Gardens in the Rain, chapter 2
Her hand on her back, Uhura stood and stretched, then leaned over Spock's shoulder to look closer at the computer display in front of him. She took a deep breath, trying not to become frustrated, but it wasn't easy. They had been in this small conference room for seven long hours, breaking only to eat supper, and they were no further along than when they started.
"Spock, I thought that you were on to something with that graph, but now I'm not so sure. I can't see any pattern there."
"No." Spock sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Neither can I."
From his seat at the table, Lenox pushed away his padd. "Why don't we stop for the day? Maybe a good night's sleep will allow us to look at it with a fresh perspective in the morning."
Punchy with exhaustion, Uhura had to stifle the impulse to grin when Spock glanced up and met her eyes. She looked forward to many things tonight, but a good night's sleep wasn't one of them. She turned toward Lenox before she gave herself away.
Touching him lightly on the arm, she said, "I think that's an excellent idea, Hayden. A few of my old friends are gathering tonight in the officer's lounge for a drink. Would you like to join us?"
"No thanks, Nyota. I think that I'd rather just go back and relax. You have fun." Lenox straightened his things and stood. "I'll see you both in the morning."
Nodding politely, he left the conference room, and Uhura finally found herself alone with Spock. She sat down and rested her chin on her hands as he turned to face her.
"I've missed you so much," she said. "It almost killed me when we had to scrap our trip to the Mozart Festival on Starbase Eight."
He reached across the table and held up his hand with two fingers extended, and she quickly pressed her hand to his.
"I assume that you are exaggerating," he murmured.
"Maybe I am, but it was a real disappointment."
"Canceling our plans did not please me, either, but it was important that I remain on board for the duration of our assignment to Paklet Prime."
"I know. But that didn't make it any easier. Now that we're finally together, all I want to do is drag you away to a place where we can be alone. Someplace where there's no possibility of anyone walking in on us."
"We will locate such a place later, but for now you are expected in the officers lounge."
She sighed. "Yes, I know. Scotty would kill me if I stood him up."
"You will enjoy yourself once there. I will accompany you and ensure that you do not linger too long, however."
She stood. "I don't think you need to worry about that. Come on, let's go."
Spock stepped back to allow her to precede him out of the conference room. "Do you want to return to your quarters first?"
"No, I'd rather go ahead now. Really, I am looking forward to this. It's been way too long since I saw my old friends. But I'll definitely be thinking about later the entire time." She was quiet as a crewmember passed them in the hall. Once they were alone again, she lowered her voice and looked at him suggestively. "So help me out. Give me something to think about."
Raising an eyebrow, he met her eyes. She wasn't sure if he would participate in her little game, especially right here in the corridor while in his guise as the highly professional Vulcan first officer, but soon he faced forward and said, "Will we retire to your quarters or mine?"
She laughed, delighted at the incongruity of his words with his demeanor. Judging by his expression, anyone watching them would think they were discussing the latest mission! She tried her best to keep her voice as level as his when she replied.
"How about yours? Since I'm already here, it might be awkward for us to go over to the Lexington so late in the evening."
"That is a reasonable observation. Very well. When we leave the officers' lounge, we will walk to my quarters. We will not hurry, because we know that we have all night."
"Really?" She couldn't hide her surprise. "I was afraid that you might be uncomfortable with my leaving at some ungodly hour."
He shook his head. "I do not consider that a problem. We will exercise caution when you exit my quarters. In addition, the crew is accustomed to seeing us together, so our walking through the corridors should not strike anyone as extraordinary."
"What about beaming back and forth between the ships? You know that I'm going to want you to come over to the Lexington sometimes."
"I anticipate considerable traffic between the two ships. It is likely that the transporter technician will think nothing of it, but if we arouse suspicion, we can modify our behavior at that time."
She smiled. "You've given this some consideration."
"Yes. I have."
"All right. I like the way you think. So we walk leisurely to your quarters. What happens next?"
"We enter. Once the door is closed, we turn to one another. We have anticipated this moment all evening, but still we do not rush. I reach for you, resting my fingertips lightly against your meld points. Your eyes drift shut, and you welcome me into your mind."
A tightness began to creep into her belly. She licked her lips and murmured, "Go on."
"Your thoughts are warm and soothing on the surface, but as I delve deeper I find desire. My thoughts mingle with yours, touching, caressing, merging, and when our minds are one, I move my hands to your garments. You do the same for mine. We slowly disrobe one another, and when our bodies are revealed, we walk to the bedroom."
Tugging on her collar, she said, "Oh, my. Spock." She swallowed before continuing. "What happens next?"
"You shall have to wait and see."
Grinning not only at his answer but at her own rubbery knees, she asked, "Have you been planning this? Did you just tell me one of your fantasies?"
He finally allowed a glimmer of humor to cross his face. "The answer to both questions is no. I was improvising."
Her eyes widened at the darkness in his expression. He might act amused at her reaction, but she could tell by looking at him that she wasn't the only aroused person here.
"Spock, why don't we swing by your quarters now?"
"No. You wished to have something to think about, and now you do."
"Whew." She took a deep breath. "Do I ever."
He nodded before responding with exaggeratedly precise enunciation. "As do I."
They approached the door to the officers' lounge. Taking another deep breath to compose herself, she laughed when she noticed that Spock did exactly the same thing.
Looking up at him, she said, "Ready?"
"Yes."
They stepped through the door, and she couldn't believe her eyes. She had expected to see only her closest friends sitting around a table as they had so many times in the past, but what she found was a much larger group. She smiled and turned quickly to Spock.
"Did you know?"
He nodded.
She was immediately surrounded by her old friends, and she threw a quick glance in his direction before she allowed herself to be pulled away from him.
...
Kirk stood quietly with McCoy. The party had died down considerably, and he was taking a few minutes to enjoy his brandy in easy companionship. From across the room, he heard a soft peal of feminine laughter, and he smiled at the sound. Sulu and Scotty were huddled with a woman from stellar cartography, but Kirk saw from the expression on Sulu's face that he knew he was the odd man out. Sure enough, a moment later Sulu excused himself to refill his glass, and he sat down with a small group of the more die-hard party-goers.
The only other occupants of the officers' lounge stood side-by-side in front of the window, their backs to the room and their heads moving gently as they talked to one another in the dim light. It was as if they had drawn a cocoon of intimacy around themselves, and even though he was fairly certain that no one but McCoy and himself knew they were lovers, the others apparently sensed that they were sharing a private moment and left them alone.
As he watched, Uhura tilted her face up to Spock's and smiled, then leaned close enough to just barely brush his arm with her shoulder. When she straightened, she didn't look away immediately; Spock's expression was soft as their eyes met, and she appeared to be caught in his gaze. Kirk took a sip of his brandy and remembered his surprise when he first learned of their relationship, but watching them now, how could they not have ended up together? It was so obviously right.
"Makes you wonder how their secret is still a secret, doesn't it?"
Kirk turned toward McCoy. "Actually, I was just wondering how much longer they would stick around here before slipping away."
"They've been apart for 'four months, two weeks, and three point,' uh, something days? I'd say they're doing well to have stayed this long." McCoy laughed, but an instant later his smile faded. "Oh no, here they come. Do you think Spock heard me? Shhh."
They both looked up as Spock and Uhura approached.
"It's getting late, and I think that we're, uh, I'm going to call it a night." Grimacing slightly at her mistake, she glanced at the group seated around the nearby table, but no one paid any attention.
Snickering, McCoy said, "Well, you have a good night."
Spock raised an eyebrow but remained silent.
She rolled her eyes in embarrassment. "Anyway, thank you for coming tonight. I'll see you both in the morning."
"See you then," said Kirk.
Waving quickly at the other people in the room, she walked toward the door with Spock right behind her. Kirk really hadn't expected them to leave together, but then again, no one would think anything of it. Spock had always been very solicitous of her, often escorting her to her quarters after group functions. As the door slid shut behind them, though, Kirk happened to turn back toward the center of the room just in time to see Sulu smile and raise both eyebrows at the sight.
Well. Maybe he and McCoy weren't the only people who knew.
...
Finally beginning to drift away with her cheek resting comfortably on Spock's chest, Uhura was roused again when he smoothed the hair on the top of her head for the umpteenth time. It was obviously tickling his face. They'd tried sleeping on their sides with his body pressed up against her back, but between his heat and the heat of his quarters, she'd thought she was going to suffocate. He'd even lowered the room temperature for her, but when it had reached a level that she thought was comfortable, he had become chilled.
Now she remembered why they had never liked to sleep in his small bunk.
"Spock."
"Yes, Nyota?"
"This isn't working."
He was silent for a moment. "Perhaps I could move closer to the edge of the bed and turn away. Our positions would be similar to when I was against your back, although reversed, and you would have space to distance yourself from me if you became overheated."
"Okay. Let's give it a try."
They shifted until his back was to her, and she stretched and snuggled down into the pillow. Much better. Except...
"Spock, are you hanging off the edge of the bed?"
"Not entirely."
Shaking her head, she leaned forward to kiss him on the back of the neck. "Maybe I should just return to the Lexington, and tomorrow we'll sleep in my quarters. I was able to requisition a large bed. It will be much more comfortable than this."
He rolled back over to face her. "I do not want you to leave, but if you remain, I fear you will not be alert in the morning. And you will be exhausted by the end of the day."
"I'll get dressed and go on back. You stay in bed."
She walked to the other room and began rummaging through the tangle of clothes that were strewn just inside the door to his quarters, and she smiled as she remembered how they had come together earlier. It had been exactly as he had described, slow and careful, until they reached the part where they undressed each other and walked to the bedroom. Somehow, they never made it that far, ending up instead on the floor right in the middle of his outer room.
She realized that he was standing behind her regarding the pile of clothing, and she waved a shirt at him. "This one is yours. Do you see mine?"
Glancing around, he retrieved it from the seat of a nearby chair and handed it to her without comment.
She laughed. "How did it get way over there?"
"Evidently that is where I dropped it."
She stood to put on her underwear. "We have a briefing with Admiral Kirk and Captain Ames first thing today, don't we?"
"Yes, although it will likely be a very quick briefing since we were unable to gain any insights yesterday."
"I know." She frowned and pulled her shirt over her head. "Maybe we'll have better luck today."
"Luck? Luck has nothing to do with it. We are highly trained officers with an arsenal of the most powerful equipment available. I am confident that we will require nothing more than our own abilities to solve this mystery."
She closed her skirt and stepped into her boots. "Don't discount luck, Spock. You know as well as I do that sometimes you just flat get lucky."
"Sometimes events unfold in a beneficial manner, but it is not luck."
"Mmmm. Right." She stepped close and slid her arms around his neck. "So you're saying that I shouldn't consider myself lucky to have you?"
The corner of his mouth turned up as he placed his hands on her hips. "Not at all. If you wish to consider yourself lucky, I will not object. However, luck did not bring us together, and it does not keep us together."
"And what, in your opinion, brought us together and keeps us together?"
"Basic compatibility. Mutual attraction. Shared interests and common goals."
She was quiet for a moment as she gazed up at him. "What about love?"
Instead of answering, he bent his head and kissed her tenderly. She would give anything to hear him actually say the words, but she knew that he was expressing himself the best he could. And it would do.
Finally, he broke the kiss.
"I am not convinced that I want you to leave."
"Then ask me to stay."
He released her. "We have much to accomplish today, and it is imperative that you be well-rested. We cannot compromise the mission simply because of our own desires."
"You're right." Pushing her hair into place, she held up her hand. "I'll see you at 0800."
He pressed his fingers to hers. "Until then."
Stepping toward the door, she said, "Computer. Is the corridor outside Commander Spock's quarters empty?"
"Affirmative."
Meeting his eyes one last time, she slipped out the door and headed toward the transporter room.
End chapter 2