"How is she Doctor?" Archer asked Phlox
"She shall be fine. I am going to keep her overnight for observation. You will get my report on her condition and her injuries-if there are any."
"Keep me advised." Archer said as he walked out of sickbay.
Just then Captain Archer ran into T'Pol in the corridor. He saw a look on her face that somewhat resembled disapproval. He had no idea why she was looking at him like that.
"I need to speak with you Captain-in private." She said
"Fine, walk with me to my ready-room then."
A short time later in Captain Archer's ready-room
"Care to tell me what is on your mind Sub-Commander?" asked the Captain
"I feel that you are letting your feelings for that woman cloud your judgement. Even Commander Tucker is acting irrational."
"What you call "irrational" T'Pol is called love. It is a very powerful human emotion. It can make you do things you wouldn't normally do. It is not wrong by any means to feel that way." Archer said
T'Pol looked up at the Captain. She figured that if she was going to live on an Earth vessel and interact with the humans on board she would have to understand something more about them.
"Do you and Commander Tucker love her?"
"I don't know. I don't presume to know if anyone else has feelings for her. I don't see where that is any of your business. Do I make myself clear?"
A short time later back in his quarters
It was taking the Captain all of his strength not to pick a fight with T'Pol. If there was even a possibility that she could be even the slightest bit jealous about the women that was in sickbay then this whole situation amused him. Captain Archer paced his room. He had to admit that he was unsure if this whole situation would cause him problems with Starfleet. The only thing that seemed to be working for him was the fact that she was not under any obligation to follow Starfleet's fraternization policy-much less any of the other policies that were enforced.
"Hey Porthos, What would you say if I had a girlfriend?" Captain Archer asked his dog even though he knew that he was not going to get an answer from his Beagle.
Thank goodness Trip didn't hear me ask Porthos that question thought Captain Archer. Sure, Commander Tucker was his best friend but there were still some things that even Jonathan Archer didn't tell Trip Tucker and this was one of them. Captain Archer couldn't stop thinking about what T'Pol said to him about the possibility of the two of them liking their guest. He certainly wasn't sure if he was even joking. I must like her-why else would this bother me so much he thought out loud.
Captain Archer knew that before he was going to proceed with this he would have to ask the woman her age. He was hoping that he could just get it from the doctor when he made out his report to the captain. No such luck Archer thought. He had to admit that he was growing impatient by the minute but at the same time he knew there were not too many people that he could go to on the Enterprise. He knew that it wasn't polite to ask a woman her age. Truth was if it wasn't for Starfleet he could care less if she was in her late 20's. He wasn't positive on her age but she looked like she couldn't be too much older.
Just then, the chime to the captain''s quarters sounded. Captain Archer wondered who would bother him this late at night.
"Who is it?" Captain Archer asked
"It's me, Trip."Commander Tucker said
Oh great! Jon thought. The one person that I do not exactly want to see now. I know he is my best friend but there are some things that should stay private he thought. Captain Archer knew that Trip would have a field day with this piece of information and he figured the minute Tucker knew about this it would only be a matter of time before the rest of the crew found out. Captain Archer had to admit that he wanted to tell the crew about this and not have them find out from the Chief Engineer on board the Enterprise. It wasn't that he didn't trust him-it was just a delicate matter that needed to be handled properly.
"Come in." Captain Archer said
"Captain we need to talk." Commander Tucker said but he was cut off by the captain.
"I know what you want to talk about. Is it that obvious?" The Captain stated.
"Well, I think T'Pol might suspect something is up. As for the others I am not sure how many of them have figured out that something is going on here." the Chief Engineer said to his friend.
Oh great! Now I have to deal with a Vulcan thought Captain Archer. Archer knew that the Chief Engineer was right. He was going to have to talk to his Vulcan Science Officer AGAIN. He was hoping that he could get it through her big, pointy Vulcan ears that it was none of her business.
"Thanks, Trip. Go get some rest now and that is an order." Captain Archer said to his friend.
Commander Tucker left the Captain's quarters. He had to admit that he felt a little better telling his friend and Captain what was going on. He tried to keep telling himself that this was not his fault and that he did the right thing. The only question was then why did he feel so lousy? He didn't even want to go there and he certainly wasn't sure who he could tell this to. He doubted that Lt. Reed would understand. As for the others, he just knew they wouldn't understand.
A short time later it came to him while he was in his quarters. The reason this whole situation bothered him was because HE had feelings for the same woman. Oh great he thought to himself. Now I can't tell the Captain or he might throw me out an airlock. Most of the time the Captain was reasonable but he figured this might not be one of those times. Trip Tucker knew that he had to tell his friend how he felt. The only question was how he going to tell Captain Archer that he too had feeling for their guest.
Meanwhile, in the guest quarters. Melanie had recently been released by the doctor. Now she was in her room resting from the tests that Dr. Plox ran on her. She was unaware of what was going on. It wasn't that she was stupid, it was just that she was unawre that any of the men on the ship even knew she existed. I know that the doctor said that the Captain and the Chief Engineer saved my life she thought to herself. Perhaps I should thank them both at some point she continued to ponder that idea. Definately, she continued in her mind because she knew that it would be rude not to.
Melanie didn't know what to do. She certainly wasn't sure who she could go to. She suspected that the Vulcan might be jealous. It just occurred to her that was an emotion. She wondered if it was still possible. There is no reason for their Science Officer to be jealous of me she thought to herself. Just then the buzzer to her door sounded.