A/N Sorry it has taken so long for this chapter - real life got in the way.
Thanks for all my reveiwers and thanks to my wonderful beta Plumtuckered.
Chapter Nine
The next morning, T'Pol walked into the captain's quarters carrying a padd that contained a report of the day's activities and sensor readings. She looked around his quarters but he didn't seem to be around. strange she thought, I could have sworn he buzzed me to enter.
Suddenly Captain Archer came out of his bathroom with Trip. "T'Pol, what can I do for you?"
T'Pol just arched her eyebrow at the sight of her two fellow officers standing there with nothing but towels around their waists.
"Sorry," replied Archer with a smile on his face, "I was helping Trip to get washed; it just seemed easier to climb in the shower with him. I heard you buzz when I was getting some towels."
"T'Pol!", shouted Trip with a knowing smile, "Do ya wanna come and have a shower with us? The cap'n's gonna teach me some 'shower songs'."
"Shower songs?" replied T'Pol, ignoring the first half of the comment.
"Yeah there's one about a woman from Venus....."
"I don't think T'Pol wants to hear that, Trip," chuckled Archer, and then with a wink and a deepening of his voice, "Remember, you have to be a man to sing those."
"Ooops I forgot," giggled Trip, then copying Archer with a wink and a deepening of his voice, "Sorry T'Pol ya not a man, ya wouldn't understand them."
T'Pol just rolled her eyes at the pair of them, "I have brought you the daily activity report and scans of nearby systems, Captain."
"Anything interesting we should know about?" answered Archer, who was busy rubbing Trip's back, chest and hair dry.
"There is an M class planet within the nearby system which looks interesting."
"A new planet?" asked Trip as his eyes lit up.
"How long will it take us to reach it?" asked Captain Archer.
"About 20 hours."
"I think it's time to take a detour, T'Pol. I promised Trip a pirate adventure next time we came across a new world."
"Are ya coming as well, T'Pol?" asked Trip, , "Ya know we can't go on any adventures without Tinkerbelle to protect us."
"I am not Tinkerbelle."
"Sorry I forgot. Ya don't want anyone to know ya secret," replied Trip quietly, then looking at her with a pair of big blue eyes, "Please T'Pol, I wanna go on an adventure with ma best friends, you and Cap'n Hook."
"Alright," said T'Pol, feeling a strange feeling of pleasure at being considered Trip's best friend. "You will most likely need someone responsible to keep you and the captain out of trouble."
"Yeaaaahh!" cried Trip as he came up and gave T'Pol a big hug.
"Why don't we go and get dressed, Trip?" laughed Archer, as he saw T'Pol looking slightly uncomfortable at being hugged by a semi-naked man in the company of her captain. "We've got an important meeting in cargo bay one with a football."
"Okay, see ya T'Pol."
"I'll see you later, Captain..... Trip," replied T'Pol as she turned and walked through the door.
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It had been an exhausting morning, first playing catch with Captain Archer then helping Phlox feed his animals. After dinner, Hoshi came round to help Trip with his reading. As Trip was behaving like a four year old, Hoshi brought along some easy books to start him off with.
"Which one would you like to read first? I've brought a selection that you might like."
"Do you have the Martian machines?"
"Martian machines?" replied a puzzled Hoshi.
"Yeah, it's the one where the Martian machines come down to earth. They have three legs, three different coloured eyes and they fire laser beams. They start attacking about chapter ten, I think. It's really cool; they gang up and blow up all the towns and cities trying to wipe everyone out. Everyone thinks they are going to succeed but in the end they are stopped by a tiny little germ."
"Do you mean War of the Worlds?" asked a surprised Hoshi, as she thought that book would have been a bit grown up for a four year to understand.
"Yeah, it's my favourite. I was reading it with my mom." Biting his lip, Trip suddenly went quiet as if he was thinking about something really important. "Do you think she would mind that you're reading the story with me and not her?"
"No, I don't think she would mind one bit."
"Do you think she is wondering where I am?"
"I'm sure the captain would have explained to her before hand that he was taking you on an adventure and that you would be back soon."
"The captain and T'Pol are really nice and fun to be with, but I still miss ma mom and dad. Does that mean I'm bad?
"Certainly not," smiled Hoshi. "No one could replace your parents. I still miss mine and I've been on this ship for three years. I think they would be glad that you're still thinking about them, even while you're here and they're at home. Here, I've found it, shall I begin reading and then you can help me?"
Trip nodded his head and settled himself down on the floor on a cushion.
----"HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA - "Yet across an immense ethereal gulf, minds that are to our minds as ours are to the beasts in the jungle, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us......"----
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Later that evening T'Pol came into the captain's quarters to spend some time with Trip. Since Captain Archer had a lot of work to catch up on, they had arranged between them to share the responsibility of looking after him. Most of the crew in fact had offered their help and chipped in when they could; Travis, Hoshi and even Malcolm had offered to play football with him.
Trip was relaxing in his bed waiting for T'Pol to come and read to him. Snuggled up to him real close was a tatty old teddy bear called Miko, which Hoshi had given him earlier to help him sleep. As Trip held Miko close, he thought about the trip to the planet tomorrow. As much as he was looking forward to this, he was also scared at the same time.
"Trip, I'm sorry I'm late for our reading," said T'Pol as she stepped into the room.
"It's okay," replied Trip trying to put a brave smile on his face. T'Pol could see that something was bothering him, but she decided not to press the issue at the moment.
"Would you like me to read some more about Surak, a little Vulcan boy who grew up to be a great king?"
Trip nodded his head.
"If you and Miko are settled, I will begin......."
Thirty minutes later, T'Pol closed the book, "We will read some more about Surak tomorrow, it is time for you to go to sleep."
"Why do Surak not want anyone to be happy, angry, laugh or cry? Was he mean?"
"No, he was not mean," explained T'Pol. "Surak believed that if his people laughed or cried too much, it would be bad for them and they would get sick."
"But how could they let you know if they were happy or sad?"
"There are other ways of letting people know if you are happy or sad other than laughing or crying."
"What are they?"
T'Pol thought for a minute. She certainly hadn't expected these kinds of questions, "Talking, meditating, singing, playing the lute......."
"What's a lute?" interrupted Trip.
"It is a musical instrument."
"Have you got one?"
"Yes."
"Can you play it?"
"Yes, but I am not very good."
"Can you play it for me?"
"Maybe tomorrow, it is time for you to go to sleep," replied T'Pol as she stood up, reaching over to turn off the light. "Goodnight, Trip."
"T'Pol...?"
"Yes, Trip?"
"Don't go!"
"Is there a problem?"
"I can't sleep, there's a monster in ma room," said Trip, nervously looking around with his eyes. This was only a half truth.
"I will go and get a scanner and search the room. You will be able to see that there isn't anything here," replied T'Pol. She quickly walked next door to retrieve a hand scanner. When she returned, she scanned the whole room, making sure that Trip could see the results.
"As I said, there is nothing here."
"What about outside the window?"
T'Pol stood up and walked over to the comm... "T'Pol to Lieutenant Reed......."
"Reed......"
"Lieutenant, could you do a scan of the surrounding area?"
"What would you like me to scan for, Sub-commander?"
"Monsters."
"Excuse me, Sub-commander....... did you...... just say......... monsters?"
"Yes."
"Errrrrmmmm okay........... Would you like me to scan for any particular type?"
"No."
"......... There is nothing outside, Sub-commander."
"Thank you Lieutenant....." replied T'Pol as she closed the comm. and turned to Trip. "Will there be anything else?"
Trip bit his lower lip and shook his head. T'Pol knew there was something on his mind, so she decided to press on further.
"Is there something you would like to ask me?"
Trip nodded.
"What would you like to know?"
"Was Surak ever scared?"
"Yes I believe so.... There is nothing wrong with being scared."
"How did he let people know he was scared if he couldn't show it?"
"He talked about any problem with his friends...... is there something bothering you?"
Trip thought this through for a minute then asked, "Will there.....be any monsters..... on the planet?"
"There may be some wild animals indigenous to the planet but I can not be certain at the present time," said T'Pol trying to reassure him. "Why would you presume that?"
"Indig.....us," struggled Trip, as he tried to say the word, wondering what it meant.
"Indigenous..... it means originating and living or growing in an area or environment."
"I was thinking about the Martian Machines that Hoshi read to me. I was wondering if this planet was theirs. I really want to go down their, but I won't want to upset them or make them so angry and cross that they want to go and attack us."
T'Pol thought for a minute, it was obvious that she was going to have to have a word with Ensign Sato about suitable reading material. "Trip...... I believe you know my true identity."
Trip nodded his head, "I haven't told anyone."
"Thank you, I appreciate that..... Tinkerbelle was Peter Pan's best friend; she kept him out of trouble and was always there if he needed her, correct?"
"Yes."
"You said before that I am your best friend...."
Trip nodded his head again at this statement.
"Since you already know that Tinkerbelle is loyal to her friends, it is logical to conclude that I will also protect you and prevent any harm from coming to you. With regards to the Martians, they possessed advanced technology to make their machines which they used to attack. If this was their planet, we would have been able to detect their technology by now. This isn't the case, so we can therefore conclude that it isn't their home world."
Trip thought about this for a moment then smiled and settled down under the covers.
"Goodnight Trip, sleep well."
"Night, T'Pol."
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The excert from the story that Hoshi is reading to Trip comes from 'The War of the Worlds'.
