Please read and enjoy!
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Trip woke up in the middle of the night because she had started to play soccer with his ribs. He got up wearily and slowly. Carefully putting his clothes on before he staggered the long weary way to sickbay.
"Phlox, something's wrong…" he said before he collapsed onto the sickbay floor, attempting to shield Emily from the blow.
He woke once before he woke fully. All he saw was Phlox turn away with a small bawling bundle before he sadly fell back into unconsciousness.
"Trip, wake up!" said Hoshi earnestly as she attempted to shake Trip awake.
Trip slowly woke up and knew she was gone before he felt the large gap beside him.
"Where is she!?" he shouted, wincing as he finally noticed the bandages wrapped around his side.
Trip heard an infant crying on the other side of the sickbay and told Hoshi to bring her to him. Hoshi, being courteously nice, walked over to a small crib that had a misty tent over it. She reached inside and pulled out a very upset, loud, small bundle.
Trip impatiently reached out his hands for his small daughter.
Hoshi placed her gently into his arms and he looked down at her face.
He looked at her bawling face and instantly fell in love. She was everything and more than he had hoped for. She had the scaly skin of the Xyrillians but it was less moist and scaly than he had remembered. Her skin was also lighter than what he remembered, and it looked almost tan. The ridges he remembered on the Xyrillians were less pronounced on her as well.
"She's beautiful…" he whispered softly.
She immediately stopped crying at the sound of her father's voice and started reaching for his opposite wrist. He awkwardly brought it closer to her and she avidly attached to it, sucking greedily.
"Ah, I see you are finally awake, and acquainted with our new crewmember," Said Dr. Phlox cheerfully, "Now I have some news about some of her physiological systems."
Trip looked up from gazing at his daughter's face.
"News? What kind of news?" he asked worriedly.
"Oh, nothing that major, just that her entire digestive and reproductive systems are completely human, but her respiratory system is mostly Xyrillian, that's why I had her in that tent filled with steam."
"Is it anything that serious? Will she be okay?" Trip asked, worry building in his voice.
"No, no, she just has some trouble rehydrating her lungs. Everything will be fine if you keep her in that tent until she is about a month old. Just until her lungs have gotten used to the air in here."
Trip looked at his daughter lovingly as she let go of his wrist and drifted off to sleep. He gently got up and walked over to her crib and set her down in the mist filled bed.
"Hey doc, why'd you have to cut me open so much?" he asked as he made his way over to the cot he had been sleeping on.
"Well, I had just made a small incision but then you wouldn't stop bleeding – it seemed that you grew a pretty big artery while you were pregnant. So, I had to bandage you up pretty tight, but most of that bandaging is just for show. "Said the doctor with a smile on his face.
Trip stared at him flabbergasted. He could have died at the hands of that crazy smiling doctor. He would kill him! But first he needed to sleep.
Trip was softly awoken a few hours later by the soft crooning voice of a woman. At first he thought it was Hoshi but he knew from experience that she couldn't sing to save her soul. He listened a little more to the sweet soprano voice to find that she was singing in Vulcan! The only other person on the entire ship that knew how to speak, much less sing, Vulcan was T'Pol. He lifted his head up to see her. She was holding Emily close to her face, slightly rocking, and singing.
"What are doing?" he asked softly.
"Oh, Commander Tucker, I see that you are awake." She said, barely fazed at Trip catching her singing, quite emotionally, to his infant daughter. "She started crying when I arrived with the translated version of that lullaby you wanted. I didn't want her to wake you so I comforted her."
Trip nodded his thanks as she set the baby back in her crib, just in time for the rest of his friends to arrive. All of them gave him a hug (except Malcolm, who shook his hand firmly) before settling down to various seats.
"So, Trip, What's her name?" asked Jon curiously.
"I thought about that one long and hard, but I finally decided to name her Emily Ah'len Tucker." He said.
Travis grinned at Trip, thankful for him using his suggestion and the hilarious nick name that would accompany the little girl.
"Ah'len? Where did you get that name from?" asked Hoshi.
Trip didn't want to say that she was the Xyrillian who gave him Emily. He lowered his eyes and tried to subtly tell Hoshi by glancing at Emily's crib. Much to Trip's embarrassment she gasped and covered her mouth in apology.
A couple days later he was allowed to move back to his room with Emily. He greatly relished the idea of being able to wear clingy shirts, opposed to the loose suit shirts he had been wearing the last four months.
"Well, this is Home Emmy." He said cheerfully to his little daughter
He glanced at his mail and found the translated version of the lullaby on the corner of the blanket that she was sleeping under currently.
Trip smiled at her as he started to read the lullaby.
"Lets see… 'Lullaby of Luck: As the sun sets, as the sun rises, all of the children of Vulcan lay down to sleep, rise up to wake, to meet their undiscovered day, some to work, some to play, and some to wonder away the day. Luck, Luck, foolish luck, lucky are the children, who wonder away the day, with out an ounce of regret of wasting a useful day'"
Trip smiled at the cute little song wondering what the tune was.
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A/N: hey I know that song was really corny, but it was all I could think of for the time being.
Thank you everyone who gave me nice and generous reviews!
Next Chapter Suggestions
Skip ahead a couple years
Skip ahead a couple months
(Obviously one or the other)
More romance between Trip and T'Pol
Some super tentions between T'Pol and Trip – read to find out!
Trip becomes foolishly over-protective of Emily
Emily is almost like the ship's mascot – much to Trip's dismay
