A/N: Episode list that has my changes. Broken Bow, Fight or Flight, Unexpected, Vox Sola, Terra Nova, The Andorian Incident, Breaking the Ice, Civilization, Fortunate son, Cold Front, Silent Enemy, Dear Doctor, Sleeping Dogs, Shadows of P'Jem, Shuttlepod One, Fusion, Rogue Planet, Acquisition, Oasis, Detained, Fallen Hero, Desert Crossing, Two Days and Two Nights, Shockwave. Let's just say that Sleeping Dogs have never been my favorite episode and I really want to get to the Shadows of P'Jem but for me to be able to do that they have to get married. I vow to you that this wedding chapter will be much better than the last one. I will admit I have not been to many weddings though I do think I can smart my way through this one. I deeply apologize if I mess up but hey you try writing while watching Monty Python's Flying Circus. It's impossible just to focus on one. This is part one of two. Or three we'll see how this goes.
Captain Jonathan Archer and Commander Trip Tucker were waiting at airlock 1's door. The whole Tucker clan is coming for the wedding at Trip is nervous. He has no clue what his father's mood is going to be like. Most of the time the senior Tucker is a fun loving caring guy but, when it comes to aliens he has a problem. Trip doesn't like to use the word xenophobic but it's the only way he can describe his father. The man raised his children to be like him a xenophobe. It didn't work for the most part. Sometimes Trip or his brother Jack could say something a little Xenophoic but they never meant it. Charlie Tucker almost disowned Trip when he announced that he was joining StarFleet and he was for sure going to do it when he told him he was marrying a Vulcan if they didn't start floating. But Lizzie was different, she could never hate anybody and if she wasn't daddy's little angel she probably would have lost contact with him a long time ago. Now he is standing there knowing the only reason his father is going to his wedding is because his Mother and Grandmother told him to.
In the shuttle Kathy was trying to make sure that her husband understood what he had to do. She loved him dearly but the one part that she couldn't stand was his xenophobia. He got it from his father she knew. Though Charles Tucker Sr. died quite a while ago she knows that he was just as bad as her husband. She looks at the woman to her left and she meets her eyes. She could tell that Abigail Tucker was just as nervous for this wedding as she is for the same reasons.
" Okay y'all I just wanted to remind everyone that we are to be on our best behavior and respect everyone's culture. I know that there will be two alien species there and I do not want to cause a problem with bad comments." She gives her husband a look before continuing. " I can tell that Trip really loves this woman so we are going to give them the support they deserve. Is that clear?" Kathy asks her husband, mother in law, children and grandchildren. Everyone answers with a yes.
When the airlock door opens Trip is automatically ambushed by his mother. He hugs her back just as tightly.
" So where's that bride of yours Trip?" Lizzie asked holding on to her four year old son Owen's hand. Her husband Pete to her right.
" Yeah Trip where's the hot Vulcan from the video screen?" Asked his younger brother Jack. His wife Cindy punched him in the arm for his comment causing his two sons Ben a fourth grader and Garrett a second grader to laugh.
" Get a grip Jack." Grandma Tucker scolded. " But really Trip where is the lovely woman?" Trip smiled at his mom's, siblings, nephews, and now grandmother's enthusiasm. But he was still nervous about his dad.
" She's at airlock two with Admiral Forrest to greet her family and friends." Trip told them.
" Yay more Vulcans." Charlie said automatically, earning a look from his son, mother, and wife.
" Charlie what did we discuss? If you are disrespectful one more time I will leave you. I am done with you Xenophobia in public and I refuse to be with someone who embarrases me. So you will not only say anything disrespectful but you will welcome the woman Trip wants to marry." Charlie quickly nods his head and answers.
" Yes Ma'am."
" Thank you mom. And dad the only Vulcan's that will be there is her mom and step father. The two friends that are coming to attend the wedding are humans." This shocked Charlie. He didn't know that Vulcan's would have human friends. Well then again she is marrying Trip.
" Well if you will follow us to the Captain's mess you can meet them. We are all having a big lunch the chef prepared." Captain Archer said, speaking for the first time. He receives a hug from Kathy Tucker before leading them to their destination.
Admiral Forrest and Sub-Commander T'Pol were waiting for the shuttle to dock together. The Admiral came the day before for the wedding. He was going to officiate the wedding since Jon was Trip's best man and Courtney Hazelwood was T'Pol's matron of honor. When they walked through the doors T'Les walked through followed by General Kirchoff and Admiral Hazelwood. T'Pol approaches her mother and holds up the traditional Vulcan salute.
" Live Long and Prosper mother. Where is Savek." Savek was T'Pol's step father. She never liked the Vulcan but respected her mother's decision.
" Peace and Long Life daughter. Savek and I have gotten a divorce. I do not wish to speak about the specifics at this time." T'Pol was only mildly surprised to hear the news of her mother's divorce. She has long known that Savek was unfaithful, it was just a matter of time.
" Admiral Hazelwood Live Long and Prosper." The Admiral smirked and rolled her eyes.
" I would tell you peace and long life but I know that for as long as you're married to Trip there will be none." This caused a laugh from Admiral forest and a slight smirk from General Kirchoff. T'Pol decided not to comment on her words and turned to her husband. General Kirchoff was the complete opposite of his wife. He showed no emotion on his face, was very logical, and his movements were swift. If it wasn't for the color of his blood and the tips of his ears then she would have thought him to be Vulcan.
" Live long and prosper General." The General did respond to her greetings in the proper way.
" Peace and long life Sub-Commander." His voice was flat and mellow. " Am I still to walk you down the aisle for the wedding?"
" Yes you are still to walk me down the aisle." She introduced her mother to Admiral Forrest.
" It's a pleasure to meet you. I see where T'Pol gets her beauty." T'Les' only response to the comment was the elevation of her eyebrow.
" We are to meet the Captain and the Tucker's for lunch at the Captain's mess. Follow me." T'Pol led the group to the mess hall.
Charles Tucker the second was unphased after a very tall man, two admirals, and two female Vulcans walked through the doors.
" Fleet Admiral on deck!" Called the steward who was taking meal orders. All of the StarFleet personnel stood at attention including the other Admiral in the room while the civilians just stood up for respect.
" As you were." Said the small petite woman in an admiral's uniform.
" Admiral Hazelwood, it's an honor to meet you." Captain Archer said to the woman.
" The honor is mine, Captain. I never got the chance to apologize for missing you guys leaving the dock. I had a security threat I had to take care of."
" No apology is needed, admiral. Though now I get to share an honor with you. I will be the best man while you are the matron of honor." The Admiral chuckled.
" I guess you're right. Let me introduce my husband General Fynn Kirchoff, head of Earth Security." The tall man in a stiff uniform and spit shine shoes put his hat down on the table and stuck out his hand.
" Captain." General Kirchoff said with a nod and heavy German accent. The rest of the introductions were made and Charlie was able not to say a word to the Vulcan's and that was lost to no one.
" Ma'am, the chef has prepared plomeek broth. Would you like that or should I read off the list?"
" The plomeek broth." Replied T'Les. The next order came from Admiral Hazelwood.
" I would love to try the chef's catfish." The steward smiled at the Admiral before moving on to the scary General.
" General Kirchoff, would you also like the catfish?" The General looked at the young man before deciding.
" Actually if I could I would like the plomeek broth. I haven't had it in years." The young man tried to hide his surprise.
" Yes sir." The Captain looked up fascinated.
" I have to say General when I tried it I found it quite bland. I couldn't imagine wanting to eat it again." Archer said with a chuckle while the Tuckers and Courtney laughed as well.
" When I lived on Vulcan for many years and that was one of the more bearable dishes. Plomeek dishes are traditionally as you say bland but most of the other food is either spicy or sour and well I find neither palatable." This earned another curious look though this time from Trip. Trip decided if he was going to learn anything from his wife's past then her friend would have the answers.
" Is that where you met T'Pol?" The General moved his blank stare from the Captain to the young Commander that his friend was married to.
" No, I knew her many years before then." The Tuckers were waiting for him to continue and when he didn't Lizzie tried.
" Well then how did the three of you meet?" The question was honest enough but the three of them looked at each other as if they were hiding a great secret. At the same time all three of them answered the same sentence.
" That is classified." Everyone in the room including the children who have stayed quiet intimidated the powerful adults in the room.
" Are you guys spys?" Asked little Garrett from his seat next to his mother enthusiastically. Archer laughed at the young boy's comment.
" T'Pol as a spy? Now that would be hilarious." Since she cannot hide her emotions from her husband Trip could feel her and knows that she is uncomfortable.
" You were a spy weren't you?" T'Pol raised an eyebrow, Butch eyes widened a fraction, and Courtney coughed uncomfortablly. All three of the people under scrutiny and T'Les share a look. Fynn gives T'Pol a small nod and she turns to her husband.
" Yes we were. We still are." That's when Jon started to see fire.
" That's why Soval sent on the mission wasn't it? He wanted so badly to ruin everything my father worked for, so he sent you to sabotage it." T'Les turned to the Captain and to him she just had her normal blank face but T'Pol could see the fury in her eyes. Soval and her father Sovek were in the human sense friends and he is T'Pol's counselor. Captain Archer making such accusations against him would make her enraged. T'Pol could tell her mother was about to say something to Archer but before she could say anything Fynn beat her to it.
" Captain I can't believe that you would say something like that. It is immature and childish. You especially can't make a claim like that when you don't have all the facts." Archer narrowed his eyes and took the challenge. A challenge he is going to lose.
" Really what facts am I missing?" Fynn gave him his best stare and told the truth.
" The first fact is that the only reason we are still spys is because once you take an oath you can't go back. If they want you to come off the reserves for any reason you do it no questions asked. The second fact that you are missing is that the only reason the Ambassador assigned T'Pol to the Enterprise was because Courtney asked him to. So don't go around acting like he's der Teufel when he just agreed because Courtney made a good case and T'Pol's a genius who can do any job on this ship if she had to." Archer looked down and then back up.
" You really do think highly of my first officer do you?"
" Of course I do. I have thought of her as my sister since the day we met. And in a way she is. My sister in arms." Archer nodded before answering trying not to offend the scary German even more.
" I have been starting to think of T'Pol as a friend as well." Fynn actually smiled at the comment. When the Captain backed down grandma Tucker asked a question to no one in particular.
" What is ' der Teufel'?" Both Courtney and T'Pol answer at the same time.
" The Devil." Everyone in the room looked at them like they grew two heads. Well everyone but T'Les who had her Vulcan face on.
" You have to stop doing that." Admiral Forrest commented and all of the humans in the room except for Charles Tucker laughed. After their meal Trip noticed that Archer went quiet for most of the meal.
" Hey Cap'n is there something wrong?" Jon turned to Trip and sighed.
" Yeah there is. Admiral is it true that you asked Soval to send T'Pol on the mission." Courtney looked Jon in the eyes when she gave her answer.
" Yes I did. You weren't ready for a mission that big and I knew that if anyone could put up with us illogical Humans and get the job done it's T'Pol." She could see the Captain's disappointment when she finished. " Captain I am not saying that you don't belong here, you have proven yourself as an amazing leader. But that did not mean that I didn't have my doubts that you were ready to face the Klingons. I've been out here, faster than any other human by the way. And I know the dangers that come with it, I just didn't want to risk almost a hundred of the best minds in StarFleet." Jon gives her a pointed look and Forrest narrows his eyes.
" You sound like you think we should have let the Vulcan's let him die and ship him to Kronos in a box." Hazelwood squared her shoulders and took the challenge.
" That's because I think we should have. I don't like that it took this long to get the warp 5 engine up and running as much as the next officer in StarFleet but, I have dealt with the Klingons before and I think that Ambassador Soval made an excellent point in saying that letting the Klingon die an honorable death would probably have sat better with the Klingons that returning him. It might not be our way but it's theirs and we have to respect their culture." The Admiral, Captain, Commander, and the rest of the Tucker family looked at her dumbfounded.
" Admiral are you telling me that you would have let that man die rather than return him to his planet? That's barbaric Courtney." Forrest said disgusted.
" Exactly, Klingons are barbaric. They think that it is better to die honorably than to be weak and live the rest of your life a coward. Since we returned him he has probably become an outcast from society. That and the Klingons have no respect for anyone else. Why should we give a damn about them?" Kathy Tucker above all is a christian woman and she would do anything to see the good in someone, no matter what species.
" Has anyone ever tried to speak to these Klingons for a long period of time. Maybe you're just misunderstanding what they are trying to say." Kathy offered the arguing group. T'Les decided to use her degree in intergalactic history to prove her daughter's and Admiral Hazelwood's point.
" In the Earth year of 2016 a Vulcan ship went to make first contact with the Klingons. When the ship crossed into Klingon space the Klingons fired on sight and destroyed the Vulcan vessel. The same thing has happened with every ship that crosses into their space without permission. Mrs. Tucker Vulcan's do not make the same mistake twice…" T'Les was cut off by Admiral Hazelwood.
" Except for T'Pol who is marrying Trip twice." Archer, Forrest, and Hazelwood laughed at the horrible joke. T'Pol gave Courtney a stink eye before T'Les continued.
" We knew that if we let the Klingons into our territory without permission then they would try and take us over and make us a part of their empire so we did the same thing they did. Without warning we destroyed their battleship. This went on and everytime we destroyed one of their ships their respect for us grew. It is one of the many reasons why agents like my daughter, her friends, and even my husband before he died have made aquatiences with some Klingon traders and some government workers." The Tucker's, Forrest, and Archer took the history lesson meaning in and only got one thing out of it.
" Wait, your friends with Klingons? Man this day keeps getting weirder and weirder." Trip said, shaking his head. Courtney sighed.
" That would be the only thing you got out of the story. Look what you guys have been doing out here is amazing and I will gladly leave the exploring to you guys but please please please leave the Klingons and a number of other hostile species to the professionals." Every human laughed at Courtney's pleading voice.
The next day was it, the wedding day. Courtney, Lizzie, Hoshi, Kathy, Abigail, T'Les, and Cidny were in Courtney and Fynn's huge guest suit getting ready. Hoshi brought the wedding dress from the quartermaster.
" Wow Ensign did the quartermaster make this entire thing? Where did he get the materia?" Admiral Hazelwood asked, admiring the dress.
" Yeah he said that he loaded the rest of the fabric that he had from his failed fashion store." Hoshi said quietly.
" He lost it when the economy dropped didn't he?" Hoshi nodded her head. " Another piece of advice the Vulcan's gave us and we didn't listen to. Vulcan's can be arrogant, condescending behindes sometimes but they know their math." Courtney shook her head taking the dress to the bathroom so T'Pol could put it on. When she came out everyone except for T'Les and T'Pol smiled.
" Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful." Catherine said tears forming in her eyes. Abigale meets her eyes and nods. They finish getting her ready and she looks magnificent. The white dress with lace sleeves and a high neck. It was stunning. The door chimed and the tall general with his dress uniform and his medals on. When he caught sight of T'Pol he stopped dead in his tracks.
" Du siehst umwerfend aus!" He yells not realizing that he said it in German. Courtney looks at him and shakes her head in fake jealousy. The Tuckers look at each other not knowing what is going on.
" Do you know what he said?" Lizzie asked T'Les who just looked at her and nodded.
" He said that she looked stunning." Lizzie nodded and decided to push her luck and try to have a conversation with the older woman.
" Where did you learn German?" T'Les looked at the young woman who is her son in law's sister.
" My late husband and ex husband both worked on Earth for a period of time. I went to several meetings and learned many of Earth's languages."
" That sounds very interesting, what did your husbands do?" Lizzie was excited that she finally found something to talk about with Trip's new family. T'Pol seems nice enough and is obviously strong and brilliant but she doesn't know what to talk about with her.
" T'Pol's father was an agent just like she was and is one of the main reasons she became one. My former husband is a scientist in Hawaii." They continue to talk about the many Earth languages that T'Les knows and the few that Lizzie knows until it is time for the wedding to start.
Trip and his wedding party ( Jon, Charlie, Pete, and Jack) are getting ready for the ceremony. Trip is wearing his dress uniform with all the decorations pinned on his chest. Trip hates the constricted uniform but T'Pol asked him to wear it and he noticed early on in their relationship that he could never deny her. He was mostly excited though a little nervous. Not nervous because he isn't sure that he wants to marry her but nervous that he's going to mess up. The Vulcan ceremony was the hardest thing he has ever done and that's saying something since he's the Chief Engineer of Earth's first warp 5 engine. But he has never been good with languages not even english and having to speak Vulcan in front of your Vulcan wife and her Vulcan mother with some Vulcan yoda watching you the entire time is nerve wracking. This is different though because he knows this ceremony, he's been to plenty and has watched them on TV so he knows what to do but he also realized that this is it. This is the moment that he has been waiting for his entire life. He is about to marry the woman of his dreams on the ship of his dreams and he can't wait. He was still thinking when his father came up and slapped him on the shoulder.
" Hey son, what are you dreaming about?" Trip looked at his father and noticed that he hasn't given his signature Tucker grin the entire time he's been aboard. Trip knows who his father is and knows that he isn't going to change anytime soon but he hopes that he can let down his barriers for just a second and see how happy he is.
" Just thinking about the wedding." His father's eyes lit up a second before he asked.
" You having second thoughts? Because if you are it's not the end of the world. I'm sure that that wife of yours will find a good Vulcan for her and…" Trip quickly cut his father off.
" Dad I'm not having second thoughts and please don't ever have that conversation with me again. I know you can't see it but I love T'Pol and I know that she loves me back. Yeah she might not be able to show it or say it back but she doesn't have to. I will never ask her to be anybody but herself and herself is an emotion suppressing Vulcan and that is all I could ask for. So dad can you please just be happy for me. And if not for me than for mom? Because I know that if she finds out that we had this conversation she would be heartbroken." Charlie looked down before nodding.
" Okay son I will shut up and stop telling you about the mistake you're making but when this relationship falls apart I don't want you showing up at our door drunk. You hear me?"
" I hear you pop. But don't worry I have never been so sure about anything before. I love her.
" If you say so." Just then Forrest makes the call saying that it's show time.