A/N: As usual I own nothing. Thanks for being patient with me and some of the liberties I have taken with timelines, universes, etc. I know this a bit AU and OOC. As stated before, I was influenced by two stories previously written, wherein there is a prior relationship between Kirk and Spock, and these events occur after Nyota's miscarriage. I really hope you all enjoy this. Please R&R! :-)
Spock tried hard not to stare at Nyota's face. She had grown even more beautiful since he had last seen her. The transfer seemed to have agreed with her, as she had gained back the weight she had lost and there were no longer angry dark circles beneath her eyes. She was very concerned about her ship and had not taken the deaths of her crew members well.
She wiped away tears and Spock refilled her tea. "It was awful Spock."
"Losing crew members is never an easy thing Nyota."
"Many of those people were my friends. How can I tell their families that they won't be coming home?"
Spock reached out for her hand and she didn't pull away. "They served admirably. They died defending their ship and serving Starfleet's purpose of exploration. Their families will be proud."
Nyota snorted. "Well, for a moment there, I thought Kirk wasn't going to let me board."
Spock was inclined to agree but instead squeezed her hand gently. "Kirk would never willingly let others come to great harm."
The statement hung in the air, and Nyota stared back at him. "I don't know what to say to that."
An uncomfortable silence stretched between them before Nyota said, "How's Pavel? And Christine?"
"They are well," Spock informed her, "Pavel has been instrumental in aiding Scotty with experimenting with various forms of warp drive theories and Christine has been most successful in getting McCoy to "get in touch with his feminine side."
Nyota laughed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, boy. Is he any nicer?"
A corner of Spock's lips quirked up, "He has called me a 'green blooded goblin' only once this week. I would say that is an improvement."
Nyota giggled, "McCoy. He will always be ornery. I wouldn't have it any other way."
Spock found himself enjoying Nyota's laughter. It had been so long since he had heard it.
"Nyota," he began, "Do you think about—us? Of our time together?"
Nyota stopped laughing and cocked her head to the side and studied him. "You want honesty?"
"Of course."
"Then, no. I haven't."
Spock drew in a breath, then released it. "I hadn't thought about any of this," she said gesturing, "I took time to just focus on me."
Spock nodded and smoothed back her hair. It was an intimate gesture, one he had done so many times that it felt natural and right. Nyota stiffened as she felt his fingers brush her temple. She could feel his emotions—hope, love and expectation all roiling through him. "I can't handle this right now Spock," she told him as she gently pushed his hand away.
"I have to concentrate on getting my ship up and running, writing these reports, gathering information about the ship's encounter—I just don't have time for this right now."
Spock said nothing as he reached for her hand and gently laced fingers around her own.
************
"They called themselves the collective," she told Kirk.
Kirk, Spock and Nyota had been conferencing all morning, trying to gather any evidence of the alien race that attacked Nyota's ship. Nyota took a sip of her tea before continuing.
"They wanted to—assimilate us," she told them. "I refused of course, and I considered their intentions hostile. We prepared to defend ourselves, and then they attacked. They were relentless. We tried several evasive maneuvers before engaging in the crisis theory."
"Worm hole jumping?!," Kirk cried. "But that's dangerous! It hasn't even been really approved by Starfleet."
"They had weaponry the likes of which we had never seen. Their ship was fast and it was only with the knowledge of my best people were we able to barely escape into the worm holes," she spoke clearly and distinctly only her eyes betraying her fear,
"A few of those from the collective managed to beam aboard. They were some sort of bio-mechanical species. I couldn't figure out how they had gotten past our shields and were able to beam aboard while we were at maximum warp. We subdued them of course, but not before they took at least three of my crew back to their ship."
She shook her head. "Can you imagine if I had led them to Starfleet? It would have an all out slaughter. I had no choice. Luckily, we lost them and we were able to find you here in the beta quadrant."
Kirk listened intently and ran his hands through his hair. "And no one has even heard of these guys. I tried contacting older Spock and he's not giving up the info."
"Did he say why?" Nyota asked.
"Only that too much knowledge might irreparably damage our time line," Kirk told her.
"Well, that's inexcusable," she ranted, "He needs to give us something. Those beings were dangerous. Perhaps if I talk to him--,"
"No," Kirk insisted, "Leave him alone. If he wants to act as if he's an enemy to Starfleet than by all means let him."
"We can't do that. If he has any information about them, we need to know. They could easily be the end of our civilizations. We can't let that happen."
"He's gonna be tough to crack, but if you think you can talk to him, then I'll arrange it."
"Thank you," Nyota told him.
"Captain Uhura," Spock addressed, "You say they described themselves as a—collective?"
"Yes," she nodded, "Apparently they kidnap different species and connect them to some sort of hive mind. We were able to get that much from the drone we captured. From what it—I mean he—told us, the collective functions very much in the way a hive of bees do. There is a queen and various workers who all share the same consciousness."
"Fascinating," Spock commented and Nyota shuddered.
"I can't imagine losing my identity, my individuality," she told them and Kirk nodded.
"Well, let's get this report into Starfleet headquarters. We've sealed off the quadrant and are advising all of our ships to stay in restricted areas."
Nyota nodded and stood, "Well, I will meet up with you again at 1600 hours. Let me know once you've made arrangements with elder Spock."
As she walked gracefully from the room Jim gave Spock a level stare. "So you guys are friends now?"
"We are colleagues that have mutual respect for one another. Nothing less than what you and I share."
Kirk nearly choked on his tea and glared at Spock. "Whatever. You're dismissed Commander."
Spock stood and exited the doors. He quickly went in search of Nyota and found her in the mess hall. He ordered a bowl of Plomeek soup from the replicators and approached her.
"May I sit with you captain," he asked.
She stared at him a moment before shrugging, "If that's what you want."
He was pleased. It was exactly what he wanted.
******