Author's Note: Please see previous notes. Our story continues a few episodes after Twilight with residual memories continuing to surface and play with everyone's lives. We're still planet-side and continuing from the last chapter in this one. Don't expect all the chapters to be continuations, but in this case it worked. Sorry for the long break! Let me know what you think! Enjoy!

XXX

Anna Hess woke in a room by herself. She had woken several times throughout the night, mostly to the Captain's snoring. It was 06:00 and she could hear he streets around her bustling with busyness. She was full clothed and alone so there was no reason to be shy about the fact that she had just slept with the Captain. The Captain! Not that they slept together, not in the intimate sense, but they had slept, his snoring a testament to that. She hadn't slept with a man, just slept, since her divorce. It was unnervingly more intimate then the sexual encounters she'd had, how few they were, since her divorce.

She rose and looked down at the pulled up quilt on his side of the bed, a futile attempt at making the bed when another person was still asleep in it. The pillow he'd slept and snored on still bore the indentation from his head. They hadn't touched, not to her knowledge, at all throughout the night. She had slept as close to her edge as possible, her back to him. And he had laid on his back, his body not moving except the rise and fall of his chest, the entire night. She knew he was there, probably 10 cm away from her, but she tried to keep that thought out of her head.

And why, oh god why, had she asked him what he was looking for in a woman and the protocols around his romantic life? She had been interested, but it was not the time or the place to ask such intimate questions. She was lucky he didn't cite her for insubordination as she had veered into that territory.

Anna needed to get her head together. She had been feeling unnaturally close to the Captain and she needed to stop whatever unlikely fantasy was building in her head. He was her Captain! He was just being nice to her because of the Leadership Programme. And, because he was a nice individual who only wanted the best for her. That was all!

Anna walked toward the mirror and looked at her dishevelled appearance. She didn't have a comb or any toiletries on her, but there was a was basin and soap, she could, at least, get clean. She washed her face and neck and instantly felt better. Anna then loosened her top and quickly washed under her arms and her breasts, feeling the relief of temporary freshness. She had just done up her blouse when Jon walked into the room.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said as he lowered his head and started to back out of the room.

"No! I'm clothed," Anna said as she reached for his arm to stop his backwards motion. "I'm done."

"Oh, uh…" Jon stammered, caught by her hand holding him in place.

"Where'd you go?" Anna asked, as she let go of his arm and placed the cloth she'd been holding in her other hand over the edge of the wash basin.

"I went to, uh, use the facilities and see when breakfast was being served," Jon said, shyly.

"I'm starving," Anna admitted.

"Well, you're lucky," Jon chuckled. "They're serving something that smells amazing."

"Ready to eat or do you need to…" Anna said as she gestured toward the basin. "Oh, I'm sorry, I should get fresh…"

"I'm fine," Jon said dismissively. "I washed up downstairs and will clean up some more after breakfast."

"Oh, okay, uh…"

"Let's just go eat," Jon said as he gestured for her to go ahead of him and downstairs.

Anna nodded and walked on.

XXXX

Trip Tucker woke to people in his room, people he didn't know.

"Good morning?" He asked as he sat up slightly in bed.

"Good morning," two young women said in unison as they placed buckets into the tub and scooped out the water before leaving.

Trip sat up some more and looked around, discovering he was in bed alone and T'Pol was nowhere to be found.

He quickly rose, pulled on some pants and went to shut the door so their room wasn't wide open to the people walking past. He looked around for signs of T'Pol but noted her clothes were gone, as were her shoes and the satchel she carried. Wiping his face with his hands he sighed heavily.

They had slept together last night, in the biblical sense, and he was sure T'Pol was going to pretend it didn't happen, possibly regret it did. The fact that she had left so early and not said a word to him was a sure sign that denial was going to be her 'go to' in this situation.

The door opened again, and the two young women re-appeared with buckets.

"Oh, sorry," the blonde one said. "We'll be out of your way after this."

Trip looked at them gathering the last of the water in their buckets and walked back toward the bed to pull on the rest of his clothes.

Then a large man appeared and with just a grunt, picked up the tub, hauled it over his shoulders and walked out of the room followed by the two women with buckets, again, leaving the door wide open.

"Doesn't anyone know how to shut a door?" Trip asked himself as he did up his shirt and walked toward the open door. He slammed it shut and it opened almost immediately.

"What the..?" Trip started before he noted the T'Pol was the one walking inside.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know you were…"

"Coming back?" T'Pol supplied.

"Right there," Trip clarified.

"I was returning from the Inn where the Captain is staying," T'Pol said. "They will serve us breakfast so we don't have to eat here."

"Thank god," Trip sighed as he watched her for any sign of acknowledgement of what had happened between the two of them last night. "Let me just get my coat and boots on."

T'Pol nodded and walked toward the window that looked out onto a back alley. Three men were loading sacks of something into a wagon.

Trip sat heavily on the bed and pulled boots onto feet that were not so keen on the idea and the rose to slip into his leather jacket. T'Pol turned to face him and, picking up his hat, walked toward him with it.

"You're hat," she said as she handed it to him.

"Thanks," Trip smiled down at her uneasily. "Look, T'Pol…"

"We better go if we want to eat with the Captain and Lt Hess and plot our next course of action," T'Pol said as he turned on her heel and walked from the room.

Trip rubbed at his jaw, it was exactly as he'd predicted; she was denying it ever happened. He took a deep breath and walked after her quickly, trying to catch up and, hopefully, talk before they sat down to eat.

He finally caught up with her on the porch of the saloon.

"T'Pol, wait!" Trip called. She stopped immediately and turned to face him, confused. "Don't you think we should talk about last night?"

"Our sexual encounter?" T'Pol asked as she stepped toward him slightly.

"Yeah, that," Trip said, surprised she was so forthright.

"What about it?" T'Pol inquired.

Trip knitted his eyebrows together. "Well, I guess, if you're okay with it in the light of day or…"

"Why wouldn't I be?" T'Pol asked.

"Uh, I don't know," Trip stammered, he'd really been caught off guard by her reaction.

"It was enjoyable and satisfying for me, was it for you?" T'Pol asked.

"Yeah, it was satisfying," Trip chuckled.

They stood looking at each other for a minute, saying nothing.

"You're really not going to deny or make excuses or…?"

"Why would I?" T'Pol said.

Trip huffed and placed his hands on his hips. "I just thought you would."

"We engaged in sexual activity that was highly satisfying," T'Pol said clearly. "If you would like to report me for inappropriate behaviour on a mission…"

"No!" Trip scoffed. "It's not that. I wanted it as much as you did."

"Then, what is the problem?" T'Pol asked.

Trip rubbed at his chin and shook his head.

"I guess we don't have one," Trip surmised.

"Can we join the Captain and Lt Hess now?" T'Pol asked.

"Yeah, I guess," Trip said.

They started to walk toward the Inn, avoiding the busy people, the wagons and the horses. Just as they got to the steps of the Inn Trip grabbed her arm and halted her.

"Was last night, was it a one-time thing or…?"

"Would you like it to discontinue?" T'Pol asked.

Trip smiled broadly. "I would not."

"Neither would I," T'Pol said simply.

Trip let go of her arm and watched her hitch up her skirts slightly and climb the stairs inside.

"Well, I'll be damned," Trip muttered to himself before he followed her inside.

XXX

TBC