Thirteen days later
"Imba wimbo wa upepo, wakati unajiwa na, imba wimbo wa upepo...wakati udoto tamu..."
Large sleepy eyes peeked over a thin patchwork blanket, covering the small child from just above her nose to her bare feet. She lay in the arms of her beloved aunt, the two of them rocking slowly back and forth as the older of the two sang a soft lullaby.
The sun had nearly finished its decent over the sky. It now lazily sunk over the horizon, almost lingering as it cast a deep golden glow over the large wooden porch that surrounded the Uhura family home.
Uhura smiled, looking down at the child in her arms with a peaceful smile. The three year old looked back at her just as contently, her hand gripping her aunt's clothing as she fought to keep her eyes open.
Uhura laughed quietly, lifting one hand to run a finger down the baby's nose.
"Sleep little girl" She whispered. Hanna smiled, her little cheekbones rising beneath the blankets.
"Sing again..." Uhura smiled once more, lowering her head to rub her nose affectionately against the small girl's.
"All right...but close your eyes" Uhura said. Hanna complied, breathing out through her nose heavily as she snuggled closer to her aunt.
She began to sing softly once more, translating the soulful words into English.
"And for a moment, dream sweetly for the wind, sleep now until the night is dawn...the wind and the night song..."
Hanna's eyes had drifted close almost the moment Uhura had begun to sing. Now thick dark lashes lay against mocha skin, her small chest rising and falling with the peacefulness of sleep. Uhura smiled lovingly down at the baby in her arms, lifting her knee slightly to wrap the blanket more securely around Hanna's legs.
Letting out a small sigh, Uhura raised her gaze towards the setting sun, allowing the motion of the large wooden rocking chair to continue with the soothing movement.
This was her last night in Kenya. Tomorrow afternoon, at exactly 1315 - she would be boarding a shuttle that will take her back to San Francisco. Back to Star Fleet.
Her extended visit to her native lands had been both a blessing and a curse. Her family's unmoving and never faltering support had almost filled the dark hole in her heart. A deep depressing hole that Bado had caused. Yet after the first week she had become restless. She had never been one to remain still. Or rather, she could not concentrate when she had nothing to do. She needed to be busy. Whether it be with her school work or simply keeping Gaila in check, she was constantly moving at the academy. If her mind was not occupied she found herself becoming moody. And now that Bado was no longer a threat, she was looking forward to returning to her life at the academy.
The man himself had been shipped via armed guard to Titan, the largest moon orbiting Saturn. The moon had been classified as a 'prison planet' in the twenty second century. Commander Pike had contacted her via com-link the day Bado had been sentenced. She had been away when he had called, with her mother and the three children at the nearest indoor swimming pool, so her Papa had taken the call.
Bado had been sentenced to eighty two years in prison. It was likely he would not survive the duration of his sentence. The news had caused several mixed emotions within Uhura.
She was grateful Bado was gone. Beyond grateful. After all he had put her through, he deserved to be punished. And yet...the day after the announcement had come, Uhura had spotted Bado's father at the market. Msitu had looked terrible. His skin was drawn, hanging from his face. It was evident he had lost a lot of weight in a very short period of time...signs of serious stress and grief.
He had seemed so sad...walking through the market stalls at a slow and dazed pace. Uhura could remember the wave of pity that had washed through her. Yes, Bado had made her life a misery for over six months. He had terrorized her both mentally and physically but...Msitu had lost his only son. Her mother had noticed the other man too, and had not so subtly steered Uhura towards a different set of stalls. Uhura had glanced over her shoulder several times that morning. Each time her sadness had increased. Yet she had refused to feel guilt over what had happened. Saying that, when she and her Mama had returned home, it had only been the arrival of her brother and his family that had bought her from her pensive mood.
Sighing, Uhura shifted slightly, a small smile curling her lips as Hanna let out a soft sleepy sigh. The small child in her arms was, at the tender age of three, her youngest niece, and although she would never admit it to her family, Hanna was her favorite. The little girl had been nothing but a blessing since she was born. Of course she loved her other niece and nephew dearly...yet Uhura had a special place in her heart for Hanna. Should she have children in her future, she hoped they would have the same bubbly personality as the child in her arms.
With a loud creak that told of many years of use, the screen door slowly swung open. Uhura lifted her head, smiling as her sister-in-law's features peaked into view. Heri smiled widely in response, flattening her body against the door frame so she could wiggle her way through the open gap without causing any more noise.
"Is she asleep?" Heri whispered, walking softly towards the rocking chair to take a peak at what was visible of her daughter's face.
"Like an adorable little log" Uhura replied just as quietly. Heri smiled, tiptoeing her way around the chair to take a seat on the patio swing. She leaned forwards, carefully balancing her weight as she reached over Uhura's arm to brush a loving finger over Hanna's hair.
"She sleeps so much better when you're here..." Heri laughed. Uhura lifted her knee, slipping her hand more firmly under Hanna's legs, preparing to pass her to her mother.
"Do you want her?" She asked. Heri shook her head and leaned backwards in her seat.
"No, be a shame to move her now. Besides, you'd sit there and look depressed if I took her" Heri laughed. Uhura gave a slight scowl and lay Hanna upon her lap once more.
"She's an absolute treasure..." Uhura sighed.
"And she knows it...little madam has already learnt how to control the men in this family. Did you know Dad is going to build her a swimming pool in our back garden?" Heri giggled, her eyebrows rising. Uhura let out surprised laugh, turning slightly towards the other woman.
"A swimming pool?"
Heri nodded, pursing her lips.
"All she had to do was bat those long dark eyelashes and Granpa was falling over himself to find his tools" Heri sniffed. Uhura scoffed, shaking her head with mirth.
"And what did Kamau say to that?" Uhura asked.
"He said no at first, but then Ari piped up and asked and my dear husband chased his father out the door. Downloading blueprints as he went" Heri mocked. Uhura snorted softly with laughter, pursing her lips in an attempt to quiet herself.
"So I guess you're having a swimming pool built into your backyard?" She asked lightly. Heri huffed and bowed her head in defeat.
"I guess we are..."
The two women fell into a comfortable silence. The sun had finally finished its decent beyond the horizon, now the sky had darkened to a deep honeyed purple, casting a pretty glow over the two women swinging lazily upon the porch. They sat like that for nearly fifteen minutes. Uhura occasionally lowering her gaze to observe the child in her arms.
When the sky darkened to deep blue, both Uhura and Heri stood, silently agreeing to relocate inside the warm family home before the temperature dropped.
When they entered the brightly living room, her mother called out a greeting from the kitchen, announcing supper would be ready in five. Her father was dozing on the sofa, Ari and Iris sprawled across his lap – both sounded asleep. Kamau sat near the computer, his frame bent over the screen. He looked up as the two women entered, smiling in greeting.
Heri sat herself down on the sofa next to the their father and held out her arms for Hanna. Uhura carefully moved the sleeping child, placing her on her mothers lap before standing and moving towards the kitchen to help her mother.
"Want me to get the plates?" She asked. M'Umbha nodded and pointed towards the pantry with her wooden spoon.
"Could you get some of my strawberry syrup to? I've made Maandazi" Uhura practically sprinted towards the pantry. Her mother's Maandazi was legendary. With her homemade strawberry syrup to accompany the small bundles of deliciousness, she would probably turn a spaceship around mid-flight if she knew her mother had just cooked a fresh batch. She was sure her future captain would understand after he had tried one.
Locating the desired syrup, Uhura bounced back into the kitchen, placing the bottle on the counter so she could bend to pull seven plates from the cupboard. Her mother watched her with a look of amusement, smiling indulgently as Uhura span herself around the table as she placed the plates in their proper places.
"Looking forward to going back to Star Fleet?" M'Umbha asked. Uhura halted mid-spin, a small plastic plate held in on hand. She had forgotten. For a small but blessed moment she had actually forgotten all about Star Fleet. Her mood plummeted as her smile slipped from her face.
She was looking forward to returning to the academy. She missed Gaila, her studies, the unlimited access to the library and the communications laboratory. Those were the things she would be returning to. She would see all of her classmates, her friends...even some of her tutors.
However, there was one person she was dreading having to see.
Two days after she had returned home, she had received a private com-link from Leonard McCoy. When her friend's tired features had appeared on the screen, Uhura had not even given the man a chance to say hello. She had begun firing questions at him, berating him for not telling her anything at the hospital, apologizing for being so rude and throwing her flowers at his head, then went right back to yelling questions.
The only thing that had halted her unrelenting tirade was McCoy's croaked shout of "He's ALIVE!"
"He's alive...?" The words were torn from a throat that had suddenly constricted with held back tears. On the screen, McCoy had sighed, his hand appearing to rub against the bridge of his nose.
"Yes you infernal woman. He's alive, he's awake, and he should be out of hospital within the next two days" McCoy replied. His lifted his eyes to glare at her across thousands of kilometers.
Uhura stared back, her emotions battling between relief and almost palatable guilt.
"Oh...oh, Len I'm so sorry!...I didn't mean to yell I was just-"
"You were just confused, angry, emotionally distraught and felt like taking it out on me. I know princess. Not the first time I've been the target of misdirected anger..." McCoy finished for her, her sentence trailing off with wry sarcasm. Uhura's guilt overtook her relief as she took a proper look at her friend's gaunt features.
He looked terrible.
She knew Len's sleeping habits were always irregular, he was constantly on call. Plus his room-mate was Jim Kirk. Any sleep he did manage to find was a blessing. But...he looked worse than he usually did. His skin seemed to have a greyish tinge to it, the bags under his eyes looked painful. Uhura had a feeling that McCoy had not even left the hospital since she had been admitted three days earlier.
Whilst she knew her friend was not all that fond of Spock, he had once told her he would keep an eye on that 'pointy eared bastard' if he ever got himself hospitalized. Not out of respect for the Vulcan commander, but for the simple fact he had saved her life. Twice. How had he put it?
'I may not like him, but anyone who risks his life for one of my girls is okay in my book. Just don't expect me to be delivering grapes and well wishes'
Letting out a deep breath, Uhura had allowed her tears to spill from her eyes, causing McCoy to panic on the other side of the screen.
"Uh...hey! Don't cry! You're supposed to be happy! Your hobgoblin is going to make a full recovery...uh...Nyota, seriously, I'm becoming uncomfortable..." At this, Uhura let out a wet sounding bark of laughter, her hand flying upwards to cover her mouth as she tried to calm herself down.
"I'm sorry Len...I'm so sorry..." She whispered. McCoy blinked.
"Uh...what for?" He questioned. Uhura took in deep breath and used the heel of her palm to wipe her eyes.
"For being so horrible to you. I know you were just trying keep me calm, and you couldn't tell me anything because of your job but...there was no reason for me to be so horrid" Uhura whispered. McCoy sighed, and leaned back in his seat as his arms crossed over his chest.
"After the night you'd had, I would have let you throw me out the window darlin'. And I did want to tell you. But I didn't have anything to tell...not at that point anyway"
"And now you can?" Uhura asked hopefully. McCoy sighed once more.
"Yeah now I can...you're actually the first person I called. I'm supposed to run across campus with a PADD and inform Commander Pike if that goblin so much as twitches his nose. Which I will do as soon as you've cheered up" McCoy grinned. Uhura smiled weakly in response.
"So he's going to be all right?" She asked. McCoy nodded.
"I'm not going to bore you with medical jargon, and I can't tell you too much. Patient-doctor confidentiality and all that, but just be happy knowing that when you return after the break, he'll be there to bore you shitless with languages and other crap I'm not even going to bother to try and understand" McCoy said, giving her another tired grin. Uhura sighed and rubbed her hands against her eyes.
"Don't rub you're eyes. Your going to burst your capillaries again" McCoy scolded. Uhura laughed and drew in a deep breath. She felt exhausted.
Spock was alive.
That knowledge had lifted a weight off her shoulders she hadn't wanted removed. His death had lain heavily upon her for days. She was furious she had not been told anything before she had left the academy grounds. She understood of course, why they had refused to tell her anything. Regardless of his supposed closeness to her, she was still only a student. One of the many he taught. She had just thought that she would have been the exception...
But he was alive. That was all that mattered. She could finally breathe again...
"Thank you Len. Really"
McCoy shrugged softly.
"Was the least I could do sweetheart. But, now that you're not lathering yourself in guilt and self-loathing, how are you feeling? Is being back home treating you well?" He asked. Uhura smiled and nodded slowly.
"I'm fine. No, I'm great" Uhura replied.
McCoy observed her quietly for a moment, his eyes narrowing, before he shrugged and leant forwards in his seat.
"Glad to hear it...i'll leave you to it then" McCoy smiled. They had spoken for another minute more, exchanging the standard pleasantries before Uhura had disconnected the call, falling back onto her bed as a loud whoosh of air left her lungs.
"Nyota?" Her mothers voice bought her from her thoughts with a slight jerk. Blinking guilty, Uhura turned, the plate still help upright in her hand.
"What?" She asked. M'Umbha frowned, placing her dish cloth on the counter and circling around kitchen island to stand next to her daughter.
"Are you all right darling?" She asked. Uhura blinked slowly, frowning at the look of concern on her mothers face.
"Hmm? I'm fine. Just a little nervous about going back the academy..." She replied, forcing a false smile. M'Umbha scowled, her eyes narrowing as she looked carefully at her youngest child. Then, very slowly as if deliberating, she raised her right hand - and promptly flicked Uhura in the centre of her forehead.
"Ow! What was that for?" Uhura squeaked. M'Umbha placed her hands firmly on her hips.
"For lying to your mama" She scolded. Uhura grumbled, rubbing the heel of her hand over the abused spot.
"I did not..."
M'Umbha sighed.
"Go send him a message" She said firmly. Uhura blinked, peering at her mother from beneath her hand.
"Who?" She asked quietly, knowing exactly who her mother was talking about.
"Spock. The man who saved your life. The man you've being sighing over for the seven days" M'Umbha said purposefully. Uhura opened to her mouth, intending to deny the accusation, when her father spoke up from the sofa.
"Eleven days" He corrected. The two women turned towards the front room. Alhamisi grinned, waving a single large hand absently.
"She's been sighing like a school girl for eleven days" He said happily. Uhura scowled at the amused laugh her mother gave from behind her.
"I have not" Uhura sulked. From his spot near the computer Kamau chucked.
"Yes, you have" He murmured. Uhura scowled in annoyance, turning away from the two males to place the forgotten plate in its rightful place. Intentionally ignoring her family, she circled around her mother to walk back into the kitchen, heading towards the cutlery draw. Her mother padded along behind her.
"Oh no you don't" She sang, reaching her arm around Uhura's middle to grip hold of the handful of forks she had picked up.
"Go moja mdogo wangu. You don't need to say anything personal. Inquire about his health, ask about your lessons. Let him know your thinking of him. Just say hello" M'Umbha said. Uhura frowned as the cutlery was pulled from her fingers. Seeing her hesitate, M'Umbha let out a growl, and poked her daughter in the small of her back.
"Do it, or I'm giving your portion of the Maandazi to the dog"
To: San Francisco:StarFleet:Staff/Xenolinguistics Department_Spock, Commander Spock
From: Kenya:Africa:Civilian/Uhura Residence_Nyota, Uhura
Subject: (Blank)
Good Evening Commander.
I apologise if directing this message to your personal account is to forward.
I hope you are well. I received my class schedule this morning, and was pleased to note your are continuing to teach xenolinguistics. I am looking forward to your lectures next semester.
Although I do hope you are not putting your body through to much strain.
I am leaving Africa for San Francisco tomorrow afternoon. My shuttle departs at 1315.
I shall see you on Thursday.
Uhura.
To: Kenya:Africa:Civilian/Uhura Residence_Nyota, Uhura
From: San Francisco:StarFleet:Staff/Xenolinguistics Department_Spock, Commander Spock
Subject: (Blank)
Nashaut Nyota.
I shall meet you at shuttle bay three at 2155 to escort you to your room.
My health is sufficient, thank you for the enquiry. I hope you to have recovered.
Spock.
moja mdogo wangu - my little one
Maandazi – A type of doughnut
Nashaut – Greetings. (used only between mated individuals or extremely close friends)
AN: Bit of a late update huh? I'm sorry! Life got in the way. On a happy note, my little kitty Yuki gave birth yesterday. Now there are two tiny babies flopping around adorably. One has a giant nose and a Hitler moustache...its odd to look at.
This is nothing more than a filler chapter. I honestly didnt know how to top the last two...I hope this is good enough. There is nothing else I can really say at this point in time. Any criticism is welcomed :D
The song Uhura is singing at the beginning of the chapter is Windsong, from the Mighty Joe Young OST. ( watch?v=fIpFywiUMoc) Its an absolutly beautiful piece of music. I highly recommend you listen to it.