A/N: Sorry for the wait guys! I'm so happy to see you guys are still liking it! Let me know what else you guys wanna see!

Chapter 11

After what felt like only moments of sleep, Archer woke with a start. In the back of his mind, there was an inkling that he should be up, and making breakfast. Although the sensation was unsubstantiated, it just couldn't be shaken off. Just as sleepiness began to take over, the sensation hit with full force again. With a frustrated grunt, Archer threw his feet over the side of his bed and tied his robe It was a chilly morning, perhaps owing to the fact that it was about three or so in the morning. The Vulcan heat hadn't had the chance to grab hold yet. As it was the first night of his visit, navigating was difficult. There were no distinguishing marks between heading to the kitchen and heading to any other part of the house. The hallway was not lite by artificial light, which did not surprise him much. Vulcans tended to rely on natural light, 'must save them a ton on the electricity bill', his sleep deprived brain noted, 'only logical', the thought continued. Just then his knee banged into something very hard. 'Damn it!' A door opened farther down the hallway, and he braced to endure the wrath of a pregnant Vulcan woman woken up in the middle of the night. Instead, he saw the head of Trip look down towards the kitchen, then towards where Archer was standing. He looked surprised.

"Cap'n? Is that you?" He whispered, sounding confused and bleary. Archer gave an embarrassed nod, rubbing his knee. Trip turned and closed the door behind him quietly, placing his hand to close it all the way.

"What'cha doin up at a quarter to three in the mornin?" He whispered, looking slightly panicked. Archer tried to hid a smile.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to get you in trouble with T'Pol. I just had a feeling that I should be getting breakfast ready. I am your guest." Trip had been about to argue about "getting in trouble" when Archer mentioned the guest bit. The look on his face was very familiar. "What?" Trip waved his hand,

"It's nothin', just… when I first visited here, T'Pol made me get up early, to help her make breakfast. It's customary on Vulcan for guests to make breakfast for the hosts."

"Huh." His wheels began turning. How could he know something he had never experienced before? Maybe it was because of the Vulcan database that he had read over and over. There had to be a bit about etiquette. Yet again, he didn't remember anything else about house etiquette. And then there was the katra experience, but no… that couldn't be. It had been years…

"Cap'n, ya don't think?" Trip asked suddenly, breaking Archer's concentration. He was looking at him imploringly, almost reading his thoughts. Archer look away.

"No, couldn't be." He insisted, not only trying to convince Trip, but convince himself as well.

"But it could be, couldn't it?" Trip asked, his grin growing. "Wait till I tell T'Pol bout this."

"She wouldn't believe you anyway."

"Well, maybe, maybe not." He slung an arm around Archer's shoulders, "Talkin' bout T'Pol, we should move this to the kitchen, less likely to wake her up." They made their way to the kitchen, in a smoother path than Archer was walking before. Trip released his arm from around Archer's shoulders as he yawned, extending his arms high in the air.

"Oh no, I'm sorry for doing this. I didn't mean to keep you from sleep." Trip turned his back to Archer as he filled a cup with black coffee before filling another one for his friend. He placed one mug in front of Archer before sitting at a seat across from him.

"Cap'n, I probably haven't slept well in years. Even on Enterprise, I only slept six hours a day. And then undercover, sleeping could mean I would never wake up. And then..."

"A pregnant T'Pol." Archer finished. Trip nodded, taking a sip of his coffee. He looked past Archer, his eyes glossed over, then took anther sip of his coffee. Archer knew his friend was waiting to say something, so he just continued to sip his own coffee in the silence. Finally, Trip placed his mug gently on the table.

"Sometimes I think about how she deserves better, ya know?" He gulped, "I can't even have a job, I'm her f'ing gardener, and that's all I'm ever gonna be. And then… and then she's trapped here, planetside, because she left her job to come give me a place to live." He looked deeply into his coffee before taking another sip. The warm coffee seemed to help him gather his thoughts. "I feel like I'm holding her back, ya know? She could be working right now as an ambassador, but here she is, helping me survive, ya know? Doesn't feel right." Archer examined the face of his friend closely. He used be able to say that he knew every line, every facial expression. Now, he wasn't so sure. Trip had gone through so much that he would never understand, let alone know. But he knew the essence of his friends. He knew that Trip and T'Pol were the hardest workers in existence. And he knew that T'Pol would never do anything that she didn't want to. If she was on Vulcan now, it was because she wanted to be. Not because she felt she had to. He placed his mug back on the table, and placed his hands around it. He knew his words would not meet the insurmountable worry Trip was feeling, but he knew he had to say something.

"Alright, here's something you have to hear." Trip looked up, his face empty of emotion. "T'Pol never does anything she doesn't want to. And she does what ever she wants even if it's not the most advisable. Particularly that little voyage she took to try to rescue you." The corner of Trip's mouth twitched. "So you can try to convince me all you want that you trapped her here, but I know that's bull. She's here because she wants to be. She's here because you're here." Trip sighed.

"That's the point Cap'n. She would be off doing ambassador things if it wasn't for me."

"And I'm trying to tell you Trip, that I have no doubt she one day will be. But right now, she's focusing on being with you. Don't worry about 'holding her back.' She's never let anything hold her back, not even her own government. She's stubborn. So are you. That's how I know you two will be alright." Trip nodded, resigned.

"Thanks Cap'n, sometimes it's hard to not get into my own head. It's been a difficult few years." He ran a hand through his hair. Feeling a change in the winds of conversation, and not wanting to push Trip any further, Archer decided to change the topic.

"So… when's the baby due?" He asked, and Trip's face brightened instantly.

"We're not certain. Human and Vulcan gestational periods are different, so it may be closer to one or the other. Or an average of the two, but we won't know till it happens."

"I still can't believe the two of you got your stuff together and are having a family."Trip looked startled. "It may have taken me longer than everyone else aboard, but I figured it out. Then you went undercover, and well, that's when I realized how much you two actually meant to one another."

"That's when we did too." Trip said, and did not elaborate. There was so much Archer wanted to know, like how exactly T'Pol always knew Trip's whereabouts, and what Trip did undercover. But that was all information that was classified, either through legal means, or personal. He knew his friends, but it was dawning on him that he would never really know them. "And after Elizabeth, we didn't know if we wanted to try to have a family. But all I kept seeing was little T'Pol's running around the house." Archer grinned. Then looked at the clock, realizing nearly forty minutes had passed. Trip glanced over to the clock as well and groaned. "Well, it is too late to go back to bed now, how 'bout we start that breakfast you offered before?"

XXX

As he and Trip prepared breakfast, he was surprised by all the stories Trip had to tell. T'Pol pregnant was similar to T'Pol not pregnant, except less patient and more obviously hungry. "And she'll tell ya that she isn't that hungry, but she'll sneak into the kitchen to grab a snack!" Archer belly laughed at this latest remark. "That woman, I tell ya." The look of joy on Trip's face made Archer feel envious. Although he once wished to be with T'Pol himself, he was incredibly happy for his friend. He was envious that they had found this family, and although he was married to Star Fleet, he would never have the same joy of waking up to see his pregnant wife asleep next to him. Trip cocked his head to the side for a moment. "T'Pol has woken up. She will mediate for about a half hour and then come down for breakfast." Archer looked at him suspiciously, Trip raised both hands. "All I know is that we're bonded, and the baby makes it stronger. But trust me, she's hungry." Archer nodded, as he made the final preparations for breakfast.

X

Just as Trip predicted, T'Pol entered the kitchen after about thirty minutes. She was dressed for the day, which looked like she was going to be taking the group out for an excursion. Although she did not sniff to see what food was available, her eyes gave away that she was indeed hungry. She trained her eyes on Archer. "Thank you captain. I hope that we did not impose the idea that it was your duty to prepare breakfast." He shook his head.

"No, no. I wanted to. It's was very generous of the two of you to open your home. I felt that it was appropriate to repay the generosity. And, it gave two old friends some time to catch up." T'Pol turned her attention to Trip, who was busy preparing her plate of food.

"Catch up?" She asked. Trip looked up, met her eyes for a moment, then looked back at the plate. "I see. Well, I do hope that we too, captain, may have a chance to 'catch up.'"

"I'd like that." He said, settling down into a seat next to her. Trip placed her plate in front of her, then settled into the seat across from her. "So... " he took a bite of fruit, "Trip said you had some outings planned?" T'Pol nodded, and swallowed food she had eaten.

"Yes. I believe the last few times you visited Vulcan were times of duress. It may be beneficial to enjoy some places that are typical for tourists." She took a bite of her breakfast again.

"Well, if tourist sites include sciencey places, yeah." Trip half mumbled, making sure both people heard him loud and clear. T'Pol glared at him, which was difficult to take seriously as she was taking another bite.

"I mean, I guess I could go to some of these sites. Considering they're important to T'Pol."

"Alright, fine. But can't we do somethin' that doesn't involve lookin' through a microscope?"

"What do you suggest?" T'Pol asked, her tone clipped. Archer could sense that Trip was tiptoeing now. He hid his reaction by eating, and looking down at his plate.

"I don't know, how about in town? I haven't really been in town, and if there's two humans, I'll feel less alone." T'Pol placed her fork next to plate.

"If we go to a museum today, I will… consider your alternative."

XXX

Despite Trip's concern about the museum being boring, Archer was having a good time. While museums tend to be the same on any planet, this was a different history, a different evolution. And although Trip pretended to be bored, he could tell that Trip was enjoying himself. The trio walked together through the museum, but Trip had to walk closer to Archer than T'Pol, something that was clearly irritating to him. "T'Pol, ya don't have to lean so close next to that case. You're gonna set off the alarm!" She placed a hand on her protruding stomach.

"Thank you, Mr. Kenmore, I am aware of my new diameter." Trip blushed.

"I'm gonna pay for that one later. She thinks I called her fat." He whispered to Archer.

"You sort of did." Archer whispered back, and hurried after T'Pol. The whole museum was sort of like the Natural History Museum, but for Vulcan instead of Earth. There was a whole section dedicated to genetics, a section that Trip seemed particularly interested in. He stood in front of a display for longer than he had at any other display. Archer walked over to look over his shoulder. It was the history of Vulcan, how evolution began.

"Wow." Trip whispered. "Millions of years before Earth even had a chance of evolvin' Vulcan was already in the beginnin' of havin' sentient life." He read each little description under the pictures. "And here, it talks about how it has been deemed impossible for Vulcans and other species to mix." He glanced over at T'Pol who was standing at another display across the room. "Can't blame 'em for thinkin' that." He looked back up to the board. "Crazy, how two species so different could meet, and start to understand each other, ain't it?" He asked.

"Yeah, it, is."

A/N: Well, I meant for that talk with Trip and Archer to be like a page, and yeah, didn't end up that way. Anyway, let me know what you think, and what the little adventure that is Trip's idea should be!