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 6: Family and Friends
It was Trip's fourth day on Vulcan. After today's session T'Pyr had informed him that for the first time she had been able to establish a brief contact with T'Pol's mind. Trip had been surprised to hear it, he hadn't noticed any difference. It had been just another day of sitting at T'Pol's bedside, watching T'Pyr, hoping for some change, even the slightest twitch in T'Pol's face that would tell him she was still in there, after all. The Healer had said that T'Pol had withdrawn into some kind of trance and that it was necessary to break through to her before the healing process could be initiated. Hearing her talk about beginning the healing process gave him hope, and when he left T'Pol's room that day, he felt a little better than he had on the previous evenings.
As the doors closed behind him, he noticed an elderly Vulcan woman standing next to the lift, watching him apprehensively. He had never seen her before, so he just nodded politely in her direction and headed for the stairs.
"Excuse me..."
He turned his head, startled. The woman took a step towards him. Her remarkably dark eyes were very intense, the only thing alive in her otherwise expressionless face.
"Can I help you, ma'am?" Trip asked.
She hesitated for a moment. "Are you Commander Tucker?"
Trip raised his eyebrows. "Yes, I'm Charles Tucker."
For the first time the woman looked him straight in the eyes, taking in every detail of his face. Trip frowned. "And you are...?"
She looked away for a moment, as if to clear her thoughts. "I am T'Sai. T'Pol's mother."
Trip stared at her in astonishment. The woman didn't look at all like T'Pol, and her reserved way of speaking was very different from his wife's usual self-confident manner. He cleared his throat.
"Er... nice to meet you. Are you here to visit your daughter?"
"I have come to see T'Pol...and I am here because I wanted to meet her bondmate." Not giving him the chance to reply, she continued. "I know that my husband made it clear that he does not accept this marriage, but...I have my reasons."
Trip didn't really know what to make of that. He had assumed T'Pol's father had been speaking for the whole family when he had said that as far as they were concerned, T'Pol had no bondmate at all. But obviously T'Sai thought different. Noticing the anxious look on the Vulcan woman's face, he gestured at the door of T'Pol's room.
"Would you like to see her now?"
T'Sai bowed her head slightly. Trip touched the panel beside the door and the bulkhead slid aside. The room was quiet and dimly lit as usual, the only movements the steady flashing of the life support's display. As T'Sai sat down on the chair beside T'Pol's bed, he saw a flicker of sadness crossing her features. He knew how she felt; every day he came here it hurt him anew to see T'Pol lying motionless in that hospital bed, her face pale and still. After a moment he took a step towards T'Sai.
"You picked a good day for your visit, by the way," he said. "The Healer told me that today she was able to achieve a small improvement during the meld. There might be hope for recovery, after all."
T'Sai looked up at him. "This is good to hear."
It was a simple statement, but Trip could feel that she meant what she'd said. Pulling up a chair, he sat down beside her and smiled slightly.
"You know, I'm glad you came. I felt bad because I thought I was keeping her family away from her." He paused. "Will T'Pol's father come to visit her as well?"
T'Sai looked away. "Solkar does not know that I am here. He would not approve if he did."
Trip sighed. Thinking about it, he shouldn't have expected anything else. Still, it made him angry to see what this man was doing to his family.
"But why?" he asked, a little louder than he had intended to. "Why won't he even come and visit her? She's his daughter, for God's sake! Doesn't he care at all?"
A short silence followed and Trip already wished he could take back the harsh words, when T'Sai raised her eyes.
"He cares very much," she said quietly, stunning him into silence. He just stared at her as she continued.
"T'Pol is his only child, and she means more to him than he even realizes himself. He is very... protective of her, and never approved of her decision to work among humans." She hesitated. "He thinks humans...cannot be trusted, that they are superficious and unreliable. When he heard of T'Pol's marriage, he was very... concerned. He thinks you will make her unhappy."
Trip shook his head. This didn't seem to fit in his picture of T'Pol's father at all, but he saw that T'Sai was speaking the truth. That this seemingly cold and unfeeling man was simply afraid for his daughter, like any father would be, was something which had never occurred to him before.
"Then why did he refuse to talk to her?"
T'Sai looked at T'Pol's still face. "It is his way," she said simply. A moment of silence followed.
"And you?" Trip asked finally. "What do you think?"
She didn't answer immediately.
"I trust my daughter's judgement," she said at last. "My husband does not see that there comes a time when children begin to make their own decisions. I find it difficult to come here without his knowledge, but as I said, I have my reasons."
Aware of the fact that he was probably violating every Vulcan privacy code there was, Trip decided to ask further.
"What do you mean?"
She met his gaze evenly. "I am suffering from a terminal heart disease," she said as calmly as if she were talking about the weather. "I do not know how much time I have left, and I wanted to see my daughter, regardless of what the family thinks."
Trip sensed a desperate determination underlying her words. She'd spoken of her illness like she'd accepted it long ago and moved on, but he realized that at the same time it had given her the strength to come here against the will of the family. And he knew that for most Vulcans family and family honor was one of the most important things in life. He looked down at his hands.
"Does T'Pol know of your... illness?" he asked quietly.
"I never told her," T'Sai said.
A short silence followed.
"I'm sure T'Pol would appreciate your decision to come here," he said at last. "She was very... disappointed when her father told her that she was not welcome in your house. She really wanted you to see Sam."
T'Sai raised an eyebrow. "Who is Sam?"
"Our son." Trip smiled. "He's two months old."
Her eyes widened slightly. "I did not know you had a son."
Trip frowned. T'Pol had told her father about Sam when she had called home from Enterprise over a week ago. Figures, he thought, that this man would keep that particular fact from his wife.
"Sam..." T'Sai repeated thoughtfully. "You agreed to give him a Vulcan name?"
"'Sam' is also a human name," Trip said. "His full name is Sam Jonathan."
"Who is taking care of the baby while you are here?" she asked.
"Malcolm," he said. "He's our Armoury Officer." Noticing her raised eyebrow, he added: "I'm sure he's doing a great job. Besides, the Captain's busy so I couldn't ask him."
She looked at him and for the first time since they had met, he saw a slight smile on T'Sai's lips.
-###-
"Evening, Malcolm."
Malcolm looked up at Hoshi who set her tray down on the table.
"Hi, Hoshi," he said smiling. He hadn't started on his own dinner yet, waiting for her to come back from her shift. They'd had dinner together every evening since the day she had helped him with Sam, and Malcolm found that he enjoyed her company. He'd spent a lot of time with her lately; she had stopped by his quarters every day after her shift to see how Sam and he were doing. Today, however, she'd been assigned an extra shift and hadn't been able to make it.
As she sat down, Hoshi smiled at him.
"How are you?" she asked.
"Bloody but unbowed." Malcolm sighed. "He finally fell asleep about fifteen minutes ago."
Hoshi started on her pasta, trying to keep a straight face.
"You did remember changing him today, did you?"
Malcolm gave her an indignant look. "Yes I did. He just decided to keep me busy today and started to cry whenever I tried to put him down. The problem is, he always wants to be the focus of attention. Just like his father, come to think of it."
Hoshi smacked his arm. "Shut up. Trip's not that bad. And anyway, it's not Sam's fault you're a lousy babysitter."
Malcolm shot her a dirty look. "Well, that's why I became an Armoury Officer, not a kindergarten teacher."
Hoshi snorted. "Fair point."
She concentrated on her dinner again, and for a while they ate in silence. Malcolm noticed that Hoshi was one of the few persons you could just be with without having to keep up constant conversation. It was something he really liked about her, since he himself hated the never-ending small talk many people needed to feel comfortable. After a few more minutes Hoshi looked up at him.
"You know, I really missed Sam today. I'm always looking forward to visiting the both of you after the end of my shift."
Malcolm raised an eyebrow. "Well, I had the impression Sam was missing you, too. He doesn't take half as long to fall asleep when you're around."
Hoshi smiled. "He's such a cute baby. And pretty good-natured too, considering his parents aren't here to take care of him at the moment. He must be missing them terribly."
"I'm sure he does." Malcolm looked down at his plate, ruefully thinking of the many occasions when he had been quite annoyed by the constant unhappy crying. Sam was just a baby, after all, and couldn't understand why his parents had to leave him with a stranger who didn't really know how to take care of him.
He looked up and noticed Hoshi regarding him thoughtfully.
"What's up?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
Hoshi shook her head. "I was just wondering... did you ever think about having children of your own? Someday, I mean?"
The question took him by surprise. He had never given much thought to that subject, and the idea of thinking of himself as a father was new to him.
"Well...no," he said after a moment. "Not really."
"Neither did I." Hoshi paused. "But I guess you can't really plan that kind of thing. I mean, just look at Trip and T'Pol."
Malcolm snorted. "I believe at least T'Pol had it all planned out," he said wryly.
Hoshi grinned. "You might have a point there. But Trip manages pretty well, I think. At least he knows how to recruite babysitters." Malcolm nodded glumly, but Hoshi ignored him. "Did you know the Captain always takes Sam along when he walks Porthos? It's funny to see a Starfleet Captain walking through the hallways of his ship talking to a dog and a baby." She giggled.
"Could you repeat that a little bit louder, I don't think everybody quite heard you," Malcolm said, taking a quick look around. Hoshi just grinned and took a sip of her drink.
"Oh, by the way," she said, putting her glass down, "I've asked Liz Cutler if she'd babysit Sam on Friday night. She said yes, so would you like to go to movie night with me?"
Malcolm cleared his throat. "I...well, I still have to get that Security report done, so..."
Hoshi sighed. "Come on, Malcolm. Don't tell me you have to work on a Friday night!"
"I always work on Friday nights," Malcolm said raising his eyebrows.
Hoshi rolled her eyes. "Are you going to come with me or not?"
"Well, since you already found a babysitter..."
She smiled at him. "So it's a date, then?"
Malcolm felt his ears grow hot. "I guess so."
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.
------------------------------------
Chapter 6: Family and Friends
It was Trip's fourth day on Vulcan. After today's session T'Pyr had informed him that for the first time she had been able to establish a brief contact with T'Pol's mind. Trip had been surprised to hear it, he hadn't noticed any difference. It had been just another day of sitting at T'Pol's bedside, watching T'Pyr, hoping for some change, even the slightest twitch in T'Pol's face that would tell him she was still in there, after all. The Healer had said that T'Pol had withdrawn into some kind of trance and that it was necessary to break through to her before the healing process could be initiated. Hearing her talk about beginning the healing process gave him hope, and when he left T'Pol's room that day, he felt a little better than he had on the previous evenings.
As the doors closed behind him, he noticed an elderly Vulcan woman standing next to the lift, watching him apprehensively. He had never seen her before, so he just nodded politely in her direction and headed for the stairs.
"Excuse me..."
He turned his head, startled. The woman took a step towards him. Her remarkably dark eyes were very intense, the only thing alive in her otherwise expressionless face.
"Can I help you, ma'am?" Trip asked.
She hesitated for a moment. "Are you Commander Tucker?"
Trip raised his eyebrows. "Yes, I'm Charles Tucker."
For the first time the woman looked him straight in the eyes, taking in every detail of his face. Trip frowned. "And you are...?"
She looked away for a moment, as if to clear her thoughts. "I am T'Sai. T'Pol's mother."
Trip stared at her in astonishment. The woman didn't look at all like T'Pol, and her reserved way of speaking was very different from his wife's usual self-confident manner. He cleared his throat.
"Er... nice to meet you. Are you here to visit your daughter?"
"I have come to see T'Pol...and I am here because I wanted to meet her bondmate." Not giving him the chance to reply, she continued. "I know that my husband made it clear that he does not accept this marriage, but...I have my reasons."
Trip didn't really know what to make of that. He had assumed T'Pol's father had been speaking for the whole family when he had said that as far as they were concerned, T'Pol had no bondmate at all. But obviously T'Sai thought different. Noticing the anxious look on the Vulcan woman's face, he gestured at the door of T'Pol's room.
"Would you like to see her now?"
T'Sai bowed her head slightly. Trip touched the panel beside the door and the bulkhead slid aside. The room was quiet and dimly lit as usual, the only movements the steady flashing of the life support's display. As T'Sai sat down on the chair beside T'Pol's bed, he saw a flicker of sadness crossing her features. He knew how she felt; every day he came here it hurt him anew to see T'Pol lying motionless in that hospital bed, her face pale and still. After a moment he took a step towards T'Sai.
"You picked a good day for your visit, by the way," he said. "The Healer told me that today she was able to achieve a small improvement during the meld. There might be hope for recovery, after all."
T'Sai looked up at him. "This is good to hear."
It was a simple statement, but Trip could feel that she meant what she'd said. Pulling up a chair, he sat down beside her and smiled slightly.
"You know, I'm glad you came. I felt bad because I thought I was keeping her family away from her." He paused. "Will T'Pol's father come to visit her as well?"
T'Sai looked away. "Solkar does not know that I am here. He would not approve if he did."
Trip sighed. Thinking about it, he shouldn't have expected anything else. Still, it made him angry to see what this man was doing to his family.
"But why?" he asked, a little louder than he had intended to. "Why won't he even come and visit her? She's his daughter, for God's sake! Doesn't he care at all?"
A short silence followed and Trip already wished he could take back the harsh words, when T'Sai raised her eyes.
"He cares very much," she said quietly, stunning him into silence. He just stared at her as she continued.
"T'Pol is his only child, and she means more to him than he even realizes himself. He is very... protective of her, and never approved of her decision to work among humans." She hesitated. "He thinks humans...cannot be trusted, that they are superficious and unreliable. When he heard of T'Pol's marriage, he was very... concerned. He thinks you will make her unhappy."
Trip shook his head. This didn't seem to fit in his picture of T'Pol's father at all, but he saw that T'Sai was speaking the truth. That this seemingly cold and unfeeling man was simply afraid for his daughter, like any father would be, was something which had never occurred to him before.
"Then why did he refuse to talk to her?"
T'Sai looked at T'Pol's still face. "It is his way," she said simply. A moment of silence followed.
"And you?" Trip asked finally. "What do you think?"
She didn't answer immediately.
"I trust my daughter's judgement," she said at last. "My husband does not see that there comes a time when children begin to make their own decisions. I find it difficult to come here without his knowledge, but as I said, I have my reasons."
Aware of the fact that he was probably violating every Vulcan privacy code there was, Trip decided to ask further.
"What do you mean?"
She met his gaze evenly. "I am suffering from a terminal heart disease," she said as calmly as if she were talking about the weather. "I do not know how much time I have left, and I wanted to see my daughter, regardless of what the family thinks."
Trip sensed a desperate determination underlying her words. She'd spoken of her illness like she'd accepted it long ago and moved on, but he realized that at the same time it had given her the strength to come here against the will of the family. And he knew that for most Vulcans family and family honor was one of the most important things in life. He looked down at his hands.
"Does T'Pol know of your... illness?" he asked quietly.
"I never told her," T'Sai said.
A short silence followed.
"I'm sure T'Pol would appreciate your decision to come here," he said at last. "She was very... disappointed when her father told her that she was not welcome in your house. She really wanted you to see Sam."
T'Sai raised an eyebrow. "Who is Sam?"
"Our son." Trip smiled. "He's two months old."
Her eyes widened slightly. "I did not know you had a son."
Trip frowned. T'Pol had told her father about Sam when she had called home from Enterprise over a week ago. Figures, he thought, that this man would keep that particular fact from his wife.
"Sam..." T'Sai repeated thoughtfully. "You agreed to give him a Vulcan name?"
"'Sam' is also a human name," Trip said. "His full name is Sam Jonathan."
"Who is taking care of the baby while you are here?" she asked.
"Malcolm," he said. "He's our Armoury Officer." Noticing her raised eyebrow, he added: "I'm sure he's doing a great job. Besides, the Captain's busy so I couldn't ask him."
She looked at him and for the first time since they had met, he saw a slight smile on T'Sai's lips.
-###-
"Evening, Malcolm."
Malcolm looked up at Hoshi who set her tray down on the table.
"Hi, Hoshi," he said smiling. He hadn't started on his own dinner yet, waiting for her to come back from her shift. They'd had dinner together every evening since the day she had helped him with Sam, and Malcolm found that he enjoyed her company. He'd spent a lot of time with her lately; she had stopped by his quarters every day after her shift to see how Sam and he were doing. Today, however, she'd been assigned an extra shift and hadn't been able to make it.
As she sat down, Hoshi smiled at him.
"How are you?" she asked.
"Bloody but unbowed." Malcolm sighed. "He finally fell asleep about fifteen minutes ago."
Hoshi started on her pasta, trying to keep a straight face.
"You did remember changing him today, did you?"
Malcolm gave her an indignant look. "Yes I did. He just decided to keep me busy today and started to cry whenever I tried to put him down. The problem is, he always wants to be the focus of attention. Just like his father, come to think of it."
Hoshi smacked his arm. "Shut up. Trip's not that bad. And anyway, it's not Sam's fault you're a lousy babysitter."
Malcolm shot her a dirty look. "Well, that's why I became an Armoury Officer, not a kindergarten teacher."
Hoshi snorted. "Fair point."
She concentrated on her dinner again, and for a while they ate in silence. Malcolm noticed that Hoshi was one of the few persons you could just be with without having to keep up constant conversation. It was something he really liked about her, since he himself hated the never-ending small talk many people needed to feel comfortable. After a few more minutes Hoshi looked up at him.
"You know, I really missed Sam today. I'm always looking forward to visiting the both of you after the end of my shift."
Malcolm raised an eyebrow. "Well, I had the impression Sam was missing you, too. He doesn't take half as long to fall asleep when you're around."
Hoshi smiled. "He's such a cute baby. And pretty good-natured too, considering his parents aren't here to take care of him at the moment. He must be missing them terribly."
"I'm sure he does." Malcolm looked down at his plate, ruefully thinking of the many occasions when he had been quite annoyed by the constant unhappy crying. Sam was just a baby, after all, and couldn't understand why his parents had to leave him with a stranger who didn't really know how to take care of him.
He looked up and noticed Hoshi regarding him thoughtfully.
"What's up?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
Hoshi shook her head. "I was just wondering... did you ever think about having children of your own? Someday, I mean?"
The question took him by surprise. He had never given much thought to that subject, and the idea of thinking of himself as a father was new to him.
"Well...no," he said after a moment. "Not really."
"Neither did I." Hoshi paused. "But I guess you can't really plan that kind of thing. I mean, just look at Trip and T'Pol."
Malcolm snorted. "I believe at least T'Pol had it all planned out," he said wryly.
Hoshi grinned. "You might have a point there. But Trip manages pretty well, I think. At least he knows how to recruite babysitters." Malcolm nodded glumly, but Hoshi ignored him. "Did you know the Captain always takes Sam along when he walks Porthos? It's funny to see a Starfleet Captain walking through the hallways of his ship talking to a dog and a baby." She giggled.
"Could you repeat that a little bit louder, I don't think everybody quite heard you," Malcolm said, taking a quick look around. Hoshi just grinned and took a sip of her drink.
"Oh, by the way," she said, putting her glass down, "I've asked Liz Cutler if she'd babysit Sam on Friday night. She said yes, so would you like to go to movie night with me?"
Malcolm cleared his throat. "I...well, I still have to get that Security report done, so..."
Hoshi sighed. "Come on, Malcolm. Don't tell me you have to work on a Friday night!"
"I always work on Friday nights," Malcolm said raising his eyebrows.
Hoshi rolled her eyes. "Are you going to come with me or not?"
"Well, since you already found a babysitter..."
She smiled at him. "So it's a date, then?"
Malcolm felt his ears grow hot. "I guess so."