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The Secret, Part 1 of 4
Title: The Secret (1/4)
Characters/Pairings: Spock/Uhura
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything
Summary: Nyota finds out about something Spock neglected to mention...
A/N: Thank you to the magnificent mirandariver (author of NAR) who beta'd this story. I made LOTS of changes afterwards, so any bad writing/characterization is purely my responsibility.
“Geez, Spock! How long has it been since graduation?” his old roommate wondered, “Five, six years?”
“It has been five years and four months since our commencement ceremony,” he replied.
Although Robert Hassan had roomed with Spock for all four years of their Starfleet training, they hadn’t kept in touch since. Lieutenant Hassan ’s temporary visit to the Enterprise afforded the two schoolmates a chance to catch up.
"It is good to see you again, Bob." Spock remarked.
Bob sensed that Spock had changed for the better since their time in school. He seemed.. warmer, somehow. More open. The two of them had never been extremely close, but you learn a lot about someone when you live with them for that long, and he liked the changes he was seeing.
“Why don’t we meet for lunch after my rotation?” Lieutenant Hassan offered.
“That would be satisfactory,” he replied.
---
“Aghh!! You wouldn’t believe the day I’ve had, Spock!” Lieutenant Uhura said as she plopped down with her tray in hand. "I blew a circuit in my communication console, and I have gotten nowhere with the repairs since this morning."
"I would suggest you first inspect the repairs performed by your colleagues while you were off-shift.", Spock offered. “You may find their soldering skills unequal to yours. However, I have no doubt that you will be successful in resolving this problem, regardless of how you choose to approach it,” he added, with nearly imperceptible tenderness.
Imperceptible to all but Nyota. She smiled warmly at Spock.
Their moment was interrupted as they were approached by a man unfamiliar to Nyota.
“There you are!” Lieutenant Hassan addressed Spock. “May I join you?”
“Of course,” Spock replied, tilting his head. “We had, in fact, made plans to join one another for lunch, if you recall our earlier conversation.”
Lieutenant Hassan restrained himself from laughing. “Right. Anyway…”
Spock turned to Nyota, “Allow me to introduce Lieutenant Uhura, our Chief Communications Officer. Lieutenant, this is Robert Hassan , my roommate from my time at Starfleet Academy. Lieutenant Hassan is here on temporary assignment to assist Lieutenant Commander Scott with the warp engine retrofit.”
“Pleased to meet you, Lieutenant,” replied Nyota, cheerfully.
“Likewise, Lieutenant Uhura,” Hassan responded, smiling. He couldn’t help but notice that the Chief Communications officer was a very attractive woman.
"Lieutenant Hassan 's skills are highly specialized, and his assistance was specifically requested by Lieutenant Commander Scott," Spock added, as Lieutenant Hassan waved the compliment aside.
“So, you were roommates for some time, then!” Nyota said to both men. She turned to Spock with teasing offense, “I’m surprised you’ve never mentioned Lieutenant Hassan before.”
“Please, call me Bob,” Lieutenant Hassan insisted.
Spock interrupted. “There was never any reason for Lieutenant Hassan to come up in conversation.”
“Please. This is Spock.” Bob said to Nyota while grinning, “He’s hardly the sentimental type.” He speared a fry with his fork and continued, “I don’t take it personally.”
Nyota stole a sideways glance in Spock’s direction. Spock met her gaze momentarily.
Is he flustered? Bob wondered to himself. These two seem awfully close, actually…
"Well, anyway," Bob continued, "I'm sure he's lightened up a lot since school. Now that he's spent more time around humans."
Was that a faint smirk on Lieutenant Uhura's face? Hmmm......
"Indeed, Lieutenant," Spock looked in Bob's direction, "Acclimation is a natural result of immersion. However, I believe the degree to which I may have 'lightened up', in your opinion, would in no way approach the standard set by you while we were at the Academy together."
Bob laughed out loud. "That's true!" He turned to Nyota, "I got into so much trouble back then. And I told him all about it, whether he wanted to hear it or not!"
Nyota reluctantly interrupted their banter, “Man... I have to get back to the bridge. I only had time for a ten minute break. I’m having a hell of a shift.”
“Well, it was lovely meeting you,” Bob replied as she got up to leave.
“It was nice to meet you, too, Bob.” Nyota responded. “We’ll have to get together later so you can tell me all about what Spock was like all those years ago!” She turned to Spock and winked. This time Spock did not react.
Amused and curious, Bob tilted his head. “I may have to do that before I leave, Lieutenant!” And with that, Nyota took her leave of them.
Bob slowly turned back to Spock and stared with an amused expression on his face. After a few moments, Spock asked, “Did you have a question Lieutenant?”
Awww, what the hell, Bob thought to himself. “So… Is Lieutenant Uhura your girlfriend?”
Spock considered this very personal query. Although he had considered Bob an adequate roommate, Spock had rarely shared personal details of his life with him. They had been more friendly acquaintences than friends. Furthermore, Bob was extremely indiscreet. This tendency had clearly not lessened over the years. Nevertheless, Spock knew that Lieutenant Hassan was not a malicious person, and there had always been a mutual respect between them.
“Lieutenant Uhura and I are engaged in a personal relationship,” he replied, finally.
“I can’t believe it, Spock!” Bob exclaimed. “She's your girlfriend!" He slapped himself on the forehead, shaking his head. "You Vulcans win at everything!”
Spock wondered if he’d said too much.
Bob pushed his plate to the side and leaned in, “And I have to say, my friend, she is…” he sucked air through his teeth and stared into space for a bit, never quite finishing his thought.
Spock immediately regretted his candor. “Indeed,” he replied, with a forced calm.
---
Two days later, Nyota finally found a few minutes to relax. Spock was still on duty, so she decided to take advantage and give herself some alone time. The observation deck was so peaceful and quiet. Gazing out at the stars reminded her of home, somehow. Of years spent gazing up at the cosmos, dreaming of all the life forms out there, all the languages they spoke…
“Lieutenant Uhura!” came a voice from behind. Nyota turned around.
“Bob! So nice to see you again!” she responded, smiling, “Please. Call me Nyota.”
“Well, Nyota.” Bob smiled back, “I believe you wanted some information from me, about you-know-who.” He winked at her.
“Indeed I do!” Nyota responded, her eyes widening. “Please, have a seat.”
They chatted for some time, Bob telling her story after story about Spock’s gradual adaptation to life among humans.
Nyota could tell that, although Bob immensely enjoyed teasing Spock, it was done in an affectionate way, and there was an underlying respect and admiration for her partner.
“So..” Bob interjected after recovering from a fit of laughter, “How long have you two been going out?”
“Ah. So you know about us, do you?” her eyes were bright as she said this. She knew Spock well enough to know that Bob must have dragged it out of him.
“Well, yes.” Bob replied. “It’s pretty obvious. You two were rather affectionate with each other the other day. I mean… you know. For Spock.”
Nyota threw her head back and laughed. “I guess you would know him better than most, wouldn’t you?”
“Anyway, I couldn’t help but notice that Christine Chapel is assigned to this ship,” he replied with obvious curiosity and concern.
“Yes,” Nyota replied, confused as to what this had to do with anything. “She and I are good friends.”
“Isn’t it weird, though?”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, you’re right,” Bob responded. “It‘s been a long time she and Spock were together.”
Nyota didn’t know how to react. Was Bob telling her that her Spock and her friend Christine had been together romantically at some point? Why didn’t either of them say anything?
The only indication of her inner turmoil was a fraction of a pause.
“Yeah.. You’re right.” Was all she could say.
“Man, I gotta hand it to you.” Bob responded. “I would not be able to work with someone that I knew slept with my girlfriend.”
That was the last straw. If Nyota was going to conceal her shock, she would need to get out of there. Soon.
“Bob, it was so nice talking to you, but I actually have to get going,” She stated with as little emotion as she could manage.
Bob immediately sensed he had hit a sore spot. “Ok Nyota, I’ll see you later, then,” he responded as she got up to leave. Great job, loudmouth, he thought, wanting to kick himself. He had been enjoying their conversation.
Only when she had gotten several paces from the door of the observation deck did Nyota allow herself to hyperventilate.
part 2 can be found here.
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Nice work with Nyota. I'm not seeing any of the problems you mentioned before with her characterisation, so it looks like your editing was successful. And you've really done well with Spock's 'voice'.
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