Warning: Slight Spoiler with regards to T'Pol for those who haven't seen 'Countdown' episode 23 (I think. It could be 22) of season three.

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek, or any of the characters, except the ones devised for the purposes of this story. (I wish I did own Star Trek, I'd be loaded!!)

Now that the technical stuff is out of the way, Hi! I'd really love for you to read and review this fan fiction, but, it's my first one, so please be kind.

This was an idea that I've been playing around with for a while. It was originally meant to be an Archer storyline, but I realized that we already knew far too much about him for this scenario to be at all plausible.

Intrigued? Read on..............

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June 25th, 2151

The bridge of Enterprise was quiet. The crew worked in comfortable silence at their stations, occasionally making comments or verifying a reading. After all they had been through in the last year, they were family. The Xindi weapon had been stopped and destroyed safely, and the tentative truce between humans and the Xindi seemed to be holding, and if anything, strengthening.

The crew had been granted several months leave to be with their families, and to rest. Now, they were back, refreshed, energized and eager to get back to their original mission of exploration.

Captain Jonathan Archer smiled as he surveyed his command crew. "They are all such good people" he thought. "Dedicated, loyal, courageous. It truly has been an honour to command them"

To his left, Ensign Hoshi Sato sat at her station. "She has been to hell and back, and she still can smile" Jon thought to himself as she smiled and returned his nod of acknowledgement. Ensign Travis Mayweather sat at the conn, busily examining his controls. Despite all they had been through, there was a certain innocence and joy about him that Jon hoped he would never loose.

Seated slightly behind Jon at the science station sat Sub-Commander T'Pol, poring over her readings. He had to smile when he looked at her. Every few minutes, she would look down as if to verify that yes, she was actually wearing a Starfleet uniform. Jon almost laughed aloud at the memory of the look on Ambassador Suval's when T'Pol entered the briefing room of Starfleet H.Q. prior to the re-launching of Enterprise, dressed in a Starfleet uniform. Later, he and Trip had laughed at the look of utter confusion and horror that had been on his face. If someone had told Jon four years ago that a Vulcan would be one of his closest friends and confidants, he wouldn't have believed them. But here they were.

At his station to Jon's right sat Lieutenant Malcolm Reed, Chief Armoury Officer. The Brit was currently rolling his eyes at the good natured joke that Trip had just told him about a Vulcan in a harem. Commander Charles Tucker III, known to all as Trip, was the Chief Engineer, and was currently standing an the engineering console, both keeping an eye on engineering and irritating Malcolm at the same time, which he loved to do. Jon was glad that the two were friends, though they were so different.

Jon took one more look around before seating himself in the Captains chair. They were currently in un-explored space. They were the first human's out this far, and even the Vulcan's hadn't been here yet. "We are like kids in a giant playground" he though to himself. The thought made him smile.

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June 25th, 2151

On board the newly christened ship, the Hope, Lisa Holt walked down the corridors to engineering. Her long black hair was styled as if for a party, and there was a spring in her step. She was on her way to engineering to find her friend, Alex. Alexandria, known to all as Alex, was late for the Christmas party, and Lisa knew that if someone didn't physically drag her way, she would stay in engineering all night.

As she rounded the corner to engineering, she heard Alex say to herself:

"This ship has to be 75 years old, easily. It's alien, I'm not familiar with the systems and I'm he one who has to keep it up and running. Typical. Just typical!!" Her Irish accent became more pronounced the more irritated she got with the ancient engine, and Lisa could tell that she was close to kicking the ancient engine.

"Well, you are the only Starfleet trained engineer aboard the Hope Alex" Lisa laughed.

Startled, Alex spun around, fists raised in a fighter's stance. Her thick dark red hair tied back in a plait thumped against the bulkhead as she spun, but she relaxed immediately she recognized her friend.

[A/N Before anyone gets huffy about the clichéd Irish woman with red hair, I'm from Ireland, I have dark red hair, so I'm allowed use the cliché! : -) ]

"Lisa, I didn't expect to see you" she replied.

"I'll bet you didn't" laughed Lisa. "I bet you could just hole up in here and miss the Christmas party."

"I think it's a silly idea, having a Christmas party." retorted Alex. "For all we know it's August back on Earth. Besides, I have work to do here."

"We've had this conversation before, about two months ago when we had New Years. Firstly, it's for the morale of everyone aboard. It's true that we haven't been to Earth in so long, and we don't actually know the date because we were all taken at different times, so these parties are to keep our spirits up. Secondly, you are the only fully trained engineer on board. You can't work 24-7. You'll burn out, and we need you. We still have at least 6 more years to go before we reach Earth, and we've been in space almost 9 months. You need to rest."

Suddenly realization hit Lisa. "You are not hiding out in here to avoid meeting a certain someone, are you?" She could see by the look in Alex's eye that she had gotten to the real problem.

"You're right. It's James. He won't leave me alone. I'm married, but James just will not accept this. He keeps inviting me to intimate dinners in is quarters or some such nonsense."

Lisa sympathized with her friend. Alex had married at 18, and even though she was thousands of light years away from Earth, she still loved her husband and remained faithful to him. She always wore her wedding ring, and usually wore her engagement ring on a chain around her neck. Alex had been 23 when she had been abducted, and knew that the odds of her husband being alive and unmarried still were tiny, but still she held on to hope. Alex was very attractive, but she had rejected all advances by the men aboard the ship, because she loved her husband so much.

Lisa was slightly envious of the amount of devotion Alex showed to her absent partner. Often, when Alex was talking about him, the work soul mate stole across Lisa's mind. She was 32, or had been when she had been taken, and she had never experienced what Alex spoke about. She thought that to find it so young, then have it ripped away was the cruelest of fates. And so, she understood her friend's decision to stay away from James.

"I understand.' She told Alex. "You're not coming, are you?"

"No, I'm not."

"Well, I'll try to distract James for a while so he won't notice you're not there" A look of gratitude flashed across Alex's features at these words.

"Thank, Lisa. I owe you one"

"No problem. See you tomorrow" Lisa replied, already heading out the door.

"Bye"

Alex stood still for several minutes, staring at her wedding ring, running her finger over the smooth surface, tears forming in her eyes. She brushed them away angrily as they spilled down over her cheeks.

"It will do me no good, crying." she told herself. "He is not here, and I probably will never get him back. Get used to it Lexie" She unwittingly used his nick-name for her, which caused fresh tears to form.

Steeling her resolve, she blinked back the tears, and turned to face the console she had been working on.

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So, what do you think? I know it's a bit confusing, but the next chapter or two will explain it all. Please Review!!