SO! I'm back and I think I'm on a roll again! WOOT! So, give me your plot bunnies to keep the inspiration wolf well fed! On with the sailing!
Spock had continued to act off the entire morning. By lunch it had Chris worried. Hell, the instant she noticed the roiling dark emotions she was worried, the instant she saw how stiffly he moved, the way his hands trembled with the force of his emotions, she was worried. By lunch, when it wasn't better but in fact worse, she wasn't just worried, she was in stitches trying to figure out what was wrong.
She had not seen him so tense since the last time she had spent time with the older Spock and her Spock had found out. Chris wanted to wrap her arms around him and hug him but she knew her Father and the crew would find it… odd to say the least. And really it was deeply inappropriate, given than he had been raised Vulcan. Her typical friendly touches, a hand on his arm, a brush of their shoulders, was deeply inappropriate.
But he was her friend and she loved him. So as Luke fetched their lunch she reached out and twined her fingers with his, giving him all the comfort she could.
What is wrong, Spock? She asked, even though she knew he wouldn't tell her.
It is nothing. He lied. Clearly he heard her recognize the line as a lie because he thought to her. It is nothing you can control. I am simply having difficulties with my emotions right now.
Luke leaned over them, his shadow casting a cool spot across her sun-heated skin. "Lunch?" Luke offered, thrusting a plate of fruits at them. His appearance made her jump, both with the suddenness of his approach, she'd been too focused on Spock to notice him, and at the sudden intense reaction of Spock's emotions.
All the calm she had given him disappeared in a rush of dark dislike. She shot Luke a sweet smile, determined to get him away from Spock, realizing that he, clearly, was the source of Spock's problem. "Would you be a love and take over for Daddy? I don't want him to know but I'm a little worried."
Luke's face flashed with some odd emotion, which she could have deciphered had she really cared. "Sure, not a problem." She took the plate from him as he slid down and took her Daddy's place.
Her Dad slowly made his way to the very bow of the little boat and Chris turned back to Spock. His eyes shone with gratitude and his emotions quieted. "I thank you Chris."
She knew better than to ask why Luke upset him so. He'd never tell her. All she really cared about was making him feel better. Besides… Luke had been a major creeper, fawning over her and touching her in an obvious attempt to get a reaction from her.
Instead she lay back, head pillowed in her arms, and let the sun bake her. "I didn't do that for you," She lied in a conspirators whisper, "He was totally bugging me. I like touching but he's being way too touchie, especially since I haven't seen him in years."
Spock shouldn't have liked that she was uncomfortable with her past boyfriend's affections but he did. It made the dark rage dissipate into a comfortable, green glow. Beside her, with her easy companionship and affection, he could relax.
The Admiral slid up to them as he heard Chris' heart slow as she drifted off to sleep in the sun. "She's such a cat." The Admiral said, laughing. "Girl can sleep anywhere, as long as it's warm or in the sun."
Spock looked back down at her and fought a smile but he felt his lips twitch. "Indeed," he said, seeing the parallels the Admiral was noticing, "she is very feline like. However she is also very social, felines are not social."
The Admiral nodded. "Very true, Chrissy is very social. Which is why I'm so surprised you're so close."
Spock tensed slightly, not liking where the discussion was heading. "Why is that?" He asked.
The Admiral offered him an odd look. "You're not really a social person, Spock. Yet you do so many things I would never think you'd do, because Chris mentions them."
He glanced down at her, her blonde locks splayed across the dark blue pillows, her body mostly bare in her 'bikini' and glowing slightly golden in the sun. "She has the unique ability to make all those around her happy." He admitted. "I find watching her as she does very intriguing."
The Admiral looked like he didn't quite believe Spock but let it drop and began telling the younger man all he could about the boat and how it was powered and steered.
Christopher Pike glanced at his daughter and the Vulcan man he had learned to call friend. It ought to have unnerved him, how close they had become. As he understood it Vulcans were not welcome to touch as a rule, however his Chrissy had been giving Spock small, discreet touches since they had arrived.
He knew her abilities were heightened by touch, as were Spock's, but he couldn't think of why his daughter would be needing to touch Spock so frequently to calm his emotions. The Vulcan in question seemed, to the untrained observer, the exact same as he had been when he entered the academy ten years before.
But Christopher was not untrained. He knew Spock very well and he prided himself of noticing every detail. It was what made him a good Admiral and a better Captain. So he did, indeed, see the changes in the man who had been his First Officer.
Spock was, when with Chrissy, less tense. His shoulders would not be so perfectly postured, his hands would often be slightly more relaxed, his eyes slightly less Vulcan, more human. When Chrissy was around Spock Christopher could almost read the emotions in the Vulcan's eyes.
So he did notice, almost immediately, how Spock reacted to Luke. The boy wasn't a bad sort, he was just socially awkward and very much into Chrissy. But he saw the immediate dislike in those brown eyes when Spock looked at the boy. He was not fool enough to miss the envy in those same eyes when Luke touched Chrissy freely, when Chrissy greeted her old flame so happily.
Christopher wasn't a genius, but he was a father, and father's often had a sixth sense about their daughters. Christopher knew, as Luke took the helm and left the pair alone, by the way Spock relaxed and tipped his body slightly toward Chrissy, that the Vulcan cared more for his daughter than he would admit. In fact he was willing to bet the Enterprise herself that Spock was in love with Chrissy, but didn't realize it yet.
Spock glanced at Chris as they pulled up to the dock. He'd collected their things and was ready to depart but he could tell she was still deeply asleep and he didn't feel the need to wake her immediately. Luke was still busied with the ship and as such Spock did not feel remiss in leaving her alone to help the Admiral from the ship.
While touch bothered him he knew the man was proud but still his body was weak from the torture Nero had put him through. Christopher would accept aide from no one else. As such he leapt off the boat and onto the dock and grasped the Admiral's lower arm. There was no skin to skin contact but it did offer him a vague insight to the man's mind.
The Admiral was contented, relaxed. Spock released his arm as soon as the older human was steadily on the dock, the contact, while not uncomfortable, was not pleasant. He stepped back onto the boat, intent on waking Chris, to see Luke bending over Chris, his mouth very close to Chris' face.
With a nearly silent growl he stalked forward to loom over the boy. Luke looked up, shock written on his face, his eyes wide. "Yea man?" He asked.
Spock fought back the violent rage, coiling his quivering hands into fists. "I shall look after Chris." He said in his most Vulcan controlled voice, attempting to hide his rage. For a moment Luke met his cold gaze and didn't move, defying him.
The human boy leapt back as a voice cut through the tension. "Luke, man, get off yer ass and help me tie this lady up." He stumbled, turned and moved away.
Slowly his hands relaxed as the tension left him. Spock reached down and closed his hand on Chris' shoulder. He didn't need to shake her, as humans would need to.
Chris, we are here. He said into the warmth of her mind as a single finger brushed her bare skin.
M'seeping. She mumbled from her mind, the quiet haze unmoving. Warm.
He chuckled in their slightly connected minds. Chris, you must wake up. He gently shook her. Luke is watching. Should I allow him to kiss you?
"So not funny!" Chris snapped, sitting upright suddenly. He could feel the haze that was sleep leave her mind instantly. Chris mock scowled at him. "You have been spending too much time with Jim and Bones."
He removed his hand from her person but did allow a very tiny smile through his control. "You are most probably correct."
Spock stepped back, allowing her to roll to her feet. He handed Chris her shoes and walked toward the back of the boat. Chris followed him and waited as he stepped down the stairs. As he turned to face his friend he saw her balancing on a single foot to place her shoe on.
Luke walked forward, his hand reaching toward Chris' ample rear. Before Spock could warn Chris or snarl at the human boy Chris shifted forward, deliberately avoiding the touch. Spock saw as the motion forced her weight too far forward and she lost her balance.
She yelped, realizing what was happening, and tried to throw her weight backward, to catch herself. But it was too late. Happily he was gifted with his Vulcan reflexes as well as Vulcan strength. Spock had just enough time to shift and catch her slender, lithe form.
Her chest pressed to his, her arms around his neck, and his arms wrapped firmly around her waist, his hands splayed across her bare back. He felt a jolt of a white heat flood to his groin and stomach before he setteled her onto the dock gently. Slowly he released his hold on her, watching the beautiful emerald blush crawl across her cheeks and ears.
After a second he realized what the hot, black emotion in his gut was and he stepped back, his Vulcan control snapping back into existence. He carefully distanced himself from her warm body and controlled his blush. He looked up at the human, Luke, and gave him a very firm, blank look. The boy stepped back and turned his eyes away. It didn't make Spock's emotions easier to control, but it did make one of them disappear. He'd obviously, finally, forced the boy to realize that Chris was off-limits.
Chris bounded past Spock toward the tiger exhibit, her enthusiasm literally coming off her in waves. Between his telepathy and her empathy he could feel her emotions though they weren't touching and she wasn't actively attempting to give him any. "I love the tigers!" She exclaimed as he reached her side.
The Admiral chuckled and leaned in toward Spock. "She was exactly like this eleven years ago, when we last came here."
Chris rolled her eyes and Spock knew she had overheard her Father. "Yea, well then I didn't have an old friend working with them!" she flashed a smile at them over her shoulder. "I called Laura. She's promised she'll let us say hi to a few of the younger tigers."
Ten minutes later Spock and Chris stood together in a fairly large area waiting to greet the 'tigers'. He shot her a quick look.
"You called in this favor for my sake." He said, knowing without needing to ask that it was the case. She knew that he was intrigued by Earth animal life and given that she had been spending the last few days finding ways to bring him into close contact with such animals he made a logically assumption.
She smiled. "Well, yes and no." She admitted as a door opened and a trio of little tiger cubs, no taller than Chris' knees, tumbled into the arena. Chris knelt and made a soft mewling noise and the cubs slowly crept toward them. "I knew you'd find this fascinating. But also," she rubbed her hand gently to the head of one of the cubs. Spock heard the little animal purr. "I really do love them, and I've wanted to do this since I was a little girl."
Spock slowly lowered himself to his haunches to greet the fascinating animals. The smallest pressed its orange and black-stripped face into his palm. With his hyper sensitive hands he could feel each and every strand of fur; the whiskers, stiffer than the rest of the cub's fur, brushed against his hand, creating a not unpleasant tingling sensation.
The rest of the afternoon was a blend of meetings with intriguing animals, watching Chris and the Admiral tease one another… Spock felt an odd emotion, warm and pale it glowed in his mind. After meditation he realized, close to midnight, that the emotion was the exact one he had felt the week he spent the year before with his Mother and Chris.
2258 – September 7th 1000 Hours
"You've never bakes cookies?" Chris asked, incredulous.
"Vulcans do not eat cookies." Spock informed her, his voice patient and firm. "So no, I have never made any."
Chris, who firmly believed that baking cookies with one's family was an incredibly important rite of childhood, grabbed her best friend's wrist and pulled him toward her. "Well you're about to learn."
She didn't pay close enough attention to her hands in her excitement. Her fingers brushed along Spock's wrist, caressing his palm as she released him. Fortunately for her, and unfortunately for Spock, she wasn't paying very close attention to her fingers and his emotions. She was too wrapped up in creating a mental list of what she needed to find in her father's poorly organized kitchen to notice the shiver that wracked his body and the flash of desire in his very human eyes.
She released his wrist and dug through the drawer to find an apron to fit his tall, lean frame. Chris found the blue one she'd given her Daddy ages ago. She thrust it into Spock's hands. "You might want to put it on."
Spock lifted it to his chest and looked down at it. He looked back up at her, a single brow lifted in disbelief. "Kiss the Cook, but don't touch his buns?" He asked, his voice showing none of the shock he felt.
Chris snickered. "I bought it for Daddy for the PTA dinners, to try and win him some attention from the sexy single Mothers." She explained.
"Did it work?" He asked, pulling the neck strap over his head and tying the waist straps.
"Not really." Chris said, grinning at her friend's slightly mussed hair. "Mostly it got him longing stares from the already married mothers and nasty glares from the fathers."
She pulled her favorite apron over her head and tied it behind her back. His eyes widened slightly. "What is the best thing one can do with one's lips?" Spock asked her, his eyes fixed on her apron.
She glanced down at the bright orange lettering. 'Smile, it's the second best thing you can do with your lips.' She flashed her friend a big smile. "I could think of two things, but I think it means kissing."
There was a very faint green blush that bloomed on the tips of his ears. "Ah." Was all he could manage.
Chris decided to let him off the hook by finding the collection of ingredients they'd be needing.
Spock helped Chris by measuring out the flour into the mixing bowl while she set the oven to the correct temperature. She showed him how to crack an egg. He twitched as she thrust the second egg into his hand, her fingertips brushing his.
"It's easy Spock. You can do it, just try it in a little bowl for now, incase you break shell into the mix." She coached, her hand covering his much larger one.
Nervousness was not an emotion he often felt, however he was able to recognize the sickly yellow emotion. However he was completely able to force it away. He gently tapped the egg on the edge of the bowl, with Chris' guidance he placed his thumbs into the crack and pulled gently. The shell split and the liquid inside fell into the bowl.
He could not control the very slight smile of success that made Chris smile in return. "Well done." She said playfully. "Now the ingredients are in why don't you mix this up and I'll grease the tray." Her nimble fingers stole the eggshell and handed him an electric mixer. "Just push the on button."
He stared at the mixer for a moment before placing the silver ends into the bowl and pressing the on button with his thumb. With a deeply undignified yelp he dropped the mixer as a veritable WAVE of flour flew up and covered his head, face, and chest.
It did not help his pride when he heard the low chuckle of the Admiral and the poorly stifled giggles from Chris' direction.
Chris couldn't help the hysterical giggles that bubbled up from her control. The sight of her Spock in his classic dark sweater, black slacks, and her father's apron, covered in flour with egg dripping from his hair onto his cheek and Greek nose.
He looked as sour as a Vulcan could look. "I believe you failed to warn me of the multiple settings." He said, his voice, surprisingly, more of a growl than she had ever heard it before.
Which, of coarse, made her laugh even more. "I" she gasped through her laughter, "am s… so… so…sorry!"
Eventually she laughed herself out and Spock cleaned himself up with a quick shower. So to pass the time Chris scrapped the first batch, which happily had no chocolate or rum in it yet, and tried again. So when she felt the familiar emotions of her best friend, and heard the steady footfalls she could pick out of a crowd, the cookies were ready and just out of the oven. "Cookie?" She asked her friend, shooting him an apologetic smile.
Spock wore his black slacks and sweater get up, as usual. On the plus side the sweater was a pale blue so he didn't look so severe. He shook his head, looking at the cookie she held in her bare hand with a flash of unease. "Thank you, no."
Chris pondered his refusal for a moment before realizing that it was not the cookie but the fact it had touched her bare skin and he would need to eat it with his fingers. Rolling her eyes she popped said cookie into her mouth, ignoring the slight burn of the still almost too hot chocolate on her tongue, and grabbed a plate. She lifted a cookie with the spatula, set it on the clean plate, and shoved the plate and a fork into Spock's pale hands.
A tiny smile pulled at his lips. "If you insist." He glanced at the cookie. "I presume that you made a fresh batch." When she nodded he carefully used the fork to separate a piece and lift it into his mouth. She knew his sense of taste was a little less sensitive than a humans' but he ought to be able to enjoy the flavor of the vanilla paste and rum.
As she watched his eyes flickered slightly, darkening in pleasure that she felt roll off of him. "It is acceptable." He said after he swallowed.
Taking it as a compliment she smiled and lifted another cookie off the still hot cookie tray, hissing in pain when her finger tips touched the hot metal. Hyper sensitive compared to a human, the burn hurt far more than most humans would have expected it to. But Spock was not human, he was Vulcan, and he understood.
His hand, burning hot but pleasantly so, curled around her hand and he put the burned appendages under running cold water. She could feel the mild worry he tried to hide from her, their minds slipping effortlessly together. "I trust it was not severe." He said, more of a statement than a question but she could hear the very slight tinge of worry to his voice.
She nodded, feeling like a child. "Yea, I'm fine Spock." She realized someone was missing from the scene as Spock turned off the water and tended her burned fingers with a gentle efficiency. "Hey," she said, glancing up into his dark, coffee eyes. "Where's my Dad? He's a sucker for cookies."
And he should have been there as soon as the oven chimed, stealing as many of her cookies as she allowed… The fact he wasn't was deeply suspect. She looked as Spock and saw the odd expression in his eyes, as if he were trying to hide something. She glared at him. "Spock, tell me what you know." She curled her fingers around his so he could not end the touch, allowing her access to his mind.
"I have promised the Admiral not to say." He admitted, looking away. The wash of guilt that he felt hit her like a ton of bricks, supplemented by nervousness, excitement, and shyness.
Spock was never shy… why would he be shy? His mind drifted for the barest moment and while he was too disciplined to give any specific thoughts away she got the impression of her friends, night time, and music… A party… her Dad was throwing her a surprise birthday party…
Spock scowled a Vulcan scowl, the barest tightening of his eyebrows together and the slightest down turn to his lips. "You were not supposed to know."
Chris scowled too. "He wasn't supposed to throw me a party dang it." She complained. "Now I'll have to look cute. And I didn't bring anything cute to wear." Which of course only made her grin. "Didn't I say I was gonna take you shopping?" She asked him. His eyes drifted closed for a moment, as if he were attempting to control an urge, probably one to run.
"Indeed." He said finally, almost as if pained. "You did mention such an outing."
"Fine, you're coming with me. I'll get something for the party and so will you." She said, beaming. If she had to deal with a party then at least she could get Spock into some jeans… she had a sneaking suspicion that a good pair of jeans would look killer on his long, lean legs and fantastic ass.
He twitched and gave her an almost incredulous look and Chris realized their hands were still twinned and his dark mind still overlapping a bit of hers. "You are fond of my ass?" He asked, deeply shocked.
She dropped his hand as if HE had burned her and shrugged as casually as possible, trying to hide her deep attraction to him. "Spock, you are a very attractive man. I, as your friend, am allowed to notice such things and help you dress yourself to show off your assets better." She giggled, realizing the tacky pun she just made. "No pun intended."
Spock allowed her to lead him into the garage and into the car. As she started up the engine he asked another question. "Why should I 'show off my assets better'?" He asked, giving her an odd look.
She fought the urge to say, 'Because then I could check you out more.' Instead she forced herself to say, "Because other girls are bound to notice you Spock, and since Uhura left you, you're officially on the market again." Either he didn't like the answer or he had to think on it because he was silent the entire drive into town. She could have used her gift to figure it out but she wasn't sure she wanted to know.
Spock followed Chris fairly meekly through the clothing store. It was large, having both men's and women's in all the current fashions and some of the one's that never went out of style, like jeans and a good button down. She was a little surprised by his compliance, but tried not to look a gift horse in the mouth.
She handed him three pairs of jeans, all well washed, soft, and dark blue, in different styles. He accepted them quietly but she saw his fingers testing the material and the look of relief in his eyes.
"They are quite soft." He said to her, quietly, as she eyed button downs.
She nodded. "You know I know all about Vulcan hypersensitivity to touch. I wouldn't ask you to wear clothes that might irritate you." She nodded to the shirts. "I'm going to grab a few different sizes but think about the colors because you can buy a bunch of the same style and size in varying colors."
So as he stood and eyed the clothes critically she pulled down three sizes for him and one in a much smaller size that she knew would fit her. He glanced at the smaller shirt. "I do not believe that will fit me." He said stoically but she could feel the tiny bit of humor through his emotions.
She rolled her eyes. "No, but it will fit me, and it's a beautiful color." It was a dark, silvery charcoal grey that would bring out her eyes and her hair. "You keep looking, I'm going to check out the girls clothes and meet you at the dressing room in the back in ten minutes." He nodded idly and she scooted off to find a cute dress or skit and top.
Ten minutes later Spock met her outside the dressing room. Chris smiled broadly at him, liking her arm with his, and pulled him inside. When she saw the attendant she about walked right back out.
The dark haired woman smiled a nasty smile at Chris. "Hello Chris."
"Hello Bianka." Chris said, trying to be nice to her High school prom queen and top bitch. She was a total xenophobe and since Chris' hair was showing off her ears Bianka had an eyeful. "I have five things, my friend has seven."
Bianka tensed slightly but nodded to the end two rooms. "Men are not allowed in the same changing room as women." She snapped as Chris all but dragged Spock away, sensing the rising discomfort and annoyance from her tall friend. "Trollop."
Chris gave the bitch the finger behind her back and gently pushed Spock into the room adjacent her own. "Try everything on, I want to see those jeans on you." She all but ordered. Quickly she tried on all the clothes she'd grabbed and decided on what she wanted almost immediately. She was sliding from the dressing room when Spock opened his door and stepped out in the first set.
Chris felt her mouth go dry. The boot cut jeans looked amazing on his long legs, the dark blue denim just the right size and clung to his thighs in an almost illegally good way. The shirt was too wide in the shoulders but the dark, nearly black green looked fantastic against his pale skin and paired with his dark eyes.
"Turn around." She ordered quietly, trying to hide all the tell-tale signs of her attraction to her best friend. He did as she bid and Chris wanted to weep. The jeans clung to his ass just as they did his thighs and her hands actually itched to touch him. "What do you think?" She asked in an attempt to control herself.
He turned back around, to her relief and disappointment. "I think they are comfortable and do not irritate my skin." He answered simply, but coming from him it was high praise. "Do they look as they should?" He asked her.
Instead of making a fool of herself she simply nodded. "We have to buy you a pair of those."
To her relief none of the other pairs of jeans fit him so deliciously well but he did like the straight cut pair also. So they returned to the shelves and picked out a black pair and a dark blue pair of each. And he chose three button down shirts, the dark green, a black, and a grey to match the one she carried. But before she allowed them to leave she grabbed for him five different graphic wife-beater tank tops to wear under the shirts. She wasn't sure he'd ever wear them on his own, but he could have something for when she took him out on their next shore leave.
Spock was, surprisingly, quite content with the purchases Chris had insisted he buy. The 'jeans' were comfortable and did, indeed, look good on him; The button down shirts he could pair with slacks for a much less casual look, but the 'tank tops' he was a little dubious about. Chris had, however, assured him that for a casual night it was fashionable to wear them under an open button down with the sleeves rolled to the elbow and jeans.
As the Admiral had requested Spock keep Chris out of the way for as long as he could, he requested a walk down Main Street once more, allowing his beautiful friend to 'window shop'. So they walked, side by side, carrying their bags, down the rather pleasing looking Main Street. Dusk fell slowly upon them and the air grew a little cooler. Chris talked, he listened… it was comfortable.
A sudden sigh of longing from his little friend made him stop dead in his tracks and turn. Chris looked through a window into the light display of necklaces. "Isn't it lovely?" She asked him, pointing to the center one. "It's called a cameo necklace." She told him in a wistful sort of voice. "If I had the money I'd buy one, but they stopped making them in the late 21st century. All the remaining ones are antiques, worth a fortune that I just don't have."
Little gems, yellow and orange, and tiny pearls hung along the delicate gold chain and at its center there was an intricately carved pendant. White stone, carved as a face of a human woman, set on a gold coin. It was, indeed, beautiful. However Spock thought that it was too much for his little Chris… too much movement and excess. But he kept that thought to himself as they resumed walking toward their car.
AN: NEXT Chris's Birthday!!! A special thank you to all those who helped me with ideas! I got so many wonderful ones in some cases I just didn't know what to choose. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, it took me longer than I expected but hey, it's done and I'm on to the next chappy!
Can you guess what Spock gives Chris? Sadly, no, it is not himself wearing nothing but a big, red bow. But maybe for Christmas ;)
