Chapter 10: Game On

"Mr. Chekov, may I inquire why you have been smiling for the past consecutive five minutes?"

Uhura stiffened instantly as she heard the poor kid try to stammer an excuse. "Oh, I'm sure Chekov is just happy that everything has been going so well lately," she interjected sweetly, shooting Pavel a dangerous look.

"Oh, er, yes sir, I was just reflecting on how happy I am that everything has resolved itself," Chekov replied, tugging a little at his collar.

Spock raised an eyebrow. "Unless there is some issue I have not been made aware of," he replied steadily, "I believe all the problems have already been resolved as of yesterday. Why, then, would you be showing your emotional relief at the current time instead of then?"

Chekov's mouth just made a big O.

Kirk cleared his throat, jumping to the rescue. "Oh, you know us illogical humans, Spock; our emotions can come out at any time without making much sense."

Chekov nodded all too rapidly, then stopped when Uhura's glare practically burned a new haircut into his skull.

Spock paused for a moment before responding, "Of course, sir."

Uhura noticed the odd catch in his voice instantly. That wasn't like him; usually he flew into rants about emotion all on his own, and here Kirk had given him a perfect opportunity on a silver platter, and the Vulcan hadn't taken the bait.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, trying to see what was wrong, only to find him raising an eyebrow at the look he had just caught her giving him. Shoot. Why did the Vulcan have to be so perceptive? She jerked her head back to looking at her console, but not quite in time.

Spock swiveled in his chair to face her. "Is something wrong, Lietuenant?" he asked.

"No, sir," she replied innocently, keeping her head down and trying not to look him in the eye. He was incredibly good at reading people.

Somehow, they made it through that morning shift; Uhura had no clue how, with Pavel trying desperately to keep his cover, Sulu elbowing him when the young ensign was grinning like an idiot for minutes at a time, and Kirk chuckling under his breath at their antics.

Note to self, Uhura thought, get Pavel some training in this. He's practically giving us away and gift-wrapping us to boot!

As she left the turbolift and walked into the hallway, she promptly grabbed Chekov by the collar and unceremoniously hauled him over to one of the (thankfully empty) rec-rooms.

"You're got some explaining to do, Pavel. What do you think you were doing back there? You nearly got us all found out!" she hissed.

Chekov gulped and gave his best apologetic smile; his voice was heavily accented due to his logical fear of Uhura and emotional excitement for the upcoming tennis match. "My apologies, Miss Uhura. I simply could not contain my excitement! I will do better next time."

She sighed. "I hope so, Pavel. I hope so."

She released him but couldn't help shaking her head at the kid's huge eyes and grin.

"He'll learn," Sulu chuckled. "I'll teach him myself."

"Thanks, Hikaru. You know how worried I am about all of this. We don't know for sure what their reactions are going to be." She checked the clock in the room and took a deep breath. "It's time. Alright Hikaru, you know what to do. Dr. McCoy will come in with Christine, and Scotty will bring in Spock. Pavel, you're with me." She gave the two officers a serious, but also incredibly excited, look. "Let's roll."

oooooOOOOOOOooooo

Christine sighed as she rubbed the frame of her grandfather's picture with her thumb. "I miss you," she whispered as she put the photo back on her desk. "But I'll be okay. Rosemary called me, Grandpa, and we're better now. I can make it, Grandpa; I know I can." Her face split into a smile as she added fondly, "Just you wait and see."

She grabbed her tennis bag and swung it over her shoulder as she heard Dr. McCoy calling to her from the hallway.

"Time to go beat whoever dares to play against me," she told herself as she glanced back at the photo with a grin. "Be sure to watch."

oooooOOOOOOOooooo

Uhura smiled as Christine walked in, accompanied by McCoy. As Christine walked ahead of him to the court, the doctor gave Uhura a big thumbs-up and went to guard the door. Christine wasn't getting out of that exit.

Nyota glanced at the bleachers; they held many of the crewmen her group had promoted the match to, along with two gentlemen in red and blue. She grinned. Getting Chekov to mess with the observation area's door wiring had been genius; Scotty and Spock had to sit on the lower level with everyone else, and they could hear everything that went on.

Sulu was with the crewmembers on the side of the court who preferred to watch the game standing; he looked properly nervous and edgy, and Christine flashed him a mischievous smile. She thought she was going to play against him; Uhura had wanted it that way, and she was quite thrilled about Sulu's surprisingly good acting skills. She'd have to enlist him in her next prank.

Pavel stood by the room's only other exit, finally allowed to let the grin play out full-force on his young face. Nyota practically had to shield her eyes whenever she looked at him so she wouldn't go blind; the kid had a seriously bright smile! She glanced back towards Christine, the spots in her eyes from seeing Pavel's smile clearing just in time.

"Ready to get beat?" she asked with her smile growing wider and wider on her face as she realized just what was going to happen.

Christine cocked her head, her ponytail swishing through the air. "I doubt it," she replied boldly, "Because you're the only one on the whole Enterprise who has even a shot at beating me."

"Are you so sure?" Uhura asked, and Christine suddenly recognized the mischievous light behind her friend's eyes.

"Nyota, what have you done?" Her voice was edged with suspicion.

Uhura's smile turned into a Chekov-style grin, and Christine felt a shiver of fear go up her spine. Her mind flew, trying to think of who in the world Uhura could pitch against her, until she suddenly remembered their last conversation.

Uhura had said she'd help her talk to Spock.

No.

oooooOOOOOOOooooo

Uhura bounced sweetly to the center of the court, and both Spock and Scotty looked up expectantly. "She'll be announcing the competitor now, I imagine," Scotty mentioned calmly as his eyes darted to Chekov and McCoy, making sure they were in place.

"Who do you think it'll be?" an engineer near them piped up. "I hear their matches are epic!"

Scotty chuckled in response. "They are indeed, Ensign," he replied. "You'll be in for a real treat today."

Spock raised an eyebrow at the subtle tone he caught in Scotty's voice, but before he could say anything, Uhura spoke up and the crowd hushed.

"As you all know, I challenged Christine in our last match to play whoever I chose as her competitor," she announced broadly to her captive audience. Her speaking voice was strong and confident. "Today is the day I announce him, and she plays him in a best-of-three game."

The crowd's excited murmuring started up then, as people looked side to side, wondering who the guy was going to be. Hikaru visibly gulped and tried to melt into the crowd behind him, but people laughingly pushed him back up to the front.

Spock's head tilted in confusion as he noticed the look of sudden worry on Christine's face. Moments ago, she had appeared confident and ready to take on anything, but now...

Uhura grinned cheekily at Sulu. "You know how much I'd love it to be you, Hikaru," she said so everyone could hear, "but you're off the hook today."

The helmsman breathed a sigh of relief as the group of people returned to their mumblings. "Who's it going to be, Uhura?" someone shouted from the crowd. "Yeah, don't leave us hanging!" another one added.

Spock watched as her broad smile turned into a gentler one. She glanced up at the bleachers where he was sitting, and suddenly he felt his heart jump. Pieces of the puzzle finally clicked together as she opened her mouth.

"Mr. Spock."

The crowd gasped and didn't make a further sound. The whole room held its breath as all eyes turned to bore into Spock. He couldn't stop himself from drawing in a sharp breath, but he slowly stood up. On the ground, an upset Christine was talking rapidly into Uhura's ear, her words hidden from the rest of the onlookers but known to his excellent hearing. "Nyota, you can't do this! You can't just ask Spock to come down here to a play a tennis match against me! Are you crazy?! Think of the shame he'll have to face!" Uhura was clearly ignoring her, all her focus and attention aimed at Spock.

He wasn't sure what to do. Clearly this had been a set-up: Chekov and McCoy stood guarding the doors, Mr. Scott had brought him in, and Sulu's broad grin suggested he was in on the situation as well, perhaps as a decoy. And Uhura had been known to be a prank ringleader many times before. But what of Christine? Would she be accepting of this plan, or would she be insulted? She was trying to defend him, but he knew she must be feeling the embarrassment of the situation as well. He wouldn't do this if it would hurt her. He couldn't.

"Would you please come down, Mr. Spock? I believe you have a tennis match to play. Unless, of course," Uhura added dramatically, "Christine wants to back out on the deal she agreed to." Her dark hair swished as she glanced at a mildly furious Christine. She knew full well how bad it would make Christine look if she refused to play. The nurse gritted her teeth.

Spock saw the action from a distance and impulsively started walking down the steps to the floor. "There is no need for that," he said, his voice able to reach all ears without being too loud or sudden. "I have never before played a tennis match; I would be an inadequate and pointless challenger."

Uhura glared in his general direction, but not quite directly at him; she wasn't that stupid. But still, why was this Vulcan trying to mess things up for her? She'd worked hard on this, and she wasn't about to give it up.

"That's not the point, Mr. Spock. The point is that Christine agreed to face whichever challenger I chose. It's my business whether the chosen person is a worthwhile opponent for her or not." Her words shocked even her; to argue like this with another officer in front of some of the crew, a senior one and a Vulcan at that, was crazy. Pure insanity. But still she stood firm. She couldn't let this opportunity slip by. She kept her voice lowered as she talked with him instead of broadcasting it to the crowd, but she still spoke. Something in her was ready to snap; she didn't know what or why, but somehow she knew that allowing either Spock or Christine to back out of this would be tragic. She held her breath as Spock's eyes widened at her response and tension zapped the air.

Spock looked at Christine, and she looked back, her eyes a mixture of apprehension, anger, and embarrassment. But the flush to her cheeks was not entirely of the angry variety. Spock wasn't an expert at reading human emotions, but he was better than he pretended to be half the time. He thought he could detect just a slight hint of happiness and hope, if a bit embarrassed, in her beautiful face. "If you are willing..."

She took a deep breath, still gritting her teeth. "Let's just do this."

He nodded slowly. Getting it over with would be better than trying to fight Uhura on this one. He didn't know why she was doing this, and part of him was irritated at her, but something insistently told him that she meant no harm. She kept the conversation, or argument, private, and though her eyes were spitting fire they also had within them a deep look of hope. It seemed like she really did have a purpose to this, and surely she wouldn't hurt Christine... Besides, she could be as stubborn as him sometimes, and he knew full well how stubborn his Vulcan half could be. Not to mention his human half.

Uhura stepped away a bit to start announcing the general rules and the like to the crowd. Spock accepted some gear from Sulu. "Sorry, sir," the helmsman muttered under his breath. "I know you figured out what's going on for the most part and don't appreciate the prank. But trust me, it's not done with any spite towards you or Christine. It's...meant in a good way. If that makes any sense." Looking slightly guilty now that the plan was actually happening, he handed Spock a tennis racket. "I hope you are not angry with us."

Spock accepted the racket, twirling it deftly in his hand and testing out its balance. Sulu could have sworn he saw a faint twitch at the corner of his mouth, but Vulcans didn't smile. "Do not worry, Lieutenant," Spock replied, his gaze glancing towards Christine for a second. "I am not angry with you."

Sulu, shocked, watched as the Vulcan went towards Christine; the Lieutenant himself melted back into the crowd.

"Are you ready?" Spock asked quietly, his voice slightly halting as she turned to look at him. Her eyes were fire.

"I'm so sorry this happened, Mr. Spock. I didn't know about any of this. I would've pulled out if you hadn't come down or accepted on the basis that I was okay with it. I can't believe Nyota would do something so stupid!"

Spock twirled his racket, strangely grateful for its presence. "I am not angry or upset, Miss Chapel," he replied carefully, the flashback of their time in Sickbay flooding over him like a wave. He wanted to call her Christine, but now wasn't the time. "Please, do not be angry because of me."

Shocked, she looked at him carefully. "Are you sure?" she asked, her voice nearly a whisper.

He nodded in response, wishing he could talk to her openly but feeling barred at every turn. He'd planned to speak to her today, but things simply hadn't worked out. But even now he felt his tongue tying up at the sight of her. He quickly switched to a more logical side of the conversation out of habit. "The only question is the method," he said quickly. "Do you wish to do this as quickly as possible, or more...honestly?"

A grin fought to come out on her features. "Are you asking me for a challenge?" she asked, eyes growing lighter as she cocked her head, her ponytail swishing through the air.

"Perhaps." He twirled his racket once more and met her eyes.

"Well then," she replied, "challenge accepted. Bring it on."

oooooOOOOOOOooooo

"Ladies and gents, I present to you a tennis match for the history books!" At seeing the sudden and hard-to-hide joy on Christine's face, along with Spock's softer but still pleasant facial expression, Uhura had perked up quite a bit. For a minute she had wondered if she was doing the right thing after all. Now she knew she was. "We start with Round One!"

Sulu stood watching the scene carefully; he'd come back out of the crowd with a referee shirt pulled on over his uniform, and he was ready to ref the game. "Hikaru, you're the ref?" Christine exclaimed in surprise as she took up her position, brushing back a loose strand of hair. "I didn't know you knew the rules of tennis."

Sulu laughed, glad she wasn't angry anymore. "There's a lot you don't know about me, Christine," he replied with a smile. He glanced at Spock, who stood on the other half of the court, matching Christine's stance and preparing for the game. "You both ready?"

Christine nodded, eyes narrowed and grin sneaking up her face. Spock matched her nod, his eyes dancing.

"Then begin!"

Christine served the ball powerfully, and she was surprised when Spock's strong arm whipped it back just as fast. Instantly they both got into the game, even if Spock had never played it before. Their minds were suddenly and perfectly in sync with the game and with each other. The crowd could hardly keep up as the tennis ball flew back and forth on the court. Both opponents moved quickly with the skill of professional players, and the whole game looked like a blur.

Spock hit the floor suddenly, just missing the tennis ball and nearly scraping himself on the flooring doing so. "Round One goes to Christine!" Hikaru announced, Spock's miss having cost him the set. The crowd seemed split; half wanted Christine to win, and half were rooting heartily for the Vulcan. Spock had to admit to himself that he was surprised at the shouts of encouragement that made their way to his ears. Were the crew really supporting him?

Christine took a quick break, panting heavily, and grabbed a sip of water. "Ready to play the next round, Mr. Spock?" she teased, her eyes dancing with the sudden fun of it all. She'd been mad as a hornet two seconds ago at Nyota, but now she was beginning to understand. Maybe, just maybe, Nyota had seen the reason in uniting the two of them. This was more fun than she ever could have imagined, and quite frankly, she needed some more fun in her life lately to balance her out.

Plus, she was beating a Vulcan at tennis.

Spock's eyes seemed to take on a light of daring. "Whenever you are," he replied with a slight twitch to his lips. He was controlling his instinct to smile as much as he could, but it was hard. This time with Christine was precious, and he was going to hold onto it as long as he could.

The next two rounds played out swiftly and just as powerfully as before, and at the end Spock turned out to be the victor, though barely.

"Good match," Christine said as she shook Spock's hand over the net, as was customary.

"You as well," he replied evenly, tired but certainly not irritated.

The general rush and chaos following such a historic match swept the two up into its blur, and after what seemed like hours of talking to the overly excited crew members, officially reconciling with Uhura and the rest of her group, realizing Kirk had been in on it, and in general tying up all the loose ends, the two found themselves almost alone in the gym. The rest of the officers were bunched up near the entrance, ready to go and celebrate their well-earned success in one of the rec-rooms.

Spock turned to Christine awkwardly for a moment before quickly asking under his breath, "Would you mind meeting me on the observation deck, Christine?"

oooooOOOOOOOooooo

The deck was quiet, empty of celebrating crewmen, and filled only with the presence of the stars. Spock turned around at the familiar swish of the door to behold the woman he had been trying to reach all this time. She walked up to him silently and stared at the stars, and he couldn't help but notice how beautifully they reflected in her eyes.

He quietly, though suddenly, let his words break through. "Christine, I am not sure how to say this to you, so if you do not mind, I will speak bluntly as I usually do." He paused a second, and she nodded in assent. "Christine, I...I love you and have for some time."

Her shocked face jarred him for a second as she took a step back, still amazed at his sentiment even though she privately had been wondering about just that since their moment in Sickbay. "I...I thought you wouldn't ever..." Christine's hand flew up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She swallowed and tried to form the right words. "I just didn't ever think you would actually notice me," she managed to get out, voice breaking as her eyes fluttered to look at the floor. She couldn't bear to look in his eyes.

"Christine." His deep, quiet voice somehow drew her eyes back up to his, and she almost gasped at the love so clearly visible within them. "I have always noticed."

"But I...I mean, I'm not even a Vulcan. I don't - "

"My mother was not a Vulcan," Spock interrupted quietly. "That never stopped her. Nothing ever stopped her...just like you"

"Do you really mean this?" Christine whispered, her voice catching on her throat and refusing to come out any louder. "I mean, you weren't just put up to this..." she glanced at him again and instantly repented. "No, of course not," she muttered. "But I mean..." She shook her head in near-despair, knowing how stupid she sounded but not able to speak clearly. "The ship'll talk, you know," she added, wondering why in the world she was fighting this. "I mean, you won't be able to keep your I'm-strictly-Vulcan-and-not-emotional-at-all reputation."

Spock tilted his head and looked at her with those sweet eyes. "Christine," he whispered quietly, his voice eery and yet strangely comforting in its lowered volume, "I honestly do not care if that is the case. I am both human and Vulcan. I have decided I am finally ready to embrace that." His eyes searched hers, the Vulcan's eyes sparkling with worlds of emotion and logic alike hidden deep within them. "I would like it very much if you would go with me on that journey, side by side. Step by step."

He had never seen any star sparkle as brilliantly as the lights in her eyes then.

"I would very much like that, too," she replied softly.

His almost halting voice added after a moment, "May I?"

She smiled in response.

It was not her first kiss. But it was just as perfect as first kisses are made out to be.

And it told her they were going to make it through anything.

Fine!

Guess what? I FINALLY updated! I'm so sorry it took so long, but life has been crazy. I finally have time to write again! I hope you all enjoyed this story of mine, even through its ups and downs. I think those dramatic parts really were needed, though, and I think it turned out well in the end.

I'd like to take this time to announce that *hopefully* I will be writing a bunch more stories soon, so stay tuned. One particular idea I'd like to announce is that I have a multi-chaptered songfic (is that the right name? I hope so) thing that I'm writing out, and I should release it soon. I hope you guys will love it!

Until then please leave a review! They make my day and just make the whole thing well worth it. Plus I need to feed those plot bunnies with something. :D