AN: The episode is in the spirit of the original with a few minor changes to incorporate my AU. Also, in reality, it would have taken more than Archer, Tucker and Robinson to launch the NX beta. Also, some people might have been waiting for this.
"Come on," Trip teased, lifting the long neck to his mouth and taking a sip before pleading, "give me a hint?"
"Two girls," Ruby, the new waitress at the 602 played along with the ruse. Everyone even remotely associated with Starfleet heard about today's disastrous mission. Forcing a smile to her lips, she hoped to combat the nebulous feeling of dejection pervading the room with her little game. The NX alpha ended up in a million pieces over five thousand square kilometres somewhere in the vicinity of Jupiter, while the pilot managed to escape. It seemed half the Complex's personnel were in the bar drowning their sorrows. "One boy and that's all I'm saying, Tucker."
"Peta," Trip guessed playfully, watching the woman's expression closely, "Paul and Mary."
"Close," Ruby light-heartedly smacked the incorrigible engineer on the back of the head. She'd taken the job three weeks ago, and three minutes later knew Charles Tucker and his constant flirting were completely harmless. The waitress couldn't say the same for the group of pilots he drank with on a Friday evening. It hadn't taken long to realise the reason the engineer was attracted to the group. Trip was besotted with his boyfriend. "Two out of three ain't bad. Closest anyone got so far."
"What," Jon managed to arch his eyebrow, imitating a Vulcan as the woman moved back to the bar, "was all that about?"
Chuckling, Trip understood that tone. Archer was both intrigued and pissed. He hated it when Tucker flirted with women. Even after two and a half years together, Jon couldn't help the completely unfounded fear that Trip would revert to finding women attractive. "First person to guess the names Ruby's picked out for her kids, gets to marry her."
Shaking his head, Jon's voice became low and just a little aggressive. About a year ago, their relationship went through a rough patch. Trip kept the problem to himself, preferring to confide in his good friend Dr. Lee Shao. Archer still didn't really know what the issue related too. Every time he attempted to question Tucker, even subtly with his new techniques in diplomacy, Trip evaded the topic.
"Not liking that idea," Jon's hazel eyes boarded into his companions. Commander Archer knew the identity of the man he wanted for his husband. Not long after meeting Trip, his mind began to play with the idea until it became an incontrovertible fact by his thirtieth birthday. In Jonathan Archer's mind, it was only a matter of when to ask. Realising the time was now, Archer ventured, "I think you'd better marry me to save any confusion."
"That a proposal?" Trip attempted to keep his tone light, while his heart tried to escape his chest.
They'd been skirting this issue for a while, had talked about it on several occasions before that disastrous dinner at the Forest's apartment. Jon seemed to instinctively understand Trip felt the time hadn't been right, especially after that meal. They'd not even alluded to the possibility for the last year, although their intimacy had matured in the same time period.
With the failure of the NX alpha today, thanks to Robinson not following orders, Tucker realised life was too short to gamble on a tomorrow they might not have. True, A.G. managed to make it back, but it had been a close call. To close, especially if it had been Jon in that cockpit, the engineer's subconscious told him. So what if I have to play the little wife at home, supporting my husband and bringing up the kids alone while he's out there, in the public eye. It's not like Jon didn't do the same for me while on the lecture tour. A relationship is about give and take. Mama and Daddy both have demanding careers, both have planet wide companies, yet still manage to be heavily involved in their family and community. I've concluded that if they can do it, so can Jon and I. This is one Tucker tradition I intend to keep.
"Do I have to guess the names of our kids?" Archer teased, sitting back in his chair and scrutinising his lover's reaction. A hand reached out under the table, coming to rest firmly on Trip's inner thigh.
Go for broke, Tucker told himself. Tell Jon how you really feel, what you want for the future and then take it from there. After all, it's not like you haven't refined your aspirations over the last year.
"Nope, I'll tell you," Trip responded, placing his left hand over Archers and linking their fingers. Picking up his beer with the other to take another sip, it gave the younger man time to assess his long-time lover's response. So far, so good, Trip told himself. "First boy has to be Charles Tucker IV. It's a traditional family thing."
"Frist boy?" Archer's lips turned up slightly, his thumb starting to draw circles on Tucker's wrist. Both knew were this was going, and fast. "Just how many boys do you want?"
"Two," Trip smirked, "and a daughter."
Archer shook his head. Taking up his own beer, he turned the thought over in his head, and liked the image. He'd seen Trip with Capt. Smith's three girls on several occasions and how they responded to him. The memory, watching Tucker's playful discipline and realising he could cope with a family, returned to Jon with vengeance, but only if that image contained Trip as his significant other.
"Just when were you planning on this family?" Jon asked in a lackadaisical tone.
"Oh," Trip paused, his heart picking up speed. He'd thought about that, a lot, over the last year. "After you get captaincy of the first warp 5 starship, with me as Chief Engineer."
Suddenly leaning forward to create an intimate space between them, Jon's eyes locked onto his lovers. Robinson's words came back to haunt him. Two weeks ago, he'd told Archer not to play it by the book, to take risks, if he wanted to gain the rank of Captain. Today, A.G. had taken a risk. It hadn't paid off but Trip mentioned an idea on the way over to the 602, if only he could get the NX beta test flight. Right now, the risk Jonathan Archer needed to take was much more personal and far reaching. He wasn't completely confident Trip would say yes. That change a year ago had Jonathan worried their relationship wouldn't last forever. Yet, he got the feeling it was now or never.
"Maybe five years on board," Tucker enthused, carefully noting every word being analysed. If Jon didn't want kids, eventually, or the canvas he was painting, he would have shut this conversation down before it started. They'd never really discussed a family. In Tucker's mind, marriage and kids went together, although a same sex relationship would make that possibility more difficult as Pieter and Lee's situation proved. "I guess they'll make you a Commodore by then. Maybe I'll retire and go into R and D as a consultant for Tucker Technical Industries with my own branch of Warp Propulsion. That'll give us plenty of time for raising our children."
"You been thinking about this for a while, Trip?" Jon asked seriously.
"Yep," he responded, carefully.
"But you had to make sure my expectations were the same as yours," Archer stated, his hazel orbs making the promise of permeance.
"Yes," the word came out more fearful than Trip intended. "No point combining our lives any more than now, if we're not heading in the same direction. I want a family, Jon, one day. That's not negotiable."
"But," Jon understood whatever fears underlay Trip's hesitation, whatever occurred a year ago was about to raise its ugly head.
"You have to suspect," Trip put his beer down, his blue orbs narrowing and becoming a stormy grey, "Max has plans for your career. Jon, he's the closest person you have to a father. Commodore Forest has chosen you for his successor. He's teaching you the art of Starfleet politics. Mia told me I'd have to be a good little wife, support your career because you're going places."
Jon snorted, which was not the reaction Trip expected. "Is that what this has been about?"
Nodding, Charles Tucker felt, well, he didn't quite know how he felt. Deflated, perhaps.
"Trip," Jon ensured he had his lovers complete and undivided attention by squeezing his hand, hard, "I wasn't playing around. You complete me. I get the situation with Max. We've talked about it several times over the years, starting before you came on the scene. I've always known Forest supported my career and has been responsible for every promotion. Hell, the man even helped me chose my major in college so I'd have more of an edge than being Henry Archer's son."
"Just because the Tucker's marry and reproduce young, didn't mean you wanted in on that tradition," Jon explained. "Like you, I'm not about to let Commodore Forest or anyone else in Starfleet dictate my future. Whatever it might be, we'll face it together. Now, I'm asking you to marry me, for me, because I love you and you love me, because I've wanted to call you my husband since about a week after your twenty-first birthday party. Your father even gave me his permission to ask, way back then."
"I guess I'll keep you, Old Man" a bright smile broke out on Trip's face, all his irrational fears suddenly disappearing, "with a gold band on your finger that matches the one on mine. And I'll be speaking with my father next time we're in Florida."
The laugher bubbled up. Archer couldn't stop. Although their relationship had taken a sudden turn, their first few months together had been a steep learning curve. They'd had to juggle their careers, the age difference and Trip's ability to flirt with anyone. And, it seemed, Starfleet's manipulation for the last year. At least Jon now knew what bent Trip out of shape and could reassure his fiancée about the future.
"It wasn't that funny," Trip looked forlorn.
"Finish your beer, promise me you won't keep anything like this to yourself again," Archer knocked back the dregs in his bottle, "and let's go home. I think we have a private celebration and then some planning to do. Now I got you to finally say yes, we're not going to wait long to make this official. Even if I have to drag up the aisle, you are going along with the Tucker tradition and getting hitched before you turn twenty-four."
"It's twenty-five, and forget the dam beer," Trip was already out of his chair, pulling Jon off his seat. Keeping a vice like grip on his Fiancée, this was one-night Lt. Tucker couldn't care less about keeping their relationship low profile. "There's something else I want to wrap my mouth around," he threw over his shoulder, "Commander Archer-Tucker."
"Oh, no," Jon moaned as they cleared the door on the way to the transport station. "This might be the twenty second century, but there is no way I'm changing my name. The kids can become hyphenated."
Stopping dead in his tracks, Trip's blue eyes became hard. He didn't stand up to Jon often. When he did, it was not negotiable. "Charles Tucker IV is not up for discussion!"
"Relax Trip," once again Archer shook his head and grinned. "I don't expect you to change your name either. If we're lucky enough to get those three kids one day, we will work it out then." Placing a hand on the younger man's shoulder, Jon whispered into his ear, "just don't think about calling one of them Jonathan."
Huffing as they resumed their course to the transport station, Tucker ran, quite literally, into Commodore Forest on his way to the 602. The expression on his face drove the trio back into the bar. Ordering a round of drinks, they sat in stony silence until Ruby delivered their beers.
"Why," Trip finally managed to ask when it seemed Max was trying to find words to explain his sudden arrival, "did you pretend you didn't know me today in front of the Vulcan delegation?"
"Appearances," Max stated with a harsh sigh.
"What you're really saying," Jon added, reading the situation correctly, "is you knew Trip would shoot his mouth off and you agreed with him but didn't want to be seen doing so."
"Something like that," Max sighed, again, this time sadly. "This project was in a very precarious positon before today's incident. Unfortunately, there is a reason for my being here. At the urging of the Vulcan Advisory Council, Starfleet Command has decided to put the NX programme on hold, indefinitely. The order came directly from Admiral Black's office. They want to go back to the drawing board and develop a new engine from scratch."
Going from such a high to low within half an hour made Jon wonder at the vergency of life. Across the table, Forest's silence created a mournful atmosphere. Wishing the man he considered a father would just leave, Archer glanced at Trip. His mind active behind those shuttered orbs, Jon knew that expression. He needed to get his boy…fiancée alone so they could talk. All that they feared after learning about the Rhenium seemed to be coming to fruition.
Max drained his beer and left, much to Archer's relief. However, A.G. had been waiting for the opportunity to approach his rival. The conversation ended in a fight when Tucker opened his mouth and accused Robinson of pilot error. A.G. would never admit to anything of the sort. Archer attempted to cool the growing animosity, but it spilt over into violence.
"I told you," Trip stood over his opponent after getting in three good punches, "you try coming between me and Jon, you'd pay the price. Just be thankful you only lost a couple of teeth. Come on," Tucker grabbed his fiancée by the hand and pulled him out of the bar, "we're going home."
"Trip," Jon approached the couch carefully, an ice filled cloth in one hand to help with the swelling on his lovers face. They hadn't said a word on the transport home as Tucker silently fumed. Personally, Archer thought Robinson had been spoiling for this particular fight and used the ill will between himself and Trip as a catalysis, only he'd come off second best.
"I don't want to hear it, Jon," Trip warned, snatching the ice pack and placing it over his eye with a low hiss. "That sonofabitch has had that coming for years."
"You won't get any argument out of me," he soothed, taking the seat and placing an arm around Trip's tense shoulders. "A Commander hitting a Commander, not a problem. A Lieutenant."
"He won't say a thing," Tucker grinned. The effect was spoilt by half his face not reacting as expected, "especially when you speak to him tomorrow about my plan."
"You've got an idea?" Jon sighed. "I could see it in your expression and the way you wanted Max gone. Come on, tell me. I know from that look I'm not going to like it."
"It's going to take Forest and Robinson's help to pull off," Tucker cautioned. "Besides, if we do this, it could mean the end of our careers, but at least your daddy's engine will fly."
"I'm listening," Robinson stated, still pulling his belongings out of his locker the next morning. When Archer stopped talking, A.G. asked, "you been to see Forest yet? Or are you waiting for strength in numbers?"
"Trip's talking to Jeffery's, Wu and Hess. He's confident they'll help," Jon admitted.
"I think Duvall will want to be in on this," Robinson considered. "Gardiner's by the book and wouldn't risk what's left of his career. But, we'll have to act and soon. By the end of the week, most of the staff will be reassigned."
"Lt. Tucker wants to go tonight," Jon informed. "It makes sense, both the night flight and timing. The Vulcan's won't be watching as they think we're all completely demoralised after yesterday."
"You telling me your boyfriend…."
"Fiancée," Jon corrected. "Yes, Trip confessed to deliberately baiting you and making it look as if the NX failure was the reason. He's wanted to knock you on your arse for a while, especially hitting on him. This gave him a good excuse without the repercussions."
"That was two years ago," Robinson sounded astounded.
"He's got a long memory," Archer chuckled. "So, you in?"
"Hell, yes," A.G. smiled evilly. "I'll talk to Duval. We need the entire team to meet before we try this."
"Let's see if who else joins our little revolution," Archer warned. "Then we go to Forest. We need him and his launch codes or we won't get the Beta off the ground."
Three hours later, one captain, three commanders, one lieutenant and two ensigns entered the office of a commodore with a fool proof and fool hardy plan. Max Forest looked at them, examining their determination and dedication and knew he was in. He knew his backing would make the difference. He also knew any comeback would be on his head. He had the most to lose and, alternatively, the most to gain.
"Do you recall a discussion about a cup," the Commodore locked his gaze with Tucker, knowing this strategy came from the young man.
"China," Jon responded, "Bone, delicate and much loved. If I recall, the contents were less important than the vessel. Isn't that the issue here? The engine sound, it was the other systems that let it down. We need irrefutable proof of that fact." Commander Archer didn't dare mention the other factors he'd uncovered, causing the Vulcan's to want this project terminated at any cost.
"You will be piloting the Beta, Commander Archer," Forest ordered. He'd chosen Robinson to avoid cries of nepotism and keep Jon from further Vulcan scrutiny. Max knew he'd made a major mistake with the result. "Lt. Tucker, you're in charge of the intermix calculations and feeding that data to Commander Robinson. I want two pilots in that cockpit, checking every system twice. This has to work, or we will all be out of a job, some of us more permanently than others."
"Unless," Trip stepped forward with a bold suggestion, "I send an official report to Admiral Yamamoto as the NX beta is launched, followed by our results in real time. He won't be able to refute that."
"You're that confident?" Forest demanded.
"Yes, Sir," Trip offered. The men faced off for several very taught seconds.
"We're launching at 2100 and have a lot of work to get through before then," the Commodore informed his team. "Jeffery's, you sure your people can access the telemetry and control centre remotely from the launch hanger without detection until the beta's in the air?"
"Absolutely," Arron responded.
"I'll start the deception with the New Berlin tracking station. Let's get on with this people," Forest sighed. Max knew, even if they proved their point, there would be some major repercussions, if only to make it look good to the Vulcan's. "Good luck and dismissed," he offered as they filed out of his office to their various tasks, readying for the flight in five hours.
Either way, the commodore theorised, whether it be a success or failure, security will be escorting us to a holding cell to await our punishment. I just hope Lt. Tucker is able to get a communique to Admiral Yamamoto. That might be out only saving grace. I'm beting the careers of everyone on this mission, and staking the future of Humanities exploration of the universe. I hope the result is worth it.