Two Weddings and a Cure

by Enterprisefan

Archer marries the woman of his dreams but she soon discovers he is keeping a deadly secret from her as Trip crashes their honeymoon with news of his own. Will Archer's marriage end before it begins or will she stand by her man? This was the first story I had ever written **FIXED!** (I hope) I gave it an M rating for language and some adult situations.

33

Two Weddings and a Cure

Chapter 1

He stood in his dress uniform, the Golden Gate Bridge in the background, he looked out among the crowd that was in front of him. The audience seated in neat rows, most of the guests were also wearing dress uniforms but some chose to wear civilian clothes.

Soft music by Chopin was playing over the loudspeakers. He looked in turn at Malcolm, Travis, Phlox and Hoshi, who were sitting front row center, and smiled at each of them respectively. He looked down. Porthos was sitting at his feet. Even he was dressed for the occasion. A black dog collar with a small bow tie in the front.

He was a little disappointed that none of her Vulcan friends had chosen to attend the ceremony. Were they simply not interested in a human ceremony? He wondered. Or was it the fact that she was marrying a human? Worse yet, the fact that she had chosen to marry THIS human? Some of the Vulcans still blamed him for the destruction of the temple at P'Jem and still harbored ill feelings towards him about it.

At least Soval had agreed to officiate the Vulcan portion of the part human, part Vulcan ceremony. Admiral Gardner was to officiate the human part of the ceremony.

He had butted heads with Soval on more than one occasion over the years but they had learned to respect each other and, at the very least, tolerate one another.

A hand touched his shoulder, he turned and looked, his best friend Trip was standing next to him with a wide grin on his face "I'm so happy for you Cap'n. It couldn't have happened to a better man."

"Thanks but I have to admit, I am a little nervous."

"Ah just jitters you'll be fine."

He was a little concerned that his chief engineer and best friend might still harbor a little bit of jealousy. But Trip had moved on himself, rekindling his relationship with Amanda, the MACO.

Things seem to be going well between the two of them, in fact it was just a few months ago they thought that she might have been pregnant.

"What are you going to do Trip?" Jon had asked him.

"I don't know Cap'n."

"Are you going to leave Enterprise?" Jon inquired. A knot formed in his stomach at the thought of losing his chief engineer. He'd never admit it to Trip, knowing Trip would use the knowledge to his advantage at any chance he got, but Trip Tucker was the best damned engineer in Starfleet and he really didn't want to lose that.

Trip responded. "Of course Mandy will go back to Earth but I truly don't know what I'm going to do. We've talked a lot about it but I haven't made a decision yet. Of course I will be there for her, and I'll do my best to be the best damn dad I can be for this kid".

"Are you going to marry her?" Jon asked as Trip's face began to drain of color. Trip was ready to have children, truth be told Trip was ready to have kids since he himself was a kid, but not ready for the altar. "Don't worry Cap'n, I'm not going to steal your thunder. It's not like we're going to have a double wedding or anything like that."

Jon took this opportunity to try and ease the tension a bit, a mischievous glint appeared in his eye. "Alright, a separate shotgun wedding then."

Trip's face drained even more of its color, then he realized his captain was only joking around with him. In response he said to him "well make sure you aim that shotgun up real high. Make sure you don't miss my head." They both giggled at their jokes.

It turned out that she wasn't pregnant after all, just a scare. Jon wasn't sure if Trip was relieved or disappointed he thought it was best not to bring the subject up again. Trip would talk to him about it when he was ready, if he wanted to.

Truthfully what made him nervous was the Vulcan portion of the ceremony. He silently prayed that he would not screw up the Vulcan vows. He knew that she would find it amusing but Soval would be very displeased.

The piece from Chopin ended and was replaced by a recording from Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water. The audiencestood. This is it! He thought to himself. No going back now.

He reflected back to a few months previous when he had chosen this piece to be their theme song. She was sitting with him listening to it not sure of the significant meaning behind it. "Listen to the words" he told her. As she listened he softly said to her "from now on, no matter what, I will always be your bridge over troubled water. I will always lay me down for you."

As she slowly started to understand the meaning of this, she looked up at him "I too will be your bridge over troubled water." This brought a smile to his face and a slight sting of a tear that began forming in his eye.

He was a little disappointed that he was denied the request of a sneak preview of her dress. "I believe it is a human custom to not allow the groom to see the dress before the wedding day" she told him.

Jon replied "Yes that's true, but I just want to make sure that it will be... appropriate."

"Don't worry my love it will be." T'Pol said and gave him a peck on the cheek.

He looked through the Vulcan database trying to find an example of what a Vulcan wedding dress might look like but to no avail. He was concerned that it would be plain, bland and uneventful.

A movement in the distance caught his attention and brought him back to the present. As T'Pol came around the corner, he saw the dress for the first time. His eyes widened. It was as beautiful and gorgeous as she was.

It was a long purple dress running down the length of her with a long train trailing behind it and a purple sheer scarf adorned the top of her head. Purple, his favorite color.

The scarf and dress had intricate lace work sewn in to it and there were small crystals throughout the dress and scarf that shimmered in the sunlight making it all the more stunning.

As she slowly walked towards him he couldn't help but to smile. She was so beautiful, so lovely he couldn't believe that this was really happening.

Instinctively he reached his hand to the opposite arm and gave a pinch. Ouch! Yep he was awake. Pinching himself was a habit that he had picked up some years ago when he was having dreams and fantasies about her. He was having a hard time distinguishing reality from dream, so he devised a plan.

Whenever he questioned if he was awake or dreaming, he would pinch himself and if it hurt he was awake, if it didn't, then he was asleep. His conscience and subconscious minds seemed to have been in agreement with this plan of his, because even in his dream state whenever he questioned, his dream self would also give a little pinch confirming that yes this is just a dream.

She was now standing beside him. She was so beautiful he couldn't help himself and he began to lean down to give her a kiss.

But before he could kiss her Admiral Gardner quickly said to him "not yet Captain." The audience giggled at this and Captain Archer sheepishly smiled, foregoing the kiss for now as he straighten himself.

Chapter 2

The vows had been spoken, the confetti had been thrown, the champagne cork had been popped, the cake had been cut and eaten, and the party was now starting to wind down.

Each of his crew members had come to them throughout the course of the party to give both of them their congratulations and some of them even shaking the captain's hand.

Trip was the last of his senior staff to come to him, with Amanda at his side. Again he said to his captain "I'm so happy for you Cap'n. Take good care of her." He gave Jon a big hug and turned to give T'Pol a peck on the cheek. "You take care of him too."

"I will" she promised.

Soval approached Jon, taking his arm and leading him to the side. Jon was a little worried about what might come next. A lecture about the "illogic" of a Vulcan and human marriage? Soval looked the captain squarely in the eyes. "Take very good care of her. She's...special to me."

"I will. I promise." He wasn't sure what Soval meant by "special". He knew that Soval had one time been T'Pol's mentor and still a close friend, maybe that's what he meant. He decided to put a mental pin in this and ask T'Pol about it later as it was time for them to leave.

As they traveled in the small shuttle that Starfleet had requisitioned to transport them from San Francisco to Jon's Lake Tahoe home T'Pol's head rested on his shoulder while she dozed off. The last few weeks she had been so busy with not only her duties on the ship, but also the plans for their wedding and with the day's excitement, she was exhausted.

Normally the trip from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe only took about 20 minutes but Captain Archer asked the young lieutenant who was piloting the transport to take the scenic route, which would take about an hour.

As they neared his Lake Tahoe house, Jon gently woke T'Pol so that she wouldn't miss the beautiful scenery. Evening was starting to set in and the waters of Lake Tahoe shimmered with the colors of the setting sun. It was like a painting and he marveled at its beauty, but it paled in comparison to the beauty of the bride sitting so close next to him.

He had suggested taking a tour of Europe for their honeymoon "Vulcans don't take honeymoons" she informed him. "No maybe not, but this Vulcan will." He stated.

It had been several years since T'Pol had been to the house in Lake Tahoe, she remembered how beautiful it was and eager to spend their time together there so, Jon agreed that's where they would take their honeymoon. Whatever his new bride wanted that's what she will have.

Enterprise was in space dock at Jupiter station, the crew had a full two months leave while the retrofits were being done. A two-month honeymoon! Aside from marrying the most beautiful woman in the universe what more could he have asked for?

"I love you Mrs. Archer." A huskiness in his voice when he said it. He gently leaned down and kissed her soft lips. The kiss deepened as he was eager to get his honeymoon started.

T'Pol broke the kiss and gently pushed him away. "Jon" she quietly whispered as she gave a sideways glance towards the lieutenant piloting the transport.

"I'm sure he doesn't mind" he said with a smile. Then speaking up towards the lieutenant "you don't mind do you lieutenant?" "No sir not at all. I completely understand." The lieutenant said.

Sitting back in his seat he lazily draped an arm around her shoulders as he said "T'Pol, I'd like to ask you something." T'Pol raised an eyebrow at him and he continued. "Soval told me that you were special to him. What did he mean by that?"

"He said that?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Um. We're related."

Related!? He never knew this. "Related? How?"

"It's complicated. It's a Vulcan thing."

Jon had learned several things about T'Pol over the years. One of which was when she said 'it's a Vulcan thing' it really meant that she preferred not to discuss it.

Jon had, at one time, prodded T'Pol into explaining these sort of things but quickly discovered that more times than not her explanation only served to confuse him further.

He also learned that when she wanted a subject dropped she meant it. So, with a shrug of a shoulder, he dropped the subject. She would tell him someday... in her own way, when she was ready.

As the transport made a soft "thud" landing in front of Jon's... correction their home he opened the hatch. He watched as Porthos jumped out of the shuttle, scamper across the grass, and up to the nearest tree. He gave it a sniff then hiked his back leg.

Jon smiled shaking his head. Poor guy he thought. Grateful and relieved that Porthos held it in until then. I wonder what he thinks of today's activities knowing he'd never find out.

Jon had asked the lieutenant if he wouldn't mind carrying their bags in for them. "Not at all sir. I'm happy to help."

Jon looked at the house, pleased to see the windows were opened. A few days prior he had contacted the real estate agency he had hired years ago to oversee the care of the house when he was away to let them know of his pending arrival.

He wanted the house cleaned and windows opened. The last thing he wanted was T'Pol's sensitive sense of smell to be assaulted by the stench of stale air and muskiness. He had also instructed them to stock the refrigeration cabinet and pantry, giving them strict guidelines regarding T'Pol's vegetarian diet. The ship's chef had also sent along several containers of Plomeek soup for T'Pol.

He took T'Pol's hand to help her out of the transport, taking extra care that she didn't snag the wedding dress she was still wearing on the edges of the transport hatch.

Porthos ran ahead of them into the house. As they reached the foot of the steps Jon stopped and held T'Pol's arm causing her to stop as well. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing. Just a human custom. Indulge me?"

T'Pol nodded to him, not really understanding and in a quick move, he scooped her up in his arms. She wasn't prepared for that and let out a gasp.

Jon carried her up the steps, across the threshold and into the house. He continued to carry her down the hallway and into the living room where the lieutenant was placing their bags down. As the lieutenant turned to leave he said "Congratulations to you both. Enjoy your honeymoon Mr. and Mrs. Archer." Jon gave him a lopsided grin. "Oh. We will."

Porthos had taken his customary spot by the fireplace, but there wasn't a fire since it was summertime and much too warm for a fire.

T'Pol, still in Jon's arms, nuzzled her face into his neck. "How long are you going to carry me like this?" He smiled at her "For the rest of my life." With that he carried her towards the bedroom, gently kicking the partially closed door open then laid her on the bed.

As he took off the jacket of his dress uniform and neatly laid it on a nearby chair, he undid the top two buttons on the shirt. The uniform was starting to get a bit uncomfortable but he knew he'd be out of it soon enough.

He turned towards the bed where his bride had moved herself into a bit more of a seductive position. My God he thought can I possibly be any luckier?

As he sat down onto the bed with T'Pol he noted the ring that now adorned her finger. He knew it wasn't customary for Vulcans to wear wedding rings and he was pleased when she agreed to wear one.

He leaned down and began giving her small kisses on her neck. "I love you so much Mrs. Archer." T'Pol put a hand on his chest and pushed him back. His brows crinkled in confusion. "What's wrong?" He asked as she sat up. "I'm not sure if I'm agreeable to being known as Mrs. Archer." Jon's eyes widened when she said this.

They hadn't discussed this before, his fault really for overlooking this part of something that was so very important. "But it's customary, for humans anyway, that the bride take her husband's name. I just assumed... Shit! I shouldn't have assumed that you would be willing to do the same. I'm sorry. We should have talked about this before."

"No need to apologize. You have been very attentive to honor my Vulcan customs. If anyone is to blame, it's me. I should have researched more of your customs and been aware of this ritual." T'Pol stated.

Jon looked down and said. "Ok. Um, so, um you don't want to take my name then?" T'Pol could see that he was hurt by this and gave it some thought. "The logical course would be, perhaps, a trial period." Trial period? Jon thought to himself. "I will allow myself to be called Mrs. Archer, you may introduce me to people as such, for two weeks. At that time I will decide rather or not if I want to take your name."

He felt like he was sitting at a negotiation table trying to come up with a diplomatic peace treaty. He rolled this thought around his head for a moment. She was right. It was the most logical course of action. Damned her Vulcan logic. "Ok sweetheart. Two weeks then." He smiled down on her.

No sense in arguing with her about it, besides there was more important things to do at the moment. With that he pulled her close to him and gave her a deep hard kiss on the mouth.

Chapter 3

Jon was woken by a loud metal sound hitting the floor. Through the window he could see the sun was starting to come up and realized T'Pol wasn't in the bed with him.

He took a quick look around the room to find that he was alone. He heard more noises. He jerked the blankets back and jumped out of the bed. Something was wrong.

As he rushed towards the bedroom door he instinctively grabbed one of the two phase pistols that was laying on top of a dresser. Holding the pistol with both hands at his side he crept out of the room.

He took a quick scan of the living room and didn't see anyone. He heard something coming from the kitchen and he took sideways steps in that direction. As he entered the kitchen he saw T'Pol at the sink filling a tea kettle with water. She turned and visibly jumped at the sight of him.

Even with her acute Vulcan hearing she didn't detect his approach, then she glanced down and noticed the phase pistol in his hands. Her eyes grew wide "What's wrong?" "I was about to ask you the same. What was that noise?" Jon asked. She thought for a second "Oh that. I dropped the tea kettle. I'm sorry I woke you."

Jon visibly relaxed realizing his fears were unfounded and put the pistol on the counter as T'Pol said. "I was making some tea. Would you like a cup of coffee?" "Yes please." He replied.

He stood there watching her while she placed the kettle on the stove and turned the fire on to heat the water. She turned to him eyeing him up and down "are you going to go around naked all day?"

"Hmm?" Jon looked down at himself and for the first time realized he was indeed naked as the day he was born. He couldn't help himself as an impish smile came on his face. "Sure. Why not? Maybe I'll just stay naked for the rest of my life. What do you think about that?"

T'Pol stepped closer to Jon and wrapped her arms around his waist, as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Embracing each other she stated "I wouldn't mind but the rest of the crew might be a little uncomfortable with it."

"Ok. Just for the rest of our honeymoon then."

"You'll have to stay in the house."

"You're keeping me prisoner in my... our house?"

"Well I wouldn't want you walking around in public naked. It may give other females ideas. I'd get into a lot of fights that way."

As she gave his bottom a light squeeze, her dark eyes sparkled at him. The closest thing to a smile a Vulcan could muster. T'Pol was cracking a joke at him. A bad habit she'd pick up from too many years living among humans. Or maybe she had picked up the habit from him?

She had picked up a few habits over the years, most of which she'd gotten from him. Cussing was one of them. She didn't do it that often but from time to time a word would slip out. He vowed to break her of that someday but, somehow it seemed hypocritical as he was prone to let some words fly now and then. Ok. Maybe more than now and then.

He wanted her, right here, right now, and made up his mind that that was exactly what he was going to do. He began to kiss her feverishly and passionately as his hands moved with intensity to pull her pajamas off. If he was going to be in the kitchen naked it was only fair she be naked as well. Wasn't it?

All the while, as his kisses continued, the flimsy silk shirt was removed, quickly followed by the short bottoms. He reached down with both arms, grabbing her by the inner tops of her thighs, and hoisted her up. Her legs straddling him as he moved her to the kitchen counter.

She could feel the cold marble of the counter against her bare bottom as he set her down. She pulled slightly away from him, knowing his intent. "Jon! We prepare our food here!"

"Don't worry baby. I'll clean the kitchen up before we prepare any food."

Before she could protest further he jammed his mouth onto hers. His tongue parted her lips and was lustfully stroking hers. He wanted to taste every part of her being.

He inched himself onto his tip-toes and his excitement found what it was seeking. As he plunged himself deep into her he was pleased to feel her warm wetness. This only served to intensify his excitement as he plunged over and over.

After a few moments, as things calmed down they were both panting for air. While she greatly enjoyed making long passionate love to him for hours at a time, she also rather enjoyed these...what was the human word he always used? Quickie? Yes. That was it.

Suddenly they both realized the tea kettle was whistling loudly, angry that it was being ignored. Neither one of them noticed when it started or for how long it had been whistling.

Jon went over to the stove as T'Pol climbed down from the counter and pulled her pajamas back on. As he turned the fire off the whistling subsided. Without thinking he grabbed the handle of the kettle and quickly dropped it, jerking his hand away. "FUCK! Son of a bitch!" He bellowed.

T'Pol knew what had just happened and rushed to the bedroom then began rooting through one of the bags. Once she had found what she was looking for, she reemerged into the kitchen with a small silver container.

She opened it and grabbed Jon's injured hand. "I'm ok." He reassured her. But she didn't acknowledge him. Instead she began rubbing the salve that was inside of the container onto the palm of his hand.

It was an old habit among the crew to carry a container of salve with them as one never knows when one might get cut, scrapped or, in this case, burned. She kissed the inside of his wrist. "All better baby?"

Was she using the word 'baby' as a term of endearment or was she calling him a baby for his reaction? He shrugged a shoulder. Either way it did feel better. "Yes love. Thank you".

They were sitting at the small kitchen table. She sipping her tea and he his coffee. Jon had since put on pajama bottoms but still chose to go shirtless. He was looking at a PADD while she sat and watched him.

She liked watching him work or even reading a PADD. Somehow it always made him seem even more attractive than he already was...if that were even possible. His striking green eyes moving as he read the words.

"Anything interesting?" She asked him.

"Just more notes of congats on our marriage. I swear, I don't even know who half these people are." He set the PADD down on the table. "What would you like to do today?"

She thought for a moment. "I think I'd like to try rock climbing." Jon looked at her horrified. Was she joking again? "Are you kidding?"

"No. Why not? It would be good exercise."

"No way T'Pol! Nuh-uh!"

"Why? You go rock climbing."

"I'm experienced. As far as I know you've never been rock climbing a day in your life. It's too dangerous. Forget it."

"You could teach me."

"Do you remember what happened when you tried skiing? You damn near DIED!"

"I did not damn near die. I got a concussion. That's all."

"No T'Pol. That's final."

"But-" He cut her off. "I said no commander! That's an order!" His voice strong and somewhat irritated.

For him to address her in such a manner while on duty was one thing, but when he addressed her like that in their private lives it meant that he was...what's the human saying? Setting his feet down? Something to that effect.

All the years she'd spent among humans she still struggled with their euphemisms. Either way she knew it was unwise to push it any further with him.

An idea popped into Jon's head. Something he wanted to do last time he was here but didn't get the chance. He smiled widely then asked. "Ever been to a casino?" She raised an eyebrow.

Chapter 4

After taking their showers and dressing, T'Pol wanted to meditate. Jon decided to take Porthos for a walk to give her time to do so.

As Jon walked down the garden path, enjoying the nature and cool mountain morning he too decided to meditate. T'Pol had taught him Vulcan meditation techniques a few years ago and he began doing it on a daily basis. It seemed to help relax and center him.

He had a lot of demons that walked with him, especially the demons he'd brought back with him from their time in the Expanse. Meditation helped him keep those demons in their cages where they belonged.

Unlike T'Pol, he didn't need a candle or special place for his meditation rituals. Now that Jon had learned the techniques, he and T'Pol rarely meditated together, as they both found it difficult to achieve the desired results when the other was present.

He picked a soft place on the grass and got down on his knees resting his body on the heels of his feet. Even though Porthos had been running around the garden area, the dog sensed what his "daddy" was doing and settled down quietly in an area away from him.

Jon closed his eyes and began to breathe deeply in through his nose and out his mouth, clearing his mind of all thoughts. It didn't take long for the smells of the green grass and trees or the sounds of the birds chirping to begin to fade away.

As he began to feel the sensation of his metaphysical body floating upwards past the clouds, beyond the atmosphere and into the stars he started to feel more centered.

His meditation always took him to the same place, into the stars and the vacuum of space. He was calm and relaxed here. He remained there, floating and drifting for quite some time.

As he felt his body begin its slow decent he knew his meditation time was coming to an end. As his body returned to Earth to the place in the garden where he left he began to hear the birds again and felt the warm sun on his face. He breathed in deeply smelling the grass and the waters of the nearby lake. He slowly opened his eyes and was at blissful peace.

He looked over to where Porthos was laying. "Ready to go home boy?" Porthos wagged his tail and jumped up from his laying positon.

As Jon stood up it occurred to him that he never really had a difficult time achieving a state of meditation, but T'Pol struggled with it from time to time. How odd he thought. T'Pol had been meditating since she was a child, sixty-some years ago, but he had only been doing it for a few years.

As he walked up the path towards the house he mused at her age. Even though she looked half his age, she was in fact over twice his. Cradle robber he thought, and gave an inward chuckle at that.

As he entered the house he could smell toasted bread and his stomach gave a silent roll. He walked into the kitchen and saw T'Pol sitting at the table, a cup of tea in her hand and a small plate of dry toast in front of her.

As he walked past he grabbed a piece of toast from her plate and took it to the counter to smear some butter on it. She had gotten accustomed to his habit of taking food from her plate over the years and didn't say anything about it.

Typically Vulcans would find the act of sharing food from one another's plate repugnant, but he had once told her that, to humans at least, it was considered an intimate act. Besides, considering what transpired here earlier in the kitchen, what's the issue with a little food sharing? Somewhere on Vulcan her mother and father are rolling over in their respective graves regarding our kitchen activities, he mused to himself.

As he munched on the toast while fixing himself a cup of coffee, he looked down to see Porthos standing on his hind legs and giving him a soft whine. "Hmm? What do you want boy?" Jon asked him in a playful manner. "M-r-ruff" was the reply he got from his dog. He tore off a piece of toast and fed it to him.

Porthos ate it, but that's not what he wanted. "M-m-ruff. M-wuf."

"What? What? Whatcha want? Hmm?"

"M-r-roo-r-wuf"

Jon got his food bowl from the shelf and poured some dog food in it. Porthos' tail wagged wildly as Jon placed the dish on the floor and Porthos dove in munching loudly.

T'Pol wasn't sure how she felt about feeding the dog in the kitchen but he had to eat somewhere. Besides, she knew how important the dog was to Jon, and if she was going to be married to him this was one more thing she would have to get accustomed to.

While T'Pol had taken her shower earlier, true to his word he completely cleaned the kitchen and used a sanitizing spray on every surface inch, rather it needed it or not, just to set her mind at ease that it was "safe" to prepare food here.

"Did you have a good meditation?" She asked him.

"I did. And you?"

"It was satisfactory."

After they finished their toast and hot beverages Jon put the dishes in the sink. "Ready to go?" He asked her. Her eyes danced at the thought of trying something new and participating with him in an activity he enjoyed.

As they got to the entrance of the casino that was inside of a large hotel building Jon could see it was busy. There were a lot of people, loud noises and flashing lights. He knew T'Pol was uncomfortable in these types of situations and started thinking that maybe this was a mistake.

He turned to her "It's awfully busy today. Maybe we should just leave." Perhaps she had sensed his real concerns, but she was looking forward to trying this activity since he had mentioned it to her earlier and she decided she could tolerate it for a while. "No. It's ok. I'd like to go in. That is if you still want to."

Jon purchased 5,000 credits worth in chips from the counter. He asked T'Pol if she wanted to buy any chips but she shook her head. "I don't know how to play any of these games, so it wouldn't be logical to get any of these... chips, as you say. I'll just observe you for a while if that's ok."

"Ok hun. But if you decide to join in on the fun, just let me know and I'll get you some chips."

She gave a single quick nod of her head as an acknowledgement.

He put his arm around her waist and ushered her towards the gamming floor. He scanned the room and saw the grouping of tables that were designated to the card game he came to play. All the poker tables were full and Jon frowned at that. He'll have to wait until someone got up to get in on the action.

He took this opportunity to lay down some ground rules to T'Pol. "Listen. If you're going to stand and observe me then you need to understand a few things. Stay at my side behind me and whatever you do don't speak to me. If you have any questions, just make a mental note and ask me after we leave the table."

"Why can't I speak to you?" She asked.

"Because they'll think we're cheating."

"Oh. We wouldn't want to give that impression, do we?"

Jon chuckled. "No, we do not."

He continued with his rules. "It's ok if you look at my cards, but under no circumstances can you look at anyone else's. About my cards, don't show any reaction or emotion...err, um...well I guess I won't have that problem with you, will I?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, and that eyebrow thing of yours...don't do that. Just stay stone-faced." She wasn't sure what the term 'stone-face' meant but nodded her head anyway. Jon heard someone yelling "damnit!" from one of the tables.

As he turned to look a woman was getting up. She must have went bust, he assumed. He hurried to the chair before someone else had a chance to sit.

As he placed his hand on the back of the chair a thought occurred to him. Maybe an unlucky seat but he decided he'd sit and go a couple hands to see how it went.

A short while later the pile of chips on the table in front of Jon had grown into a larger pile. In the center of the table a nice pile of chips had formed.

Five cards laid face down in front of him. He thumbed the edges upwards to take a peek at the face of the cards. I can't believe my luck! he thought to himself. It was his turn to either bet or fold.

During the course of his playing, a few others had decided their luck had ran out and left the table. A small crowd had gathered around the table, but he wasn't sure why, it wasn't like this was a high stakes table or anything. No one in the crowd had sat down which left the chairs unoccupied. That left him and two other men trying their luck.

The man on Jon's left was a younger heavy set man with a clean shaved head, but his face sported a full beard and mustache. The man to his right was thin with red hair that was greying at the temples.

Jon took yet another peek at his cards just to make sure he was seeing things correctly. He picked up a small stack of chips and took a glance at the plaque that informed him of the table's betting scale which read: 50 ante; 500 raise limit.

The current bet was at one fifty. "See your one fifty and raise three hundred." He said as he tossed the chips into the center of the table. This got a reaction from the bearded man. "Fold" he gruffed and flicked his cards towards the dealer.

Just you and me Red. He thought to himself. "Red", as Jon called him in his mind, sat fiddling with his stack of chips making them click together.

Jon sat without changing his expression and glanced at Red out of the corner of his eye thinking to himself, I know this game too. Red was trying to intimidate Jon. Not today buddy. I've faced meaner and uglier aliens than you.

A few minutes went by without Red making his play. The dealer was getting inpatient "Sir? Are you in or out?" Red tossed in some chips and said "Call."

Jon's face cracked the wide grin he was holding back and flipped his cards over so everyone could see. "Royal flush" he stated with triumph. "Shit!" Red yelled.

As the dealer pushed the chips in Jon's direction the bearded man told the dealer to cash him out. "How do you do it?" The younger man asked Jon. Jon wrapped an arm around T'Pol's waist and proudly stated "What can I say? I got lady luck on my side."

T'Pol looked at Jon "I think I understand the basic concept of this game. I think I want to try it now." "Really? Ok then. Sit down." He waved a hand to the chair next to him.

As T'Pol sat Jon picked up a small stack of his chips from his ever growing pile and started to give them to T'Pol, but stopped before she could take them. He noticed the look on the dealer's face and thought he might be in error giving her some of his chips to play with, as it wasn't customary for a player to give another player their chips. "She's my wife. Is it ok?"

The dealer waved over a man that was standing at a nearby table. Oh shit. The pit boss. As the dealer was whispering in the pit boss' ear and glancing at Jon, he decided he had made a faux pas.

Jon turned to T'Pol. "Sweetie, why don't you go to the counter and get your own chips. Tell them to put it on my account." "Just a second Captain Archer." The pit boss said. "How much are you planning to give to Mrs. Archer?"

Jon blinked at the pit boss wondering how he knew who they were. He looked at the chips in his hand then picked up a couple more and showed them to the pit boss. "Five hundred?"

"Ok. But just this once. When she loses it and wants to keep playing, she'll have to go buy her own."

"Ok. I understand. By the way. How did you know who we were? Do we know each other?"

"Are you kidding me!? Everyone on Earth knows who the famous Captain Archer is. Why do you think you've drawn a crowd?"

"Um. I was wondering why people were gathering around." Jon's cheeks blushed. He didn't like the thought of people considering him to be famous. That's not what he signed up to Starfleet for.

Almost two hours had passed since T'Pol sat down. Red had since went bust and left. A few others had decided to go up against Jon and T'Pol but also ran out of luck and left.

It was just the two of them at the table now, going head to head. The crowd had grown a little larger by now, most of which just wanted to watch as the "infamous" couple battle it out.

T'Pol's stack had grown to a considerable size while Jon's stack was looking a bit anorexic. Damnit to hell. He thought. I had lady luck on my side and then she plunked her sweet, beautiful little ass down next to me.

Jon peeked at his cards again. Garbage. He thought maybe he could bluff her. "See your two twenty and raise..." He looked at his dwindling chips. Two hundred."

T'Pol looked at Jon's chips noting that after making his bet he only had less than three hundred credits worth left. "See your two hundred and raise two fifty."

"Fold." Jon said as he tossed the cards to the dealer, he turned to T'Pol "If you want to keep playing you can. I think I'm going to try my luck with the 'one arm bandit'."

"No. I think I'm done. I'll come with you."

The dealer asked T'Pol if she wanted to cash out. T'Pol looked at Jon for assistance as to the meaning of this. "He wants to know if you want to trade your chips in for money."

"You mean these pieces of plastic are worth money?" She asked.

Jon laughed. "Yes dear. What did you think they were for?" She wasn't sure what she thought they were for and decided that she would indeed like to 'cash out'.

After the dealer counted her chips he stated "Thirty-three thousand eight hundred and seventy-five credits. Just place your thumb to collect your winnings, Mrs. Archer." He presented her with a small PADD for her thumbprint.

As she started to touch the PADD with her thumb she stopped. "I believe I owe you five hundred, love."

"Don't worry about it."

"No. It's only fair that I pay you back."

Jon's stomach rumbled. "Tell you what. You buy lunch and we'll call it even. Ok?" And he gave her a light kiss on the cheek.

Jon changed his mind about the slot machines. He had enough gambling for one day, besides, he was hungry and wanted to go to the restaurant that was on the second floor of the building.

As they walked towards the exit of the casino T'Pol stopped. "Can I ask a question?"

"I think you just did, but you can ask another if you like." He joked.

"Why did you bet so much when you didn't have any cards that you could possibly win with?"

He was taken aback by her question. "What do you mean?"

"You had a two, eight, seven, four and jack. Was there any combination of those cards that could have possibly yielded in your favor?"

The floor felt like it had dropped from under Jon's feet as he suddenly realized how T'Pol had won all those rounds and his eyes grew wide. OH FUCK ME TO HELL AND BACK! his brain screamed at him.

Jon quickly grabbed T'Pol by the arm, looked around to see if anyone heard what she had just said and started to pull her at a fast pace to the door.

Concerned, she asked. "Jon what are you doing? Are you going to answer my question?"

"Quiet! Just stay quiet!" He snapped at her in a low voice.

As they headed towards the doors to the exit of the building she said "I thought we were going to the restaurant."

"Quite T'Pol! Not another word! Just be quite!"

After getting into the car, he slammed the door hard. From her seat in the car, T'Pol was completely confused by what was going on and looked at him. "Jon, wha-"

"SHUT UP T'POL! JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP! WILL YOU?" He yelled.

The car ride home was done in silence as Jon's jaw clenched repeatedly in anger the entire time. By the time they arrived home and he pulled the car into the garage his anger had subsided some.

As they walked into the house his stomach growled loudly. If they were in battle his stomach would've betrayed their position. Just blow my head off now. It would be welcomed at this point. He thought to himself.

"What do you want for lunch?" His voice still held a little irritation but not as angry as before. "Plomeek soup." She said. Jon's head dropped as he sighed. She always wants Plomeek soup. Why do I bother asking? He thought about suggesting something else, but soup did sound good.

He got one of the containers of soup chef had provided from the refrigeration cabinet, the others were in a stasis cell to stay fresh. T'Pol watched him from her seat at the kitchen table as he poured enough soup for the both of them into a pot and put it on the stove to heat, she quietly asked him. "Jon. Did I do something wrong?"

He dropped his head. He knew she didn't know what she had done was wrong and he needed to explain his previous behavior to her. He sat at the table and took her hands into his. "Honey, I'm sorry I yelled at you like that. I shouldn't have acted that way and I'm so very sorry."

"But what did I do?"

"You were counting cards." He explained what it meant to count cards and why it was wrong.

"You mean they really abuse people for using mathematical skills? Is it illegal?"

"No. It's not illegal, but it's greatly frowned upon. It's cheating."

"But how can a person make an educated decision of how much to wager without knowing what the other players' cards are?"

"That's the whole point. It's a game of skill and chance. You're not supposed to know what the other players' cards are."

"But-"

"Look. I could spend the next twenty years..." He trailed off and his face darkened when he said that. He cleared his throat and continued. "Point is you'd end up with more questions than I have answers for. Why don't you check with the computer about poker, the rules and other nuances of the game? It could probably answer your questions better than I can. Ok?"

"Ok. I'll research it in full detail."

She thought for a moment then suggested that she give the money back to the casino with her apologies. "No!" Jon said. "That would be a bad idea and it still won't let you off the hook."

She tilted her head to the side. "Get you out of trouble." He explained. "Just keep the money and enjoy it."

"I could send it back anonymously."

"No. That still wouldn't work. Seriously, just keep the money. Promise me one thing though. If you ever play poker again you won't count cards."

"Ok. I won't. I promise."

Chapter 5

After they ate their meal Jon washed, dried and put the dishes away. He walked into the living room but T'Pol wasn't there. He peeked into the bedroom and she wasn't there either.

Maybe she went for a walk. Why wouldn't she tell me? Why didn't she take Porthos for a walk with her? He thought to himself. Then the latter question occurred to him. Maybe she didn't know how to walk Porthos.

Porthos was sitting at Jon's feet whining to indicate he needed to go outside to take care of some business. "Where's mommy huh? Where is she? Where's mommy?"

Jon had a sudden shock at what he just said to his dog. MOMMY!? Was he really starting to think about what he thought he was thinking? A dark cloud started to form over him and he shook his head hard to push the darkness away.

He grabbed Porthos' leash and snapped it on to his collar then headed for the door. When he walked out he saw T'Pol sitting on the porch swing taking in the view.

He told her that he was taking Porthos for a walk and asked if she'd like to join them. When she got up, Jon handed the leash to her. "I-I don't know what to do." She said.

Jon gently wrapped the center portion of the leash around one of her hands and put the remaining portion in the other. "I don't know about this." Her voice was full of concern. "What if he gets away?"

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. Even if he gets lose he won't go far and he'll come back when I call him." He reassured her.

"Ok. As long as you're sure about this."

As they walked hand in hand along a path at the edge of the lake Jon could feel T'Pol had gotten more relaxed with holding Porthos' leash.

They had approached a bench on the path that they've been to before and Jon suggested they sit for a while.

Last time they were here together it was winter and there was snow on the ground. Today it was warm and sunny with a cool mountain breeze lightly blowing. He hoped they would stay out longer this time to take in the view as she wouldn't get too cold like last time.

T'Pol sat on the bench and watched as Jon unsnapped the leash from Porthos' collar to allow the dog to run and play at his leisure.

Jon bent down and picked up a rock and flung it into the water. It skipped five times before it sank. He did this ritual a few more times. When he flung the last rock, he watched as it skipped six, seven, eight times then sink. A personal best. Catching up with you dad. He thought.

He sat down on the bench next to T'Pol, put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. They watched together as Porthos had found a shallow place along the lake's edge where he would run into the water, splash around, run back out and shake himself dry. He did this over and over again seeming to be pleased at himself with this activity.

Jon was still feeling guilty about his behavior. "I'm sorry about earlier. I was acting like a jackass. I really shouldn't have yelled at you like that."

"It's ok. You've already apologized to me and I accepted your apology. You don't need to do it again. We don't need to talk about it anymore my love."

"Yeah but-"

T'Pol cradled his face in her hands, pulled him towards her and gave him a deep passionate kiss. With his other hand he began caressing her shoulder and moving it down her arm. He slyly moved to caress her breast and gave a light squeeze. He wanted her now. Then the thought of someone else walking along the path came to his mind and he broke the loving kiss. She looked deeply into his green eyes and said "I love you Mr. Archer." He smiled down at her "I love you too Mrs. Archer."

Porthos came bounding up to them with a leaf in his mouth caring it as if it were a trophy to be proud of. "Whatcha got there?" Jon took the leaf from Porthos' mouth. "Oh! That's a beautiful leaf! Best leaf I've ever seen in my life! Thank you, boy." Jon gently laid it on the bench next to him. Porthos satisfied that his present was appreciated he went back to his water activity.

He's going to be a good father someday she thought to herself. She realized what she was thinking and ran the gambit of thoughts through her mind.

Of course it was logical to have children to pass along the genetic coding to another generation, but they never really talked about having children. Did he even want to have children?

They were both uncomfortable around children and she never allowed herself to think about having any ever since baby Elizabeth died. There was still a pain in her that would be there for the rest of her life. She pushed the thought away and snuggled closer to this man that she deeply loved.

They sat on the bench for a while holding each other and taking in the scenery. "Why were you throwing rocks into the water?" She asked after some time had passed.

"Hmm?"

When we first got here. You threw some rocks into the water. Last time you were throwing snowballs in. Is this some kind of human ceremonial ritual?"

Jon laughed and told her "No. It's just that when I was a kid my dad and I would come up here to the lake. We'd throw snowballs to see who could throw them farther and skip rocks to see who could get the most skips. My dad's record was twelve. That last rock I skipped? Eight times. That was my personal best."

"A competition then?"

"Yes. I guess you could call it that."

She bent down, picked up a rock and threw it into the water. It made a kurplunk sound and immediately sank. She looked at him, her eyebrows crinkled and tried again. Kurplunk and sink.

Jon smiled and got up. He picked up a few rocks and studied them until he found one that was satisfactory. She watched his technique as he threw it in and it skipped three times before sinking. He cocked his head to the side "that didn't go well."

She picked up another rock noting that he used a side arm motion to throw the rock. Mimicking his motion she threw it and again it immediately sank. She was definitely doing something wrong.

He chuckled and picked out another rock suitable for skipping and showed it to her. "See? It has to be a flat rock." He again positioned himself to throw it and did a few mock slow-motion throws so that she could study the movement then let the rock fly. It skipped six times before sinking.

She bent down to find a suitable rock and showed it to him for his approval. When he agreed it was a good skipping rock he positioned himself behind her placing one hand on her hip and holding her hand with the rock in it with the other.

He pulled at her hip to bring her in closer, so that her buttocks were now pressing against his groin area. He caressed her hip and hand and nuzzled his face into her hair deeply inhaling in her scent. Kissing her gently on her neck he pressed himself harder into her.

Rubbing her body against him she could feel his excitement begin to grow against her. "Jon. Is this part of the 'rock skipping' exercise?"

"No." He cleared his throat and pushed her away a little, but only a little. He returned his thoughts back to the rock still in her hand. He helped her position it in her fingers and moving her arm back and forth a few times to give her the idea of how to throw it then told her "Let it fly."

When she did the rock hit the water and skipped four times before sinking. She turned to look at him and he beamed at her. "Hey! Not bad for your first time."

She wanted to try again but this time on her own. The second one skipped five times before sinking. She looked at him pleased with herself.

He stepped closer to her and placed his hands on each of her shoulders, gazing into her lovely dark eyes. As he looked into her eyes tears started streaming down his face. She reached up to wipe the tears away and quietly ask "What's wrong sweetheart?"

He started babbling. "It's-it's just that I love you so much. I can't describe how much I love you. It hurts sometimes. Sometimes I feel like my heart is going to explode with the amount of love I have for you. It just can't be possible for one person to have so much love for another without it hurting. I could spend every second of every day for the rest of my life...my life...life...telling you that I love you and it still wouldn't be enough to convey the amount of love I have for you. Oh T'Pol! I just wish I could tell you...tell you... Oh!"

She pulled him into her and held him. His body shuddered against hers and he was sobbing. She could sense something was wrong, something he was holding back.

She thought about what he had said and noted that each time he said the word 'life' he seemed to trail off and get quieter as a sense of darkness came upon him. Something was definitely wrong, but this wasn't the place to talk about it.

Porthos trotted up to them and gave a hard shake splashing muddy water on them. Jon wiped the tears from his face, looked down at his dog and gave a halfhearted laugh. That seemed to pick his spirits up a little. "He's going to need a bath" he told her.

Chapter 6

After returning home, Jon gave Porthos a bath and took a quick shower.

He was sitting at one end of the couch reading his PADD perusing through the seeming never ending notes of congratulations from people he was sure he'd never even met. T'Pol was at the other end of the couch reading one of the books from the bookshelf.

Jon decided he'd had enough of the notes and touched the PADD to show him reports concerning the retrofits being done to his beloved ship. New bio-beds and equipment being installed in sickbay, upgraded torpedoes and phasers that would make Malcolm happy, then he saw it.

Upgrades to the captain's quarters. He wondered what in the world were they doing to his quarters. He didn't like the fact that people were messing around in his quarters, especially when he wasn't there. Besides, he liked his quarters just the way it was. He brought up a section that gave him more detail about what was happening and was shocked.

Blueprints showed that the wall between his quarters and the one next to his was being removed to make the captain's quarters bigger. He looked at the quarter assignment and saw that the new quarters were designated to be assigned to Capt. J. Archer; Comdr. T. Archer.

He and T'Pol had talked about this long before the wedding and agreed that she would move into his quarters. Sure, it would be cramped in the small area, but they would make it work.

Then he had a sinking feeling. That meant that Lieutenant Farnsworth, Malcolm's night shift counterpart and the crew member who occupied the living space that now became part of his and T'Pol's, had to move.

He checked to see where Farnsworth was being moved to and saw that he would now occupy T'Pol's old quarters.

He felt a little guilty about inconveniencing the young lieutenant, he never asked that his quarters be redesigned, and made a mental note to do something to make it up to him.

He was going to tell T'Pol but then quickly changed his mind deciding to surprise her with this development.

He turned the PADD off and put it down then walked over to the piano and plunked at a couple keys as he sat down and started playing a tune T'Pol instantly recognized then softly begun to sing.

When you're weary, feeling small,

When tears are in your eyes

I will dry them all

I'm on your side

Oh when times get rough

And friends just can't be found...

T'Pol came and sat with him on the piano bench as he continued.

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will lay me down

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will lay me down

When you're down and out

When you're on the street

When evening falls so hard

I will comfort you

I'll take your part

Oh when darkness comes

And pain is all around...

He suddenly stopped and T'Pol looked up and saw tears in his eyes. She quietly asked him "Jon. What's wrong? I know something has been bothering you. Please tell me."

He dropped his head shaking it. He knew he had to tell her but not now, not on their honeymoon, not when it was supposed to be a happy time for them.

"Jon" her voice a whisper. "Please tell me. I love you. No matter what, I'm here for you. Tell me, please."

He let out a heavy, shaky sigh then took her hands into his. He looked down at their intertwined hands to avoid her eyes. His mouth opened and closed a few times before speaking with a small, shaky voice. "I was afraid to tell you before. Afraid you would call off the wedding."

She didn't understand. Was he telling her he didn't want to marry her and only went through with the marriage out of some sort of obligation to her?

He continued. "T'Pol. You know that my dad died from Clarke's disease." T'Pol nodded not knowing where this was going. "You know it's hereditary and I don't want to pass this horrible thing on to my...our children."

"Are you trying to tell me you don't want children? Is that what's been bothering you? Is that why you thought I'd call off the wedding? If you don't want to have children, it's ok. I understand." Relieved that the problem wasn't what she had thought, she was still concerned about the root cause for his deep sadness.

He started shaking harder and the tears flowed heavy down his face. Between sobs he continued. "It's...it's more than that. My last physical six weeks ago, Phlox told...told me. He...he...he said. Oh! Oh God! GOD! T-T'Pol!"

Her eyes became very wide as the realization of what he was trying to tell her hit her like a tidal wave. She grabbed him and pulled him hard to her holding him in a tight hug.

His entire body shook against hers and the sobbing got louder and uncontrollable as she rubbed his back. "Oh Jon no. No. NO! Please NO! It's going to be ok. It has to be ok. Please no!" She held him, rubbing his back for several minutes allowing him time to get it out of his system.

This weight he had been carrying for the past six weeks had been too much for him and he needed to unload some of this burden. She would now help him carry it. His voice raspy in her ear "I'm scared T'Pol. I'm so scared."

"Shhh my love. It's ok. I'm here for you. I'm always here for you. Shhh. We'll get through this together. I promise." She said as she continued holding him.

After a while, after he got the sobbing under control, he excused himself to the bathroom to wash his face. A few moments later he returned with a wad of tissues in his hand in case he started crying again.

T'Pol had moved over to the couch while he was gone and patted at the seat next to her for him to sit. "Is it ok to talk about this more?" She asked.

He nodded his head slowly. She quietly asked "How far has it progressed?"

"Phlox said it's in the beginning stages."

"How...how long do you..." She didn't finish the question. She didn't need to.

Tears started forming in his eyes again. "Phlox said I could live with this for ten, fifteen years. Maybe longer, but things will get bad before then. Real bad."

Jon thought about his father towards the end. He was in so much pain that he had begged the doctors more than once to end it for him. He wiped at the tears with a tissue.

She could see his fear and heartbreak and told him "We don't have to talk about this anymore if you don't want to."

"We do need to talk more about this, but not right now ok? I need a little bit more time. More time to...I don't know. Just more time. Can we talk about it later?"

"Of course my sweet love. Take as much time as you need. I'm always ready to listen when you're ready. Anything you need."

"What I need is a cure, but there isn't any." His face suddenly darken as a thought occurred to him and he glared at her dangerously. "Unless...the Vulcans have a cure that they're withholding. Do they? Have a cure that is?"

"Honey, I'm not a medical doctor so I wouldn't know, but I do know this. Vulcans never heard of Clarke's disease until well after first contact and we only learned about it because of your father. So I doubt the Vulcan medical directed has a cure." She told him.

Jon laid down on the couch with his head in her lap. He was exhausted from this subject and from carrying this burden alone, but now he had someone to help him carry it. He didn't want to talk about it anymore for now.

When he opened his eyes again he realized he had dozed off because T'Pol was gone. He got up from the couch and looked to see if she was in the kitchen. No sign of her. He went to the bedroom door and opened it a crack and peeked in. She was sitting on the floor with the candle burning in front of her.

He quietly closed the door again and took soft steps so not to disturb her meditation. He heard her calling from the room. "It's ok Jon. I was just finished. You can come in."

He went into the room and she was standing now. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to break your concentration."

"No. It's ok. I really was finished."

He looked over and noticed Porthos was laying on the bed. "It didn't bother you that Porthos was in the room while you meditated?"

"Not at all. He was pleasantly quiet during the process, and I somehow found it comforting that he was here."

"Really? Well that's progress! Look. I'm sorry if I ruined our honeymoon."

"You didn't. Shhh. Don't think about that right now."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned down to kiss her but before his lips could make contact the doorbell chimed. "Who could that be?" He asked.

When the pair opened the front door, a man that Jon had never seen before was standing there. "Can I help you?"

"Got a delivery for you sir."

"Delivery? I'm not expecting any delivery. Are you?" He looked at T'Pol who was shaking her head. "I think there's a mistake. You must be at the wrong address."

The man looked down at his PADD "Is this the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Archer?"

"Yeah. That's right."

The delivery man shoved a thumb over his shoulder indicating behind him. "Well, these containers are for you then." Jon and T'Pol looked behind the man towards the driveway where he had indicated to see three large sized containers that he had already offloaded from the delivery vehicle.

Jon shrugged and walked out with the man to help him carry the containers into the house. When they completed the task Jon placed his thumb on the PADD to acknowledge delivery and left the man a generous tip.

T'Pol asked Jon "Who are they from?"

"I don't know. There wasn't a name attached but they came from San Francisco. Maybe Starfleet?"

Jon bent down to open one of the containers when he was startled by T'Pol's suddenly outburst of concern. "Jon! Wait!"

She ran into the bedroom and came back with a scanner and began taking her scans. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"Scanning for explosives, toxins or anything else harmful." She replied.

Jon thought about this and realized she was right. He had made a lot of enemies over the years and any number of them would be more than happy to take him out. What better place than in his own home where he felt safe and comfortable.

Her scans complete she told him that it was all clear. He asked her to move back for her safety, got down on his knees and slowly opened the case just enough to peek inside. He quickly closed the lid and dropped his head. T'Pol could see his body shaking. "What is it? What's wrong?"

His head jerked up and he was laughing. His laughter grew louder and harder. He laughed so hard he fell onto his butt then snorted which made him laugh even more.

He went flat onto his back now in a rolling fit. He started waving his arms and pointing a finger towards T'Pol. "You!...You!...Scanner!...Explosives!...BOOM!" Were the only words he could seem to get out. After a few moments his laughing fit started to subside.

He sat up, holding his sides where his ribs hurt from the fit. He had tears running down his face, but not from sadness this time. He needed that right now. He really didneed that.

T'Pol stood with her hands on her hips, head cocked to the side and an emotionless expression on her face.

Jon quickly looked away, holding his hand up at her. "Don't look at me like that. You're going to get me started again." T'Pol said in a deadpan voice "Jon what's inside the box?"

He turned, trying hard to stifle his laughter, he slowly started opening the lid, and then part way through he flung it the rest of the way to reveal its contents. Boxes of various sizes with bright wrapping paper and ribbons.

T'Pol cocked an eyebrow as he said "Don't you remember? Our wedding presents. We didn't open them at the party. Hoshi said she would pack them up for us and have them sent here."

They had opened the gifts. Mostly knick knacks, bottles of various alcohol and some books. One of the gifts was from Trip's parents. A silver picture frame with a beautiful design engraved into it and a note that read: Congratulations to the happy couple. For your wedding picture. Jon, please come to visit us while you're on Earth. We would love to see you again and meet your lovely wife. With deepest love, Mr. & Mrs. Tucker.

T'Pol sat with the present from Trip in her hand. "What is it?" She asked. Jon shifted uncomfortably. "It's um. Well...it's ah." His cheeks bright red.

Damn you Trip! He thought to himself. You asshole. I'm going to KILL you! Trip knew Jon would have the embarrassing task of explaining this to T'Pol. He looked down at the note that simply read: Enjoy your honeymoon.

She sat waiting for an answer. He was trying to think of a polite way to put it. "It's um. It's a marital aid." Yeah. That was the polite way to put it. She turned it over in her hands, studying it. "How does this device aid in our marriage? What is it used for?" His cheeks got red again.

He took the device from her then had a wicked thought. Not today Trip, not today. I'm not going to let you get the better of me on this one.

He got an almost evil smile on his face then said "Tell you what. Instead of explaining it to you, how about I just show you." With that he stood up, took T'Pol by the hand and led her into the bedroom.

They both collapsed to the bed, their bodies covered with sweat and were breathless. Jon's mouth was dry and he desperately needed water but his head was spinning and he felt like his legs weren't going to cooperate with him.

T'Pol started rooting her hand around the bed until she found what she was looking for and retrieved the device from where it had gotten tangled up in the covers. Holding it she said. "I really must remember to thank Trip for his present."

His voice was hoarse "Oh. Yes. You really must. In fact we really should both thank him...together. So? You liked the present then?" He grinned at her and she nodded wildly as she asked "Can we do it again?"

Jon's eyes got wide in a blaze of green fire. "Oh yes. Definitely we can do it again. Just let me get us some water first."

Jon had gulped down a glass of water while in the kitchen and refilled the glass to take with him to the bedroom. As he crossed the living room he stopped and picked up Trip's note from the floor. "Didn't get me this time old friend. Thanks for that." He said to the empty room.

He tossed the note back to the floor then noticed more writing on the back. Picking it up again he read: Now that you've been thoroughly embarrassed, your REAL gift is waiting for you on the ship. Truly couldn't be any happier for the two of you. Love you both. Trip.

He wondered what the real gift might be. Then headed back to the bedroom for another adventure.

Chapter 7

They were woken to the sound of Porthos aggressively barking then heard a muffled voice coming from the other room and Porthos stopped his barking.

They both leaped from the bed quickly and quietly, as not to alert the intruder to their presence as Jon pulled on his pajama pants and T'Pol put on her robe.

Jon grabbed both of the phase pistols from the dresser and tossed one to T'Pol. They nodded to each other, not knowing what laid beyond the bedroom door, but they were ready.

Jon cracked the door opened and peeked into the living room. He saw a figure bent over petting Porthos then flung the door open holding the pistol up and with a strong voice, he yelled "HEY!"

The person stood up, turned in Jon's direction and had a wide grin on his face. "TRIP!? What the FUCK? What the hell are you doing here? How the hell did you get in here? Do you realized I almost blew your fucking head off!?"

Jon was still aiming his pistol at Trip as Trip shoved a thumb towards the front door and said "Door was unlocked, an' it woulda been unfortunate if ya had blown mah head off 'cause ya wouldn't get to hear mah good news." Trip's southern accent had grown stronger in the past few days. That always happened whenever he spent time with his family.

Jon continued to hold the phase pistol up at Trip while T'Pol had come to stand beside him. He started thinking about the door being unlocked and made a mental note to be more careful about it, as he had a wife to protect now.

Trip continued. "Ya gonna blow mah head off or hear mah good news?"

"I'm thinking."

After a few seconds he lowered the pistol. "Ok Trip, what's so important that you had to break into our house?"

"You an' T'Pol need to go pack y'alls bags. Y'all comin' back to Miss'ip wit me. This a kidnapping."

"What the fuck makes you think we're going to Mississippi with you, Trip?" T'Pol said irritated by the intrusion.

Trip looked at T'Pol with wide eyes and a grin at the use of her bad language, then stated. "'Cause day after tommra I'm gittn' married an' I need a best man. You it Cap'n."

T'Pol shot her head up to look at Jon whose eyes had all but popped out of his head, his mouth dropped open and the phase pistol that was in his hand made a clunking noise as it hit the floor.

He stood there as his mouth started working but no words came out. After a few seconds, finally some noises "Uh...Um...Wh-...Wa-...Uh...Wait...Wait...Uh...WAIT! WHAT!?"

"Yup! Me an' Mandy gittn' hitched."

Jon and Trip were now in the bedroom, Trip sitting on the edge of the bed as Jon paced the floor of the room, still in shock but now able to speak coherent words.

"What are you doing Trip? What are you thinking? This is so sudden. Why now? Why so suddenly?" Then a thought popped in Jon's head and he stopped his pacing and spun to look at Trip. "Is she?... Is Amanda?..."

Trip finished the question for him "Pregnant? Naw. She ain't pregnant..." He thought for a second "At least I don't think she is."

"What do you mean by that? You don't think she is?"

"Well...Ever since the pregnancy scare a few months back, we dun been talkn' an'...kinda been a tryn'. Oh, but don't worry Cap'n. If it happens I ain't leavin' the ship. We dun talked 'bout that too." Trip explained.

Jon sat on the bed next to Trip. "But why the sudden marriage? Why not six month? A year? Why now?"

"I love her Cap'n. I truly love her. She's everything to me. Mah entire universe. Neither one of us wants a ship wedding... Err... Not that it wouldn't be an honor an' privilege to have you marry us, but we both want our families to be there an' it could be three years or more before we get back to Earth, plus we got another month of leave time for us to have a honeymoon. So, it has to be now."

Jon considered his words for a moment. Trip was his own man and if he felt this strongly about it, who was he to argue with his decision? "Don't start to think the two of you are going to join T'Pol and I here for your honeymoon." Jon joked at him. "Naw. We goin' to Fiji." He grinned.

T'Pol and Jon had agreed to Trip that they would go back with him to Mississippi, where his parents had relocated to after the Xindi attack destroyed their Palm Beach town, with the condition that he'd give them time to pack, take showers and get something to eat. Trip sat on the couch sipping at a cup of coffee while they got ready.

Jon and T'Pol came out of the bedroom, bags in hand. T'Pol stopped and asked Jon "Would now be a good time to thank him?" "

Hmm?" Jon realized what T'Pol was asking "Oh. Yes. Now would be a good time."

Trip took another sip of coffee trying to figure out what the two of them were talking about when T'Pol stated "Thank you for your wedding gift, Trip. It was most... enjoyable."

The coffee sprayed from Trip's mouth halfway across the room 'pppfffttt'. "You...You mean..." He stammered. Jon nodded his head several times, with a wide grin and wrapped an arm around T'Pol's waist. "Yes. Thank you SO much. I'm sure we'll get a lot of use out of it."

Now it was Trip's turn to have red cheeks. "That was a gag gift." Trip's voice sounding deflated. T'Pol turned to Jon searching for an explanation. "It was supposed to be a joke sweetie, but it backfired on him, didn't it, Trip?"

"Yeah. I guess so. Well as long as y'all enjoy it I guess." Trying to change the embarrassing subject he asked. "So, what else y'all been up to?"

"I won thirty-three thousand eight hundred seventy-five credits at the casino." T'Pol said with a slight twinge of pride in her voice.

"Oh yeah? How?"

"Never mind that, Trip, it's not important. Can we go now?" Jon asked.

After lift-off, Trip tapped a couple buttons on the panel to set the private air transport to automatic mode. Most people on Earth still had surface road vehicles, but with the growing air transport services available very few had their own air transporters, as they were expensive.

Jon wondered where Trip got it from then he remembered that Trip's parents were rich, VERY rich. They were modest about it, never flaunting their money other than a few luxuries. The air transport for one, a small cabin boat that Trip's dad bought him when he was sixteen for another.

Mr. and Mrs. Tucker had instilled this sense of modesty into their children, and aside from himself, he doubted the rest of the crew were aware of the Tucker family's wealth.

Trip turned the chair so he was facing Jon and T'Pol who were sitting in the back. "So, T'Pol, how'd you win all that money?"

Jon sunk his head into his hand then gave T'Pol a look that she knew meant it was ok to tell him. "Playing poker."

"Oh yeah? I bet you got one helluva poker face."

"I was counting cards."

"OH SWEET LORD JESUS IN HEAVEN! NO! Jon! How could you let her do that!?"

"Let her do that? I didn't LET her do anything. I didn't even know she was doing it until after she skinned me alive!"

Trip grinned at Jon. "How much she get ya for?"

"A little over twenty-eight."

"Twenty-eight hundred? You cryn' over twenty-eight hundred credits?"

"Try twenty-eight thousand, Trip."

"Oh. Yeah. She skinned ya alright." T'Pol spoke up "I still think I should give the money back to the casino."

Jon and Trip yelled in unison "NO!" They both started talking at the same time and in such a fast pace that T'Pol couldn't keep up. She held her hand up to silence them, which they both complied.

Trip looked at T'Pol "Look honey, ya made a mistake. It's ok as long as ya learned from it. Jon's right. Just keep the money an' enjoy it. So. What else I need to know about?"

"I go by Mrs. Archer now, Mrs. Jonathan Archer, or T'Pol Archer if you prefer."

"Uh...Ok." Trip was a little confused by this and Jon explained the two week deal he and T'Pol had about taking his name. "Trial period huh? That's gotta be a first."

T'Pol looked at Jon and told him "I've decided. I'm taking your name. I can't think of a more symbolic way of showing you how much I love you, how much you mean to me, and that I'm devoted to your life." Jon looked at T'Pol and joy came across his face.

He dropped from his seat onto his knees in front her and took her hands into his. "Really? Are you sure?" She nodded at him as his face beamed. "Oh T'Pol! I love you so much. You've just made me so happy. I love you Mrs. Archer."

"I love you too, Mr. Archer."

Jon raised up on his knees so that he was face to face with T'Pol and planted a deep loving kiss on her lips.

Trip sat grinning at them as he watched the events unfold before him then joked. "Hey now. Don't y'all get no wild ideas back there, ya hear." Then spun his seat back towards the front to give the couple a little privacy.

Chapter 8

Jon watched out the window as Trip maneuvered the transport to bank over the Tucker's house in order to make its landing.

He could see a large crowd of people, the party was already in full swing and thought to himself that half of the population of all of the southern states combined had to be there.

"Are all these people really friends and family of you and Amanda's?" He asked Trip. He knew Trip had a large family but didn't realize that Amanda came from a large one as well.

Trip answered "I'm pretty sure there's quite a few party crashers, but yeah, for the most part, friends and family. Like momma always says the more the merrier. Hey T'Pol, I know ya ain't comfortable wit' large crowds. If it gets to be too much an' ya need to disappear, it's cool. I doubt anybody will notice. Don't give it a second thought, m'kay?"

"Ok Trip. Thank you." She said.

As they exited the transport Jon looked around at the crowd. In one area there was a group of people playing guitars while singing, others were scattered about in their own small groups drinking and having cheerful conversations. Children were running around playing, and some people were walking around eating from the plates of food that they were carrying with them.

There was a lot of commotion going on and T'Pol was immediately uncomfortable. Jon wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "Are you going to be ok, love?"

"Yes. I'll be fine. I just need a moment to process it."

He gave her a reassuring kiss on top of her head just when they heard a woman yelling as she was rushing past them. "Johnny Lee! You get down from there right NOW before I take a switch to ya!"

Jon looked towards the area where the woman was rushing to and saw that a young boy had climbed up high into a tree. He wondered what was more dangerous, being up that high or the switch his mother had threatened him with. Jon gave a chuckle and asked T'Pol if she was ready to join the party.

As Trip led the pair around introducing them to various people, Amanda bounded up to them. She grabbed Trip's arm and said "I'm so glad your back. I missed you, honey." and gave Trip a kiss.

She turned her attention to Jon and T'Pol "I'm so glad ya came Captain. Commander. I don't think Trip would go through with this if y'all hadn't come."

"Oh Mandy, that ain't true. I'm gonna make ya mine no matter what. I love ya babe."

Jon reached out and gave Amanda a hug then said "We didn't have much of a choice. Trip kidnapped us." The three of them outwardly laughed, but Jon knew that T'Pol was amused even though she didn't show it.

Jon continued, "Congratulations Amanda, I know you'll make Trip very happy. Just watch out for him though, he can be a devil at times."

"Well good thing I'm MACO trained. I could take him down if I had to." She said as Trip looked at Jon grinning, wagging his eyebrows and said "Yee-haw."

Amanda pulled at Trip's arm telling him there was someone she wanted him to meet, then they were gone.

Jon spotted Trip's parents and told T'Pol he wanted to introduce her to them. When they approached, Mrs. Tucker turned in time to see Jon and T'Pol walking up to them. "Jonny!" She reached out and gave him a big hug.

Trip's mother was the only person in the universe that could get away with calling him 'Jonny' as he has a special kind of affection for her. She felt to him as if she was his own mother.

Mr. Tucker shook Jon's hand and gave him a hug. "Congratulations, son. We're so very happy for you. Sorry we couldn't make the wedding. Business an' all. I'm sure you understand."

"Yes sir. I understand. It's ok. Thank you for the picture frame by the way, it's very beautiful."

"I'm glad you liked it. We wasn't sure if you'd think was too elaborate. We know ya like to keep things simple, but we figured ya should have a nice frame for ya wedding picture." Mrs. Tucker said.

Jon put his arm around T'Pol's waist then said "Mr. and Mrs. Tucker, I'd like you to meet my wife, T'Pol." Mrs. Tucker hugged T'Pol and said "We're so glad to finally meet ya. We've heard so much about ya."

Jon looked around scanning at the other guests while the Tuckers continued talking with T'Pol, he could sense T'Pol was getting uncomfortable with the Tuckers gushing over her, then he spotted them.

Malcolm and Hoshi had their backs to him talking to someone and he couldn't believe his eyes. They were...holding hands!?

Jon took this opportunity to pull T'Pol out of the uncomfortable situation. "Excuse us. There's some people over here that we need to speak to." As Jon led T'Pol away she gave him a kiss on the cheek and whispered in his ear. "Thank you."

When they walked up from behind Malcolm and Hoshi Jon's voice was stern. "AHEM! And what do the two of you think you're doing with this PDA?"

The pair spun around, eyes wide as they recognized their captain's voice and Malcolm started to stammer. "Uh...C-Captain! We were just uh..."

"Relax Malcolm. I was just joking. At ease lieutenant. But seriously what's going on here? Are you two a couple?"

"Malcolm and I have been seeing each other for about six months now, sir." Hoshi informed him.

"Really? That's great. I'm happy for you. Let's see... We now have two Archers and two Tuckers on the same ship. Will there be two Reeds before this shore leave is over?"

Hoshi and Malcolm both had horrified looks on their faces. "I doubt it, sir. I think it's a bit too soon to start thinking along those lines. But who knows what could happen later on down the road." Malcolm said.

Jon inquired about Phlox and Travis only to learn that Phlox was on Denobula with his three wives and couldn't make it back on such short notice, and Travis was off somewhere rock climbing and couldn't be reached.

Just then Jon heard a recognizable voice coming from behind him. "Cap'n Jonathan freakin' Archer!" Jon spun around "Juno!" Jon joyfully exclaimed. "How the hell have you been?"

Juno, one of Trip's many cousins that Jon had met years ago and liked very well, gave Jon a big bear hug. "Been alright, but hear ya doin' better. Heard ya got yerself hitched to a bombshell."

Jon reached for T'Pol to introduce them. "This is my wife, Commander T'Pol Archer." Then indicating to Malcolm and Hoshi, "My chief of security Lieutenant Malcolm Reed and my communication specialist Ensign Hoshi Sato."

"Pleasure to meet y'all. Damnit Jon, if I'd known there were this many beautiful ladies out there I woulda joined up with Starfleet. This calls for a celebration." Juno handed Jon a bottle and Jon got a sickening feeling in his stomach.

He didn't have to ask what the contents of the bottle was...he knew. Jon steeled himself for a moment and then considered if he should take a drink. "Aw c'mon Cap'n. Ya ain't got chicken on me have ya?"

"No Juno. I didn't get chicken." Jon tipped the bottle up and took a big swig. "YEE-OWW!" Jon hollered and began coughing. "Damnit man! What are you trying to do? Blind someone?"

He started to hand the bottle back to Juno, but before he could take it T'Pol grabbed it from Jon's hand. "Don't do it sweetheart." He told T'Pol.

"I've had alcohol before."

"Yes, but not like this. It's too much for you."

"What do you mean? What is it?"

"It's moonshine, darling. You really don't want it."

"Just a little?"

Jon shrugged. "Alright. Your funeral."

T'Pol took a sniff of the alcohol before taking a small drink. As the liquid poured into her mouth, down her throat and into her stomach it felt like pure fire.

Coughing hard she shoved the bottle back at Juno. "You're right dear, I didn't want that." Juno started laughing "Did...did she just crack a joke?"

"I was being genuine in my statement." She raised an eyebrow at Juno, as he laughed harder. "Oh shit Jon! She just did it again! Here have another."

He started to pass the bottle back to T'Pol but Jon pushed it back at Juno while eyeing him. "Are you trying to get my wife drunk?"

"A drunk Vulcan. Now that's something I'd love to see."

"No Juno, no it's not. Trust me on this."

"What's gonna happen? She gonna crack a smile an' split her pretty lil' face apart?"

"No. She'll just get extremely philosophical on you and explode your head. Seriously. Trust me on this one."

It was late and the majority of the guests had left for the night. T'Pol had long since retreated to the guestroom that the elder Tuckers had prepared for them, assuring Jon that it was ok for him to continue with the festivities.

Malcolm and Hoshi returned to their hotel room, Amanda had went home to rest as she would be busy the following day preparing for the wedding, but promised Trip that she would see him again at the church.

Jon and Trip were sitting in wooden lawn chairs drinking and laughing as they reflected on happier stories of their adventures together.

Trip was carrying on in a drunken state about something then suddenly said "You an' T'Pol are gonna have some great kids someday."

He heard Jon's drunken reply, "Uyum hyum. Mmm?" When Trip looked over he saw that Jon's eyes were closed and the bottle in his hand was tipping over.

Chapter 9

Jon woke and felt that his face was wet. The Mississippi sky had let lose a light drizzle. He was in the lawn chair in an awkward half sitting, half laying position.

As he started to get up his entire body ached. Not the best place to pass out he thought. Then his head started splitting. It felt like someone had drove a knife through his skull. He ran both hands across his head just to make sure there wasn't actually a knife sticking out.

He continued his slow journey to sit up, and he felt like hell. This happened every time he attended one of Trip's family parties. Too much food and too much alcohol.

"Never again." He said to no one. "Never again will I come to one of Trip's family shindigs." He made this vow every time and knew deep down, like all the other times, he'd break this one as well.

As he stumbled towards the house he tripped over one of the other guests that had passed out in the lawn. "Sorry." He knew that the man wasn't awake and didn't know that someone had tripped over him, but he apologized anyways.

As he got closer to the house he thought about threatening Trip with court-martial for kidnapping not one, but two superior officers. He would never actually do that, but imagined the look on Trip's face with the threat of it.

As he went through the back door that entered in to the kitchen he could see Mrs. Tucker at the stove. She turned to him and in a loud voice said "Mornin' sunshine!"

Jon instantly shot his hands to the side of his head and started rubbing his temples. "Ugh! Mrs. Tucker. Please. Shhhh."

"Ya want some coffee dear?" Her voice much softer this time.

"God yes, please."

"Alright, ya sit down now. I'll get it for ya."

As Jon sat at the table Trip came into the kitchen and he was looking rough, very rough. He looked at his mother. "Pancakes." It was a part demand, part question statement.

She kissed him on the cheek as she handed Jon his coffee. "Of course baby, anything you want. Jonny, you want pancakes too?" Jon nodded his head and immediately regretted the movement as he felt his brain slosh around inside his skull.

"Where's dad?" Trip softly mumbled. "He had some business to take care of. He'll be home later. Ya know your daddy. Always workin'." She cheerfully replied.

As T'Pol entered the kitchen, looking well rested, Trip's mother was setting down the plates of pancakes in front of the two men. "Here y'all go. Two orders of pancakes." Looking at T'Pol she asked "Do you want some, dearie?"

"Does it have dairy in it?"

"Well yes. Buttermilk." Mrs. Tucker looked quizzically at Jon. "She doesn't consume dairy." He said shoving a mouthful of the pancakes in.

Mrs. Tucker seemed a little surprised by this. "I always heard that Vulcans were vegetarian but I didn't know that meant dairy too."

T'Pol explained. "We don't consume anything that comes from an animal. I'll just have some dry toast and tea, Mrs. Tucker."

Jon looked at T'Pol "Honey, you should eat something more. I'm sure Mrs. Tucker has a nice selection of fresh fruit if you'd just ask."

"Of course I do. Come here child an' let's pick ya out some'n. Look at'cha. Noth'n but skin and bones. Don't your mean ol' Cap'n feed y'all on that ship of yun's?"

T'Pol recognized that Mrs. Tucker was joking and stated "Only bread and water. He's so cruel to us." Jon and Trip chuckled and really wanted to give a full-blown laugh but it hurt too much.

After breakfast Jon and Trip spent the morning nursing their hangovers, by afternoon they were feeling better.

Jon was in Trip's bedroom as the two of them were picking out a suit Jon could wear for the wedding. As they were the same height and build Trip's suits fit nicely on him.

As he was trying on one of the suits, he began to ask Trip a question. "I didn't want to say anything in front of T'Pol because I want to keep it a surprise, but I found out that my quarters are being redesigned to make it bigger. Have you heard anything about this or who ordered it?"

"Ah damn. I wanted it to be a surprise for both of ya."

"You Trip? This is your doing?"

"Yeah. That's mah real weddin' gift to ya. Look, them quarters on the ship are small for one person let alone two. I hated the thought of you an' T'Pol crammed in that tiny space."

"But Trip. A reconfiguration on this scale needs to be approved first and that's a request that goes through me. You know. The captain. Do you know what could happen to you if Starfleet found out you did this without putting in a request first?"

"Oh. No worries Cap'n. I got approval."

"You did? How? Who?"

"Well...I kinda flew over your head a little. Sorry, but I really did want it to be a surprise. I shoulda figured that you'd look in on the retrofits but I guess I was hope'n the two of y'all would be goin' at it like bunnies ya wouldn't think 'bout the ship."

"But who gave the approval?"

"Admiral Gardner."

"Gardner? Really? He was on board with this?"

"Oh yeah Cap'n. He thinks crew quarters are too small as well. He even got me draw'n up designs on crew quarters for future fleet ships. Who knows? Maybe someday all the ships will have larger cabins, complete with an actual bedroom an' all."

"What about Farnsworth? He had to move you know. Did you think about how that's inconvenienced him?"

"Hell. I talked to him six months ago. He's cool with it. Matter a fact, if was up to him, y'all have the whole deck to yerself."

"It's kind of not fair to the rest of the crew, you know."

"Hey. You're the Cap'n. Ya deserve a little bita luxury."

"What about you and Amanda? You won't get that luxury. Unless you went behind my back again and talked to Gardner."

"Naw. Didn't do that. Might be pushing mah luck. It's ok. We'll be fine."

"Talk to your neighbors, Trip. If they're ok with it, you can knock down one of your walls. My approval."

"Yeah? Really?"

"My gift to you and Amanda."

The two friends hugged each other. Then Trip turned Jon towards the mirror so he could see the suit he was now wearing and both agreed it looked good on him.

Jon went to the guestroom to show T'Pol and get her approval on the suit. As he entered he saw that she had the clothes she brought with her laid out on the bed studying them.

He slipped up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and gave her a kiss on the neck. "What are you doing, love?" He asked her.

"Trying to decide if any of these outfits would be appropriate for a human wedding." She replied.

Jon placed his chin on T'Pol's shoulder to look at the clothes on the bed. "Let's see what you have here. Hmm...I think you're right. They're not exactly what someone would wear to a wedding. Maybe we should go into town and do some shopping for you. We could grab some lunch and do some sightseeing as well."

"You don't think the Tuckers would think it's rude if we were gone for the day?"

"No. They'll be ok with it."

"Alright then."

T'Pol turned and saw the suit Jon was wearing for the first time. "What do you think?" Jon asked as he turned in a circle to give her a full view.

She raised her eyebrow at him and a mischievous glint came into her eye. "It's very handsome on you. Very becoming." And she pulled him down to the bed while kissing him passionately.

Trip's mother had loaned them the use of her car so they could go into town. At one of the shops T'Pol tried on various dresses and decided on a light blue one that had a V-neck and a length that reached just past her knees. It accentuated her curves, which Jon liked very much.

"Do you think this is appropriate for a wedding?" She asked the saleswoman that had been assisting her.

"Oh yes ma'am, and it looks very beautiful on ya as well."

T'Pol had selected a pair of matching shoes to go with the dress and after making the purchase they headed out for lunch and sightseeing.

It was evening when they returned to the Tucker home. After dinner they all gathered in the living room sipping coffee and tea as Trip and Jon regaled Trip's parents of tales about their adventures, only talking about the happy ones and leaving the bad times out.

Jon was telling them one of his stories. "...So there's Trip and I on this planet, taking our scans and chit-chatting as we walked along. Next thing I know, out of the corner of my eye I see Trip..."

Jon snapped his fingers in the air as he continued. "...disappear into thin air. So I'm looking around trying to figure out what the hell just happened when I hear this low moaning sound. I looked down and see Trip at the bottom of a seven foot ditch, covered in mud. He looked up at me and as serious as could be said, 'Captain I'm not a hundred percent sure but I think there might be a ditch here'."

A roll of laughter filled the room. Then Trip said, "Well, I thought it was only fair to give him some kinda warnin'." His father clasped a hand on Trip's shoulder and proudly stated "That's mah boy! Always lookn' out for the other guy."

Another roll of laughter as Jon took a sip of coffee, waving his hand in the air before saying. "Oh. But that's not the best part. After I helped him out of the ditch, he took out his scanner and scanned the area, just to confirm that there really was a ditch there."

More laughter. "Ya' know T'Pol, a stickler for facts and confirmation. Arn'cha?" Trip said as he reached out with his fist and gave a light, mocking pop on T'Pol's chin.

After the laughing died down, T'Pol excused herself to the guestroom to meditate and get ready for bed. Jon told her he'd be up in a while. As he watched her go up the stairs it occurred to him.

He had been feeling a little off all day and attributed it to the hangover, but now realized that he hadn't meditated that day, nor the day before, and decided that he should do so as well. He asked Trip if there was someplace he could go to meditate.

Trip took him to his father's study where it would be quite. Before leaving he asked Jon, "Don't you an' T'Pol meditate together?"

"No. It's too distracting, besides meditation is something that should be done alone." Jon replied. Then Trip closed the door to give Jon his privacy.

There he was. Floating in space. He felt the weight of the past few days, as well as the weight of this disease that now haunted him, dropping away. As he was floating he sensed a presence with him in the vacuum of space and opened his eyes.

In the stars he could see a tiny baby with striking green eyes and Vulcan ears. As he started to reach for the baby it transformed into a toddler that was reaching back to him.

Another transformation and now it was a young boy playing with a model spaceship. "I can't do it daddy." The boy said to him. Echoing words his own father had once said to him. "Don't be afraid of the wind, son. You can never be afraid of the wind."

Another transformation and the boy was a young teenager. "When I grow up, I'm going to be a pilot just like you, dad."

His metaphysical body returned to him in the study and Jon could feel the trail of tears running down his face. He thought to himself. Is this possible? Is my subconscious mind telling me it's ok to think about the future? It's ok to think about a future with a child in it?

T'Pol was already in bed sleeping and he got into bed as softly as he could so he wouldn't wake her. She rolled over and placed her head on his chest.

She mumbled at him, "You're a wonderful father, my love." And was asleep again.

Chapter 10

He stood in his dark blue suit looking out at the audience. The guests were shoulder to shoulder in the church pews. Some of the guests had to stand along the wall as there wasn't any seats left.

He looked at Malcolm, Hoshi and T'Pol who were sitting front row center and smiled at each of them respectively as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see his captain and best friend standing next to him. "I'm so happy for you, Trip. You and Amanda will be great together."

"Thanks. I am a bit nervous though."

"Ah. Just jitters. You'll be fine." And the two friends smiled at each other.

The traditional wedding march begun playing and the audience stood. The double doors of the church opened and Amanda came through. She was dressed in a traditional white wedding gown holding a bouquet of flowers in front of her.

As she slowly walked towards them, Trip's face beamed so bright it was almost blinding. A single tear of pure joy trickled down his face as he quietly said to Jon. "I love her so much it hurts sometimes."

Jon knew the feeling all too well. "I know you do, Trip. I know you do."

Chapter 11

Over four years had passed since those glorious days on Earth and Enterprise was back on her mission of peaceful exploration. There were scrapes and scuffles along the way, but most days were happy ones.

Trip and Amanda had had their little baby, a girl, and another on the way. Trip, true to his word stayed with Enterprise, visiting Amanda and his daughter at every chance he could get.

Malcolm and Hoshi had since ended their relationship and moved on to other people, but remained good friends and the youngest of Phlox's many children was expecting a child of his own.

Jon knew Travis recently started dating another member of the crew, but didn't know who. He was sure he'd find out eventually. Things were looking bright for the Enterprise family, and that's what they were after all...family!

Jon was sitting up in the bed, T'Pol in his arms, and in his mind he began to reflect back to a little over a year after he and T'Pol were married.

A medical research team had contacted him regarding a possible cure for Clarke's disease and wanted him to participate in a study trial. Six injections over a six months' time.

He agreed as long as he could remain on the ship instead of going back to Earth and into a study group. The research team agreed to this on the condition that Phlox took daily blood samples and other tests specific to the research and send them the reports.

Within the first week following the first injection the side effects started. There were headaches, dizziness and Jon was having bouts of nausea and trouble keeping food down.

About a week after that Jon gave up on trying to eat as any kind of food, even the bland Plomeek soup, tasted rotten to him. On the times when he did force himself to eat, it would come back up again.

Phlox, with the approval of the research team, was giving him medication for the nausea and a supplemental nutrition drink, but it didn't help much.

At some point into the third month he had to remove himself from duty and leave T'Pol in command as he started getting bouts of diarrhea. He didn't want to be caught in a situation on the bridge when he had to make a mad dash for the bathroom, or worse yet, not make it there in time.

He had all but secluded himself to his quarters. Because of this, Phlox was forced into making house calls to get the blood samples the researchers needed.

Even in his own quarters he had incidences where he didn't get to the bathroom in time. T'Pol, being the loving and devoted wife, she never said a word or made him feel ashamed about it. She would simply help him get cleaned up as if nothing happened.

On one of these occasions, Jon's frustrations got the better of him and broke down to T'Pol. "I'm sorry honey. This isn't fair to you. It's not what you signed up for. I wouldn't blame you if you left me."

"Why would you think I would leave you? You're my husband and I love you. I'll always love you."

"A grown man shitting himself!? No T'Pol! Not what you asked for! Not what you signed up for!"

T'Pol had a mixture of gentleness and sternness in her voice as she said. "It's exactly what I signed up for. Remember our vows? In SICKNESS and in health? It's not your fault. It's the medication that's doing this to you. Right now you're sick, you can't help it, but when this is over you'll be healthy again. Maybe more so than before. My love, right now you're traveling over troubled water. Your bridge is here for you."

With that Jon began crying. "I love you, Mrs. Archer."

"I love you, Mr. Archer."

With the addition of chills, mood swings and weight loss to the side effects, Jon had thought more than once that maybe the medication was worse than the disease and wanted to drop out of the trial, but he had a great support team backing him up, helping him to keep pushing on and fight the good fight.

Of course he knew T'Pol, Trip, Phlox and the rest of the senior staff was there for him, but he quickly discovered that he had an entire ship full of people to help him carry this burden.

After the study trial, and he was through with the injections, the side effects subsided. He was still very thin though, "Nothing but a skin covered skeleton" he had once said to Trip. Once he felt up to it, he slowly got back to his duties and the running of his beloved ship.

He was still thinner now than he was before the trial study, but this time it was on purpose. He had a daily routine in the ship's exercise room to keep him trim and he was now more muscular than before.

He was eating more fruits and vegetables, not as much meat. He was still a carnivorous human and always will be, but he limited it to chicken or fish, giving up beef and pork, and only had one meal of meat once every other week. He even cut out coffee from his diet for the most part, only his morning cup would do.

His daily bloodwork and tests were down to once a month now. It was required that the test results had to be negative of the disease for five years in order for him to be medically considered as cured, but during his last exam a week ago Phlox had told him, without saying he was cured, that his test results showed no signs of Clarke's disease and it gave him hope that it was over.

He looked deeply into T'Pol's lovely dark eyes and said. "I think I'm ready to try."

"Try what?" She asked him.

"For us to have a baby."

"Oh honey, we don't need to try."

Jon was disappointed. What was she saying? Had she changed her mind? Did she not want to have children with him?

She took his hand and gently kissed the palm of it, then placed his hand on her belly. "Phlox told me this morning. I'm pregnant." A joyful shock came across his face. "Really? Are...are you...is he...sure?"

"Yes my love. He did a full examination. You can view the results yourself if you want."

"No, that's ok. Oh T'Pol! You have just made me the happiest man in the universe. I love you Mrs. Archer." With that he gave her a deep kiss.

Chapter 12

Jon was sitting up in the bed, his arm around T'Pol looking down at the baby suckling at its mother's breast, as the baby looked up at him. Jon's face was beaming brightly with joy as the baby started to push away indicating that it had had its fill.

Jon gently took the baby from T'Pol and placed it over his shoulder, where he had a burping blanket ready to go. He learned very quickly in the past week to be prepared.

As T'Pol covered herself back up, he gave the baby gentle pats and rubs on its back until he heard the sound of the wetness that it had burped. "There you go Henry. That feels better now, doesn't it?" He softly said to his new son.

During T'Pol's pregnancy they decided they didn't want to know the baby's gender and wanted it to be a surprise, but agreed that if a boy, Henry after his father and if a girl, T'Les after her mother.

T'Pol spoke softly so she didn't disturb little Henry, whose tiny head was now resting on the soft hairs of Jon's chest while drifting off to sleep. "No matter what, the next one will have a Vulcan name."

Next one? He thought. "Already planning baby number two huh?"

"I was thinking a couple dozen."

Couple DOZEN!? Please God tell me she's joking. He thought. "I have you, and little Henry here. What more can a man ask for?"

"Oh Jon. We both grew up being an only child and knows what that's like. Do we really want that for Henry?"

"I guess you're right. A little brother or sister for Henry would be nice. In two or three years. Let's just concentrate on this little guy first. Ok?"

"Ok my love."

Then it happened. There was a slight tug in the corners of her mouth that grew into an honest to goodness smile. My God! Her smile is as stunning and beautiful as she is. He thought. He studied her face for a moment to forever burn this image into his memory.

He remembered his meditation in Mr. Tucker's study and knew that this tiny baby now laying in his arms, with his striking green eyes and Vulcan ears, truly came to them from the stars.

Yes T'Pol. You and I will make lots of beautiful babies together...Couple dozen sounds about right.

The End