Jim's First Christmas

By: Maranni123

Chapter Two

Disclaimer: Well, this is late and I'm very sorry but Christmas was very hard this year. Currently, my mother is in the hospital because of an infection around her liver. They don't really know what's wrong with her, but we're confident that she'll be okay. She wasn't home for Christmas however, and we've decided not to celebrate it until she recovers. So, think happy thoughts for my Momma, dear reviewers and readers. And tell me if you see any mistakes, please. :D But on a brighter side, I hoped that you all had a Merry Christmas and that you all have a safe New Year. :D Enjoy!

P.S: This chapter is based on a friend of mine who has never had the experience Jim is about to have. :D

(xXxXxXx)

"How did you manage to plan all of this?"

Spock finished refilling Jim's glass of orange juice and looked over to his Captain. Jim was staring at him with a mixed look of adoration and surprise. Spock smiled briefly at him and motioned towards his nearly empty plate.

"Are you finished with your breakfast Jim?" he asked, avoiding Jim's original question.

Jim noticed Spock's evasive actions and his suspicions grew. He glanced down at his nearly finished French toast and nodded. "Yeah," he said, looking back to Spock with a smile. "I love French toast but too much of a good thing is never good for you."

Nodding in agreement, Spock stood up from his chair and began to collect the dishes from the table. Jim stood up as well, obviously wanting to help Spock clean up, but the half-Vulcan shook his head and gently pushed Jim back down into his chair.

"I will take care of the dishes Jim," Spock said, grabbing the last fork and making his way into the kitchen. "After all, I do not expect you to labor today."

Jim rolled his eyes and watched as Spock disappeared into the kitchen, away from Jim's sight. After a moment, Jim stood up from his chair, followed his First Officer over to the kitchen sink, and let out a content sigh, resting his cheek against the warmth of Spock's back. Spock paused in placing the dishes on the counter as he felt Jim's arms wrap around his mid-section and he allowed himself a small smile.

"Thank you Spock," Jim whispered into Spock's back. "Thank you for everything. I can't believe that you planned all of this for me. How did you do it?"

Spock's small smile grew ever so slightly at Jim's question. However, he didn't answer. Now was not the time to explain his plans to Jim. For a moment, neither men spoke. Then, just before Jim could ask again, there was a knock at the door. Spock bit back a knowing smile and turned to Jim.

"Would you please go see who that is Jim?" he asked innocently. "I will finish in here and join you shortly."

Jim raised an eyebrow suspiciously but nodded, pulling his arms back and walking out of the kitchen. Another knock sounded and Jim hurried in his steps. "Coming," he said, finally reaching the door. He opened it slowly and peaked out to see who it was.

"Merry Christmas Keptain!"

A big surprised smile broke out on Jim's face as he opened the door and saw Chekov, Sulu, and Uhura standing outside in the hallway, all three dressed in warm clothing to block out the December air. In addition, Jim had to admit, Chekov looked down right adorable in his fluffy jacket.

"You guys," Jim exclaimed, pulling all three into the room and closing the door. "What are you doing here? I thought that you'd all be with your families by now."

"Well Jim," Uhura said fondly. "It turns out that our plans changed. Traveling anywhere right now is a bit too hectic for us." She flashed him a warm smile.

Ever since their first away mission together and he had pushed himself in front of a spear for her, Uhura had warmed up to Jim over time, although it still took awhile for her to forgive him for the things he'd said about Spock's mother. They were as close as siblings now though, Uhura being the sister Jim never had and Jim being the brother Uhura could always count on.

"So we figured that you wouldn't mind if we spent some time here before the traveling eases up," Sulu added, taking off his and Chekov's jackets and hanging them on the coat rack. Sulu winked at Jim as Spock entered the room and Jim rolled his eyes. When Jim had first told the main crew about his relationship with Spock, Sulu and Chekov both had sworn up and down that they knew about it the entire time. Which Jim knew was a lie. Maybe.

"Hikaru, Pavel, Nyota," Spock greeted warmly, not sounding a bit surprised. "This is a most satisfying surprise. You have arrived just in time to assist Jim and I in baking Christmas delicacies."

Uhura rolled her eyes as Jim helped her out of her own jacket. "You mean Christmas cookies Spock?" she asked, and Chekov giggled. Spock raised an eyebrow.

"I believe that is what I said Nyota," he countered, his eyes full of warmth. She smiled at him. Although he and Uhura were no longer dating, they were still good friends and Uhura had taught Spock early on that a healthy amount of teasing is vital for any relationship, hence his tendency to tease Jim. Not that Jim minded.

Jim looked over to Spock in surprise as he hung up Uhura's jacket. "Cookies?" he asked. "We're baking cookies?"

Spock nodded casually. "Of course Jim," he said, gently hooking his arm around Jim's and leading him over to the kitchen, Sulu, Chekov and Uhura trailing behind him. "It is custom for humans to bake Christmas delicacies on Christmas Eve, correct?"

"Well," Jim said slowly. "Yeah, I think. I've never really made Christmas cookies before, so I wouldn't know for sure."

Jim watched with interest as the faces of his First Officer and crew grew softer, more melancholy for a moment, before their happy expressions returned once again. Jim frowned softly, but chose not to say anything.

"Well then," Uhura suddenly said enthusiastically as she walked past him and into the kitchen. "You are lucky that I'm here. I've been baking since I was little with my mother, so I know my way around an oven."

Sulu and Chekov nodded in agreement and Chekov gently pulled Jim away from Spock and over to the kitchen counter. "Da," the young ensign agreed, a bright smile on his face. "And I know a wery good recipe for sugar cookies. My babushka, my grandmother, taught it to my mother and then she taught it to me. Keptain, did you know that Russian cookies are the best?"

As Chekov went on happily over his cookie recipe, Sulu and Uhura were gathering the necessary ingredients to begin baking. Spock watched, amused, as Jim reminded Chekov to call him Jim when they were on shore leave and laughed kindly when the young ensign blushed. Then, Uhura called Jim and Chekov over to where she and Sulu were waiting and the four began to question Chekov as to what they would need.

It was hard for Spock to contain the content smile that was trying to spread over his face. Watching Jim and his crew members mixing in the cookie ingredients reminded him of his own memories of baking with his mother. Amanda Greyson knew that Vulcans did not celebrate Christmas, but she also wanted Spock to experience at least some of the holiday traditions that she loved so much. Spock could remember fondly the time when Amanda had helped him bake a Christmas delicacy known as a "fruitcake". Although Spock had heard from many human sources that fruitcake was unpleasant, he could remember enjoying his mother's cake immensely.

"Spock, come help us!"

Breaking Spock from his memories, he was greeted with a most amusing sight. Jim and Chekov were adding in what appeared to be sugar into a large mixing bowl and while the task was as simple as it could get, Jim had still managed to get a decent amount of the sugar in his hair.

Before he could comment on the substance in Jim's hair however, he felt a gentle nudged on his shoulder and looked over to Uhura smiling at him. In her hand, she held a few eggs. "Here," she said softly, handing the eggs to Spock. "You can crack the eggs while we add in the flour."

Spock looked at her for a moment before he watched her glace over to Jim. A glimpse of sisterly fondness appeared in her gaze and she looked back to Spock. She was silent, as was he, but they needed no words to communicate their mutual happiness over Jim's obvious cheerfulness and excitement.

Then, Uhura's face grew solemn and Spock understood. 'He's never baked Christmas cookies before.' That fact alone was unsettling. What was even more unsettling was the fact that if this was Jim's first time practicing the baking aspect of Christmas, then it was only logical to assume that he hadn't experienced any other Christmas tradition.

Lost in his thoughts once again, another gentle nudge brought him back and Uhura was smiling again. 'We're changing that. We're giving him his Christmas.' Spock nodded and managed to turn the corners of his lips upward before he schooled his expression. Uhura shook her head fondly and then went over to help Sulu open the flour without spilling it everywhere.

As Spock walked over to where Jim and Chekov were currently stirring the bowl of cookie ingredients, Spock couldn't help the flutter in his side when Jim looked up over to him and flashed him a gorgeously bright smile.

"Spock," Jim said happily. "We need those eggs!"

Chekov nodded and moved to Jim's other side to let Spock add in his ingredients. "Once the batter is finished," he added. "We will be able to taste it to make sure that it is right. Then we will roll the batter into little balls and bake them."

"I thought eating raw cookie dough was bad for you," Sulu voiced as he and Uhura measured out the flour.

Spock finished adding in the eggs to the batter and threw the egg shells away. "I believe that, while consuming an unhealthy amount of raw batter is not wise, a small amount would not be detrimental for ones health."

Sulu and Uhura both flashed Spock knowing glances as they added in the flour, both aware of the fact that Spock was agreeing to eating unhealthy cookie dough just for Jim's sake. Spock, however, chose to ignore their stares and settled on watching Jim and Chekov mix the batter together with twin mixing spoons. The cookie batter was too thick now to be mixed easily, so the two had to struggle as Uhura got out the baking sheet.

"It should be mixed together now," Chekov said finally, dropping his spoon on the counter with a sigh. He motioned to Jim's spoon. "Now, Jim, you shall taste it."

Jim smiled warily as he lifted his cookie batter covered spoon to his face. He hesitated for only a moment, before he quickly bit off a small chunk off the spoon and chewed. Almost instantly, Jim's face lit up and Uhura and Sulu had to bite back giggles. Chekov smiled brightly at him and nodded his head.

"It is good?" he asked excitedly.

Jim nodded and took another bite from his spoon. "It's delicious," he said, his earlier hesitation gone as he licked his spoon. "I've never tried cookie dough before, but this is really good. We should just keep the batter as it is and eat the whole bowl it raw. There's no need to bake it."

Uhura rolled her eyes and swiftly snatched the bowl from the counter before Jim could dip his spoon in again. "As wonderful as that might sound now," she explained, placing the bowl next to the baking sheet. "I'd rather bake the cookies. They'll be much better that way, trust me."

A small pout made its way to Jim's face as the bowl was taken from him, but was content with licking the rest of his spoon clean. Glancing over to Spock and seeing the half-Vulcan watching him, Jim smiled and held out the spoon to him.

"Here Spock, try some," he offered.

Spock opened his mouth to politely decline Jim's offer, seeing as sugar in general was what alcohol was to humans, but found that he could not. Jim's face was light and carefree, all the stress from his career gone. His body was also more relaxed than Spock had ever seen, his posture completely stress-free. And his baby blue eyes were filled with warmth and happiness, devoid of the usual worry that tended to hide in their depts. In other words, Jim was more at peace than Spock had ever seen.

"I suppose a minor sample would not hurt, as you say," Spock finally said, not wanting to damper Jim's mood for even a minute. Leaning forward, he gave the spook a small lick.

Almost immediately, a strong surge of sweetness invaded Spock's taste buds. Vulcans were normally very sensitive when it came to taste, hence the reason most of their cuisine tasted bland to most. Even his mother had managed to bake with less sugar, aware of his sensitive mouth. However, the taste was not unpleasant. Spock actually enjoyed it.

Watching Spock's lips turn up slightly, Jim smiled wide. "It's good, right?" he asked, unaware of the looks that Uhura, Sulu, and Chekov were giving the couple.

Spock straightened after another lick of the spoon and nodded his head. "I must admit that the taste is quite enjoyable," he said softly. Fortunately, there wasn't enough sugar in the two licks of the batter and for that, Spock was thankful. His head would have to be clear in order to finish up the rest of Jim's surprise.

Jim smiled fondly at Spock and returned to licking the spoon clean while Uhura showed him how to roll the batter into balls. Once the spoon was clean, all five crew members grabbed a handful of batter and began to place the finished spheres on the pan.

Although Spock normally strayed away from such activities, even when he was a child, he found that once again, he could deny Jim nothing as the man handed him a portion of cookie dough. But then again, as Spock watched Jim enjoying the moment to its fullest, he didn't really mind getting his hands sticky with cookie batter. As long as that smiled remained on Jim's face, then Spock was content.

(xXxXxXx)

A/N: Again, I'm sorry for the lateness. But I assure you that the story is almost over. The last part will be up shortly. Review if you enjoyed or if you want to yell at me for being late on the update! :D Happy Holidays!