Star Trek XI Fic | Spock/Uhura
Title: His and Mine are the Same
Pairing/Characters: Spock/Uhura, OC's, Kirk
Rating: R
Word Count: 7737
Warnings: Mirrorverse, underage sex (depending on where you live), morally ambiguous shenanigans.
Disclaimer: Don't own anything.
Summary: She was six years old when her father brought him home.
A/N: This is my first attempt at a long-ish story for this fandom. It's sort of a Wuthering Heights adaptation but not really. The idea came to me when I was watching the Tom Hardy version. The way Heathcliff loves Cathy is kind of how I imagine Vulcans love their significant others. I thought it would be interesting to use it as inspiration for a Spock/Uhura story and it just came to me to set it in Mirrorverse. Gothic literature and Mirrorverse just seem like a good match.
Previous - Part 1
Mr. Uhura’s death came as a shock. While the former Captain’s heath had declined precipitously over the years, he was still scarcely considered middle aged. With all the advancements in medical technology, there was no reason why he could not have lived at least another two decades. But his body seemed to reject all treatment, almost as though he had already decided to move on. It seemed he simply wanted to leave this world behind and nothing was going to stop him. Both Nyota and Spock were heartbroken when the man was found to be dead after a night’s sleep. The cause of death was determined to be heart failure.
In many ways, her father’s death came at a crossroad in Nyota’s life. She was to graduate from school in a month and had yet to decide what to do afterwards, knowing that choosing a university would mean leaving Spock, at least temporarily. But she knew that she could not stay here forever. She had a natural and irrepressible curiosity and a thirst for knowledge that would not allow it. She sometimes wondered if that was the reason why she loved Spock so much; he was different and unlike anyone else.
What shocked Nyota even more than her father’s sudden death was the state in which he left his finances. He had earned plenty during his days as a Captain but it seemed his pension was hardly enough to sustain the lifestyle he wished for himself and his children. There were debts to be paid, to many people and in significant amounts. The funds left by her father were meager and after the debts owed, there would be nothing.
It was during this uncertain time that her older brother reappeared in her life. Nyota was never particularly close to him. He was many years older and only came home once a year for the winter holidays. And while her father never showed any indication that they knew or cared if Spock and Nyota loved each other, her brother had suspected as much early on. He could see the way his little sister looked at the Vulcan boy and the way they spoke in quiet whispers to each other. He never voiced any disapproval but Nyota always suspected that her brother did not like the fact. It was because of this suspicion that she dreaded his return.
Her brother worked as some kind of businessman, what kind of business exactly, Nyota was never certain. But what she knew what the he had a rather difficult time controlling his expensive habits, as he often asked their father for supplementary funds. When he arrived at the house for the funeral, he was nothing more than a stranger to her.
“Looks like our dear father left us with quite a mess,” he remarked, as he looked over the statement. “What ever was he thinking when decided to take charity on that Vulcan boy? He barely had enough to support himself. I never did understand why he didn’t stay in the fleet.”
“What’s going to happen now?” Nyota asked.
“Well, one thing’s assured. The Vulcan boy has to go. We can’t even afford to keep the house and once the property is sold, we’ll certainly have no use for his menial services anymore,” he replied, with a small hint of delight in his voice.
“You can’t do that!” she yelled back.
“I most certainly can, little sister. Unless you have some way of bringing forth a considerable sum of money, you have no choice on the matter. But now, what to do with you? I suppose we could marry you off to rich husband, but I suspect you wouldn’t be up for that. So that leaves you with few options, sis.”
She left the room after that, unable to take any more of the harsh reality.
There was no way Nyota could afford four years of university without her brother’s support and well, he already made it clear that he would not be able to pay. Her only options now were to either find a menial job or join the fleet.
Starfleet might not be so bad. There was an exploration branch after all, and she could simply avoid the nasty political skirmishes. And once she earned enough, she could be with Spock and protect him. It was hardly the best scenario but it was all she had right now and what more could she do for Spock? They both knew that her father wouldn’t be able to shield him forever. But the thought of leaving Spock was unbearable and she didn’t know if she would be able to survive without him.
She had to find him and talk to him. They never kept any secrets from each other and this would be no different. They would find some way to make things work.
She ran as fast as her legs would allow, taking her to Spock, but when she arrived at his door, she felt a horrible chill go down her spine. Something was wrong. She knocked on the door with both her fists, but there came no answer. Spock’s superhuman hearing could not have missed it. She knocked again, even louder this time, but there still came no answer. She began to worry, wondering if he was hurt or sick, but when she looked down, she noticed the door was unlocked. She let herself in and in front of her was the same little room that she has seen so many times, the space that had brought her many instances of joy and happiness. But there was no Spock. She searched his bedroom, the bathroom and the closet. Everything was gone.
In her heart, she knew exactly what this meant. He had left. He must’ve known everything. In the middle of her misery, Nyota had a flash of anger. He had left without telling her. He had made the decision for her by removing himself from the picture. Nyota sat on his bed, where they had shared countless moments of bliss and cried for over an hour. It was not until she could bring herself to stand that she noticed a folded piece of paper on the nightstand. She reached for it instantly and read the contents.
My dear Nyota,
As you have likely deduced from the scene, I have taken leave of your home. I wish to apologize for any distress I have caused you with this decision. You must know that I would never intentionally cause you pain. But you must know that this decision was for the best. We both knew this day would come, your father’s death made me realize that I could no longer stay hidden from the world. I must face my destiny without hesitation, just as my parents faced theirs. Just as you must face yours. To do otherwise would be cowardly and dishonorable. Nyota, you are the most beautiful, intelligent and kind-hearted person I have ever known. I will cherish for the rest of my life every moment we shared together. You must know that I wanted nothing more than to see you once again before we parted. It simply could not be. Perhaps if this world ever changes, we will meet again one day and have the ending we always dreamed of. If not, then I bid you farewell and wish you happiness in all your endeavors.
Forever yours,
Spock
9 years later
Lieutenant Nyota Uhura hated everything about her job. It was nothing like they said it would be. There was no exploration or discovery. It was all just a joke to them, a way to lure curious young minds to join the force. Their sole purpose was to maintain order in the galaxy, by any means necessary, with no regard to life or decency. She should’ve known this from the way her father used to look every time he returned from a mission, like he could barely make it through another day. But it was too late for regrets now. If she left now, she would be hunted down as a deserter, although that very idea was becoming dangerous appealing to her.
Her years at the Academy were hard - she missed Spock, thought of him constantly, and she had difficulty relating to the other cadets. For the first year, she was withdrawn and could even be considered depressed. But eventually, she found some solace in the linguistics department, the students there more interested in languages than violence.
When the time came for a posting, she requested an exploration vessel, wanting nothing more than to travel the stars and discover new languages, and so she ended up on the ISS Enterprise. But she soon discovered that Starfleet didn’t exactly consider exploration a serious endeavor. They were far more concerned with protecting their own power.
It was now the fourth year into their five-year mission. She had to survive this, if she didn’t, then her whole life had gone to waste.
Every crewmember on the Enterprise was feeling on edge lately, what with the constant reports of ships disappearing and more and more high-ranking officials found dead; it was enough to drive some men to madness. None more so than the ship’s Captain, James T. Kirk. He was relatively young and inexperienced, deprived of the maturity to handle this situation. As the days grew anxious, he became paranoid and barked orders to his crew that made no sense. But he was still their Captain and his leadership had to be respected, lest there be any more trouble.
“Anything out there? I just know they’re coming for us today,” he said nervously in her direction. He had been saying this for over a week now. There was no reason to take him seriously.
“No sir, nothing out of the ordinary,” she replied, trying her best to hide the disrespect in her voice.
“We’re next. I know it.”
The Captain was wrong that day. In fact, the next few weeks were of relative peace and calm. Not much happened at all and there were no more reports of disappearances, the crew decided that they must have been mere flukes of nature.
On a quiet morning, the Captain’s prediction finally proved to be accurate. Without a hint of warning, the ship took unrelenting and powerful fire. The source of the attack was unknown; the enemy ship must have been undetectable and well cloaked. Nyota tried desperately to hail the ship but they refused, instead persisting in their goal of demolishing the Enterprise. There was nothing they could do. The enemy’s firepower was astonishing.
The last thing she remembered was falling to the ground, as the bridge of the Enterprise crumbled.
When she finally awoke, she knew immediately that she was not in her own bed, nor the Enterprise’s medical facility. Wherever she was, it was too dark to make out any details. Suddenly, she saw a light flicker from the door. Someone was entering the room. Nyota thought it was best to pretend to be asleep and she closed her eyes once again.
“She is recovering well,” said a woman’s voice. Her standard was vaguely accented, French, Nyota would guess. “That’s good.”
“She’s still unconscious though. Shouldn’t we be worried?” another woman asked, her voice slightly higher.
“No, her vitals are stable and there’s no sign of internal bleeding. We will check her again in a few hours but I wouldn’t be surprised if she was awake by then,” the voice trailed off and Nyota realized that the two women were walking away from her. She decided to take her chances and opened her eyes.
“Wait!” Nyota cried weakly, her voice hoarse. “Please, where am I?”
She saw the two women turn around and approach her once again. One of them was clearly a doctor, as she wore a white lab coat. She was a human woman, tall, with light brown hair, around the age of 30. The other woman, a blonde, wore civilian clothing.
The woman in the white coat spoke, “So you are awake. How are you feeling? Any pain?”
“I’m okay. Please, can you just tell me where I am?” Nyota asked desperately.
“That’s not for me to explain. Let me just assure you that you’re perfectly safe here. My name is Dr. Michel and you have been under my care for the last three days,” the woman spoke kindly.
“But what about my ship, the Enterprise?” Nyota asked, though if she were honest with herself, she could care less.
“I’m afraid you are the only survivor,” Dr. Michel replied. She turned to the blonde woman beside her, “Why don’t you let him know she’s awake now.”
And the blonde woman left, nodding at Nyota without saying a word. There was an uncomfortable silence in the room for several minutes, as the Doctor checked her pulse, blood pressure and took a small blood sample.
“You suffered a rather harsh blow to the head, you know. It turned out to be only a mild concussion but we wanted to keep you under our watch for a few days. How you do feel?”
“I’m a little dizzy but I don’t think it’s that bad. So how is it that I survived the attack when no one else did?” Nyota was confused at this.
“Of course, it was no accident but I think you should hear it from him,” she turned and glanced at the door, “And here he is, I should leave you two in peace now.”
As the doctor made her way to the door, she gave a slight nod to the man coming in and the two exchanged a few words before the doctor left. Nyota’s vision was still too blurry from the painkillers to see who the man was from this distance but as he slowly made his way to her, there was no doubt in her mind. It was Spock. She gasped. Even after nine years, she could see tell.
He was taller, broader than before and his face was marked by a faint five o’clock shadow. It made sense, these changes, since he was still an adolescent the last time she saw him. He looked down at her, lying in bed, and brought the back of his fingers to stroke her cheek, just as he used to do. Nyota wasn’t sure if she was dreaming at this point or if she was really, in fact, dead, but she savored his touch, after being deprived of it for so long, and brought her own hand to cover his.
“Hello, Nyota,” he said, his voice deeper than she remembered. And then, in a burst of understanding, she put all the pieces together. Spock was the one behind the attacks, yet he had saved her from the destruction of the Enterprise. It all made sense to her now. All those years, he had acted like he made his peace with the fate of his parents when in fact, he’d been waiting for the opportune moment to act upon his desire for revenge. It must’ve taken him years to pull this operation together, but then again, she knew first hand that when he was truly determined, there was nothing that could stop him from getting what he wanted.
She had never felt so relieved in her life, she felt as if she would burst.
“Spock,” she spoke his name for the first time in years, as tears filled her eyes. He leaned into her and their lips met once again, just as she had hoped.
“We may get our ending after all.”
The End.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Obviously, I only used Wuthering Heights a vague outline for this story. It took a different turn because I didn't want it to be too depressing and I don't think Uhura would ever be as flighty and shallow as Cathy.