A/N: you know the drill….. Next chappy… Becky, who usually doesn't type ANY of this (Emily usually does because she, I mean I, won't let her)… so if there's anything wrong with this one we can blame her!!!!
Chapter 27
The Captain had been gone for hours when Trip awoke in sickbay, not realizing that he'd fallen asleep. The doctor was working in the other end of sickbay and T'Pol was lying on a bed next to the chair he was in. She was still on life support but apparently stabilized. The life-support was now there only as a precaution against complications.
"Ah! Good morning commander," Doctor Phlox's cheerful voice greeted him.
"How long'v I been sleepin'?" Trip said rubbing his face groggily.
"Only about seven hours."
"Seven hours!? Why didn't you wake me up?" He asked standing up and looking over at The Doctor.
"You haven't gotten much sleep lately. I though it best to allow you a nap
"Oh," Trip replied. Had it been that obvious that he hadn't slept? At least his nap left hm feeling better, so he figured it better Phlox had not awakened him.
Since the sleep issue was covered, Trip decided to get back to more pressing matters. He looked at T'Pol with a hopeful expression, which Doctor Phlox seemed to recognize. "Her condition has begun to stabilize and she can now breathe on her own. However I will be keeping her on life support for several more hours just to be on the safe side."
Trip breathed a sigh of relief. "Good idea, Doc."
The Denobulan nodded.
"Do you know when she'll wake up?"
"Unfortunately no, commander. Although I can tell you that it will most likely be at least two days."
'TWO DAYS' Trip thought. The Vulcan's where definitely going to be suspicious if T'Pol didn't show up for two days. 'Hell, they're probably already suspicious.' They had been all over the ship only hours earlier.
"Is there any way to wake 'er up before then Doc?" He pleaded.
"I'm afraid forcefully waking her in this condition would be extremely dangerous." The Doctor told him sadly.
"Damn! We tried so hard to keep this from the Vulcans and now there's no way to keep 'em from finding out, is there Doc?"
I do believe we will have to inform them that this has happened." Phlox said in a less-than-cheerful tone.
"Damn!" Trip said again. This left The Doctor at a loss for words. "How come this had t' happen! We could have sent those Vulcans on their way. But then this had t' happen! And the worst part is we still don't know what happened t' 'er in the first place! Now the Vulcans are probably gonna blame us for this!"
"What gives you that idea, Commander?" The doctor asked trying to stop Trip from rambling while making him think more rationally at the same time.
"You know the Vulcans! It'd be their chance t' send us home, not to mention drag T'Pol back t' Vulcan in disgrace"
"That is not correct commander. We really have no idea how the Vulcans will react to the situation."
Trip looked like his best friend had just punched him in the face. "Doc! You know as well as I do what the Vulcans think of us. They've tried t' send Enterprise packing at least a dozen times over the last two and a half years! And they've tried t' take T'Pol away even more than that!"
"Commander, the Vulcans here are her family members. I'm sure they have no intention of sending anything they find out to the High Command or Starfleet. I'm sure they don't want her disgraced."
"What makes you think that? They hate 'er!"
"That is an inaccurate assessment, commander. If sub-commander T'Pol were awake, I'm sure she would tell you the same thing. Vulcans don't, or rather can't, hate."
Suddenly, Trip's thoughts wandered back to T'Pol's quarters two years earlier. He remembered giving her the advice not to marry Koss. And now that advice was blowing up in his face as the same people whom she'd informed of her desire to stay on Enterprise were now on the ship trying to force her to marry Koss. Trip was angered at that thought. He didn't know why. But the thought of T'Pol being forced into marriage somehow infuriated him. The Doctor noticed this. "Commander?" He inquired.
This brought Trip back to reality. "Oh, sorry Doc. I was just thinking'."
"About what? If you don't mind me asking."
"Actually I do mind. I wish I could tell ya, but it's not my place. I promised someone that I'd keep it a secret," he told Doctor Phlox reluctantly. "Sorry."
"No apology is necessary. It isn't my place, either, to ask you to break a promise just for me," he responded, putting his hands up in a gesture of sincerity. This last exchange calmed Trip down and cheered up the Doctor, returning them to their normal selves.
Doctor Phlox, after his last statement, took a look at the scans of T'Pol before walking back to work on something at the other end of sickbay.
"Ya know, if you want, Doc, I can stay here an' watch 'er while you grab something t' eat," he suggested from across sickbay. "Ya haven't left since I brought 'er in here so I'm sure you're hungry," he added, hoping Phlox would take the hint.
The Doctor pondered this for a moment, just holding something in his hand as if he were in a picture. Unfortunately, he seemed pretty much clueless as to the Commander's suggestion. "I see no need to leave sickbay. I can wait at least six more hours before I eat."
Trip figured the Doctor would never understand a subtle hint so something a little more obvious was necessary. "Doc?" He asked again. "Could ya just leave sickbay for a little while?" At this, Phlox noticed Trip staring at T'Pol.
"Ah… I see. I suppose eating now couldn't hurt. I'll be back within an hour, Commander. Be sure to check on her vital systems at least once while I'm gone."
"Vital systems... at least once… got it," he said, thinking out loud, trying to encourage the Doctor to speed it up a bit. Fortunately, he did take the hint this time and the Denobulan finally left Trip and T'Pol alone.
He didn't really know why he'd wanted to be alone with T'Pol's unconscious form. He only knew that he did. But as he stared down at her lying there, he understood why. He needed time to think, but also needed to be near her.
Not that the Captain was right, though. He didn't have feelings for her. No one would ever understand their odd relationship. Somehow, out of all the arguing and working together they had reached a mutual understanding and a need to protect each other. Some might even call them friends, but that wouldn't be entirely correct either. They were closer than friends. Not in a romantic sense, but in a caring sense.
And now that had almost ended. One of his closest friends, if not his very closest, had nearly died that day. And he had barely been able to save her life. Not that he could really justify that. After all, it had been his fault that this had all happened in the first place. So now he felt he had to protect her.
No, the Captain was wrong about him. He didn't have feelings for her. That was impossible. "Impossible," he said out loud, as if it would give more meaning to the word.
He kept staring at her, as if taking his eyes off of her would make her condition worsen. As he stared, he reached his hand back and grabbed the chair that he'd slept in and pulled it under him. He sat down, his eyes still unmoving, and set his hands in the edge of the biobed in front of him.
*****flashback*****
It was dark, with only one obvious light source. He was lying down and he looked over. T'Pol was on a surgical bed. There was something attached to her face… some kind of tube.
*****end flashback*****
"What the hell?!" he shouted, pushing his chair back and jumping out of it. He looked as if he'd just been stung by a bee as he fled back and away from the biobed. Once he was away from them, he realized what had happened. It was now bright and he was not lying down. He'd had another strange flashback, this time of something completely different. Even with this realization, he suddenly had the gut feeling that T'Pol was in danger. He walked back over to her side, this time checking her vital signs as the Doctor had instructed. She was still stable, but he still had that gut feeling. He stood next to her, checking all the equipment around her only to find that there was nothing wrong with any of it. Next he looked around sickbay, especially near the biobed, from his position. Still nothing.
`"If there's nothin' here, then why the hell can't I stop thinking' that somethin' bad is gonna happen to ya?" He asked T'Pol, knowing full well that he wouldn't get an answer. Instead, he just lifted her small hand and clasped it between both of his. Somehow this comforted him, knowing that she couldn't run away and that he couldn't leave her. As he held her hand, he used his foot to once again pull the chair under him and he sat down in it. He looked down at her face, which was still and made her seem oblivious to what was going on around her. 'Damn, she is beautiful,' he though to himself. 'But I don't have feelin's for 'er.'
He lifted her hand up and removed his hand from the top of it. He moved her hand carefully to his mouth and kissed it softly. Strangely, he didn't feel worried that she might find out. Instead, he just set her hand back down, sandwiching it once again between his own, and laid his head back before falling asleep.
A/N2: yes, that one was shippy…. Well, it was SUPPOSED to be… oh yes, and that's three…!!!! I promised four this week… Only one more to go and I will have fulfilled my commitment…. Just kidding.. We'll keep typing this week until our hands fall off… we WANT to get this thing typed up……
Chapter 27
The Captain had been gone for hours when Trip awoke in sickbay, not realizing that he'd fallen asleep. The doctor was working in the other end of sickbay and T'Pol was lying on a bed next to the chair he was in. She was still on life support but apparently stabilized. The life-support was now there only as a precaution against complications.
"Ah! Good morning commander," Doctor Phlox's cheerful voice greeted him.
"How long'v I been sleepin'?" Trip said rubbing his face groggily.
"Only about seven hours."
"Seven hours!? Why didn't you wake me up?" He asked standing up and looking over at The Doctor.
"You haven't gotten much sleep lately. I though it best to allow you a nap
"Oh," Trip replied. Had it been that obvious that he hadn't slept? At least his nap left hm feeling better, so he figured it better Phlox had not awakened him.
Since the sleep issue was covered, Trip decided to get back to more pressing matters. He looked at T'Pol with a hopeful expression, which Doctor Phlox seemed to recognize. "Her condition has begun to stabilize and she can now breathe on her own. However I will be keeping her on life support for several more hours just to be on the safe side."
Trip breathed a sigh of relief. "Good idea, Doc."
The Denobulan nodded.
"Do you know when she'll wake up?"
"Unfortunately no, commander. Although I can tell you that it will most likely be at least two days."
'TWO DAYS' Trip thought. The Vulcan's where definitely going to be suspicious if T'Pol didn't show up for two days. 'Hell, they're probably already suspicious.' They had been all over the ship only hours earlier.
"Is there any way to wake 'er up before then Doc?" He pleaded.
"I'm afraid forcefully waking her in this condition would be extremely dangerous." The Doctor told him sadly.
"Damn! We tried so hard to keep this from the Vulcans and now there's no way to keep 'em from finding out, is there Doc?"
I do believe we will have to inform them that this has happened." Phlox said in a less-than-cheerful tone.
"Damn!" Trip said again. This left The Doctor at a loss for words. "How come this had t' happen! We could have sent those Vulcans on their way. But then this had t' happen! And the worst part is we still don't know what happened t' 'er in the first place! Now the Vulcans are probably gonna blame us for this!"
"What gives you that idea, Commander?" The doctor asked trying to stop Trip from rambling while making him think more rationally at the same time.
"You know the Vulcans! It'd be their chance t' send us home, not to mention drag T'Pol back t' Vulcan in disgrace"
"That is not correct commander. We really have no idea how the Vulcans will react to the situation."
Trip looked like his best friend had just punched him in the face. "Doc! You know as well as I do what the Vulcans think of us. They've tried t' send Enterprise packing at least a dozen times over the last two and a half years! And they've tried t' take T'Pol away even more than that!"
"Commander, the Vulcans here are her family members. I'm sure they have no intention of sending anything they find out to the High Command or Starfleet. I'm sure they don't want her disgraced."
"What makes you think that? They hate 'er!"
"That is an inaccurate assessment, commander. If sub-commander T'Pol were awake, I'm sure she would tell you the same thing. Vulcans don't, or rather can't, hate."
Suddenly, Trip's thoughts wandered back to T'Pol's quarters two years earlier. He remembered giving her the advice not to marry Koss. And now that advice was blowing up in his face as the same people whom she'd informed of her desire to stay on Enterprise were now on the ship trying to force her to marry Koss. Trip was angered at that thought. He didn't know why. But the thought of T'Pol being forced into marriage somehow infuriated him. The Doctor noticed this. "Commander?" He inquired.
This brought Trip back to reality. "Oh, sorry Doc. I was just thinking'."
"About what? If you don't mind me asking."
"Actually I do mind. I wish I could tell ya, but it's not my place. I promised someone that I'd keep it a secret," he told Doctor Phlox reluctantly. "Sorry."
"No apology is necessary. It isn't my place, either, to ask you to break a promise just for me," he responded, putting his hands up in a gesture of sincerity. This last exchange calmed Trip down and cheered up the Doctor, returning them to their normal selves.
Doctor Phlox, after his last statement, took a look at the scans of T'Pol before walking back to work on something at the other end of sickbay.
"Ya know, if you want, Doc, I can stay here an' watch 'er while you grab something t' eat," he suggested from across sickbay. "Ya haven't left since I brought 'er in here so I'm sure you're hungry," he added, hoping Phlox would take the hint.
The Doctor pondered this for a moment, just holding something in his hand as if he were in a picture. Unfortunately, he seemed pretty much clueless as to the Commander's suggestion. "I see no need to leave sickbay. I can wait at least six more hours before I eat."
Trip figured the Doctor would never understand a subtle hint so something a little more obvious was necessary. "Doc?" He asked again. "Could ya just leave sickbay for a little while?" At this, Phlox noticed Trip staring at T'Pol.
"Ah… I see. I suppose eating now couldn't hurt. I'll be back within an hour, Commander. Be sure to check on her vital systems at least once while I'm gone."
"Vital systems... at least once… got it," he said, thinking out loud, trying to encourage the Doctor to speed it up a bit. Fortunately, he did take the hint this time and the Denobulan finally left Trip and T'Pol alone.
He didn't really know why he'd wanted to be alone with T'Pol's unconscious form. He only knew that he did. But as he stared down at her lying there, he understood why. He needed time to think, but also needed to be near her.
Not that the Captain was right, though. He didn't have feelings for her. No one would ever understand their odd relationship. Somehow, out of all the arguing and working together they had reached a mutual understanding and a need to protect each other. Some might even call them friends, but that wouldn't be entirely correct either. They were closer than friends. Not in a romantic sense, but in a caring sense.
And now that had almost ended. One of his closest friends, if not his very closest, had nearly died that day. And he had barely been able to save her life. Not that he could really justify that. After all, it had been his fault that this had all happened in the first place. So now he felt he had to protect her.
No, the Captain was wrong about him. He didn't have feelings for her. That was impossible. "Impossible," he said out loud, as if it would give more meaning to the word.
He kept staring at her, as if taking his eyes off of her would make her condition worsen. As he stared, he reached his hand back and grabbed the chair that he'd slept in and pulled it under him. He sat down, his eyes still unmoving, and set his hands in the edge of the biobed in front of him.
*****flashback*****
It was dark, with only one obvious light source. He was lying down and he looked over. T'Pol was on a surgical bed. There was something attached to her face… some kind of tube.
*****end flashback*****
"What the hell?!" he shouted, pushing his chair back and jumping out of it. He looked as if he'd just been stung by a bee as he fled back and away from the biobed. Once he was away from them, he realized what had happened. It was now bright and he was not lying down. He'd had another strange flashback, this time of something completely different. Even with this realization, he suddenly had the gut feeling that T'Pol was in danger. He walked back over to her side, this time checking her vital signs as the Doctor had instructed. She was still stable, but he still had that gut feeling. He stood next to her, checking all the equipment around her only to find that there was nothing wrong with any of it. Next he looked around sickbay, especially near the biobed, from his position. Still nothing.
`"If there's nothin' here, then why the hell can't I stop thinking' that somethin' bad is gonna happen to ya?" He asked T'Pol, knowing full well that he wouldn't get an answer. Instead, he just lifted her small hand and clasped it between both of his. Somehow this comforted him, knowing that she couldn't run away and that he couldn't leave her. As he held her hand, he used his foot to once again pull the chair under him and he sat down in it. He looked down at her face, which was still and made her seem oblivious to what was going on around her. 'Damn, she is beautiful,' he though to himself. 'But I don't have feelin's for 'er.'
He lifted her hand up and removed his hand from the top of it. He moved her hand carefully to his mouth and kissed it softly. Strangely, he didn't feel worried that she might find out. Instead, he just set her hand back down, sandwiching it once again between his own, and laid his head back before falling asleep.
A/N2: yes, that one was shippy…. Well, it was SUPPOSED to be… oh yes, and that's three…!!!! I promised four this week… Only one more to go and I will have fulfilled my commitment…. Just kidding.. We'll keep typing this week until our hands fall off… we WANT to get this thing typed up……