A/N: Final chapter. I want to thank everyone for reading and thanks to those who wrote the wonderful reviews. I'm so happy that all of you have enjoyed this adventure with all the ups and downs, twists and turns.

Without further ado...let's find out the fate of our intrepid heroes.

Chapter 12

Trip shuffled the small box in his hand, slightly nervous about what he was preparing to do as he rang the door chime. A soft smile spread across his face when he saw T'Pol in a cream colored short-sleeved shirt with small buttons that looked like jewels and a pair of form-fitting dark blue slacks.

T'Pol stood for a moment with a questioning look towards the box before speaking. "Is there something I can do for you, Commander?"

Trip chuckled. "Yeah...first drop the ranks. I uh...I brought you a present. Can I come in?"

T'Pol tipped her head and stepped to the side, gesturing for him to enter. After walking into the room, Trip handed her the box and watched as the expected brow lifted in a slight surprise when she opened it. "A peach. I don't understand." T'Pol said as she looked up at him.

Once again, Trip found that he couldn't hide his amusement. "I got more last time we went back to Earth and had them in stasis. I know how much you liked the peach I gave you last time, and I thought...well…" He shifted a moment trying to figure out his next move.

T'Pol was first to speak. "Trip, I think I-"

Trip raised his hand to stop her. "Look, let me just say this while I still have the nerve. T'Pol, I know this past year has been rocky for us, actually it's been down-right miserable for us, but I think while on that planet we both got some things off our chests, things that maybe should have been said a long time ago. Darlin', I don't think I want for us to be just friends, I want us to be...us again.

"I know we have a lot of things to sort out, a lot of things to work on, but I do know this much, we're better together than we are apart. We just both need to learn to communicate with each other, be open and honest, not hold anything back. We need to know that we can trust the other to be there for support and comfort when needed, to be there for guidance and reassurance, and to know that there is love between us.

"I know I'm not perfect, and Lord knows I'm not as good at holding my tongue or keeping my emotions in check like you can, but I'm learning, and maybe you could learn to let out a little emotion from time-to-time, even if it's just in private. I guess what I'm trying to say is that we both have a lot to learn, and hopefully we can learn those things...together. T'Pol, I know what I said on that planet, that some days I hate you, and I don't apologize for saying that because it's true, but what I didn't say was that those days are far and few between. Honey, there's more days that I love you, and more days that it kills me that we've grown apart like this. Can we give this...this relationship another chance?"

T'Pol gently set down the box on a table. "Trip, we both need to learn to put the pain of losing Elizabeth behind us. I'm not saying to forget our daughter, we must always hold the memory of her, but we need to shed ourselves of this pain in order to be able to move forward. We have both made mistakes in our relationship, and we both must learn to acknowledge those mistakes, forgive one another of those mistakes, learn from them, and grow stronger...together. Trip, Charles, what I'm trying to say is...I love you too."

She reached out, slowly pulling him towards her, placing a hand behind his neck to pull his head down to hers, giving a soft kiss to his lips.

Trip pulled back, keeping his hands on her hips, he gave a small smile. "So...we're giving this another shot then?"

T'Pol's brow slightly raised with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Like water and ration bags, it was implied."

Trip looked stunned for a second before a smirk showed through. "Oh, you're gonna pay for that, darlin'." He leaned down, kissing her with passion as he reached a hand out to turn off the lights.

§§§

Jon sat in the lounge chair chuckling at Porthos, who was gnawing on a large bone from some sort of indigenous animal. Selminti had given him the bone, assuring that it was safe for Porthos, and judging from the size of it, it would take a very long time for the pup to get through it.

He set his glass of wine down as he contemplated the whirlwind events over the last several days. He couldn't help but to feel some sort of happiness about the outcome, but there still lingered a moment or two that perhaps what he had been told was only a dream.

Yet, here he was, sipping delicious sweet wine made from a regional fruit, watching the beautiful shimmering colors of the water as the sun set, completely relaxed and at peace.

The message from Selminti was simply one line: Contact me immediately.

=Enterprise: Previous Day=

Jon's heart pounded as Selminti's image appeared on the screen. "Captain, I was told that you were resting and didn't want to bother you, so I just left the message to contact me when you were ready. You...look better than the last time I spoke with you. You slept well, I take it."

"I guess my body really needed it, I usually don't sleep that long. I didn't think I'd be hearing from you so soon. Would the assembly council give me a few hours to get some business with Starfleet wrapped up before I turn myself in to the prison camp? What about the rest of my crew? You did convince the assembly that none of them were at fault, including Trip and T'Pol, right? I'm solely responsible for my entire crew and none of them should be punished for following my orders to stay in orbit."

Selminti smiled as he shook his head. "Captain, none of your crew, or yourself is going to be imprisoned. You're all acquitted of the charges."

Jon sat for a moment with his mouth gaping before he found his voice. "What? Are you sure? I mean...what?"

Selminti chuckled. "The assembly council reviewed the logs you sent, as well as the logs from Captain Ja'zel and Te'zark's ships. The logs between you and Te'zark confirm that you did ask for his assistance and he refused. Additionally, the logs between Te'zark and Ja'zel show that he prevented her from assisting as well.

"What was even more troubling, when the logs from the terraforming platform were reviewed, it showed that the Zoning Committee did in fact recognize what they were hearing was a distress signal from your shuttle pod as soon as it was activated, but the Committee ordered Te'zark not to break his patrol route to immediately investigate. It wasn't until the following day before Te'zark's ship was again in the area, and by that time, Enterprise had already arrived."

Jon shook his head. "Are you telling me that my people could have been rescued off that planet within moments, or hours, if Te'zark had went to investigate the signal?"

"Exactly."

The well of anger began to bubble up inside of Jon. "Selminti, when I report this to Starfleet Command-"

Selminti held up a hand. "Captain, please allow me to explain. It is written in our ancient laws and regarded as one of our most sacred laws. When a person is in peril and is in need of assistance, it is our duty, our obligation to do so. To violate this law and allow a person to suffer, possibly enter into the Sactorm, is one of the worst crimes that can be committed.

"Once this evidence came into light, the Zoning Committee was forced to admit that the reason they ignored the signal was because they would be required to shut down the platform. Due to the process of remotely shutting down, then rebooting would set the project back by one duram. Uh…" Selminti looked down at a PADD on his desk. "Ah, here. One month. The Committee was the only ones to receive the signal and had hoped that whoever had transmitted it would have perished and that they could continue with operations without anyone outside of the Committee knowing of this matter.

"As a result of all of this, The Minister Assembly has not only found you and your crew innocent, but the Zoning Committee is being disbanded. The high members, the ones sitting at tribunal in the red robes, will be charged with attempted murder, high treason, evidence manipulation, and several other counts. I am confident that they will spend the rest of their lives in maximum prison camp.

"You may also be interested in knowing that the ministers are already in progress to enact stricter laws, preventing any future expansion boards from being able to twist and manipulate any agreements to their personal agendas."

Jon nodded. "It's a start at least, and I am happy to hear that the corruption of this Zoning Committee has been stopped and I will add that in with my report. What about Te'zark? Will he be charged as well?"

Selminti shook his head. "It has been decided that he was following orders, albeit it was within his power to assist, but I digress. He has lost his position as Captain and has been demoted to first pleb, as well as reassigned."

Jon checked his PADD for the ranking reference, chuckling once he found it. "Wow! He got busted all the way down to ensign. Where did he get reassigned to?"

Selminti leaned forward towards the screen with a slight smirk. "A waste recycling ship. Perhaps now he might gain a bit of humility. To be honest Captain, as your representative, I might have made that request of punishment on your behalf."

Jon let out a roaring laugh. "Actually, I think that is a fitting punishment. Thank You."

Selminti leaned back with a smile. "I thought you would like that. Something else you might like, High Minister Velmin wanted me to extend to you his personal regret for everything that you and your crew has endured over the last few days. He would contact you directly, but with all of this, he is required in assembly chambers and it could take some time to complete his duties. He has, however, invited you and your entire crew to come to the surface, relax and enjoy what we have to offer. Private cottages for you and Commanders Tucker and T'Pol, as well as our finest suites for the rest of your crew, all expenses will be accounted to the Ministers Assembly, of course. The High Minister is aware that this is far from making right for what you have suffered, but he hopes it will be the beginning of repairing the damage caused."

Jon stroked at his chin. The thought of a vacation was appealing, but the entire situation was still too fresh to dismiss. "I'll have to let Starfleet decide if I can accept the offer or not and let you know, but either way, I do appreciate Velmin's desire to make amends. I'm sure it will be taken into consideration."

Jon sent in his report, as well as informing Admiral Black of Velmin's offer of a week vacation, to which he was told that it was at his discretion to accept or not. After a lengthy conversation with Captain Ja'zel, he decided to accept.

=Telmaic Prime: Present=

Jon was feeling a bit frisky as he walked down the beach towards the neighboring cottage that was reserved for Trip. He thought he'd drag his friend along to a few of the dance clubs, in the hopes that they might get lucky and find out how far the aquamarine color, with opaque swirls, goes down on a woman's body.

He scowled after the second time he rang the door chime and didn't get an answer. "Huh. Went on the prowl without inviting me, did you? Some wingman you are, pal."

As Jon began to walk away, sulking as he kicked at a pebble on the walkway, a movement near the window of the next cottage, that was T'Pol's, caught his attention.

He watched a moment as the two figures, silhouetted by the drawn curtains stood apart, in what was obvious a conversation. The figures slowly drew close together, a shared kiss between them.

Jon smirked as he watched the silhouettes momentarily pull apart, then once again come together in a longer, deeper kiss before the lights extinguished, leaving behind only darkness and one's imagination.

Well, at least that part turned out as planned. He thought to himself as a spring to his step returned and he headed for the nearest dance club.

=End=

Until next time my dear friends, Peace and Love to you all.