DISCLAIMER - I OWN NONE OF THESE CHARACTERS, PLANETS OR LOCATIONS, EXCEPT FOR MY OC ANNA.
STARDATE 25th December 2249
Anna woke up bubbling with excitement. She woke earlier than usual, but she always did on Christmas day. She looked over to Spock's bed. He was already awake as his bed was empty. She got up and walked to her stocking where she had placed the gift that arrived in the post from James. She took the stocking and walk back to her bed.
Just as she took a seat back on the bed, Spock walked out of the bathroom, already in his clothes for the day.
"Merry Christmas Spock." greeted Anna.
"Happy Christmas" he replied. "Am I correct in assuming that I may open my gift?"
"Yes. Me and James used to open them as soon as awoke. We would always open them at the same time. After all usually it's just a gift each, from each other." Anna told him, with a smile.
Spock took his stocking and sat on his bed, opposite her and opened his stocking. Anna decided to watch him open his gift before looking into her stocking. Spock reached into his stocking and pulled out a neatly wrapped gift. It was wrapped in typically shiny gift wrap. Spock glanced up at Anna to see her watching him. She nodded in encouragement and so he started to undo one side of the wrapping. He unwrapped it so delicately, not even ripping the paper once. He fully unwrapped it to reveal a box. He opened the box and glanced inside before looking back up at Anna.
"Plomeek tea. I remembered you said that you favoured it to the tea here. So I went looking for some. I couldn't find any on Earth so I ordered it to be delivered from Vulcan. It was quite a palaver trying to explain the merits of ordering it for a Christmas present to the Vulcans responsible for getting it there." Anna told him with a smile and a small laugh. "Apparently gifting somebody tea from another planet for an old holiday is highly illogical."
Anna saw as Spock's lips twitched up. "Your gift... is appreciated. You have my gratitude"
Anna took that as he liked it.
She smiled as she dug into her own stocking to pull out the gift James had sent to her. However what shocked her was when her hand touched two gifts. She pulled out the gift from James and then another one. The one from James was typically wrapped in shining yellow wrapping paper. She wanted to rip her way into it but after watching the care that Spock had taken with his gift, she thought again and opened it just as delicately as he had opened hers.
James had bought her a woolly hat and scarf set. She recognised them from a store in Iowa. She was shocked, she never knew that James had seen her admiring them and she doubted they were just a lucky guess. They were blue and purple stripped with threads of sparkling silver running through them. They were soft to touch and warm. They were old fashioned as they had little of the warming technology the modern scarf and hats had but she much preferred the natural warmth of a normal woollen scarf and hat. She placed them to the side after admiring them.
She turned to her second gift. It was gift wrapped in silver, almost reflective, wrapping paper. She opened this gift very delicately. She was unsure what she was going to find inside it. Once the wrapping paper was removed she was shocked to find two books. One was titled 'The Vulcan culture' and the other was a book on tactics. She knew she had been moaning to Spock about how she had been trying to take it out of the library for weeks but somebody always had it. She knew instantly who she needed to thank for her gift. She looked up to him, as he sat on his bed. He was watching her just as she had been watching him when he opened her gift.
"Thank you Spock." She said to him as she stood. She stepped over to him and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. "But you didn't need to get me anything."
"You said that a tradition at Christmas is to gift people that you care about, it was only logical that I gifted you with something." Spock replied.
Anna wondered for a moment what he meant by that, did that mean he cared for her?
"Well, thank you. I love them." Anna told him. "Do you want a drink? How about your first glass of Plomeek tea since you came to the academy?"
Spock nodded."I would be most grateful."
Anna took the Plomeek Tea from Spock's hand and went to the kitchen part of the room to make it while she made herself some Hot Chocolate. Spock followed her into the kitchen, watching her walk around the kitchen, taking things out of cupboards, using them, and then putting them back.
Anna placed the Plomeek Tea in front of Spock and watched as he took his first sip. He could tell by the way his eyes shined that he enjoyed his first sip of Plomeek Tea since he arrived at the Academy.
"Good?" Anna asked.
Spock nodded. "More than acceptable."
Anna drank her Hot Chocolate. Christmas Day was probably one of the only days that she would drink Hot Chocolate when she wasn't feeling down or as Spock would say 'emotional'.
"Are there any other Christmas traditions?" Spock asked, after a few minutes of silence as they both enjoyed their beverages.
Anna nodded. "The Christmas meal. I'm going to replicate the ingredients in a minute and start making it so we can ear at about one."
"May I enquire as to what Christmas Meal involves?" Spock asked.
"Sure. We're going to be a having Plomeek soup for starters, Quorn meat with vegetables and potatoes for main and my homemade Christmas Pudding for pudding." Anna replied to him, having to think carefully about what they were eating. She had managed to find the code to replicate the ingredients Plomeek soup so they could have that for starters. She had of course had to adapt the traditional Christmas meal into a vegetarian meal so Spock could eat it. Anna could barely remember the last time she had meat, probably the meal before she came to the Academy. She didn't really like eating meat in front of Spock, she knew he probably wouldn't mind but she just found it awkward and slightly rude. And finally for pudding she had made another Christmas Pudding. She made it at the same time that she made Commander Pike's Christmas Pudding. She was looking forward to digging into it and trying it out.
Anna replicated the ingredients as soon as she'd finished her Hot Chocolate and started preparing for the Christmas meal. As she did Anna turned to Spock and said, "Why don't you comm your mother and wish her a Merry Christmas? I'm sure she'd like that. It'd be about mid afternoon at Vulcan so she'd be awake"
Spock nodded and moved over to his desk and computer. "Hello mother" was the only indication that he had actually commed her.
"Spock! What a pleasant surprise. I wasn't expecting to hear from you today!" Spock's mother, Amanda replied, through the screen.
Anna continued to make the Christmas meal, trying to not listen in but it is difficult when the room is silent other than Spock's conversation with Amanda.
"I commed you to wish you a Merry Christmas. Anna has been teaching me about the human traditions. She'd said you would appreciate being wished a Merry Christmas" Spock said towards the computer screen where the live feed of his mother was.
"Of course. Merry Christmas to you as well Spock, and wish Anna a Merry Christmas from me as well." Amanda replied. "One day you must bring Anna with you back to Vulcan. I would very much like to meet her."
"She is here if you wish to speak with her mother. She is currently cooking a Christmas meal for the two of us." Spock said.
"No, I'll let her continue cooking. I'll get to meet her one day." Amanda replied. Anna could just imagine that the woman would have a smile on her face.
Anna had always thought that Amanda sounded like a very happy and smiley woman, which made her wonder how Spock didn't smile as much, after all Anna had always thought that smiles were contagious. It was hard to not smile to somebody who was smiling to you.
It was about 1300 hours that Anna dished up the Plomeek soup. By that time Spock was already sat at the table, having finished his conversation with his mother only half an hour after starting the conversation.
She placed the soup in front of Spock and herself as she sat down. She bit her lip nervously, wondering what he was going to think of the Plomeek soup. She'd tasted it when he had made it and it was delicious but he had been making it for a long time, this was her first time at making it.
She waited for Spock to take the first taste and then waited for his opinion. Spock obviously noticed her attention was on him and his opinion.
"Had I not seen you make it I would have believed you had had it imported from Vulcan." He said.
"Is that a good thing?" she asked, guessing he had meant it as a compliment but she couldn't be sure.
Spock nodded. "Yes, it took many years for me to prefect my Plomeek soup to match Vulcan's standard, so for a first attempt to be compared to a Vulcan's attempt is an acceptable compliment."
Anna smiled brightly and turned her attention to her soup.
If Anna had been nervous about the soup, she was doubly nervous about the main meal. She had only ever had compliments on her Christmas dinner from James but it had always been meat. She knew Spock had never had a Christmas meal and she wanted it be good for him. She didn't, however, wait for him to eat first on this meal. She ate at the same pace as him, watching him carefully for any hint of what he thought of the meal. As they both put down their cutlery to say they'd finished, Anna didn't even had to ask.
"That was very satisfying." Spock said, placing his fork next to his knife on his empty plate.
Anna smiled as she collected the plates and stood. She placed the dishes in the sink before turning and grabbing the Christmas pudding. She placed them both in the microwave and turned it on. She turned back to Spock to see him watching her.
She took a leaf from his book and raised an eyebrow at him.
"I am most gratified to the effort you have made with me since we have both arrived at the academy. You have not needed to be a friend to me and yet you have." Spock told her.
She looked at him shocked. It was probably the most emotional she had ever seen him. His gratitude was shining brightly in his eyes. She blushed at his intense stare.
"I'm glad to have made a friend in you Spock. You are a good person, and you have done more for me than you realise." Anna said back to him.
She could see Spock go to say something else when the microwave tinged. Anna quickly turned and took them out, placing them on the table, before fetching the ice-cream out of the freezer. She put one scoop on her own and then one scoop on Spock's. She glanced over to Spock to see that his eyes had frozen solid again, back into his Vulcan mask. Anna hid the disappointment behind a smile. She was enjoying seeing the more emotional side of Spock.
She dug into her pudding and almost moaned in content as the mixture of flavours attacked her tongue. She glanced up at Spock to see he had taken his first bite. She saw that he took another bite quite quickly which suggests that he liked it.
"This pudding is very good." Spock said.
Anna smiled to him. "I'm glad you like it. You usually only have Christmas Puddings at Christmas so it means it's a rare treat. I love it. It's one of my favourite Christmas treats."
When they had done, Anna went to collect the bowls at the same time as Spock did. Their hands touched for a minute as a spark ran through both of them as they felt each other's emotions. Spock felt Anna's happiness, content and joy. Anna felt Spock's gratitude, happiness and something else that Anna couldn't recognise in the short amount of time that they were connected. It was Anna who pulled her hand away and Spock took the dishes.
"Allow me to wash the dishes." Spock said as he stood up taking the dishes to the sink. He placed them next to the sink as the dishes from the starters and mains had filled the sink.
"Oh, Spock, No. I made the food, and the mess, I'll clean them." Anna protested, standing and stepping almost in-between Spock and the sink filled with dishes.
Spock quickly turned to face her with a raised eyebrow. "You have spent that last two hours cooking food for you and I, please allow me to show my gratitude by cleaning away."
Spock's eyes were open and glistening again, almost pleading with Anna to allow him to wash the dishes. Anna was defenceless against his emotional eyes. She couldn't look at it without wanting to give in. She lasted only minutes before she nodded and moved aside.
Spock washed the dishes in almost silence as Anna watched. Spock washed the dishes and then placed them on the draining board. He hadn't even got through a half of it when the draining board was almost full. Anna, who had been sat at the table, grabbed a table cloth and began drying the dishes and putting them away, clearing the draining board for Spock. As Anna removed something from the draining board, Spock instantly put something else in its place. They worked in silence to begin with until Anna broke the silence.
"Tell me about Vulcan" She said suddenly, glancing towards Spock.
"I have taught you all my knowledge on the planet Vulcan." Spock replied, his voice neutral.
"Not really, you've told me generic stuff that you can find on a Padd on Vulcan. I mean stuff you did on Vulcan or what made Vulcan so special?" Anna questioned, her voice light. She knew what she was trying to do. She wanted to see the emotion she had seen only a few moments ago.
Spock just looked at her with a raised eyebrow, a confused expression on both his face and in his eyes.
"Um, for example, I could tell you the figure of how many people lived in Iowa but you could find that out on a Padd, when I mean personal things I mean stuff like when I was little my Dad used to take me out to the plain lands at Riverside at sunset and we'd sit there and watch the sunset before watching the stars. He would talk to me about the different systems. I remember he would point out the different places he'd been on the Kelvin. Or how James and I once drove Dad's car around Riverside before an officer tried to pull us over." Anna said to him, a small reminiscent smile on her face.
"You were in trouble with the police?" Spock questioned, both eyebrows raising in disbelief.
Anna nodded, with a small smile. "Yeah, I was feeling rebellious. Uncle Frank was going to sell our Dad's car and we weren't about to let it get sold so we took from it the few mementoes that Dad had added to it when he owned it, before driving off. When the officer turned up, we drove to the side and through a restricted area. We honestly didn't know that there was a cliff there, but we drove the car over it."
Spock's eyebrows seemed to rise further, "And you obviously both survived the drop somehow"
"Well, we bailed out of the car before it went over. We were close to going over as well but we hanged on. As you can probably imagine we got in quite a lot of trouble." Anna half laughed as she mentioned the trouble. "Driving under age. Uncle Frank requested we be charged for thieving. Speeding. Driving away from a police officer. Entering private property. Driving dangerously. That's quite a lot of charges to clear."
Anna looked over to Spock curiously. She was interested in whether he would say anything about his childhood on Vulcan. After a few moments, he was still silent. Anna looked down, disappointed. She was always curious about Spock's life but he never said anything personal.
"The sunset." Spock suddenly said. "The sunset on Vulcan was something my mother used to take me to see when I was young. She would take me to one of the highest points near our home and we would sit to watch the sunset. She said it reminded her of home. A sunset was a constant, something that happens on both Earth and Vulcan. To me, it was peaceful. We would never speak. We would sit and watch. It gave me time to think"
Anna smiled at him, "You know she is right. Earth's sunset are just as peaceful. When it gets warmer and the skies get clearer I will take you to see a good sunset in Iowa."
Spock glanced at her, his lips twitching up into a small smile. Anna's smile brightened at the sight of it, her joy spreading into her eyes. She liked to see the smile on Spock's face. It brightened up his face when he smiles.
"When I got older I would go there to see the sunrise as well. Again, it was a peaceful moment. It was satisfactory to feel the morning warmth in the Vulcan sunrise." Spock said.
Anna nodded. "I know what you mean. To me, sunrise means hope. I went through a phase where I didn't know how to move forward. I would sit in the same place Dad used to take me, but to watch the sunrise. It brightened my morning because it reminded me that the sunrise means the start of the new day. A new day meant a fresh start."
Spock nodded back before they both turned back to cleaning away after their meal. As Anna put away the last dish she thought back on the conversation that they just had and frowned. She hadn't meant to make it upsetting or depressing. She didn't want Spock to connect Christmas with remembering sad memories. She had to find something to cheer the day back up. She glanced around the room and spotted something that sparked a thought in her mind. Snow.
"Hey Spock. Have you ever had a snowball fight?" Anna asked.
Spock looked to her and shook his head.
Anna grinned. "Wrap up warm, we're going to go and have a snowball fight."
It was late when Anna and Spock returned to their room, both cold, but flushed. Anna had begun the snowball flight with an advantage, having been very experienced at snow ball fights but as soon as Spock had got the hang of making the snowballs he soon found himself hitting Anna with snowballs more than what she was hitting him.
Anna was laughing as she entered the room, having managed to trudge snow into the accommodation block. She had been trying to hurry Spock up so then the warden didn't realise it was them that trudged all the snow in.
"It was illogical to hurry" Spock just said as they entered and started unwrapping.
"Spock, if the warden knew it was us she would have made us clear it up or do some chores to make up for it." Anna replied. "Thankfully she didn't see us."
"No, I mean it was illogical to hurry as she will find out it was us." Spock said.
"Oh yeah, how?" Anna questioned, placing a hand on her hip.
"We have trudged snow to our room." Spock said simply, looking at Anna with his eyebrow raised, a smug look in his eye.
Anna glanced down to her boots which were still dripping from melting snow. She then glanced at the floor from where she was stood, to the door. There were obvious footprints. She groaned and cursed herself in her head. Of course.