Welcome back! Here we go, the parents are visiting!
Later that evening, the senior officers of the Enterprise lined up in the transporter room, waiting for the signal by the long-distance shuttle that the Vulcan delegation was ready to be beamed aboard.
Christine slipped into the line-up next to Pavel. When she met his eyes, he winked up at her and exchanged a grin with Sulu. She turned around, and Montgomery Scott smirked at her from behind the transporter console. They knew.
She met Spock's gaze. He had noticed, too.
"I take it you will want to talk about the 'elephant in the room'?" he asked from his position next to Jim, looking straight ahead.
"Be careful how you call me," Christine murmured, evoking a small smirk from Uhura next to her.
Spock remembered Jim's reaction earlier today, and continued, "We…would have told you all sooner, but we were rather…preoccupied with making sense of it all."
"Aye," said Scotty, "it must have been a wee shock for you. I must say, Mr Spock, you still manage to surprise me."
Spock turned around and nodded at the engineer. "Me, too, Mr Scott. Me, too."
"Well, if the shoe fits," Pavel piped up. "You just had to see it."
"The shoe, Mr Chekov?" Spock asked.
"The shoe. Like in the Russian fairy-tale of Cinderella."
Spock threw his former protégé a critical look over the heads of McCoy, Uhura, and Chapel.
"That is neither a Russian fairy-tale nor a good allegory to our union."
"But does it not fit?" Pavel asked with a nonchalant shrug.
"It fits," Spock said curtly.
A beep from the transporter console interrupted their conversation.
"Vulcan delegation ready for transport," Mr Scott said.
"Energize," Kirk said, and at the touch of Scotty, the transporter pads lit up, the platform was filled by the glimmering beam, and Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan materialised alongside his wife, Amanda.
After they had been welcomed by the Captain, Amanda made a beeline for Christine.
"Congratulations, Christine," she said, beaming at her with sparkling blue eyes that rivalled her own. "I am very happy for you, and Spock."
"Why thank you," Christine said, "your son is a wonderful man and I'm very glad to have him."
After the exchange of pleasantries, Chekov, Sulu, Scotty, and Uhura returned to their work while the others accompanied Ambassador Sarek and his wife to their assigned quarters. Christine walked with Amanda, while her son, the Captain, and Doctor McCoy walked ahead of them with Sarek.
"I doubt we'll be seeing a lot of each other during the conference," Amanda said.
"No, it'll be rather time-consuming, I imagine."
"What would you think about having dinner with us this evening?" the older woman asked. "Just you, Spock, Sarek, and I?"
"Oh, I'd be delighted. I'm sure the ship's galley can send something up."
"Our quarters then. In three hours?"
"Yes, that sounds very good! I'm looking forward to it."
Amanda looked up into the shining eyes of the doctor. On the surface, this liveliness seemed a polar opposite to Spock, but even if it was, Amanda had a hunch that they were well matched.
After leaving his parents at their cabin, Spock fell behind to walk with Christine.
"We're having dinner with your parents this evening at 1900 hours," she said.
"I thought so. My father warned me that mother had an attack planned on us."
Christine laughed and was on the verge of reprimanding him as something else occurred to her.
"Oh, Spock, what should I wear?" she asked. Of course, the uniform was always an option but as it was a private function, Spock might have some other idea.
She was not disappointed. Spock looked her up and down while walking and then said, "Your uniform would be acceptable, of course, but if you stop by my quarters before dinner, I might have an alternative."
They had reached Spock's cabin, and Jim threw Spock a telling look.
"No chess match today, then?"
"I'm afraid not, I am otherwise engaged."
Christine shared a grin with Leonard at the Vulcan's unfortunate choice of words, and after they had said goodbye, continued to walk with the Captain and the doctor.
"And, nervous about dinner?" Leonard asked.
"Oh no, why would I?" Christine said. "I've met them before; I know what to expect. I even worked with Ambassador Sarek before."
"Right, you were his aide once, weren't you?" Jim asked.
"Yes, during the whale probe crisis."
Leonard rolled his eyes. "Personal aide to a Vulcan. I'd implode. I'm not used to all that stoicism and cold logic."
"Well, you can always practise with the one at your disposal," Christine chuckled, "to test your reaction to Vulcans."
"Believe me, darlin', I've been tested enough already these last three decades by that son of a grinch," Leonard grumbled.
"And he by you, Len."
"My crowning achievement," McCoy said, nodding proudly.
In the executive officer's quarters, Spock accessed the quartermaster's databank. He was fairly sure about Christine's measurements, especially after last night. Still, he might as well use the advantage of having access to everything that his position came with, just to make sure.
After finding his estimate corroborated in the table of crewmembers' uniform measurements, he set to work and fiddled with the synthesizer for some time.
When he was finished, he set the garments on his desk and waited for the doctor to arrive. He was sure she would like the dark blue tunic with matching trousers. The traditional Vulcan fit would suit her, and the colour would go well with her eyes. He ran his fingers over the lighter lining along the small collar, shoulders, and down the torso. Yes, this would suffice.
When Christine entered, her eyes immediately fell on the small stack of clothing.
"For me, Spock?"
Spock inclined his head and motioned for his bathroom. "You may try it on, and if it is to your liking, you may keep it."
Christine chuckled to herself at his exaggerated display of respect and courtesy. She would not have minded changing in his presence by now, not after recent events. Still, she quickly vanished into the adjoining room and exchanged her uniform for the blue ensemble.
"Spock, it's beautiful," she said as she stepped back into the cabin. She subconsciously flattened some creases, feeling the soft material gliding through her fingers.
"I take it you like it then?" He was looking her up and down, noticing with some satisfaction that the cut fit her extremely well, and his guess regarding the colour had been correct as well.
"Why, yes, I like it a lot," she said with a coy smirk. She had noticed his look, of course.
Spock had changed into one of his robes as well while she had been in the bathroom.
Looking back, he thought, he could have matched their clothes, but getting good Vulcan clothing out of the synthesizer had not been an easy task, and crafting another robe for himself would have wasted unnecessary ship's resources.
"It's very comfortable, thank you, Spock," Christine continued, then batted her eyelids at him. "Did you have this all the time? Ready to charm some woman with new clothes?"
"I didn't. It wasn't made on Vulcan," Spock said.
"No? Who made it?" she asked.
"The ship made it," Spock answered curtly, "per my specifications."
"Well, she did a good job," Christine smirked. "And you as well, of course."
"Why thank you," he said, a smirk playing around his lips. "Shall we leave now?"
To be continued...
Now, wasn't that sweet of Spock? What do you think will happen at dinner?