Disclaimer: Enterprise and her crew belong to Paramount. I'm just borrowing them for a while.
Bottled Up – Part 8
The insistent beeping of the door chime dragged Trip out of a deep sleep. As he groggily surfaced from his slumber, he realised that he had actually been hearing the noise for some time in his dreams, and he was surprised that whoever was outside the door hadn't either tried to force entry into his quarters, or left.
Glancing at the clock, he saw that he had been asleep for nearly twelve hours, ever since Dr. Phlox had practically thrown him out of sickbay. Trip had spent the best part of the last three days watching over Captain Archer in the medical facility; not sleeping, barely eating, afraid that if he took his eyes off Archer for even a second something dreadful would happen. Eventually, however, he had nearly passed out from sheer exhaustion, and Phlox had ordered him to go to his quarters and get some rest, promising to notify him as soon as there was any change in the Captain's condition.
The door chime beeped again, and Trip realised that he had nearly dozed off again after checking the time. He was drained from all the worry and tension, and felt that he was in no fit state to see anyone. But it was clear that whoever was standing outside had no intention of going away anytime soon. Shaking himself into a more awake state, Trip swung his legs over the side of the bed and dragged himself over to the door.
As the door slid open, the harsh corridor lights burned into his eyes, making him squint and leaving him unable to identify his visitor for a few seconds. But when a voice asked: "Well, can I come in?" he knew instantly who was standing in front of him.
"Jon?" he asked in disbelief.
"None other," replied Archer.
There was a pause while Trip's brain caught up with current events. "You're really here?" he asked wonderingly
"Yes, Trip, I'm really here. Now, can I come in or not?" Archer's voice held a tone of exasperated amusement, but Trip thought he could detect a hint of nervousness too.
"Of course, Cap'n," he said, stepping back to allow Archer to enter. Turning away from the door, he suddenly realised that his quarters looked like they'd been hit by several phase canon bursts, and he started hurriedly scooping things off the floor and throwing them into his closet. However, he'd only picked up a few things when a hand on his arm brought him to a halt.
"Trip, stop that," said Archer softly. "You know you don't have to do that for me. I've seen your quarters in a lot worse of a state than this. I remember in the last few weeks before Enterprise's warp core came online you were so swamped with work that you never had time to clean. You couldn't see the floor of your apartment for all the piles of dirty clothes and dishes, and scraps of paper covered in calculations," he joked.
Suddenly Trip felt overwhelmed. The relief he felt at having Jon standing here, joking with him, slammed into him so hard that his legs wobbled, and he nearly fell. Only Jon's hand on his arm prevented him from ending up on the floor.
"How, Jon? How?" he whispered. "The last time I saw you, you were unconscious, and Phlox was losin' all hope of ever bein' able to wake you up. He didn't say so to me, but I could see it in his eyes – you were dyin'."
"Well, several hours after you left sickbay, the good Doctor made a breakthrough. I don't pretend to understand all the medical jargon, but suffice to say, here I am. I'm going to be sore for a few days, but soon I'll be good as new."
Some irritation at Archer's gung-ho attitude towards his own health finally seeped through Trip's shock. "You should still be in sickbay, Cap'n," he said angrily. "Not gallivantin' around the ship visitin' me! Not that it isn't good to see you," he finished quietly
Archer smiled ruefully. "The only way Phlox would let me out of sickbay was if I promised to come straight back after I'd seen you," he confessed. "I think he's got Malcolm and a team of security officers standing by to drag me back if I break that promise."
"But why have you come to see me at all?"
"Phlox told me about your vigil, Trip. And I must say that you're a fine one to tell me about risking my health when it seems you didn't sleep for about sixty hours."
"I couldn't, Jon. I couldn't take my eyes off you for a second. What if you had woken up and I hadn't been there to say hello? What if you had died and I hadn't been there to say goodbye?"
"Well obviously I haven't died, and even though you weren't there to welcome me back to the land of living, I'll forgive you just this once." Then the joking tone in Archer's voice died away. "I'm sorry, Trip," he said. "I know I've said it already, but I'm going to keep on saying it until you believe me. I really, truly am sorry."
"It's okay, Jon." Trip put his finger on Archer's lips to stem the flow of words. "I believe you. I believed you the very first time you said it. I guess I was just hurtin' too much because of you not trustin' me with your feelin's." Seeing that Archer was about to try and speak again, he pressed his finger a little harder against the other man's lips. "But it doesn't matter now. I realise how difficult it can be to love someone while in our situation. You may not have done the right thing, but I understand why you did it."
Trip removed his finger from Archer's lips and slowly replaced it with his own mouth, stepping forward so he could encircle Jon with his arms. The kiss was tentative at first, but quickly deepened as the two men poured all their pent up emotions, and frustration at the time wasted, into it. Archer moaned deep in his throat, and Trip shivered at the sound. After several minutes they finally pulled apart, their breathing heavy and faces flushed. As Trip gazed into Jon's eyes, he saw the desire flickering in their depths that he knew must be mirrored in his own face. The sight made him shiver again with anticipation.
But now was not the time for this, and reluctantly Trip stepped back slightly. Archer made a disappointed noise and tried to follow him, but Trip put a restraining hand on his chest.
"We can't do this now, Jon."
Archer pouted slightly. "Why not?"
Trip smiled. "Well, for one thing, I don't think I want Malcolm and his security team to find us in any uncompromisin' positions. And," he added, as some slight movement caused Archer to wince, "I don't think you're quite up to it at the moment. And I want you at your peak before we engage in any…strenuous activities."
Sighing, Archer gave in. "I guess you're right. I do have one request, however."
Anythin' you want, Cap'n," replied Trip. "Well, nearly anythin'," he amended, as the wicked glint sparkled in Jon's eyes again.
"Will you give me a farewell kiss before I go back to Phlox's tender mercies?"
"Well sure, darlin'. I'd be happy to."