A/N: Hi again, folks! I'll go away and stop leaving these little notes eventually. This is just another apology for the long pause between updates … in this case, I saw that the story had fallen off the front page and was galvanized into action. ;-) I realize that these apologies aren't worth much to those of you who are following the story, especially since the chapters are so egregiously short, but thank you once again for reading and I promise things are going to heat up rather quickly after this chapter. And as for the necessary excuse as to why this hasn't been updated, the only one I have is that I'm trying to write about forty fics at once and thus no work is getting done on any of them. I really need to learn to prioritize.

Chapter Fourteen: Grain of Hope

            " … so that's really all there is to it," Trip said. "Or at least, all I know. But like I said, this isn't my Enterprise … and I think I can back to where I belong, if you'll help me."

            Travis sat in silence for awhile. He had gone from skeptical to astonished to half-convinced of Trip having completely left his senses in a matter of minutes; but at least he was listening. He was considering. It sounded pretty damn outlandish, Trip knew that well enough; but he'd pegged Ensign Mayweather as an open-minded sort from the first moment he'd met the young man, and now he could only hope his counterpart had held onto that in all the strangeness and pain that made up his life.

            Finally, in a way that didn't indicate whether he believed Trip or not, Travis said, "What do you want me to do?"

            The truth was, Trip wasn't sure. It really depended on how many people he managed to win over to his cause. He never had been very good at planning; he was a man that lived in the moment and organized things with his heart rather than with his brain. It made moments of decision like these rather awkward upon occasion. But he was getting better at it; his time aboard the Enterprise, and all the occasions in which he'd been left in command, had begun to season him.

            "I need you at the helm," Trip said.

            Travis raised his eyebrows. "You want me to go against Captain Archer's orders?"

            "Not exactly," Trip said. "I'll let you know when the time comes. You won't be disobeying any orders from the captain, not if everything goes right. But you won't exactly be following orders from him, either."

            "Can you be more specific?" Travis asked with a hint of wryness.

            Trip had to chuckle at that. He was asking a lot; a nebulous commitment to something that was absolutely made of uncertainty, when Travis's situation was precarious enough already … but what else could he do? He needed Travis at the helm and he needed as many people on his side for what was coming – whatever it turned out to be – as he could get. On the surface, all it looked like he needed to do was get back to the planet and the ion storms there, commandeer the transporter for long enough to beam down at the right instant, and hope that the universe would right itself accordingly … but it wasn't in his nature to just leave things as they were, seeing his friends suffering they way they were. He knew he couldn't change everything, but he felt as though he had a responsibility to change everything he could … and there was one thing he thought he could do, given the time and allies to do it with. "I don't think I can," he said. "Not until I know more. But can I count on you?"

            Travis sighed. "I'm probably crazy," he said. "Or maybe we both are. But I'll do what I can to help you, Commander." He stood up and headed for the door.

            "Thank you," Trip said quietly. He knew that Travis didn't need any more uncertainty in his life than he already had. He tried to convey, in those two little words, how much he appreciated the commitment that Travis was giving him – a commitment to something that he didn't understand, a plan that, really, didn't even exist yet. On the strength of what sounded like little more than a bad dream, except that Trip was definitely awake.

            Travis smiled briefly as he stood before the still-closed door. "Out of my mind," he said wryly. But then the familiar earnestness returned to his voice as he added: "But … you did listen to me, sir. And you didn't laugh. I think that's worth something, at least."

            Then he was gone.

            Trip was left with a good deal to think about.