Title: The Softest Star

Author: Wildcat

Series: TOS/TNG

Rating: T

Codes: S/U, Saavik

Summary: Someone unexpected comes to Saavik's house while Spock and Uhura are visiting.

Disclaimer: Paramount owns Spock, Uhura, and Saavik. I have just borrowed them for a while and will not profit from this.

This story is part of my S/U Trekiverse. It takes place between Utoto and The Waking Man.

Thanks to Jungle Kitty, my terrific beta reader and friend.

This story won 1st place for "Spock/Uhura Pairing" in the 2004 ASC Awards.

Feedback is desired.

The Softest Star, Chapter One

"Happy birthday to you,

"Happy birthday to you,

"Happy birthday, dear Nyota-and-Cecilia,

"Happy birthday to you."

Uhura caught Spock's eye before she took a deep breath, leaned over Cecilia's shoulder, and blew out the candles. She pretended to blow hard, but fortunately the number of candles—six—represented Cecilia's age, rather than the much higher number she might have expected for herself. It didn't take much effort to blow them all out with one puff. Besides, Saavik might have burned down the house if she'd tried to light a hundred and one candles for Uhura's sake.

Cecilia was so overcome by the sheer joy and excitement of the moment that she almost wiggled out of Uhura's lap, but Uhura held her tight.

"We did it!" she said to the little girl.

"We did! We did! But Spock didn't sing."

"I assure you, I share the sentiment nevertheless," he said.

Cecilia gave him a scowl from under white-blonde brows, but quickly turned her attention to the colorful box her brother thrust under her nose.

"Open mine first!" he insisted.

Uhura eased Cecilia from her lap when it became clear that she might get jabbed by an errant elbow as Cecilia tore into her gift. She was glad to lean back and relax, anyway. They had arrived only this morning, and Cecilia had been so wound up over the impending party that they'd hardly had time to settle in before the festivities had begun.

When Cecilia moved closer to the bountiful stack of gifts, Uhura took a moment to admire her beautiful family. It seemed like just yesterday that Saavik had been an energetic little girl, and now she was the proud grandmother of two. It was funny how genetics worked sometimes. Even though Saavik's son Derek was dark and he was the product of dark parents, he had married a woman with fair skin and sleek blonde hair, and except for a wild mass of curly hair and the tendency to develop an unusually dark tan each summer, his little daughter looked just like her mother. His son Lucas, though, was the spitting image of Derek at that age, minus the pointed ears. Uhura had been secretly disappointed when that genetic trait didn't make it to the next generation, but maybe it would turn up again someday.

Spock moved a chair close to her and sat down. "Are you well?" he murmured.

"Oh, yes. I'm fine." She patted him on the knee. "Just worn out."

She could see the skeptical look in his eyes, but before he could pursue it, they were interrupted by Lucas.

"Nyota!" He plopped a package onto the table in front of her. "This one is for you!"

Sitting straighter, she said, "Why, so it is! And it's from you! I wonder what it could be. Is it a puppy?"

"No, it's not a puppy!" giggled Lucas.

Shaking the package in a mock attempt to figure out what it might be, she made a conscious effort to brush off her fatigue and enjoy the delighted squeals of the children. She had been looking forward to this trip for ages, and she was determined to savor every moment.

She barely had time to gush over the handmade holoframe before the next box was plunked down before her, and she had to begin the same guessing game for Cecilia.

...

Spock opened a window in the guest room and took a moment to admire the reflection of the moon on the water before he stepped back.

"Like this?" he asked.

"Yes, that's perfect." Seated on the side of the bed, Nyota took a deep breath. "Mmm... smell that ocean breeze. I don't know which I like better—the sound of the waves, or the scent of the ocean. As much as I love living on Vulcan, I do miss this."

He sat beside her. "I always thought that you came here to see the children."

"Oh, I'd visit the children even if they lived in an igloo at the North Pole. The fact that we get the ocean, too, is just icing on the cake."

"Speaking of cake, I could not help but notice that this afternoon's festivities seemed to overwhelm you at times."

She flapped her hand. "It was nothing. I just needed to catch my wind after our long trip."

He was quiet for so long that she finally darted a glance at him.

"Nyota, you can fool the others, but you cannot fool me," he said.

"All right, all right. I'll admit that I'm not quite recovered from that last operation, but I'm getting better."

He shook his head. "We should not have made this trip. I should never have allowed you to talk me into it."

"You worry too much."

"I am rightfully concerned."

"Spock, I'm fine. Really." She rested her hand on his knee. "And please don't say a word to Saavik or Michael. I mean it. Not a word! There's no reason to worry them. This is going to be a great weekend, and I don't want to put a damper on it."

Once again, he did not answer immediately, so she gave his knee a little squeeze. "Please. For me."

"Very well," he said. "I will not mention it—"

"Good!"

"—but only if you promise to take care of yourself. Do not overdo it."

"Okay. I promise." She leaned close and kissed him. "It's settled. Now let's get ready for bed."

He stood and walked toward the suitcase he'd placed on a low stand by the wall. "You may have the bathroom first."

"Why don't you go ahead? I'd like to just sit here for a minute."

His shoulders sagging, he turned back to her, but before he could speak, she said, "To listen to the ocean! That's all. I just want to listen to the ocean."

He studied her for a long moment, and he could tell that she was trying very hard to keep an innocent expression on her face. Finally, he nodded.

"I will be out soon," he said.

He took the items he needed from his suitcase and carried them into the bathroom, but as soon as he was out of her sight, he leaned heavily on the counter and looked into the mirror. A middle-aged man stared back at him, a man with long creases on his face and a touch of gray at his temples. Nyota also had lines on her face, but they were not nearly as deep as his own, and although her hair was a pure shade of white, she was still vital for her age. She had always taken care of herself. Indeed, of the two of them, he had been the first one stricken by heart problems, which now had begun to take a toll on her. However, while a single operation had restored his heart to perfect working order, she had undergone a series of arduous procedures. None of them had been completely successful, and her recovery from each had been progressively more difficult. However, the last operation had been more aggressive than any of the others. She was optimistic, so he knew that he must have faith, himself. It was not logical, but it was his only choice.

Straightening, he took a deep breath and turned on the water to prepare for bed.

...

"More coffee?"

Saavik stood by the table with the coffee pot poised over Nyota's empty cup. Nyota nodded, so she filled it to the top, then poured some for herself and sat down. The house was very quiet. Michael was in the next room with the children, attempting to assemble one of Cecilia's more elaborate new toys, and neither Derek nor his wife Claudia had made an appearance this morning, obviously taking advantage of the fact that there were other adults in the house who could watch the children. Saavik was impatient for Derek to get up, since she'd hardly seen him since he took that position on Mars, but she was also pleased that she had Spock and Nyota to herself at the moment.

Nyota blew air over the top of her coffee and sipped. "Mmmm. It's been forever since I had decent coffee. The Ferengi down at the Old Town says that his coffee comes from Brazil, but I don't believe—"

They were interrupted by quick footsteps. "Spock?" said Lucas from the doorway. "Granddaddy can't get Cecilia's Deltan Jungle Explorer thing to work. The holographs won't come on. Can you help?"

"Of course." Spock put down his tea and left the kitchen.

Saavik pointed to the container on the counter. "We'll go down to Jake's Coffee House before you leave and ask him to put ten pounds or so in a pressure carton. That should last you for a while."

"Good idea. Do you know if he has an Andorian blend? I started drinking that when we were on vacation last year, and it's really hard to find."

"Andorian coffee? I thought you wanted Terran coffee."

"I do! I add just a smidgen of the Andorian coffee because it's so strong you could power a shuttlecraft with it. Listen, when you reach my age, you need a good kick start every now and then."

"We will need to be sly, then, because Jake will refuse to sell his good Brazilian coffee if he learns what you intend to do with it."

They looked up when Spock returned, followed closely by Michael. "Any luck?" asked Nyota as Spock seated himself next to her.

Crossing his arms, he said, "There is a part missing."

Michael shook his head. "I'm sure it's all there. They didn't open the box until this morning, so how far could the pieces have gone? I looked around the room and under the sofa. There's nothing else."

"You couldn't figure it out," said Nyota to Spock.

"One of the parts is missing," he replied stubbornly.

"Why the hell would they make it so hard, anyway?" added Michael.

"Now, Michael, it's supposed to be educational." Nyota sat straighter. "Ooh, maybe I can do it. I like a challenge."

Spock extended his hand toward the door in a 'help yourself' gesture, and Nyota grinned smugly at his irritability. Saavik almost grinned back—Spock never had liked it when he didn't know the answer.

Nyota quickly drained the last of her coffee, but when she attempted to stand, she couldn't quite get out of her chair. Rocking forward, she grasped the edge of the table and started to pull herself up, but Spock was already on his feet. He gently grasped her elbow and helped her to stand, and she gave him a grateful smile before she walked away. A moment later, her voice came from the other room.

"Hey! No one told me that the instructions were written in Tholian hieroglyphs!"

Spock raised an eyebrow and met Saavik's eyes. "It is educational, Nyota. Remember?"

She grumbled something under her breath that Saavik couldn't make out, then said, "Cecilia, how about a game of checkers? No, no, not down there on the floor. I'll never get back up if I get down there. Let's put them on the coffee table."

Saavik felt the humor drain from her face at this reminder of the difficulty Nyota had experienced just moments ago getting out of her chair. She turned toward Spock, who immediately found something interesting in his cup of tea.

"How is she doing?" asked Saavik in a low voice.

"Quite well," he replied.

Leaning forward so they could hear him, Michael murmured, "Leonard McCoy called me at my office last week, wondering how her last procedure had gone. I told him that I talked to her doctor immediately after the operation, and he was satisfied. Has anything changed?"

Spock finally looked up from his tea. "The Jarvik-241 utilizes all of the latest advances in medical technology. It is performing admirably."

"She seems so tired," said Saavik. "I'm worried about her."

Spock straightened, and Saavik knew he was going to tell her that it was illogical to worry about something she could not control. After a moment, though, he nodded kindly and said, "I know, Saavikam, and so does she. Your concern is appreciated, but she would be the first to tell you that we have every reason to be optimistic."

Before Saavik could reply, a piping voice in the other room cried, "King me, Nyota! King me!"

Nyota laughed, and Saavik realized that it was the same laugh she had adored for nearly seventy years. It was just the same as it had always been. Spock was right. Change was as inevitable as rain on a cloudy day, but for today, the sun was shining, and they should all enjoy it.

She gestured toward the next room. "Perhaps we should watch the checkers match. Cecilia will not forgive us if we are not there to witness—"

The comm signal sounded. "I'll get it," said Michael.

Saavik and Spock walked into the next room, but Saavik had no sooner found a seat than Michael returned.

"It's for you," he said uncertainly.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"Someone named T'Pir. She didn't tell me what it was about. Do you know anyone named T'Pir?"

"No. Did she ask for me by name?"

Michael nodded, so she frowned and went into the office. The woman on the screen appeared to be Vulcan, but Saavik thought that she might have been close to an emotional reaction when Saavik took a seat at the computer.

"I am Saavik," she said.

The woman did not reply at first, but finally she licked her lips and swallowed hard. "I am T'Pir."

"I know." Saavik was aware that she was forgetting Vulcan propriety, but she was too distracted by the woman's odd behavior to care.

"I am in Charleston. May I come to your home? It is very important that I meet you."

"May I ask why?"

The woman's intense gaze wavered suddenly. "It would be best if we discussed it in person. Please accept that my intentions are sincere." When Saavik did not reply immediately, she added, "I have come all the way from Vulcan to see you."

Saavik hesitated, but somehow she knew that this woman did not intend harm toward her or her family.

"Very well," she said. "I have plans with my family today, but I am taking another day off from work tomorrow. Perhaps you could come at 0900 hours."

"Any time that is suitable for you is acceptable to me."

"I live on Fripp Island. My address is 645 Osprey Lane."

"I will see you then."

The screen darkened. Saavik leaned back in her chair as she wondered what the woman could possibly want, but finally she rose and returned to the den.

Derek looked up from where he sat on the floor. The parts to the toy were spread out all around him, and the children were in the corner playing with the box.

"Good morning, Mom." He held up a small rod. "Does this look like the power source for a holographic emitter to you?"

"Good morning, Derek. No, it does not look like the power source for a holographic emitter to me." She addressed Spock and Nyota. "Have you ever heard of a woman named T'Pir? She appeared to be approximately your age, Spock, or perhaps slightly older. She said that she had come here from Vulcan."

"I have not," replied Spock. "Nyota, have you?"

"Nope," she said.

"What did she want?" asked Michael.

"She would not tell me. She is in Charleston, and she is coming here tomorrow morning. I assume that I will learn then."

Michael frowned. "She's coming here? Do you think that's wise? We don't know anything about her. Doesn't this seem the least bit strange to you?"

"It does," admitted Saavik, "but for some reason I am certain that we can trust her."

"Well, we'll know soon enough," said Michael.

They turned their attention toward the more immediate mystery of the Deltan Jungle Explorer set.

End chapter one