A/N: ok, this is an author's note saying there will be no more author's notes… not at the beginning of each chappy anyway…. I will still have them at bottom… thanks to zealousgirl for the suggestion
Chapter 34
"All I did was kiss 'er sir," Trip defended. "How was I supposed t' know someone was around the corner watching?"
"Watching? It didn't matter whether someone was watching. You shouldn't have done it at all!" Captain Archer was trying to knock some common sense back into his friend, who had clearly lost all that he had.
"Why not?"
The Captain sighed in frustration. "I can't stress enough how important it is that the Vulcans don't find out anything about T'Pol's situation. And every time you do something stupid like this, it becomes every bit more likely that they will. Not to mention what would happen if word of this were to reach the High Command. They'd probably recall T'Pol from Enterprise once and for all. Without even giving it a second though. And the fact that you did all this in the first place lets me know that you don't want that to happen." He waited a moment to let what he'd said sink in. "Now… you're not to say a word about this. And if I find out you've done it again…"
"Understood," Trip answered obediently, knowing full well that the Captain could indeed get him in trouble, either on the ship or with Starfleet, if he truly felt it was necessary.
Archer nodded, knowing that Trip really did understand, at least for now. "Good," he finished, still in a serious, commanding tone. "Now… the Vulcans are suspicious enough already," he said, half to himself. "Where's T'Pol now?" He hoped he could find a way to keep this from the Vulcans.
Trip, who had been staring at the floor submissively since telling the Captain that he understood his orders, jerked his head up at the realization that he was being asked a question. "Uh… her quarters still. I think… that's where we were when…" he started waving his hands in a 'you-know-what-I-mean' gesture. "…Well, ya know." It was clear that he was quite embarrassed now, based on the tone of voice with which he spoke and the gesturing he used.
"Kissed her?" the Captain prodded, changing to a teasing tone at this chance to embarrass Trip with such things.
"Kissed HER?" Trip asked in offense. "Hey! It's not like she had nothin' t' do with it!" he started defensively. "She didn't exactly push me away."
"Oh?" he prompted, suddenly interested in what Trip had to say but also hoping he could finally get an explanation of what had really happened. He wanted to know what could have compelled his chief engineer and good friend to do it… he simply couldn't believe what had happened. But he assumed he would never truly know the answer to that question.
"Whad'ya mean, 'oh'?" The Captain gave Trip his best 'you-know-exactly-what-I-mean' look and Trip returned his best 'yeah…but-that-doesn't-mean-I-wanna-answer-ya' look. Over the course of several minutes and at least thirty distinct looks from each, Trip finally and reluctantly gave up and the Captain triumphantly gave a final 'ok… now-it's-time-to-answer-me' look.
Unfortunately, Archer may have won the battle, but he hadn't won the war. Trip wasn't willing to give up completely yet. "Why d' you wanna know? And what the hell makes ya think I'm gonna tell ya?"
Captain Archer was taken aback by his friend's sudden change in attitude. "Trip!"
"Cap'n! No one was supposed t' be there! No one was supposed t' find out about this! It was supposed t' be a secret!" He was shouting once again, just as he always did when he became angry or frustrated.
"I could order you to tell me."
Just when he began to think that Trip'd had more attitude changes in this conversation than were humanly possible, his friend's expression changed to one of sheer terror. That one threat alone had terrified the engineer beyond belief, at least for a short time. And although his face turned back to anger after only a few moments, it became clear to Archer that Trip was far more worried about this getting out than even his Captain was. Perhaps there was more going on than he'd thought.
"Trip, if you don't tell me at least something, I'm going to have to make this an order." Trip was obviously acting as stubborn as could be and didn't plan on answering anything, even if his defiance got him a court-martial. Therefore, Archer was left with only one chance of ever getting an answer. "Fine, Trip. You don't want to say anything… you can go ahead and leave. Maybe T'Pol will be more forthcoming."
"What?! No! Ya can't ask T'Pol!" Everyone knew that Trip had pretty loose lips, but he was nothing compared to T'Pol under orders. Trip began contemplating and the Captain waited a moment before inquiring. "Trip?"
"Well, I'm not sure where t' start, Cap'n," he answered honestly.
At this, Archer simply gave him a Vulcan-style raised eyebrow. "T'Pol would," he said mischievously.
"Ok, ok!"
"Careful, Trip. Don't want you hyperventilating before you get around to your answer."
Despite the sarcasm in his statement, Trip calmed down immensely and settled into a chair. "Hope ya don't mind if I sit down."
"No… not if you tell me what happened."
Trip raised his hands in defeat. "Alright." He cleared his throat nervously before continuing. "Well…. You remember a few days ago when ya told me I had feelin's for T'Pol…. An' I wouldn't believe ya?" he paused until Archer nodded. "Well… let's just say ya… put the idea in my head…. And it didn't wanna leave." Trip fidgeted a little out of obvious nervousness, but Archer wouldn't let him stop there.
"Oh no, you don't! I want to know EVERYTHING… Anything that may even POSSIBLY explain what the hell you were thinking!"
Trip looked battered and worn down, which was exactly what Archer wanted at that moment, so he had nothing better to do than explain the whole thing. "Well yesterday, I was visiting 'er an' we were talkin'… an' then, outta the blue, she accuses me of makin' 'romantic advances.'" At this, the Captain's eyes got slightly larger and he tilted his head as he considered asking exactly how THAT had happened. "Then I admitted to it, which I think kinda surprised 'er, and we mutually decided t' talk about somethin' else… Then today she was ready t' go back to 'er quarters… t' tell 'er family what's goin' on… an' I offered t' go along… ya know, for moral support." Again, the Captain was humored, but now he was also slightly angered as well. "An', well… we were on our way back to 'er quarters when crewmen Curtis an' Fuerstenberg came runnin' around the corridor. I knew they weren't gonna slow down so I pulled 'er up against the wall… Then, t' make a long story short, I realized you were right all along… an'… well, the rest you know."
The Captain simply sat there, blinking and putting his head down to hide the twinkle of humor in his eye. "Actually, Trip… Hoshi's description was… vague at best."
Trip, who had lowered his head in guilt almost immediately upon the finishing of his tale, now shot a terrified and angry glare at his Captain. "Oh no, Cap'n! I'm not gonna--wait a minute… H-Ho-Hoshi? You were talkin' t' Hoshi?" Trip asked worriedly.
"Yes, I was talking to Hoshi. Is there a problem?"
"No! No problem…" Trip, of course, wasn't going to tell the Captain how he had taken T'Pol the rest of the way before kissing her again, only to be seen by Hoshi and running after her like a chicken with it's head cut off. "Except, after she left, I… well, I kinda panicked an'… left T'Pol there."
"You left her ALONE?!" the Captain exclaimed in disbelief.
"Well… I was gonna go in with 'er… t' talk to the Vulcans. But I panicked, Cap'n. I didn't know what t' do, so I just ran. Once I realized what I was doin', I ran back t' help T'Pol. But when I got there she was gone--probably in 'er quarters."
"Ok, Trip…" The Captain said, putting his hand out to stop Trip's endless rambling. "So you went to see her?" The engineer nodded. "But she wouldn't let you in or talk to you?" Once again, he nodded.
"I'm sorry, Cap'n. I guess I wasn't thinking'! But I tried t' talk to 'er afterward!" Trip shouted defensively.
"I know, Trip," Archer assured him, trying to calm his friend down. "And there's nothing either of us can do to change what happened. But you made a bad decision, Trip. If the Vulcans find out…"
All Trip could do was nod, showing that he understood.
A/N2: hope you liked this chappy… Things will start to really heat up in just a few chapters… until then, feel free to speculate on what that means…. Anyway, sorry again for taking so long on this chapter… next one is fairly short so should be up soon…
Chapter 34
"All I did was kiss 'er sir," Trip defended. "How was I supposed t' know someone was around the corner watching?"
"Watching? It didn't matter whether someone was watching. You shouldn't have done it at all!" Captain Archer was trying to knock some common sense back into his friend, who had clearly lost all that he had.
"Why not?"
The Captain sighed in frustration. "I can't stress enough how important it is that the Vulcans don't find out anything about T'Pol's situation. And every time you do something stupid like this, it becomes every bit more likely that they will. Not to mention what would happen if word of this were to reach the High Command. They'd probably recall T'Pol from Enterprise once and for all. Without even giving it a second though. And the fact that you did all this in the first place lets me know that you don't want that to happen." He waited a moment to let what he'd said sink in. "Now… you're not to say a word about this. And if I find out you've done it again…"
"Understood," Trip answered obediently, knowing full well that the Captain could indeed get him in trouble, either on the ship or with Starfleet, if he truly felt it was necessary.
Archer nodded, knowing that Trip really did understand, at least for now. "Good," he finished, still in a serious, commanding tone. "Now… the Vulcans are suspicious enough already," he said, half to himself. "Where's T'Pol now?" He hoped he could find a way to keep this from the Vulcans.
Trip, who had been staring at the floor submissively since telling the Captain that he understood his orders, jerked his head up at the realization that he was being asked a question. "Uh… her quarters still. I think… that's where we were when…" he started waving his hands in a 'you-know-what-I-mean' gesture. "…Well, ya know." It was clear that he was quite embarrassed now, based on the tone of voice with which he spoke and the gesturing he used.
"Kissed her?" the Captain prodded, changing to a teasing tone at this chance to embarrass Trip with such things.
"Kissed HER?" Trip asked in offense. "Hey! It's not like she had nothin' t' do with it!" he started defensively. "She didn't exactly push me away."
"Oh?" he prompted, suddenly interested in what Trip had to say but also hoping he could finally get an explanation of what had really happened. He wanted to know what could have compelled his chief engineer and good friend to do it… he simply couldn't believe what had happened. But he assumed he would never truly know the answer to that question.
"Whad'ya mean, 'oh'?" The Captain gave Trip his best 'you-know-exactly-what-I-mean' look and Trip returned his best 'yeah…but-that-doesn't-mean-I-wanna-answer-ya' look. Over the course of several minutes and at least thirty distinct looks from each, Trip finally and reluctantly gave up and the Captain triumphantly gave a final 'ok… now-it's-time-to-answer-me' look.
Unfortunately, Archer may have won the battle, but he hadn't won the war. Trip wasn't willing to give up completely yet. "Why d' you wanna know? And what the hell makes ya think I'm gonna tell ya?"
Captain Archer was taken aback by his friend's sudden change in attitude. "Trip!"
"Cap'n! No one was supposed t' be there! No one was supposed t' find out about this! It was supposed t' be a secret!" He was shouting once again, just as he always did when he became angry or frustrated.
"I could order you to tell me."
Just when he began to think that Trip'd had more attitude changes in this conversation than were humanly possible, his friend's expression changed to one of sheer terror. That one threat alone had terrified the engineer beyond belief, at least for a short time. And although his face turned back to anger after only a few moments, it became clear to Archer that Trip was far more worried about this getting out than even his Captain was. Perhaps there was more going on than he'd thought.
"Trip, if you don't tell me at least something, I'm going to have to make this an order." Trip was obviously acting as stubborn as could be and didn't plan on answering anything, even if his defiance got him a court-martial. Therefore, Archer was left with only one chance of ever getting an answer. "Fine, Trip. You don't want to say anything… you can go ahead and leave. Maybe T'Pol will be more forthcoming."
"What?! No! Ya can't ask T'Pol!" Everyone knew that Trip had pretty loose lips, but he was nothing compared to T'Pol under orders. Trip began contemplating and the Captain waited a moment before inquiring. "Trip?"
"Well, I'm not sure where t' start, Cap'n," he answered honestly.
At this, Archer simply gave him a Vulcan-style raised eyebrow. "T'Pol would," he said mischievously.
"Ok, ok!"
"Careful, Trip. Don't want you hyperventilating before you get around to your answer."
Despite the sarcasm in his statement, Trip calmed down immensely and settled into a chair. "Hope ya don't mind if I sit down."
"No… not if you tell me what happened."
Trip raised his hands in defeat. "Alright." He cleared his throat nervously before continuing. "Well…. You remember a few days ago when ya told me I had feelin's for T'Pol…. An' I wouldn't believe ya?" he paused until Archer nodded. "Well… let's just say ya… put the idea in my head…. And it didn't wanna leave." Trip fidgeted a little out of obvious nervousness, but Archer wouldn't let him stop there.
"Oh no, you don't! I want to know EVERYTHING… Anything that may even POSSIBLY explain what the hell you were thinking!"
Trip looked battered and worn down, which was exactly what Archer wanted at that moment, so he had nothing better to do than explain the whole thing. "Well yesterday, I was visiting 'er an' we were talkin'… an' then, outta the blue, she accuses me of makin' 'romantic advances.'" At this, the Captain's eyes got slightly larger and he tilted his head as he considered asking exactly how THAT had happened. "Then I admitted to it, which I think kinda surprised 'er, and we mutually decided t' talk about somethin' else… Then today she was ready t' go back to 'er quarters… t' tell 'er family what's goin' on… an' I offered t' go along… ya know, for moral support." Again, the Captain was humored, but now he was also slightly angered as well. "An', well… we were on our way back to 'er quarters when crewmen Curtis an' Fuerstenberg came runnin' around the corridor. I knew they weren't gonna slow down so I pulled 'er up against the wall… Then, t' make a long story short, I realized you were right all along… an'… well, the rest you know."
The Captain simply sat there, blinking and putting his head down to hide the twinkle of humor in his eye. "Actually, Trip… Hoshi's description was… vague at best."
Trip, who had lowered his head in guilt almost immediately upon the finishing of his tale, now shot a terrified and angry glare at his Captain. "Oh no, Cap'n! I'm not gonna--wait a minute… H-Ho-Hoshi? You were talkin' t' Hoshi?" Trip asked worriedly.
"Yes, I was talking to Hoshi. Is there a problem?"
"No! No problem…" Trip, of course, wasn't going to tell the Captain how he had taken T'Pol the rest of the way before kissing her again, only to be seen by Hoshi and running after her like a chicken with it's head cut off. "Except, after she left, I… well, I kinda panicked an'… left T'Pol there."
"You left her ALONE?!" the Captain exclaimed in disbelief.
"Well… I was gonna go in with 'er… t' talk to the Vulcans. But I panicked, Cap'n. I didn't know what t' do, so I just ran. Once I realized what I was doin', I ran back t' help T'Pol. But when I got there she was gone--probably in 'er quarters."
"Ok, Trip…" The Captain said, putting his hand out to stop Trip's endless rambling. "So you went to see her?" The engineer nodded. "But she wouldn't let you in or talk to you?" Once again, he nodded.
"I'm sorry, Cap'n. I guess I wasn't thinking'! But I tried t' talk to 'er afterward!" Trip shouted defensively.
"I know, Trip," Archer assured him, trying to calm his friend down. "And there's nothing either of us can do to change what happened. But you made a bad decision, Trip. If the Vulcans find out…"
All Trip could do was nod, showing that he understood.
A/N2: hope you liked this chappy… Things will start to really heat up in just a few chapters… until then, feel free to speculate on what that means…. Anyway, sorry again for taking so long on this chapter… next one is fairly short so should be up soon…