Chapter 4:

Uhura stepped into the Sick Bay. "Doctor McCoy? May I have a word with you?" She asked.

"That depends—is the word 'whiskey'?" He asked, checking a patient's chart.

She shot him a look that might have sent shivers down his spine, were it not for the fact that he was too busy with his notes. "Is Spock going to be okay? He explained it to me… but…"

"Spock should be fine. There are solutions. I…" Bones looked at the door, "Have a seat, and I can explain them a bit better."

"Thank you, Dr. McCoy." Uhura smiled warmly at him as he led her to his office area.

"Now, this goes against some of the doctor-patient confidentiality, but you…" Bones allowed his face to form a small smile. "You've gotten the closest to him of any of us. You're good for him."

--

Spock walked back up to the Bridge. "Captain, may I have permission to speak to you regarding some personal matters?" His skin had flushed green, and he had an ever-so-slight shaky movement when he stood still.

"Permission granted, my good friend." Kirk led him into a private room off of the bridge, as he preferred not to discuss personal matters—at least, the most embarrassing ones—in public.

"Jim, I do require the vacation time allotted to me if I am to overcome my burden. Indeed, I realize that I will not be receiving any more personal time off for the next full year." Spock paused, his eyes trailing from Kirk's. "That is one sacrifice that I must make." He smirked slightly, trying to alleviate some of his Captain's apprehension.

'He acts as though the loss of my personal vacation days is really something that upsets me.' Spock thought to himself. 'As it stands, my personal and social lives do not warrant such lengths of time to myself.' The last thought felt like a stab to his heart, but this time, he wasn't entirely sure whether or not it was the emotional upheaval caused by pon farr or whether it was the normal emotion that he'd convinced himself that he was devoid of.

Kirk sighed, but Spock's shakiness and green tinge did not go unnoticed. He saw the desperation, he had heard what Bones said, and he'd read the report. He knew there was no other way. He placed a hand on Spock's shoulder, which ignited a practical feeding frenzy for the creatures that the Vulcan seemed to feel were living in his own skin. Physical contact with any being, human or otherwise, was becoming difficult to bear. "Vacation granted," He smiled sincerely. "But I'll pull some strings and see if I can make it a medical leave instead."

"Thank you, Sir." Spock nodded at his Captain, grateful that his request had finally been approved. "And Jim? I apologize that your attempts instill fear within me earlier did not work as you had intended." Kirk blushed a little bit, feeling embarrassed that he did such a stupid thing. "The kind of fear that is required is something much deeper than the sudden scare that you had considered."

'…like making me believe that another whom I love has died.' He retreated to the transporter, headed for the residence deck, ready to set into his meditation once again. As he was walking, he wondered why his mother's death hadn't stopped pon farr from happening. 'Perhaps it is because I had to overcome the circumstances and grieve for her rather quickly if I were to confront Nero. Perhaps Nero's death was the culmination of my grief for Mother.'

Kirk watched his First Officer go—he had been tremendously foolish in thinking that he could jump out and scare Spock. Spock feared very little, it seemed. He knew Spock had to be fearful, but of what, no one could figure out. Spock felt anger, hatred, and love, but no one knew if he felt fear or not.

'He's got to be afraid of death.' Kirk thought. 'Why else would he be so desperate to both meditate for days on end with no interpersonal contact?'

Kirk turned to head back to the Bridge to make his rounds. 'Unless he's afraid of us—his friends, his fellow crew members—seeing him in such a vulnerable state. He's suffering, he's sick, he's in a rather embarrassing situation…' Kirk stopped in his tracks.

"He doesn't want us to watch him suffer in vulnerability. He would rather have us see him as the calm, cool, collected individual that he tries so hard to be." Kirk grinned; this would make his plans far easier to execute. He put Chekov on notice that he was in charge for the remainder of the day, but to call him if there was an emergency. This was going to be like the good old days.

--

Uhura had requested the rest of the day for a personal day. She had discussed it with Bones, and she had figured out exactly how to solve the problem. It had amazed her that Spock hadn't considered her possible solution before this; after all, being scientific-minded and logically-inclined should have led him to draw the conclusion long before she did.

'I love that pointy-eared ball of logic, but like many men, he can be so clueless.' She thought, grinning as she stepped into her quarters. She had to find her nicest dress; the one with the low-cut halter top, and the high-rise skirt. She dug through her drawers, trying to find her last remaining, nearly empty bottle of the perfume that he loved on her.

'Not that he's going to give a damn in the physical and emotional state he's in.' she thought, but she wanted this to be as proper and romantic as possible. She clasped on the necklace with a charm made of small gems native to Vulcan; he had given it to her after Nero had destroyed his home planet.

'You will always be part of 'home' for me, Nyota.' He had said to her, and she smiled at her memory. 'And I will be there for you, always.' She thought in response to her memory. She checked herself in the mirror, tying up her hair into a messy, yet sophisticated bun. She would break a few hearts on her way to Spock's quarters. She checked her reflection in the mirror one last time and made her way down the hall.

--

"Spock, you sonuvabitch!" Kirk yelled, banging on his door. "Get your skinny, uptight ass out of your bed and get out here RIGHT NOW!" He shouted.

The Vulcan inside turned an even deeper shade of green, but he was starting to see red. He couldn't take this anymore. He stood up, growled, and stormed over to the door, which slid open. "Captain, I must ask you to leave at once. I am in no state to be bullied right now, and I am now taking my personal time, which you yourself granted to me."

"No! You're unfeeling, you're unemotional. You're full of crap." Kirk said. "Do you want to know what I think about this whole pon farr thing?" He looked at Spock through narrowed blue eyes.

"No, not particularly, but I suspect that you will naturally ignore such a response and tell me, regardless." Spock shook, and behind his back, his fists were clenched, attempting desperately not to reach up and choke the life out of Jim Kirk.

"I think that pon farr is a load of crap; an easy, convenient excuse to get out of doing work for the mission. You want nothing more…" Kirk paused, looking directly into Spock's eyes, from barely an inch away. "…than to make us feel sorry for you."

That did it. Normally, Spock would have turned around and shut the door on Kirk. Today, his emotional and physical states were weakened to the breaking point. Kirk didn't even see Spock's clenched fist as it rose up and slammed into his eye socket. He was aware, but could do nothing to stop the second one from grabbing his neck, pulling him forward, and readying him for the second shot. Punch after punch ensued, and Kirk was getting nowhere. He managed to get one knee in towards Spock's groin, but he ended up hitting his rigid hip instead, hurting his kneecap in the process.

"Damn." Kirk choked, immediately regretting his course of action. "Sp-aaah-kkk" He hissed. "Stoppp…"

Spock complied with the request, but not in the manner that Kirk had wished. He lifted Kirk off the ground by his uniform, heaved back, and threw Kirk across the hall, where he crumpled up on the doorstep of Chekov's bunk.

"Spock!" Uhura shouted. "What did you do?" She rushed up to the scene, and she looked from Spock, still with an angry, menacing look, to Kirk, who was quiet, barely moving on the gray floor of the residential deck.

"Nyota, I… I'm sorry, but you must go." He said, trying to step back into his quarters.

"Not without an explanation, I'm not." She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow. Normally, Spock enjoyed her displays, but now, it was an intense source of pleasure. Seeing her powerful posture, somewhat of a fetish for him, drove him wild.

"Kirk… He entered my quarters without permission…" Spock had to search for words. He was being torn apart from inside and out. "He confronted me, and he angered me." He looked over to the bruised, crumpled mess on the floor. "I began to hit him, and then I threw him out of my quarters, Lieutenant. Excuse me." He retreated back into his quarters.

"You… pointy-eared… bastard." Kirk spat blood from his mouth, sitting up and leaning against the wall.

"You had it coming, Jim." Uhura said. "In fact, you're lucky I didn't get here first." She crossed her arms.

"I was trying to help. Violence could solve his pon farr problem, and I wanted him to get violent and stop it. Apparently, it didn't." He said, wiping his face with his shirt sleeve.

"Well, then your 'Plan B' didn't work." She hissed, squatting down and checking his face. "But my 'Plan C' is infallible." She said. "You need to go see McCoy. Go. Now." She offered her hand to help him up.

"Ooh, feisty." Kirk said, taking her hand and standing with her. "You know, I like my women bossing me around." He raised an eyebrow. She rolled her eyes and gave him a gentle push.

When he disappeared down the hall to speak to Bones, she turned and knocked on the door.

"Spock… Please let me in. I need to check on you." She pleaded through the gray barrier. The door opened quickly, allowing her access.

Spock looked up from his meditation, seeing her for the first time. He usually did not like to leer, but in his state of sexual arousal, couldn't possibly look away. He focused on her soft curves, the globular structure of her breasts, confined by the black velvet of the dress. He followed the curves of her body as they slid gracefully down the dress, and emerged in the form of her legs, long and shining, ending in the confines of her sparkling, strappy heels. It was too much for him to bear.

"Please, Nyota." His breath had become ragged, desperation clung to his voice. "I need you to leave me."

"Spock… I've come to be your solution for pon farr." She said, leaning close to him. "Because I love you." She kissed him deeply.

"I'm afraid…" He whispered into the kiss. "I won't be able to control myself if you keep doing this." He tried to pull away. "Think of the consequences…"

She reached down and ran her hand along his uniform, sliding her hand up the shirt onto his stomach, feeling the trail of soft hairs. His skin was practically on fire, and she felt as though she, too, would burst into flame.

"Haven't you ever heard of birth control, Mr. Science Officer?" She said, leading his hands to the back of her neck, where the halter had been hooked together, holding her body in the dress.

He raised an eyebrow. "The thought had crossed my mind, but…" He looked directly into her eyes. "I did not think… Nyota, our relationship has been relatively short." He could barely hold himself back, grasping the fabric at each end of the hook and leaning in for a gentle kiss to her neck. Her perfume invaded his senses, and he made a mental note to buy her more of it.

"We've been together for months." She dug her fingers lightly into his shoulders, squeezing him, feeling the heat radiating from within his body. She leaned up and licked at the lobe of his ear. "I'm ready for this…" She nibbled at the tip, letting out a warm, breathy laugh, sending shivers down his spine. "…if you are."

Spock looked at her for a moment, taking in the beauty that was Nyota Uhura. Everything about her seemed to scream "illogical" at this moment, but he didn't care. As Jim might say, 'Screw logic!' or 'Logic Schmogic!' Spock thought to himself as he unhooked her dress, sliding the velvety fabric down the length of her body.

He felt no guilt in realizing that he was still fully clothed, while she stood there in nothing but a blue thong. He had thrown everything aside, disarmed by his pon farr cycle, and he allowed the feelings of love and lust to override his brain. He not only allowed, but helped her remove his clothes. He leaned down and started to kiss her, starting at her soft, red lips and running down her dark skin, leaving a trail of kisses on her jaw line, down her neck, allowing himself to feel her moans through his lips.

He kept going, until he reached her breasts, stopping to admire her perfect human anatomy; even with slight imperfections—one nipple just slightly at a higher level than the other, a birthmark just beneath her left breast—he found her to be absolutely, without question, the closest he'd ever seen to true perfection.

She squealed and giggled slightly as he began to nibble ever so softly at one of her nipples. It was something she had not enjoyed from other men; "They're not chew-toys!" she had screamed at one of her previous boyfriends before throwing him out.

"Nyota…" He whispered, sated for the moment with her breasts. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over to his perfectly made bed. "I want… I need… I love you." He climbed over top of her, looking down into her eyes. He began to kiss her again, but then pulled away briefly. "I love you. That's not an effect of pon farr, I really love you. I appreciate you, I…"

"Mmm, Spock, I love you, too." She grasped his hands, and placed them at her breasts. She reached up and pulled his face down to hers so their noses rubbed against each other. "But we have a more pressing issue, don't we?" She giggled.

-

--

-

"Bones! Bones!" Kirk shouted, his hand over his swollen eye, trying desperately to stop the swelling. "Need a little assistance, Doc!"

Bones came through the door and was taken aback by the sight. There was a stream of drying blood contrasting brown on the mustard yellow shirt. Kirk's remaining "good" eye retained its vivid blue color, but even more so with the redness surrounding it. The "bad" eye was swollen shut, surrounded by an ever-growing purple-black bruise.

"Why the hell do you keep doing this to yourself?" Bones scanned him and immediately grabbed a replicated ice pack. "Are you some kind of masochist? If so, you oughta go talk to my ex-wife, she'll sure dish it out." He forced the icepack onto Kirk's face, causing the blond man to squirm in pain.

"I tried to stop Spock by getting him into a violent fight." Kirk explained, taking the ice pack from the doctor and gently reapplying it to his eye.

Bones stood back and looked at Kirk as though he had just said that monkeys had come flying from his rear end. "Dammit! Haven't you learned that you don't pick a fight with someone stronger than you, especially when that person is a green-blooded hobgoblin who is more than capable of killing you before you're even aware that he's standing in front of you?"

"Uh… No." Kirk said. "Spock wouldn't kill me. He'd, uh… He'd just mess me up pretty good."

"Not under the cycle of pon farr he wouldn't—the urges get so powerful that Vulcans will let nothing stand in the way. Logic is thrown out the window with control, so he'd kill you without even batting an eye." Bones countered, injecting a drug into Kirk's neck.

"OOWWW… Oh." Kirk said, opening his mouth once again to say something before passing out.

"For a Captain, you sure can be a dumbass sometimes." Bones said, waiting another minute for the injection to course through his body and then another for Kirk to regain consciousness.

"Good morning, sunshine!" Bones said, returning to his work, stitching up a small cut above Kirk's eyebrow.

"I've got to go." Kirk stood up and ran down the hall.

"Come back here!" Bones stood up, but Kirk was already transported to the residence deck.

He heard noises as he walked on down the hall; 'sexy noises, to boot!' Kirk thought, walking down the hall. He knew what Uhura's 'Plan C' was now. He added up all the elements of the equation; the low-cut dress and the slutty heels, Spock's desperation, the failed pon farr-ending plots of violence and fear, and the simple fact that Spock hadn't had ten minutes in peace to meditate since he got on the ship last week.

As he approached Spock's door, he banged on it loudly. "Get a room, you two!"

The occupants didn't pay any attention to what was going on outside of the room and couldn't care less who was there to interrupt.

Huh. Not even a 'Shut up, Jim!' Must be really good... Who knew? He thought, going to his own quarters to clean himself up.

--

-

"And… this only happens once every seven years?" Uhura idly traced patterns on Spock's chest, occasionally twirling at his soft chest hair.

"Yes, Nyota. Pon Farr only happens once every seven years, and with it comes the agitation, aggression, and emotions that I've been suffering from for the past several days." He said, stroking at the thoroughly messed up hair.

'Damn.' She thought to herself, yawning and closing her eyes, kissing at his shoulder to bid him good night.

'Damn.' Spock thought. He hoped he wouldn't have to wait another seven years to repeat this night.

Author's notes:

I think I'm finished. I don't want to drag this out for too long. I apologize for the lack of sex (for those who were hoping for it), but I didn't want to get obnoxiously graphic with this, just enough to get the point across, I suppose. I hope you enjoyed it, and I do appreciate the reviews! Thanks!

Oh, and there wasn't any slash (well, perhaps implied at one point or two) but I think my next story will be Kirk/Spock slash...