Author's Note: This chapter continues the depiction of the aftermath of the breakup of Spock and Uhura's relationship that began with Chapter 18.

Warning: Despite the title of the current chapter, there is a lot of talk about sex and love, but no action (if you happen to be expecting that type of content).

In Chapter 21, Spock drops a hint to Captain Pike that his current problems run deeper than what had previously been revealed. Uhura admits to Gaila she had been involved in an affair with a faculty member. The Orion then suggests a post-affair course of action for the East African, which in some ways Uhura finds appealing. The chapter ends with Sevat revealing more disturbing news affecting their mission.

Some readers have expressed issue with Spock's behavior in the last few chapters. The author assures you there is a reason for some of his actions that appear out of character. The cause of his erratic behavior will be disclosed within the next five chapters. Please be patient. Without dramatic conflict, the story would be reduced to a series of "happy, but boring scenes" depicting a loving relationship in which the two always know just what to say or do to make things "right."

While all the writers in using this forum for publishing are engaged in fiction, this author believes it best if our work was in some ways rooted in real life behaviors reflective of the best (and, at times, the worse) of the human condition. This writer likes a good love story as much as anybody else, but in her experience – building and maintaining a long lasting relationship takes much more than love. And, being human, relationships do involve conflicts and, at times, missteps that can actually make the bond between those people stronger if both partners are willing to learn and grow from these errors. This author has endeavored to depict this process through the romance of Spock and Uhura. Yes, they will eventually find their way back to each other – but not without the fire walk.

Finally, this does not mean this author does not want to read any critical comments. To the contrary, it is important to her process to know what readers are thinking in order to make adjustments (and add assurances), when necessary without jeopardizing the overall plotline or arc of the characters' development. So, please do not hold back your criticisms. In this forum, comments are the only "pay" we writers can hope to obtain for our work.

All right, the author is putting away her soapbox for now.

As always, your comments are much appreciated.

Captain Pike and Spock walked back to Officers Housing after having their usual Friday morning run and breakfast at the diner. Without giving many details, Spock had told the Captain about the termination of his relationship with Uhura, Now standing outside his home, Pike looked to his Vulcan friend and found him deep in thought. The Captain could readily see the matter was far from closed.

"Spock." Pike called to him. "I can cancel some appointments this morning if you want to come inside and talk more about your situation."

"It would be pointless to discuss it, sir. I must learn to live with my actions."

Pike nodded not knowing what else he could do or say to ease his friend's pain.

"However, there is another matter that plagues me, sir."

"Yes, Spock what is it?" The Captain urged him.

Suddenly, Pike's door opened and his son, Jack came racing out.

"Young man." The boy abruptly stopped in his tracks upon hearing his father's commanding voice. "When I last saw you at the diner, I believe you were on your way to catch the school bus." Pike said as he walked around Jack to stand in front of his son.

"Our Phys Ed teacher, Ms. Nguyen, said to be sure to bring our gym shoes if we wanted to play basketball today. I forgot to put them in my bookbag when I went with you and Mr. Spock to breakfast this morning. So, I had to come home to get them."

"So, now you're going to be late for school."

"Yeah. It looks that way, Dad." The boy admitted.

"All right, Jack. It looks like I'm going to have to take you to school myself."

"Like I was a kid, Dad?" Jack questioned.

"Has your behavior this morning warranted a different response?" Pike asked.

"But Dad!" The boy protested.

Pike's answer came in his unflinching, stern look. Jack knew not to press the matter, since he still had hopes of convincing his father to adopt a puppy for which Kirk was trying to find a home.

"I'm sorry, Spock." Pike said as he turned back to the Vulcan. "You were going to tell me something."

"I could use that drink tonight, sir."

Pike knew instantly the seriousness nature of the matter Spock had tried to introduce. With no hesitation he said, "I'll contact you later to find out where I should meet you."

As Pike began walking to the SkyBus stop with his son, Jack asked, "Hey, Dad. I thought Vulcans didn't drink alcohol."

"Let's focus on getting you to school, Jack." Pike replied.

In one of the Academy's cafeterias, Gaila and Uhura sat at a table with their lunches. As Uhura cut into the cheese atop her French onion soup, she noted her roommate picking through her tuna salad.

"Do you plan to start eating that anytime, soon?" Uhura asked.

"Not until I get all of the grapes out." The Orion made a face. "Fruit in tuna salad is so disgusting."

"Gaila, you know they have always made it like that. Why do you keep getting it?"

"Because I love tuna salad."

"I think you love to complain about tuna salad even more than you love eating it."

"Speaking of love . . . "

"That was a smooth segue." Uhura quipped.

"I've got to find a way to catch up with you somehow."

"We're roommates."

"You mean we share the same sleeping quarters. Since the semester started, it seems I rarely have a chance to talk with you anymore. By the time I get back to our room in the evening, you're usually already asleep. And, when I wake up in the morning, you often are already out the door."

"I know what you mean, but we're having lunch today, aren't we? And, I haven't forgotten about our date tonight."

"Girls Night Out. And remember, no jeans. Don't dress like you normally do."

"Thanks for the compliment." Uhura commented with a sarcastic edge.

"What I mean is, you should try to put on something that's sexy."

"For Girls Night Out? Who are we trying to impress?"

"We're dressing for each other."

"Then why can't we just be comfortable?"

"Listen Uhura, we're in these plain uniforms most of the weekdays and in fatigues on most weekends. What's wrong with looking good for a change?"

"Well, if you're talking about your definition of sexy, I doubt if I have anything that will please you. And, you know I can't borrow anything from your side of the closet. I wouldn't even come close to filling out the tops of one of your outfits."

"I don't know why you act like you have nothing to work with. Your breasts happen to be in proportion to your body and you happen to have a nice looking butt. You shouldn't be afraid to highlight your assets more often."

"Gaila, you act like I don't care about my appearance. When I go out socially, I think I can be attractive."

"Don't you ever want to be smoking hot?"

Uhura laughed. "Well, then maybe the trick is not to go out with you. You may be taking drugs to suppress the release of your pheromones, but when I see the way men look at you – smoking hot – is a title best applied to you."

Gaila quickly gave Uhura the once over with her eyes. "I think you and Marcella are about the same size. I'll ask if I can borrow one of her dresses. If I can get something, I'll lay it on the bed for you."

"All right."

"And, make sure you're at Schmaltz no later than 9:15 PM."

"I'll try."

"Don't just try. Be there or you'll have to answer to me." Gaila said sternly, as she placed a forkful of tuna salad in her mouth.

"Oh, listen to you. I've never heard you sound so domineering before." Uhura teased playfully. "What's gotten into you?"

"Probably, a lack of sleep. The Robotics Competition is just three weeks away and our club has been up so late working on our model, I'm beginning to get cranky from a lack of sleep."

"I kind of like this variation of you. You actually seem a bit more focused and not so worried about your looks when dealing with your studies."

Gaila suddenly stopped eating. "What do you mean I'm not so worried about my looks?"

"Well, at the moment, your makeup isn't quite covering the entire lid of you right eye."

"What?" Gaila hurriedly took a compact out of her bag, and then gasped when she saw the offending eye. She retrieved a small kit and quickly began to repair her makeup. "Uhura, I can't believe you let me sit here all this time knowing I looked so grotesque."

"Gaila, it was barely noticeable." Uhura said lightly, trying to calm her friend.

"Barely noticeable? I don't ever remember looking so bad. I must have been half asleep when I put on my makeup this morning."

Uhura rolled her eyes, as Gaila completed adjusting her makeup,.

"I saw that." Gaila remarked as she closely inspected her face before putting away her kit.

"See, your mini-crisis just exemplified the real issue. I don't want to go crazy like that over something so superficial. Now, you're an intelligent woman, but sometimes I don't think men are given a chance to see that side of you."

"Oh, no. This is not my therapy session. And don't think I've forgotten the topic you're trying to avoid."

"I have nothing to hide." Uhura replied knowing she was not fully being honest with her friend..

"So, what's going on with your love life?"

Uhura took a sip of her soup and does not readily respond.

"Oh, wow! This sounds like this is going to be good. You need to give me all of the details."

Uhura hesitated. She actually wanted to talk about it to someone and she had not had the chance to contact one of the precious ones1 to do so. She took a breath and began her story. "All right. It's over now, so I suppose it doesn't matter. Remember when I told you I was involved with somebody, but I could not reveal his identity?"

"Oh yeah, it was the guy who wasn't married or engaged or a minor really illicit. Yet, you could not be open about the . . . " The Orion's eyes suddenly open wide. "He's a faculty member, isn't he? You've been seeing a faculty member!"

"Could you quiet down, Gaila? It wasn't meant for the entire cafeteria to hear."

Smiling widely, her roommate remarked, "Oh, Uhura, I never thought you could be so sneaky! Who is it?"

"Oh, no. I'll could never tell you."

"Why not? I bet he's doing a lot of talking. Men are a lot worse than women when it comes to gossiping about these things."

"You don't know him, Gaila. He wouldn't do anything like that. He's quite private and he would want to protect me."

"Not when it comes to talking about sex."

"I thought the subject was love."

"Love? Sex? What the difference?"

"You're really not asking me that, are you?"

"All right . . . all right, I know there is a difference, but only if you're really serious about someone and that's not the case here, is it?"

Uhura put down her soup spoon and lowered her eyes.

"Uhura, are you telling me you were really in love with this guy?"

The East African looked back up to her friend. "Like I said before, it doesn't matter anymore. We broke up on Tuesday night."

"Did he give you the boot or did you let him go first?"

"I suppose I was the one who initiated it." She confessed. "I was always a little insecure about . . . sex, you know. I knew he was quite experienced and you know . . . I'm still a virgin."

"You're still a virgin, Uhura! How long were you seeing this guy?"

"He never tried to rush me. He was very patient. We were faithful to each other."

"I'm sure you were, but if he was used to having it he was probably getting it from someplace else."

"No, Gaila. Not him. As long as we were seeing each other, I know he was true. In his way, he tried to be good to me."

"All that time and he never tried to touch you?" She asked, skeptically.

"I would not say he was much of a kisser. It may not have been part of his culture. But, he did touch me . . . and I touched him." It surprised her how she grew warm from the memories. She drank water from her glass in a futile attempt to lesson her unexpected arousal.

"Did you like it, Uhura? Did you like it when he touched you?" Gaila said in a tone so soft and caring, the East African could not hold back the truth.

"Yes. I liked it when he touched me. I wanted him to touch me. And, I enjoyed being in his arms and feeling my body against his." Then, she quietly admitted. "If we had not ended our relationship, I know it would not have been much longer before I would have given myself to him."

Gaila touched Uhura hand and looked her in her eyes. "After that creep attacked you last summer, I thought you might have a problem about accepting the attention of a man. Now, I don't know why this guy you were involved with would let somebody like you go, but I'm glad you found someone who could help you start feeling good about sex." She lets go of her hand and looks at her knowingly. "And, I'm sure he was the reason why I heard those sounds coming out of the bathroom from time to time."

Now Uhura opened her eyes widely in shock. "You heard me?"

"Uhura, I like a good shower too, but your voice was singing an unmistakable tune."

The two women laugh.

"This really is embarrassing." Uhura remarked.

"It shouldn't be, Uhura. You've got to know what makes you feel good, so you can let your partner know how you wanted to be treated. And, if you ever feel self-conscious about experimenting, then just turn on some music really loud when you're enjoying your shower."

"That will be worse. Then, you would really know what I was doing in there."

The women laugh, again.

"So, it's been three days since the breakup." Gaila observed. "How are you feeling about it, now?"

"The night when he told me it was over, I was devastated. The pain was so intense, it was numbing. But, the next morning I happened to see him and . . . I don't know . . . for some odd reason . . . the hurt I experienced seemed no longer to be there."

"So, you saw him the next day and you acted as though nothing happened? That's fantastic. That way, you've shown him you can do fine without him."

"Gaila, all I've done is resigned myself to the fact that our relationship was never meant to be. Yet, I would be a liar if I did not admit I still think about him . . . I still care about him . . . and, yes, somehow I still love him. I can't really make sense of it, but I do know that being with him now or ever is impossible."

"But he doesn't know you still have feelings for him and it's best never to let him find out. Men have such oversized egos that first he'll probably be in denial and will reason you are just putting up a front for him. But eventually, knowledge of your ability to move on to another man will turn into sweet revenge."

"Gaila, I'm not interested in revenge. I haven't been proud of everything I've done this week, but I won't play the role of the vengeful ex-lover. Neither one of use deserves that. And, as for moving on to another man, you can't think I'm thinking about dating, again, so soon after this experience?"

"Why not? What are you waiting for?"

"A little more time."

"You need a good f**k." Gaila commented unabashedly.

"Now, how did I know that was coming?"

"You said yourself you're ready."

"I said I was almost ready for a specific man. I'm not going to have sex with anybody just for the experience."

"All right . . . all right, I forgot for a second who I was talking to. Then, what you've got to do is get busy with someone you like."

"I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because I couldn't. It just isn't right for me. I'm not afraid of having sex or think it's taboo, but for me it has got to be more than just the act itself."

From the corner of her eye, Gaila could see Cadets rising from other tables. Looking at her chronometer, she said, "I've got to get going to class. But you've got to allow room for this other side of you to develop just the way you do your mind. Don't deny yourself this by trying to think logically about when, where and how it will occur. You should just let go of your inhibitions and let it happen."

Uhura wondered what the precious ones - would have to say about her conversation with Gaila. She was sure none would take issue with her getting more in touch with her sexuality; however, they always encouraged her to take heed of her own moral compass. Casual sex was certainly not for Uhura, but she reasoned, If I could just move on to someone else . . . someone I cared for and trusted, maybe then Spock would begin to fade from my heart.

In his office working at his computer console, Spock heard his communicator sound and noticed a message coming in using a non-Star Fleet frequency. Not too long ago, he and Uhura would on occasion communicate with each other this way to avoid detection. However, he knew it was not the Cadet calling him now.

"Spock, here." He said as he picked up the communicator.

"Can you speak openly, Spock?" Sevat asked.

"Yes. I am alone. My Course Assistant is on lunch break."

"I have yet to hear your report concerning your liaison with T'Lau."

"There was nothing of significance to relay to you. As planned, I visited her team at their lab where I commended them on their recent work. I then accompanied them to dinner and later escorted T'Lau to her living quarters."

"Anything more?"

Spock hesitated, then revealed. "She asked me if I cared for a cup of tea and I accepted her offer. However, it quickly became apparent her true aim was to seduce me."

"Did you oblige her?"

"Yes." He answered tersely.

"Excellent." Sevat replied. "Have you made contact since that time?"

"T'Lau called my communicator this morning. She wanted to see me, again, in her apartment."

"Did you attend to her?"

"Despite our mission, I am not her personal sex slave. I agreed to meet her at my teahouse at 7:30, but told her I had other matters to attend to later that evening." Spock did not temper the edge rising in his voice with his next remark. "That's when she asked if I my aim was to bed Ms. Uhura, tonight."

"Did you inform her of your dissolution of your relationship with Ms. Uhura?"

"All that she knows about my dealings with Ms. Uhura were concocted in her fevered mind fueled by jealousy. Just hearing her speak Ms. Uhura's name is unsettling. I will not discuss the matter with her."

"You must spend more time with the imposter. You must gain her trust, Spock, if we are to have any chance of breaking this conspiracy."

"I believe you should reconsider working with Starfleet security on this matter. Surely, the fact she is actually a Romulan impersonating a project manager with Level 3 clearance is enough to take her into custody."

"The illegal method in which her DNA sample was collected would render this evidence inadmissible in Federation Court."

"What about her parents? I thought their samples were to be compared to the one T'Lau did consent to submit. This would, at least, prove her as an imposter."

"I received a communication, yesterday. According to our agents on Vulcan, T'Lau's parents are missing. They have not been seen for over a week."

"How could T'Lau have known of our intent?"

"She did not have to know. She and her associates only needed to realize the necessity of removing T'Lau's parents from the possibility of being used for such verification purposes. Do you not now see why it is imperative for you to win her confidence, as soon as possible?"

Spock conceded the point. He knew what needed to be done for the sake of the mission. Yet, the last time he was with T'Lau, he did not feel totally in control of his thoughts or behavior. His knowledge of her Romulan identity and utter contempt for her could not explain the roughness of his sexual activities with her. There was only one man who he could confide in about this growing concern, and it certainly was not Sevat. Ironically, he could only trust a human – Pike – to help him with this matter.

Spock also knew he also must confide in Pike about the conspiracy and its possible connection to the building of the Starship Enterprise. And, although he had withheld the information this long, Spock realized his loyalty to his Captain demanded he reveal the security threat. Sevat would not be pleased with this disclosure, but being a Vulcan Spock was sure his former nemesis would come to realize, It was the logical thing to do.

Author's Note: By the time you read this note, the next chapter should be already available or posted within the next few hours. In Chapter 22, Kirk presses Uhura to take their relationship to the next level. Also, an accusatory remark by an unexpected young visitor marks the beginning of a series of surprises and revelations that place Uhura on an emotional rollercoaster she may not be able to control.

Your comments are always appreciated.

1 One of her non-Academy girlfriends.