Author: hotpink
E-mail: hotpinkdragoness@hotmail.com
Rating: R
Pairing: Archer/T'Pol romance.
Summary: Archer helps T'Pol in a time of need. But unexpected outcomes arise, and the two learn the limitations cultures and time place upon people.
Chapter 1
After a restless night, she awoke and felt the burning dancing along the edges of her nerves. She knew it was only an echo of the real pain, a faint promise of what was to come. By the time she had prepared herself for the day, it had almost faded completely away, to a memory she could deny, if she so wished.
But logic prevented her from escaping into denial. It would only return, stronger and more urgent, the longer she waited. Denial would only decrease the time she had to make her own decisions about her actions, would only put her future, her health, and her life, into the hands of others.
That was unacceptable.
When she entered the bridge, few crew members sat at their stations. Ensign Sato was listening to recordings of a guttural and harsh language, occasionally echoing an interesting phoneme back at the computer. Ensign Mayweather was making adjustments at his station, stifling yawns against the back of his hand.
She approached Hoshi, quietly standing next to her station until the young woman noticed her.
"Sub-commander! Um ... hold on a second ..." She flipped a couple of switches and the computer's playback ceased. "What can I do for you?"
"Ensign, have you had any recent indications that any Vulcan ships are in the area?"
"None that have been reported to us, or have spoken to us." She responded. "It's been pretty quiet out there."
"Then can you transmit this message to Vulcan for me? It is personal, but of a rather urgent nature." She handed Hoshi a pad containing her encoded message, ignoring the woman's look of inquisitive surprise.
"I can't send it directly to Vulcan from this distance, but can send it to Starfleet via our subspace buoys and have them relay the message for you. It shouldn't take too long. I'll make sure they know it is urgent."
"Thank you." She should have known that transmitting outside of their network of Starfleet relays would be difficult, but had forgotten in her distraction. Transmitting via regulation channels would not take much longer, but a slight sense of fear and annoyance teased at her control. She repressed it firmly, reminding herself that she should have some time before worry was necessary.
Her control reestablished, she exited the bridge and took the lift to the level of the mess hall. The captain and Tucker would still be at breakfast in the captain's dining area, and she found eating with only the two of them present to be more pleasant than eating in the mess area itself. She had a vague idea of what to expect from the two of them, and had learned acceptable ways to react to both Tucker's and Archer's quirks.
During her time onboard the Enterprise, it had become easier to interact with the two of them, to participate in the conversations that humans believed were necessary to everyday life. Captain Archer had also learned how to understand what she said, and to not react hastily if he found her opinions or analysis upsetting. Today, concerned that her patience and ability to deal with humans might not be the greatest, the idea of sitting down to a meal with two people she could anticipate, rather than a room full of people she could not, was rather appealing.