Every Breath
By Serena
A/N: Wow. This is really the ending. I press the 'complete' button after this epilogue! AGH!
OK, I'd just like to take a moment to thank all of you for sticking with this story for so long. (HUGS) You guys are so awesome! :)
NOTE: I will be posting an Ali/Kirk oneshot after this epilogue. It'll take place between the last chapter and the epilogue.
EDIT: I completely forgot about tying together one scene - I apologize!!
Epilogue
Nyota stared distantly out the window as the rain poured down, stirring her coffee cup over and over. So much on her mind lately... so many things happening. The Enterprise hadn't been home in two years since she'd married Spock, and now that it had finally reached earth, Nyota felt... displaced. The Enterprise was her home now. She had everything there. Her work, her friends... her family.
Her steady assignment on the Enterprise was a far cry from her days as a cadet in the Academy here in San Francisco, and now that she had returned, she was itching to get back into the openness of space, seek out new life, and explore new planets and cultures.
But, she had to admit, she hadn't been feeling quite up to snuff lately. Stomach aches came and went, and she was tired more often. Stress did things to a woman, hence the reason she'd taken a full week off from all things work related to just relax thoroughly.
"You look tired."
Nyota turned and looked up at the woman who had just arrived at the booth and was now sitting down across from her. As she took off her hat, the woman's silver-white hair and pale, golden skin was revealed, and a pair of glittering yellow eyes gazed steadily at the dark-skinned woman.
"Thanks, Alastar," Nyota said dryly. "I appreciate it."
"It's not a negative thing, more of an observation," the Arridanian woman argued. "Don't make me worry about you, Nyota. I already have enough on my hands with Kirk - I don't need to worry about you."
"You don't have to. I'm fine. Just a little under the weather. Like it is outside now." Nyota glanced outside and shivered. "I can't wait to be back on the Enterprise."
"Hear, hear." Alastar glanced up at the waiter as he came by and said brusquely: "Coffee. Black."
The waiter stared at her for a moment, looked around, and nodded jerkily. "Oh-okay, miss."
Alastar sent him a withering glare, and muttered after he'd left, "What is it with people nowadays?"
Nyota didn't respond. Alastar looked at her for a moment as she gazed out the window; and suddenly, the Arridanian's eyes narrowed. She sniffed three times. Blinked. Sniffed again. Her pale ears perked towards Nyota, and she straightened, as if listening for something. Then, she sank back into her chair, a sly smile spreading across her face.
Nyota took another sip of coffee and sighed.
"So," Ali said, "are you going to keep pretending you don't know, or are you just going to admit that you're pregnant?"
The cup clattered from Nyota's hands.
Ali quickly saw the look on Nyota's face and sighed. "Shid. You really didn't know."
I'm having a baby. I'm having a baby. I'm having a baby.
Nyota would later realize that she probably should have had Alastar help her home. At the moment, the billowing clouds were shades of dark grey, purple, and a sea green, and the wind was picking up. But she didn't notice. There was only one thing running through her mind. She touched her stomach, numb and shaking.
I'm having a baby. I'm having a baby. I'm having a baby.
Despite the fact that Spock was half-human, the chances of humans and Vulcans reproducing were extremely slim. Nyota had actually only heard of only one human/Vulcan couple before, much less a Vulcan/human couple successfully reproducing. Amanda Grayson and Sarek. Spock's mother and father.
But now... she was pregnant. Alastar had told her so.
"As you know, Arridanians are extremely sensitive to smell," Alastar had said. "And when a woman is newly pregnant, she gives off a strong, particular scent that all Arridanians can smell. It's very distinctive, so you won't have to get a pregnancy test, unless you really want to."
"No..." Nyota said faintly, touching her stomach. "No, I believe you. It makes sense now."
It all made sense. Her faintness, nausea, everything. Still, it was hard to believe, and she wasn't sure it had fully sunk in just yet. After everything she and Spock had been through to get where they were, after all the pain, suffering, and agonizing separation that nearly cost Spock his life, they were finally together. Finally at peace. They had a family, and even though it was just Spock and her, she was all right with that. After all, it had only been a year since they had been properly married.
Of course, the entire crew insisted on a large-scale wedding, one that didn't involve Spock on the brink of death and shaking like a leaf and Nyota about to pass out any second and injured, at that. Nyota had always dreamed of a small, backyard wedding, but she couldn't say no to the crew. So, with her father giving her away, and Jim as Spock's best man, with an official preacher, Nyota had walked down the aisle, beaming and absolutely stunning. No one could hold back the tears, not even Mr. Gruff McCoy himself, as Nyota and Spock exchanged heartfelt, honest, loving vows.
Jim even thought he saw the stern and foreboding Sarek look a little weepy, and he didn't hesitate to tell Spock that. However, Spock was still doubtful.
"Vulcans do not shed tears over a blessed occasion, Jim," Spock told him matter-of-factly. "It simply is not logical."
"Tell your wife that, then," Jim muttered, glancing over at a teary-eyed Nyota as she laughed with Alastar and her mother.
Spock's eyes softened. "No." When Jim raised an eyebrow, Spock added, "Nyota is a human, and therefore, subject to the emotional whims of your kind. As many human females often shed tears during a happy event, something that completely escapes me, I will simply attribute her tears to the normal response of a human female."
"You're not gonna tell her any of that, though."
"Of course not."
Jim smirked and slapped him on the back. "You old softie."
Neither of them knew that Nyota had overheard their entire conversation.
As the rain came pouring down, Nyota blinked and returned to the present. She wiped her eyes and was surprised to taste salt on her tongue. Well, look at that. She was crying right now. Letting out a loose laugh, she shook her dripping head and suddenly stopped, staring up at the tempestuous sky unleashing its full load of rain down on her.
I'm going to have a baby. I'm going to have a baby.
"I'm going to have a baby," she whispered, her warm, salty tears mixing with the cool rain. "I'm going to have a baby."
Breaking out into an ecstatic laugh, she suddenly held up her hands and shrieked, "I'm going to have a baby!"
When Nyota returned to the ship later that day, she found Jim and her husband discussing some transporter upgrades.
"Spock," she said breathlessly, "I have something to tell you."
Spock frowned slightly but nodded. "Very well."
"No, no!" Jim suddenly moaned, clutching his chest. The other two stared at him, baffled. "No, it can't be like this!" Jim gasped, sagging against the console. "Don't tell me you're pregnant, Uhura! I'm not ready yet - I'm too young to be an uncle!" He pulled himself back upright and started chuckling, his devilish blue eyes twinkling mischievously.
Nyota stared at him. "How did you..."
Spock's head turned sharply to look at her, and Nyota was surprised to see Jim go very pale.
"Uh... oh, wait a minute. You're not saying... wait, you really are pregnant?" the Captain's voice grew higher-pitched with each word.
Nyota put her head in her hands. Kirk had been teasing, the idiot. "This is not how I wanted this conversation to go," she groaned, rubbing her temples wearily.
When Spock's warm hands gently pulled her hands away from her face, she looked up at him to find his face unusually uncertain, and his eyes dark and warm. "Is it true?" he murmured, caressing her hands tenderly. "Am I going to be a father?"
Nyota bit her lip and broke into a smile. Reaching her hands up to touch either side of his face, she touched her forehead to his and nodded, her throat catching. And, she found that she was crying again. "Yes," she whispered. "You're going to be a father." She took one of his hands and placed it on her stomach.
Spock gazed down at her stomach with what she could only describe as an awestruck expression. After a moment, his hand lightly ran over her stomach.
Nyota sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes.
Spock leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers gently, repeatedly. "I love you."
"I love you, too." She sniffled again and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so happy, Spock."
Spock's arms tightened around her. "So am I, Nyota."
Jim had been standing and watching in silence, but now he smiled. "Hey, Spock. Uhura's crying and happy at the same time. What do you say about that?"
"Nothing, Jim," Spock said. "Absolutely nothing."
Nyota pulled back and grinned. "You old softie."
Jim's jaw fell open.
"Wait, you knew before I did?" Jim demanded, glaring at his fiancee sulkily.
Alastar shrugged and took a sip of her water. "I was the one who diagnosed her condition," she told him archly.
"That's not right," Jim complained. "I'm the Captain. I should know everything that goes on in my ship first."
"Put it this way," Nyota said, "She knew before even I did."
"Yes, but..." Jim floundered for an excuse. Shaking his head, he sighed. "Never mind."
Nyota and Spock, who sat across from them in the mess hall, exchanged amused looks. Spock's thumb ran over Nyota's hand in an uncharacteristic display of affection, something that was happening more and more as time went by.
"So, when do we break it to the others?" Jim asked, glancing at Nyota.
Nyota and Spock looked at each other and nodded.
"Right now," Nyota said. She took out her communicator and typed in the number to the bridge. "Chekov," she said after the young Russian answered her call, "I need a favor. Could you reroute this message to the rest of the Enterprise?"
"Certainly," Chekov said, sounding confused. "Is there a problem?"
"No, no problem at all," Nyota said, smiling brightly. "Let me know when we're good."
A pause, then, "Go ahead."
Nyota cleared her throat. "Attention, crewmembers and friends, this is Lieutenant Uhura. I am thrilled to announce that Spock and I will be first-time parents in several months. We don't know what the sex is, but we're going to wait and see. Thank you, and have a great day. Uhura out."
By now, everyone in the mess hall had ceased talking, or anything else for that matter, and were now staring at them in silence. Nyota waited for a moment, but then, Ali started clapping. After that, the dam broke, and everyone followed suit, some cheering as well. Everyone in the room gathered around and started congratulating, but Spock made sure that she wasn't overloaded.
"Perhaps we should have waited," Spock said as they were returning to their quarters. "I fear that all of this excitement will overwhelm you."
Nyota grinned up at him. "Honey, I've handled Romulans, Arridanians, and Jim Kirk. I think I can handle a few congratulatory crewmembers."
Spock shot her a small smile. "Indeed."
Once they'd entered their quarters, Nyota turned to him as he removed his shirt. "Spock... I think you should call your father."
Spock froze.
"You know, before he finds out from someone else," she continued, undaunted.
Spock slowly placed his shirt on a chair and stared out the window, silent. Sighing, Nyota removed her outer shirt uniform, leaving a tank top underneath, and padded over to him, wrapping her arms around his torso from behind.
"He loves you, Spock," she told him softly. "I know he hurt you when you were younger, but he loves you. And you're all he has left. Don't you think that he would want to know about his grandchild?" She pulled back and had him turn to face her. "I know it's hard, but you have to put the past behind you. You haven't spoken to him in almost a year, and New Vulcan is so close. We could beam him up by tomorrow afternoon - I'm sure Kirk won't mind. Please, Spock. I want my child to know his grandfather."
Spock nodded after a moment. "Yes. You are in the right, Nyota." All of a sudden, he looked weary.
"Spock," she murmured, "Life is so short, even for Vulcans. Don't waste it."
Spock's hand closed over hers.
Spock fidgeted with his collar and straightened as Scotty declared that Sarek was beaming up. Nyota grabbed Spock's hand and held it tightly, the other hand behind her back, as the particles appeared over one of the pads and quickly formed into the tall, daunting, impressive figure of Ambassador Sarek. Although Sarek's appearance hadn't changed, Nyota noticed a weariness and perpetual sadness in the older Vulcan's eyes. However, that sadness faded when his eyes rested on Spock.
Sarek stepped down to greet them, while Spock and Nyota stepped forward.
"Father," Spock greeted with a nod. "I hope you are well."
"Quite well," Sarek replied. "Thank you. And you?" He glanced at Nyota as well.
"Very well, thank you, sir," Nyota said, smiling up at him. The corners of Sarek's eyes crinkled slightly, and his eyes softened. "It's good to see you again, sir. It's been too long."
"Indeed." Sarek's mouth twitched upward. "I am pleased to hear of your recent travels. But I would hear of them another time, as I understand you have something to tell me, Spock?" He looked curiously at his son.
Spock nodded, glanced at Nyota. "Yes, Father, we did. Come, we'll discuss it more privately." He led the way to a private sitting area, where tea and refreshments were already waiting. Once they had all entered and were alone, Spock spoke. "Nyota is expecting a child, father."
Sarek's eyes widened fractionally. "I offer my congratulations. A child is a precious gift." He moved towards Nyota. "I am... happy for you and Spock, Nyota. I pray it will be an easy journey for you."
"Thank you, sir," Nyota replied, still smiling. "It means so much to me that we're able to tell you in person. Also... Spock has something to say."
Sarek turned to face his son.
"I wish, Father," Spock said, looking suddenly hesitant, "to be in more regular contact with you. For the child's sake as well... we wish for it to know its grandfather. I don't think that Mother would approve of our silence, and a wise woman once said that life is short. I do not wish to continue this way."
Sarek was silent for a quick pause. "Neither do I, Spock," he said quietly. "I would be most pleased to stay in regular communication with you."
Nyota beamed. "Also," she added, stepping closer to Sarek, "Spock and I were thinking of names for the child. But we both decided... that we would like you to give us a name."
Sarek stared at her, dumbstruck, and blinked. "It would be my greatest honor," he said in a low voice.
And for the first time in his life, Spock saw tears glistening in his father's eyes.
-The End-
So there it is. Wow. Yep, I'll say it again. Wow.
Let me know what you think!
- Serena