More Beautiful You

"Yeah? Well you look uglier than a -"

"Christine, stop," Spock whispered in her ear as he tugged her away from the scene. She struggled the whole way, but he was far stronger than she was - even as furious as she currently happened to be. She tried hurling more insults at the spiteful alien behind them, but fortunately for both of them they didn't have much effect. The touch-telepath was secretly glad for the long-sleeved shirt she was wearing that prevented him from receiving any more of her projected emotions than he already was. While he was able to cope quite well with his telepathic abilities, even more so since being with Christine, it didn't take a telepath to know the thoughts and emotions going through her mind - much less the things that made it past her throat. He didn't particularly want to feel or hear more than what was necessary.

"You do not need this fight," Spock practically hissed under his breath as he managed to get her outside. Fortunately for them, the alien didn't seem interested in following. The fresh night air of the shore leave planet was breathtaking, and they paused for a moment as a cold breeze whipped through their hair. Christine breathed deeply, trying to get over her anger and frustration.

"I'm sorry, Spock," she managed to get out. "I know you don't like it when I lose my temper. But that jerk just infuriated me so much..."

Spock gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Christine, what she said was not only irrelevant but also blatantly false. You have nothing to be upset over." His tone implied that he was a bit confused why Christine was paying such attention to the creature. Undoubtedly, what the alien had said was harsh, but it was also clearly false and merely meant as a bait for Christine. They were not here to start a fight. Jim had expressly ordered all those going down for shore leave not to interfere with the workings of the space dock. There were some tense situations in Starfleet right now, and no one needed any overkill. Spock might have reacted differently to the insults in another set of circumstances, but for right now he saw little objective need to start a fight over the incident.

Christine shook her head. "That's what you think," she muttered under her breath.

Spock tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

Christine sighed and rubbed her arms as she glanced up at the man standing by her. "I just...I hate it when people are like that. I hate it when they bully you and say you're ugly or weird or stupid just for the sick twisted fun of it. It just makes me feel so..." her breath caught on her throat, "insecure. Even when I know they're wrong. I don't exactly like the feeling," she added with a bitter, half-hearted laugh.

Her gaze fluttered down and she kept it on the ground, as if she thought that its constant presence might steady her. She didn't like baring herself so open like that; she was the self-proclaimed Iron Nurse, after all, not someone who backed down from a fight. And certainly not someone who felt insecure at the occasional rough comment from a random alien.

Spock could not stop the feeling of momentary shock that came with her little confession. He of course knew that she could be insecure, like anyone else, but for her to admit it like this was quite another thing. He understood that perfectly. A soft light entered his eyes at the trust he realized was held in her words, and harsh memories of his own past instantly helped him see the situation through her eyes. He decided he no longer really cared about what negative emotions he might feel through her in physical contact. He wanted to be there for her always - no matter what she was feeling.

And especially when she was feeling hurt.

Christine felt a hand gentle cup her face, and she looked up to see Spock's warm, concerned eyes gazing at hers. "Christine," he spoke quietly, "I do not want you to listen to such people. While I cannot understand why people insist on mistreating you, I do know that they are wrong. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever met, inside and out."

A tear slid out of one of her eyes, and Spock silently brushed it aside with his thumb. "I never want you to try to be someone you are not. I could not imagine you a more wonderful person than you already are."

She sniffed, sparkling tears resting on her eyelashes and blinking down her face. "Thank you, Spock," she whispered, unwilling to take her eyes from his.

They gently kissed, and Christine forgot the insults she had saved for the alien who had mocked her. People were going to be jerks, that much was clear. But with Spock at her side, Christine knew that she would make it through. Spock thought she was beautiful, and that was all she really cared about. Maybe, just maybe, she could begin to see things his way, too.

Aaaannnnd if there was ever a doubt in your mind, you now know how much I love shipping Christine and Spock. This chapter is based off the song "More Beautiful You" by Jonny Diaz (you should go listen; it's an awesome song). I own nothing. Blah blah blah.

Also, since I'm paranoid and am unsure whether it's common fandom stuff or not, I just wanted to say that the whole touch-telepaths-feel-emotions-through-physical-con tact thing was something I read in fan fiction. So I didn't come up with it. So...I'm not trying to steal anything here. Disclaimer. Yaaaay.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and my apologies for getting it out so late. You know how these things happen. I actually meant to do another chapter before this, but this is done and short and I haven't updated in ages, so...yeah. Here it is. Not like it's in a chronological order anyway, right? :D Please leave a review and perhaps a suggestion, song/plot/character(s) wise, everything is great and incredibly appreciated!

No, seriously. See that little review box down there? It's lonely. And sad. It would be really happy if you left a review in it. Like, making-a-snow-angel-in-Tribbles happy. ;)