Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or its characters.

It was three more months before Ellara graduated, and she spent one month of that time mourning the loss of her friend. Rick had retreated into himself, and become much more anxious than before. He spent most of his time looking over his shoulder, muttering about people coming to get him. He wasn't going to pass his exams.

Ellara threw herself into her studies to distract herself. She had intended to focus her attention on passing her courses, reading her books so that she could forget the pain. Instead, she found that studying made Jonesie's voice ring out in her mind. "Study, sweetie. Talking to people and going to parties isn't going to help you pass your exams."

It should have upset her more, yet it seemed to spur her on. With the voice of her friend encouraging her, Ellara completed her exams with flying colours and became top of her class. She graduated with a position waiting for her on the USS Enterprise. The fleets newest flagship had been repaired, and she now had a room to herself, where she could help others in a quiet, secluded area.

"Lat'toy, Ellara." said the woman standing at the podium.

Walking up to her, Ellara smiled as she shook her hand and accepted her degree. She had finally graduated Starfleet Academy, and could take up her position as a counsellor.

The new office that Ellara was given was no longer in the med bay. It was on the same level, but it was a few doors down. This room was much more spacious, and featured a more luxurious couch, as well as some plants and a few filing cabinets. Which, after reviewing the files given to her, Ellara realized she would definitely need. The walls were a warm mustard, and there were a few paintings of sunflowers and daisies hanging on the walls. The floor was a light wood, and there were rugs underneath the couches to keep the floor from getting scratched. Spinning around in a circle, Ellara took in her new office and smiled. She could add a few things later, but she loved it.

"May I have your attention, please." the voice of Ellara's new Captain rang out around the ship. "This the maiden voyage of the starship USS Enterprise. Her ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new lifeforms and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before. I look forward to our time together. Kirk out."

Ellara grimaced. She wasn't sure yet how she felt about the ship's new Captain, but she was stuck with him either way. He came off as very arrogant to the Rendorian, and didn't seem to understand the phrase "not interested", Ellara rolled her eyes as she though of the antics he'd gotten up to while they were both in the academy, and heaved a deep sigh. This was going to be an interesting trip.

Two months later found Ellara staring at the very upset form of one Lieutenant Nyota Uhura. The woman had begun visiting Ellara for counselling three weeks into the voyage, and she had been seeing her more and more frequently. Ellara would speak with her twice a week now, and it was always about the same thing. "He blew off our date last night. It was for our one year anniversary! I was very upset, and he didn't even mention trying to make it up." the dark haired woman spoke, exasperated. The apparent negligence of her long time boyfriend, Commander Spock.

Ellara breathed an inaudible sigh, before delivering her own response. "Is it possible that he is still mourning the loss of his mother? I know that you know very well that Vulcans are more emotional then they let on. It's even rumoured they feel more then humans. He could just be grieving her loss, and in doing so, is distancing himself from you." she suggested.

The Lieutenant quickly shook her head, furrowing her brows as she thought. She took a breath, before beginning, "I know it's not that. I keep offering to help, to try and alleviate the pain, but he keeps saying there isn't any. I just… I think he regrets us."

As Ellara went to respond, her patient received a comm from the bridge. "Lieutenant Uhura?" said Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu, pilot of the Enterprise.

Uhura shot an apologetic glance at the counsellor, before replying. "Yes?"

"We might have an idea on how to save the natives. The captain is requesting your presence on the bridge." he replied, before closing the comm.

Lieutenant Uhura began to stand, apologizing profusely to Ellara. "I'm really sorry to have to leave like this, it's just…" she began.

Ellara cut her off with a wave of her hand, simply stating, "It's alright. This wasn't a scheduled appointment, so you can leave whenever you want."

Nyota shot her a small smile before turning a leaving. Ellara felt for the tall woman. She was clearly having relationship issues, and with a Vulcan no less. Although the two were both aware that Vulcans felt on a completely different level then humans, they always appeared to be as frigid as an ice planet. Emotional communication, something that was key in human relationships, was much more subtle in those of Vulcans. Uhura was going to have a tough time if she didn't learn to read her boyfriend.

When Ellara opened the door to the frown of Lieutenant Uhura the next day, she could honestly say she wasn't surprised. "Please, take a seat." she offered, wondering if there was anything new. Uhura accepted, and sat on the couch across from Ellara. She paused for a moment, then decided to lie down on it instead. "So how has your day been?" asked Ellara, trying to get the dark skinned woman to relax.

"Horrible. Spock almost died today." she replied bluntly, fiddling with the ends of her hair.

Ellara's head shot up at this information, realizing that this session was going to be much, much different.

She quickly feigned indifference, though, before responding, "Oh really? Care to elaborate?"

Uhura heaved a deep sigh, and began to tell the tale of what had happened on the planet, how Commander Spock had almost been frozen in the middle of an active volcano. She didn't sound too upset that he had almost died, though. She seemed more frustrated about something else, something that Ellara could not guess.

When she had finished her story, Ellara began probing for the problem. "How did you feel, when Commander Spock's life was at risk?" she inquired.

"Terrified, obviously. I don't want to lose him, he means so much to me…" Uhura trailed off.

Ellara realized she would have to push for answers. "But?" she asked.

"But…" Nyota took a moment to think, "But I was more upset that he didn't seem to care about his own life before the life of others. That he didn't care what it would do to me if he died. I felt… forgotten."

This was much more then a simple problem of Spock sacrificing himself, she realized. Today's events were simply the push over the edge of a cliff. Ellara didn't know how she hadn't noticed it in their previous meetings, but it was a lot more obvious now. Lieutenant Uhura felt abandoned. She felt as though the Enterprise's First Officer was placing his work before her. And what's worse was that she was most likely right. Uhura was coming to Ellara for reassurance that this was not the case, that she was just being delusional, but she was without a doubt not imagining the situation, and it was going to hurt when she realized this.

"You should discuss this with him. Let him know how you feel, it might make something wake up in him." Ellara suggested, although she highly doubted it would work. But if Uhura had to find out that her boyfriend was a workaholic, she would have to learn from the man himself.

Lieutenant Uhura sat up and shot the counsellor a smile. "Thanks for the talk." As she made her way to the door, she paused and turned around. "You know, it never feels like you're a counsellor when I'm talking to you. It always feels more like I'm talking to a friend."

On the inside, Ellara was cheering. That was what she strived towards in her sessions; seeming as though she was an old friend that people could open up to. On the outside though, she simply smirked and said, "That's what I strive for."

Uhura laughed before entering the hallway.

And now to have a discussion with the ships' Science Officer.

Spock wasn't exactly sure why he was sitting in the plush office of the ships counsellor, but yet there he sat. He had never been in this room before, having not needed any counselling. He had, however, seen this woman before. Counsellor Ellara Lat'toy had been commonly discussed amongst the professors in the lounge when she had first arrived at the academy. The first female to attend Starfleet since the Rendorian species had been accepted into the Federation, everyone was curious to see the difference between the two genders. They were, however, disappointed to find out that aside from the ability to produce children, the two were virtually identical. Spock had been meaning to seek out the counsellor to gain information on her species, his thirst for knowledge unending, but any free time had been spent trying to figure out what had caused Lieutenant Uhura to become more distant then before.

He was interrupted from his thoughts when the counsellor cleared her throat, regaining his attention. "Sorry about taking so long, I just had a couple of papers to finish. How is your time on the ship going, Commander Spock?" she began, leaning back in her seat.

Ellara wasn't sure what to think of the man sitting in front of her. He looked Vulcan, he acted Vulcan, hell, he was Vulcan. It would be hard to guess he was still half human. Nevertheless, Ellara was going to get down to the core with this guy.

"My experience on the ship has been… pleasant." the Commander replied, taking time to think of an appropriate response. "How have you found the Enterprise, Counsellor?" he inquired, understanding that this was common courtesy.

Ellara smiled, and said, "I've definitely enjoyed it. But I didn't ask you down here to exchange pleasantries, Commander." She shot him a small smirk. "I called you here to discuss the events of today."

Absolutely no emotion showed on his face, which irritated Ellara to no end. Although she shouldn't blame him, he had spent his entire life being taught to hide what he was feeling. Spock, however, was completely surprised. He was aware of what she was referring to, and was wondering how she knew. It was not private information, but it had happened only twelve hours prior. Did rumours spread that quickly on the Enterprise? He knew that everyone was in the business of others on the ship, but not the this extent.

"I assume you're aware of what I'm referring to, are you not?" she asked, trying to get him to speak a little bit more.

"I am aware." Spock replied.

Ellara nodded, before continuing. "Someone today told me what happened. The reason you're sitting in my office is because I'm wondering how you are. Not a lot of people can have a near death experience and come out completely stable."

Spock finally understood what was going on, and was a little upset. He had a perfect grasp on his emotions, why should this be any difference. "I know what you're probably thinking; that you've spent your entire life controlling your emotions, so why should you be feeling differently now, right?" He was honestly shocked.

"When you see someone else die, it's like a sucker punch to your gut. Emotionally, that is. Although sometimes you feel it physically as well. When you're on the verge of death… I can only imagine what that feels like. I'm assuming there's a great deal of fear, anger, and sadness. But I wouldn't know, of course. I'm not worried that you can't handle this; what I'm worried about is that you lost almost an entire planet not five months ago, right before losing control. I just want to make sure that you really are as alright as you say, that you aren't about to have a complete mental breakdown. That you won't let yourself get to a point that you can't get back from." said Ellara, expressing all of her concerns.

Spock was not sure what to feel in that moment. Insulted that she questioned his ability? Or scared that she seemed to be able to see right through him? Either way, she was waiting for a response, and so he offered one. "I am emotionally stable, counsellor. I will not repeat the actions I committed after the destruction of my planet."

Ellara gave him a sad smile, knowing he probably didn't understand what she meant. But she had badgered him enough; she would let him be. She would be keeping tabs on him though. Make sure that he wasn't overworking himself. Ellara heaved a deep sigh, before telling him that that was all.

Spock was confused at how she let him go so quickly, but nonetheless stood and gave her a quick nod before returning to his quarters. He would definitely be meditating tonight, to try and get her strange questions out of his thoughts.

Hey guys! So, I decided to just go straight to the next movie with this one, because it made a bit more sense to me. Idk why. Sorry for not updating yesterday, I had an event to attend and couldn't finish writing the chapter. I hope that this chapter makes sense. Spock and Ellara finally met, though! Which is awesome. But, uh, the next chapter is going to have her actually interacting with the rest of the characters, I think. She needs to get out of her office, make some friends. There won't really be any attraction until at least the end of the plot of Into Darkness; I don't wanna split Spock and Uhura up prematurely. I am still looking for a beta reader, btw. As always, reviews/constructive criticism are always welcome, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

- fangrl0012345

Updated July 31st.