Authoress' Note: People have been asking in their reviews whether this story is going to end up as a K/S fic. I'm not sure if I already answered this somewhere, but no. K/S can be good, but not for this fic. What I'm going for is loyalty and deep friendship between the two. Make of that what you will. You are at your own discretion as to how much you read into their actions, words, etc.

A Logical Surprise

Uhura fumbles with the keypad outside of her locked flat while attempting to pull off her work shoes. After failing to punch in the correct password for the third time she gives a frustrated groan and slams her fist against the wall. If there could be a worse time to be late, this is it. She still can't wrap her head around how she left all her clothes at home instead of bringing them to the office as she had planned and had somehow managed to forget to tell Velik to meet her there also.

Already halfway undressed and hoping that a random Vulcan would not walk around the corner, Uhura takes a deep breath to steady her self and pushes the buttons in on the keypad once more. Of all days to have trouble opening her door (a new one at that!) it has to be today. With a satisfying click the lock tumbles and the door slides open. Uhura slips inside, sighing with relief, and dumps her clothes by the door.

Immediately, Uhura becomes aware that something isn't right when the door closes behind her. The light to her bedroom is on at the end of the corridor. Hastily, she pulls the pencil skirt she was wearing back up around her waist, leaving the blouse unbuttoned and makes her way cautiously down the hall. She pauses halfway, listening. Silence greets her ears and unnerves her all the more.

"Velik?" she calls out hoping that if anyone is there it will be him.

"Nyota, you have arrived. I was hoping I would be able to meet you at the embassy," Velik says, his oval shaped face with its untidy mop of dark hair appears around the corner, one eyebrow raised in the usual Vulcan expression of surprise.

Uhura gapes open mouthed, buttoning up her shirt mechanically while staring at her Vulcan friend all the while.

"How did you-?"

"How did I get in here? You gave me the password remember? I thought perhaps, knowing that you had forgotten your clothes for the function this evening, I would bring them to you. Unfortunately, miscommunication seems to have had its way with us," Velik says this quite calmly, and with an air of indifference, "Nyota, do you usually go to work in a state of undress? That seems highly unprofessional."

Still shocked at the sight of Velik in her bedroom, her clothes draped over his arm, Uhura nods her head without thinking. Upon seeing what could be considered shock register upon her friend's face she hastily amends herself by saying, "What? Oh, no, of course not! It's been a long day."

Velik hands her the clothes and tucks his hands into the wide sleeves of his formal tunic comfortably. Nyota shakes her head, a smile on her lips, as she slips behind the screen of the bathroom door and out of Velik's sight.

"You could have sent a message to my PADD you know," she calls, "I would've been a lot less worried. I also would have taken more care as to the state of my dress, or undress that is."

"It was not my intention to worry you, Nyota," Velik answers in his usual logical Vulcan manner, "I merely thought it more time consuming to send a message rather than meet you directly. As you know, we are already ten of your Earth minutes late. I know very well of the importance of punctuality to Humans, as it is an important concept to my people as well."

"Yes, Velik, thank you. I was rather hoping you wouldn't be lecturing me tonight."

"Not lecturing, just merely reminding."

Uhura smoothes down her peach coloured dress, one she had sent from Earth for the occasion, and finishes pulling her hair up and into place. Stepping out of the bathroom, she twirls around on the spot, as she once did for Spock so long ago, smiling radiantly at the young Vulcan standing before you. She can see a twinkling in his eyes as he looks her up and down, a look that Uhura has not been accustomed to seeing in her friend. She hooks her arm through his as they make their way down the corridor.

"Well then, what do you think?" she asks as they step out into the hot and heavy night air.

He looks at her quizzically, one eyebrow raised again. "About you?"

"Who else, silly?" she asks, cuffing him lightly on the shoulder, an act of camaraderie that he still does not quite understand.

"I believe," he says slowly, pondering each word carefully, "If my knowledge of what Humans term beautiful is correct then you shall be the envy of all tonight."

For that, Velik allows Uhura to stand on tiptoe and give him a friendly kiss on the cheek. She straightens the front of his tunic and tousles his hair a bit.

"May I say," she says as they make their way toward the waiting hover car, "you don't look half bad yourself."

---

"Here she is at last! The life of the party has arrived!" cries Mr. Maddock, Uhura's superior and the head of the embassy's internal affairs office. "We were beginning to wonder if you were going to show at all!"

Uhura blushes slightly as all eyes in the crowded room alight on her and Velik. Mr. Maddock nudges her in the shoulder, his eyebrows waggling up and down in a suggestive sort of way.

"I hope we didn't keep you from anything," he says, nodding pointedly at Velik, who either does not understand the meaning of the jest or refuses to show that he does. A few members of the company laugh, and Uhura tries to laugh with them. Quickly, she and her Vulcan friend slip through the crowd in search of Aria. Her spontaneous arrival already forgotten, most of the attendees have gone back to their drinks, dancing, and small talk.

Aria is on the far side of the room, sipping at some bubbling champagne, Earth imported, and watching the dancers in the middle of the floor dejectedly. As soon as she spots Uhura she grins broadly, sets down her glass on a nearby table, and pushes through the crowd to embrace her friend. The two hold on to each other for several minutes.

"God, I thought you two would never get here!" she says, glancing at Velik standing behind Uhura, "This whole thing has been ridiculously boring. So much for a farewell bash of epic proportions."

She shrugs and takes another champagne glass from a passing waiter. Uhura snags one for her self also and downs the entire draught in a few gulps.

"Trust me, Aria, I definitely didn't want this. It was all Maddock's idea, and you can always trust him to throw a lame party."

"Hey, I have an idea," Aria says, leaning in closer to Uhura so that only she can hear. "After the toasting and all that, why don't we ditch this place and go back to my flat? We can get wasted, talk, throw our own dance party, whatever you want."

Lowering her voice even more Uhura replies, "That sounds awesome. Do you think Velik will come along? I think he only came because we Humans were engaging in 'well-mannered frivolity', as he put it. I don't know what he'd say about your plans."

Aria rolls her eyes, and flaps her hands at Uhura to push her away. "Well let's stop standing her gawking at each other at least and ask the poor fellow!"

Uhura turns, spots Velik looking completely out of place, and sidles up to him quickly.

"Okay, so change of plans," she begins, and one of the Vulcan's eyebrows shoots up immediately, "Aria and I wanna go back to her place after the toasts are done. Would you like to come with us?"

"If my presence would make your last evening here more enjoyable then I see no reason why I should not go with you."

"Yes, yes, it does," Aria pipes up excitedly.

Velik fixes Uhura's wayward friend with a piercing, but not unkind stare, and nods. "Since the very idea of it seems to bring you so much joy, Aria, it would be illogical for me to refuse."

Authoress' Note: Sorry for the abrupt ending. This chapter was getting really, really long so I decided to cut it in two. Don't forget to review!