This is part of my series of oneshots "The Dirt In Which Our Roots May Grow", they occur in no particular order and are mostly fluff related.
Italics in speech mean Vulcan is being spoken.
Let the years we're here be kind, be kind.
Let our hearts, like doors, open wide, open wide.
Settle our bones like wood over time, over time.
Give us bread, give us salt, give us wine.
"North" (Atlas: Year One) Sleeping At Last
T'Pol pushes open the gate and is immediately greeted by a shriek of 'Momma!' and her daughter launching herself into her legs. She reaches down and picks up Elizabeth, brushing her dark hair back.
"Hello little one." T'Pol says, looking the three-year-old over. "Where's your father?"
"Daddy's in the house." Elizabeth says, grinning at T'Pol, blue eyes shining. "He's getting me juice."
"Is he? Well perhaps we should go find him." T'Pol walks up to the house and pushes open the door, Trip is standing in the kitchen with a sippy cup of juice, digging through a drawer for the lid. "Trip?"
Trip turns and smiles at her. "You're home early." He says. "You don't happen to know where the sippy cup lids are, do you?"
"I wasn't feeling well, I left after I finished the last calculation." Usually she stays another few hours to continue her own research after her last class is over, today however she's felt under the weather since she woke and decided to come home early. "You're the one who puts them away, I don't know where they are."
"Yeah but I always – there's one." He grins, pulling out a pink lid triumphantly. "Here ya go princess." He hands it to Elizabeth. "How about you go play in the yard so I can talk to your Momma?"
"Okay!" Elizabeth grins, T'Pol reaches back, opens the door for her and watches her go back to the pile of rocks she'd been playing with.
"Not feelin' good huh?" Trip raises his eyebrows. "Do you think… well you know?" He says it like he's trying not to hope what they're both thinking.
"I doubt it, we've only been trying a few months." A few months ago they'd decided to start trying to have a baby, their first child naturally conceived – if they can conceive naturally, which T'Pol wasn't sure they'd be able to do. Just before they'd left Enterprise a few months ago she'd spoken to Phlox, according to him conceiving wouldn't be easy, he'd said that even if she was with another Vulcan she would likely struggle to conceive. For her and Trip to get pregnant this quickly is more then she'll let herself hope for.
"Wouldn't hurt to check though…" Trip says, a small smile growing on his face.
"No I suppose it wouldn't, I picked up a test on the way home, if you don't mind distracting our daughter a while longer I'll take it and be back in ten minutes." She says, he kisses her and goes out into the courtyard with Elizabeth.
Ten minutes later T'Pol finds herself strangely disappointed with the negative result, she didn't really expect a positive one but she had allowed herself to get illogically hopeful. She tosses the test in the garbage and goes out to the garden.
"So?" Trip asks as they watch Lizzie climb on the birth stone.
"Negative, I admit I'd allowed myself to get hopeful…" She sighs.
"That's okay." Trip says, putting an arm around her. "We'll get there, come on, I'll go start on dinner."
That evening after Elizabeth is safely tucked in their bed T'Pol settles on the couch with her tea and book, the windows are open allowing the cool night breeze to blow in. Trip sits down next to her with his PADD and takes her hand, it's a small gesture but one she returns with a squeeze.
"We don't have to keep trying you know." Trip says quietly.
T'Pol looks up from her book. "Do you not want another child?"
"I do, but I don't want to upset you, we knew this could be a long road and it won't be an easy one…" He says, looking over at her, a worried expression on his face. "And don't say it won't be an emotional one because it will, I know it will."
With anyone else she may have argued but she knows Trip won't buy it, he knows her too well. "I know what this means, but I would like another child and I do wish to keep trying." She says.
He smiles, his big happy grin that she used to find irritating but she now loves it. "Then we will, we'll keep trying to have another baby." He leans over and kisses her cheek. "I love you."
She squeezes his hand again, knowing he'll understand what she means without having to say it. Before returning to her book she looks out at the garden for a moment, wondering how much longer before two sets of tiny feet and two little Vulcan voices can be heard.