Title: The Family Way
Authors: Sita/T'eyla
Genre: Angst/Romance
Rating: PG
Codes: T/T, R
Summary: Enterprise is en route to Vulcan, and Trip, T'Pol and their little son have to face T'Pol's family, who declared her an outcast because of her marriage. Then, however, something happens that changes everything...
Disclaimer: Paramount owns Enterprise, we're not making any money from this.
AN: This is a sequel to 'Family Affairs' (but we have tried to make it stand alone as best as we could). Thanks again to everybody who reviewed our first story, you were all very encouraging :-)! Like 'Family Affairs', this is slightly AU.
Please read & review!
------------------------------------------
Chapter 1: One Week from Vulcan
There was a lot of dust down here. A lot of dust indeed, but Trip didn't really notice. He was groping around in the dark under the bed, desperate to find a pacifier, which he prayed would finally stop his six-week-old son's screaming. Sam had woken up half an hour ago, had started wailing and all Trip's efforts to quiet him had been futile. He had changed him, he had filled the baby bottle and had tried to feed him, he had worn a path in the deck carrying Sam around the room, but to no avail. Sam was screaming and screaming, and he was not going to stop anytime soon since there was no pacifier to be found in the whole damn quarters. Trip knew for sure that there had to be one under the bed since he had accidently kicked it down here yesterday when Sam had spit it out. He groped around some more.
"Why on earth can I never find these damn things when I really need one, and when I don't they're lying around everywhere?" he grumbled, got dust in his mouth and coughed. Just then he heard the door swish open.
"What are you doing under the bed, Charles?" T'Pol's voice asked. She had to raise her voice to be heard since Sam was still screaming at the top of his lungs. Trip crawled out from under the bed and got up, dusting off his clothes.
"What do you think I'm doing?" he snapped. "You know what, I get the impression he hides them. Or eats them, just to drive me nuts."
T'Pol arched an eyebrow.
"What are you talking about?"
"Pacifiers! I can't find any of them, and he's been screaming for *hours*!"
T'Pol walked over to her desk.
"They are right here, Charles." She opened a drawer and produced a pacifier. "I put them in this drawer as I told you just this morning." She walked over to Sam's crib and a moment later the screaming stopped. Trip sat down heavily on the bed.
"So he didn't hide them after all. You did."
T'Pol allowed herself a small sigh.
"You are being illogical, Charles. I gather it was quite an exhausting afternoon?"
Trip shot her a glare. "You gather correctly."
T'Pol gave the Vulcan equivalent of a shrug, obviously deciding it was no use talking to him at the moment. She sat down at her desk, picked up a padd and began to read. Trip watched her for a moment, already feeling sorry for taking his frustration out on her. It wasn't her fault that it had been his turn to stay with Sam this afternoon, and it wasn't her fault that Sam had been cranky, either. He sighed.
"I'm sorry, honey," he said. "It *was* quite an exhausting afternoon. You know what, we both could use an evening off. Wanna go to movie night later? Hoshi's going, and Malcolm said he might drop by, too."
T'Pol looked up from her padd.
"If Sam is not in a good mood today it might not be wise to take him with us to movie night," she said, raising an amused eyebrow.
"We'll ask Jon to babysit," Trip said.
"Will the Captain not attend as well?"
Trip shrugged. "It's time he started fulfilling his duty as a godparent."
"He stayed with Sam last Friday," T'Pol said. "And Ensign Mayweather was babysitting him the Friday before. In any case I am not sure if I can come with you tonight. I have to make a call."
Trip looked at her questioningly. "Who're you calling?"
T'Pol looked down. She hesitated for a moment, then she said quietly: "I decided to call my parents before we reach Vulcan. I wanted to ask them if they would like to see their grandson."
When he saw her expression, Trip had a sudden feeling of déjà-vu. It was only a few weeks ago when he had asked his mother the same question, and her reaction had been far from positive. He knew T'Pol's parents hadn't spoken to their daughter for over a year, ever since she had informed them of her marriage. As far as he knew, they didn't even know about Sam.
"Do you think that's a good idea?" he asked carefully. T'Pol didn't raise her eyes.
"I am not sure. But I feel I have to try, at least."
Trip gave her a thoughtful look. It was very unusual for T'Pol to talk about her feelings that openly. He didn't think she would come very far trying to talk to her parents, though. Remembering how he had felt when his mother had refused to accept Sam as her grandson, he wished T'Pol could be spared that anguish and disappointment. But clearly it was very important to her to try.
"Do you... do you want me to leave?" he asked, already getting up. He was sure she'd want to be alone while she made that call. She looked up at him.
"I would appreciate it if you stayed," she said. Trip was astonished when he looked into her eyes and saw something he had seldom seen there before. T'Pol was afraid.
"Sure, honey, I'll stay," he said, pulling up a chair to sit down beside her. She nodded at him in grateful acknowledgement and turned back to her desk. She switched on her computer screen and typed a combination of numbers. Vulcan letters appeared on the screen. T'Pol punched in another code and the letters disappeared to be replaced by a blank screen. Trip frowned.
"What's up?" he asked.
"They are connecting my call," she answered.
After a few more seconds the screen lit up again. The face of a stern-looking man with black eyes and greying hair appeared. There were a few moments of silence before he opened his mouth.
"T'Pol," he said. There was no surprise in his voice, no expression at all. "What do you want?"
"Father," T'Pol said, and only someone who knew her as well as Trip did would have heard the tension in her voice. "I wanted to inform you that Enterprise is en route to Vulcan. We will arrive in approximately seven days."
The man raised an eyebrow, but apart from that there was no movement on his face at all.
"Why are you calling?" he asked.
Trip fought to keep the anger he felt from showing on his face. T'Pol's father was clearly refusing even to acknowledge his presence and he knew that if he were to interfere it would only make things worse. T'Pol hesitated for a second, then answered:
"Father, this is Commander Charles Tucker, my husband." Trip nodded politely, but the man never even looked at him. Trip felt T'Pol tense beside him, but she continued bravely.
"We would be honored if you and mother were to receive us in your house. Us and our son."
The Vulcan didn't even raise an eyebrow at that.
"No," he said, and his voice betrayed no emotion at all. "You should not have called. I told you you were not to contact us again. You dishonored your clan and your family. Your marriage with that human was vre'skonà."
The UT hadn't translated that last word, but Trip could imagine what it meant. He felt a sudden hatred for that man who was so cruelly rejecting his own daughter.
"Sir," he said, trying to keep his temper under control. "Won't you at least listen to her-"
The man reached down and all of a sudden the screen went blank. T'Pol sat motionless, staring at the screen. Trip hesitated for a moment, not knowing if she wanted him to touch her now, not knowing what to say.
"What about your mother?" he asked finally. "She doesn't want to talk to you either?"
T'Pol looked at him. "I do not know. I have not spoken to her since before our marriage. She agrees with my father, I suppose."
Trip saw the sadness in her eyes and suddenly felt the urge to call that man right back, to tell him what an asshole he was and that he had no right to do this to his daughter. But he didn't voice his feelings. Instead he put an arm around T'Pol and pulled her close.
"Just try not to think about it anymore, okay?" he whispered. "He doesn't deserve that you care."
T'Pol said nothing, only leaned against him and closed her eyes.
-###-
Reed set up the last meter, checked the settings one more time and got up. Taking a step backwards he examined his handiwork. He 'd come to the Armoury half an hour before his shift officially began to prepare the EM field test that was scheduled for today. Nobody else was here yet. Glancing at the chronometer he decided that there was still time to recheck the measuring data from the last test before T'Pol showed up. She had agreed to assist him with this experiment, asking Trip to stay with Sam this morning so she could come down to the Armoury. Reed wanted to use the latest results in EM technology Starfleet had sent them to try and stabilize the particle flow in the EM field he was working on. He was glad T'Pol had found the time to assist him, since she knew more about EM technology than anybody else on this ship, including himself. Turning away from the screen he checked the chronometer again. It was exactly 0800 hours and just as he had expected, that very moment the Armoury doors swished open and T'Pol entered.
"Good morning, Lieutenant," she said, taking a short glance at the set-ups for the test, and came over to his console.
"Good morning, Subcommander." Malcolm got up from his seat. "I'm glad you found the time to take a look at this. I hope Trip didn't mind staying with Sam this morning?"
T'Pol raised an eyebrow. "Actually, he welcomed this opportunity to sleep in, for once."
Malcolm chuckled. "Let's just hope he'll wake up when the baby's crying."
"I agree." T'Pol looked at the equations displayed on the screen before her. "I suggest we begin with the tests now."
Taking place at the console she called up the new Starfleet data while Reed activated the EM barrier. The field crackled to life, and Malcolm frowned, looking at his instruments.
"It's still off by 3.475 microns."
"I will try to increase the voltage to stabilize the particle flow," T'Pol said, pushing a few buttons on her console. Reed shook his head.
"It's still fluctuating. Try to increase density as well."
T'Pol complied and the numbers on Malcolm's screen dropped to 3.045.
"I think it's working. Cut down the voltage and try to increase density a bit more."
When the numbers dropped even further Malcolm felt an excited flutter in his stomach. "That's it! Keep increasing the density by small amounts."
For a while they worked in silence and Malcolm's excitement grew stronger as he watched the fluctuation steadily decreasing. After a while he glanced over at T'Pol who was efficiently operating the controls of her console.
"Why hasn't Trip been at movie night yesterday?" he asked, calibrating the fluctuation scales of his instruments. T'Pol answered without taking her eyes from the screen.
"He felt quite exhausted and decided he would rather go to bed."
Malcolm raised his eyebrows but didn't ask any further. In silence they continued their work. The numbers on Reed's screen were already approaching 0.5 microns when suddenly the readings changed. Malcolm frowned.
"You should take a look at this, Subcommander. I'm not sure what happened but it seems that something's going wrong here."
T'Pol got up from her seat, came over and took a look at the screen.
"Step back, Lieutenant!"
He looked at her, startled. At the same moment she shoved him back hard and he saw white light blazing up behind her. In the next second he hit the deck, pain stabbing through his left shoulder while the force of the explosion shook the floor. He heard T'Pol cry out and something fell on him, pinning him to the deck. More pain flared up in his shoulder. He opened his mouth to scream and almost choked on the thick smoke that got in his throat. He tried to move, tried to free himself of the weight pressing him down and suddenly realized that it was T'Pol lying on top of him. Carefully, he wriggled out from under her and struggled to his knees. T'Pol was sprawled on the floor, face-down, lying motionless. Green blood was soaking through her uniform and she was covered by splinters of debris which had cut deep into her back. With shaking hands, Malcolm felt for a pulse, relief washing over him when he recognized a weak, unsteady heartbeat. He got his feet under him and stood up. For a moment he was sure he was going to be sick, but then the dizzyness subsided. Stumbling, batting away the smoke that was blurring his vision he made his way over to the comm unit.
"Reed to Sickbay." he said, coughing, his voice roughened by the smoke he'd inhaled.
"Phlox here." The doctor's voice sounded alarmed.
"You're needed down here in the Armoury, immediately. T'Pol - " Reed coughed, trying to clear his throat from the smoke. "T'Pol's hurt."
"I'm on my way. Phlox out."
Reed slumped against the wall, fighting to get his breath back. He looked over at the still form of T'Pol lying on the floor, straightened up again and pushed the comm button once more.
Authors: Sita/T'eyla
Genre: Angst/Romance
Rating: PG
Codes: T/T, R
Summary: Enterprise is en route to Vulcan, and Trip, T'Pol and their little son have to face T'Pol's family, who declared her an outcast because of her marriage. Then, however, something happens that changes everything...
Disclaimer: Paramount owns Enterprise, we're not making any money from this.
AN: This is a sequel to 'Family Affairs' (but we have tried to make it stand alone as best as we could). Thanks again to everybody who reviewed our first story, you were all very encouraging :-)! Like 'Family Affairs', this is slightly AU.
Please read & review!
------------------------------------------
Chapter 1: One Week from Vulcan
There was a lot of dust down here. A lot of dust indeed, but Trip didn't really notice. He was groping around in the dark under the bed, desperate to find a pacifier, which he prayed would finally stop his six-week-old son's screaming. Sam had woken up half an hour ago, had started wailing and all Trip's efforts to quiet him had been futile. He had changed him, he had filled the baby bottle and had tried to feed him, he had worn a path in the deck carrying Sam around the room, but to no avail. Sam was screaming and screaming, and he was not going to stop anytime soon since there was no pacifier to be found in the whole damn quarters. Trip knew for sure that there had to be one under the bed since he had accidently kicked it down here yesterday when Sam had spit it out. He groped around some more.
"Why on earth can I never find these damn things when I really need one, and when I don't they're lying around everywhere?" he grumbled, got dust in his mouth and coughed. Just then he heard the door swish open.
"What are you doing under the bed, Charles?" T'Pol's voice asked. She had to raise her voice to be heard since Sam was still screaming at the top of his lungs. Trip crawled out from under the bed and got up, dusting off his clothes.
"What do you think I'm doing?" he snapped. "You know what, I get the impression he hides them. Or eats them, just to drive me nuts."
T'Pol arched an eyebrow.
"What are you talking about?"
"Pacifiers! I can't find any of them, and he's been screaming for *hours*!"
T'Pol walked over to her desk.
"They are right here, Charles." She opened a drawer and produced a pacifier. "I put them in this drawer as I told you just this morning." She walked over to Sam's crib and a moment later the screaming stopped. Trip sat down heavily on the bed.
"So he didn't hide them after all. You did."
T'Pol allowed herself a small sigh.
"You are being illogical, Charles. I gather it was quite an exhausting afternoon?"
Trip shot her a glare. "You gather correctly."
T'Pol gave the Vulcan equivalent of a shrug, obviously deciding it was no use talking to him at the moment. She sat down at her desk, picked up a padd and began to read. Trip watched her for a moment, already feeling sorry for taking his frustration out on her. It wasn't her fault that it had been his turn to stay with Sam this afternoon, and it wasn't her fault that Sam had been cranky, either. He sighed.
"I'm sorry, honey," he said. "It *was* quite an exhausting afternoon. You know what, we both could use an evening off. Wanna go to movie night later? Hoshi's going, and Malcolm said he might drop by, too."
T'Pol looked up from her padd.
"If Sam is not in a good mood today it might not be wise to take him with us to movie night," she said, raising an amused eyebrow.
"We'll ask Jon to babysit," Trip said.
"Will the Captain not attend as well?"
Trip shrugged. "It's time he started fulfilling his duty as a godparent."
"He stayed with Sam last Friday," T'Pol said. "And Ensign Mayweather was babysitting him the Friday before. In any case I am not sure if I can come with you tonight. I have to make a call."
Trip looked at her questioningly. "Who're you calling?"
T'Pol looked down. She hesitated for a moment, then she said quietly: "I decided to call my parents before we reach Vulcan. I wanted to ask them if they would like to see their grandson."
When he saw her expression, Trip had a sudden feeling of déjà-vu. It was only a few weeks ago when he had asked his mother the same question, and her reaction had been far from positive. He knew T'Pol's parents hadn't spoken to their daughter for over a year, ever since she had informed them of her marriage. As far as he knew, they didn't even know about Sam.
"Do you think that's a good idea?" he asked carefully. T'Pol didn't raise her eyes.
"I am not sure. But I feel I have to try, at least."
Trip gave her a thoughtful look. It was very unusual for T'Pol to talk about her feelings that openly. He didn't think she would come very far trying to talk to her parents, though. Remembering how he had felt when his mother had refused to accept Sam as her grandson, he wished T'Pol could be spared that anguish and disappointment. But clearly it was very important to her to try.
"Do you... do you want me to leave?" he asked, already getting up. He was sure she'd want to be alone while she made that call. She looked up at him.
"I would appreciate it if you stayed," she said. Trip was astonished when he looked into her eyes and saw something he had seldom seen there before. T'Pol was afraid.
"Sure, honey, I'll stay," he said, pulling up a chair to sit down beside her. She nodded at him in grateful acknowledgement and turned back to her desk. She switched on her computer screen and typed a combination of numbers. Vulcan letters appeared on the screen. T'Pol punched in another code and the letters disappeared to be replaced by a blank screen. Trip frowned.
"What's up?" he asked.
"They are connecting my call," she answered.
After a few more seconds the screen lit up again. The face of a stern-looking man with black eyes and greying hair appeared. There were a few moments of silence before he opened his mouth.
"T'Pol," he said. There was no surprise in his voice, no expression at all. "What do you want?"
"Father," T'Pol said, and only someone who knew her as well as Trip did would have heard the tension in her voice. "I wanted to inform you that Enterprise is en route to Vulcan. We will arrive in approximately seven days."
The man raised an eyebrow, but apart from that there was no movement on his face at all.
"Why are you calling?" he asked.
Trip fought to keep the anger he felt from showing on his face. T'Pol's father was clearly refusing even to acknowledge his presence and he knew that if he were to interfere it would only make things worse. T'Pol hesitated for a second, then answered:
"Father, this is Commander Charles Tucker, my husband." Trip nodded politely, but the man never even looked at him. Trip felt T'Pol tense beside him, but she continued bravely.
"We would be honored if you and mother were to receive us in your house. Us and our son."
The Vulcan didn't even raise an eyebrow at that.
"No," he said, and his voice betrayed no emotion at all. "You should not have called. I told you you were not to contact us again. You dishonored your clan and your family. Your marriage with that human was vre'skonà."
The UT hadn't translated that last word, but Trip could imagine what it meant. He felt a sudden hatred for that man who was so cruelly rejecting his own daughter.
"Sir," he said, trying to keep his temper under control. "Won't you at least listen to her-"
The man reached down and all of a sudden the screen went blank. T'Pol sat motionless, staring at the screen. Trip hesitated for a moment, not knowing if she wanted him to touch her now, not knowing what to say.
"What about your mother?" he asked finally. "She doesn't want to talk to you either?"
T'Pol looked at him. "I do not know. I have not spoken to her since before our marriage. She agrees with my father, I suppose."
Trip saw the sadness in her eyes and suddenly felt the urge to call that man right back, to tell him what an asshole he was and that he had no right to do this to his daughter. But he didn't voice his feelings. Instead he put an arm around T'Pol and pulled her close.
"Just try not to think about it anymore, okay?" he whispered. "He doesn't deserve that you care."
T'Pol said nothing, only leaned against him and closed her eyes.
-###-
Reed set up the last meter, checked the settings one more time and got up. Taking a step backwards he examined his handiwork. He 'd come to the Armoury half an hour before his shift officially began to prepare the EM field test that was scheduled for today. Nobody else was here yet. Glancing at the chronometer he decided that there was still time to recheck the measuring data from the last test before T'Pol showed up. She had agreed to assist him with this experiment, asking Trip to stay with Sam this morning so she could come down to the Armoury. Reed wanted to use the latest results in EM technology Starfleet had sent them to try and stabilize the particle flow in the EM field he was working on. He was glad T'Pol had found the time to assist him, since she knew more about EM technology than anybody else on this ship, including himself. Turning away from the screen he checked the chronometer again. It was exactly 0800 hours and just as he had expected, that very moment the Armoury doors swished open and T'Pol entered.
"Good morning, Lieutenant," she said, taking a short glance at the set-ups for the test, and came over to his console.
"Good morning, Subcommander." Malcolm got up from his seat. "I'm glad you found the time to take a look at this. I hope Trip didn't mind staying with Sam this morning?"
T'Pol raised an eyebrow. "Actually, he welcomed this opportunity to sleep in, for once."
Malcolm chuckled. "Let's just hope he'll wake up when the baby's crying."
"I agree." T'Pol looked at the equations displayed on the screen before her. "I suggest we begin with the tests now."
Taking place at the console she called up the new Starfleet data while Reed activated the EM barrier. The field crackled to life, and Malcolm frowned, looking at his instruments.
"It's still off by 3.475 microns."
"I will try to increase the voltage to stabilize the particle flow," T'Pol said, pushing a few buttons on her console. Reed shook his head.
"It's still fluctuating. Try to increase density as well."
T'Pol complied and the numbers on Malcolm's screen dropped to 3.045.
"I think it's working. Cut down the voltage and try to increase density a bit more."
When the numbers dropped even further Malcolm felt an excited flutter in his stomach. "That's it! Keep increasing the density by small amounts."
For a while they worked in silence and Malcolm's excitement grew stronger as he watched the fluctuation steadily decreasing. After a while he glanced over at T'Pol who was efficiently operating the controls of her console.
"Why hasn't Trip been at movie night yesterday?" he asked, calibrating the fluctuation scales of his instruments. T'Pol answered without taking her eyes from the screen.
"He felt quite exhausted and decided he would rather go to bed."
Malcolm raised his eyebrows but didn't ask any further. In silence they continued their work. The numbers on Reed's screen were already approaching 0.5 microns when suddenly the readings changed. Malcolm frowned.
"You should take a look at this, Subcommander. I'm not sure what happened but it seems that something's going wrong here."
T'Pol got up from her seat, came over and took a look at the screen.
"Step back, Lieutenant!"
He looked at her, startled. At the same moment she shoved him back hard and he saw white light blazing up behind her. In the next second he hit the deck, pain stabbing through his left shoulder while the force of the explosion shook the floor. He heard T'Pol cry out and something fell on him, pinning him to the deck. More pain flared up in his shoulder. He opened his mouth to scream and almost choked on the thick smoke that got in his throat. He tried to move, tried to free himself of the weight pressing him down and suddenly realized that it was T'Pol lying on top of him. Carefully, he wriggled out from under her and struggled to his knees. T'Pol was sprawled on the floor, face-down, lying motionless. Green blood was soaking through her uniform and she was covered by splinters of debris which had cut deep into her back. With shaking hands, Malcolm felt for a pulse, relief washing over him when he recognized a weak, unsteady heartbeat. He got his feet under him and stood up. For a moment he was sure he was going to be sick, but then the dizzyness subsided. Stumbling, batting away the smoke that was blurring his vision he made his way over to the comm unit.
"Reed to Sickbay." he said, coughing, his voice roughened by the smoke he'd inhaled.
"Phlox here." The doctor's voice sounded alarmed.
"You're needed down here in the Armoury, immediately. T'Pol - " Reed coughed, trying to clear his throat from the smoke. "T'Pol's hurt."
"I'm on my way. Phlox out."
Reed slumped against the wall, fighting to get his breath back. He looked over at the still form of T'Pol lying on the floor, straightened up again and pushed the comm button once more.