Author's Note: Please look at previous notes. Anything in italics is a bond conversation. This is the final chapter of our little adventure. I am sorry for the long wait before I wrote this bit. I had grand ideas of making this larger than it is, but it was too daunting a task with my life right now. So, instead I decided a nice little ending was better than no ending at all. I hope you like it. It doesn't answer all the questions but (I think) deals with the most important ones. Let me know what you think! Reviews are always appreciated.

XXX

"You need to take a drink and eat something before you get up," Trip said kindly as he helped his wife rise from laying down.

"I need to use the facilities," T'Pol said as she sighed and adjusted herself.

"I figured," Trip smiled softly. "You've been out for almost nine hours and even your Vulcan bladder can't…"

"Martina!" T'Pol gasped.

"She's doing amazing," Trip smiled down at her broadly. "I'll help you pee and then show you all her test results."

"I can…" T'Pol said as she manueuvered her legs.

"I'd like to see you try," Trip chuckled as he lifted her weakened body and carried her to the washroom. He waited for her to get her newborn colt legs under her before he closed the door over, not completely shutting it, in case she needed him.

He heard shuffling and when she gasped suddenly he almost went back inside but stopped himself knowing her privacy was incredibly important to her.

"I am now seated, you may close the door," T'Pol said annoyed.

Trip smiled to himself and pulled the door shut igniting the fan and muffling any noise of her peeing. He heard a flush a minute later and she opened the door ten centimetres.

"Are you okay?" Trip asked.

"I feel slightly dizzy," T'Pol answered.

Trip opened the door and found her seated on the toilet looking bashful.

"Do you need soap? Water? A cloth?"

"Something to wash my hands and face," T'Pol said, a thin sheen of sweat on her brow.

Trip grabbed a clean cloth and soaped it up. He grabbed another and put warm water on it. He crouched before her and wet her face, then soaped it, then wet it again. Her eyes were closed the entire time but he could tell over the bond that she found it comforting. He then did the same for her hands and threw the two cloths into the sink.

"She really is fine?" T'Pol asked as he helped her stand and aided her in pulling her loose pajama pants up to her hips.

"She's as healthy as a horse my love," Trip smiled at her as he raised her in his arms and carried her back to the bed.

"She has an irregular heart beat? Horses hearts…"

"No, it's an Earth saying," Trip smiled at her as he sat down next to her on the bed. "She's perfect. A perfect little girl. Not even any breathing or immune issues."

"What?" T'Pol asked, surprised. "No issues?"

"Nothing," Trip smiled even more broadly. "Phlox is still running tests but…"

"Does he have a theory or…?"

"He thinks it may be because she's so young that the damage wasn't permanent, or maybe you…" Trip trailed off.

"I?"

"You went really deep in the meld darlin'" Trip hedged as he rubbed at his jaw. "You are now showing signs of a weakened immune system and some respiratory issues."

T'Pol said nothing.

"Both the docs seem to think that maybe you kinda absorbed her issues and gave her your healthy immunity and lungs…they're not really sure but…"

"So, I'm ill?" T'Pol asked, calmly.

"You are for a Vulcan," Trip said gently, knowing this would upset her. "By human standards you are the picture of health. But you may have some respiratory issues on Vulcan or if exposed to a new virus it could send your system into a tailspin."

He could feel T'Pol's slight alarm across their bond, but not the level of alarm he was expecting.

"T'Pol?"

She said nothing.

"You…you knew this?"

"I suspected it may happen," T'Pol said honestly. "I wasn't sure what the extent…"

"You did this purposefully?"

"I wouldn't use the word 'purposefully'" T'Pol said softly.

"You allowed your guilt to cause you to…"

"Vulcans don't feel guilt," T'Pol interrupted.

"I don't know about Vulcans," Trip sighed as he pointedly looked at her. "But I know you do."

T'Pol sighed and said nothing.

"T'Pol?"

"I have excellent health and if I could share it with…"

"I can't believe you…"

"As you said, I'm unharmed by human standards," T'Pol said clearly. "I was unsure if it would work. It obviously did."

"You think?!" Trip snapped.

"Would you rather have an unhealthy daughter. As it is, Elizabeth…"

"I'm talking about you," Trip said as he glared at her.

T'Pol took a deep breath and closed her eyes before she opened them and looked at him pointedly. "You wouldn't have done the same? You wouldn't gladly give up a portion of your health to have a healthy child?"

Trip's head snapped up and he looked at her surprised.

"You forget we are bound," T'Pol noted.

Trip sighed.

"Darlin'…"

"Trip, there was no choice. If I could do it…if you could do it, we both would have helped her," T'Pol said.

Trip sighed and shook his head.

"You wouldn't have chosen otherwise yourself," T'Pol said.

"And you couldn't have discussed this with me?" Trip asked. "Are we a team or…or what?"

"I'm sorry," T'Pol said softly. "But logically…"

"Logically, you don't think this is something you should discuss with your husband?" Trip asked, annoyed. "That I had some sort of opinion that you should hear?"

"Agreed," T'Pol said softly.

"Well, it's nice of you to agree now that…"

Trip stopped talking when he noticed her eyes close and open again.

"You're tired," he said softly as he helped her lay down.

"I want to know her test results," T'Pol said as she took deep breaths.

"You're dizzy again," Trip said, feeling her unease through the bond.

"It will pass," T'Pol said dismissively.

"T'Pol…"

"Please Trip," T'Pol faintly pleaded. "Tell me how healthy she is."

Trip sighed and picked up the nearby PADD. He dutifully read her the results as she fell off into a deep sleep.

XXX

"Thank you for all you have done for us Jon, Phlox" Trip said as he reached out to shake Trip's hand.

"What are friend's for?" Jon asked as he looked at his friend holding two children as T'Pol leaned against him. Her health had not 'bounced back' as Trip had said it would. They now had a one year old and a three month old; he was going to need all the help he could get.

"You sure you'll be able to handle a Tucker influx?" Jon asked T'Pol animatedly. Trip's parents were moving in with them to help with the kids.

"It will only be for a few months and I will appreciate the assistance," T'Pol said tiredly.

"We'll be fine," Trip said, less sureness in his voice than he would like.

Jon smiled at his friend. "Of course you will be."

"Keep taking the supplements and getting the transfusions," Phlox advised T'Pol.

"I will, thank you doctor, for everything," T'Pol said weakly.

Phlox gave her a worried smile and said nothing.

"And you are coming down to visit in six months?" Trip asked Jon.

"I wouldn't miss it, but are you sure you'll have room for me considering…?"

"I've booked two days off for hiking and fishing and I don't intend to break that date," Trip smiled at his friend.

In truth, Jon had convinced Trip that in six months time he would need a break from caring for a wife and two young children. At first, Trip had objected, but after a few days of taking care of them on Enterprise he come to Jon's room late on night and asked what dates he should book time off. They both knew the next six months were going to be a challenge for the young father.

"And you…" Jon said as he leaned in and surprised Elizabeth with two stuffed shelats. "You get to play with one and keep the other one for Martina."

Elizabeth took both animals and cuddled them into her frame.

"Well, we better leave now before she expects more presents," Trip chuckled as he shifted Elizabeth in his arms and adjusted Martina, the entire time having T'Pol lean on him. "We'll see you soon Jon."

"If you need anything…" Jon offered.

Trip just nodded and left with his family.

After the doors closed behind them Jon sighed and wiped at his brow.

"I feel horrible for him," Jon admitted.

"Humans have an amazing capacity to 'rise to the occasion'" Phlox noted.

Jon looked at him gobsmacked.

"But you are right, it's…a lot," Phlox agreed.

"A lot is probably an understatement," Jon said softly as he wiped at his brow. "The responsibilities he has a work, the two kids, his parents, T'Pol…"

"Have you ever known him to not succeed?" Phlox asked as they turned to walk away.

Jon chuckled and shook his head in the negative.

"Then have some faith in them…in him," Phlox said with a smile. "I don't believe he will disappoint."

Jon clapped Phlox on the back and chuckled. "I hope you are right Phlox."

XXX

Six months later Jonathan Archer stood on the steps to the Tucker household and knocked on the front door. There was no answer. He had heard little from Trip in the last few months except for some 2 line messages saying all was well and solidifying their plans for hiking and fishing. Jon knocked again and waited, each moment making him more and more anxious.

Just as he was about to call Trip the door opened, it was T'Pol in a wheelchair on the other side.

"Jonathan," she said as she smiled at him. The smile was almost as startling as the wheel chair.

"T'Pol," Jon said as he stepped forward and offered his hand.

She sensed his unease.

"Trip didn't tell you about the wheel chair, did he?"

"Uh, no," Jon admitted.

"It is just temporary," T'Pol said. Jon wasn't sure if she was convincing him or herself of that fact. "Come in."

Jon walked inside their house and noticed the detritus of toddlers and babies everywhere. Toys littered the floor, there was a makeshift change table on the sofa, a sippy cup laying on the floor and what looked like baby socks rolled up and laying on the dining room table.

"I was just cleaning up when I heard you knock," T'Pol said looking around. "I apologize for the mess."

"I'm a bachelor T'Pol," Jon said softly. "Kids are not something I am used to."

"Trip should be home soon and his parents are at the park with the girls," T'Pol said as she wheeled toward the kitchen. "Can I get you a drink?"

"How about you let me get that and you just…" Jon started until T'Pol glared at him. "A beer?"

T'Pol nodded and opened the fridge. She placed the beer in a pocket at the side of her chair and wheeled to a set of drawers where she retrieved an opener and then placed the opened beer bottle on the counter.

"How long have you been…?" Jon asked.

"Within two weeks of returning we decided it was the most logical solution," T'Pol said. "I only need it for a few hours some days. Other days, when I'm tired, I need it for longer."

"So, it's not all the time?" Jon asked.

"No," T'Pol said. "And I am in physical therapy so I am improving each day. The days where I need it for more time are lessening."

"That's great news!" Jon said excitedly.

"But the doctors think I will always need access to some kind of mobility aid because my health issues are unpredictable. I could go days walking without issue and then be wheel chair bound for just as long. There's no…logic to it."

Jon nodded. He understood that the loss of her mobility (in some capacity) was challenging but the lack of logic in her situation must be the biggest challenge.

"The girls are well?"

"Elizabeth is running and having difficulty with any sort of inhibiting position," T'Pol noted.

"She doesn't like a harness or car seat?"

"No," T'Pol said honestly.

"She's her father's daughter," Jon chuckled.

"She is," T'Pol smiled. "And Martina is crawling and placing everything she finds in her mouth."

"And that must annoy the crap out of you," Jon chuckled.

"It does," T'Pol admitted. "As you can see, Trip's mother, although lovely, has a different idea of 'clean'"

Jon laughed out loud and patted her on the knee.

"A maid?" Jon asked.

"It's an option," T'Pol said honestly as she looked around the room.

"How about I help put all this away so you can relax?" Jon asked as he put down his beer and reached for the socks on the table.

"It's not…" T'Pol started.

"T'Pol, we worked together long enough to know that you can't relax when your environment is like this," Jon said as he started to scoop things up. "Where do all these little clothes go?"

T'Pol sighed. "In the second room down the hallway."

Jon nodded and walked down the hallway. He couldn't help but notice that the other bedrooms seemed relatively orderly compared to the living space. Odd.

"How are you really doing?" Jon called to her as he entered what appeared to be Martina's neat bedroom and placed all the items in the top drawer of her dresser.

"I am managing just fine," T'Pol called out to him.

When he returned to the living room he noted that T'Pol was putting dishes in the dishwasher. She seemed to be quite skilled at managing from her wheelchair.

"And these?" Jon asked as he scooped up a bunch of babies.

"Elizabeth's," T'Pol said. "The first room down the hallway."

Jon nodded and walked them to Elizabeth's room. Again, the room was pristine and such a difference from the rest of their main living space. He carefully lined up the babies with the others on a shelf and looked around the room. It, like Martina's was brightly coloured and perfect for an inquisitive little girl. There were plant diagrams, words on the walls and life-like pictures of animals from Earth and Vulcan.

Jon continued to help T'Pol clean up the main living area and within a half hour it looked orderly, not perfect, but not like a tornado had blown through.

"You are staying in the first room on the left," T'Pol nodded toward the hallway. "You can place your things there until you leave with Trip tomorrow."

"I can sleep on the couch," Jon said. "I don't want to displace Trip's…"

"They have an apartment downstairs and retire there each evening soon after Trip returns home," T'Pol said. "It's important to maintain some privacy and space."

Jon nodded, unsure if her response and their living conditions indicated strain on the relationship or not. Before he had a chance to inquire the front door was flung open and a stroller rolled inside.

"Jonathan!" Janine Tucker exclaimed as she rolled the stroller into the living room.

"Mrs Tucker," Jon said as he embraced her.

Elizabeth was screaming and trying to free herself of the restraints and T'Pol wheeled over to assist her, easily unbuckling the child and helping her climb out. Elizabeth took off running around the room like an airplane. Martina was crying as well.

"She wouldn't take the bottle we brought for emergencies," Charlie said to T'Pol as he took out his grand-daughter and handed her to her mother.

"She doesn't always like the bottle," T'Pol said as she rolled with her 9 month old daughter to the living area.

"So, how's space?" Charlie asked loudly as he clapped Jon on the back.

"Not the same without Trip and T'Pol," Jon admitted truthfully. "But I can see they have their hands full and so do you!"

"It's nice spending this time with the girls," Janine said as she watched Elizabeth run around like an airplane. "But we are both ready to sit at the end of the day, that's for sure!"

"It's nice of you to help," Jon said as he turned to see T'Pol breastfeeding Martina.

"We wouldn't want it any other way," Charlie smiled. "Trip and T'Pol are such great parents…we help how we can."

"You have an apartment downstairs?" Jon asked.

"Yes, they hired a contractor to build it how we like," Janine said with a smile. "It gives us our own place and now we can walk out and around to the pool…"

"Pool?" Jon asked.

"Yes, they put it in three months ago to help with T'Pol's physical therapy along with a hot tub," Charlie said.

"You've been holding out on me," Jon chastised T'Pol across the room.

"I needed you to help me clean not swim laps," T'Pol countered.

Jon laughed at her joke and then turned back to Trip's parents.

"Have you relocated here permanently?"

"We're here for now and we'll take it bit by bit," Charlie said quietly as he eyed T'Pol with a sad expression.

"She's getting better though?" Jon asked quietly.

"Some days," Charlie said softly. "But there's no telling day to day."

Jon nodded and then turned to Elizabeth.

"Want to go swimming with Uncle Jon?"

"Yeah!" Elizabeth said as she jumped up and down.

"I'll retract the security cover and turn off the alarm," Charlie offered.

"Quite the system!" Jon commented.

"Trip and T'Pol were not going to risk their girls," Charlie said matter-of-factly.

Jon watched Janine approach T'Pol and sit down next to her speaking quietly. T'Pol replied quietly and touched Janine's hand affectionately.

He then watched Janine got to the kitchen and prepare T'Pol a cup of tea.

Although T'Pol didn't like Janine's housekeeping skills she did seem to appreciate the woman herself and they did appear to get along quite well.

Jon went to his room and changed rejoining the group to see Janine trying to wrestle Elizabeth into her suit as well. When she was finally suited they went outside where T'Pol and Janine would join them after she was done feeding Martina. Charlie was outside in his own suit getting the pool ready and pointing toward a life jacket for Elizabeth to wear.

She dutifully put it on and waited for permission to get into the pool. She and Jon spent the better part of the next half hour splashing and playing with the abundance of water toys she seemed to own. It was near the end of that half hour that he heard the voice of his best friend call out from the patio doors.

"Who is in my pool?!"

Elizabeth burst into a fit of giggles and splashed toward her father.

"Look here little lady, I don't remember allowing you in the pool without me!" Trip continued to joke.

Elizabeth giggled and pointed to Jon furiously.

"Well, I guess you are allowed in with your Uncle Jon," Trip said as he leaned down, scooped her up, getting his uniform wet, and dropped her back in the water to another fit of laughter.

Jon and she played with her water toys while he watched Trip walk over to T'Pol who was sitting with a sleeping Martina in her arms in the shade. They exchanged some soft words and he leaned down and kissed her sweetly on the lips, cupping the back of her head and leaning into her. He then kissed Martina softly on the top of her head and walked back toward Jon.

"Let me get my suit on and join you before I get the BBQ going," Trip said before he walked back into the house.

He briefly joined them for some playtime in the water which mainly consisted of him talking shop with Jon while he picked up and threw Elizabeth into the water again and again. She never going under because of her life jacket, and enjoying every moment of her father's attention. Trip then pulled himself out of the water and started to barbeque some chicken on the grill while T'Pol went inside to put Martina in her crib and prepare the salad and vegetables. They seemed to have this routine down and Jon got less and less worried about them as he saw them together.

Dinner was a loud and sometimes messy affair with two children in high chairs who thought food was used for eating and throwing. Trip seemed unfazed by the chaos and continued to talk and laugh through the entire dinner. T'Pol kept trying to contain and clean up the mess as it happened until Trip placed a gentle hand over hers and, saying nothing and not even looking at her, seemed to relax T'Pol in a moment. Jon wasn't sure if it was their bond or just them, but whatever it was…it worked.

Janine and Charlie wished them a good night after dinner and went downstairs. Jon watched Trip and T'Pol bathe and put the two sleepy girls to bed before he joined him back in the living room. The main living area was chaos again and Jon was attempting to clean it up.

"Don't bother, it'll just go back to looking like that by 8 am tomorrow anyways," Trip chuckled as he sat down with two beers and handed Jon one.

"T'Pol doesn't like it," Jon said, unsure if Trip understood his wife's feelings about neatness.

"Oh, she hates every second of it," Trip chuckled. "But for weeks we spent hours cleaning after the kids went down for naps, or to bed, or when they went to the park with my parents…it completely tired her out and just annoyed the crap out of me. So, we resolved to just clean what we could and not worry about the rest."

"She still doesn't like it," Jon persisted.

"Nope, she doesn't," Trip said before he took a swig of his beer. "But she was incapacitated for days when she went ape shit crazy cleaning. I told her she needed to be here for her daughters more than she needed a spotless home. She still cleans up a little, but she lets a lot more go then she used to."

"A maid?" Jon asked.

"We can't get anyone to come at different times in the day," Trip sighed. "Trust me, we've tried. We need someone right after supper for about an hour and mid-day for a couple of hours. You know any maids that work a split?"

Jon shook his head in the negative.

"I'm still trying but I'm not sure we're going to get any luck with that, and my parents do enough helping with the girls all day, I can't ask them to clean to T'Pol's exacting standards," Trip explained.

"True," Jon nodded as he put down his beer. "Where's T'Pol?"

"She has to do a series of stretches and meditate after the girls go down," Trip said. "She'll be out in about an hour."

Jon nodded and they sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Are you okay, Trip? Are things…are things okay with you?"

Trip sighed and leaned forward placing his elbows on his knees.

"It's been a challenging few months, I'll give it that," he said honestly. "Between the new baby, and Elizabeth, T'Pol's…well, her health, and my parents moving in…it's not been easy."

"I can't imagine it would be," Jon said with a nod.

"Would I seem like a madman if I said I was ridiculously happy?" Trip asked Jon with a grin.

Jon smiled at him confused.

"I'm exhausted, my house is a complete mess most days, well, except the bedrooms; she wouldn't compromise on those," Trip offered. "But god Jon…I have two beautiful little girls who adore me. An unbelievable wife I love, and, most days, she loves me back."

Both men chuckled at his joke.

"A great job, amazing parents who moved half way across the country to help us, nice friends…I'm so blessed."

"Even with…?"

"Even with all the shit that's gone down, even then," Trip smiled at him with watery eyes. "Do I wish she was her old self able to kick my ass? Of course I do. But it's just weakness and that's something we're going to have to adapt to. Do I wish I had my girls from day one and not missed a moment? You know that answer. But would I change a thing? Hell no. Not many men have what I have and I'm damn grateful for it. All of it."

Jon nodded and smiled; Trip was going to be just fine. They all were. And, hours later he heard two parents walking in the middle of the night calming down their daughter as she fussed in her sleep. Jon couldn't help but smile when he heard them both kiss and say 'I love you' before going back to their room to sleep.

XXX
THE END