Chapter 3

Trip walked beside Hoshi, watching her out of the corner of his eye as she was nuzzling Porthos.

"Hey, if you keep doin that, a man could get jealous ya know," He grinned.

"Yeah right, like you would ever be jealous of a dog," Hoshi smiled up at the handsome man walking next to her.

"Well ya never know. I might just be getting a lil green-eyed over your obvious amorous affections to Porthos there."

"Uh huh…my 'obvious amorous affections?' You have no need to be jealous," She looked in his eyes, then quickened her pace.

Trip stood in his spot for a second watching her walk away.

What had just happened? Had she just said what he thought she said?

Shaking his head he followed behind her, silently thanking God that the Sub-Commander wasn't going to be around. He might just have a chance to get closer to Hoshi without the Vulcan eye's peering down his back.

Archer laughed as he pointed out a small furry lizard type creature scurrying up a tree. T'Pol nodded and took out her scanner.

Archer shot her a "No work" look as she held the scanner out towards the specimen.

"I'm only seeing if it might be harmful," She stated and snapped the scanner closed.

"Is it?"

"It does not appear to be, but without further analysis I'm unable to give an accurate response."

"Well then, how about we just stay away from the local life forms, shall we," Archer pressed his hand to her back signaling her to move on.

"Agreed."

Archer readjusted his hold on his bag. The scenery was beautiful. Huge trees sprung up from the ground, shading the area they were walking in. A large field, where the shuttlepod had landed lay behind them, while a large mountain range stood before them.

The mountains were topped with what appeared to be snow that, when the sun hit it, glowed bright silver.

Archer took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the fresh air. T'Pol looked back at him.

"Are you alright, Captain," She asked, confused as to his deep breath.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just breathing in the fresh air. It's so crisp, so clean, don't you think?"

T'Pol's nose twitched as she breathed in.

"Yes, it is quite 'clean' smelling."

Archer watched as she turned and started walking once again. He stared at her form and realized once more just how stunning she was. She was beautiful, painfully so. Even her hair, which he had once thought to be an unattractive style, had grown on him. It just added to the overall package that made up T'Pol. This brought him to a question that he had been itching to ask for some time now, but was never sure when to bring it up.

"T'Pol, can I ask you a question. Why do you wear your hair like that?"

She stopped and turned to look at him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, why the short cut? Every Vulcan I've ever met has had that same style. Why is that," He asked, scratching his head. He hoped he hadn't offended her. Of course, she would argue that offense was an emotion and therefore she couldn't be offended.

"It is efficient."

"Well so are other styles of hair. Why that particular cut?"

"It is efficient. That is what hair is for. It would be illogical to have a cut that required extra maintenance and styling, like some human hair."

"Do all Vulcan's have that style?"

"Not all, no. Mostly just the Vulcan's in the High Command or Science Consult," She paused. "I believe it could be stated that it is part of the uniform."

"Oh, I see."

"Is there something offensive about my hair to you Captain," She asked, wondering why he had brought it up.

"No, no, it's just something that I've been wondering about for a while now and never knew when to ask. I like it."

She looked at him strangely for a moment and then nodded.

"Thank-you."

"You're welcome."

A comfortable silence overwhelmed the forest as the two looked at each other for a few moments. A faint rushing noise caught Archer's attention and he moved his gaze from T'Pol to look over her shoulder.

"I think I hear a stream," He said, moving past her in the direction of the noise.

"You are correct. I heard it a few minutes ago."

He looked back at her and then back to the stream.

"Why didn't you say something?"

"I thought that you had heard it. Also, I was unaware that it was important," She stated simply.

"Sure it is. It's a human tradition. You have to follow a stream to see where it leads. Come on, let's go see it."

Archer reached back and, taking a chance, grabbed T'Pol's hand pulling her with him. She looked down at their entwined hands, but made no protest to stop the contact. Archer pulled her towards the direction of the sounding stream. The trees parted and he gasped at the site that lay before him.

Continued in Chapter 4