Disclaimer: Characters contained within do not belong to me, but to Gene Roddenberry, Paramount Pictures, etc.

Author's Notes: I wish I could extend a personal thanks to each and every one of you who took the time to read and review. Just please know that your kind words meant so much to me. I hope you find the second chapter as entertaining. Thank you!

The Opposite of Logic

by Kristen Elizabeth

The candlelight that cast dancing shadows across the regulation-issue sheets was slowly dying, but the couple entwined under the rumpled covers didn't notice or care.

Because it would be their last night together.

"What's her name?"

Staring at the ceiling, Spock quietly replied, "I do not know."

Uhura lifted her head from his shoulder and looked down at him. "You don't know the name of the woman you're going to marry?" When he said nothing, she sat up all the way, clutching the sheet to her breasts. "You're lying to me. You know her name."

Spock shook his head against the pillows. "Her name does not matter."

"Because she's just...what?" Uhura swallowed heavily. "A womb to fertilize?"

"Do you think I enjoy the idea of that?"

"I think you'd better enjoy it if you want it to work like it's supposed to." In a flash of sudden anger, Uhura pushed her way out of bed and reached for her robe. The short terrycloth hem barely skimmed the middle of her thighs, but she belted it around her body like it was protective armor.

Arms folded tightly, she turned back to look at the man in her bed. "I think I'm being exceptionally understanding and surprisingly logical about all of this," Uhura reminded him. "The very least you can do is be honest with me."

Sitting up, Spock steepled his hands at his mouth for a long moment. "Perhaps I would rather not hurt you with the details."

Her voice cracked slightly as she whispered, "I think we're beyond that now."

After another moment had passed, he gave in. "Her name is T'Lan." He met her wounded gaze. "We were introduced once, at the Vulcan Embassy on Earth. She was on Andoria when Vulcan was...destroyed. She has never been married before, but her entire family is gone and she..."

"Stop. Please." Uhura hugged her arms tighter around her slender frame. "I don't want to feel sorry for her. In fact...I'd really like to hate her."

"Hate does not suit you, Nyota."

Shaking her hair back from her face, she tried to laugh, but it came out flat and bitter. "People can change."

"Not you." Spock stood and walked to her. Although she looked away, he gently turned her face back towards him. "You will never change for me. You will always be as you are now." His mouth brushed across hers. "The better half of my heart."

"But she gets the rest of you." Uhura jerked away from him and walked to the small window to look out at the star-dotted blackness of space. "I'd like to hate you, too." She bit her lip. "But I can't."

"For that, I am glad."

Facing him, she lifted her chin bravely. "Tell me something."

Spock inclined his head. "Anything."

Her hand drifted down to her belly, resting there for a second too long. "Have you ever considered that we could have a child?"

"A child of ours would have been more Human than Vulcan," he replied. "The remaining Elders wish to enhance their own gene pool."

Numb, Uhura blinked. "Not dilute it." Slowly, a spark flared up in the center of her chest. "Your Elders can go to hell," she snapped.

Spock caught her up in his arms before she made it to the door and although she struggled against him, he held on until she gave up and pressed her forehead against his bare shoulder, wetting his skin with her tears. His hand moved to cup the back of her head, stroking her hair until her sobs subsided.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing their bodies even closer together. "Please don't..." The request died on her lips.

"Ask me," he said hoarsely. "Nyota...I need you to ask me."

Uhura closed her eyes. "Please don't..." Her voice broke. "...be unhappy."

"I will carry out my duty," Spock said after a minute of silence. "Without emotion."

"How very Vulcan."

Spock pulled back and held her face in his long hands, looking back and forth between her wet eyes. "I am leaving my humanity with you."

"Yes," she whispered. "You are."

On his wedding day, Spock's thoughts couldn't have been further from the impending ceremony which would bind him to T'Lan. They were, as they had been since his arrival on the Vulcan colony two months earlier, light years away on the Enterprise. His true home.

The traditional robes hung heavily on his body. Too much fabric. He'd become accustomed to light-weight Starfleet uniforms. Or maybe he had spent too many nights in nothing at all, his bare skin against Uhura's as he watched her sleeping.

Either way, the formal Vulcan attire was like a heavy yoke, weighing him down, anchoring him to a loveless marriage that might produce offspring, but would never create a family.

The chime on the door to his room jerked him out of his reverie. "Come in."

Kirk entered, tugging at the high collar of his dress uniform. "I'm not sure being a captain is worth having to wear this damn thing," he announced without greeting. Catching sight of Spock's somber expression, he got right to the point. "Your father sent me to get you. They're ready to start."

"I am surprised he did." Spock folded his hands at his chest. "I think he believes you are a bad influence on me, and that you are here to stop me from..."

"I swear, if you say the word 'duty' again..." Kirk left the threat empty. The vacant look in his friend's eyes made him sigh. "He shouldn't worry. I think if you've made it this far, nothing I could say would change your mind."

Spock looked down at the ground. "What would you say?"

"Something brilliant," Kirk replied without hesitation. "And it would work, too. Then we'd hop a 'craft back to the Enterprise and everything could go back to normal."

"Normal," Spock mused. "This from the man who abhors the status quo."

"If the status quo means that two people I care about aren't completely miserable, I'm all for it." Kirk took a step towards him. "Aren't you even going to ask about her?"

The half-Vulcan started towards the door. "This is hardly the time or the place."

"She's been ill." When Spock's head whipped around, Kirk grimaced. "In the past two months since you left, it seems like she's in Sickbay more than she's on the bridge. I asked Bones if I should be worried, but he just yelled about doctor-patient confidentiality."

"I am certain that if it was serious Dr. McCoy would have at least told you so." But the worry in his tone belied his indifferent words.

Kirk frowned. "You've been on this colony too long, Spock. They're starting to get to you."

"This colony will see the birth of the future of the Vulcan race. And if I am to be part of that, there is no room for emotions."

"Oh, don't be so damn dramatic," Kirk scowled. Cutting in front of Spock, he blocked the doorway with his body. "You can go out there when you admit that you're worried about Uhura, even just a little."

Spock's eyebrow lifted. "Why is that important to you?"

"Because it means you weren't just using her as some...experiment in humanity. That you actually cared about her." He pointed a finger at his friend. "I know you did at one time. I saw it...in the middle of battle, she was on your mind. That doesn't just go away."

"No," Spock agreed. "It does not."

Kirk lowered his finger. "All right. That's good enough. For now."

"Jim." When Kirk looked back at him, Spock hesitated. "Will you keep her safe?"

"She'll keep herself safe," he replied. With a lift of his shoulder, he added, "But I'll help if she'll let me."

"That would give me...peace of mind."

Kirk shook his head sadly. "You really are one stubborn bastard, do you know that?"

The corners of Spock's mouth turned up. "So I have been told."

"C'mon." Kirk slapped his bicep. "Let's get this over with so we can get to the good part: the reception."

As they started down the hallway, Spock had to remind him, "As you have been told, there will be no reception."

"Then just give me a quart of Romulan ale and point me towards any unmarried friends of the bride." Kirk grinned. "Same difference."

"What ye are about to witness comes down from the time of the beginning without change." The Elder performing the ceremony took T'Lan's hand. "This is the Vulcan heart." He took Spock's hand. "This is the Vulcan soul." Joining them together, he finished, "This is our way."

And on the other side of the galaxy, as Uhura worked on translating a subspace transmission from Klingon to Federation Standard, the baby within her moved for the first time.

To Be Continued

A/N: The wedding vows come straight from the Enterprise episode, "Home." No copyright infringement is intended.