"Home"
"It stopped raining." Uhura observed distantly, trying to catch her breath after the intense climax she'd just experienced.
Her comment seemed to rouse Spock, who had momentarily collapsed above her, careful not to crush her as he rested his forehead against her shoulder.
Lifting his head, Spock pressed his lips gently to hers before shifting his body to lie beside her.
"The calm after the storm." Spock stated.
Sitting up and glancing around for the sheet that had previously covered them, Uhura couldn't help but chuckle when she found it lying in a tangled mess on the floor.
"How appropriate." She responded, as she stood up on shaky legs to retrieve the sheet.
Upon hearing her comment, Spock lifted a curious eyebrow.
"Are you comparing sexual intercourse to a storm?" He questioned.
Uhura smiled at Spock's question as she walked back to the bed. She couldn't help but feel beautiful when she noticed his eyes roaming her body in appreciation.
Getting back in bed, Uhura spread the sheet over them, and then looked at Spock.
"With you, yes."
Spock seemed to consider her reply as she lightly ran her fingers across his chest.
"Exciting, unpredictable, intense. I can't think of a better comparison," she added, bringing her lips down to meet his. Spock had never told her, but Uhura knew that he enjoyed the soft kisses they often shared during these quiet moments. She knew from the way he would hold her face to his, making them last just a little longer each time.
When they parted, Uhura curled herself against Spock's side, resting her head on his shoulder. After a few moments of silence, she glanced up and noticed that Spock was staring at the ceiling, obviously thinking about something.
"What is it?" Uhura asked, overlapping his leg with hers.
Spock glanced down at her their legs, at the intimacy of Uhura's gesture, then back to the ceiling as if seeing something there that she couldn't see.
"I can think of a more accurate comparison." He told her, matter-of-factly.
Uhura was intrigued. Spock usually ignored her emotional observations, saying that they were "illogical" and "not entirely factual." She was used to that reaction. However, he seemed to be contemplating this one.
"Oh yeah?" Uhura asked with a hint of amusement in her voice, "What?"
Spock shifted so that he was lying on his side, facing Uhura.
"A Vulcan sunrise."
Uhura's face became serious. Though he'd said the words in the same monotone voice that he would have used to quote a statistic, the emotion behind his statement was apparent in his eyes.
All Uhura could do was to cover his hand, where it rested between them, with her own. She may have been a communications officer, but for once Uhura was speechless.
He glanced down at their hands, and continued.
"When I was purging all emotion in pursuit of logic, there was one memory, one emotion, that I could not part with," he lifted his eyes to meet hers, "The feeling I experienced as a child, when I watched the Vulcan sun slip above the horizon."
Uhura was shocked. Spock never talked of his home planet, or his childhood, so freely. More than shocked, she was touched that he was sharing this story and his emotions with her in this way.
"I promised myself that I would see it again soon."
Uhura felt her heart break as she watched his eyes darken, the events of last month still so fresh in both their minds.
"Of course, that is now impossible as Vulcan no longer exists." Spock added.
Uhura lifted her hand to touch his face, but Spock was already moving off the bed. She watched as he stood up and pulled on a pair of black lounge pants.
"Spock, where are you going?" Uhura asked, confused, but not surprised, by his sudden change in mood.
"I am going to meditate now. We have to get ready soon." he replied as he walked over to the large window in the next room and sat down in front of it.
Uhura sighed and watched as Spock seated himself in the gray light coming from the window. The contrast of the dark room and the murky light against his skin made Spock's shadow look severe, his devilish features more haunting. Yet, to Uhura, he had never looked more beautiful.
Quietly, she sat up and slipped on her robe, bare feet padding to the adjoining room.
Kneeling down beside Spock, she gently ran her hand from his temple to his ear, caressing its outline, before resting her hand on the back of his neck.
"If I could bring that sunrise to you, Spock, I would." Uhura whispered.
Spock's eyes remained closed, his mind focused, his body still.
Uhura sighed, wishing she could take away some of his pain. She sat there watching him for a few more moments before making her way to the bathroom. They both had to report for duty in three hours as the U.S.S. Enterprise had been repaired and was due back in space.
Uhura brushed her teeth and was in the process of pulling her hair back when the door to the bathroom opened with a whoosh and Spock stepped in. She put down the hair clip she was holding and turned around to face him. His eyes were dark, and for once she couldn't read the emotion in them.
Then, faster than she could have imagined, Spock was right in front of her, pulling her forcefully against him as his lips crashed against hers. "Spock," Uhura tried to murmur, but was soon engulfed in the surprising passion of the kiss. A small moan of pleasure escaped her as Spock pulled her even closer, his hands gripped tightly around her arms.
When they separated, Uhura lifted her eyes to Spock's face. His eyes were intense and urgent, as if he was trying to tell her something but didn't know how.
They had only engaged in a mind meld once before, the intensity of which had left Uhura feeling weak and shaken. She hadn't been looking forward to doing it again anytime soon, but she couldn't deny the brown eyes that stared back at her, asking her permission, needing her permission for some reason she could not know.
Reaching down, Uhura slid her hand over Spock's and lifted it to her face, silently telling him to connect their minds.
"Are you sure, Nyota?" Spock asked, his voice soft.
Nodding, Uhura closed her eyes as Spock placed his fingers on her face.
Suddenly, her mind was overtaken with the image of a blazing red sun rising slowly over a desert horizon. She could feel Spock's overwhelming emotions - serenity, love, home. Through his mind, Uhura experienced the beauty of a planet that no longer existed.
Then the image changed. Uhura now saw herself through Spock's memories. It was from a day after one of his classes when she had challenged a concept he had lectured about in class. Uhura remembered thinking she had overstepped her bounds, but through Spock's mind she could see now that he had been impressed by her intelligence and intrigued that she looked directly into his eyes, seemingly not intimidated by his rank or his heritage.
Another memory appeared. One night in his office when, as his grad assistant, she had requested to leave a few minutes earlier than scheduled. She did not mention why but he could tell that she had spent more time on her appearance than usual. He concluded that she was going to go celebrate the end of finals with her friends, as was custom at the academy. Uhura was surprised to feel Spock's jealousy as he granted her request, and his regret after she'd left the room.
Memory after memory flooded Uhura's mind until she found herself back in the turbo lift, holding his face and saying, "I'm so sorry," before pressing her lips to his.
Then a memory from last week when she had been singing an old folk song while getting dressed. She didn't even know Spock had been listening, but through his memory she could tell that he had stopped straightening the kitchen and watched her in the other room as she straightened her uniform in the mirror and put on her favorite pair of earrings.
The memories continued until, finally, she witnessed a memory from minutes earlier, during Spock's meditation. She heard herself say, "If I could bring that sunrise to you, Spock, I would." and she heard his mind reply, "You have brought that sunrise to me, Nyota."
When Spock finally pulled away, ending the mind meld, Uhura was crying.
"Oh, Spock." She whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck as he rested his hands on her hips. He mistook her tears for tears of distress.
"You're crying. The mind meld was too much, I should not have initiated it." Spock said, regret in his voice. But Uhura just placed her finger over his lips to quiet him, a small smile on her lips.
"These are happy tears, Spock."
"Happy tears?" He asked, curiosity in his voice.
"Yes." Uhura replied, moving her hands to cup Spock's face.
"Because I love you too."
She knew he wouldn't say it back, he couldn't. But she'd heard it over and over in his memories, felt his love for her through his own mind.
And when Spock lifted his face to hers and they shared another kiss, his lips told her everything she needed to hear. "I am home."
FIN