Title:
I'll Be Home for Christmas
Author: IDIC
Fandom: TOS Star Trek
Pairing: K/U
Archiving:
Of course
Rating: G
Disclaimer: The characters are Paramount's, their actions are mine.
Feedback: Yes, please. Here or at idic0375 @ yahoo.com
Summary: Okay, a couple of things: I'm bastardizing a nearly completed story in
order to have something for the Christmas Challenge. Secondly, since TMP was released December 7th
1979, I figure the events of V'Ger happened between December
7-10th. Add a short shakedown
cruise and we're bumping serious Christmas time...
It had to be the excitement of Christmas warring with
her anticipation of a new mission, but somehow visions of snowy nights curled
around a toasty fire battled with Uhura's sense of urgency regarding the comm
she had just received. She told herself
that the chill in the air was all in her imagination because the ship's public
area temperature was supposed to be constant.
Never mind that she grew up in a land devoid of snow, four years at the
Academy with holiday leaves in the mountains had contaminated her thoroughly to
such Rockwellian imagery.
It was late but the computer informed her that Kirk was
still in the Officer’s Lounge. She made
her way through the quiet halls, a journey like countless others made to
deliver coded orders. Normally she would
have notified him via the comm, shunting the communiqué to his quarters for
private viewing so she could set her sights on the more personal pleasures of a
good vid and a mug of mulled cider. It
was not strictly mandatory that such orders be hand delivered, but this packet
was encoded with Admiral Nogura’s own cipher.
That could mean only one thing—a decision had been made regarding Kirk
retaining permanent command of the Enterprise.
Their shakedown cruise was rife with speculation. Would HQ allow Kirk to stay aboard? In times of war an admiral might take command
of a whole task force, but not just a single ship. A ship of the line was commanded by a rank no
higher than commodore, and even those were rare. Now, as they made their way back home to
Earth for a final check and resupply, the crew was anxious to know who would be
commanding the newly refurbished Enterprise’s maiden five year mission.
Nyota stepped through the door of the officer’s lounge;
a fast image of schematics against the large viewport was quickly replaced by
the inky black of space as the comp sensed her presence. Standing with his back to her, Kirk now
seemingly watched the stars move in slow motion across the dark void. The ship's speed had been reduced in
anticipation of an opening berth within Spacedock and again, to Nyota's holiday-addled mind, the stars glided past like
gently falling snow. The lights remained
low, allowing Kirk to catch her reflection in the transparency of the bulkhead,
the peacefulness of the scene in conflict with the piles of data wafers strewn
across the low table. His eyes followed
her as she brought the padd to him.
"So, Commander, do you bring glad tidings?" They both knew who the orders were from--
Uhura by the transmission coordinates, Kirk by intuition.
"I don’t know, sir, however, they *are* signed by
Admiral Nogura." Nyota answered
Kirk as he took the padd. A small sigh
escaped him but his hand remained steady as he entered his command codes to
release the encryption. She watched his
face for any sign of the verdict, catching only the minuteness of a flinch as
his eyes scanned the screen.
"Sir? Is it
good news? Are you keeping the
Enterprise?" She knew she was out
of line by questioning him on the subject but his silence was too much to
endure.
"Well, that is actually several points below what
the admiral recommends--far behind keelhauling or court-martialing—his first
two choices. However, since it is not
politically expedient to do either, he is forced to reduce my rank back to
captain in order to turn command of the Enterprise over to me for the duration
of her mission. Oh, and he says for me
to consider it my Christmas present... ."
"Duration of the mission?—Do you mean you're going
to be the captain of the entire five-year mission?" Uhura tried to keep the incredulity out of
her voice. She would not allow herself
to think of it during the shakedown—to have him on the bridge again for another
full mission was outside the pale of anyone's expectations.
"It would seem so, Commander." Uhura watched him reread the orders several
times, as if he expected to find something different on the second or third
pass.
"At least the Admiral is trying to have a sense of
humor about it," she offered gingerly.
"No, not really," Kirk answered drolly with a
resigned shrug and shake of his head before dismissing the topic. "How do you think the crew will react to
the news?" He kept any excitement
out of his voice, attempting to focus on the immediate ramifications of his
assignment. It was common knowledge that
there were serious grumblings when he originally took command away from Decker.
"I think they will be ecstatic,
Captain." The old title came to
Uhura's tongue effortlessly but Kirk sensed there was more she wasn't saying.
"How many transfers have been requested?" He always unnerved her with his insight.
"Four, Captain, and two contingents." .
"I've seen the four, but who are the two shipping
out if I stay?" Kirk's eyes glazed,
internally trying to speculate on who else might be
dissatisfied with his permanent assignment.
"Doctor Chapel and Chief Rand, sir," She thought
perhaps the sting of old crew leaving would prick hard, but he just nodded his
head, as if their leaving was entirely expected.
Kirk's eyes came back into focus, suddenly centering on
Uhura as he asked, "What about you?
You've told me about everyone else, but not what you've decided. Are you staying?"
Uhura felt her heart rise into her throat, caught off
guard by his question and the sudden intensity of his gaze. She bought time by asking her own question. "Where else would I go?"
Realizing she had not said yes, Kirk answered
sincerely, "You have many options--a promotion if you accept that teaching
position at the Academy, several offers from other ships, an opportunity within
the General Staff--I've done my homework." He tried to end it with a
teasing grin but it fell short of his usual indulgent smirk.
"But none of those places are home. I told you once that the Enterprise is my
home and all I ever had to give up to live here was you." She watched his body tense and his eyes grow
dark as she spoke of their night together those months ago in Monaco; a few
shared hours of tenderness stolen away from the responsibilities of work and
duty. That night Kirk had dropped his
guard, allowing himself to be vulnerable.
Tonight he resisted, his only acknowledgement of their time together a
defeated smile. No mention of their last
meeting had passed between them since Kirk had taken command of the ship. At the onset of the V'Ger crisis Uhura had pushed
that evening out of her mind, staying focused on her job to do her part toward
survival. But after Earth was saved she
could not deny the hurt she felt at his continued distancing.
"We did it before," he offered softly, now stepping
so close to Uhura she had to look up at him.
"That was a lifetime ago. A lot has passed between us since
then." She did not flinch from his
gaze; five years in this man's shadow was hanging in the balance.
"I still need my best people beside me." She felt his hands on her shoulders but his
eyes alone could have held her in stasis.
"Five years is a long time." She still remembered all the visiting
princesses that failed to beam down until the next morning. It was hard to remain faceless in the crowd,
pretending not to notice when his charm succeeded in more than diplomacy.
"The ship demands a heavy price." Uhura knew he spoke of his own feelings too,
as captain he would have to remain aloof and disengaged when she decided to
take her own lovers. Neither of them could
expect the other to remain chaste.
"And so do I," she spoke with a defiant rise
of her chin. Kirk tilted his head but
said nothing, unsure of what was coming next.
"Meet me for breakfast in the morning--and I still
get dibs on movie night--I got used to sitting on the front row last voyage and
think I want to keep that perk. Also,
you'll still be in charge of getting the popcorn. Don't forget I like extra butter." She stepped out of Kirk's shocked grasp,
continuing her extortions as she made for the door. "--Oh! And don't forget the parties! Attendance is mandatory at all ship-wide
events--no more hiding out with Spock just to avoid a sprig or two of mistletoe
or the stray Deltan greeting." She
stopped in the doorway, her body keeping the doors from shutting as she turned to
gauge his response.
Kirk was biting his bottom lip, trying to keep his
composure as he raised his hands in mock supplication while offering a slight
bow. "Yes, ma'am, the terms *are*
steep but I think they are within acceptable limits." She never ceased to surprise him, but he
recognized her deflection into humor as a way to ease their reconciliation from
lovers back again to captain and crew.
She beamed her best smile at him. Even with all the reservations in her heart,
where else did she really want to be? "Merry
Christmas and welcome home, Captain!
We're all home now."
~End