Captain's log 2158-06-10 0615. The crew are now coming back on board Enterprise after a three month leave. After the Terra Nova incident and that rogue Vulcan colony from the Last-City it was good to have the rest. In the mean time, Enterprise got a long needed refit. Our next mission is to head to what is called The Paulson Nebula for scans and take energy readings. Its strictly a stellar cartography mission and hopefully nothing more, though it is only 1000 light years from the Romulan border. As far as I know we will be the first Star Fleet ship to take readings. I'm glad to get away from the Romulan war.
Archer looks at the screen that holds his words as he contemplates them. "Computer delete last line from the log. End log." He looks at the stellar clock on his wall as it passes 0617 and lets out a slow exhale. He reaches over to his com station pushing the button to speak. "Chef I'll have my meal in the ready room."
"There a reason for that Captain?" replies the voice from the other side of the com.
Archer looked wearily and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "No Chef and no I don't need to talk to anyone either. I just let my paper work build up and Tessa just sent me a letter." There was silence on the other end of the com for a moment.
"Well Jonathan I didn't ask that but alright. I'll send it up with Crewman Burke."
Archer exhaled as he thought {Only three people on this ship could get away with calling me by my name not my rank. Chef is one of them.} He looks over the letter on his PADD.
Tucker set in the new captain's mess with T'Pol, he was enjoying his steak and eggs, she ate Kahri-torrafeiaca with a side of gesper fruit. "Wonder where the Cap'n is?" Commander Tucker inquires aloud. T'Pol raises an eyebrow and gets up.
"Your not going to finish your salad?" Tucker asks quizzically. "Chef made that special for ya."
T'Pol looks over to Trip with a slight turn of her head. "I am going to Chef now to tell him it was enjoyable but needed a little more redspice. He asked me to tell him whenever he made a Vulcan dish that if it was not right then tell him, so as not to offend." With that she leaves the room with Tucker grabbing the ketchup.
"Can't eat eggs with out ketchup. The gesper looks good." With that Trip spears a piece with his fork.
T'pol walks into the kitchen and sees Chef as he speaks on the com. "Well Jonathan I didn't ask that but alright. I'll send up Crewman Burke." She looks at the back of Chef's head and he simply begins making breakfast. "Commander may I help you? Did you like the Kahri-torrafeiaca salad?" It was unnerving how this human could tell who a person was by the way they entered his kitchen, even for a Vulcan.
"It was pleasing Chef, " was all T'Pol could say.
"I don't think you came here to tell me that Commander. You usually tell me through a communication via the PADD." He twirls the knife in his hand as the finishes swiftly cutting the yellow peppers. He slides them off of his cutting board onto the grill flat.
T'Pol raised her eyebrow. Chef was one of those people who spoke his mind to whoever it was, no matter the rank or position that was held. He was once said to have told an ambassador and an admiral that they could take a long walk off of a short peer. They did not try to seek an apology. The Zaldan ambassador even laughed and said that he enjoyed the tongue lashing. Supposedly it sealed a trade agreement.
"Did the Captain tell you why he was not having breakfast in the Captain's Mess?"T'Pol eyed Chef and knew full well even if he knew he would not tell her. Many spoke to Chef about their problems and he would listen to them never judging.
"He said too much paper work Commander. Is there anything you want to talk about?" Chef pours scrambled eggs onto the grill over the peppers, green onions and bacon bits.
"No nothing at the moment Chef." T'Pol turns to leave as she is stopped by Chef's next statement.
"Commander since your going up to the bridge mind if you bring the breakfast burritos up to the Captain? Burke needs to count the inventory and I really hate when I have to make him stop. He has a hard enough time staying out of trouble." Chef replies, never looking at T'Pol nor turning around to face her once.
"That would be logical Chef. I suppose I could do that."
"Good. I will be finished in a moment. So I didn't use too much?"He plates the egg mixture onto the tortilla shell and wraps it quickly into a nice package.
"No it had the right amount." She replies as she leaves with the breakfast package in hand.
The time was 0635 when T'Pol reached the bridge. She walked over to the door of the Captain's ready room and felt as though she needed to ring the chime. At that moment she felt eyes staring at her. She looks over her shoulder with an arched brow to see Lt. Hoshi Sato eyeing her with a smirk, T'Pol ignored the look after she realized Lt Sato knew what bring a meal to a male meant in Vulcan culture.
The door chimed letting Archer know he had a visitor, and thought that Burke was improving it only took him a few minutes. "Come."
T'Pol walks in holding the black container. "Your breakfast Captain."
Archer looks at her inquisitively and smirks slightly. "T'Pol are you on kitchen duty this morning?"
T'Pol raised an eyebrow once again. "Chef asked me if I could bring your breakfast since I was in the kitchen asking him a question."
"What question was that Commander?" Archer would switch to her rank when he thought he was approaching personal topics.
"I simply asked if he knew why you were not in the captain's mess." T'Pol handed him his breakfast. "Do you plan on running this evening after dinner Captain or will you be free for lunch?" She didn't know why she asked him that actually she did but wanted to hear Archer's answer.
Archer looked up toward T'Pol and knew she wanted to talk to him. Vulcans did not eat lunch, was it something she needed to tell him. "Do you want to talk T'Pol? I'm here if you want to."
"I wanted to ask you if you felt awkward due to your visit to my home during leave." T'Pol asked as she stood in front of his desk, her hands clasped behind her back. She look at Archer studying him, looking for something.
****Three weeks earlier****
T'Pol looked out of the house her mother had called home before she was forced to hid for her beliefs, before she died. That image was still freshly raw to T'Pol as she also recently lost her daughter. She had been on Vulcan for five weeks and in that time Commander Tucker had tried to contact her twice and the Captain four times. The last time she received a communication from Trip he mentioned that Archer and he had gone climbing near a place called Mexican Hat, Utah in the Valley of the gods. Though the Commander and she had shared a bond brought on by Elizabeth's birth from Terra Prime it faded almost instantly. After the entire Terra Prime fiasco as well as the Last-City colony incident Jonathan Archer had asked for the crew to have leave for three months. He had received the okay for his request almost instantly, perhaps due to the sway he possessed after saving the Earth from the Xindi. However he got the leave for his crew she needed it although she would not openly admit it. There were limits to even a Vulcan's stamina and well-being.
She was lost in thought when she heard the chime sound. It was odd, she expected no one. When she opened the door there he was; her captain, her friend. He stood there with a smile on his face as he simply said "Hello T'Pol how have you been?" He had already started to sweat alittle due to the Vulcan heat.
"What are you doing here Jonathan?" She was unsure how to act. He had thrown her Vulcan demeanor off balance, she did not expect him to be here.
His smile faded and something passed through his eyes she could not read. "Ni'droi'ik nar-tor nash-lafosh." (I am sorry perhaps this was a mistake).
She was stunned momentarily, his pronunciation was slightly less than to be desired but he spoke Vulcan well for a human. "Nirsh-Kah-if-muhl-poprah." (No it is well received) "Kup ska' vo'ek-sfek"(I am just off balance/surprised)."When did you learn Vulcan Captain?"
"I actually learned it some years ago but I have recently taken it back up. It felt the right thing to do ever since Surak's Katra was in my head." Archer answered not sure if it was a good idea he should be here. He should have tried to contact her again before he decided to stop by. He had been on Vulcan for two reasons, the first was taken care of. The second was to see T'Pol, of course that was after he spent the week climbing with Trip on Earth. "I know I mutilated it. It's been years but thank you for being kind."
"I was not being kind Captain, you did well for a human speaking Vulcan." She pauses then invites him into her mother's house. "As I asked before though Jonathan what are you doing here?"
"I was worried about you T'Pol, that and I was in the neighborhood. I had unofficial business and figured I would drop by." Archer stepped into the house staring out over the room then to her. She looked tired but not physically. Her eyes told him she was mentally exhausted and her emotions were close to the surface. He knew that Vulcan's had emotions but learned to control them and not allow those emotions to rule them. It took them centuries but they succeeded. He then remembered what he over heard T'Les; T'Pol's mother, had said to T'Pol before she died. ***I did this for you. It was always hard for you to control your emotions. I am proud of you.***
"Where are you staying while you are on Vulcan Jonathan?" She avoided his comment, because she knew he saw through her. Saw her pain that she had been meditating on for the last five weeks. She had begun to let go of the pain of her mother's death and come to terms with what she felt for her daughter. She had yet to purge her feeling over what happened at the last-of-all-cities.
"At the Earth Embassy. I figured that it would be ..." T'Pol interrupted him "No Jonathan. You will stay here. I have the room in my...,she paused as she stopped herself from saying her mother's,... home."
"I don't want to impose..."Archer began but again is interrupted. "You will not Jonathan. It will help me, I believe I may need your company."
That evening Archer made dinner for T'Pol as it was the guest who made the meals in Vulcan decorum. He had actually made a mollusk dish flavored with Rhombolian butter, the side a plomek salad. He actually did well once again. During dinner T'Pol looked over at Archer and began speaking. It was funny because Vulcan's normally didn't speak during the meal. It was something that she became accustomed to on the Enterprise. The conversation somehow ended on Chef.
"Jonathan I was told that you had to call in favors to get Chef on board. Was that true?"
"Let's say I cashed in most of my favors to get him on board." Archer replies as he begins to clean up the dishes. T'Pol helped him.
"Why was that?" T'Pol was curious now. Archer laughed and just said "Let's say Chef was once more than a cook but he decided that cooking was better than what he did before for starfleet, after he laid hands on an admiral."
T'Pol then remembered earlier that Archer had remarked he knew Vulcan for years but had recently started to relearn it. This intrigued her, "Jonathan you said earlier that you knew how to speak Vulcan but it had been years. How long ago had you learned my language?"
It was a question that Archer knew his T'Pol would ask, her mind was a steel trap after all. "Right now its not important, I'm here for you my friend." He placed his hand on hers and found she did not pull away.
Later that night Jonathan laid in his bed that T'Pol had provided for him. He was not quite asleep yet as he heard a knock at his door. As he turned on the lights T'Pol entered asking him "Jonathan may I share your companionship longer by sleeping in here with you."
Archer looked at her and saw how vulnerable she seemed. He knows she isn't weak or wants someone next to her as she sleeps. She feels lost and probably just needs a friend to reassure her. It sounded odd in his head but he didn't mind her next to him.
"Are you going to steal my blanket again?" Archer smiles thinking of P'Gem in what felt like an eternity as he opens the quilt as an invitation before she could reply to his question he interrupted. "I understand T'Pol. You are more than welcome."
T'Pol rested her head on his chest, with her right hand covering his left pectoral muscle and she did something that she had never did in front of anyone. If it were anyone else beside Jonathan Archer she never would have allowed herself to, she was Vulcan after all. She began to cry, visibly shaking as she shed her emotions letting it all out. Jonathan for his part held her, stroking her short hair not saying anything, just allowing her to do what she was doing. For nearly a week she would come to him and lay on his chest and he would allow her to unload the burden of sadness and turmoil that attacked her Vulcan control each day for months. She would meditate each morning, they ate breakfast, then they would spend the day walking Vulcana Regar or just enjoying each others company. The last night Jonathan was able to stay with T'Pol she was better able to control her emotions. She laid on his chest rubbing her hands on his left pectoral breathing slowly, at ease. Jonathan rubbed her hair and caressed her shoulder, the simple act was intimate but he made no other movement.
"I have to be on the transport back to Earth tomorrow. A Captain's work is never done. Will you be alright?" The question was not rhetorical. He cared more than he would admit aloud about his first officer, like he did on many occasions he suppressed that part of his heart. The problem was his skin was bare as T'Pol lay half on top of him. Vulcan's were tactile telepaths through considerable training was required to utilize this ability to the fullest, simpler contacts did not require any concentration, training or even conscious knowledge of the act. Although Vulcans did not, typically, allow themselves to experience uncontrolled strong emotions, they could sense them in others. T'Pol felt his feeling for her and felt them suppressed. He had done the same thing many times when she felt his touch over the years. She looked up at Jonathan, her captain, her friend, and confidant. T'Pol wanted to tell Archer how she felt but didn't want to embarrass him so she simply looked at him and said "Itar-besh Jonathan." (thankful: aware and appreciative of a benefit)
"For what T'Pol?" He spoke quietly
"For being you," was all she said as she laid her head back down on his chest.