Chapter 10: A Date On The Observation Deck

A few hours later, Spock heard his door chime and called, "Come in!"

Bones and Jim walked into his room. Bones was holding a garment bag and Jim held a small bottle in his hand.

Spock had just gotten out of the shower and was in only a pair of shorts with a towel around his shoulders. Bones laid the garment bag down on the bed, pulled out an outfit and handed it to Spock, "Here, put this on."

Spock held it out in front of him and looked it over. It was black dress pants and a dark, sea green button down silk shirt. "I take it these clothes were not replicated for the occasion?" he asked.

"Nope. That outfit belonged to my father. It's a bit big for me but should fit you perfectly."

Spock nodded appreciatively, "I will have it cleaned and return it promptly."

"Don't bother. Keep it, Spock. It doesn't fit me so I never wear it. Not much my style anyway."

"Thank you, Doctor."

Spock turned to go back into the washroom to change, but before he could, Jim stopped him, "Hold on a second, Spock." He opened the small bottle that he was holding a splashed a small amount of liquid onto his hands.

Spock immediately smelled a musky, but light and masculine scent. "Cologne?" he asked raising an eyebrow and taking the towel off of his shoulders.

"Yes, Spock, cologne," Jim replied as he rubbed his hands together and started patting him on the neck, shoulders and chest. "This was a gift from a lovely young woman I met on Risa a few years back. It smells fantastic and the ladies love it."

"It is quite pleasing to the olfactory senses," Spock agreed. He changed quickly, pulled on socks and shoes, and came out of the washroom buttoning his shirt.

He buttoned it up to the neck and Jim stepped up to him, "Let me fix that for you, Spock." He unbuttoned the top two buttons.

"Jim?"

"You're not wearing a tie," Jim answered, "It looks much better this way."

"Indeed?" Spock asked, once again quirking up an eyebrow. He looked at himself in the mirror as he tucked in his shirt and put on a belt. He smoothed his hair down, then turned to face his friends. "This is quite illogical, however… I will, as you would say, 'bear with it,' if it so pleases Miss Chapel."

"You look dashing, Mr. Spock," Jim said with a smile.

"I'll admit that you clean up nice," Bones agreed, "Now grab a bottle of wine. We've got enough time to set up your table on the observation deck then go to horticulture for flowers."

After the table was set, the three of them walked to the horticulture bay, where Sulu was waiting for them.

"Good evening, gentlemen," Sulu greeted, "You look nice, Commander. Big date tonight, huh?" he asked with a smile. Without waiting for an answer he said, "Right this way. We'll help you arrange something nice for your special lady."

After walking around looking at all of the different plants and flowers, Spock was drawn to the collection of Terran lilies. "This one is quite aesthetically pleasing," he said, gently touching the petals. It was a soft red colored petal, outlined in white with a yellow center. "Lilium orientalis," he read off of the identification card.

"Ah, excellent choice, sir," Sulu said with a smile, "and most appropriate for an evening on the observation deck. They call that one the Stargazer Lily. You know what would look really nice with those? A spray of multicolored Keela flowers from the first planet we explored in the Delta quadrant a few months ago. I'll arrange a bouquet for you."

"Thank you, Mr. Sulu," Spock replied, and before long he handed him a beautiful arrangement.

"Lovely," Bones said. "You ready, Spock?"

"I believe that I am sufficiently prepared."

"Did you take my advice from earlier?"

"Indeed, Doctor. I spent an adequate amount of time in my quarters familiarizing myself with Terran courting practices."

Kirk smiled, "I hope the computer didn't give you any bad advice. Good luck, Spock."

Spock resisted the urge to tell him that wishing him luck was illogical and simply nodded his thanks to his friends before turning and heading out of the horticulture bay. He had a few minutes to spare and decided to stop back in his quarters to check himself in the mirror one last time, as illogical as it seemed. When he was finally ready to pick up Christine from her quarters, he walked toward his door only to be stopped by the sound of his personal com signaling an incoming transmission. He sighed, turning back into his room. With all that had been happening, he'd completely forgotten that this was the evening of his mother's weekly calls. Not wanting her to worry as she tended to do, he sat down and accepted the transmission.

"Good evening, mother," he greeted her as her face appeared on the screen.

"Hello, Spock! My, don't you look handsome! I've never seen you dressed like that before! And those beautiful flowers… oh my, I'm interrupting you, aren't I? Who's the lucky lady?"

"I am preparing to have dinner with Nurse Chapel. I apologize, mother. This week has been… eventful… and I must admit that your call had slipped my mind."

"Don't you dare apologize!" Amanda exclaimed with a smile, "Christine is a lovely woman! I'm glad that you finally have enough sense to go on a date with her. Now, don't let me stop you! Go! I love you, Spock. I'll call you at this time tomorrow."

"I look forward to your call, mother. We shall speak tomorrow," he replied.

She blew him a kiss and disconnected the call. Then he finally made his way to Christine's room.

To his relief, he arrived at her quarters at exactly 1900 hours.

"Hello, Christine," he greeted when she opened the door, and he handed her the flowers, "I hope you find these pleasing."

"Oh, Spock, they're beautiful! Thank you! Please, come in, I'll put these in some water before we go to dinner."

As she arranged the flowers in a vase, she looked up and noticed what he was wearing, and she couldn't help but smile at him. "Mr. Spock, I have to tell you… you look fantastic."

"You find this outfit aesthetically pleasing?" he asked, looking almost pleased to hear her say it.

"Very aesthetically pleasing," she agreed.

"You also look… rather lovely," he replied and she smiled shyly.

"Thank you."

He offered his arm and they walked together in comfortable silence up to the observation deck. She gave a small gasp as she walked in and saw the small table set for them and the bottle of wine that was waiting. "Oh, Spock, you didn't have to go through all of this trouble!"

"It was no trouble," Spock said simply, "Please sit." he held out her chair for her and she smiled at him as she sat. He poured both of them wine and said, "I will prepare our meal."

She watched him and sipped her wine as he put on some soft classical music and began putting disks into the replicator. He brought several plates of food over to the table. "The replicator disks that I used were provided to me by my mother, so I could still enjoy her recipes while in space. There is butternut squash casserole, macaroni and cheese and bread with favinit butter."

"Everything looks delicious, Spock! Thank you."

As they ate in the dimmed light of the observation deck, watching the stars, they spoke softly of the events of the last few days.

"You gave us quite a few scares, Spock," Christine said to him.

"I apologize for causing you distress."

"You don't have to apologize. It's not like you had any control over the situation. To be honest, what scared me the most was seeing you openly show so much emotion. Don't get me wrong, I loved it that you were so affectionate… but it was clear that you were not yourself, and that was unsettling."

"It was unsettling," he agreed, "Although I cannot say that I am comfortable with my actions, I am glad that the situation occurred. As I said before, it has only served to increase my wisdom and acceptance of myself for who I am. I am also pleased that you find me acceptable for who I am."

"Of course I do. Do you remember that awful psi 2000 virus we all got?"

"Indeed," Spock said, looking exasperated at the memory.

"I told you that I love you. The human you, the Vulcan you. Regardless of the emotion that you show or don't show."

"You honor me," Spock said quietly, gazing into her eyes across the table. "Would you like to dance?"

"That sounds lovely but… you won't mind? I know about emotional transference with touch, I don't want to… overwhelm you," she said with a shy smile but concern in her eyes.

"Your touch causes me no discomfort," he assured her, "Please," he stood and offered his hand, which she took with a smile and they began to sway to the soft music playing.

She looked up at him as they danced and she felt so much love for him. He felt her emotion and offered her a small smile.

"Thank you for sharing such an emotion with me. It is illogical but it is… nice." He paused, looking deep into her eyes. "Christine?" he said softly.

"Yes, Spock?" Her heart once again felt like it was going to beat out of her chest.

"May I kiss you?" he asked, looking uncertain.

She smiled, and without answering his question, leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He cupped her face in his hands, not initiating a meld, but communicating his emotions to her without words, allowing her to feel what he had such a hard time communicating verbally, all of the love and affection and respect that he had for her.

She was overwhelmed by the depth and intensity of his emotion and broke their kiss with a gasp. He put his forehead against hers, "Forgive me. I did not mean to overwhelm you. I do not often show emotion, but my emotion is still quite strong."

"It's OK," she whispered, "I've been waiting a long time for this. You smell fantastic," she smiled then pulled him in to kiss him again. He pulled his hands off of her face and wrapped his arms around her. He deepened their kiss and soon his hands were tangled in her hair.

After a few minutes he reluctantly broke their kiss, and she began kissing his ears and neck. "Christine, will you join me in my quarters?" He asked, his breath was ragged and his eyes dark and wanting.

She was very tempted by his offer but decided it would be better to wait. This was, after all, only their first date. "I really shouldn't, Spock. I'm tempted… but we should really wait. It's getting late. I should go." She kissed him deeply again before whispering, "Will you walk me to my quarters?"

"Of course. I hope I you will agree to another meal with me soon. I find your company… most agreeable."

"I'd love to have dinner again, Mr. Spock. Next time I'll cook," she said, her arms still around him.

Spock kissed her one last time before walking her to her room. After a last kiss goodnight, he went back to the observation deck, cleaned up and then found himself walking towards the Captain's quarters.

"Come in!" Jim called when he heard his door chime. The Captain and Dr. McCoy were playing cards and drinking Saurian brandy. As Spock walked in both of them grinned at him.

"I see you enjoyed your dinner, Spock," Bones said with a gleam in his eyes.

"How is it that you see this, Doctor?" Spock asked curiously.

Jim and Bones looked at each other and smiled. Jim cleared his throat, "Spock, uh, you have a little…" he gestured toward his neck. Spock looked in the mirror and saw that his lips, neck and ears were stained with her lipstick. His face flushed green and he took a tissue and started wiping it away.

Once he regained his composure and some of his dignity, he sat down with his friends, and to their surprise, accepted a drink.

"Thank you, Jim," Spock said after taking a long sip of the brandy.

"Something to calm your nerves, huh?" Bones asked.

"Indeed. It was… most curious." He finished the brandy in his glass and poured himself another, "She seemed to very much enjoy the limited physical contact that we had. However, when I invited her back to my quarters, she declined."

Bones snorted a laugh, "That's because she's not a harlot, Spock!"

"A… harlot? I am unfamiliar with that term, Doctor."

"She's not a whore, Spock! She's a proper lady, and a proper lady never sleeps with you on the first date."

"I must admit that this situation did not come up in my research. Do you think I offended her with the offer?"

"Well, what do you think, Spock?" Jim asked, "Did she seem offended?"

"She did not. She allowed me to escort her to her quarters and kissed me goodnight."

"Well, I'd call that a success," Jim said with a smirk.

Spock nodded, finished his second shot of brandy and poured himself a third.

"You better slow down with that brandy, hobgoblin. You're going to be seeing double if you keep drinking it like that," Bones warned.

"As you should know, Doctor, Vulcans have a much higher tolerance for alcohol than humans do."

"I know that. I've just never seen you chug it like that before."

"Neither have I," Jim agreed. "Are you trying to get drunk? I should have some chocolate around here somewhere…"

"That is not necessary, Jim. I do not wish to become completely inebriated. I am simply attempting to… regain a modicum of emotional control so my evening meditation will be satisfactory."

"Are you still feeling out of control of your emotions?" Bones asked, looking concerned, "That drug should be long out of your system. Maybe you should come down to sickbay for some tests."

"That will not be necessary. The neuroparalyzer is no longer having any effect on me. It is… Christine seems to be… quite good... at testing my emotional control."

"Yeah, I bet," Jim replied with a smirk.

TBC...