"On the Mend"
Summary: It's going to take a lot of time, but for now their relationship is on the mend.
Spoilers: Shuttlepod One
A/N: If you did not read "Laced With Metaphor" and/or "Invested Time" you will be completely lost.
Should be working on other things. This was supposed to expand into a very LARGE make-up fic, but I got writer's block and I thought some of you would be interested in seeing this. After I've reviewed some relevant episodes, it's wholly likely that more will be forth coming.
The first time Malcolm saw Trip after being released from the sickbay, they were going opposite ways down a corridor and would have to pass. Judging by the other man's leisurely pace neither would have the excuse of urgent business to avoid stopping and exchanging pleasantries. At first the prospect didn't bother Malcolm, what had happened was no more spectacular or unique than any of the other incidents that the Enterprise crew dealt with, but still some feet away, their eyes met and all Malcolm could think of, staring into those warm blue eyes, was cold and moisture frozen to eyelashes and the way the other man's lips had taken on a faint blue hue.
Tucker smiled and nodded at him as they got closer and Malcolm returned the gesture before turning sharply down another walkway, his pace quickening. He found a refresher and spent the next few moments vomiting until there was nothing left then spent another moment dry heaving. The spasms stopped and he rinsed out his mouth with large, wasteful mouthfuls of water. He wouldn't go to Phlox, he told himself firmly. What had happened was an emotional response, fight or flight, the same one he'd had in his early twenties when a friend had mistakenly surprised him with a boat ride across the English Channel.
But the nausea passed and Malcolm left small, purely functional room as though nothing had happened.
It was almost a blessing when the other man turned abruptly and disappeared down one of Enterprise's many passages. Trip had felt a twinge of fear when their eyes first met; a worry that the other man, as anti-social as the Brit was, would want to stop and talk. And if he didn't, as a good Southern boy, Trip would have been obliged to (however unwanted the duty was) at least say something to the other man. But all he could think of, walking down that hall, the slightly smaller man approaching, was the way those eyes had lit up in horror when he'd headed for the airlock. And as good as Trip was at finding silver linings and making jokes, there was nothing nice, or funny, about that at all.
They didn't work together often, which was probably for the best, but when they do its obvious to everyone that something is not quite right. Malcolm couldn't look at the other man. Every time he did he suffered a pain in his stomach and the accompanying thought "you would have died for me". It was easy enough to detach emotionally in order to work with Trip and easier still to avoid the other man entirely that Malcolm spent no time on introspection and trying to deal with feelings.
Trip can't do that, though. His people are an emotionally connected, touchy-feely lot and that something bothered him on such a level is problem enough to seek help. John's door, thankfully, was always open to him.
"Enter," Trip would have walked in, and more than likely would have been welcomed, even if the invitation hadn't been made. The captain looked up and smiled as Trip stepped inside, letting the door swoosh shut behind him. "What can I do for you Trip?"
"Can we talk for a minute?" The engineer went to Porthos, the ever present beagle, and let the dog lick his fingers before he sat.
"Sure, what's on your mind?" John was friendly, smiling, because this was Trip and it was very rarely serious when Trip wanted to talk for a minute. The engineer didn't answer right away, instead rubbed his eye, settling himself.
"It's about Reed," he started. But where do you go from there? Archer blinked, frowning.
"Is there a problem?"
"No, I mean yes, but not-" Trip made himself shut up. "It's about the shuttlepod."
"I see," he doesn't Trip thinks darkly. He really doesn't. John straightened in his chair. "I read the reports you both submitted."
"There's a lot that doesn't get put into reports," Trip said pointedly. It's a secret to no one that omission is the favored way to save dignity. John was silent, watching. "The thing is… I didn't read his report but I'm pretty sure we both left the same things out."
"Is there something you need to tell me?" The captain asked after a brief silence. His voice was full of kindness and the promise of forgiveness. Trip snorted inelegantly.
"Nothing like that," he pretended not to see the way his friend relaxed. "It's just… we were running low on air, right? So I… kinda, maybe tried to climb into the airlock," his voice didn't lose momentum or volume, he felt no shame for what he'd done or why.
" 'tried'?" John repeated after another pregnant pause. Trip shrugged, obviously he hadn't succeeded.
"Malcolm stopped me," as easy as it was for him to say it, for a second Trip forgot that he and the lieutenant aren't friends. John nodded at him, his face a mask of understanding but Trip knew that the other man was silently wondering what the real purpose of the chat was. "Thing is, he and I aren't exactly on speakin' terms right now," Trip leaned his elbows on his knees, sighing. "And I don't really want to bring it up. It's not like it was the man's finest hour and I'm none too proud of some of what was said either, but after all that not talking doesn't feel right."
"Trip," John interrupted what looked like a truly spectacular ramble in the making. "As your captain I say you and Mr. Reed should discuss what happened and do what you need to do to foster a decent working relationship," he paused to let that sink in. Trip frowned. "But as your friend… I think you should probably pretend like nothing happened for a little while."
"What?"
"I know, I know," Archer smiled. "It doesn't sound right, but it might be better if you two ignored the problem until it becomes less of an issue so when you do discuss it, the topic is less emotionally charged."
"Fake it 'til you make it, huh?" Trip grinned.
Review Please. It really does make me happy and it really does help me come up with more stuff.
Quick note on Malcolm throwing up: Yes, it really does work that way. I was writing from personal experience and then looked it up to be sure I'm not just weird; in highly stressful situations many people react - very knee-jerk - by throwing up.