Set in Stone
By Thalia Drogna, based on a synopsis from Softyfluff
Chapter 11
AN: Last chapter folks. Apparently something funny has been going on with new chapters appearing, hopefully it's sorted itself out now.
Trip was in darkness. He was in a room that was slowly filling with cold, black water. He had to keep himself afloat and working to do that was making him tired. So far he hadn't managed to find a way out of the room. Trip could almost feel the water soaking his clothes, but he knew it was only his well developed imagination that was placing the sensations and visions in his mind. The sound of water lapping against the sides of the room could be heard in the background and he wondered what part of his psyche had dredged up this dreary place.
He vaguely heard Archer trying to talk to him but it was a long way off. He was remembering past events and each one reminded him just how unhappy he had been these past few weeks. His own Captain had made it very clear that he didn't value his opinion or even his life when compared to the overall mission. If the mission had been life or death then he would have understood, but, until they got to the planet, it had been nothing more than a first contact situation. It was the lack of trust that had hurt him the most. He couldn't continue to work in circumstances like this.
The blackness continued and the water kept rising. Every so often he would hear far away voices and try to reply but it didn't seem to be working. His energy was ebbing away and he didn't know if he could keep fighting to stay on the surface much longer, or even if he had a reason to. Finally he gave in and started the process of drowning in earnest.
"Trip?" said a small, far away, voice. He almost didn't hear it at first, but it was enough to get his attention and make him scramble back to the surface.
It got louder and eventually he couldn't ignore it. "Trip?"
"Yes, what?" Trip asked irritably.
"Trip, it's Xy'an." The face of the Thaisen girl appeared in front of him out of the darkness.
"Xy'an!" said Trip in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Our telepathic connection is still functioning," said Xy'an, "although I need more effort to reach you in this unconscious state."
"Are the other kids safe?"
"Yes, we are all safe. You saved us. Now I am returning the favour."
"I don't need saving," said Trip.
Another face appeared beside Xy'an's. This time it was Captain Archer's.
"Especially not by you," added Trip, for the new face's benefit. "I'm in a god damn coma, you'd think I could get some peace."
The faces added bodies to themselves and all three of them now swam in the water. Somehow a little of the water had drained from the room since Xy'an had arrived and Trip could put his feet on the floor once again.
Archer scanned his surroundings with trepidation. "Trip, we need you to come back to us."
"I don't want to talk to you. How are you even doing this?" Trip shivered. His clothes were soaked and the room was freezing cold.
"Xy'an helped me make a connection through her, after I achieved the proper mental state," replied Archer.
"Proper mental state?" asked Trip. He noted that Xy'an was sort of fading into the background as he and Archer talked. She didn't seem to want to be part of this conversation, but then again maybe she just didn't want to stay in this miserable place.
"When Xy'an first made contact with you it was after the attack by the raiders. You worked three straight days and then…"
"I took a dose of Phlox's stimulants," finished Trip, with a guilty shake of his head. He looked up at Archer. "You didn't…"
Archer nodded. "It was the only way."
"Do you realise just how stupid that was?"
"Look who's talking."
"I didn't have any choice!" shouted Trip.
"Neither did I!" Archer shouted back. "You don't have the monopoly on stupid stunts. At least I had medical supervision."
"Well you wasted your time, I still don't want to talk to you."
"Then why don't you try listening to me instead," said Archer. "In the cave you said that we needed to talk. What's changed?"
"I guess I thought that I was going to make it and that there was some point to us patching things up. I'm tired, Captain and I really don't have the energy for this. You know, I guess I've finally had enough. My best friend doesn't trust my judgement anymore, the closest thing that I have to a girlfriend has…" Trip searched for some way of describing what had happened between himself and T'Pol, "…got religion. And, even if I wake up, I've got a long, painful recovery ahead of me. Again. Remember the heatstroke, brain injury, radiation poisoning…"
The water was rising again and up to Trip's neck now.
"I know you've been through a lot these past few years, but that's not an excuse to give up on your life. I'm not saying that it won't be tough but we'll all be there to help you through your recovery." Archer appeared to be genuine about this, but Trip still wasn't convinced.
"Yeah, well you haven't been there for me much lately. It took us being trapped in a cave-in to get you to start talking to me and even then it was mostly to humour me. How am I supposed to function as Chief Engineer if you don't take what I say seriously?"
Trip couldn't keep his feet on the floor any longer and keep his head above water. He began swimming and a few seconds later Archer joined him.
"I've spent the past two days in Engineering helping Kaspera out with the repairs. I know what things have been like down there. Believe me when I say that from now on I will take what you say very seriously and I apologise for ever giving you the impression otherwise." Archer got a mouthful of water as he said this and had to spit it out before he could continue. "I promise that things will be different from now on."
"Really?" Trip asked sarcastically. "And in a few weeks, when this is all forgotten, we'll be back to the way things were before. You'll be telling me we need to get somewhere fast and ignoring my advice all over again. Do I have to remind you that Anna Hess nearly died because you didn't listen to me?" The swimming was making him tired again and he was breathing heavily. In contrast, Archer didn't even seem to have noticed the physical exertion.
"You don't have to remind me. Don't you think I realise now that I should have paid more attention to what you were saying? Taken more notice of the number of people you had off sick? I made mistakes, Trip, and as Captain of Enterprise that's something I'm not allowed to do, because when I make mistakes people get hurt. I've got a crew of good people and if I listen to their advice and let them do their jobs then there's a good chance that I'll make the right decisions. That's why when I say things will be different, it's true. What do I have to say to get you to trust me on this?"
"I guess trust is what it comes down to," said Trip, tiredly. He really didn't know how much longer he could continue this swimming.
"You didn't trust me either. I would have helped you free the Thaisen if I'd known about them."
Trip shook his head. "Maybe I should have come to you when I first started having the dreams. I knew there was something weird about them but you were so busy with this trade mission and I was trying to hold the ship together. I just never found the time and I guess I figured that you wouldn't understand anyway. I tried talking to T'Pol and Malcolm but they didn't seem to think there was anything in it."
"I've had my fair share of weird dreams, and some of them have turned out to be more than just dreams," said Archer. "I'm sorry that you didn't feel you could come to me to talk about it and I know that I've let this mission become more important than it should have been. The Expanse changed more about me than I like to admit and I know I've been pushing my friends away. I said this to you a few days ago but I don't know if you heard me because, well, you were in a coma."
"I'm still in a coma," Trip pointed out.
"Yes, I know, but what I'm trying to say is that you mean a lot to me and I need you to come back. I know what you went through to keep this ship together and I don't want you to ever have to do that again. You shouldn't have to, if I'm doing my job properly. I've abused our friendship and I'm sorry."
"You can be as sorry as you like, but I've got no proof you really want things to change."
"I have no choice but to change. If I don't then the whole ship suffers. A captain is only as good as the staff under him and you're a fine Chief Engineer, Trip." Archer paused, finally settling on the one thing that Trip couldn't contest. "This telepathic bridge has to work both ways. You've got to know that I mean what I say."
Trip cocked his head to one side and gave Archer a long scrutinising look. He reached out probing thoughts and found genuine intention to change in return. He was surprised to feel respect and friendship radiating from the form of his Captain, and at the centre of it all was a small hard nucleus of trust in him and his abilities. There was no way Archer could have faked this.
Trip took in a deep breath. "Yeah, I guess I do know now." He looked around himself at the metal box his mind had put them in and realised that he had no idea what to do now that he actually wanted to leave. "So how do I get out of this place?"
"To be honest, I don't know. It's your mind," replied Archer. "All I can tell you is that you need to keep fighting."
"I'm not sure I can," said Trip. It was as if he could feel his body in the real world shutting down around him. He was finding it harder and harder to keep his head above the water. Suddenly his head slipped beneath the surface and he took in a lungful of cold water. He could vaguely hear Archer shouting his name as he sank further under. Then just as quickly as he'd gone under, he was being pulled back up to the surface. He came up spluttering and coughing, with Archer holding him up.
"Trip! Listen to me. You have to fight," said Archer, sounding more worried and anxious than Trip had ever heard him sound before. He was limp in Archer's arms and still coughing up water, unable to hold himself up and his strength almost gone. "Trip, you are not allowed to die, do you hear me?"
"I don't think I can do this," replied Trip, between coughs. "I'm just too tired to fight, Captain."
"God damn it, do I have to make it an order? You are not allowed to die, Commander. I didn't go through all this for you to give up now."
Trip pushed wet hair out of his eyes. "You might as well leave. It's too late to save me."
"I'm not going anywhere, Trip. This is your mind. You can control what happens here."
Trip shook his head. "It's just reflecting what's happening to my body."
"No, you just need to start fighting again. This water isn't really here. You're not in this room, you're not going to drown, you're in sickbay and you are going to get better."
"You can be damn bossy," replied Trip, weakly.
"And you give up too easily. I thought you were supposed to be tough as nails. Now get rid of this water."
"Yes, sir," replied Trip. Finally the water started to go down around them until they both collapsed in a soggy heap on the floor. Trip was still exhausted but gradually the scene around them became lighter and morphed into the muted greys of Trip's quarters on Enterprise's. Archer helped Trip get to his feet and move to his bed.
Xy'an faded back into existence.
"Hey there," said Trip.
Xy'an smiled a little. "We have to go now."
"We do?" asked Archer.
"I can't maintain the bridge forever," said Xy'an, "but I think we have done enough here that Trip stands a good chance of full recovery."
"Don't worry," said Trip as Archer glanced back at him. "I'm not planning on deciding to die as soon as you leave. I think you've proven that I need to keep living."
Archer nodded. "I'll be there when you wake up. Just promise me you won't take too long about it."
"You got my word on that, Captain. I've got work to do and hanging around here won't get it done." Trip gave Archer the first genuine smile that he had given anyone in some time.
Archer woke up in sickbay six hours after he had formed the telepathic connection with Xy'an. His first thought was that he had a terrible headache and his second was that he had to check on Trip immediately. Unfortunately the headache made him a little disorientated and when he tried to rise quickly from the biobed he found his limbs weren't exactly cooperative. The sound of his body hitting the floor and subsequent exclamations of pain brought Phlox, Reed and T'Pol to his bedside in less than half a second. He brushed off their enquiries about his health and helping hands.
"Trip? How's Trip?" he asked, urgently.
"Doing much better," said Phlox. "I will give you the full details as soon as I have checked you over."
"The only thing that's wrong with me is a splitting headache." Archer pushed himself up off the floor.
"Stimulants tend to have that side effect," said Phlox. His scanner was in his hand and he was poring over the readings. "I'm afraid that I can't give you anything for it until the sedative has completely left your system."
"What happened?" asked Reed. "One moment the Commander's vitals were plummeting and the next he's on the mend."
"Let's just say that Trip's mind is an interesting place to visit," said Archer.
For a moment T'Pol met his eyes and it was almost as if she was agreeing with Archer. She looked away with what Archer could have taken to be a slightly guilty expression, if she had been human.
"Where's Xy'an?" Archer looked around sickbay and couldn't see her. He had fallen asleep holding her hand, in the hopes that it would make the connection easier. It had obviously worked.
"Asleep in my quarters," said T'Pol. "The creation of the telepathic bridge tired her considerably."
Phlox closed the scanner. "I'm pleased to say that you don't seem to have suffered any serious ill effects from the sleep deprivation or stimulants, Captain."
"Good, now will someone please tell me how Trip is doing," said Archer.
"His level of consciousness has increased dramatically," said Phlox. "I've observed several indications that he is entering a more responsive state."
"Such as?"
"He has moved his fingers a number of times and his EEG readings are much improved. Obviously he is not as you would say, "out of the woods" yet, but I don't believe he will be unconscious for an extended period of time."
"So he's going to wake up soon?" asked Reed.
"That is still up to him but I would say days rather than weeks," replied Phlox.
"That's good news," said Reed.
"Indeed, his condition has improved amazingly over the past few hours. Really all we can do now is wait."
And Trip being Trip did make them wait. Archer was beginning to wonder if Trip had broken his promise and descended back into the depths of his unconscious brain, but Phlox continued to assure him that his patient was making steady progress. In fact the doctor was so confident about Trip's condition that he took him back into surgery and placed the necessary pins to repair the broken bones in his left leg.
Archer had reassumed command of Enterprise after being declared fit by the doctor and his first act had been to arrange passage for the Thaisen to Elthen II. So now, five days later, they had a hold full of passengers and were heading back to Elthen II at a reasonably sedate speed, as advised by Lieutenant Kaspera, so that Engineering could catch up on repairs. Archer wasn't needed on the bridge much due to the routine nature of their current mission so he spent most of his time down in sickbay talking to Trip, who had been showing further signs of coming round but hadn't had the good grace to open his eyes yet. When Archer wasn't at Trip's bedside his place was taken by T'Pol or Lieutenant Reed or countless other visitors.
Five long days after Archer's foray into Trip's mind, he still hadn't been showing any special signs that he was intending to wake up on that day. Which was why Archer got the shock of his life when he looked back at Trip from the padd he had been working on and found open eyes staring back at him, blinking furiously.
"Trip?" asked Archer.
"Captain?" came the slightly baffled and very weak reply.
Archer hit the call button by the biobed to summon Phlox. "Do you know where you are?"
Trip nodded feebly. "Sickbay." He seemed to be looking down at his body and taking in all the wires and tubes. A worried frown clouded his features.
Phlox pulled back a curtain that surrounded Trip's biobed. He took in the situation at a glance. "Commander, it's good to see you awake. Don't be alarmed by the IV lines and chest tube. I'll be happy to explain what they're all for if you like, but for the moment I'll just say that they're all helping you to get better."
Trip nodded again, still obviously a bit bewildered. He blinked his eyelids and seemed to be getting ready to go back to sleep again. "How long have I been here?"
"Eight days," said Archer, unable to stop himself smiling down at his friend despite the seriousness of his condition. "You made us wait."
"Sorry," replied Trip, tiredly.
Archer laid a hand on his friend's shoulder ."You've got nothing to apologise for, Trip."
"What happened?" asked Trip, barely getting the words out.
Archer's heart sank. If Trip didn't remember the cave-in then the chances were that he wouldn't remember their telepathic conversation either.
"There was a cave-in in the mine," said Archer.
"The kids okay?"
"They're all fine and we're on our way to their new home."
"I'm afraid the Commander needs his rest," said Phlox.
"He's just woken up," complained Archer.
"Yeah," said Trip, "but I feel like I could sleep for another week."
"That is only to be expected, Commander," said Phlox, checking the readings on the monitors above the biobed. "You will probably feel quite fatigued for a while yet."
"I'm not going anywhere, Captain," said Trip, a touch of a smile curling his lips.
"I know, Trip, but I'm just glad to see you awake. For a few days we really thought that we might have lost you," said Archer. He didn't add that even after that he'd worried that Trip might not come back to them. He still worried that Trip would have forgotten everything that they had talked about through Xy'an's telepathic bridge.
"You can't get rid of me that easily. I'm like a bad penny, I always turn up." Trip's eyes closed as he said the last few words of the sentence. His head dropped to the side slightly and his breathing became more even.
Phlox ushered Archer away from the curtained off area around the biobed when he saw that his patient had indeed fallen asleep.
"I'm sure the rest of the crew will want to know that Commander Tucker has awoken, however briefly," said Phlox.
A curtain around another biobed was pulled back suddenly. "The Commander was awake?" asked Lieutenant Hess, half into her uniform.
"Yes, Lieutenant," said Phlox, a slight note of exasperation in his voice which made Archer think that perhaps Lieutenant Hess had been a difficult patient now that she was more recovered. "He is asleep again now however and won't be taking visitors for a little while."
The red haired Lieutenant pulled up the jumpsuit over her arms, rather more gingerly on her injured side. "You should have given me a shout, I'd like to have said "hi" before I leave sickbay."
"You can all come back another time," said Phlox, pointedly.
"Yes, sir," said Hess, with a mock salute to the doctor. She finished doing up the zip of her uniform with jerk and headed towards sickbay's double doors.
"Lieutenant, if you have a moment, I'd like to walk with you," said Archer.
Hess paused a moment. "Of course, sir. I'm just on my way back to my quarters."
Archer gave Phlox a quick nod of thanks and followed Hess out of sickbay. They walked for a few minutes in silence, acknowledging junior crewmen as they passed them in the corridor.
Finally, Archer spoke. "Lieutenant, I believe I owe you an apology."
"Sir?" asked Hess, perplexed by Archer's pronouncement.
"It's my fault that you were injured, at least indirectly."
"I don't see how, sir. We were decelerating from warp and we knew that the engine had taken damage. It was just bad luck. Wrong place, wrong time and all that garbage."
"That's what I need to apologise for, Lieutenant. You should never have been in the wrong place. Accidents like that are preventable and if I'd paid more attention to what Commander Tucker was telling me then you wouldn't have been injured."
Lieutenant Hess didn't know how to reply for a long moment. It was very rare that a Captain ever apologised to his crew. Captains, by definition, didn't make mistakes. "Permission to speak freely, sir?"
"Go ahead," said Archer.
"I don't think I've ever served under a finer engineer than Commander Tucker, and he deserves better than you gave him these past few months. I'm not saying that he's perfect, but he's damn near when it comes to fixing Enterprise. If you don't patch things up with him, we all lose."
"Message understood, Anna." Archer used his subordinate's first name to let her know that the criticism was taken as constructive. He had always been very aware that the engineering staff were loyal to Trip first and himself second. It wasn't something that he'd ever worried about and he'd been glad to have someone who engendered such loyalty amongst his staff serving under him. "I'm doing my best to mend bridges, and I think we're getting there. I promise you that whatever happens I'll give Commander Tucker the respect he deserves."
"That's all I needed to hear," said Hess, with a smile. "Apology accepted."
When Trip awoke again it was to find T'Pol sat beside him. He felt considerably less fuzzy this time which probably meant that Phlox had slightly decreased his pain medication, he was certainly feeling his injuries more.
"Hey, T'Pol," he said, weakly, and was alarmed by how croaky and unlike him his voice sounded.
T'Pol put down the padd that she had been reading and looked over at him. "You are awake, I'll get Doctor Phlox."
"Don't bother. I'm fine."
"Your statement is illogical. You are obviously not fine."
"I'm as fine as I'm going to get for the moment," replied Trip.
The argument was rendered null and void when Phlox appeared at that moment. "Ah Commander, you're awake."
"I think I'm ready for the damage report, Doc. How long am I going to need to stay here this time?" Trip had already resigned himself to a lengthy stay in sickbay but he hoped that at least everything would heal given time.
"Well, we'll see how you do. Hopefully not more than a week or so. As for the "damage report" as you put it, I'm afraid you broke your right ankle, left tibia in two places and left fibula."
"Both legs, great," sighed Trip.
"And one arm, a clean break across the humerus, as well as two fingers. I had to pin your left tibia, but hopefully it should heal satisfactorily. I don't expect any problems as long as you follow the physiotherapy regimen that I intend to set you."
"I wasn't unconscious for eight days because of a few broken bones. My chest hurts like hell," said Trip.
"Ah yes, I'm afraid I was saving the worst until last," said Phlox. "You suffered a punctured lung due to several broken ribs and had extensive internal bleeding. I repaired the internal injuries, re-inflated the lung and set the ribs."
"Thanks for fixing me up, Doc," rasped Trip. "Wasn't the Captain here? And Xy'an?"
"They were earlier," supplied T'Pol. "Would you like me to get him?"
Trip was pretty sure that he had something to talk about with Archer but for the moment he couldn't remember what it was. Apart from anything, the discomfort that he had been feeling a little earlier was turning into something more. He gave an involuntary wince as he drew breath in to talk. "Maybe later."
"Do you need more pain medication, Commander?"
Trip didn't like how pain medication usually made him feel, dozy and fuzzy, but it was often a necessary evil. However if he could avoid he would. "I'm fine."
"We discussed your use of the word "fine" earlier," said T'Pol. "I believe the Commander is in considerable pain."
Trip glared at T'Pol, but at the same time wondered how she had picked up on just how bad he felt.
Phlox gave Trip a stern look. "I need you to be honest with me, Commander."
"It hurts," said Trip, "but, like you said, I had surgery and I've got, let's see, six broken bones."
"Eight," corrected Phlox. "You forgot to count the ribs." Trip shot him a cross look at being reminded about his further injuries and Phlox seemed to decide that discretion was the better part of valour. "I'll get you some more pain medication."
Trip was left alone with T'Pol for a moment.
"I am pleased to see that your condition is improving," said T'Pol. "It is good to have you safely back on Enterprise."
"Yeah, wouldn't want to have the engines break down without the Chief Engineer being on board," said Trip. He hadn't meant to be so biting in his reply but he was tired and in pain. He figured that previous events gave him an excuse to be snappy, after all T'Pol hadn't exactly gone out of her way to support his views to the Captain.
"That was not my primary concern."
Trip knew that this was tantamount to T'Pol admitting that she had been worried about him. Vulcans weren't supposed to worry but then Vulcans weren't supposed to do a lot of things. T'Pol's hand rested on the edge of the bed and Trip covered it with his own. T'Pol waited a minute and then gently withdrew it.
"T'Pol…"
"This is not the right time. I should return to my duties." T'Pol rose from her seat.
"You don't have to go," said Trip, his tone hopeful.
T'Pol hesitated and Trip was sure that he saw regret in her eyes. When she answered her voice was quiet but certain. "Yes, I do."
With that she was gone, brushing the curtain around his biobed out of her path. Trip pushed back into his pillow. He and T'Pol obviously still had a lot to discuss, but perhaps she wasn't as lost to him as he'd thought. Then again he could be reading her wrong. Why were things with T'Pol always so complicated? Trip put that thought to one side as Phlox returned with further pain medication. Whatever Phlox gave him, it was enough to make him sleepy again and he was fast asleep in less than hour, banishing all his musings about T'Pol to another day.
When he next awoke, Archer was back at his bedside.
Trip blinked the sleep out of his eyes. "What is it with you guys? You got a roster or something? Or does Phlox just com you when he thinks I'm waking up?"
Archer looked a bit sheepish. "Actually, we do have a roster. I've just relieved Malcolm."
"You've got to be kidding me." Trip couldn't hide the surprise he felt, as he tried to raise his head up so that he could look at Archer's eyes and see if he was actually joking.
"You've been through a lot and I didn't want you waking up alone."
For a long moment Trip couldn't believe what he was hearing. First T'Pol and now Archer, both telling him that they were concerned about him. Concerned about him as a person and not just as someone to get them to Thacker on time. Something had changed in his feelings towards Archer but he wasn't sure why. It was as if a barrier had been removed from between them and they were almost back to the way things had been, but Trip still remembered everything that had happened and he wasn't quite sure why he suddenly felt different about things.
"You want to help me sit up?" asked Trip.
"Don't you think you should wait a bit?" asked Archer in reply, looking a little worried.
"I don't think my insides are going to fall out if that's what you mean." Trip had been through this before with Archer. The Captain had a tendency to mother hen and believe that Trip was made of glass while he was recovering from whatever injury he had sustained. This had always amused Trip in the past since Archer hated to be fussed over when he was hurt. At the moment he wasn't quite sure where he stood with him though and that made him uneasy. Was Archer just doing this because he felt sorry for him?
Trip started the painful process of sitting up. On reflection this had probably been a bad idea but he hated talking to people while lying down, and now he'd started he couldn't give in. Archer stood to give him some help, placing a hand under one arm. Suddenly déjà vu hit him. It was as if they had been in this position before, very recently. Trip allowed his brain to search through his jumbled memories for a few long moments. Archer had been holding him up…out of the water. With a flash he remembered a room filling with water and Archer had been there with him, talking to him and keeping him above water. Unfortunately the shock of the flashback meant that he also lost his balance at the same time. Archer caught him before he could tumble off the biobed but it still pulled at his injuries. It took Trip a moment to regain his composure and balance.
"You okay?" asked Archer.
"Just give me a minute," said Trip.
"Do you want to lie down again?"
"After all this effort? No thanks," replied Trip. He rested his weight on his good arm and looked up at Archer. "Did you save me from drowning?"
"In a manner of speaking," said Archer, raising the head of the bed so that Trip could lean back again.
"And what manner of speaking would that be?" asked Trip.
"You were unconscious at the time. Please tell me that this means that you remember at least some of our conversation."
Trip thought back. "The year before I started at Starfleet OTC I spent the summer fixing engines on boats. One of them needed a shake down cruise and I volunteered to go along to keep an eye on some repairs that I'd made. A couple of hours in we started taking on water. I was down in the engine room at the time. The whole place started flooding and the hatch was stuck. I ended up taking a wrench to the hinges but by the time I was done, I was up to my neck in water. For a little while I really did think I might drown."
"That's where you were when I was…" Archer searched for the appropriate phrase, "in your head?"
"I think so. Metal room, lots of water, it's just like I was back on that boat." Trip gave a little shudder at the memory. "Somewhere to drown myself, because I thought nothing mattered anymore."
"You know that isn't true, don't you?" said Archer.
Trip looked into Archer's eyes and saw genuine concern. "Yeah, I know that now."
"I apologised to Lieutenant Hess and got told off for taking you for granted. You've got a good Second there, Trip."
"Hang on a second, you apologised to Hess? And she told you off? Did I hear that right?"
Archer nodded.
"I don't know what's more weird, that you apologised for something or that Hess told you off. You're not reprimanding her for it, are you?"
Archer gave him an incredulous look.
"Right, of course not. This is the guy who let Malcolm call him, what was it? "Lax in discipline"?"
Archer smiled at his friend good-naturedly. "Cute, Trip, cute. At least she asked for permission to speak freely first."
Trip gave him a tired grin in reply.
Archer paused before continuing. "Friends again?"
Trip lifted his hand to shake on it, and Archer grasped it. "Yeah, friends again."
Enterprise reached Elthen II and despatched its passengers a week after they left Thacker. Enterprise was planning to stay a little while to help the newly formed colony get settled and it had already been agreed that they would be back in a few months to check on the settlers. More ships would be arriving later to bring the rest of the Thaisen from Thacker to Elthen II, and Enterprise itself would be making another round trip to pick up more Thaisen. Even by converting the cargo holds into living space they hadn't been able to take even half of the Thaisen population on this run.
Xy'an was scheduled to be in one of the first groups to go down to the surface. Trip was still too ill to be allowed out of sickbay so Xy'an made the journey to E deck before heading for her shuttle.
"So I hear you're all being taken down to your new home today," said Trip. He sat propped up on pillows, looking pale and bruised, but otherwise on the mend. Despite Phlox's best efforts to keep him quiet and shielded from ship's business, he had too many visitors not to be well informed about what was going on.
"In shuttle relays," confirmed Xy'an. "My own transport will leave in about half an hour."
"Are you sure that you kids are going to be okay down there?" asked Trip. He knew that T'Pol had checked the world out thoroughly for any dangers before allowing them to go down. He had even read her reports himself trying to spot any omissions and found none, but he still worried. He somehow felt responsible for Xy'an and her people.
"We will be fine, Trip." Xy'an added a mental echo. "We will be fine." A picture of smiling elfin features accompanied the words. A sea of happy faces turned towards him in gratitude. "Without you and Enterprise we would still be slaves to the Thackerites."
"You did most of it yourselves."
"You put your life in danger for us. You protected us and gave us the courage to act. You are a hero to us and whatever happens, you will always be welcome on Elthen II." Again a mental image accompanied her words and he knew that she was implying that his friends on Enterprise had not treated him as well as she would have expected. Xy'an saw him as someone special and talented, she couldn't understand why he wasn't treated that way by everyone. "You could stay with us here, if you wanted."
"I can't leave Enterprise. The Captain and I are just starting to sort things out between us and he needs me here. Besides, it wouldn't be right for me to barge in on your new home. You need time to get settled in and make it your own before people like me start interfering."
"You wouldn't be interfering," said Xy'an, but they both knew this was where they parted ways. "But you are right, you are needed here on Enterprise. You should not underestimate just how important you are to people here. I saw Jonathan Archer's mind and he has great respect for you, as does T'Pol."
Trip gaped for a moment. "You read T'Pol's mind?"
"She broadcasts," explained Xy'an. "I assume that Vulcans are telepathic to some degree."
"They're supposed to be touch telepaths," said Trip. His curiosity got the better of him. "Did you get anything else from T'Pol?"
Xy'an put her head to one side, her shining black hair catching the light. "If she has not told you herself then I don't think I should say anything more. Her thoughts are her own."
Trip nodded. Invading T'Pol's thoughts would be worse than reading her mail, and that had got him into enough trouble.
"I should go," said Xy'an. "There are many children to be taken down to the surface and some of them are considerably younger than me. Everyone is excited and a little scared."
"I understand. You have to be there for them." Trip felt a little awkward, he had no idea what the traditional gesture of farewell was for the Thaisen or if they even had one. Xy'an had spoken a little of how the children tried to keep the culture of their people alive amongst themselves but it had been a struggle with the Thackerites beating them for any transgression. Xy'an seemed to understand his thoughts and lent over the biobed and gently hugged him, being careful of his damaged ribs.
"Goodbye, Trip."
Trip allowed a smile to tug at the corners of his mouth. "Goodbye, Xy'an."
He watched the small figure as she walked through sickbay and out of the double doors, and as she left, he felt her touch his mind for what he knew, inexplicably, would be the last time.
"Remember, without you, we would not be free."