Author's Note: I personally went over this twice, so I hope there aren't many mistakes, if any. And thanks Catspaw for offering to beta-read for me, I might take you up on that.

Summary: When they discover what the anomaly is, what else will the senior staff and crew learn?

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Chapter 8:

Mouse and Cat?

**Bridge**

Trip, after his conversation with T'Pol, decided to head up to the bridge and help out. Once he got there, Malcolm, Travis, T'Pol, Hoshi, and the Captain all stood around the briefing table. Captain Archer turned to look at him, annoyance clearly showing through his cool demeanor.

"So, what did I miss?" Trip asked as he slowed his pace, as he got closer to them; starting to feel uncomfortable under their scrutiny.

"T'Pol found good reason to believe that the anomaly following us is, in fact, the Taso ship," Archer informed him, Trip heard none of the irritation in his voice but he could see it his eyes.

Trip looked over at T'Pol and caught her eyes with his. He smirked as he walked over to the table and thought to her, 'way t' go.' He then stood across from her; so he wouldn't have to take his eyes off her.

"What we do not understand is this trail they are leaving behind them. It does not appear to be an ion or warp trail," Malcolm added to Archer's statement.

"We must have hurt them more than we realized," he muttered and then, after a pause, he thought, 'It might be the particles in cloaking field. When they sent that tacyon beam at their shields they must have harmed the cloaking generator.'

T'Pol heard his thoughts and replied, 'That could be it. The cloaking field and the particles seem to exhibit similar readings.'

During their conversation, the rest of the senior staff watched the series of exchanges between the two. They saw the different emotions, expressions, and body language they were displaying. What they thought they were seeing, Trip and T'Pol's own private conversation, was completely true, though they didn't know that yet.

When it seemed their conversation had come to an end, they finally looked back up at the rest of them; expectant looks on their faces. It seemed that they had no idea no one else heard their discussion. They all stood, dazed and confused; Trip and T'Pol not realizing what they had just done and the rest not knowing that anyone possessed that ability much less them. Nor did they have any idea what they just said.

Archer regained his composure and took control of the situation by saying, "You three back to your satiation and keep working on it. Trip, T'Pol, come with me." As the three confused officers walked back to the front of the bridge as Archer led the duo to his ready room.

**Med. Facility**

A shrilling scream echoed through the large room. Accompanying it was a laugh that could only belong to a evil soul. The laughter soon died off once the scream ended.

Uion walked up to the exhausted, battered man lying on a wooden board. This was merely amusement to him, not really research in which the man was originally taken for.

Captain Terion walked in and noticed one of the Doctor's latest 'experiments'. He flinched when he saw the agony on the man's face; he never really had developed the stomach to torture people, that was the Doctor's and Xion's department. Of course it didn't bother him to be associated with these types of people or the idea of it.

When Uion saw him, he allowed his 'specimen' to relax and rest while he talked to his Captain. "You wanted to talk, Doctor?"

"Yes, I have been able to activate the implants, sir." The doctor's reply was in a tone that could almost be classified as excited or even proud.

Terion looked confused at that and voiced it clearly, "Implants? What implants? I was never informed of them."

Uion gave a look to match for a moment before he shook his head and muttered something about not trusting Xion with a simple job like a report. He led Terion his office, which had the same multicolored looked as everywhere else on the ship. As he pushed a few buttons on the console while Terion starred, impassively, at the changes in the colors of Uion's desk.

When Uion finished, a holographic brain rotated in mid-air. "This is Commander Tucker's brain. Here, at the base of his brain stem," the holographic image changed to an in-larged image of Trip's brain stem. You could barely see a silver chip where Uion pointed, "This thing is the implant. It's in the Sub-Commander as well. It monitors their physical and mental state, and even, in a way, their emotional. It automatically records everything; their body's reaction to stimuli around them, including the stimuli, their brain chemistry, their location, and the aforementioned things."

"Impressive, doctor. When were you able to put them in?" Terion asked, not interested in the implant itself but the topic of the report he was never give.

"After you transported them back, I put them in while they were still unconscious. It was incase you two decided to allow them to go back to their ship again, which I will remind you I was completely against in the beginning. It was risky and idiotic! Not to mention foolish!" This kind of attitude with the Captain would have bought almost anyone else a week in the brig except him. For one, Terion needed him and second, he had a right to say that to his face because it was true and necessary.

So instead, he shook his head at the doctor's outburst and told him to continue with his research on their most important subjects. He walked over to the door and once he was out, they quickly sank back into the camouflage of the wall.

**Archer's Ready Room**

The minute the doors closed, Archer was letting his frustration show. "What was that all about?"

"Sir?" T'Pol asked for the both of them, both not understanding the question.

"Come on, the entire crew and I have noticed how much you've been hanging out lately. Ever since that incident with the Taso and your fevers, you haven't had one argument; you're always around each other unless on duty, and no one but you knows what happened when you were sick. What's going on? What happened? I'm asking as a friend… for now." Archer went on, Trip and T'Pol only then realized that all of that was quit right.

The pair looked at each other. When T'Pol looked back at Archer, she preceded to explain what happened. "Something that the Taso did, provoked something in me called… the Ponn Farr. It is something that occurs every seven years of a Vulcan's adult life. It is… an irresistible, uncontrollable drive to return to the Vulcan home world and… mate."

"And that's what… you… did," Archer shock his head to get the image growing in his head to leave before getting back to business. "And let me guess, that… Ponn Farr was why you were sick. But how did Trip get it? He's not Vulcan."

"I… gave it to him through a Vulcan bonding ritual I did not even recall doing." T'Pol finished answering all but one of his questions.

"Bonding ritual? What's that?"

"Well fer one… we can speak… telepathically. Which is kinda what we were doing out there without noticing it," Trip explained, slowing his pace from the mile a minute confession to long, drawn out words as he realized what they had done.

Archer sighed and looked away, having no idea what to say to all that. "I… I don't know what to say. Except that I expected more of you."

"What do ya mean by that, Jon? We had no control over what we did. Hell, I don't even remember half of what I did during that time!" Trip practically yelled at his friend over the unfair accusation.

'Trip,' T'Pol thought softly to him, causing him to turn and look at her.

'Sorry,' he thought back and he sighed. His jaw clenched and he glared at Archer, fire burning in his eyes. "Are we done here, sir?"

"Yes, you're dismissed," The two walked out; Trip storming, holding down his anger, and T'Pol tried to stay in step behind him. Archer remained in his ready room as he tried to contemplate what he had just heard.

**The Turbolift**

'Trip, please look at me,' T'Pol pleaded with him in their own private manner. They had gone straight to the turbolift, or rather Trip had gone and T'Pol followed. After one or two minutes of standing in the turbolift, he hadn't said a word, telepathically or verbally, not since they had left the Captain's ready room. He merely stood starring at the door, steaming.

"Trip, I do not understand why you are mad at the Captain. He was only doing his duty to find out why we were indeed acting differently," T'Pol spoke aloud rather than telepathically for she knew that, like touching, was a very intimate act and this was not the time for that.

He tried to look forward and ignore her but she took his face in her hands and forced him to look at her. She stared into his angered, blue eyes and he into her calm ones. "Computer, halt turbolift," the turbolift tentatively stooped and Trip knew she wanted an answer there and then and there was no negotiating.

He felt the calm and order of her mind as he reached into it. The waves of tranquility, relaxed him and he allowed his anger to dissipate. When the fire in his eyes had been cooled to a soft simmer, he replied to her inquiry, "I know, but Jon's my best friend, ya'd think he'd be a little more understanding."

T'Pol put a sympathetic hand on his right shoulder and then he laid his left hand on hers. After staying like that for a few seconds, T'Pol told the computer to continue. When they felt the turbolift begin to move again, Trip took his hand off of hers and she let hers slid down his arm. Before it could retreat back to its appointed place next to her leg, he grabbed it and laced his fingers through hers. They looked into each other's eyes and both smiled. When the lift stopped, they let go of their hands, so they weren't seen by anyone passing by, and walked out the now opened door.

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Please R/R, I'd love to hear what you think of this chapter. Like was Trip storming out a little too much?

Anyway, I hoped you liked it.