Should Have Seen it Coming
Ann Harding
A tag to the last scene in the Anear - Archer reflects on why he should not have been surprised by an "unexpected" request from his Chief Engineer.
Jonathan Archer watched as his Chief Engineer and old friend left his quarters. Left? Retreated would have been a better word. Even though Archer had just given him what he had asked for, there was no energy in the younger man's steps. A transfer. Trip actually wanted a transfer. He actually wanted off of Enterprise. Archer still couldn't believe it. But even as that thought went through his head, another quickly contradicted it. I should have seen this coming.
As he stared at the amber liquid he had been about to pour, he thought about what just happened. Archer had a pretty good idea why Trip was eager to get off Enterprise. Nor was he surprised Trip so skillfully evaded any attempt to find out just what that reason was. Disappointed maybe, but not surprised. As outgoing as Trip seemed, the younger man could be extremely uncommunicative when he wanted to be. He could especially reticent when it came to his love life. Looking back over the years Archer could count on one hand the number of times he heard Trip talk about a current or even past relationship, and even then, he gave only barest of details. Archer asked him about it once. Trip had just shrugged and said "I guess I'm not the sort to kiss and tell," as he met Archer's eyes "Some things should just remain private."
There really hadn't been anything Archer could say to that. After all, the man had a point. It might have been an old fashioned one, but it was still a point. Some things should remain private. Even between the best of friends. And as long as it didn't interfere with the performance of one's duties, there were things that should remain private between a captain and his/her crew.
However, even though Trip kept his love life to himself, Archer had known for some time there was much more going on his two top senior officers than either of them would ever admit. Enterprise an extremely small ship, he had seen for himself the way Trip looked at T'Pol. He heard the rumors floating around the ship about the two senior officers visits to the others quarters', but because he knew the reasons behind those visits, he paid them little notice. But over time, that changed. He began to see how Trip looked at T'Pol, and how he acted around the woman. He began to realize his friend's feelings for T'Pol went much deeper then Trip would ever admit.
However, it wasn't until Trip returned from Vulcan - having witnessed T'Pol's marriage to Kos,- that Archer realized just how hard his friend had fallen. Even though Archer offered various suggestions for things he and Trip could do together during the remainder of Enterprises refit- a hike through the mountains, surfing at Big Sur, even diving in the Great Barrier Reef - Trip had found reason after reason (excuse after excuse) to stay on the ship and began working double and sometimes even triple shifts on the ship's refit. After they left Spacedock again, Trip again found reason after reason not to join the Captain and T'Pol for dinners in the Captain's mess. And while Archer knew he and Trip were not as close as they once where, he doubted that he was the one Trip was avoiding. As obsessive as Trip had been in the past about engine performance and maintenance Enterprise had never been in better condition. Then again, that tended to happen when a ship's Chief Engineer was in Engineering almost 24 hours a day.
What Archer hadn't been sure of, and still wasn't completely, was how T'Pol felt about Trip. Even though he had carried around Surak for a while, Archer still found it difficult, if not impossible to read his first officer's expression. More to the point, he had the feeling that T'Pol herself was not sure what her feelings were. But when he thought about how concerned she had been just a few weeks ago when Trip had almost died from the silicon virus. T'Pol had wanted to be notified if Trip regained consciousness - maybe to tell him something But when Trip had woken up, mysteriously free of the virus. Archer still didn't know if T'Pol had talked to Trip. But he was pretty sure she hadn't. He hoped that meant that Trip did mean something to her. That she did care for him, even love him. He hoped the fact that she, like him, had not realized how desperate the situation had become. That she never considered that Trip would leave Enterprise, leave his home, because he worried that his unresolved, possibility unrequited feelings for T'Pol were interfering with his ability to fulfill his duties.
Swallowing the bourbon in a single gulp, Archer reflected on what the real problem was. The he had no idea how to approach his friend…how to get him to talk. He knew that if pressed, Trip could be more uncommunicative about a personal issue then anyone Archer knew, including even Malcolm Reed or T'Pol. So whatever he did, he had to underhanded about it. He had hoped to find the right time, the right place and the right way. But the prefect time had never come. Event after event, crisis after crisis made it all but impossible for Archer to find some reason to get Trip off the ship and somewhere where he could slowly wear down his friends defenses. Assuming that was even possible anymore. Recently he had spent far too much time as Trip's Captain, and not nearly enough as his friend. And right now, Trip needed a friend more then he needed a captain.
He should have seen this coming. And he should have done something before now. Before it was to late. Before he lost Trip, possibly forever.