Uhura rose from her place in the booth to sit beside him, and holding out the necklace, she turned in invitation for him to put it on her. She thought her heart might pound clear out of her chest the way both his words and his gentle touch on her skin seemed to sharpen every last one of her senses. When she heard the chain clasp fasten, she lifted the pendant delicately in her fingertips to look at it; on the back of the silver setting were the initials AG and AS along with the star-date of their wedding.

'It will never leave this place,' she told him, letting the pendant drop against her skin as she patted it with her fingertips, then let out a little laugh. 'Mine suddenly feels rather inconsequential.'

'Your assumption is illogical, Nyota,' Spock reassured her as she turned so she was sitting face to face with him on his side of the booth, 'as your past tokens of affection you have gifted to me have indeed been items which have taken places of honour in both my personal inventory of treasures as well as my knowledge of Earth culture. Do you not recall that for our six month anniversary you presented me with an action figurine depicting late twentieth century hero named Hendry Anna Jones?'

'Indiana Jones, whose real name is Henry,' Uhura giggled, 'you said you wanted a mythic Earth hero I respected. He reminds me of you.'

'Qualify your observation.'

'He's an intelligent college professor whose calm demeanour belies how much ass he can truly kick, and when kicking said ass, it's often in service of the greater good, like saving the world greater good.'

'Do I resemble him physical?'

'Not at all. He's very muscular, olive complexion, magnetic green eyes. You know when he walks in a room that he's got a great physique under his natty professor suits.'

'I am pleased you find me acceptable by comparison,' Spock replied, failing in his attempt to keep his expression neutral when she made a silly face at him while removing the small wrapped package from her purse. 'If I had an ego to speak of, I believe this is a time when I wound find it wounded.'

'Just open the present.'

Spock examined the boxed wrapped in recoiled foil of muted blue and silver stripes, then sent her a curious look. 'Lieutenant, I am aware that my behaviour has been distracting to you of late-'

'Ugh, just give it a rest, Spock, we've already made up plenty over it.'

'-but this parcel feels as though you forgot to fill the container before wrapping.' To prove his point, Spock gave it a little shake. 'Are you certain it's in here?'

'I am,' Uhura reassured him, her fluctuating confidence in her gift returning to high tide.

Despite his skepticism, Spock shredded through the wrapping and lifting the lid off the simple purple box; his breath caught in his chest when he saw why it seemed as though she'd wrapped up nothing but air.

It was an antique flight patch, used centuries before the creation of Star-Fleet to signify the members of an aerospace mission crew member. Each flight program had been named for the ancient Greek gods or some other legendary figure, with this one holding particular significance to him. The patch was almost fifteen centimetres in diameter made of white fabric and sewn to a small sash of amethyst purple satin. Emblazoned on the badge was the image of a golden-haired woman in a draping white dress clutching an olive branch in one hand and holding her left hand in the Vulcan salute while over her shoulder was slung an archer's bow made of a rainbow. Spock's thumb ran over the letters embroidered with the same shade of purple as the sash, his throat going thick with emotion.

'Iris seventeen,' he murmured, then lifted his gaze to Uhura's. 'This was the first Earth mission to reach Vulcan and make contact with my home planet. How…how did you acquire this?'

'It's from my mother too.'

Off his startled look, she felt her words stumble out of her mouth. 'It…my mother's family is descended from Mae Carol Jamison, the first woman of colour in space, and her journey inspired a couple of my ancestors, and then another one of my ancestors was part of this mission, her son was the first person to join Star-Fleet, so anyone who has been through the Academy receives this as a graduation gift. Now I'm with you and I thought it'd be nice to bring it full circle.'

'Nyota.' Now Spock lifted her hand to his lips once more. 'How could you ever think this would pale in comparison to what I have offered as a gesture of my affection for you?'

'I dunno, I just…I get nervous sometimes about talking about family stuff, since you're still dealing with a lot of loss from your mom's death.'

'I prefer to view it that I am making her proud by living in a fashion she would find most agreeable.' Spock paused, then offered a rare teeth-flashing smile. 'I have a career that brings me great fulfillment, companions who remind me to embrace my humanity rather than see it as a deficit, and a female without whom I might not be truly happy.'

'As do I,' she agreed, then kissed his cheek lightly before returning to her side of the table just as a server brought two medium size pizza platters. 'And it looks like dinner is served.'

He'd thought of everything, she realized, as was his style - he'd picked the same personal sized pizzas they'd had on their first trip to the restaurant; for him, it was the Margherita made with the finest essentials of pizza-building and for her it was the prosciutto with cherry tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella. Uhura had remembered he was a vegetarian and so she'd been thoughtful in her selection of what she'd chosen as a topping, as she'd witnessed his reaction when he observed humans eating copious amounts of meat. But she'd also chosen it to show him that while she did like her bacon and burgers, and especially turkey, she would be considerate of his dietary preferences too.

Dining into a slice, she lifted it and grinned proudly. 'To wonderful memories made.'

'And many more yet to be made.' Recognizing this as a variation of a toast usually done on Earth with beverages, Spock chose his own slice and gently tapped the tapered edge against hers. 'I believe as well, it is customary to have wine with a celebratory meal, however I believed it logical to save it for the moment in the evening when it will mean the most.'

'That is a very logical choice,' Uhura agreed, then bit in with gusto; her eyes rolled in automatic pleasure as the tomato sauce and cheese burst with small explosions of flavour on her palate. 'Oh, yum. Yummy, yum yum. This is like eating sex with you, and I mean the good kind, like that kind we had when you put those pon-farr ebbs and flows to good use.'

She paused halfway through selecting her second slice, gave her lover a considering look. 'This medication that McCoy gave you, how long is it supposed to last?'

'Doctor McCoy gave me two doses, I have only taken one so may I infer the one currently in effect is the one you mean?'

'Yeah, I mean, if it's this effective why not use it all the time?'

Now Spock nearly fidgeted, but remembered her questions were born of concern for his well-being so he put aside the instinctive answer and replied with honesty. 'The medications Doctor McCoy prescribed for me are temporary solutions. I did not wish for them to infringe on our special evening. Once tonight is done, I shall return to my traditional regimen.'

'I understand.' That alone was proof enough for Uhura as to how deep Spock's love for her went - she'd seem him reset his own dislocated shoulder on an away mission with nary a painkiller in sight. Smiling at him, she lifted her slice and made a show of taking a generous bite. 'Somehow, it's even better than the first time around.'

'Agreed,' Spock replied and allowed himself a smile. 'I dare say the natural human insecurities that plague a pair-bond in the initial stages of Earth mating rituals.'

'Will those medications have an impact on our mating rituals later?'

'Potentially, it…ah, I understand. You query is meant to imply whether or not my blood-lust will become apparent during the physical act of love-making this evening.'

'Precisely,' she replied, her dark eyes twinkling in such a way that both put Spock at ease and aroused his libido.

'It is difficult to give a precise time on the clock, as it is undetermined how long our meal consumption will take and how long it takes to go through the final part of our holo deck date.'

'There's more?' Uhura set her slice down, gave a little laugh. 'How…how can there be more?'

'We have recreated our first social engagement as a pair-bond, our first dinner as a pair-bond and now we must recreate the other moment of our relationship that is key. Are you satisfied with your level of nutrition consumption?'

Uhura nodded, her tummy turning acrobatic tricks now in curious anticipation. Dabbing her mouth delicately with her napkin, she held out her hand to him as she slid from the booth. 'I'm very satisfied indeed.'

'Very well.'

Rising, Spock pressed his palm to hers and they walked out of the restaurant into the purpling-blue twilight, the warm wind teasing their skin. He hoped his nerves over the final part of his program for them would both impress and seduce her; funny, he was just as nervous now as he was that first time he'd taken her to this special place. Standing on the boardwalk overlooking the historical Pier 39 amusement park and beach, Spock drew his love in front of him and flicked his fingertip down her chin.

'Close your eyes again, Nyota.'

'Okay.'

Uhura did so yet again, understanding this was the voice-command to change modes in the program; the fragrance of water remained as the whispering rush of the ocean faded and gave way to a damper atmosphere and Uhura could detect the scent of lush vegetation along with it. She shuddered delicately, squeezing Spock's hand tightly as the hard stone beneath her feet suddenly went soft.

'Can I open my eyes now?'

'Yes.'

Spock watched her eyelids retract, the way they lit up as she realized the place where he'd brought her for the final part of their date tonight. The tall ancient redwoods formed a canopy so broad that they blocked out the overhead sun and made the air beneath heady and warm. Vines and brush and plants of all types twined up the thick trunks and over the forest floor to form a nearly perfect hidden alcove amongst the hiking trails still so popular.

'Muir Woods,' she murmured, licking her lips and remembering the date they'd had here with utter clarity. Uhura had always been a little surprised that they'd only been there once in their entire relationship, as they were both very outdoorsy people yet it suddenly struck her that it was something they'd never revisited. 'It's been ages since we have been here, the real one or a simulated one.'

'There is a reason I have kept it so,' Spock replied, drawing Uhura close in his arms. With one hand on the small of her back he pressed his other hand to hers, let what the medication couldn't hide flow freely from him into her. He watched her eyes go from glittering to glowing to burning. 'Yes. You understand.'

'Very much.'

Stretching to her tiptoes, Uhura planted her mouth on his, felt herself tremble. Oh yes, Bones' treatment might have quelled the outer symptoms but the raging fire that had made them all but destroy the sheets before was still there. Yet there was also tenderness there too, something she knew Spock had in spades when no one was really looking.

But above all else, she felt that inexplicable thing from the first time they'd made the bond. It had become her constant when life in the Fleet had become so chaotic it was hard to tell one day from the next. Whenever that happened, she could always find him and find that sense of centre when she didn't trust herself.

Reaching behind her back, she took his other hand in hers, let the bond intensify; Spock could feel the lovely ripples coming through from her like streams of sunshine through cloud break until it was filling every fibre of his being.

'Nyota,' he murmured again, his lips grazing her cheek. 'Let me show you again.'

'Yes.'

It was a breathy word of surrender, as Uhura gave herself over from thinking into pure feeling. She felt his lips against her skin, their warmth and surety mirroring the heat he stirred inside her. So much was uncertain in the universe, that much she'd learned in her time as a Starfleet officer, but this…what she'd found with him was as simple as breathing and as equally vital.

Spock inhaled her scent deeply, felt whatever tension his unconscious mind was holding onto slipped away; here, in her embrace, he was able to feel without shame and let his emotions flow freely. He placed his finger under her chin, tilted her face up so he could see her eyes once more; her lush mouth trembled only a little as she moved her hands over his shoulders and down his sides. Mimicking the gesture, Spock drew back and frowned a little.

'Nyota, does this garment have no fasteners?'

'Nope.' Uhura let out a low chuckle, whispered in her best come-hither tone, 'you have to peel it off.'

'Very well.'

The laugh died in her throat as she suddenly found her dress moving upwards off her body, making her shudder as he tossed it into the trees while keeping her gazed locked with his the whole time. Suddenly aware she was standing there in merely her lingerie and shoes, Uhura gripped his jacket lapels and yanked downward as if to challenge him.

'Will it be another battle of wills,' he asked her, voice low with that growl in it that made Uhura shiver with anticipation.

'No, I just want you naked as I am.'