Title: Fire, Wind, and Water: The Debussy Suite 5, Gardens in the Rain

Author: Wildcat

Series: TOS

Rating: M

Codes: S/U

Summary: Eleven months after Uhura is transferred to the Lexington, the Lexington and the Enterprise are assigned to a joint mission that quickly becomes more complicated than anyone had predicted. This takes place after the events described in the following stories:

A Woman's Touch

The Taste of Snow

Almost a Kiss

You Would Even Say She Glows

The Flame Within

Fire, Wind, and Water 1: What the West Wind Saw

Fire, Wind, and Water 2: The Isle of Joy

Fire, Wind, and Water 3: Dialogue of the Wind and Sea

Fire, Wind, and Water 4: Bells Through the Leaves

Note that this is part five of Fire, Wind, and Water: The Debussy Suite.

Disclaimer: Paramount owns Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, and company. I have just borrowed them for a while, and I will not profit from any of this.

Thanks to Claude Debussy for his piano composition, "Jardins sous le Pluie," from which the title was taken.

Also, thanks to my beta readers, Jungle Kitty, ebonbird, and Gayle.

Fire, Wind, and Water: The Debussy Suite won 1st place for "Best S/U Story," 3rd place for "Best TOS Story" and Honorable Mention for "Best Overall Story" in the 1998 Golden O Awards.

Feedback is desired.

Gardens in the Rain, chapter 1

Rubbing her hair with a towel, Uhura walked from the shower to her computer. What would she like to hear while getting ready this morning? The Lexington was en route to a rendezvous and today would be a special day, so it should be something happy. Something uplifting, something joyous...

She draped the towel around her shoulders and smiled.

"Computer. Play 'Gardens in the Rain' by Claude Debussy."

A torrent of rapid, precise notes filled the air of her cabin, and she walked back into the bathroom. This music, energetic and driving, with its unceasing rhythms, lush harmonies, and exhilarating sunrise at the end, would be perfect. Absolutely perfect.

Just like her day.

...

"Captain? We're being hailed."

Swiveling in her chair, Uhura tried her best to keep her voice calm and professional, but she could tell by Captain Ames' expression that she wasn't entirely successful.

He grinned. "On screen, Commander."

They all turned toward the front of the bridge as the image on the viewscreen was replaced by the smiling face of Admiral Kirk, with Spock and Dr. McCoy visible behind him. Spock stood calmly with his hands clasped behind his back. As always, his demeanor was formal, and he gave no hint of what he was truly thinking. McCoy, though, grinned from ear to ear, and she didn't miss the quick little glance he threw in Spock's direction. The three men were posed as she had seen them so many times before, and her heart felt like it was about to leap out of her chest at the welcome, familiar scene.

Although now that she thought about it, something was slightly different... Of course! She laughed softly at the realization. She was so accustomed to seeing their backsides that everything seemed as if it were reversed from this angle. She abandoned any hope of keeping her dignified smile from turning into a huge grin as she left her seat to stand behind the captain.

"Welcome, Enterprise!" said Ames. "We're glad you could make it to our little party."

Kirk chuckled. "Let's hope you don't end up with more guests than you'd expected."

"That's why we're here, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. Have you seen any signs of activity since your last report?"

"No sir, we have not, but they're getting bolder every day. What's your ETA?"

Kirk looked at Spock, who answered, "At our present speed, we shall arrive at your coordinates in twenty-two point eight minutes."

Ames nodded. "We'll be waiting for you."

"Until then, Captain. Kirk out."

The screen was filled once again with the star-speckled blackness of deep space, and Uhura returned to her station. She couldn't stop smiling, though. Twenty-two minutes! She hadn't seen Spock for four long months, and suddenly twenty-two minutes seemed like an eternity. Of course, they probably wouldn't find a chance to talk privately until tonight, but at least she would be in the same room with him, able to hear his voice and see his face, near enough maybe to feel the heat of his body, so close that she could touch him if she only reached out.

Taking a deep breath, she turned back toward her board and tried to find something that would keep her busy for twenty-two long minutes.

...

Twenty-eight point four minutes later, Spock strode hastily through the corridors with Admiral Kirk and Dr. McCoy. The team from the Lexington was due to beam over at any moment, and if the three of them did not move quickly, it was possible they would not be present to greet Captain Ames, Commander Lenox, and Commander Uhura. Of course, Spock did not want that to happen, for it was standard procedure to welcome the command team of a sister vessel personally. Such an omission would be impolite. And, although he hesitated to admit it to himself, he did not want to wait any longer than required to see Nyota again. Such haste was illogical, for he and she would certainly have more than enough time together in the days to come, but he could not deny his eagerness.

He happened to look over at McCoy to find the doctor watching him with a rather smug expression on his face.

"In a hurry, Spock?"

Spock faced forward again. "To miss the arrival of the Lexington's senior officers would be improper."

"Uh huh."

McCoy's tone was heavy with sarcastic skepticism, but Spock chose to ignore him, and they walked in silence until McCoy spoke again.

"You know, too bad we can't just beam ourselves right to the transporter room. That way, there'd be no chance we'd miss it when Uhura—whoops, excuse me—the senior officers came on board."

Deliberately misunderstanding, Spock said, "Are you finding the pace difficult, Doctor? If this is too strenuous, perhaps you should walk more slowly and catch up with us later."

"You wish, Spock, but there's no way I'm going to miss seeing the look on your face when Uhura materializes on that transporter pad. She's going to wonder, though, why we're all puffing like we just ran the hundred meter dash."

"You haven't seen her since London, have you?" asked Kirk. "How long has that been?"

"Four months, two weeks, and three point four days."

McCoy snickered. "Not that you're counting or anything."

Spock raised an eyebrow but did not respond, and a moment later they swept into the transporter room.

"Any word yet from the Lexington?"

Mr. Scott, standing behind the transporter controls, nodded. "Aye, Admiral. They're assembling the boarding party right now. I'm just awaiting their signal."

As Spock took his place in front of the transporter pad, he thought about the events of four months, two weeks, and three point four days ago. He had risen stealthily that last morning, dressed in the dark, then stood by the bed and watched Nyota sleep. His chest tight, he had wanted to awaken her. He had known that there was much he needed to tell her, and in his mind he had rehearsed his explanation of why their violent sexual encounter had so disturbed him. In the end, however, the words had been left unsaid. He had let her sleep until the last moment, and then he had departed in haste.

A beep from the transporter console interrupted his thoughts, and he realized that he could feel his heart pounding. Ensuring that no hint of his inner turmoil showed on his face, he faced the transporter pad.

Scott smiled. "There's the signal. Energizing."

Three figures gradually formed before him, and before she had even completely materialized, he knew that she searched for him. He had never comprehended the human expression 'a sight for sore eyes,' but as their gazes locked, he suddenly knew exactly what it meant. She was, indeed, a most welcome sight to his eyes. He allowed himself a small almost-smile before he turned to greet Captain Ames.

Admiral Kirk had already moved forward. "Welcome to the Enterprise, Captain Ames, Commander Lenox. And welcome back, Commander Uhura."

The three newcomers stepped down from the transporter platform, and Spock found himself standing very close to Nyota. Her demeanor was composed while greetings were exchanged all around, but he noticed that she did not leave his side. And when she turned to greet him, the smooth professionalism of her voice was very much at odds with the look in her eyes.

He allowed his gaze to linger on hers until they were forced to exit the room.

...

"As you can see by the red symbols on the map, Klingon activity in the neutral zone has increased substantially. This display shows the pattern of incursions in the ten-month period prior to stardate 3923.1. Watch what happens when I overlay that with what we've detected since then. You can see that in just two months, it has more than doubled. And it seems to be concentrated in this area, here."

Pacing restlessly, Commander Lenox gestured at the stylized star chart displayed at the front of the conference room. He had run his fingers through his wiry red hair so many times that it stood on end, and Kirk tried not to smile as he saw shades of his own youthful intensity in Lenox's demeanor. It was interesting to notice how well Lenox's energy balanced Ames' laid-back ease. He had to admit that he'd questioned Starfleet's choice of the inexperienced Lenox as Ames' first officer—the man had spent his entire career on the ground—but he was beginning to see the wisdom in the pairing. And by adding Uhura's compassionate and level-headed personality to the mix as second officer, Starfleet had ensured that Lenox's inexperience would not be a problem.

Spock, seated between Uhura and Scotty, asked, "Have you considered the fact that this could be a ruse? I find it unlikely that the Klingons would be so flagrant in their demonstration of interest."

"Yes," replied Uhura. "We have considered that, Mr. Spock, but we can't ignore the fact that the Federation's new dilithium mine on Nistras Three is uncomfortably close to that area. What if we're supposed to think that it's a ruse? It would be disastrous if we concentrated our efforts elsewhere, just because we couldn't believe the Klingons would be so obvious."

He nodded, conceding her point. "It is a complicated situation."

"Commander Lenox, could you show us the tactical overlay again?" asked Kirk

"Of course, Admiral."

The glowing diagram shifted as the emblems of three ships appeared. Kirk could see the Enterprise and the Lexington moving along the neutral zone away from Nistras Three. Another ship, the Athena, was positioned further inside Federation space as a supposed barrier between the neutral zone and the mining colony on Nistras Three. Everyone knew, however, that if the Klingons truly set their sights on reaching Nistras Three, Athena's light armament would be inadequate against them.

Kirk turned toward Captain Ames. "During your patrols, how far from Nistras Three have you ventured?"

"Farther than has been comfortable at times, but we've made a point to cover as much of the Sector Three neutral zone as possible, so we generally don't turn around until we reach Epsilon Triana. I know that there's nothing there, but since the furthermost confirmed report of Klingon activity occurred nearby, I don't want to leave it out."

Kirk rubbed his chin as he gazed at the star chart. "I tend to agree with Spock that their target must be something other than the dilithium mines. From everything intelligence has been able to gather, the Klingons have all the dilithium they need on Kronos, so why would they go to so much trouble to investigate one of our mines? But I can't see anything else that looks like it's worth their interest."

"I agree with you completely, Admiral, but until we discover what they're after, I recommend that we keep both ships on patrol, and that we stay together."

"Agreed. Spock, dig around and see what you can find that might be worthy of our friends' interest. Work with Lenox and Uhura, and anyone else you might need."

"Yes, sir."

Looking at Ames, Kirk continued. "In the meanwhile, Captain Ames and I will watch for the Klingons. I think that we should stick to your established routine, Captain. The Klingons are bound to be alert to the fact that something has changed now that the Enterprise is here, but maybe if we don't do anything overtly different, they'll be lulled back into complacency."

Ames nodded. "That sounds like a good plan, Admiral."

"All right, then let's get to work." Kirk stood. "Dismissed."

End chapter 1