****
Spock waited for Nyota. Though he saw holos of her wedding with Dimitri, he still waited. He made the effort to speak with her at least once a month and was constantly updated on her life.
Even when she grew round and heavy with his child, he still patiently awaited her return, rejoicing in the soft glow of happiness surrounding her.
He was not at all jealous or angry when she sent him vids of the child after she gave birth; instead he was enraptured by the beautiful baby girl that looked so much like her mother. He even sent her gifts for her baby, and was pleased beyond all measure when she sent him a message thanking him profusely. She gave birth to other children, and he watched them grow up over the years, through vids, uplinks and messages, he felt as if he had been given permission to partake in something wonderful and cherished. He even attended her eldest child's graduation from Starfleet Academy, feeling as proud as if she were his own.
He helped her mourn when Dimitri succumbed to a heart condition at the age of 65. He spoke with her often, getting her through her grief. He was there when she finally retired from Starfleet three years later. And it was then that she came to him.
His love now had graying temples and a wizened face lined with wrinkles. Yet, to Spock, she was as beautiful as the day he had first saw her, racing across the academy's campus. And even now when her body was older and softer, he found that she still stirred his desires and when he kissed her it was as if time had stood still.
Her brown eyes still had the determined twinkle of her youth and as he gazed into them, he knew no greater happiness.
"You waited for me?," she asked and he nodded.
"All this time and you waited," she said again, amazed, then gave him a guilty look, "I didn't think you meant it! I thought you would eventually move on and find someone…,"
His lips gently quirked up, "Nyota, all these years, there has only been you in my heart, and in my mind," he told her.
She smiled a bit then said, "Spock, you didn't have to wait for me,"
"Yes," he told her, "I did."
"A foolish mistake cost me your love and your trust. To lose such a thing was—devastating. Waiting for you was nothing in comparison," he continued.
And when he kissed her, it was filled with all the passion, desire and lustfulness he had denied himself in his youth. He held her hand and walked with her in the moonlit gardens, content that his lost love had finally returned.
****