has been ineffective. The only other 'cure' aside from mating, is the kal-if-fee. The fight to the death. Who would you have me kill, Nyota?"

She lowered her eyes, resigned to the fact that she wasn't getting out of this obligation.

"Just let me know when I need to be ready to beam down," was all she said.

He turned again and walked out the doors to her quarters.

*******

Jim waited outside Spock's quarters.

"Walk with me," said the young starship captain, and began striding towards his own rooms. The first officer silently compiled.

Two minutes later, the pair reached the captain's quarters. Jim waved Spock in ahead of him before following.

He placed a hand on the half-Vulcan's shoulder as soon as the doors hissed closed behind them.

"What did she say?" he asked, his eyes on Spock's stiff back.

"She was reluctant, as you guessed she would be," Spock confessed, turning to his dark eyes towards him. "But she has agreed to accompany me to Sbelisdim."

"And the other part? The… mating?" he asked. "Will she help you with that, too?"

Concern flooded Jim's senses as he watched Spock try to push down the involuntary embarrassment he felt whenever the Pon farr was mentioned. Understanding how difficult it was for him to speak of such things — it was no picnic for Jim, either — he glanced down at the floor until Spock had composed himself.

"Lt. Uhura assured me, again, that she is my friend," he said. "She will not allow me to die if her actions can prevent it."

Jim squeezed his shoulder again.

"You don't have to do it this way, t'hy'la," he said, the Vulcan word slipping easily off his tongue. "We'll find another way. Bones is already looking into alternatives."

Spock's human eyes were sad, nearly desperate as Jim looked into their depths.

"There is no time," he whispered.

"I know," Jim said. "I just wish—"

The door chime sounded and he didn't get to finish wishing. He moved away from Spock and called for whoever it was to enter.

Dr. McCoy walked in as if speaking of the man had conjured him.

"We will speak more of this later, Jim," Spock said, and turned to leave.

"Spock, wait!" Jim called out. The half-Vulcan halted, but didn't turn. The tension in his stance was more pronounced than ever. Jim couldn't bring himself to make him speak further of his condition in front of Bones. "I'll stop your quarters later to settle the arrangements for the mine mission."

"Very well, Captain," Spock said. And then he was gone.

*******

Bones watched the stiff-backed hobgoblin leave his best friend's rooms, shook his head and turned his eyes on the handsome young captain.

"I don't know how much more the boy can take, Jim" he said. "And I don't know if there's anything I can do other than delay the inevitable."

Jim smiled at him, his bright blue eyes lighting up in genuine pleasure.

"Thanks, Bones," he said. "I really appreciate what you've been trying to do for him. I know you two don't always get along, but…" He trailed off as his eyes grew somber. "But, you're both really important to me, and… "

Bones knew Jim was hurting way more than he let show. The doctor knew quite a bit about pain himself. He slung an around his friend's shoulder.

"I get it, kid," he said. "I'll do everything I can."

Once again, Jim's bright but sad eyes pinned his.

"You might not have to, Bones. Uhura said yes."

"Oh God, Jim."

*******

Spock was not surprised when the ship's chief medical officer arrived at this door.

"The captain has informed you of what is to come." It was a statement. "Are you here to provide some medical insight I might not be privy to?"

McCoy frowned. Spock had expected no thing else. It was the expression he most often aimed at him.

"No, Mr. Spock," he said. "I'm here to make sure you haven't already lost your God-damned Vulcan mind!"

Now Spock was surprised, although he did not allow it to show in his face or posture.

"Explain, please," he requested.

"Do you even know what you're asking her to do?" McCoy sneered. "I will do everything within my power to save your life, you pointy-eared bastard. Because I took an oath, and because for God only knows what reason, you matter to Jim. But this… what you've proposed is preposterous!"

"I was unaware that you had become an expert in treating Vulcan conditions since we last spoke of this matter, Doctor," was Spock's dry response. He could feel his anger growing, but still retained enough control not to express it. "If you have come up with an alternate solution, please, share it with me so that I may inform the lieutenant that she is 'off the hook.'"

"Damn it, Spock!" McCoy snapped. "You know that I don't have an answer yet, and I wouldn't dream of asking you to die waiting for me to come up with one. But that girl is only doing this because she's in love with you! Why can't you use someone else to save your elfin hide."

"On the contrary, Doctor," he replied, "she agreed in spite of her affection for me."

"That's biggest heap of poppycock I've ever heard! 'In spite of her affection'?" McCoy's hands fisted and unfisted as he shifted from foot to foot, then paced a small area of Spock's sitting room.

Without warning, he quickly approached and stared into Spock's eyes, his face only centimeters away. After seven point nine seconds had passed, the doctor drew back just as abruptly. Spock had not moved.

McCoy turned away and his shoulders dropped.

"I think you actually believe that," he said without turning around. "If you do, you've got a lot to learn about women. Human women, anyway.

"Of course that's what she wants you to think!"

"Again, you are mistaken, Doctor," Spock told him. "I know quite a bit about Lt. Uhura. She has displayed an integrity that I have found to be unmatched in other human females of any age. It is truly astounding to find it exists in one so young. She possesses a level of dignity that belies her years.

"When I tell you that she has agreed to the… mating despite her feelings for me, I base it on my knowledge of her personality and the way she thinks. While she can be, as all humans are, illogical at times, she employs far more reason in making her decisions than most of her species.

"She is also proud, Doctor, and would not thank you for believing that she is a helpless female, enslaved by her emotions."

McCoy gaped at him, clearly at a loss as to what to say next.

Spock felt some of his control slipping.

"You do not know her at all if you think differently," he added almost nastily. "It is because of her close association that I need her assistance in this matter."

He was gratified that the doctor left before his restraint was tested any further.

*******

Alone in her quarters, Nyota chanted to herself.

You are strong. You can get through this. You know why he came to you. You will not let this break you.

When she wasn't certain she truly believed in any of it, she repeated the mantra.

You are strong. You can get through this. You know why he came to you. You will not let this break you.

And again, when she feared it wasn't sinking in.

You are strong. You can get through this. You know why

She was on her third recitation when she her chime go. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she searched for calm before instructing the computer to allow her visitor entry.

Dr. McCoy didn't waste any time in letting her know why he was there.

"You don't have to do this, Ms. Uhura. I'm working on figuring out alternate treatments for Mr. Spock," he told her. "And next week, we've got a Vulcan specialist joining us. I know this can't be easy for you. Frankly, I think they're asking too much of you. Say the word and I'll forbid you to go on this 'mission.'"

Nyota looked at the doctor sadly. She knew he wanted to help her, but saving Spock was more important than her pride, or even her heart.

"Will you be able to come up with a viable treatment before the fever begins?" she asked. "Can you guarantee he won't go crazy and die before this new doctor arrives?"

His silence and downcast eyes were all the answer she needed.

"I appreciate what you're trying to do for me, Doctor," she said softly. "You can't imagine how grateful I am to know there's someone looking out for my interests in this. But I can't let him die."

Bones grimaced.

"He doesn't deserve you."

She smiled ruefully.

"He doesn't want me," she said. "But he needs me. And once this is over, he isn't going to keep me."

Since there was nothing left to say, the doctor clapped her on the shoulder, then left.

*******

A/N: Reviews are golden. Let me know if this is coming off right. I'm not really sure if I'm capturing Spock's downward spiral.

disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek and I am not making any money from writing this.