Getting to Know You

Chapter Sixteen : Too Late to Turn Back Now

Spock

It has gotten warm enough to run in shorts again. He is always glad when the winter cold and the early spring damp are past. This planet is so much cooler than Vulcan, he doubts he will ever get entirely used to it. But the running warms and loosens his muscles and the morning sun is warm on him today. As he loops around the end of the track, there she is in front of him, running in the second lane as she always does now. For some reason, he wants to slow his speed, to run beside her. As that is highly illogical and would entirely defeat the purpose of the exercise, he does not give in to this absurd notion. But as he approaches her, he greets her in Vulcan, "Ha'tha ti'lu, ne-lan". As he flies past, he hears her reply " Ha'tha ti'lu, zhel-lan".

***

It is Monday afternoon. They are in the gym and he is teaching her a new kata. This one is more difficult, some of the positions are harder for her to attain. He must correct her more often than usual. Finally he stops. "Is there something bothering you today, Cadet? Your mind does not seem to be on what we are doing."

"Sorry, sir. I just stayed up too late last night, studying for the Invitational, and I feel groggy. Just not functioning as well as I ought to be. The competition is so close now. I just feel as if I ought to be studying all the time." She drooped a bit.

"Keeping yourself in peak physical condition is necessary for your success in the competition, Cadet. If you allow yourself to become overly tired, you will not function well when it is important. You must rest sufficiently, eat properly, and exercise to keep your body in top form so that it will not distract you when the time comes."

She looked up at him, heaved a sigh. "I know you're right. I guess I'm just stressed out. There's only one more week to prepare and I just don't feel ready."

He considered. "It is my duty as one of the instructors assigned to this task to ensure that you are properly prepared. This includes physical and mental preparation as well as the learning of the indicated material. I feel that you are becoming too emotional about this issue. Some meditation should help. I believe that you have indicated in the past that you do attempt to meditate." He paused, waiting for her response.

"Yes, but I really have no training in that area. I just try on my own, and I don't seem to be doing very well at it." She looked dejected. Yes, that was definitely the feeling he got looking at her.

"If you desire it, Cadet, I would be willing to assist you in that area. I have much experience with meditation."

Grateful eyes met his, a smile blooming on her face. "Oh, if you would, please, Commander."

Uhura

She was definitely nervous. She stood outside the door to his quarters. She had not really anticipated that the meditation instruction would take place here. She wasn't sure that she had given any thought whatsoever as to where it would be. It just hadn't occurred to her. She wasn't sure that it had occurred to him either. Well, there wasn't anything personal about it, he was just trying to fulfill his assignment, to help her to prepare herself better to represent the Academy. She squared her shoulders and tapped the door pad, announcing herself in response to the computerized query. The door opened and he stood there. It was the first time she had ever seen him out of uniform, except for Thanksgiving. Even at those night maneuvers, he had been in black fatigues. Now, however, he stood before her in loose pants and a short-sleeved tee. She had seen him running in shorts, and of course when they practiced suus mahna he was wearing the normal tank and shorts of the Academy's physical conditioning uniform, but this was different. This was not any sort of uniform, nor was this something that she would see on any person in out in public somewhere, this was personal. He stepped out of the doorway, motioning her inside.

Noticing his bare feet, she slipped out of her shoes and left them there beside the door, then followed him across the room towards the area that he obviously used for meditation. While he lit an incense stick and rearranged the small floor pillows, she glanced around. His quarters were not what she had expected. She wasn't sure exactly what she had expected, but it wasn't this. Bold paintings of stark desert scenes hung on the walls. The top of the bookcase held several small sculptures that she longed to examine more closely. There was a music player with an impressive collection of discs neatly organized beside it. At the end of the small couch was a gooseneck lamp, bent over in a position that indicated that he sat there to read. There was a small table at the end of the couch, with a pile of books, real books, on it. There was another table, lower and broader, in front of the couch, piled with PADDs - he must have been grading papers again. On the table near the small kitchen, a 3-D chess set was arranged, a game obviously in progress - he probably played in those games that were arranged between people in distant locations.

He beckoned her forward, indicating that she should seat herself on one of the floor pillows. These pillows were much flatter than the ones she was used to, more of a pad than a pillow. She carefully folded her legs into the intricate shape her grandmother had taught her when she was a small child - at least she could get that much right. He looked slightly surprised, then pleased?

"You have learned this posture from an excellent teacher, Cadet. You have obviously taken it many times." He cocked his head a bit, one eyebrow elevated, waiting for a response.

"Yes, my grandmother taught me to sit this way when I was just a small girl. She would not tell me stories until I was seated properly. And I loved to hear her tell stories." She smiled, remembering the hot afternoons, spent sitting in the shade, listening to her grandmother's stories.

He seated himself beside her, folding his long legs into a shape similar, but subtly different, from the one that she had assumed. The smell of the incense floated on the air, their movements having caused air currents that dispersed the light smoke about them. It was a very pleasant smell, very calming.

"Close your eyes. We will start with a relaxation exercise. Start with your toes. Think about all the muscles in your toes relaxing, so that they lay there, soft and open. Now move up your foot, thinking gently about the muscles in the sole of the foot relaxing. Now the ankles. If it is necessary to shift your position slightly in order to fully relax these muscles, do so slowly and gently." His voice continued, soft and low, coaxing her to relax, gently, in stages, until she felt like she was floating, soft and heavy, erect but relaxed. His voice ceased, leaving her suspended there with the light odor of the incense teasing her as she floated in the warm air.

Spock

He watched her slowly relax, her face softening, tension draining away. In this, as in everything else he had observed, she was an excellent student. It did not take him long to lead her into a light trance. As he sat there watching her, he realized that he himself was much calmer than he had been for some time. Reminding himself that he must not leave her too long, he slid deeper into his own meditation.

***

When the signal he had set for himself alerted him, he rose through the layers of self until he once more surfaced, calm, alert, soothed. Interesting that the very subject which caused so much turmoil had brought the calm that had been eluding him. She sat beside him, still floating lightly in her meditation. He spoke softly, gently urging her gradually to alertness. When she opened her eyes and smiled brilliantly at him, once again he caught his breath. It was astonishing how her smile affected him.

"Has this been beneficial, Cadet? Would it be helpful to repeat?" Let her say yes, please, let her say yes. It was illogical to crave her presence, yet he did.

"Oh, yes, Commander, it has been very helpful. If...if you do not mind, I should very much like to repeat this .. lesson. I don't want to intrude, though. I feel like I am keeping you from your own activities."

Expressions flitted across her face. Happiness, hopefulness, concern. Her face was so expressive. He never tired of watching it. "Then I shall expect you here next Monday evening at the same time. We shall continue then. In the meantime, if you become over tired or stressed, try on your own to achieve this same level."

She rose from the floor, crossed to the door, started to slip on her shoes. For some reason, he did not want her to leave. Trying to find any excuse to cause her to remain, his eyes lit on the volume of poetry he had been reading earlier. "Cadet, have you any knowledge of the poetry of Calmus IV?"

______________

Ha'tha ti'lu --- Good Morning

ne-lan --- cadet

zhel-lan --- Commander