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.
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Chapter 5: Strange New World
Trip sat on his bed, staring out the window at the setting sun, watching the shadows in the yard grow longer. It hadn't been easy getting accustomed to the dry Vulcan heat, but after two days Trip had almost gotten used to it. It helped that he didn't have to do anything strenuous, spending most of his time sitting at T'Pol's bedside. So far, he had been her only visitor, neither any relatives nor her parents had come to see her. But thinking about it, after talking to T'Pol's father he hadn't really expected anybody to show up. Everytime he thought of the way that man had treated him, an angry feeling welled up in his stomach.
It had taken him some time to find out how to contact T'Pol's family, but after some hunting through the ShanaiKahr information pages he had finally found the number.
When his call was being answered, Trip found himself facing the same elderly Vulcan T'Pol had been talking to aboard Enterprise. Trip hadn't expected the man to recognize him, but obviously T'Pol's father remembered his face.
"What do you want?" the Vulcan asked without preamble.
Trip took a deep breath. Okay, he thought, here we go.
"Sir...I'm calling to inform you that your daughter has been severely injured. She's currently being treated at the ShanaiKahr hospital."
A muscle in his cheek twitched once, but otherwise the expression on the man's face didn't change.
"Why are you making this call?"
Trip tried to keep the tension out of his voice. "Healer T'Pyr told me that in a case like this, it is the responsibility of the bondmate to inform the family."
"The family?" The Vulcan's voice sounded contemptuous, the first emotion he had ever shown in front of Trip. "The family is no concern of yours. We do not accept this marriage. T'Pol has no bondmate, so there is no reason for you to call."
"There's no reason?" Trip couldn't believe that this man was actually talking about his own daughter. "Didn't you listen to me? T'Pol's been hurt, she's in a coma! Don't you care about that at all?"
The Vulcan gave him a cold stare. "Like I said before, there is no reason for you to call. Do not contact us again."
He cut the connection, leaving Trip to stare at a blank screen.
The anger Trip had felt at that man who didn't seem to care if his own daughter lived or died still hadn't worn off. Sighing, he stared out the window again. The sun had finally disappeared at the horizon, leaving only a few red and orange streaks on the darkening sky. After two days during which he had mostly been sitting beside T'Pol's still form, watching T'Pyr sitting motionless on her chair for hours, her hands placed on T'Pol's face, he was tired of not being able to do anything. He was beginning to feel lonely. There was no one to talk to except T'Pyr, and she was always very exhausted after the melds. Jon had called once, telling him that Enterprise would stay in orbit for at least two more weeks since the Science Conferences he had to attend were going to take longer than expected. Trip thought of his son and wished he could be back on Enterprise with Sam and T'Pol, and everything would be just like it had been before that morning nine days ago when Reed had called him from the Armoury. Sighing, he lay down on his bed, staring at the ceiling and wondering how Sam was getting along with Malcolm.
-###-
"What do you want?"
Malcolm sat on his bunk, staring at Sam's crib. He wondered how many hours of listening to earsplitting screaming it took to make a person go deaf.
If he doesn't stop soon, I believe my head's going to burst, he thought. He got up and walked over to the baby bed, looking down at Sam, whose little face was dark and contorted, his fists clenched under his chin. Malcolm crossed his arms over his chest.
"What do you want? You tell me, because I can't think of anything anymore. I carried you through the quarters for hours. I tried to feed you that gruesome baby nutrition stuff and you spit it out again, which is understandable. Then I tried to give you some orange juice and you spit that out as well. Never mind you spit it all over my desk ruining the Security report I've been working on the last few days, but you do have to eat something some time soon, you know. Then I tried taking you over to Trip's quarters so you would feel more at home, but you didn't like that either. I even tried singing to you, but neither "Ten Green Bottles" nor "In the Navy" suited you. You didn't even like "God Save the Queen" and that's about all I know. So tell me: What do you want?"
Sam stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath, then opened his mouth and let out another wail. Malcolm flinched. His mother used to say that babies who cried for no reason were just trying to keep their parents busy, and that it was best to ignore them until they were exhausted. Malcolm considered. Sam looked pretty exhausted already, but there was no sign he was going to stop screaming any time soon.
Okay, he thought, enough is enough. I can't take this any longer.
He walked over to the comm and pressed the button.
"Reed to Ensign Sato."
"Sato here. What's up, Malcolm?"
Malcolm threw a glance at the baby's crib. "Well, I have a little problem here..."
He heard Hoshi chuckle over the intercom. "Sounds like your problem's quite unhappy," she said.
Malcolm sighed. "Would you mind coming over for a minute? He just won't stop."
"Be right there. Hoshi out."
When she entered his quarters, Sam was still screaming at the top of his lungs. Malcolm motioned her over to the crib.
"You try, maybe you can get him to stop. I tried everything I could think of, and he's still screaming."
Hoshi bent down and picked up the baby. Holding him in her arms, she sniffed, then looked up at Malcolm.
"Did you try changing him?"
Malcolm stared at her, feeling a blush creep up his cheeks. Of course he would forget the obvious, especially since Trip had told him at least five times that when Sam was getting cranky, he probably needed changing.
Seeing his expression, Hoshi shook her head. "So why did you think he was crying?"
Malcolm crossed his arms over his chest, feeling a fool. "Well, it was kind of hard to think with him screaming like that."
Cradling Sam in her arms Hoshi walked over to the bed. Gently rocking the crying baby she looked back at Malcolm.
"Get me a blanket, will you?"
He obeyed taking a blanket out of a drawer and spreading it on the bed. Hoshi put Sam down and began to undress him.
"Poor little guy," she cooed. "What did bad old Uncle Malcolm do to you? No wonder you're crying..."
Malcolm huffed. "I didn't do anything. It's not my fault he can't tell me what's wrong. I even tried singing to him!"
Hoshi almost dropped the dirty diaper she had been folding up. "*What* did you do?"
Malcolm instantly wished he'd kept his mouth shut. "Well, some babies fall asleep when you sing them a lullaby," he said defiantly.
Hoshi snorted. "Like you know any lullabys." She went to get a new diaper from the shelf. "You've probably been singing the "Pump Gun Song" to him."
Malcolm grimaced. "Har har. Just so you know, I was a member of the school choir back home."
Hoshi rolled her eyes.
"You know, I would be screaming too if you started singing to me," she said dryly. Malcolm held up his hands in defeat.
"All right, I give up. At least he's quiet now."
Sam had stopped crying as soon as Hoshi had taken off the dirty diaper, and was now sleepily blinking up at the two of them. Hoshi sat down on the bed beside him and smiled slightly.
"He's a cute little guy." She watched the baby for a while, then looked back up at Malcolm. "Trip must feel terrible, all alone down there in that hospital. Did you call him yet?"
Malcolm sighed. "I tried, but my call wasn't connected."
"Maybe he's too busy. He hasn't been calling either, you know. I wish I knew how T'Pol is doing."
At the mention of her name, Malcolm looked down. Although talking to Trip several nights ago had helped, he still couldn't forget that it had been his experiment which had caused the accident.
"Malcolm?"
He raised his eyes to see Hoshi looking at him with a concerned expression.
"Are you all right?"
He nodded. "Yes, sure."
Hoshi's eyes lingered on him for another moment, but she didn't say anything. Malcolm looked at Sam who had fallen asleep in the meantime.
"Seems like he was quite tired. No wonder, after crying for nearly two hours. Well, come on, squirt." Picking up the baby, he carried him over to his crib. Hoshi got up. "Did you have dinner yet?" she asked.
Malcolm shook his head. "I was kind of busy, you know."
She smiled. "Well, let's go, then."
He raised his eyebrows. "Do you think it would be a good idea to leave him alone?"
"He's been screaming for so long, he'll be fast asleep for at least two hours now."
"If you say so." Malcolm dimmed the lights in his quarters. "We'd better get going then."
With a last glance at the sleeping baby he followed Hoshi out the door.
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.
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Chapter 5: Strange New World
Trip sat on his bed, staring out the window at the setting sun, watching the shadows in the yard grow longer. It hadn't been easy getting accustomed to the dry Vulcan heat, but after two days Trip had almost gotten used to it. It helped that he didn't have to do anything strenuous, spending most of his time sitting at T'Pol's bedside. So far, he had been her only visitor, neither any relatives nor her parents had come to see her. But thinking about it, after talking to T'Pol's father he hadn't really expected anybody to show up. Everytime he thought of the way that man had treated him, an angry feeling welled up in his stomach.
It had taken him some time to find out how to contact T'Pol's family, but after some hunting through the ShanaiKahr information pages he had finally found the number.
When his call was being answered, Trip found himself facing the same elderly Vulcan T'Pol had been talking to aboard Enterprise. Trip hadn't expected the man to recognize him, but obviously T'Pol's father remembered his face.
"What do you want?" the Vulcan asked without preamble.
Trip took a deep breath. Okay, he thought, here we go.
"Sir...I'm calling to inform you that your daughter has been severely injured. She's currently being treated at the ShanaiKahr hospital."
A muscle in his cheek twitched once, but otherwise the expression on the man's face didn't change.
"Why are you making this call?"
Trip tried to keep the tension out of his voice. "Healer T'Pyr told me that in a case like this, it is the responsibility of the bondmate to inform the family."
"The family?" The Vulcan's voice sounded contemptuous, the first emotion he had ever shown in front of Trip. "The family is no concern of yours. We do not accept this marriage. T'Pol has no bondmate, so there is no reason for you to call."
"There's no reason?" Trip couldn't believe that this man was actually talking about his own daughter. "Didn't you listen to me? T'Pol's been hurt, she's in a coma! Don't you care about that at all?"
The Vulcan gave him a cold stare. "Like I said before, there is no reason for you to call. Do not contact us again."
He cut the connection, leaving Trip to stare at a blank screen.
The anger Trip had felt at that man who didn't seem to care if his own daughter lived or died still hadn't worn off. Sighing, he stared out the window again. The sun had finally disappeared at the horizon, leaving only a few red and orange streaks on the darkening sky. After two days during which he had mostly been sitting beside T'Pol's still form, watching T'Pyr sitting motionless on her chair for hours, her hands placed on T'Pol's face, he was tired of not being able to do anything. He was beginning to feel lonely. There was no one to talk to except T'Pyr, and she was always very exhausted after the melds. Jon had called once, telling him that Enterprise would stay in orbit for at least two more weeks since the Science Conferences he had to attend were going to take longer than expected. Trip thought of his son and wished he could be back on Enterprise with Sam and T'Pol, and everything would be just like it had been before that morning nine days ago when Reed had called him from the Armoury. Sighing, he lay down on his bed, staring at the ceiling and wondering how Sam was getting along with Malcolm.
-###-
"What do you want?"
Malcolm sat on his bunk, staring at Sam's crib. He wondered how many hours of listening to earsplitting screaming it took to make a person go deaf.
If he doesn't stop soon, I believe my head's going to burst, he thought. He got up and walked over to the baby bed, looking down at Sam, whose little face was dark and contorted, his fists clenched under his chin. Malcolm crossed his arms over his chest.
"What do you want? You tell me, because I can't think of anything anymore. I carried you through the quarters for hours. I tried to feed you that gruesome baby nutrition stuff and you spit it out again, which is understandable. Then I tried to give you some orange juice and you spit that out as well. Never mind you spit it all over my desk ruining the Security report I've been working on the last few days, but you do have to eat something some time soon, you know. Then I tried taking you over to Trip's quarters so you would feel more at home, but you didn't like that either. I even tried singing to you, but neither "Ten Green Bottles" nor "In the Navy" suited you. You didn't even like "God Save the Queen" and that's about all I know. So tell me: What do you want?"
Sam stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath, then opened his mouth and let out another wail. Malcolm flinched. His mother used to say that babies who cried for no reason were just trying to keep their parents busy, and that it was best to ignore them until they were exhausted. Malcolm considered. Sam looked pretty exhausted already, but there was no sign he was going to stop screaming any time soon.
Okay, he thought, enough is enough. I can't take this any longer.
He walked over to the comm and pressed the button.
"Reed to Ensign Sato."
"Sato here. What's up, Malcolm?"
Malcolm threw a glance at the baby's crib. "Well, I have a little problem here..."
He heard Hoshi chuckle over the intercom. "Sounds like your problem's quite unhappy," she said.
Malcolm sighed. "Would you mind coming over for a minute? He just won't stop."
"Be right there. Hoshi out."
When she entered his quarters, Sam was still screaming at the top of his lungs. Malcolm motioned her over to the crib.
"You try, maybe you can get him to stop. I tried everything I could think of, and he's still screaming."
Hoshi bent down and picked up the baby. Holding him in her arms, she sniffed, then looked up at Malcolm.
"Did you try changing him?"
Malcolm stared at her, feeling a blush creep up his cheeks. Of course he would forget the obvious, especially since Trip had told him at least five times that when Sam was getting cranky, he probably needed changing.
Seeing his expression, Hoshi shook her head. "So why did you think he was crying?"
Malcolm crossed his arms over his chest, feeling a fool. "Well, it was kind of hard to think with him screaming like that."
Cradling Sam in her arms Hoshi walked over to the bed. Gently rocking the crying baby she looked back at Malcolm.
"Get me a blanket, will you?"
He obeyed taking a blanket out of a drawer and spreading it on the bed. Hoshi put Sam down and began to undress him.
"Poor little guy," she cooed. "What did bad old Uncle Malcolm do to you? No wonder you're crying..."
Malcolm huffed. "I didn't do anything. It's not my fault he can't tell me what's wrong. I even tried singing to him!"
Hoshi almost dropped the dirty diaper she had been folding up. "*What* did you do?"
Malcolm instantly wished he'd kept his mouth shut. "Well, some babies fall asleep when you sing them a lullaby," he said defiantly.
Hoshi snorted. "Like you know any lullabys." She went to get a new diaper from the shelf. "You've probably been singing the "Pump Gun Song" to him."
Malcolm grimaced. "Har har. Just so you know, I was a member of the school choir back home."
Hoshi rolled her eyes.
"You know, I would be screaming too if you started singing to me," she said dryly. Malcolm held up his hands in defeat.
"All right, I give up. At least he's quiet now."
Sam had stopped crying as soon as Hoshi had taken off the dirty diaper, and was now sleepily blinking up at the two of them. Hoshi sat down on the bed beside him and smiled slightly.
"He's a cute little guy." She watched the baby for a while, then looked back up at Malcolm. "Trip must feel terrible, all alone down there in that hospital. Did you call him yet?"
Malcolm sighed. "I tried, but my call wasn't connected."
"Maybe he's too busy. He hasn't been calling either, you know. I wish I knew how T'Pol is doing."
At the mention of her name, Malcolm looked down. Although talking to Trip several nights ago had helped, he still couldn't forget that it had been his experiment which had caused the accident.
"Malcolm?"
He raised his eyes to see Hoshi looking at him with a concerned expression.
"Are you all right?"
He nodded. "Yes, sure."
Hoshi's eyes lingered on him for another moment, but she didn't say anything. Malcolm looked at Sam who had fallen asleep in the meantime.
"Seems like he was quite tired. No wonder, after crying for nearly two hours. Well, come on, squirt." Picking up the baby, he carried him over to his crib. Hoshi got up. "Did you have dinner yet?" she asked.
Malcolm shook his head. "I was kind of busy, you know."
She smiled. "Well, let's go, then."
He raised his eyebrows. "Do you think it would be a good idea to leave him alone?"
"He's been screaming for so long, he'll be fast asleep for at least two hours now."
"If you say so." Malcolm dimmed the lights in his quarters. "We'd better get going then."
With a last glance at the sleeping baby he followed Hoshi out the door.