Ok, this isn't as long as the last one, but I doubt any of them will be that length again.
Thanks a million to those who reviewed and to those who are just reading it. I appreciate it so much.
Chapter 7
"Did you enjoy your day?" T'Pol asked as she sat with Trip in the quiet mess hall.
"Yeah, it was really good." Trip nodded, "Saw some sights, and then Shran invited us to stay at his house for dinner. He's a pretty good cook."
"Shran cooked?"
"Apparently he's the only one who can in the house. For some reason he's banned his brother from the kitchen and his sister, apparently she's like all Andorian women."
"How so?"
"She refuses to cook." Trip chuckled, helping himself to some Pecan pie, a late evening snack.
"I see." T'Pol held her mug of camomile tea in her two hands, leaning her elbows on the table. "It would appear that the males of Andoria take on the majority of the housework. According to the Vulcan database at any rate."
"Well sure seemed like Shran knew his way around the kitchen and he… he was really good with the kids."
"Who?"
"His niece and nephew. They were at his house and he, he was good with them." T'Pol couldn't help but notice the way Trip had hesitated both times he'd mentioned the fact.
"Is that not a good thing? He will be well able to care for Soval."
"Yeah. I guess so…"
"Are you alright?" He looked up at her and there was something sad in his blue eyes. She stared back questioningly.
"Yeah. Yeah I'm fine. Just tired. You know, we were walking a good few hours, in and out of shops and around the city."
"Did you get an opportunity to explore the park below? Captain Archer said he wished to take a look at it."
"Uh, no, Shran said it was closed that day because of uh… some of the animals are… it's their mating season. If we gave it three days we could go down and explore it. Apparently there's lots of artwork spread out over the area from the Academy of Art that's in the city."
"I have heard of that Academy. It's highly prestigious."
"Where'd you hear of it? Not something that would be found of the Vulcan database I'm sure."
"When we were visiting a planet, in the Yiridian system. Do you remember?"
"Uh, we went down to explore the market while the captain bartered for supplies."
"Correct. In one of the shops I was examining a sculpture and the owner told me it was from the Acadamy on Andoria. He then told me a little about it. Apparently it is extremely hard to acquire a place at it and produces some of Andoria's greatest artists."
"Did you buy the sculpture?"
"No. I decided it was too… chaotic for my quarters." Trip chuckled in amusement and he saw a small twinkle in her eyes. She was smiling it seemed.
"Fair enough. If you want, maybe we could go down and explore the park together. Just you and me. Phlox would mind Soval I'm sure." He gestured to T'Pol's back where Soval was sleeping in a sling made of the most beautiful blue silk. Shran had given it to Archer before they left, saying that it would probably come in useful for T'Pol. He'd also asked that she be informed of an appointment with a doctor for a paternity test the next day. The blue silk from the front looked like a sash that complemented her teal uniform wonderfully.
"Perhaps Shran would care for him for the day. I wish to ensure that an appropriate bond is formed between them before we have to leave." T'Pol said, before sipping from her mug. Trip frowned in confusion.
"When we leave? Wait, you're gonna let Shran form a bond with Soval and then take off with him?"
"It is the logical course of events. Enterprise will be given an assignment soon enough and we will have to leave. Soval will come with us obviously."
"Yeeeeeeaaaaaah. Uh T'Pol. Did you consider the fact that Shran might not appreciate this?"
"He will understand the requirement that we leave."
"Maybe but I've a feeling that he'll be less understanding once he realises you'll be taking Soval away from him."
"He will not be cut out of his life."
"Yeah…" Trip scratched the back of his head, "I'm not sure that'll be good enough for him."
"I'm not leaving my son behind Trip." The Vulcan's voice had gotten very firm and sharp suddenly. "That is unacceptable."
"Well I'm not saying you should, but you're gonna have a hell of a time convincing Shran to let you take Soval."
"I'm sure we can come to an agreement of some kind."
"Shran's not allowed into space for what? Another half a year? And that's minimum T'Pol. How the heck are you supposed to compromise? Enterprise can't just pop over to Andoria every week so Shran can see his son." T'Pol's face, although it remained expressionless, seemed to tighten. She set down her mug and stood up.
"I have to leave. I must meditate and Soval needs to go to bed."
"T'Pol-"
"Goodnight Trip." She strode out of the room, Soval sleeping still, pressed chest to his mother's back, his little fingers gripping the material. The sash was a simple safety precaution, tying the baby to T'Pol. Trip sighed and rubbed his forehead irritably. He was conflicted. On the one hand, he'd been secretly hoping that Shran would reject Soval, because Trip was willing to try and take the role of being a father to Soval, if it meant he and T'Pol would get back together. The pain of Elizabeth's death had been too raw at first for them to truly get together, even though he was sure they were close to doing so. Now Soval's presence had T'Pol distracted and Shran was apparently not only willing, but eager, to take on the role of being a father. Hell he was damn good at it too, if today was any example. And on the other hand… now that he knew that, he couldn't believe T'Pol would take Soval away from the obviously delighted Andorian. He groaned, his heart and his conscience were against each other. His heart was for T'Pol, but his conscience was on Shran's point of view. He knew how he'd feel if he was separated from Soval like that.
'This could turn into a disaster.' he thought to himself, suddenly not feeling like eating his beloved pie.
The room hadn't changed a bit since he was a child. The same ornaments adorned the desk. The same bed that he was leaning against. The same pictures on the walls. The same floor his sister had bashed his nose into. He decided not mention this to T'Pol who was standing ramrod straight near him, in case she was as uncomfortable with Sakrana as she obviously was with Lissiel. Soval was settled in the sash, which went with her purple uniform quite nicely, at her front, cradled in her arms. Like a present wrapped in silk Shran thought to himself as he admired his little son. A wonderful present. His musings were broken by the door opening and a man stepping inside. Somehow Dr. Asiles hadn't changed a bit either, he looked the same as he had as far back as Shran could remember. Maybe the Doctor was stuck in time because he was set in his ways as he ever had been. In any case he grinned at Shran warmly and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Thy'lek! Good to see you in here uninjured for once."
"No argument from me Doctor. Thank you for seeing us."
"Are you joking? I wouldn't pass up a chance like this. About time you had a child of your own. Although I'm surprised that you didn't come in with your new wife for check ups with me like your siblings." Shran's antennas stood at attention and T'Pol's eyebrows shot up to meet her hairline.
"What? You think we're married? We're not married!" Shran said quite firmly.
"Well how else could this have been achieved?"
"Doctor did Shran not tell you the nature of the situation?" T'Pol asked, sounding a tad stiff.
"Well I didn't make the appointment with him, I made it with the secretary. But I did mention that this was a unique situation."
"You didn't explain it then?"
"T'Pol I've had a hard enough time getting my own head around this, without having to explain it to others."
"Are you sure you're not married? You sound familiar." Dr. Asiles asked, smiling in amusement, although there was still a look of confusion on his face. Shran sighed and rubbed his forehead for a minute.
"Dr, why would I have scheduled a paternity test if I was married to T'Pol?"
"I thought you were here for a check up. That's what my file says."
"Well the file's wrong." Dr. Asiles sighed irritably.
"That damn new secretary, he's useless. Doesn't get anything right. I'm so sorry Thy'lek. Let's start again. You want a paternity test done?"
"Yes. T'Pol says that Soval is my son. I'd like you to confirm it."
"Why do I get the feeling this wasn't your idea? Did Sanakral suggest this?"
"It is frightening how well you know us."
"Not when one considers how often I dealt with your family." Dr. Asiles smiled at T'Pol warmly, "You wouldn't believe the amount of times this one's been in here with something serious." T'Pol looked at Shran who shrugged sheepishly. When it came to being healthy… suffice to say he'd been pretty luckless during his childhood. "Now, I need to just take a sample from the child and then I can compare it with Thy'lek's. If you would just put the child on the bed please." T'Pol looked at Shran who nodded and then she did as the doctor bid. Soval's eyes flew around the new surroundings and kicked his feet out, catching the doctor's wrist as he moved closer. "Spirited little thing isn't he? Reminds me of someone else at that age."
"Now who could that be?" Shran asked, raising an eyebrow and pulling the most innocent face he could muster. Dr. Asiles laughed and Soval looked at him at once at the noise. As soon as the baby was distracted the doctor took a small sample of aquamarine blood. Soval blinked and watched the hypospray pull away from him and then clasped his hands together above his head and wriggled where he lay. Shran chuckled and lifted him up, sitting on the bed as he did.
"This should only take a moment." Dr. Asiles quickly ran the test and Shran found that he was ridged with anticipation. Dr. Asiles looked up from his consol and smiled, "A perfect match. Congratulations Thy'lek." Shran did not care at that moment who saw the massive grin on his face because he was too happy. Holding the baby close and nuzzling the small face with his nose he said softly
"You hear that? You're really mine. How'd you feel about that?" Soval clapped his hands together. "I'll take that as a good sign." He chuckled airily, feeling his own breath rebound back to him from the soft skin of Soval. He forgot about T'Pol or Dr. Asiles, his world seemed to shrink to this baby and himself. His baby. His son. His little miracle if one wanted to get sentimental.
T'Pol watched the small scene before her and felt slightly touched at the open delight on Shran's face. She'd have never expected such a display from the gruff, aggressive commander she was used to. It just showed how much people could surprise you. Dr. Asiles came up beside her and, quietly so as not to disturb father and child said,
"Would you mind if I had a sample of your blood as well, for medical reasons."
"Of course not." She offered her arm slightly to the Andorian doctor and watched as a small amount of blood entered the vial.
"I will admit I always had a fascination with other species biology. However I felt I'd be better off being a family doctor."
"Well you won't hear me complaining." Shran said, still beaming, his antennas wriggling in glee.
"For once." Dr. Asiles smirked. Shran returned his attention to Soval. "May I run a few scans of the baby?"
"Sure." The doctor retrieved a scanner and ran it over the baby as Shran held him out. When he was done he studied the results on his consol.
"Intriguing." Shran grimaced.
"I hate that word. It always ends with more injections."
"Only for you Thy'lek."
"Exactly. I'm in the room aren't I?" Dr. Asiles chuckled and shook his head. He looked at them and said,
"Soval seems to have a very unique circulatory system."
"How so?" Dr. Asiles turned his consol and displayed a picture of Soval's insides. "His heart is divided into three parts, like an Andorian, but they're in the wrong places. Look. See there's his relmna." He pointed to the largest of the three chambers, it was located near where T'Pol knew a Vulcan heart would be located.
"Where would that normally be?" she asked,
"Right around here." The doctor touched his own chest on the right side, a little lower than where a human heart would be on the left. "And his munji is here. It's nestled right between his liver and his stomach." He pointed to the smallest one as he pointed it out. "That's normally much lower down, closer to the hip. It's actually much safer where it is in your son. The munji is the one that is the most likely one that needs to be replaced through surgery." Here he looked at Shran accusingly, who in turn looked incredulous.
"What? I've never had a heart chamber transplant."
"No, you've just come deathly close twice."
"Hey! First of all neither incident was my fault and second of all I'll thank you not to go snooping into my Guardsman Medical Records." Shran huffed as if insulted. Dr. Asiles shook his head and then shrugged.
"The last chamber, the hesanc is in a very odd place. It's here." He pointed at Soval's right side, right in the middle of his torso.
"I thought the hesanc was on the left?"
"It is in a full blooded Andorian and I'm at a loss as to explain why its there in a child who's mother has her heart as one mass of chambers in the middle of her body. The bizarre things genetics can do eh?" Shran nodded,
"Lissiel's a perfect example of that." The doctor shook his head in amusement. Shran then frowned thoughtfully, "Does he have a redundant circulatory system?"
"He seems to, if, for whatever reason, blood doesn't flow through his veins it should seep into his tissues and prevent any kind of limb stiffness, or freezing in cold temperatures."
"And anti-freeze? It's in his blood isn't it?"
"Not as much as would be typical for an Andorian, but there is enough to help keep from freezing in fairly cold temperatures."
"Good." Shran felt fairly satisfied by that. Dr. Asiles pursed his lips and Shran sighed, knowing the doctor had something else to add. "What?"
"Just be careful of his diet when it comes to minerals. He's got an unusual mixture of cobalt and copper, which is why his blood is the colour it is. Now I doubt this will ever cause him any difficulty if there was no issues with it in the pregnancy, if there was a chance that the two couldn't be sustained together in the amounts they are in a lifeform he wouldn't be in your arms any more. Can you tell me if there were any problems during the pregnancy?" T'Pol stiffened and Shran sighed.
"I'm afraid I cannot because I was not the one who was pregnant."
"I don't understand." T'Pol shared a look with Shran who shrugged. She drew in a breath and briefly explained the circumstances. Needless to say the doctor was staggered by the story. "Well that would explain the mental damage I was picking up."
"Damage?" T'Pol repeated, her voice rising a notch.
"It's caused by severe trauma, such as the loss of a parent. However, it can repair itself over time provided that they form a bond with someone. I can assume you'll both do that?"
"Do you even need to ask Doctor?" Shran asked as he let Soval climb around on his back, clutching with his little hands to the brown shirt he was wearing.
"I suppose I don't with you." Dr. Asiles admitted with a chuckle.
"I will also form a bond with my son." T'Pol said, putting a strong emphasise on the word 'my'. Shran's eyes narrowed very slightly but then relaxed again.
"Well good, the best way to do that is to spend time with him and establish yourselves as his parents. If you have an issues, you know how to find me." There was humour in his voice at the last bit. Shran groaned,
"Alright how often am I going to have to apologise for that?"
"Until you pay me back for making me cancel my family holiday."
"I was seven! It wasn't my fault I got sick!"
"You still owe me."
"Oh fine! I'll pay you back."
"Good. I've overdue for a break anyway."
"Trust me, more trouble than it's worth."
"You're just irritated that you're out of all the action." Shran raised an eyebrow at the teasing Andorian and then said,
"Well I won't deny that." He glanced at T'Pol and then back to the Doctor. "Well we'd better go. Thanks doctor."
"My pleasure Thy'lek and I hope to see this little one again, in good health of course."
"I'm sure you will."
"Thank you for your time." T'Pol said and they both left, overhearing as they did, Dr. Asiles scolding his new secretary.
"I miss the old one." Shran muttered, more to himself. "He always talked to me when I went in to see the doctor."
"Things never remain the same." T'Pol said softly. Shran looked at her and then bobbed his head slightly, before looking over his shoulder at Soval who gave him a gummy grin.
"I guess they don't."
Oh dear… where oh where will this go? Stay tuned and find out, ;)
Night's Darkness
