The K/S/U Trilogy

For readers who are electing to read "What You Owe Me," it will help give you perspective if you read the preceding two fics.  It was intended to be a trilogy.  I regret not being able to finish it.

Bulletproof Soul

14.  Restoration

A/N:  Slash alert.  Fluff alert, too.

She was in the far corner of Kirk’s bedroom, in the chair.  She wore one of Spock’s T-shirts, taking in deep breaths of his fragrance.  Patchouli was wonderful on him.

Uhura was painting her nails and waiting for them to exit the bathroom.  When she entered the room, she heard them in the shower.  Now they were out of it, but still in the bathroom, all up on each other.  No matter.  She could see them in the mirror.  Spock’s face was in Kirk’s neck; he was pulled against him, his long, beautiful fingers wandering over Kirk’s chest.  Kirk’s eyes were closed, his lips parted.

Uhura smiled as she played with her brand-new nail polish wand.  After duty, she went down to the salon to see Nadine, the ship’s stylist.  Nadine offered Uhura the chance to test out the wand, and Uhura, grateful to be rid of nail polish bottles, jumped at the opportunity.  Nadine’s nail wand was amazing because it worked in two ways: the polish would match your mood, or you could program it for specific colors.  All you had to do was touch it to your nails and they would fill with color and be dry in less than sixty seconds.

She sat in Kirk’s chair, listening to them have sex in the bathroom while tapping the wand against her nails.  Uhura had already changed nail colors at least ten times.  Nadine wasn’t getting her wand back.

Three days passed since her chat with Dez.  And as always, the Bajoran was right.  It was time to go home. Uhura missed Kirk and Spock.  She missed being with them, lying with them, talking to them, all of it.  There was no point in staying away any more.  She couldn’t.  They didn’t know she was in the room and she decided to wait before announcing her presence.  They exited the bathroom, Kirk first, leading Spock by the hand.

She smiled.  Spock’s hair was wet and mussed.  It was pushed back from his forehead; obviously Kirk had been running his fingers through it.  Spock pushed him down on the bed and came over him, kissing him.  Kirk slipped his arms around Spock, pulling him close.

Uhura watched them, her eyes hooded.  Now that Kirk’s cast was off, they were able to really get it on, and she did not deny her pleasure watching them do it.  She ran her finger over her lips as Spock held Kirk down by the throat as they kissed.  When he pulled away, Kirk’s breath was wheezy and labored; he liked it when Spock held him down.  Spock climbed over him and straddled him, rubbing his erection into his chest.  Kirk made some sort of sound, gripping Spock’s hips as he leaned over him.  Spock braced himself against the bed as he continued his seductive ministrations.

“Sweet Mother Mary, Spock…!”  Kirk threw his head back. 

“It is only fair, Jim,” Spock said.

“I know, but…gahhhh!”

Then Spock moved again; he could move quickly when the opportunity presented itself.  He was nibbling Kirk’s amazing pectorals and Kirk had him by the hair; double handfuls to ensure a good grip.  He moved down and over, left to right, back and forth, taking time to tongue Kirk’s tattoo.

Uhura watched, her fingers pressing her own tattoo.

Kirk’s gorgeous blue eyes filled with warm light, his passion growing as Spock moved lower, taking him.  He guided Spock’s head, mussing his hair further.  Kirk’s knuckles were white, his breathing constricted, his toes curling against the bed.  He was trying to speak, but Spock cupped his testicles—not gently—and Kirk gave up and in.

“Mmmmffllunnnnbbrrrrhhhhh!”

Spock stared at him, running his splayed fingers over Kirk’s chest.  “Jim,” he breathed.

Kirk moved so that he could get into bed and Spock lay beside him, locking pinkies with him.  It was some time before they spoke.  When they did, Uhura felt her heart swell to burst.

“That was amazing,” he said.

“As always,” Spock replied.  “However, it would be better if—”

“Nyota,” Kirk said.

“I am bereft at her continued absence.  I do not know what to do, Jim.”

“There’s nothing we can do, Spock.  She has to deal with everything in the way she knows how.  It’s been nearly a month.  We can’t rush her, but…”

“I want her to come back to us,” Spock said, matter-of-factly.  “That is the way it should be, it must be.  I would give anything if I could take back…what happened.”

“She will come back, Spock.  She will.  Eventually.”

Uhura had heard enough.  Kirk and Spock were as lost without her as she was without them.  She stood up.  “I’m here.”

Both men sat up.  She could hear the shock in their voices, but knew that Kirk couldn’t see her in the dark.

“Nyota,” Spock said, getting off the bed and looking in her direction.

“Spock,” she said, feeling weak-kneed.  “Jim.”

“Lights,” Kirk said.  The room was illuminated.

Uhura smiled shyly and waved.  “Hi,” she said.

Immediately they were beside her, taking her in their arms, pulling close to her in their usual fashion.  Spock buried his face in her neck and Kirk pressed kisses against her forehead.

“Nyota,” he breathed.  “Nyota.”

Spock’s face was in her hair, her neck, smelling her.   “K’diwa,” he said.  His hands were on her breasts and he was pulling her against him.  Kirk gripped her ass; when Spock pulled her against him, it brought his hands flush with Spock’s hips and they all felt the current flow through them, between them.  Electricity—this was what they missed.

Uhura felt tears on her cheeks and Kirk’s lips kissing them dry.  “I missed you,” she murmured.  “I missed you so much.”  She slid her hand up and around Spock’s neck and cradled Kirk’s face.  “So much.”

“I knew you would come back,” Kirk said, kissing her lips.  “I knew you would.”

“I couldn’t stay away anymore,” she replied as Spock turned her and claimed her mouth.  She closed her eyes, enjoying his wonderfully soft lips and the feel of his hands now on her ass.  And Kirk’s were on her boobs.

She did not know how long they remained like that.  But then one of them carried her to the bed and they lay on it.  Soon she was covered on both sides, their legs linked together and she was warmer than she had been in weeks.  Gods, but she had missed the intimacy.

“Why didn’t you tell us at lunch?” Kirk said, kissing her fingers.

“I didn’t know…I just found myself coming here after leaving the salon.  I missed you and Spock.  I just couldn’t…”

Spock was staring into her eyes, stroking her fingers against his cheek.  “Are you well, Nyota?  Are you healed?”

“Yes,” she said, meeting his gaze.  “I’m fine.”

She’d been experiencing odd little cramps and twinges here and there; Dr. McCoy assured her that everything was fine; it was just her body coming back together after her ordeal.  “I’m good.”

“It is a relief to have you home,” Spock said.  “Jim and I, we have not been the same without you.”

“How long have you been in here?”  Kirk said.  “We didn’t hear you come in.”

“That would be because you were occupied when I did.  I saw you in the shower and sat down to paint my nails and wait for you to come out.”

Kirk blushed.  “We were in there for a while.”

“I know.  I saw you.”

“So you were here when we came out of the bathroom?” Spock asked.

“Yes.  I sat and watched you.  It’s so remarkable when you two are together.  Hot, too.”

“You could have joined in,” Kirk said, moving his hand underneath her shirt.  Spock joined him.

“I’m not ready yet,” she said.

“I am pleased that you returned to us regardless,” Spock said. 

“Our relationship isn’t based on sex,” Kirk said.  “I don’t think it ever was, but I’m glad you realized that you don’t have to have sex with us to be with us.”

“I was afraid,” she said.  “I thought that…Dez told me that it would come back, but it was best for me not to sit around and miss out on our life together while I was waiting for it to.”  She sighed as she felt their fingers around her navel, moving over her belly.  “I thought that if I couldn’t get it up, if I couldn’t have any sex…”

“Sex is obviously a plus,” Kirk said, dipping into her navel.  “But we have missed this…this right here,” He waved a hand over their entwined bodies.  “Talking to you, watching you dance, you taking care of Spock and me, me eating off your plate…all that.”

She nodded.  “I missed it too.  But I needed time alone.”

“It is understandable why you had to stay away, Nyota.” Spock said. 

Uhura sighed into the bed, closing her eyes, loving the way their hands felt on her stomach.  It was so damned good to be home.  A few minutes passed where she just lay and let them touch her.  Then she thought about something Dez said.  She opened her eyes.

“How do I explain this to my mother?”

“You mean us?” Kirk asked.

“Yes.  Dez asked me if I intended for us to last.  I said yes.  Then she told me that I had to get tough because if that was the case, I’d eventually have to take you home to meet my family.  I never thought about that.”

“Fascinating,” Spock said.  “Jim and I have been engaged in this exact line of discourse.”

“Really?”

“Affirmative.”

“Well…how do we explain this to our families?”

“I really don’t give a shit about mine,” Kirk said.  “I barely get along with them.  But considering…”

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing.  It’s just that—”

“Jim wants to have a child,” Spock said.

“What?”

“Not now,” Kirk said.  “Of course, not right now.  In a few years, depending on where we are in our lives.”

“You actually want a kid?”  Uhura looked at him.

Kirk was thoughtful.  “It would be nice.  I could give him what I didn’t have.”

“Jim,” she said.  “There’s plenty of time for that.  But you don’t want to have a baby just to make up for what you lost.  And think of the logistics.  How would we raise a child?  Whose child would it be?  How could we even do this when you two up and run off on every away mission this ship has?  What would we do if, for some reason, you went on an away mission and didn’t return?  How could we survive that?  How in the world could you captain a starship with a baby running around?” 

Kirk actually smiled, picturing himself in the command chair holding his son.  Or Spock’s.  “I want to have a baby with you,” he said.  “I want to have a family.  We can be a family, can’t we?  I mean, this isn’t the textbook definition of family, but that doesn’t mean we have to be confined to such.  Family is what you make it.”

“I feel that Jim’s lack of closeness with his parents and brother fuels this, Nyota.  However, I do not take it lightly.  We are similar in that.”

“I thought you and your father made up.”

“Our relationship is tenuous at best.  We try.  I do not know what he will make of this, as it is illogical.”

“I keep telling you, doofus,” Kirk said, “Logic has nothing to do with this.  Your father won’t understand.”

“I would hope that he accepts it as my choice.  I do not know how he will react.”

“Do you really care, Spock?”

“He is my father.  He has a high stature in New Vulcan in addition to his political duties.  I would not wish his position disrespected.”

“No one can hold Sarek accountable for your actions, Spock,” Kirk said.

“He is my father.  I am his son.”  For Spock, it was as simple as that.

Kirk sighed, his fingers brushing against Spock’s over Uhura’s navel.  He closed his eyes.  “Nyota, we’ve never talked about this, but how does your mother feel about you dating a white man, much less a Vulcan?”

Uhura sighed, folding her arms behind her head.  “She’s not going to be happy.”

“About the white man part or the Vulcan part?”

“The white man part is going to upset her.   The Vulcan part may cause her to have a stroke.  You see, she had my husband picked out for me a long time ago.  It was the son of my parents’ best friends.  Not an arranged marriage or anything like that, but I believe she merely saw us growing up together, falling in love and having a family.  We were very close when we were children, but I went my way and he went his.  If I wanted to, I could have been with him because I knew he liked me.  But I didn’t want that life.”

“Your mother is prejudiced?” Spock asked.

“Yes,” she said.  “She hides it well, but she is.  I didn’t realize it until after I grew up.  It shames me to think that even now, there is a member of my own family that is prejudiced.  I think that’s one of the reasons I rebelled against her wishes and joined Starfleet.”

“We probably shouldn’t meet your folks,” Kirk said.  “I don’t want to get shot.”

 “Do you think they will invoke violence?” Spock asked.

“I don’t know,” Kirk said.  “I can envision Mr. Uhura breaking out a Winchester rifle and aiming it at my head when I tell him I’m in love with his daughter.”

 “Fascinating,” Spock said. 

“Spock,” Kirk said, “it will not be fascinating when he puts a load of buckshot in your ass.”

Spock raised an eyebrow.  Uhura couldn’t help but laugh. 

“I don’t think my father is the one you’d have to worry about.  My brothers, yes.  My mother, absolutely.  But my father…?  He’ll be upset at first, but when he sees how content I am, how much in love with you I am…he will come around.  My happiness is all he’s ever wanted.”

“I don’t know which family is worse,” Kirk said.  “Mine, yours, or Spock’s.  How did three rebellious people from three fucked-up families ever manage to come together and fall in love?”

“It defies reason,” Spock said.  “Yes, Jim, I know…logic cannot explain it.”

“I don’t know,” Uhura said.  “What I do know is that I don’t want any other man.  My life is with you two.  My parents may not like it, but it’s my life.  I’ll have to learn to live with their disapproval.  I will not learn to be without you.”

“Ditto that,” Kirk said.  “You’ve been without us long enough.”

“My father and I have always had our disagreements,” Spock said.  “He never accepted my decision to join Starfleet until recently.  If he does not recognize our relationship, I will learn to acknowledge his lack of acceptance.”

“I don’t give a damn what my mother and stepfather think,” Kirk said.

“Says the man who stole their vintage Corvette,” Uhura reminded him.  “Of course you don’t.”

“Why are things so bad between you, Jim?” Spock asked.  This was as close as Kirk had come to talking about his past.

He closed his eyes.  “Not tonight, Spock.  I’d rather not ruin the moment with bad memories.”

Spock nodded.

“Tell us when you’re ready,” Uhura said.

“Okay,” he said.  “I will.”

Uhura grimaced, closing her eyes.  Spock stopped rubbing her stomach.  “Are you all right, Nyota?”

“I’m fine,” she said.  “I’ve been having cramps, little funny ones.  Dr. McCoy says it’s just my body healing.  Don’t worry, Spock,” she said, cupping his chin.  “I’m all right.”

“Menstrual cramps?”  Kirk asked.

“I’m not sure.  My period’s due in a week or so, but these cramps aren’t like the ones I normally get.”

“Which reminds me,” Spock said.  “You are due to have your injection in three days, eleven hours and fifty-six minutes.”

“Yeah,” she said.  “Don’t worry; I’ll be there.  Talking about having a baby is fine, but it doesn’t mean I’m ready to do it.”

“You want some tea?” Kirk asked.

“No,” she said.  “I’m not hungry.  I just want to lie here with you and Spock.  That’s all.  Nothing else, just to fall asleep between you two.”

“I am able to grant your request,” Spock said.  “It will be pleasant to do likewise, Nyota.  I have missed the scent of you on the pillows.”

“Good.  Then it wasn’t just me,” she murmured, sinking into the bed.

In time, the room was dark and they were asleep.  Cushioned between her men, interlocked with their love, Uhura knew she was there to stay.

*

The conversation they had about family was just that: conversation.  As there was time to get into the decisions, wants and desires of having kids and telling the folks, they merely left the subject there on the bed with plans to bring it up when it was necessary to do so.  So Spock and Kirk focused on Uhura, making her happy, keeping her comfortable, and taking care of her.

They fell back into the rhythm of their relationship so easily; it was as if the split had never occurred.  The new assignment, near Polaris, was one which pleased Spock.  It was a simple data-collecting mission from a recently discovered planet.  Kirk was glad about it; it was always interesting investigating new worlds.  They were scheduled to spend a week cataloguing the planet’s resources.  Spock was near giddy with the prospect of scientific research.

The night after she returned, Kirk took a shower with her and washed her hair.  He took his time with it, scratching her scalp under gobs of shampoo, tipping her back to rinse.  Spock was waiting with her towels and carried her to the bed where he spent a luxuriant hour massaging warm body oil into her skin.  Kirk combed out her hair, stroking the damp strands, his heart in his eyes.  No words were necessary.

The next night, she took a bath with Spock and sat between his legs as he soaped her neck and back, arms and thighs.  He dried her off, patting her down as she stood before him in the bathroom.  He turned her so they could look in the mirror while he massaged her again, moving his nimble fingers over her breasts and belly.  He tenderly kneaded her buttocks and thighs and planted a warm kiss right above her pubis.  Uhura’s breath caught ever so slightly.  It was returning.  She was being restored.

Every night they slept as one, entwined in arms and legs, skin to skin.  Every day was better than the last.

*

Uhura lay curled on Kirk’s bed, waiting for them to enter.  She’d just returned from her quarterly sickbay visit and was absolutely befuddled by what happened with her injection that she wasn’t sure how to explain it to Spock and to Kirk.

Dr. McCoy had asked her into his office.  When he sat down in front of her, there was a strange look in his eyes.  She had never seen him look that way.

“Lieutenant, I’m afraid that I have some…well…news.”

“Good or bad?”

“I don’t know how you’re going to take it.  But I’m sorry and I’ll do what I can to ensure it never happens again.”

“What is it, Dr. McCoy?”

“Again, I apologize, Lieutenant Uhura.  This has never happened before and I’m embarrassed that…”

“What is it, Doctor?  Spit it out!”

“Your last injection…the progestin hormone degraded faster than normal.  It was a bad batch.  I did not realize it until I was preparing your current injection.  I am sorry.”

“What?”

“What I am trying to tell you is that you were not protected from pregnancy for the past two months.”

“Wait, Dr. McCoy.  Wait a moment.  Are you trying to tell me that my birth control didn’t take?”

McCoy’s face was so flushed that he looked as if he were on the verge of a heart attack.  “Yes.”

“I’ve had my periods, Dr. McCoy, and there’s another one due in a matter of days.”

“Having a period doesn’t guarantee anything, Lieutenant.  There is a chance that you might have conceived during Spock’s Pon Farr.”

*

Uhura lay on the bed, pressing her face into the pillows.  She had stared at the doctor for what felt like hours, not even comprehending what McCoy was telling her.

The door swished open and Spock entered first.  Kirk was behind him and they were talking about something.

“Nyota,” Spock said.

“Spock,” she said, sitting up.  “Jim,” she said.

Kirk saw her face and immediately went over to the bed.  “What’s the matter?”

Hearing the tone of Kirk’s voice, Spock turned away from the bathroom and went back towards the bed.  “Nyota, are you all right?  You do not look well.”

“I’m fine,” she said.  “I just don’t know how to tell you—”

“What?” Kirk said, his expression turning to one of worry.

Uhura took a deep breath and blurted it out.  “Dr. McCoy told me that my last birth control injection did not take because of a hormone malfunction.  I’m pregnant.”

To be continued…

Bulletproof Soul

13.  Aftermath

A/N:  Slash alert.  Read at your own risk.

Uhura was in sickbay for three days and then she confined herself to her quarters.  Kirk returned to sickbay and stayed for two days until McCoy was comfortable that he suffered no adverse effects from the hydrocodone and adrenalin shots.

They were scheduled to leave Madir soon. The crew was enjoying the time off and Kirk appreciated the quiet time on board the ship.  Spock took to his quarters and stayed there while he and Uhura were in sickbay.  The time alone was beneficial, as it gave Kirk a lot to think about.  He knew that Spock and Uhura were contemplating as well.  There was much to mull over.

Five days after beaming back on board the Enterprise, Kirk was in his quarters, lying in bed, looking up into the mirror.  He touched his triangle tattoo, considering what it meant to be in a serious relationship (he’d never had any like this) and what it took to maintain it.  He understood that there were limited guidelines to their triad; most of it they made up as they went along.  He thought Pon Farr to be a minor blip on the radar; he had not realized how significant it was until it actually happened.  He hoped that it would not provide lasting damage to their relationship.  With Uhura and with Spock, he knew a love, a peace, a contentment that he had never experienced before.  With them, he was connected to something real and tangible other than Starfleet and the Enterprise.  He understood that there would always be bumps in the road for them, if they remained with one another.  There would be bumps even if they didn’t.  Best to stay with each other and weather them together.

They would, if he had any control over the situation.  Kirk did not want to go back to the life he had before; to the emptiness of multiple one-night stands, the meaningless fights he always managed to get into, the loneliness of command.  The Enterprise had been his one saving grace until he won Uhura’s heart, and then come to learn that there was enough room in his own for Spock.  No, he did not want anything to ruin their love affair.  His life was complete on all sides, balanced in every direction.  He would not lose that.  He would fight for it if he had to.

“Jim.”

Kirk opened his eyes to see Spock in the doorway of his bedroom.  He had not seen him or Uhura since they came back to the ship.  “Spock?”

“Yes.”

“I thought you wanted to be alone.”

“And I was for five days, ten hours and seventeen minutes.  However, I am now finding it difficult to stay away from here.”

Kirk sat up and smiled.  “I missed you too, doofus.”

Spock made his way in.  “I stopped by to check on Nyota.  She is healing.  However, she still requires solitude.”

“Hey, if you knew what you put her through, you’d understand.”  Kirk knew that she would come back when she was ready.

“I am horribly sorry for what I did to her, Jim.  I—”

“Spock, she knows.  It’s all right.  I know.  We don’t hold it against you, but we must accept its consequences.  It wasn’t an easy thing for me to see, so I know it wasn’t easy for her to experience.  But she loves you.  So do I.  It will work itself out and next thing you know, we’ll be back to normal.”  Kirk moved over so that Spock could sit on the bed.  “Unless, of course, you are here to tell me that you no longer wish that we remain a triad.”

“Under no circumstances would I come to tell you such, Jim.  I do not wish our relationship to end.  I am perfectly content with Nyota and with you.”

Kirk sighed.  “Good.  That makes me and you.”

“Are you concerned that she will not feel the same way?”

“No, not really.  It’s just hard to tell right now.  I mean, she sends me a message every morning to let me know that she’s fine, but I understand that she needs time to get over what happened in Madir.  It was pretty violent.”

Spock circled the tip of his finger around Kirk’s left eye and then across his throat.  The bruises were fading.  “I am sorry that I was so rough with you.”

“Hey man, you threw me out of a window.  Rough isn’t the term I’d use.”

Spock closed his eyes.  McCoy saw fit to mention that to him when he checked him out.  “Jim, I cannot—”

Kirk put his fingers over Spock’s mouth.  “Shh,” he said.  “It’s over.  It’s done.  I’m all right.  No worse for wear.”

“I regret that I caused us so much difficulty.”

“Do you think so?  I don’t.  We don’t argue, we don’t fight, we work well together and we love hard.  I don’t think we have any problems, Spock.  Other than Nyota taking the time to heal, I think we’re fine.  We didn’t go into it blind, Spock.  We were as prepared as we could be.  We took care of each other and of you as best we could; that’s what you do when you love someone.  You haven’t caused any problems whatsoever.  If anything, this is testing our commitment.”

Spock took his hand and stroked his fingers.  “I am prepared to do whatever I must to ensure that our connection is not broken.”

“It’s not,” Kirk said.  “Nyota isn’t going anywhere and neither am I.  This thing will only make us stronger.  I believe that.  You should, too.  I mean, we need to be tight if we’re going to last, right?”

“By tight, I infer that you mean secure.”

Kirk smiled.  “Yeah.  We have to be if this relationship is going to succeed.  We haven’t tackled anything yet.  You think Pon Farr was bad? ” He chuckled.  “That’s nothing. Wait until you meet my mother and stepfather.  Wait until we meet Nyota’s parents.  My understanding of her family is that her mother is going to throw a bitch fit when she finds out who her daughter is sleeping with.  I’m not even sure if her parents approve of her dating outside of her race, much less her species.  Can you imagine the shitstorm we’re going to cause when we show up on their doorstep?  Me with my blue eyes and you with your pointy ears?  Mrs. Uhura’s going to have a heart attack.”

Spock raised an eyebrow.   “Interesting.  That is something I have never considered, Jim.”

“You may want to start, Spock.  I’ve got a feeling that when this mission is over; we’re going to take a trip to Kenya.”  Kirk laughed.  He couldn’t help it.  “And heaven forbid if Nyota’s pregnant when we do meet her folks.  Which makes me wonder, Spock…what do you think about us starting a family?”

“Right now?  It would be most inconvenient.”

“Of course it would be, you doofus.  I mean, in a couple of years.  Nyota makes me want to have kids.”

Spock held on to Kirk’s hand.  “I do not know.  I am not sure if a starship is the best place to rear offspring, Jim.  Not to mention the dangers of command.  I would not wish Nyota to raise a child alone should we perish during a mission.”

Kirk shrugged, running his fingers up Spock’s arm.  “Maybe you’ll feel differently in a year or two.  If we’re okay with it, I’m sure that we can convince Nyota to have a baby.  A handsome little blue-eyed boy.”

Spock raised his eyebrow.  “As Vulcan sperm are four times as motile as human sperm, it would be more likely that she would bear a Vulcan child.  So, shouldn’t we be in agreement as to whose baby she should have?”

Kirk was rubbing the inside of Spock’s elbow, which he knew was a sweet spot.  “Does it matter?”

Spock closed his eyes, covering Kirk’s fingers with his.  “Apparently, it does not.  What would the crew think?”

“Don’t know.  Don’t care, to be honest with you.  By then, what difference would it make?  They know that we’re together; they all can’t be dumb or ignorant enough to think that our relationship won’t make a logical progression.”  Kirk actually hadn’t thought about it; this was a random, off-the-cuff conversation.  But now that he brought it up, he was curious.  Could they actually have a family, be a family?

Spock was breathing slowly.  “I think that…in time…we should have…this discussion…with Nyota.  But…not now…”

Kirk nodded.  “Agree with you there.”

*

Spock lay on his back and Kirk lay above him, pressing their foreheads together.  Spock gave him an Eskimo kiss and Kirk sighed.

“You know,” he said, pressing a kiss to Spock’s cheek, “there was a moment back in Madir that really turned me on.  Had circumstances been different, I think it would have been explosive.”

Spock lay with his eyes closed as Kirk kissed his cheek, then his chin.  His hands were on the back of Kirk’s head.  “I do not remember anything,” he murmured.

Kirk kissed his lips.  “I pulled you off Nyota and you came at me, hard and furious.  You tackled me.”

“I did?”  He raised an eyebrow.

“Yes…and were it not for the situation at hand…you could have had me right then and there.”   Kirk kissed his chin again and dragged his lips down the curve of Spock’s throat and pressed them against the hollow.  Spock hissed.

“I regret that I do not remember.”

“That’s okay,” Kirk said, running his tongue down the center of Spock’s chest.  “I’ll make sure that it happens again.”

“You are wonderfully naughty, Jim.”  Spock hissed again as Kirk tongued one of his pecs.

“So I’ve been told.”  He came back up to kiss him again, and moved back and forth to rub his erection against Spock’s.  Spock held his head and met his kiss, giving him his trademark tongue.  Kirk groaned against his mouth and slid a hand down between them to caress Spock.  They had not had sex since before Madir, and Jim’s injured leg restricted it.  No barriers this evening.

He rubbed his cock against Spock’s, closing his eyes and enjoying the feel of him in his hand as well as against him.  Spock groaned and Kirk moved down to kiss his navel while he stroked him.

“Wonderfully…naughty,” Spock repeated in a hoarse whisper.

Kirk tongued his navel, closing his eyes and inhaling Spock’s scent.  He loved Nyota for encouraging him to wear patchouli; it was erotic and perfect with the Vulcan’s body chemistry.  A bead of liquid escaped the head of Spock’s penis.  Kirk ran his finger over it, massaging it into the tip.  Then he licked his finger.  Sweet, like pear nectar.  He pushed his face into his hard stomach and sighed, running his thumb over Spock’s hip, over the tattoo.  He continued to stroke him, moaning against the skin of his belly.  Spock’s hands were in his hair and he twitched his hips, telling Kirk what he wanted.

Kirk sucked a finger and ran it over his perineum, between his testicles and up the underside of Spock’s erection.  Spock exhaled and twitched again.  Another dribble of semen flowed out of his tip and over Kirk’s fingers.  Kirk groaned and took him into his mouth.  He sucked slowly, removing Spock’s hands from his hair, as Spock tended to lose it whenever he gave him head.

“Grab the sheets,” he said.  Spock obeyed.  He could do nothing but, anyway.  Kirk was mesmerizing when he was like this and Spock couldn’t resist him.  He caressed his testicles and sucked him slow, making him shiver every time he came up and pressed his tongue against the underside.  Spock gripped the sheets, his knuckles white and groaned, unable to hold back.

“Don’t,” Kirk encouraged.  “Don’t hold back, Spock.  Come for me.  Come for me.  Do it now.”

When he did, Spock let go with a growl that made the hair on the back of Kirk’s neck stand up.  He exhaled through his teeth, his legs trembling as he was spent.  Kirk tenderly licked him and kissed him until he was done.

Spock’s eyes were closed.  Kirk made him come in a way that Uhura didn’t; not better or harder, just different.  He loved both ways; the hardness of him, the softness of her…it was a perfectly logical balance.  One he could no longer do without.

Kirk waited for his breathing to become even and then flipped him over.  Spock, sated, gasped into the pillow.  “Jim!” he said.

“I told you,” Kirk said, “that moment in Madir really turned me on.  I wanted you right then.  I intend to have you.  Right now.”

Spock groaned again as Kirk moved over him and kissed the back of his neck and shoulders.  He rubbed his erection between his buttocks and spit into his hand.  He slicked his cock with saliva and held himself as he pushed his way inside.  It started out slow and easy, but Spock’s panting and his own racing heart turned it fast and heavy.  It was so tight, so hot, and so fantastically good that Kirk might have lasted a minute.  Two, if he wanted to flatter himself.  He let go with a yelp and they both fell on the bed, giving in to it.  Spock buried his face in the pillow, muffling his moans and came all over the sheets.  Kirk lay on top of him, his face between Spock’s shoulder blades.

“Explosive…” he murmured.

*

He lay in Spock’s arms, his head on his chest.  Spock stroked his hair.  Kirk stared at the chair in his room.  One of his T-shirts was thrown across it, one that she normally wore.  He missed her.  The bed felt empty without her.

“You do not sleep, Jim.”

“I was thinking about Nyota.”

“Fascinating.  As was I.”

“I miss her.  She should be here with us.  We haven’t slept without each other since our secret came out.”

“I am aware of that, Jim.  But as you said, she will return to us soon enough.  However, I doubt if she’ll want to make love.”

“Well, she said not for at least a month.  The cookie jar’s closed.  But it’s more than the sex I miss.  It’s her.  Her fragrance, her presence, her aura, and her way of making us turn into little boys.”

“Little boys, Jim?”

“Doesn’t she make you feel like a kid when she does those amazing things that only she can?”

“Point taken.”  Spock sighed as pleasant memories filled his mind. 

Kirk sighed, his eyelids drooping.  “I got orders from Pike today.  Soon as the crew’s back on board, we’re to head out to Polaris.”

“The crew has two more days of shore leave, Captain.  I take it there’s no hurry?”

“I’m not about to rush them, Spock.  They endured a seven-month long star-mapping mission because of me.”

Spock paused for a moment.  “We have been together for eleven months, two weeks and three days.”

“It’s been that long?  A year?”  Kirk found it hard to believe that Kalamar was almost a year ago.  For him, the fond memories of those twelve weeks with Uhura and Spock on the beach were more recent than that.

“Affirmative, Captain.  The passage of time can dull the senses, and we have been so very at ease since bonding in Kalamar.”

Kirk yawned.  “We should retire there when our careers in Starfleet are over.  Hell, we should start a family there.”

“It holds meaning for me as well.  As it does with Nyota.”  Spock chose not to comment on the last part of Kirk’s statement.  He seemed almost eager to want to start a family.  Spock had to wonder why.

“If you told me a year ago that I’d be here like this with you…if you told me two and a half years ago that we’d be together like this…how I would have laughed in your face.”  Two and a half years ago, they were enemies.  Eighteen months ago, they were sworn rivals for Uhura’s affections.  A year ago, they were standing on a sun-drenched beach in Kalamar, holding hands and planning a life with her.

“The prospect would have been amusing, Jim.  However, the fact remains that we are like this, willingly and contentedly, I might add.”

“There’s no arguing with the facts.”  Kirk yawned.  “I’m so sleepy.”

“Then go to sleep, Jim.  You still have healing to do, and humans tend to heal when they sleep.”

Kirk absently grazed Spock’s hip with a finger.  “You go to sleep too.”

“I have no need of sleep at this time.”

“Then don’t have me wake up alone, all right?”

“I would not dream of it, Jim.”

In minutes, Kirk was asleep.  Spock rubbed his hair, considering their conversation and recent events.  They were on the same wavelength, thinking about the same thing at the same time.  Uhura.  How she completed them and how they missed her.  While it was good between him and Kirk, it was so much better with her.  A triangle could not sustain itself without all three sides, and neither of them wanted to try without her.

Spock hoped that she would be back where she belonged in a few days.

*        *        *

Uhura was in her sitting room, chatting with Dez.  It was their taffy talk time, Thursday evenings after their shifts were over.  The Enterprise was on her way to Polaris.  It had been two weeks since the starship left Capella VII.  The crew, rested, returned to their duty.  Uhura was physically healed, but was still opting to stay in her quarters once her shifts were over.  She and Spock and Kirk took meals together in the officers’ dining room and conversation was easy, but she had not told them when she was planning to return.  To their credit, they didn’t push her.

Dez tore the wrapper off a piece of taffy and poked it in her mouth.  “I meant to tell you, Nyota…I met a friend of yours in Madir.”

“Really?  Who?”  Uhura sucked on a piece of watermelon taffy.

“Honestly, we did more than just meet.  We had a torrid, two-week fling.  It was incredible.”

“Who was it, Dez?”

Dez smiled.  “She told me that her name was Irish.”

Uhura looked at her, her mouth wide open.  “Irish?  You had a fling with Irish?”

“So you do know her?  I thought she was kidding.”

“She’s my best friend!  What was she doing on Capella?  And why didn’t she contact—”

“Really?  She was there because the U.S.S. Hood had her on assignment, studying Madir’s culture.”

Uhura couldn’t help but smile.  “The Hood may have lost its cultural anthropologist.  Irish would be right at home in Madir.  She’s a hedonist in every sense of the word.”

Dez grinned.  “Isn’t that the truth?”

“I can’t believe you had an affair with her, Dez!”

“We met in a bar.  Honestly, I wasn’t looking for anything; I haven’t wanted to be in a relationship since…well, you know.  And she’s sitting at the counter, so beautiful I couldn’t help myself.  Naturally, I had to go over to her.  When she found out where I was stationed, she immediately asked about you and I think tried to send you a message, but you didn’t respond.”

“I was…occupied.”

Dez gave her a brief nod.  “She told me to tell you that she’d get in touch with you when she could.”

“I never knew Irish was interested in women.  But it fits.  She’s such a…well, let’s just say she does not deny herself the satisfaction of sex.”

“She told me that I was her first.  Wouldn’t have known, if she hadn’t told me.”

Uhura laughed.  “My best friend believes in letting her freak flag fly.  In fact, she’s one of the reasons I got involved with Jim and Spock.”

“Is that right?”

“She and my other best friend, Gaila.  They encouraged me to…well, do the things I did that caught their attention.”  She sighed.

“Are you guys okay?”

Uhura looked at her.  “I forget how perceptive you are, Dez.  Or how transparent I am around you.”

“Please don’t tell me you broke up.”

“Oh no, we didn’t.  We’re just taking some time off.”

“Why, if you don’t mind me asking?  I mean, your relationship is amazing.  And inspiring.  I have it on authority that at least two dozen trios have hooked up because of it.  Koko and Tina are as good as a news reel.”

“Something happened—I’d rather not tell you what—and I had to take some time away to get my head right.”

“Nothing wrong with that.  Time off is good; gives you a chance to get a fresh perspective.  You are going back, aren’t you?”

“I guess.”

Dez eyed her.  “Are you, Nyota?  Don’t tell me that you’re considering giving up on them!”

“No, I just…I had to do something, Dez.  I had no choice.  I prepared as best as I could, but it wasn’t enough.  I had to give my body—”

Dez nodded.  “It wasn’t rape, right?”

Uhura looked at her.  “No way.  No.  It was unpleasant, but I consented.  I’m just having a hard time finding my way back as a result.”

“Nyota, you remember what happened last year.  What happened to me, what almost happened to you?”

“Of course.”

“You know how bad off I was.”

“I do.”

“I never thought I’d be able to even feel anything for another person.  I thought the old girl was dead; taken from me by those savage rapists.  I thought I’d never be whole again, to have my womanhood returned to me.  I tried not to focus on it, just on the whole of regaining my life, which I have you to thank for.  But I didn’t stay away from anyone.  I learned to laugh again and to live again.  And then it was there.  I didn’t realize how much until I met Irish.   You should have seen me strutting around my quarters after I left her in Madir.”

Uhura smiled at the Bajoran, picturing it.

“What I’m trying to tell you is to move forward and what you think is lost will come back to you.  It’s not sex that keeps you with them and them with you.  You guys wouldn’t have made it this far if that were the case.”

“That’s right,” she said.

Dez reached out and put a hand on her knee.  “Nyota, don’t stay locked up in your room because you feel like you lost something and you’re waiting for it to come back to you before you go back to them.  It might be misplaced, but it isn’t gone.  I know how much you love those men, and how much they love you.  Think about what you’ve already endured.  You told me that they were worth everything, even the bad press.  Has that changed?”

“No.”

“You think that because you’re not ready to have sex again that’s enough reason to stay away from them?”

“No, Dez.  It’s just that…”

She raised an eyebrow.  “That…what?”

“I have a hard time not seeing what happened to me.”

“Oh yes,” she said.  “You didn’t have the luxury of forgetting something you willfully went into.”

“Yeah.  That’s it.  It was hard.”

“Do you remember how you put your job on the line?  How each of you was willing to sacrifice your careers for each other?  How the captain was reprimanded for violating the PD and excessive use of force?  What the commander did when he saw you getting attacked?  What about Altair-IV?  Each one of those things could have resulted in the severance of your relationship.  Don’t let something like this do what those things couldn’t do.  Every relationship has its ugly parts.  They just make the pretty ones even more so.  You just have to hope that there are more pretty parts than ugly ones.”

Uhura nodded, remembering the joy, the contentment, the risk she took to love Kirk and Spock.  A tear rolled down her cheek.  “There are more pretty parts, Dez.”

“Remember when I said that there will always be trigger-happy people taking shots at you for living your life?  The same holds true for life itself.  You mean to tell me that you haven’t developed a thick skin?”

Uhura wiped her eye.  “I thought I had.  I mean, I was able to ignore most of the insults I got from those crew members who don’t like the fact that I’m carrying on with the boss and the second in command.”

“You’re going to have to get tougher than that, Nyota.  I mean, you want your relationship to last, right?”

“Of course.”

“This means that at some point, you’re going to have to take them home to meet your family.”

Uhura’s eyes widened.  She hadn’t even thought about that.  “I didn’t even think—”

“I’m quite certain that a triad isn’t what your parents had in mind when they expected you to fall in love.  So, you’re going to have to get tough if you want to get to that point.  We’ve already decided that leaving them isn’t an option.”

“No,” she said.  “It’s not.”

Dez smiled and ate another piece of taffy.  “Then put on your armor, Nyota.  Don’t let what happened keep you away from your love when there are so many other things that can and will try to do so.  You need a bulletproof soul.”

Uhura nodded and took Dez’s hand.  “That’s the second time you’ve said that to me.”

“I know,” she said.  “Don’t make me have to tell you a third time.”

Uhura laughed and reached for another piece of taffy.  “Thank you for being the voice of reason, Dez.”

“It’s the least I could do, Nyota.  You came back to Kalamar for me and that saved me.  What are friends for?”

Bulletproof Soul

12.  Vulcan Ways, part 3

Kirk was in sickbay when he came to.  McCoy stood over him.

“Jim, are you all right?”

Kirk started, trying to get up.  McCoy pushed him down on the bed. 

“Why am I on the ship, Bones?  I need to get back down there to Nyota and Sp—”

“Calm down, Jim,” he said.  “I’ve been monitoring you.  I put a transponder in you so that I could check your heart rate whenever you took the adrenalin shots.  I saw a spike, got worried and came to get you.  You’ve got lacerations on your scalp, a black eye, a fat lip, a bruised trachea, a broken rib, a dislocated shoulder and some pulled muscles.  I find it amazing that your leg hasn’t been reinjured.  I must say, Spock beat the hell out of you.”

“I guess so,” Kirk said, trying to get up again.  “Bones, I have to get back to Nyota—”

“And you will, Jim.  Trust me; she will be all right when you do.  You are in far worse shape, I assure you.  Physically, that is.  Spock threw you through a pane of plate glass, you big jerk.”

“He did?”

“Found you unconscious and bleeding in the dirt, surrounded by broken glass.  You’ve got a contusion, but thankfully, no concussion.  Now I strongly suggest that you confine yourself to quarters and rest for the next week and a half.  But since I know you’re not going to do that, please do not interrupt Spock again unless you intend to give him that other sedative.  If you do whatever it was you did to make him throw you out of a window, you will not survive it.”

“He’s killing her, Bones.  He’s going to fuck her to death.  She was crying.  I had to do something!  Please, let me go!”  Kirk squirmed, struggling to get up.

“Jim,” McCoy said, “don’t worry about that right now.  Not that I was trying to intrude—I don’t want Spock beating my ass—but I checked on them and they were fine.  She was asleep and he was not doing anything harsh, hard or intense.  From my observation, he was gentle with her.”

Kirk was surprised.  “So it helped?  Me fighting with him helped?”

“Appears to be the case.  Now please, lie back down.  I’ll let you go in a little while, but trust me when I tell you that she is as fine as she can be right now.  I would not have left her otherwise.”

Kirk lay back, sighing with relief.  McCoy slipped him a hypo to make him sleep.  He was going to let Kirk rest in Medical Bay for a half-hour and then take him back to Madir so that he would be in the cabin when he woke up.  He shook his head.  McCoy had no idea how they would get past Spock’s Pon Farr.  The casualties were already severe.

*          *          *

When Uhura woke up, she was starving.  Spock was unconscious again.  It appeared that each peak knocked him out cold.  She supposed it was like most men who fell asleep after achieving orgasm, except Spock was more than asleep; he was cataleptic.  Maybe the power of the blood fever was such that when he climaxed, his lust popped like a balloon and the resulting endorphin rush was too much for his mind to take. 

Her thighs were hot and sticky.  She did not know how many times he came.  The hydrocodone put her to sleep the last time while Spock was inside of her; she had no idea how long he had continued after she was out.  He had come at least twice; her inner thighs felt coated with his semen.  He lay between them with his head on her stomach.  His fingers gripped her hips.  His face was warm against her belly.  He looked like he normally did when he slept with his head on her stomach. 

Uhura stroked Spock’s head, humming a light tune.  She had accepted this.  She knew she would need time alone to deal with it fully, but she also knew that she was not angry or upset with Spock.  He could not help his nature.  He could not help what he became during this time.  She had been warned and prepared as much as she could.  She knew that she would spend the next week on board the Enterprise, secluded in her quarters as she allowed her body to heal.  Dr. McCoy would care for her.  And for Kirk.

He had not come back into the room and she was afraid that he was severely injured.  She could not move without disturbing Spock and she just didn’t want to chance waking him up and risking another round of unpretty sex.  That was the one thing she knew she wouldn’t want for a while.  Spock would understand and Kirk would too.  They had each other and could satisfy one another until she was able to handle sexual intimacy again.  She would definitely want to watch them, however.

Spock took a deep breath and turned his head.  Uhura sighed as she ran her fingers through his hair.  He would be awake soon.  She decided to chance it and get out of the bed.  She moved his hands and slid out from under him, taking as much care as she could not to wake him.  Uhura went for the table and wolfed down whatever she could eat and drink.  Spock’s sleep was too volatile and too unpredictable for her to be cute with calorie consumption.

She went into the bathroom and relieved herself, wishing that her period was over.  She had never felt so dirty.  Uhura decided to take a shower.  She was beyond worried about Spock attacking her; he would be able to tell by her scent that she was still in the room with him.

The hot water was soothing.  She closed her eyes and let it beat against her face before soaping her fingers and massaging between her legs.  Her vagina was far too sensitive and sore to risk applying any sort of washcloth.  She probably wouldn’t even be able to stand panties, much less a tampon or pad.  But she would handle it.  She could deal with it.  She was strong enough.  Spock’s mother survived at least three cycles of Pon Farr without an assist and with a full-blooded Vulcan at that.  Amanda not only stayed with Spock’s father, but also stayed in love with him.  And despite his Vulcan nature, Sarek adored his wife.  Uhura knew this from Spock’s memories.  She soaped her stinging breasts as the water ran over her.  If Amanda was strong enough, so was she.  If Amanda could endure Pon Farr and still love Sarek, she could do it too.  She cherished Spock and she was not about to leave him or let him go because of a wonky biological quirk.  She adored Kirk enough to keep him out of harm’s way. 

Uhura heard Kirk’s yell and glass shatter when they fought in the front room.  She knew that Spock threw Kirk out of the window and her heart ached for him.  Bless Kirk for trying to protect her.  His efforts succeeded, for the next time Spock had her, he was as gentle as the lover she knew.  She wondered if it would continue.

She stepped out of the shower and toweled off, taking care with her discomfort.  She gazed at her reflection.  Her braided coil was loose and fell over her shoulders.  There were dark circles under her eyes and her caramel skin was covered in bruises, scratches and bite marks.  It was just skin and it would heal.  If this kept Spock alive, then it was worth it.

When she emerged, he was still asleep.  She wished she could move him and change the bed sheets.  She did not want to get back into bed.  So she piled some of the floor pillows against the wall, wrapped herself up in a robe, and sat down on the pillows to eat while she waited for him to wake up.  Her hunger seemed bottomless.

She did not know how long she sat, but the color of the sky changed and she fell asleep.

“Nyota?”

She opened her eyes.  Kirk was kneeling before her.  He looked a hot mess.  “Jim!”  She threw her arms around him.  “You’re all right!”

“I’ll live,” he said.  “I’m sore as hell, but I’ll live.   More importantly, how are you?”

“Sore as hell, but I’ll live too.”

“How long has he been asleep?”

“For a couple of hours.  I can’t say for sure because that double dose of painkiller knocked me out while we were…and when I woke up, he was out.”

Kirk nodded.  “So you got some rest?”

“Yes.  And a shower.  I can’t bear to get back into bed; those sheets are filthy.”

“Well, I’d rather not risk waking him up to change them.”

“Jim,” she said, taking his hand.  “You were right.  Fighting him made it easier for me.  He was gentle that last time.”

Kirk nodded.  “I know.”

“How do you know?”

“Bones came and got me once he realized I took the adrenalin.  He has a transponder in me because he was worried about what it would do to my heart.  He peeked in on you—don’t be embarrassed, Nyota; he knew that I would need to know if you were all right.  He told me that Spock wasn’t hurting you.”

She nodded, still mortified that McCoy saw her with Spock.  “He didn’t.  Not the last time.  And he said my name.”

“He did?  Thank goodness, maybe the blood fever is wearing off.”

“I hope so,” she said.  “I’ve had enough of Pon Farr.”

“Me too,” Kirk said.

Spock stirred.  Uhura grabbed Kirk and kissed his lips.  “He’s waking up.  Get out of here.  I’ll be fine, Jim.  Go and get some rest.  Please.  I’m worried about you.  Go.  Go now.”

Kirk nodded.  He really didn’t feel like going another round with Spock right now.  He got up.  “I love you, Nyota.  I hope you know how much.”

“I do,” she said.  “Please, Jim.  Go on.”

He left, closing the door behind him.  Spock rose up from the bed, sniffing.  He looked around and found her sitting on the floor across the room.  Her scent still flickered white in the haze of his mind, but he knew that his mind was almost his again.  Almost.  The haze was still there, but it was dissipating.  He still wanted her, still needed her, but the insanity of his lust was markedly less than it was hours ago.

Spock got out of bed and moved towards her.  Uhura looked up at him, opening the robe.  She did not have a hypo and decided not to risk using one.  She had enough drugs in her system to last her for weeks.  He knelt before her, gazing at her, putting his hands on her waist.  Silently, she spread her legs again.  His nostrils flared as he looked down.  She sighed; her labia and clitoris were swollen and throbbed.  He reached down and rubbed two fingers against her, slowly, back and forth.

He was inhaling and exhaling, taking her in.  Absently, she wondered what she smelled like to him.  What was it about her period that excited him when he was like this?  For sure, it never failed to do no more than annoy her and make her feel dirty.  But this was not like that.  He kept touching her, staring down at her and sniffing her.  Uhura relaxed; this was nothing.  She wondered if menstruation was an instinctive trigger.  Pon Farr was a mating ritual, designed to perpetuate the Vulcan race.  Menstruation, when normal, was the signal that an embryo did not or was not able to attach itself to the uterine lining.  However, it did not preclude that a woman could not conceive during her cycle.  The egg was viable for several days and could still fuse with sperm as long as it was within the woman’s body.  Her period began when they went into orbit around Capella VII. 

Maybe Spock’s senses, keen as they were, could not distinguish her failure to ovulate.  Perhaps there was no detectable olfactory difference.  Just the thought that there might have been a last chance to impregnate her was enough for a Vulcan in the grip of the blood fever.  That seemed to be the most likely explanation for his near-incessant banging for the first day and a half.  Spock, in that mindset, was determined to get her pregnant.  Uhura was grateful that she maintained her birth control injections.  If she had slipped up and missed it…But Spock was the reason why she never missed any shots.  The irony was too thick for words.

Spock put his hands on her thighs, spread them and came up against her.   He put his hands on her hips to adjust the angle and entered her.  Uhura perched atop his thighs.  He pushed into her, holding her tight.  His face was buried in her neck.  Uhura put one arm around him for balance and used the other to finish eating the food that was on the end table beside her.

He stood up, pushing her against the wall.  Spock adjusted, moving her legs over his hips to get more leverage.  Then he was pulsing rhythmically, his face in her cleavage.  Her breasts bounced against his cheeks.  He was moaning.  Uhura held on to him.  This wasn’t so bad.  She could endure the next few hours as long as he wasn’t as vicious as he had been.   She was going to make it through.

*

She was crushed against the floor pillows, her arms spread out above her head.  He was moving over her, kissing her, stroking her breasts, holding her carefully as he thrusted in and out of her.  Uhura’s sex was numb, and she didn’t need a hypo for it to happen.  But her lips weren’t, and she welcomed Spock’s gentle kisses with as much ardor as she could muster.  She was just too exhausted to do no more than lie there.

“Nyota…” he murmured against her mouth.  “Nyota…”

Uhura couldn’t find the energy to say his name in return.  She lay there, like a doll, as he maneuvered and moved her body to fit his needs.  Since he woke up, he had been at her for over two hours.  Not hard or violent, but still incessant.  She found herself moving back and forth out of consciousness and she welcomed any reprieve from the discomfort and soreness that was her physical state.

Again he stiffened, grabbing her waist and grunted as he climaxed.  Uhura sighed, knowing that he would be unconscious in a matter of seconds.  He stared at her, holding her face in his hands, kissing her nose and cheeks as he was spent.  “Nyota…” he breathed, trembling, vibrating within her, on top of her.  This release was different from the others; it was longer and more intense.  She felt his thick, warm semen running out of her.  Some fuzzy corner of her mind wondered if it was green.

Then he collapsed, crushing her into the pillows.  Uhura groaned and let her mind go.

*          *          *

When the haze finally cleared, Spock found himself on the floor beside her.  She lay on her belly, her arms folded under her head, fast asleep.  Spock gazed at her, at the scratches and bite marks on her back and buttocks and he felt an acute pain in his chest.  Prior to his vile display of illogic, Uhura’s skin was flawless and unmarked.  Neither he nor Kirk had ever broken it when they made love to her.  Now she bore the evidence of his madness.  Spock would spend an eternity making it up to her.  Whatever she wanted him to do, he would do it.

Where was Kirk?  Where was he?  Had he killed him?  Had he, in his insanity, broken the trust Kirk placed in him when he offered his life to protect Spock from injuring Uhura?  The pain in his chest grew.  He would not be able to bear it if he had indeed murdered him.

“Nyota,” he breathed, gently caressing her back.  He was displeased with himself for what he did to her skin.  She opened her eyes.

“Spock?”

“Yes, k’diwa.”

“You’re back,” she said, yawning.  She was too tired to move.

He stared at her and ran the back of his hand against her cheek.  She was obviously exhausted.  “I am so sorry, Nyota.  I am so sorry.  I will do whatever I must to erase this smear on our relationship.  Where is Jim?”

“I’m right here,” said a voice from the doorway. 

Spock turned to see Kirk, battered and bruised.  The pain in his chest grew even more.  What had he done to them?  What on earth…?

Kirk came over to where they lay on the floor and knelt beside Spock.  He pointed to his face.  “See what you did, you dingus?”

Uhura tittered.  Leave it to Kirk to ease the tension.

“Jim, I am sorrier than I can ever vocalize.  Please forgive me.”

“Not necessary,” Kirk said, putting a hand on his shoulder.  “Are you okay?”

“I assure you that I am quite well.  I regret, however, that I have injured Nyota.”

“It isn’t permanent,” she yawned, closing her eyes.  “I’ll heal.”

“I admit,” Kirk said, “you scared the shit out of me, Spock.  That wasn’t pretty.”

“The plak tow never is, Jim.”

Kirk looked around at the broken furniture and unkempt room.  “The Madirians are going to keep our security deposit,” he said.  “You totally fucked this place up, Spock.  No pun intended.”

Spock looked around.  “It would appear so,” he said.

Uhura yawned again.  Kirk went to get her robe.   Spock rose to his feet and looked down at himself.  He gasped.  Kirk came back out and saw the confused expression.  Spock looked down at Uhura and then back up at him.  “Did I—?”  The look on Spock’s face was one of sheer agony.

“No,” Kirk said.  “That’s from her period.  You didn’t rupture or break anything, Spock, so don’t throw a fit.”

Spock looked at Kirk and then at Uhura.  “I am so sorry, Nyota.  I am—”

“Spock, it’s all right,” she said.  “You couldn’t help it, and besides, Jim and I were warned.  I couldn’t help that my period decided it wanted to show up while you were in heat.  I’m fine.  I’m sore as hell and I don’t want to see a penis for at least a month, but I’m okay.”  She pushed herself up.

“That’s unfortunate,” Kirk said.  “But understandable.  Here, let me help you.”  He knelt and helped her sit up, and then covered her with the robe. 

Spock knelt to caress her cheek.  “Again, I am sorry, Nyota.  I hope that my actions have not completely put you off sexual intimacy with Jim or with me.”

“No,” she said.  “Just for a little while.  It won’t last, I assure you.”

Spock nodded.  “I shall go and cleanse myself. “  He went to take a shower.

“You do that,” Kirk said.  He rolled Uhura into his arms and kissed her forehead.  “You’re going to be all right, though?  Mentally, I mean.”

“Of course.”

“Good.  I mean, I know you gotta heal and all and I know sex is the absolute last thing you want right now, but please don’t say I’ll never get to make love to you again.  I will kill Spock if that’s the case.”

“You’re a dingus,” she said, smiling at him.  “I didn’t say that.  And it would be illogical to kill Spock, as you can just as easily make love to him.  If you want to get off, that is.  Because my cookie jar is officially off limits.  For now.”

“As long as it isn’t forever,” he said.  He whipped out his communicator.  “McCoy, two to beam up.”