Title: Confessions, Chapter 4
By: Angel
Disclaimers: See Ch. 1
Notes: This was, without a doubt, the hardest to write. I tried my best to stay in character. Let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it!
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Dr. Phlox looked over his shoulder abruptly at the sound of her voice. He tried in vain to reconcile the image of the woman before him with the one he had spoken with just moments ago. They could not possibly be the same person. Where the previous person was small and frail this officer was regal and foreboding. Shaking his head in disbelief at the rapid transformation, he glanced back at Commander Tucker, still standing just inside the sickbay entry. 'Poor guy,' he thought before he commented aloud, "If you two will excuse me, I need to check on...something." With that, he passed by the engineer and headed out the doors into the main hall. Surreptitiously, he locked the passage behind him so that the two people inside would not be disturbed.
"I've been lookin' ev'rywhere for you, T'Pol," Trip managed to get out. His tone bordered between relief and irritation. He ran a hand through his hair before stepping closer to her.
She stepped back as he moved further into the room. 'I can not allow myself to get too close to him. It will make it that much harder to maintain my control if he touches me.' "Really? Why? Is there a problem with the ship?" She tried to keep a professional façade, to keep up mental shields that had been too weak for too long.
The breath that escaped his lips came out in a rush. He tilted his head to the side, as if examining a complex equation. "What? No, T'Pol, I think we need to talk." He tried again to move closer to her, and again she stepped away.
She attempted to circumnavigate him and head to the doorway, but he blocked her way. "Commander, I do not believe we have anything to say. Now, if you will please remove yourself from my path, it's late and I would like to go to bed." Her eyes continued to look at the floor with avid interest. 'He is too close, I can not maintain this front much longer!'
"Damn, T'Pol! Why do ya' have to be so stubborn? Can't we talk? Please?" His frustration shone clearly in his tone, and as he spoke he reached out to put his hands on her arms. She pulled away as quickly as if he'd set her on fire.
"We have said all there is to say, Commander Tucker," her tone began to waver and as she allowed herself to look into his eyes, he saw all the hurt and confusion she'd locked up for so long. Her voice dropped to a whisper as she realized he could read her innermost feelings at that moment. "Please, let me go."
He knew she didn't just mean she wanted to leave sickbay. She wanted him to let her go completely, forever. He shook his head emphatically. "Uh uh, no way! Ya' don't git ta' do that. Ya' don't git to walk away now, not after ev'rything that's happened. I git to say my piece, too!" He was near tears at the thought of her leaving now. If they didn't work this out now, tonight, they might never straighten out this mess.
"Your accent is particularly thick this evening, Commander. Are you feeling overly emotional?" She tried to keep the subject off herself, but knew that in the end she would fail.
Again, his hand went through his hair, much more roughly this time. "Are ya' nuts? Of course I'm emotional! T'Pol, we need to deal with this, right now."
Closing her eyes, she almost sighed. "Charles," she began softly and he knew he was in trouble, "there is nothing to deal with. I shared something very personal with you tonight because I thought you needed to know about it before we allowed our relationship to go any further. But, you made your feelings quite clear. I am unacceptable to you now. It is my intention to request a transfer off of Enterprise as soon as possible."
"What the? Unacceptable? Whatever gave you that idea?" he yelled. "How dare ya' stand there and tell me my feelin's. Ya' want to know my feelin's? I'll tell ya'. I love ya', dammit! Are ya' happy now? Is that how ya' wanted to hear me say it for the first time?" He closed his eyes in defeat and lowered his voice. "I don't know where ya' got the crazy idea that I didn't want ta' be with ya', but ya' should try askin' a fella what he wants before just assumin'."
Her brows were completely lost they had furrowed in so deep. The look of confusion that came over her face forced the expressionless mask she had so carefully pasted in place to fall silently to the floor. "I don't understand," she began when it became clear that he had finished speaking for a moment. "You left my quarters earlier, and you were so angry. I waited for you to return and when you didn't, I thought..."
"Ya' thought I didn't care. Oh, T'Pol, honey, I'm sorry ya' felt that way." Once more he moved closer to her, and this time she didn't back away. "Sometimes, when we humans get angry or hurt, we have to deal with it on our own for a bit. You meditate, we 'blow off steam'. I just needed some time, to let ev'rythin' ya' said sink in." He tilted her chin up to look in her eyes. "I'll be honest, I wasn't thrilled with what ya' had to say earlier, but I was more angry that ya' didn't come to me sooner."
Gazing in his blue eyes, she began to relax. "You are still interested in attempting a relationship?" Her voice was delicate, as if she were afraid saying the words would shatter the illusion. His smile was all the assurance she needed. He leaned down and gently touched his lips to hers.
"Very much," he whispered after parting from the soft kiss. "Although, I think ya' need to learn to understand all these emotions ya' got now." His smile belied the teasing nature of the comment and he gently stroked her cheek with his fingers as she pulled his head down again.
"Perhaps, you can help me with that?" she whispered before capturing his lips once more with her own.
The doctor peeked through the sickbay doors and smiled even broader than usual at the sight that greeted him. 'Well, it's about time!' he thought before turning away and strolling down the corridor, again humming a happy tune.
The End
Notes: So, what'd'ya think? You didn't really think I'd end it any other way, did you?
BTW, the sequel has been slowly – very slowly – forming itself in my little brain. Let me know if you're interested in seeing this story continue.
By: Angel
Disclaimers: See Ch. 1
Notes: This was, without a doubt, the hardest to write. I tried my best to stay in character. Let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it!
44444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444
Dr. Phlox looked over his shoulder abruptly at the sound of her voice. He tried in vain to reconcile the image of the woman before him with the one he had spoken with just moments ago. They could not possibly be the same person. Where the previous person was small and frail this officer was regal and foreboding. Shaking his head in disbelief at the rapid transformation, he glanced back at Commander Tucker, still standing just inside the sickbay entry. 'Poor guy,' he thought before he commented aloud, "If you two will excuse me, I need to check on...something." With that, he passed by the engineer and headed out the doors into the main hall. Surreptitiously, he locked the passage behind him so that the two people inside would not be disturbed.
"I've been lookin' ev'rywhere for you, T'Pol," Trip managed to get out. His tone bordered between relief and irritation. He ran a hand through his hair before stepping closer to her.
She stepped back as he moved further into the room. 'I can not allow myself to get too close to him. It will make it that much harder to maintain my control if he touches me.' "Really? Why? Is there a problem with the ship?" She tried to keep a professional façade, to keep up mental shields that had been too weak for too long.
The breath that escaped his lips came out in a rush. He tilted his head to the side, as if examining a complex equation. "What? No, T'Pol, I think we need to talk." He tried again to move closer to her, and again she stepped away.
She attempted to circumnavigate him and head to the doorway, but he blocked her way. "Commander, I do not believe we have anything to say. Now, if you will please remove yourself from my path, it's late and I would like to go to bed." Her eyes continued to look at the floor with avid interest. 'He is too close, I can not maintain this front much longer!'
"Damn, T'Pol! Why do ya' have to be so stubborn? Can't we talk? Please?" His frustration shone clearly in his tone, and as he spoke he reached out to put his hands on her arms. She pulled away as quickly as if he'd set her on fire.
"We have said all there is to say, Commander Tucker," her tone began to waver and as she allowed herself to look into his eyes, he saw all the hurt and confusion she'd locked up for so long. Her voice dropped to a whisper as she realized he could read her innermost feelings at that moment. "Please, let me go."
He knew she didn't just mean she wanted to leave sickbay. She wanted him to let her go completely, forever. He shook his head emphatically. "Uh uh, no way! Ya' don't git ta' do that. Ya' don't git to walk away now, not after ev'rything that's happened. I git to say my piece, too!" He was near tears at the thought of her leaving now. If they didn't work this out now, tonight, they might never straighten out this mess.
"Your accent is particularly thick this evening, Commander. Are you feeling overly emotional?" She tried to keep the subject off herself, but knew that in the end she would fail.
Again, his hand went through his hair, much more roughly this time. "Are ya' nuts? Of course I'm emotional! T'Pol, we need to deal with this, right now."
Closing her eyes, she almost sighed. "Charles," she began softly and he knew he was in trouble, "there is nothing to deal with. I shared something very personal with you tonight because I thought you needed to know about it before we allowed our relationship to go any further. But, you made your feelings quite clear. I am unacceptable to you now. It is my intention to request a transfer off of Enterprise as soon as possible."
"What the? Unacceptable? Whatever gave you that idea?" he yelled. "How dare ya' stand there and tell me my feelin's. Ya' want to know my feelin's? I'll tell ya'. I love ya', dammit! Are ya' happy now? Is that how ya' wanted to hear me say it for the first time?" He closed his eyes in defeat and lowered his voice. "I don't know where ya' got the crazy idea that I didn't want ta' be with ya', but ya' should try askin' a fella what he wants before just assumin'."
Her brows were completely lost they had furrowed in so deep. The look of confusion that came over her face forced the expressionless mask she had so carefully pasted in place to fall silently to the floor. "I don't understand," she began when it became clear that he had finished speaking for a moment. "You left my quarters earlier, and you were so angry. I waited for you to return and when you didn't, I thought..."
"Ya' thought I didn't care. Oh, T'Pol, honey, I'm sorry ya' felt that way." Once more he moved closer to her, and this time she didn't back away. "Sometimes, when we humans get angry or hurt, we have to deal with it on our own for a bit. You meditate, we 'blow off steam'. I just needed some time, to let ev'rythin' ya' said sink in." He tilted her chin up to look in her eyes. "I'll be honest, I wasn't thrilled with what ya' had to say earlier, but I was more angry that ya' didn't come to me sooner."
Gazing in his blue eyes, she began to relax. "You are still interested in attempting a relationship?" Her voice was delicate, as if she were afraid saying the words would shatter the illusion. His smile was all the assurance she needed. He leaned down and gently touched his lips to hers.
"Very much," he whispered after parting from the soft kiss. "Although, I think ya' need to learn to understand all these emotions ya' got now." His smile belied the teasing nature of the comment and he gently stroked her cheek with his fingers as she pulled his head down again.
"Perhaps, you can help me with that?" she whispered before capturing his lips once more with her own.
The doctor peeked through the sickbay doors and smiled even broader than usual at the sight that greeted him. 'Well, it's about time!' he thought before turning away and strolling down the corridor, again humming a happy tune.
The End
Notes: So, what'd'ya think? You didn't really think I'd end it any other way, did you?
BTW, the sequel has been slowly – very slowly – forming itself in my little brain. Let me know if you're interested in seeing this story continue.