Archer's Dilemma

by Angelus-2003

I suck at summeries, but basically it explores a relationship between Jonathan Archer and T'Pol

3. Chapter 3

40 hours after Jon entered T'Pol's quarters, the two of them walked into sickbay, for Phlox's check up on them.

Phlox: "Ahhh, Captain, Sub-Commander, nice to see you, I was just about to come down to see you myself, you are 4 hours late you know."

Jon smiled and looked at T'Pol who simply gazed back at him before averting her eyes and looking at the floor.

Jon: "Sorry doc, we....we were kinda busy."

Phlox: "That's quite alright Captain, now if you'll please come over here, and Sub-Commander, if you'll sit over here, then I'll get started."

Jon placed his hand on the small of T'Pol's back and guided her to the bio- bed , after making sure she was settled, Jon walked over to the other one, and with some pain, managed to hop up on it. Phlox began to run scans of T'Pol. Humming something and making a few ohm's and ash's whenever the little device beeped.

Phlox: "Well Sub-Commander, it would appear your condition is progressing nicely, your hormone levels are slowly returning to normal. I should say you should be over this in another 48 hours. How are you feeling?"

T'Pol: "How I 'feel' is of no consequence, however, I am still having troubles controlling my emotions."

Phlox: "Yes, your electrolyte levels are also depleted, I recommend getting something to eat before you return to your cabin. You're still under quarantine until I clear you to return to duty."

T'Pol nodded once. Phlox turned his attention to the Captain and began scanning him. He then stopped and turned back to T'Pol who was still sitting on the bio-bed "You are free to go Sub-Commander"

T'Pol: "With your permission Doctor, I would prefer to remain. I am reluctant to venture back to my cabin in my condition, alone."

Phlox: "Alright you may remain, but by looking at the Captain, this may take a while."

T'Pol: "I will remain"

Jon smiled and waited for Phlox to finish his scans.

Phlox: "Well Captain, aside from numerous contusions and the injury to your eye, you have a strained shoulder muscle, you have also re-injured your ribs, your knee is strained. And you appear to have a very slight concussion."

Jon: "How long to fix it?"

Phlox: "Give me a moment to gather the necessary supplies and I'll let you know."

Phlox walked away and Jon looked over at T'Pol, she raised her eyebrow and walked over to him, she ran her hands across his face,.

T'Pol: "I hope this will not take to long, I feel my need for you beginning to build again Adun."

Jon: "T'Pol...in the last few hours I've been hearing your thoughts in my head when we weren't touching. How's that possible?"

T'Pol: "When we completed the ritual Jonathan, we bonded fully. Although it was determined that a Vulcan/Human bond could never last, apparently our has not only lasted, but is growing stronger."

Jon: "So we can now talk to each other telepathically?"

T'Pol: "That is correct. I surmise that as the bond grows, so will the distance we will be able to communicate."

Jon: "Hmm. I think I'm going to need a while to think about this." Seeing the look that quickly flashed in her eyes, Jon placed his hands on T'Pol's shoulders. "Hey, I'm not saying I don't like the thought of you in my head, I told you I liked it. It's just that I'm not used to having someone else in my head all the time."

T'Pol nodded and Jon pulled her into a hug, he could feel the heat from her body through his clothes. "Are you going to be ok? How are you holding up?"

T'Pol: "I am, having difficulties, but with your help, I should be alright. Even though my need for you is close, I believe I can wait until you are finished here."

Jon smiled and kissed the top of her head. Phlox's voice broke the mood.

Phlox: "Now Sub-Commander, are you badgering my patient?"

T'Pol pulled away from Jon and looked at the doctor. "He is my Aisha, my Adun, I will badger him if I wish."

Phlox was momentarily shocked by the tone of T'Pol's voice.

Phlox: "Now Sub-Commander it's quite alright, I was only teasing."

T'Pol: "If you are quite finished with me Doctor, I believe I will await the Captains return in my cabin."

The two men stared at her as she turned and walked out of sickbay. As the doors closed behind her, Jon turned to Phlox.

Jon: "Doc, you've been on Vulcan before, do you know what the word Adun means? T'Pol wouldn't tell me."

Phlox: "Captain perhaps it would be best if T'Pol informed you.."

Jon: "Phlox, just tell me"

Phlox: "Oh very well Captain, It is the Vulcan word for Husband. Hmm I guess in that case you could call the Sub-Commander your Adun'a, or wife."

Jon looked slightly taken aback by that. "You mean we're married? Just cause of this Pon'farr thing?"

Phlox: "Oh no Captain, but you are now life mates, if I understand the ritual correctly. But I am also guessing that the Sub-Commander is just taking the next logical step in assigning this term to you."

Jon: "I see, thanks for the info doc. I guess I have a lot of brushing up to do with Vulcan rituals and terms. Maybe it's time I learned how to speak the language."

Phlox began to tend to Jon's various injuries. "It is quite exhilarating to be part of this Captain. I was thinking that when this part of your relationship has ended, that you and the Sub-Commander will allow me to submit a paper on it?"

Jon just stared at Phlox

Jon: "Definatly not, T'Pol and I are going to have enough trouble explaining all this to our respective governments, the last thin I need right now is to have you blab the whole thing to the medical community."

Jon smiled a bit as he saw Phlox's face fall. And then he leaned back on the bed and waited for Phlox to finish. He could feel T'Pol's thoughts, they seemed, agitated and worrisome. He sent out a thought to her.

Jon: *Everything will be ok...Adun'a*

He was rewarded by a feeling of relief and joy from her.

After enduring Phlox's tender care, Jon called up to the bridge to check on things.

Jon: "Archer to the Bridge."

Trip: "Cap'n boy it's sure good to hear your voice. How you feelin'?"

Jon: "Not bad trip, but Phlox says I'm not cleared for duty yet, perhaps another couple of days. Give me a status report."

Trip: "Well, as you know we broke orbit about 12 hours ago, we had a minor problem with the plasma relays, but we figured it out. We are now on course again to Azati Prime. No indications of any Xindi ships in the area."

Jon: "How about that other project I assigned you. How's that coming?"

Trip: "I'm sorry Cap'n, but Reed and I couldn't find any way to break the encryption on that PADD. Even using the codes T'Pol left before the two of you got sick. We can't use it."

Jon slammed his hand against the wall. Then let out a sigh. "Ok Trip, I know you all did your best."

Trip: "We did have another idea, actually it was Malcolm's but we tried a few simulations and it looks like it would work"

Jon: "Well, what is it?"

Reed: "Reed here sir, I thought that if we could draw power directly from the warp reactor, and channel it through the Phase Cannons, it would increase their yield."

Jon: "Ok gentlemen, you have my permission to try it, but Malcolm, no blowing up the ship."

Reed: "Aye Captain."

Jon: "Trip you're still in charge, you need to get a hold of me, contact Phlox first and he'll pass it along. I'll se you all in a couple of days."

Trip: "Ok Cap, hope you n T'Pol get better soon, seems kinda strange not havin you up here."

Jon: "I know what you mean. Archer out"

Jon leaned against the wall in sickbay and waited for the pain medication Phlox had given him kick in. He sent out a quick thought to T'Pol but didn't get anything back, he guessed she was either sleeping or meditating. He figured he had enough time to go to his cabin and get some new clothes, and grab something to eat, if T'Pol needed him, he was sure she'd let him know

Jon: "Doc, if you need me, I'm going to my cabin to change and have something to eat. If you need me that's where I'll be, if I'm not there, then I'm sure you'll know where I'll be"

Phlox: "Fine, fine, just remember, try not to come into contact with any of the crew, you are supposed to be sick after all"

Jon waved at Phlox and headed down the corridor to his cabin. Thankfully the only person he saw was Crewman Fuller, who strangely enough, always seemed to be around when Jon was trying to be...discreet about something. She always seemed to be nearby, especially whenever he'd go to T'Pol's cabin for something.

Jon keyed in his code to open his cabin door, and made a mental note to check what Fuller's duty roster was. Jon walked into his cabin and was glad for a moment that Hoshi was looking after Porthos for him. The way he felt right now he didn't think he had the energy to cope with the exuberant pup.

Jon removed the undershirt he had gotten from sickbay, walking there with T'Pol, in only his pants was bad enough, he didn't want to run the chance of anyone seeing their half naked Captain wandering the ship. Jon walked into his own bathroom and turned the shower on, while it was heating up her finished removing his clothing and stepped into it. While Jon let the water rush over him he felt a tentative brushing of his mind, almost like a butterflies wings on a persons skin.

T'Pol: *Aisha, where are you?*

Jon: *I'm in my shower.*

Jon was almost driven to his knees by the intense wave of desire that hit him through his link with T'Pol. He waited a moment for the feeling to pass, but it never did, it only, diminished slightly. Jon found that he was holding onto the side of the stall so hard his knuckles had turned white. Prying his fingers lose from the door, he sent out his thoughts to T'Pol.

Jon: *Love, give me some warning next time please?*

T'Pol: *I apologise Jonathan, but I have need of you again.*

Jon: *Alright, give me a few moments to dry off and change, and I'll be right there.*

T'Pol: *Nam-tor sahris*

Jon: *What?*

T'Pol: *Be quick*

Jon turned off his shower and quickly dried himself, going into the main room he pulled on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. He had figured, the easier the clothes went on, the easier they would come off. He didn't know if his wardrobe would stand up to the way T'Pol undressed him.

Jon left his cabin at a quick walk, luckily, T'Pol was only a few doors down. As he reached out to hit the chime, he heard her voice

T'Pol: *K'vath....enter*

Jon did as he was told and entered the cabin, this time there were many candles burning and the smell of incense and smoke filled the room. He looked at T'Pool and saw she was wearing a loose fitting robe, that still seemed to accent her curves. Jon felt his body begin to respond at the site of her. Slowly she approached him and reached up to take his face in her hands. She kissed him tenderly.

T'Pol: "This time, I shall try not to be as, forceful with you, I have noted you are somewhat fragile. But I think I will keep you none the less."

Jon: "That's good, cause I was hoping to keep you also"

T'Pol took his hand and guided him to her bed, she stood by it and turned him to face her, she slowly removed the clothes he was wearing, fighting the urge to once again rip them from his body. The need to mate was almost overwhelming. Once she was done disrobing him, she let her own robe slip slowly to the floor. As it left her body she noted Jonathans own body react more to her naked form, and felt his thoughts. She was very pleased.

Taking his hands in hers, T'Pol brought him down onto the bed with her and whispered into his ear.

T'Pol: "This should be more pleasurable, for the both of us. The need for force has passed, now it is the need of desire that remains"

As she took Jonathan into both her body and mind, she knew that there would have been no way that she would have been able to fulfil her Pon'farr with any other male of the crew. Logically, Jonathan had always been, and would always be, the perfect choice.

*5 days later*

Jon rubbed his head and watched as Phlox left the room, for some reason he had a feeling that something was up with Phlox, he hoped he'd tell him if it was something troubling. Jon patted Porthos and set him on the floor. After being in the same clothes and not bathing for 4 days, Jon really wanted a shower. Quickly he sent out a thought to T'Pol, but there was no reply, so he guessed she must still be sleeping.

Jon quickly shed his clothes and stepped into the shower, he decided to make it a quick one as he also hadn't eaten in 4 days. After 15 minutes, he stepped out and dried himself off. Jon lathered up his face and prepared to remove 4 days worth of beard, eyeing his straight razor, he decided to use something a little more modern, he didn't want a repeat of what happened last time.

Finally, after showering, shaving and donning a clean uniform, Jon headed for the mess hall, he was starving by now. Upon entering the mess, Jon saw that almost every table and seat was already taken. He looked around the room and spied T'Pol and Phlox sitting together. He smiled as she caught his eye.

T'Pol: *Good morning Aisha, are you well?*

Jon: *yes thank you, I'm doing good. Have you eaten yet?*

T'Pol: * I have yes, I am sorry, did you wish me to join you for breakfast?*

Jon: * No that's alright. You continue your talk with Phlox. I didn't mean to interrupt you.*

T'Pol: *You are never an interruption to me Adun.*

Jon: *Thank you, Adun'a*

While they were having their silent conversation, Jon had grabbed a coffee, and had placed his order with Chef, as he walked by the table, he gave T'Pol a quick wink and patted Phlox on the shoulder, silently thanking him again for looking after the ship and crew. Jon also nodded to Trip who was sitting with Amanda, and then entered his dining room.

Jon picked up the PADD that was sitting on the table as he sat down. He looked at it and saw that it was from Trip, he was letting Jon know that it was going to take at least 2 days to repair the warp reactor after the damage Phlox did to it in trying to take the ship to warp. But, he said the Doc had done a pretty good job for not knowing anything about the reactor.

After he finished eating , Jon went up to the Bridge to check in and see how the others were doing. As he stepped out of the lift and looked around, he saw that all the regular bridge crew were on shift, he glanced over at Reed, and then to Mayweather and Hoshi, finally settling his gaze on T'Pol. He smiled at her as she looked up at him. He walked over and sat in his command chair, the 4 days asleep went along way towards helping the rest of his injuries to finally heal.

Jon: "Travis, how's our heading?"

Mayweather: "Besides a minor adjustment from the Doctors warp jump, we are still on course for Azati Prime, Captain, we should be entering the system in a little more than a week and a half."

Reed: "So long as we don't run into anymore detours or those spatial disruptions."

Jon: "Don't worry Malcolm, we'll get there. How's things on your end?"

Reed: "Phase Cannons, and Torpedoes are fully operable, Hull Plating ready as ever."

Jon: "Good, how's your side project coming?"

Reed: "I have a meeting scheduled with Commander Tucker this after noon to implement the changes you authorized."

Jon: "Very good." Jon looked over at Hoshi "Picking up anything Hoshi?"

Hoshi: "No sir, just normal background chatter. No signs of any Xindi communications so far."

Jon nodded and looked over at T'Pol.

T'Pol: "No signs of any Xindi vessels in the area."

Jon smiled and decided to update his logs and send them off to Star Fleet. He got up and headed for his ready room after giving T'Pol the Bridge. Just as he was about to enter the first door down to his office, he heard T'Pol mention something about her sensors needing re-aligning.

Jon: "Perhaps you should get someone to look at them." he casually commented.

The Bridge grew quiet. Jon stopped and looked back, everyone was staring at him, T'Pol, sitting in the command chair had raised both her eyebrows

T'Pol: "No one said anything Captain"

Jon blushed slightly. "Sorry, was caught up in these...reports."

Jon quickly retreated into his office and as the doors closed, collapsed behind his desk and put his head in his hands.

T'Pol: *I see I shall have to teach you how to distinguish the difference between spoken word, and thought.*

Jon: *No kidding.*

T'Pol: *Tonight after dinner?*

Jon: *It's a date*

T'Pol: *Very well, my cabin, 1900 hrs*

Jon: *Yes, Sub-Commander, As you Order*

T'Pol: *Really Jonathan. You are incorrigible*

Jon: *So change me*

T'Pol: *I think I shall keep you as you are*

Jon: *Gee thanks Aisha*

Jon felt T'Pol's thoughts slip away from his, but her mind was still there, although not as strongly. He shook his head and turned back to his log entry.

Captains Log, January 2154

The Enterprise has just cleared another spatial distortion field. The ship and crew came through it with little to no ill affects. However we did have to be put into a coma in order to survive the passage. I left Dr. Phlox in charge of the ship, as it seems Denobulan's were immune to the effects of the distortion. It appears my trust in him was not misplaced.

There was one downside to our journey, apparently the distortion grew more rapidly than we had anticipated and Phlox had to take the ship to warp to clear us out of it. Commander Tucker, claims it will take a few days to repair the damage done to the warp reactor by Dr. Phlox, however I am filling a commendation for the doc along with this report. If it wasn't for him we'd still be spending 2 weeks going around the distortion.

Lt Reed and Cmdr Tucker believe they have found a way to increase the output of our Phase Cannons. They intend to channel energy from the reactor to the weapons. According to preliminary simulations, it looks as if it would work. I have given the two of them the go ahead to begin the tests. We are still on course for Azati Prime where we believe the Xindi weapon to be. If all goes well, we will arrive there in less than two weeks.

Jon: "Computer, end recording and file under currant log entries."

Once the computer was finished, Jon pulled up the various departmental reports and requests. Chef was once again asking for more protein for the crew, Phlox signed off on the request, so Jon put a notation on it to see what they could do.

There was a request from both Lt Reed and Major Hayes to increase the drills for the senior officers. Also they wanted to know when Jon would be joining the drills himself. Jon sent a note to both men authorizing increased drill times. He'd let them know about his joining the drills.

A request from T'Pol to upgrade the scanners, again. He'd make a note to have Trip check them. Jon sighed, he hated paper work. Turning the monitor off, he stood and walked over to the window, resting his hands on the sill he gazed out at the stars rushing by at warp. Jon shook his head, he needed to get out of this room. Phlox and T'Pol were bugging him lately about getting back in touch with his crew. SO that's what he would do.

Jon walked out of his office and back onto the Bridge. T'Pol turned to look at him then started to rise from the command chair, Jon motioned for her to sit back down

Jon: "I'll be in engineering Sub-Commander, you still have the bridge."

T'Pol: "Yes Captain."

Jon left the bridge. Making his way down to Engineering. He walked into a scene of controlled chaos. And standing in the middle of it all was his friend Trip. Trip was standing on the small catwalk in front of the warp reactor. He was directing crewmembers and looked like he was having a lot of fun doing it.

Trip: "Now Johansson, when I tell ya, I want ya to re-initialize the starboard power flow. Wilkes, while he's doin' that you run over and engage the secondary back ups."

The two crewmembers nodded and ran to where they were supposed to be, at Trips signal, they both began working their consoles. Jon watched as the lights dimmed momentarily and then came back up to the proper level.

Trip: "Easy now, that's it, just a little more...got it!"

Jon walked over to Trip and looked up at him

Jon: "Having fun?"

Trip: "Oh hey Jon, come on by to check on what Phlox did to my warp coils?"

Jon smiled: "Yeah I guess I did. How bad is it, really?"

Trip thought for a moment, then climbed down from the controls and motioned for Jon to join him over at the display.

Trip: "Well he did a heck of a job, for a doctor. We did get some damage, but like I said, it mainly was centered around the coils. There are a mess of relays that got blown out, but those are nothing to replace, half a day at most. The coils will take a few days to re-align."

Jon: "And how does that affect the warp drive?"

Trip: "Well it does and it doesn't. obviously we have warp, but until I can get the coils back in shape, I can't give you more than, warp 3.5."

Jon nodded: "Alright, I'll get out of your hair and let you get back to work."

Trip: "Ok Cap, thanks for stoppin' by. I'm not sure if anyone said anything to him yet or not. But if you see Phlox, tell him I said he did a good job, and to stay away from my engine."

Jon smiled and left the room. He spent the rest of the morning traveling around the ship, checking in with everyone, making sure they were all doing well after the prolonged nap. He stopped in and talked to Major Hayes for a few minutes, He informed him that as soon as he talked to Lt Reed, then he'd be joining the drills with the rest of the senior staff as soon as possible.

Jon checked the time and decided to go get a bite to eat, just as he was about to contact T'Pol through their link he was interrupted by her voice on ship wide.

T'Pol: "Tactical alert! All staff to their posts. Captain to the bridge"

Jon turned and raced for the turbo lift. Once there he had to wait while it cleared. He'd have to talk to Trip and Malcolm about seeing if they could increase the speed of the lift during alerts. Finally the door opened and Jon jumped inside, hitting the button for the Bridge.

As Jon strode onto the darkened Bridge, T'Pol quickly vacated his chair. Looking at the view screen he saw two ships appear almost out of no where, Jon knew who they were instantly.

Jon: "Xindi!"

T'Pol: "I'm sorry Captain, we didn't detect them until just moments ago."

Jon: "Charge weapons, bring hull plating online!"

Reed nodded and quickly went to work

Jon: "Distance?"

T'Pol: "Both ships are less than 30,000 meters out and are on an intercept course"

Jon turned to Travis. "Drop to impulse, let them come to us."

Travis: "Aye Captain"

Reed: "Sir, they're charging weapons"

Jon: "Target their engines and weapons arrays"

Quickly the two ships closed the distance to Enterprise. As soon as they were within range they both began to open fire on the Earth ship.

Jon fought to remain standing and the ship began taking hits

Jon: "Malcolm, return fire, all weapons!"

Beams from the Enterprise's Phase Cannons leapt out and touched one ship while torpedoes flew after the other.

Reed: "No damage to the first ship, Minor damage to the seconds weapons"

Jon was tossed backwards as another volley of fire hit the ship, he landed hard in his seat.

Jon: "Travis, evasive action"

Travis: "I'm doing my best sir, but they're pretty good"

More console blew out as the ship was pounded again.

Reed: "Hull plating down to 80 percent, Sir they are targeting the nacelles."

Jon: "Keep firing. Take them out."

Reed nodded and adjusted his targeting scanners.

Gold beams once again lashed out from the Enterprise and struck the Xindi ship again and again. These were followed by a salvo of torpedoes which turned the first Xindi vessel into free floating scrap.

Reed: "One down sir!"

Jon: "Find that other ship"

Suddenly the ship was rocked by a massive hit. All the crew were thrown forward. As Jon picked himself up off the floor he called out

"Report!"

T'Pol was the first to answer.

T'Pol: "Hull Plating is offline, warp drive is down, we've lost aft torpedoes, and the port impulse engine is out"

Jon: "Travis do your best to get behind him and stay there. Reed fire everything we have once they come into range."

Jon reached over and hit a button on his chair. "Archer to engineering, what's your status?"

After a moment of silence, Trips voice came on. "Cap'n we got a big mess down here, hurry up and take those bastards out. We have wounded. I'll get back to ya with more good news once we're in the clear"

Jon: "Helps on the way Trip, and we're doing our best"

Jon looked up and saw the Xindi ship on the screen, it was coming right at them.

Jon: "Malcolm fire!"

Malcolm unleashed the ships forward weapons and within moments the Xindi vessel joined its companion in oblivion.

Jon saw however that they weren't out of danger yet. Debris from the ship was heading towards them and they were too close to avoid it

Jon: "All Hands, brace for impact"

The remains of the Xindi ship slammed into the hull of the unprotected Enterprise, rattling all inside her.

Jon: "Damage report"

T'Pol: "Damage to the forward sections of the ship, hull breaches on D and E decks"

Jon: "Emergency bulkheads."

T'Pol: "Already in place."

Jon: "Send damage control teams to those areas. Malcolm get weapons and hull plating back on line."

Jon: "Archer to Phlox"

Phlox: "Phlox here captain, we have casualties through the ship, nothing overly serious though. I'll have my report you as soon as I've finished."

Jon: "Alright Doctor. Malcolm if there are no other surprises in the area, stand down from Tactical alert."

After a quick scan, the bridge lighting returned to normal.

"Engineering to the Bridge, you guys done causin' me headaches?"

Jon: "What's the damage like down there Trip?"

Trip: "Well, it ain't pretty. We have only half impulse for now, until I can get the port engine back on line, we have damage to both nacelles, warp reactor is offline, and I don't recommend going to warp anyways till I can have a look and see if we have any structural damage from those hull breaches."

Jon sat heavily in his chair and ran his hand through his hair, he glanced over a t T'Pol and she sent him reassuring thoughts.

Jon: "Give me an estimate Trip"

Trip: "I'm sorry Jon...a day at least for the impulse drive. Another to Check the damages. Two more to get the warp drive back up to snuff. To be safe, I'd say, gimme 5 days to get us back up to fightin' trim"

Jon slammed his hand down on the arm of his chair. "Not good enough Commander. I want all your people who are able to working on those engines. You have three days maximum"

Trip: "Cap'n you can't be serious, I need..."

Jon "Three days Trip!"

Jon closed the channel before Trip could argue anymore.

T'Pol: "Captain it is illogical to rush the repairs, We should wait until they are complete before proceeding."

Jon just looked at her.

T'Pol met his gaze with one of her own

T'Pol: *You know I am right Aisha*

Jon sighed * I know love, I know*

Jon hit the control on his chair again "Bridge to engineering. Disregard previous orders, Focus on impulse drive, then take what time you need to fix the rest of the damage."

Trip: "Aye Cap'n"

Jon stood "T'Pol you have the Bridge, I'm going to see if I can lend Trip a hand"

T'Pol nodded as Jon left the Bridge.

Jon decided to stop by Sickbay before heading down to Engineering, he needed to make sure all those who were injured were going to be ok. As he walked through the doors. He noticed all three bio beds were taken and there were another dozen crew either sitting or standing. Jon saw that Phlox and his medical staff had their hands full, so instead of bothering them, he stopped by each of his crew and made sure they were ok, making sure they knew he was proud of them.

Once Jon finished with that, Phlox had a free moment for him, the two men walked into the back where Phlox kept most of his menagerie.

Jon: "How's it look doc, anyone serious?"

Phlox: "No Captain, thankfully we mostly have some pretty nasty bruises and cuts, although a few of the crew from Engineering have some first and second degree burns, and Crewman Wilkes broke his arm when he fell from the catwalk. I foresee all crew returning to duty soon."

Jon: "Thanks doc, keep up the good work"

Jon turned and made his way from Sickbay and headed once again for the turbo lift. Once there he sagged against the wall. If two Xindi ships can cause this much damage, how in the hell were they gonna get past that defence network that Degra mentioned. Jon needed to come up with something quick.

As the lift stopped on the Engineering deck, Jon was through the door before it had a chance to open fully. As he walked the short distance to the main Engine room, he could tell there had been more damage done down here, the corridor was almost filled with smoke, there were a number of small fires burning which the crew were easily dealing with.

Jon opened the hatch to engineering and walked in, the place was a mess, to put it nicely. The warp reactor was dim, a sign it was powered down. Trip was on the second level catwalk, apparently trying to jury rig one of the consoles. Instead of bothering him, Jon looked around and saw some crew who looked to be in need of an extra set of hands. Jon went over to them and began helping.

Jon moved from one station to another giving assistance. Soon he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Trip: "What're you doin' here?"

Jon turned and looked at Trip and shrugged.

Jon: "Thought I could lend a hand."

Trip smiled a bit: "Thanks, it's appreciated. Wanna help me try to re initialize the secondary power grid?"

Jon nodded and the two travelled up to the second level, Trip had Jon work on one console while Trip manned the other. Jon tried to make small talk while they worked.

Jon: "Trip, how soon do you think you and Malcolm could be able to get those modifications to the Phase Cannons working, I mean, after you have everything else back in order."

Trip had his head inside one of the consoles so didn't look at Jon as he responded.

Trip: "Well, I figure, about a day. We'd need to run a couple more simulations just to be safe."

Jon pressed a sequence on the panel he was working on and Trip gave a shout of surprise and pulled his head back out from where it was. He gave a cold stare to Jon.

Trip: "Warn a body when ya do that will ya"

Jon shrugged: "It worked didn't it?"

Trip looked at the readings on his scanner. "Well, I'll be a son of a..."

Jon: "Trip"

Trip grinned at Jon and also shrugged. "Still, be nice if ya warned me next time."

The two friends worked almost side by side for the rest of the shift. They had managed to restore 75% power to the impulse drive, while the rest of engineering worked on the other problems. Trip and Jon had decided to take an inspection pod out and look at the damage to the forward hull. It would need to be repaired before they could polarize the hull again, or go to warp. As the two of them walked down the upper lever, alarms began to go off, Trip ran ahead and peered over the rail.

Trip: "What's goin' on?"

Crewman: "I don't know, we got a coolant leak forming but can't trace where it is, hold on, I think I found it. Sir we need to clear the upper catwalk, conduit 17 Baker is gonna rupture."

Trips mind whirled at where that particular conduit was located, suddenly he turned and look back at where Jon had stopped to look at some reading on a monitor.

Trip: "Jon ya gotta move!!"

Trip turned to run and grab his friend, but as his foot made the first step, it was already to late. Trip watched in horror as the bulkhead in front of Jon erupted. He watched as his friends body was thrown backwards over the rail to land on top of the warp reactor. Alarms began to ring throughout Engineering, Trip ran over and yelled out to the rest of the crew

Trip: "Medical emergency, the Captain's down, someone hit the main cut off, kill the power!"

Trip stepped up on the rail and jumped to where Jon was laying. As he knelt by his friend all power went out on the deck, to be replaced by emergency lighting. Trip could hear the high pitched whistle of escaping coolant fade and die. He looked at Jon but was unable to tell if the red covering his face and the front of his uniform was blood, or just the lighting.

*Bridge, moments earlier*

T'Pol was sitting in the command chair when she sense Jon was in trouble, As she turned to instruct Hoshi to contact him, she was hit by a blinding pain that, if she hadn't been sitting, would have driven her to her knees.

Malcolm who had been looking in her direction at the time sprang to his feet and went to her aid.

Reed: "Sub-Commander are you alright?"

T'Pol, fought back the pain and emotions that threatened to burst forth, the link with Jonathan had suddenly been severed, she wanted to scream in anguish. She took a few deep breaths before responding.

T'Pol: "I am, uncertain. But I believe I will be fine, thank you for your assistance Lt. Please return to your station."

Reed looked at T'Pol again, he had been sure she was about to cry out, but looking at her again, he could no longer be sure. He nodded and went back to his station.

Hoshi: "Ma'am, we have a report coming in about an explosion in Engineering"

T'Pol felt her stomach drop "Any casualties?"

Hoshi: "Coming in now..there is one..oh no..."

T'Pol: "Ensign?"

Hoshi turned and looked at T'Pol, Hoshi had tears in her eyes.

Hoshi: "It's...it's the Captain. It's bad Sub-Commander"

T'Pol quickly stood and headed for the turbo lift, she had to get to engineering, he couldn't be gone, not now, not when they had just found each other.

As the door closed on T'Pol, Hoshi looked at Travis and Reed, she couldn't stop the tears.

T'Pol couldn't think, all her energy was driven to trying get to sickbay and her Adun. She reached the doors and pounded her hand on the control to open them, she squeezed through them as soon as they were side enough for her small frame. The first person she saw was Trip, he was covered in soot and grime, his uniform showed burn marks. She strode up to him and grabbed his shoulder and spun him to face her. She could no longer control her temper.

T'Pol: "Where is he!"

Trip: "T'Pol just hang on a sec.."

T'Pol: "Where is Jonathan? I must see him"

Trip was taken aback, He had never seen this type of emotional display from T'Pol before, and it worried him. She had gone from anger with her first question, to almost pleading with her second.

Trip looked down at the small woman: "T'Pol, Phlox took Jon into surgery before you came in, he uh...he said it didn't look to good."

T'Pol looked everywhere but at Trip, a clear sign she was agitated. Trip grabbed a stool for her to sit on, as she slowly sat down, Trip went over and got her a drink of water, he handed it to her, T'Pol took it and held on to the cup as if it were a life line.

T'Pol looked at Trip and saw the pain in his eyes.

"I can no longer sense his presence" T'Pol whispered

Trip: "It shoulda been me, heck, it's not his job to do repairs in engineerin', it's mine. He shouldn't a been there. I'm sorry T'Pol"

T'Pol: "Do not blame yourself Commander. He would have been there even if you had advised against it. He is the Captain."

Trip nodded and stood by here as the hours passed, both waiting for news of the one they cared about. One cause he was his friend, the other cause she was his love, his life.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Trip, though T'Pol knew it had only been 4 hours and 26 minutes, Phlox and two of his medical staff appeared, the wheeled the Captains gurney over to a now vacant bio bed and quickly transferred him to it. After spending a few moments checking the readings on the monitor, Phlox turned and wearily made his way over to the two officers. T'Pol stood as he approached.

T'Pol: "Doctor?"

Phlox sighed, and the look on his face told them both, the news was far from good.

Phlox: "I have managed to repairs the injuries, he is out of the worst danger for now. The explosion caused severe burns to his face, neck and hands, but with proper treatment, those will heal. The Captain also suffered a broken collar bone and a skull fracture from when he landed on the warp reactor."

Trip: "How soon do you think he can return to duty?"

Phlox looked back at the Captains prone form before looking back at Trip.

Phlox: "Perhaps, never"

T'Pol looked at Phlox with a look of shock clearly evident on her face

T'Pol: "What are you saying Doctor?"

Phlox: "Captain Archer suffered severe brain trauma. I've repaired all his injuries but, Captain Archer appears to be in a coma like state, there is some brain functions, but it's almost as if he's shut himself away. And it will be up to him if he awakes or not."

Trip: "A coma? Kinda like what you put us in when we went through that thing a week ago? You woke us then, why can't you do it now?"

Phlox: "Because Commander, that one was artificially induced by myself. It was a simple matter to re-awaken the crew. This time, it was caused by the Captains mind shutting down. As I said, there is nothing I can do."

T'Pol was silent for a moment, then seemed to have made a decision

T'Pol: "Very well, thank you for doing what you could Doctor, I believe that now places me in command of the ship, Commander Tucker, please return to your duties, The ship is still in need of repairs."

Trip: "Wha? What are you talking about? That's Jon over there. Don't you even care if..."

T'Pol: "Commander, I am aware that the Captain has informed you of the change in our relationship, however, we both agreed that when it came down to it, we would not let it interfere with the running of this ship. You have you orders, please carry them out."

Trip just stood there and stared at her, before tuning and angrily storming from the room.

Once they were alone, T'Pol gesture to Phlox and the two of them moved into a more private area.

T'Pol: "Doctor, you said the scans showed brain activity correct?"

Phlox: "Yes but what..."

T'Pol: "You also stated that my Pa'nar syndrome could not be transferred to any other species but Vulcan correct?"

Phlox: "Yes but that would mean you...Sub-Commander are you saying you wish to perform a mind meld with the Captain?"

T'Pol: "It is only logical, if he has retreated into his mind, then he will need someone to guide him out, someone he trusts. Who better than his mate?"

Phlox: "I don't know if it will work T'Pol, has a meld with a Human ever been successful?"

T'Pol: "Not to my knowledge, but as the Earth saying goes, there is always a first time."

Phlox: "I am not happy with your plan, but it is your choice. But I want you to know, if there is any signs of danger to you or the Captain I am ending it. Understood?"

T'Pol: "Of course Doctor, I will return in approximately 2 hours, I will need that time to meditate and prepare for what I must do to save Jonathan."

T'Pol quickly turned and left, heading for her cabin, she had a lot of work to do ahead of her.

Exactly 2 hours later, T'Pol walked back into Sickbay, she had spent the entire time in her cabin meditating. Since she had never tried a full mind meld before, she needed all her strength and concentration. She had given command to Commander Tucker, as there was no telling how long this would take, or if it would even work. Trip had not been happy about her decision, but agreed to follow her choice. The only thing he had said to her before she came to sickbay was to bring back his friend.

T'Pol looked around, but could not see Phlox. She walked over to Jon's bed and gazed at his face. He always looked so peaceful when he slept, the lines of stress and worry were gone. She reached up and brushed her hand across his cheek, she waited to see if he would react to her touch, but there was nothing, she didn't even detect any surface thoughts from the touch.

She placed her hand on the top of his head, just above the bandage that Phlox had wrapped around it, and leaned down and brushed her lips across his.

T'Pol: "You will come back to me Aisha, I need you"

T'Pol stood and pulled a nearby stool closer to the bed. Once she got it adjusted properly, she turned at a noise, only to find Phlox standing behind her.

Phlox: "Are you certain you wish to continue?"

T'Pol: "I am"

Phlox: "He may awaken on his own."

T'Pol: "You said it was uncertain when or if that would happen. This is the only way, Enterprise needs it's Captain."

Phlox looked at T'Pol and noticed other than her looking in his direction when she first heard him, her eyes never left Jon's face.

Phlox: "Are you sure that is the only reason you are doing this T'Pol?"

T'Pol: "What do you wish me to say Doctor? That I need him as well? Then yes I do need him, he is my mate....my Adun"

Phlox: "I simply wanted to make sure you knew that T'Pol, you know the Captain asked me what that term meant, Adun. I told him it meant the same as the Human term, husband. Perhaps when he is fully recovered, you shall sit him down and let him know the rest of the bonding ceremony hmm?"

T'Pol: "Perhaps, now if I may begin Doctor?"

Phlox: "Just one moment, I would like to give you an injection that will help you, it should keep you focused and keep your strength up."

T'Pol nodded and Phlox pressed the hypo spray against her neck. She then sat on the stool and reached over and placed her fingers along certain points on Jonathans face.

T'Pol: "My mind to your mind, your thoughts to my thoughts..."

T'Pol repeated this until she grew silent. Phlox stood nearby and kept a watchful eye on his scanners.

T'Pol opened her eyes to find herself standing in an empty corridor of the ship, lighting was reduced and there seemed to be smoke in the air, the ship looked as if it had come out of a major battle. Walls were blasted, ceiling supports were knocked loose, there were sounds coming from different directions, but even her superior hearing could not identify them. She decided to call out.

T'Pol: "Captain?"

T'Pol waited a moment but there was no reply. For some reason, it seemed fitting that Jonathans mind would be represented as the Starship he loved so much. But she could not understand why it looked as it did. Perhaps it was due to the damage suffered.

T'Pol walked over to a nearby COMM panel, logically she told herself, if this was a representation of Enterprise, then it should be functional. She pressed the button and was rewarded by the sound of a channel opening.

T'Pol: "Captain Archer, please respond."

Still there was no reply. Quickly gainer her bearings she realized she was only a few steps away from Jon's cabin, quickly she walked over and opened the door, using the code he had given her. As the door opened and she walked in, she was shocked to find the room had been destroyed. The cushions on the couch were slashed and torn, the bedding had been ripped apart, the mattress had been flung across the room and Jon's desk was smashed. Even Porthos's small bed had not escaped damage.

T'Pol walked through the mess and peered into the bathroom, the scene was much the same in here with the mirror and shower stall both having been smashed. However she noticed a difference, there were drops of blood in the sink. It was Human, and appeared to be fresh.

Turning, T'Pol exited the room and headed for her own cabin, she had an illogical urge to see if it had suffered the same fate. Once arriving there she found she needn't have worried. Upon the opening of her door, she saw the cabin was more spotless than ever, and everything seemed to glow with an unusual radiance. T'Pol then left the representation of her cabin and began to search in earnest for her mate.

After searching the areas where she thought he would be, the mess hall, his dining room, the bridge, his ready room, even hydroponics, she found no trace of him. Realizing she had one more place to look for him, she made her way to sickbay.

Once arriving there she noticed that most if not all the lighting was out, with only a small light showing the figures of two men, one laying on a bio bed, and the other simply standing over him. Slowly T'Pol walked over to stand by the one standing, she had known as soon as she saw him it had been Jonathan.

She looked at him, the uniform he was wearing was burned and blood stained, he had a distant, haunted look to his eyes and face.

T'Pol: "Aisha..."

Jon: "You shouldn't be here T'Pol"

T'Pol: "Just as you shouldn't have been in my dream?"

Jon shrugged but other than that showed no movement.

Jon: "Please go T'Pol"

T'Pol: "To return now without you, would be illogical."

Jon: "Why did you come?"

T'Pol: "To retrieve my mate, my Aisha....my Adun"

Jon: "I'm not your husband T'Pol, we haven't been married."

T'Pol: "Not in the sense you are thinking of, but when you helped me with the Pon'farr, you completed the bonding ceremony, we are now true bond mates. And Vulcans mate, and bond for life. Logically you are in essence my husband."

Jon: "I'm sorry T'Pol"

T'Pol: "What are you sorry for Jonathan?"

Jon: "I'm sorry for getting hurt, I'm sorry for not being a Vulcan, so I can be with you forever, I'm sorry for being a frail, fragile Human."

T'Pol: "There is no need to feel sorrow for any of those things my love. You are who you are, and I would not wish you to be any other way."

T'Pol turned and began to walk in the direction of the doors. She then turned and held her hand out to him.

T'Pol: "Jonathan, Enterprise needs its Captain, the First Officer needs her Captain, I need my mate. Please, come back with me."

Jon turned away from looking at his body laying on the biobed, and looked at her. They stared at each other for a few minutes, Jon not moving and T'Pol not lowering his hand.

Jon then smirked: "I guess it would be the logical thing to do"

T'Pol: "Indeed"

Jon slowly walked over and took T'Pol's hand, bringing it up to his mouth he softly kissed the back of it.

Jon: "I don't know what I would do without you T'Pol"

T'Pol: "You shall never have to find out, Aisha"

Jon smiled and the two walked hand in hand back to the world that awaited them.

Phlox watched as T'Pol's readings began to climb from the near dangerous levels they had fallen to, he then smiled as he saw Captain Archers readings also begin to rise and level off at a more normal level.

Slowly T'Pol opened her eyes and removed her hands from Jonathans face. She was very tired and drained. Phlox handed her a cup of water which she gratefully accepted. She looked up at him and asked how long it had been

Phlox: "It was almost too long Sub-Commander, you were in the meld for approximately 12 hours. I had to disable the COMM unit to avoid Commander Tuckers constant interruptions. How are you feeling?"

T'Pol: "Doctor, I do not feel, but I am rather fatigued. How is Jonathan?"

Phlox smiled: "He appears to be out of the woods, as the Human expression goes, his brain functions appears to have returned to near normal levels. Right now I believe he is merely sleeping. Good work T'Pol"

T'Pol nodded and wearily stood, she needed rest, she was almost out on her feet.

T'Pol: "Doctor, I am returning to my cabin to rest, please inform me the moment Jonathan awakens."

Phlox nodded and began to busy himself by taking new scans of his patient.

T'Pol turned and once again leaned down and touched her lips tenderly to Jonathans, as she turned to leave, she felt a hand grab her own, looking back she saw it was Jonathans hand, she looked into his face and saw his eyes open and meet hers.

Phlox: "I believe the Captain is awake now Sub-Commander." he said with that Cheshire cat like grin on his face.

T'Pol: "Thank you Doctor, for your keen observation, Jonathan, you need to rest."

Jon slowly shook his head, and replied in a weary voice that was barely no more than a whisper.

Jon: "Thank you T'Pol, for helping me find the path home."

T'Pol was about to say thank were unnecessary, when Jon help up his other hand, stopping her.

Jon: "Just wanted to say it...It's a Human thing....Oh...one more thing.....When this is all over and we get back home....Would you honour me by becoming Mrs Archer?"

T'Pol was stunned by this. Yes they had formed a bond, and were now bond mates, but she had not thought Jonathan would wish to take this next step to becoming life mate so soon, although she called him her Adun as a sign of how she felt. She leaned closer to him and kissed his cheek

T'Pol: "I believe I would find that, most pleasing."

Jon smiled and as his eyes began to close as sleep claimed him managed to say one last sentence

Jon: "Good, I would find it...most pleasing...also...."

Phlox looked at the couple and just beamed with joy.

Phlox: "Well T'Pol, let me be the first to congratulate you. I'm sure you'll both be quite happy. Now off to bed with you, doctor's orders."

T'Pol: "Thank you doctor."

T'Pol carefully removed her hand from Jonathans so she would not awaken him and turned and left sickbay. If the Doctor were to inquire now as to how she felt, she would truthfully have to say, happy.

Jon opened his eyes, his head hurt, he looked around, the room was dark. He felt confusion, where was he? Taking a deep breath told him his answer, sickbay, he could tell by the smell.

Jon: "Doc?"

Jon heard some movement and then the curtain surrounding his bed was quietly pulled aside. He could make out the shape of someone, but that was about it.

Phlox: "Ah Captain, it's good to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

Jon: "Tired...thirsty...very sore, why's it so dark in here?"

Phlox looked at Jon and held his scanner over the Captains head for a few seconds.

Phlox: "Well you need more rest, I can get you something for your thirst, and your injuries will take some time to heal. But, tell me Captain, how well can you see?"

Jon: "It's pretty dark, I can make out your shape, but that's about it, why don't you turn the lights up?"

Phlox: "I see, Captain, what would you say if I told you the lights were on?"

Jon: "I'd say you need to work on your humour Phlox"

Phlox: "Interesting, but unfortunately, I am not joking, it appears I may have missed the fact that your eyes may have been damaged in the accident, I was so focused on treating your head injury, I must apologise Captain, I will need to run some further tests to see how extensive the damage is, but if you can make out some things, it would seem to be not too bad."

Jon: "It's ok Phlox, just do them quickly, I don't like being blind."

Phlox assisted Jon over to the main examination table, and helped him lay on it, Phlox then secured the restraints and pushed a few buttons on a console, and watched as the table slid into the imaging chamber and the screen close.

At that moment, the doors to sickbay opened and in walked T'Pol and Trip.

Phlox: "Ah good day sub-Commander, Commander, How can I help you?"

T'Pol looked around and noticed all the bio beds empty

T'Pol: "Where is Jonathan?"

Phlox: "Do not worry Sub-Commander, he is in the imaging chamber, I am taking some scans of his injury and his eyes."

Trip: "What do ya mean his eyes?"

Phlox: "Well it would seem that the Captain has damage to his vision, he informed me of this only moments before you came in." Phlox pointed to the displays above the imaging chamber "However it would appear the damage is not great, and with a little rest he should regain full sight soon."

T'Pol: "How soon Doctor?"

Phlox: "Oh, hmm I'd say in about 48 hours."

T'Pol: "Do you see this as an impediment towards his returning to duty?"

Phlox: "No more than his other injuries. I am removing the Captain from active duty for at least a week."

Trip: "Whooeee, Jon ain't gonna like that, not one bit, especially since we're a week and a half from reachin' this Azati Prime place."

Phlox: "Yes well he will complain, but in this instance it is a medical order. One which he will have to comply with"

T'Pol: "How long before he will be able to leave sickbay?"

Phlox: "Well I wish to monitor his condition more, and make sure his head injury will not cause him any more trouble, I'd say, he should be able to return to his cabin in 3 days."

T'Pol: "Thank you Doctor, please keep us informed of his progress, I will return later to check on him."

With a nod to the Doctor and a look to Trip, the two officers turned and left sickbay. Phlox went over and opened the screen and wheeled Jon's bed back out into the main area. He noticed that the Captain had once again fallen asleep. Which was a good sign as he needed all the rest he could get now.

A few hours later T'Pol returned carrying a covered tray. She walked over to Jonathans bed and saw he was awake, he had his arm underneath his head and seemed to be staring at the ceiling.

T'Pol: "Good morning Jonathan. Are you hungry?"

Jon looked over at T'Pol, she could see that his eyes tried to focus, but by the look on his face, it wasn't succeeding.

Jon: "Hello T'Pol, actually I was just thinking of asking Phlox to order something."

T'Pol: "No need, I have brought you something I believe you would like."

Jon: "Thank you T'Pol, are you going to join me?'

T'Pol: "Yes, I have brought some soup for myself."

T'Pol set the tray, on a stand and helped Jon sit up, She handed him the utensils and watched as he struggled to eat.

T'Pol: "Are you in need of assistance Jonathan?"

Jon smiled and blushed a bit, he put the silverware back down and turned his head toward her.

Jon: "I guess I may need some help."

T'Pol: "Very well"

Phlox was watching from the other side of the room and smiled as he saw T'Pol begin to feed the Captain. It was a very touching moment and he did not wish to interrupt it, so he quietly turned and went back into the lab.

-3 days later-

Jon had finally regained most of his site, his vision was still blurry and it took longer for him to be able to focus at certain distances, but at least he could see people and objects without running into them. Right now he was pacing sickbay, he was getting restless, being cooped up in here with nothing to do was getting nerve wracking. The visits from T'Pol, Trip and the others had been nice, And he was never really alone, for example T'Pol had just sent him a thought to calm down. Jon reached up and scratched his shoulder under the sling he was still wearing.

Jon: "Phlox, when can I take this off?"

Phlox: "Now Captain, I told you three times already today, you must wear the sling for 5 days, you not only broke your collarbone in the accident, you also managed to tear away half the muscles and tendons holding your shoulder on. They still need to heal."

Jon nodded, he stopped pacing and looked at Phlox

Jon: "It's been 3 days doc, I would like to return to my cabin."

Phlox, looked at him and then put down the PADD he was working on.

Phlox: "Oh very well, I was going to suggest you remain one more night for safeties sake, but if you did then I'd probably have to get Commander Tucker in here to replace the hole in the floor you're making."

Jon smiled and went to grab his small kit bag.

Phlox: "Now remember Captain, your wounds have not fully healed, that means no strenuous activities until I say, also due to the head injury, I want to be informed of the slightest headache or dizziness, understood?"

Jon: "Ok, ok, I get it. How long before I can return to duty?"

Phlox: "I would recommend not placing you back on active duty for another 2 weeks" seeing the captain about to say something, Phlox held up his hand. "However, you are making an excellent recovery, return here in 48 hours, and if there are no further complications, I see no troubles with you returning to light duties at that time."

Jon smiled: "Thanks doc, I'll see you in 48 hours."

Jon walked from sickbay, once the doors had closed behind him, he let out the deep breath he had been holding, he really liked Phlox, and trusted him. But he had been afraid that if he hadn't gotten out of there when he did, he'd be looking for a new medical officer.

Jon slowly walked down the corridor to his cabin, the lighting in the halls was not quite as bright as in sickbay, and with his vision problems, the effect was making it a little more difficult to see. Jon finally made it to his door, with out running into any one, well he had almost walked into ensign Collins, but that didn't count as Collins hadn't really been watching where he had been going.

After opening his door and tossing his small bag onto his bunk, Jon sat down in his chair, He looked at the time and after a few moments saw that it was only 1000 hrs, still to early to go for lunch, not that he was that hungry anyways, he had only finished breakfast with T'Pol an hour and a half ago. He smiled, between T'Pol and Phlox, Jon figured he'd gain the weight back soon enough that they had said he'd lost due to his skipping sleep and meals.

*You are still thinner than you were when we entered the Expanse Aisha*

Jon laughed and sent a thought back *Makes it easier for you to wrap your arms around me*

He felt T'Pol's return thought, rather than words it was an images, of her doing just what he had said. He blushed and felt his body begin to react.

T'Pol: *Jonathan, behave*

Jon: *Yes dear*

Jon felt T'Pol give him a quick caress through their bond *I have missed thee Aisha*

Jon returned the caress and sent her his love *I've missed you too. Adun'a*

He felt T'Pol's joy at his use of the term that in her language meant, wife.

After the quick conversation, Jon needed to get out and do something, He decided to take a ship walk, let the crew know he was back on his feet, and see how everything was going, Jon figured the best place to start, would be the last place he had been before sickbay, engineering.

Jon made his way through the ship and arrived in engineering, he wasn't in uniform, just a pair of dark pants and a light blue shirt. He figured it would put the crew more at ease if he wasn't exactly the Captain for now. Jon walked into the room and saw Trip working on the plasma injectors.

Jon: "Hey Trip, how's it going?"

Trip looked up in surprise "Jon what're you doin' here? Phlox know you've escaped?"

Jon chuckled: "Yeah, I've been released to me own care for the next little while."

Trip: "When you goin back on duty?"

Jon: "Not for another two days yet, Phlox wants to run a check on me at that time. Then he'll let me know."

Trip: "So no work or nothin' huh?"

Jon nodded and looked around engineering, he could just make out the area where the accident occurred, a small shudder went down his back.

Trip: "Good cause if T'Pol heard I let you do anything, she'd skin me alive"

Jon: "Oh she wouldn't do that, Vulcans are bred to peace remember"

Trip gave him a sidelong look "You've never seen her from our end when ever you were captured. You know, I even think she's thinking of how to get Malcolm back for shooting her on that Skagarran world."

Jon laughed: "Revenge would be illogical"

Trip smirked: "True, but she's still a woman."

Jon: "Yeah, that she is alright"

Trip: "So what're you doin here anyways?"

Jon: "Just a tour, trying to get my eyes working again, and wanted to see how repairs were going."

Trip: "Ah, I see, well we're almost done down here, impulse is back up n runnin', Malcolm's got all the weapons and the hull plating back on line, and we should be back up to warp 5 in about a day."

Jon: "Good to hear, well I'm gonna get out of your hair and head on out, maybe I'll stop by hydroponics, I have a need to see some flowers."

Trip: "Ok Cap'n, see ya later"

Jon headed for the door and then turned around "Hey Trip, I forgot to ask. How's things going with you and, Corporal Cole?"

Jon smiled as he saw Trip blush "Uhm, good Jon, real good, thanks for askin'"

Jon: "No problem, you know if you ever want to use my dining room for a 'private' dinner, you can."

Trip smiled: "Thanks Jon, I may just do that"

Jon nodded and headed for hydroponics, perhaps T'Pol would like some roses.

Jon entered the room that contained the ships hydroponics lab, in here were samples of Earths many varieties of plants, mostly flowers, as there was not enough room to bring trees along, sorry Porthos. There were even some plants from some of the planets they had visited, they were attempting to find out if it was possible to cross breed them with Earth plants, as well as seeing if they would adapt to other locations.

Jon walked among the rows of flowers, lost in their heavy aroma. He stopped at a batch of pink roses and wondered what T'Pol would think if she got off shift and found them in her cabin, he smiled and thought that she'd probably say they were aesthetically pleasing or something logical. But he knew in her own way, she would like them.

Jon carefully removed only two of the roses, any more and it would really show that someone had been in here, not that it was against the rule for someone to take the flowers. It's just that it was kinda frowned upon, as they were meant for everyone, as well as for studying. Jon smiled to himself, if anyone noticed the missing plants, who would they report it to? He was the Captain after all, and as Captain, he should be allowed a few privileges.

Jon walked back out of the room and as he turned the corner to head to the turbo lift, he ran smack dab into Malcolm, The two of them looked at each other for a moment, Jon saw Malcolm's eyes dart down to the flowers he was holding, then back up to meet his eyes again.

Jon: "Good morning Malcolm, aren't you on duty?"

Malcolm: "Yes sir, I am, but I came down to check on some of the work Commander Tuckers team has been doing to routing the extra power to the phase canons, one of the main power feeds is down this corridor."

Jon: "Oh I see, anything else going on that I need to know?"

Malcolm looked at the flowers in Jon's hand again before answering: "No sir, the Sub-Commander has pretty much everything under control, uhm, Captain, if I may, what are you doing with those flowers?"

Jon had to think quickly, he and T'Pol were still trying to be discreet about their new relationship.

Jon: "I just wanted something for my cabin Lt. It seemed to be getting kinda drab in there, and with everyone commenting on how I've let myself become too focused on this mission, I though this would be a start."

Malcolm did not look convinced

Malcolm: "I see, well it is good to see you up and around again sir, hopefully you'll be back on the Bridge soon, if you'll excuse me?"

Jon nodded and Malcolm continued his way down the corridor. As Jon quickly headed for the turbo lift again, he didn't see Malcolm turn and look back at him, shake his head and smile a knowing smile.

Jon finally made it to T'Pol's cabin without any further interruptions, he punched in his code and entered her cabin. He always liked coming in here, it was filled with a particular scent. He'd always assumed it was the incense she burned when she meditated. He could never quite place what it reminded him of, but the smell always comforted him.

Looking around her cabin, he finally located a small glass vase tucked away on her shelf, he recognized it as something Travis had given to T'Pol for the crews first Christmas together. They had played secret Santa, using the computer to decide the names, even then he had been annoyed he hadn't gotten T'Pol's name. He grimaced and remembered the horrid looking tie that Phlox had given him that year. It was currently residing in a dark corner of his closet, hopefully to never again see the light of day.

As Jon went about filling the small vase with water and looking for a good place to place it, he thought about the present he had gotten for T'Pol for this past Christmas, and still hadn't given to her. He had been unable at the time to bring himself to do it. It was still sitting in it's box on the shelf in his closet. It was a small pendant on a gold chain, the pendant was actually a rather expensive red jewel in the shape of a heart. He had picked it up at a small out of the way shop a few days before he had been kidnapped by the Tellarite, he had every intention of giving it to her when Christmas had come by, but unfortunately, fate intervened in the form of the Xindi.

He had only remembered it the day before the crew had been put to sleep when he had gone looking for one of Porthos's balls, and saw the box. Jon now had planned on giving it to T'Pol tonight, he had planned on inviting her to dinner in his cabin when he met her for lunch in an hour. Jon finally located the proper placing for the flowers, it was a spot on her desk, she would see them as soon as she came in.

Jon sent out a quick thought, to check on what T'Pol was doing, he found her busily studying the reports on the ore that Malcolm had found on the planet they had taken shore leave on. Jon grinned and was proud he had been able to shield his thoughts sufficiently enough from her to hide what he had been doing. He wanted her to be surprised by the flowers.

As Jon left he cabin and relocked it, he felt her mind touch his.

T'Pol: *Aisha, what are you doing?*

Jon: *Nothing, just taking a walk around the ship. And you?*

T'Pol: *I am studying the ore that Lt Reed thought might help us against further distortions, unfortunately from my analysis, the ore is too degraded to be of any use to us at all*

Jon: *I see, recommendations?*

T'Pol: *I do not find anyway we can utilize it, I recommend dumping what we have collected as it now serves no purpose.*

Jon: *Alright Aisha, it's your call, you're still in charge*

T'Pol: *Yes I am, I merely wished to advise you of my findings. Are you still willing to meet for lunch?*

Jon smiled: *Yes, I am, I missed spending time with you*

T'Pol: *Jonathan, I visited you frequently while you were in sickbay. And we conversed through our bond*

Jon: *I know my love, but that wasn't very private, Phlox was always hovering nearby. I think he was hoping to catch us doing something so he could study it. What I meant was I missed having you to my self.*

T'Pol: *I missed you as well Adun. I have found that any prolonged time separated from you is, unappealing to me*

Jon smiled and sent his love to her, which she returned: *I should let you get back to work, I will see you soon, I love you.*

T'Pol: *And I you Aisha*

Jon felt T'Pol give him a mental caress as she returned to her work, he closed his eyes and let the feeling linger. Jon then headed down the hall to his own cabin, he was happy that T'Pol hadn't been able to find out what he'd been up to. He still had about an hour and a half before he had to meet T'Pol, she normally didn't take her lunch break until 1300 hours. Perhaps he'd take a quick nap, he was feeling a little tired from his short journey.

Meanwhile, in the Armoury, Reed had returned and was co-ordinating the power transfer with Trip who was down in Engineering.

Reed: "I've checked all the connections from here to Engineering Commander, let's start the test."

Trip: "Keep yer shirt on Lieutenant, I'm still runnin' a final check from our end. You'll get yer test when I'm ready."

Reed looked at the COMM and shook his head, even after all the time he'd known him, Trip still had the ability to antagonize him. Reed began to drum his fingers on the console, he looked over at the other two crewmember who were on duty and shrugged.

Trip: "Ok Malcolm, everything is ok on this end, go ahead when yer ready."

Reed let out a breath "Finally, Reed to Bridge"

T'Pol: "T'Pol here, go ahead Lieutenant"

Reed: "Ma'am we are ready to commence the test on the phase cannons, but we'll need to drop out of warp to do it."

T'Pol: "Understood Lieutenant. Ensign Mayweather, take us to impulse power:"

The Enterprise gracefully dropped out of warp and cruised along at ¾ impulse.

T'Pol: "Proceed with your weapons test Mr Reed"

Reed began the power up sequence for the phase cannons, so far there were no indications of any problems.

Reed: "Phase cannons on line and fully charged, commencing fire."

Reed reached out and pushed a button on the console. Twin beams of red/gold lanced out from the forward emitters.

Trip's voice came over the COMM; "Everything looks good so far Malcolm, no power spikes or surges, power feed is holding steady."

Reed: "I'm not showing any undo stress on the emitters down here either. I believe we've done it Commander."

T'Pol: "Lieutenant, what do the reading show, how much were you able to increase the output?"

Reed glanced at the monitor and read the numbers that were scrolling by as the weapons continued firing.

Reed: "From this initial test Sub-Commander, it would appear we've increase the output by 28 percent. However, there is no way to judge the effect that will have on enemy ships until we go into battle."

T'Pol: "That is true, but do not worry, if the information we received from Degra is correct, you shall indeed have that opportunity to try out your improved weapons soon enough."

Reed: "Indeed Sub-Commander, perhaps we can..."

Trip: "Hey Malcolm, we're beginning to show a feed back building up, maybe you should shut down the weapons huh?"

Reed quickly reached over and hit the power cut off for the cannons, but he wasn't quite fast enough, sparks danced over the main control board in the Armoury as the power was cut off from Engineering. The Phase Cannons died with a whine.

T'Pol: "Report Lieutenant"

Reed: "One moment Sub-Commander."

Reed looked at the board, nothing seemed to be amiss, but a quick glance at the display told him otherwise.

Reed: "Sub-Commander, apparently we had a feed back of power in the forward cannons, both emitters experienced minor damage, the cannons will be off line for a few hours while we repair them."

T'Pol: "Explain what happened"

Reed: "Well, I'd say we were channelling more power through the emitters than what they were designed for, kind of like trying to force water through a narrow pipe, not all of it will go through, that's what happened here. Luckily we were able to detect what was happening in time, we could have destroyed both forward phase Cannons if we hadn't. As it is besides some blown relays and the damage to the emitters we still have at least a few hours work ahead of us, instead of a complete rebuild, which would take 3 months out here."

T'Pol: "Very well Lieutenant, proceed with your work."

T'Pol closed the channel and glanced at Travis "Resume course for Azati Prime, Ensign, warp 4."

Travis: "Yes ma'am"

Enterprise once again jumped to warp heading for what many hoped would be their final showdown with the Xindi.

The rest of the day passed quickly, T'Pol and Jon met for lunch where they discussed ships business, she informed him of the test with the Phase Cannons, and that they were still on course for Azati Prime. Jon asked her to join him for dinner that night in his cabin, she accepted without hesitation, as she had also missed being with him.

Later that night around 1900 hours, Jon was busy in his cabin, he had cleaned it up, lit some candles and put on some light jazz to play softly in the background. He had even given Porthos to Phlox to watch for the night, just in case. Dinner for T'Pol and himself had arrived and now all he was waiting on was his guest.

2 minutes later, his door chime rang, Jon went over and opened the door to see the one who he had known would be there. Jon smiled and invited T'Pol inside. She was still dressed in her uniform she had worn that day. He motioned for her to enter, which she did, she noticed the dinner awaiting them on his desk.

T'Pol: "Thank you for getting dinner Jonathan, it was quite thoughtful."

Jon smiled and stepped close to her and held out his arms, willingly T'Pol stepped into his embrace, Jon wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. They stayed in their hug for 10 minutes before T'Pol spoke.

T'Pol: "Jonathan, I believe the food is getting cold."

Jon: "I've been waiting to hold you for the last three days, don't spoil the moment."

After another 5 minutes, Jon released his hold on her and stepped back. He looked her deep in the eyes and smiled. T'Pol raised her eyebrow and tilted her head to the side and met his gaze. Jon the gestured for her to sit and eat, he had gotten her a salad and a bowl of plomeek broth. Jon sat near her and they both ate in silence for a while, and T'Pol had been right, Jon thought, the food had gotten cold. Jon just shrugged and ate his chicken and rice dish anyways.

Once they were done and Jon cleared the dishes away, T'Pol moved and sat on the couch, she looked up at Jon as he was working. Jon turned to her and she saw that he had a look in his eye as if he was embarrassed about something.

T'Pol: "Jonathan, what is wrong?"

Jon: "Oh, nothing's wrong, I just have something for you, and I guess I feel kinda nervous about giving it to you now."

T'Pol watched as Jon reached up to the shelf above the desk and pulled down a small box. He hesitantly handed it to her and smiled again. T'Pol took the box from him and noticed it had a hinged top, she opened it and if she were Human, would have gasped at what lay in the box. Inside, sitting nestled on a bed of silk, was a heart shaped red jewel suspended from a gold chain. T'Pol simply stared at it.

Jon got worried when t'Pol neither moved to pull the necklace from the box, or said anything.

Jon: "T'Pol, do you like it?"

T'Pol looked up at Jon, then back down to the obviously expensive gift he had just given her.

T'Pol: "Jonathan, it is very, pleasing to me. Thank you, but why did you get it?"

Jon sat down next to her on the couch, he reached over and took the necklace from the box, as he held it in his hands, T'Pol's eyes never left the jewel. Jon undid the clasp and rather awkwardly fastened the chain around T'Pol's neck, it hung down her neck with the jewel falling into the open v of her uniform. Strangely enough the way it hung, you could hardly tell she was wearing it, the jewel hung just below the open collar of her uniform and the chain lay along the sides of the collar.

Jon brushed a hand along T'Pol's ear, moving the hair behind it, the shape of her ears had always fascinated him. "I got it last year, before we were recalled back to Earth, before I was taken by the Tellarite. I had every intention of giving it to you this Christmas. I was...I was going to let you know, in this subtle way, that I cared for you, but events kinda turned against me."

T'Pol: "Yes, you did not show for the small Christmas gathering the crew had. I was...disappointed."

Jon: "I'm sorry, with everything that had been going on, I felt that it was something I should be doing, at the time I needed to stay away from the crew to remain focused on the mission."

T'Pol fingered the chain around her throat, and looked up at Jonathan's eyes. "Jonathan, you do not need to explain your actions to me, I can see your thoughts, I understand." She reached up and tenderly caressed his face.

Jon pulled T'Pol to him and the two kissed passionately. T'Pol slipped her arms about his neck and held him to her, lengthening their kiss. Soon though, they broke the embrace and she lay her head on his chest while he held her in his arms.

Jon: *I love you T'Pol, I have almost from the day you walked into my ready room almost three years ago. It was love at first sight*

T'Pol: *That is an illogical concept Aisha*

Jon: *I know, but it's true*

T'Pol: *I believe my, attraction for you came much earlier than yours did, Aisha*

Jon: *How do you mean?*

T'Pol: * The first time we saw each other was in Starfleet Medical. When you said you were restraining yourself from knocking me on my backside. It was then, that I...I felt something towards you. When I received the orders transferring me to your command, I was elated.*

Jon looked down at his fiancé` and smiled. "I'm glad you're hear with me T'Pol, I don't think I would have gotten this far without you."

T'Pol looked up at him and ran her fingers along his cheek. "I am glad as well. I know you would not have gotten as far as you did without me."

Jon kissed the top of T'Pol's head and snuggled against her. They lay against each other for quite sometime before T'Pol moved and sat up.

T'Pol: "Jonathan, this position has grown uncomfortable, perhaps we could continue it in another location?"

Jon: "Where, your place?"

T'Pol: "No I was thinking of someplace much closer at hand."

Jon caught the image in his mind from her and blushed.

Jon: "Sorry love, my head's still a little out of it."

T'Pol stood and held a hand out to Jon who took it in his. She pulled him up and lead him to his bed. Jon stopped before he got on it, suddenly he was hesitant.

Jon: "T'Pol, are you sure you want to do this?"

T'Pol reached up and began undoing the buttons on Jon's shirt.

T'Pol: "I would not be here now if I wasn't Aisha I have, missed you, it has been some time since we were intimate with one another. I would like to be with you."

Jon smiled and waited while she removed his shirt. She ran her hands along his chest.

T'Pol: "Your form is very pleasing to me Jonathan. Please come, be with me."

Jon shook his head and went to her: "With an offer like that, how can I refuse?"

T'Pol: "You could not"

This time, their joining was full of desire, tenderness and passion. There was no longer the need of the Pon'farr behind their mating, now it was simply, love.

Captain's Personal Log:

"This is it, we're here, Azati Prime, no matter what happens it will end here. According to our scans, Enterprise has little chance of entering the system any further without being detected. I have ordered the ship to take refuge behind an outer planet while we try to come up with a way to find the weapon."

"After detailed scans of the system, I've asked Trip and Mayweather to take the captured Insectoid shuttle and try to make it past the defence network and find the weapon and take scans of it. They left the ship and got underway after a rather rough start."

"We came close to being discovered, we had been scanned by a small outpost on one of the moons, I couldn't risk having our position reported, so I ordered Malcolm to destroy the outpost. 3 more lives on my conscience. T'Pol objected to my action, like I knew she would, but I overrode her opinion and carried through with my decision. 3 more lives on my conscience. I can feel T'Pol through the bond we share, don't let anyone ever tell you Vulcan's don't feel anger. She tells me through the bond that while she does not agree with what I did, she will support it."

"I've just returned from the Command Centre, where we've had time to go over the scans Trip and Travis took of the weapon. Trip says by the looks of the scans, all that is left is pretty much maintenance work, the weapon is finished. We've discovered in the scans what looks to be the power matrix of the weapon, Reed thinks by setting off a large enough explosion next to it will destroy the weapon. Malcolm figures that three torpedoes should be able to do the job. I informed them that this would be a 'one- way' trip only, and after much argument between Travis and Trip about which of them should pilot the shuttle, I let them know that I will be flying the mission. T'Pol didn't look happy with that and I know she's gonna want to talk to me about it. But it's the only way."

I've just had another visit from Daniels, he took my to the future once again, this time 400 years, to a Starfleet ship, the Enterprise-J. I have to admit I was shocked. I learned from Daniels that if I go on this mission I will die, and that would have a negative effect for this Federation of his. I also learned that in this future, the Expanse has grown in size and that this Federation is at war with the people who built the spheres, Daniels says the Federation wins, this time. But if I continue with the mission, there will be no Federation and the sphere-builders will win and invade. I asked Daniels how I could change things, he gave me another alternative, convince the Xindi it's a ploy, the sphere-builders will turn on the Xindi and wipe them out after they've invaded. I got tired of what Daniels was saying and ordered him to send me back here, he did, but not before giving me a small medallion and saying this should convince the Xindi I'm telling the truth."

"T'Pol and I had our talk, we were in the corridor, I had given her the medallion to quantum date it. She asked me what my intentions were now, I told her the same, to carry out the mission, she told me I was being illogical, as I couldn't fulfill the future that I had been shown if I was dead. So I looked at her and asked what was I supposed to do, fly into the system and see if anyone wanted to talk? The weapon was too close to being launched, I didn't have time to consider talking. I guess I let myself get carried away, cause I had even blocked her from my mind, I turned and walked away from her, she called out that she didn't want me to die, that it wasn't necessary, and that I was being selfish in not considering her feelings for me before deciding on this course of action. I walked back to her and took her in my arms, I told her how much I loved her and cared for her, she then asked my why I had to go, and I told her, cause I was the Captain."

"I just returned from my flying lesson on the Xindi shuttle with Travis, he surprised me as well today, by asking, as the least expendable person on the ship, why did I decide to take the risk. So I told him, an hour ago I had killed three Xindi in cold blood. A month ago I had ordered Phlox to create a being, then put it to death, Travis said I was seeking penance, I told him I simply couldn't order anyone else to die. I have to take Porthos to Phlox now, he'll watch him from now on. Maybe I can convince him to slip Porthos some cheese now and then."

I've had my final meeting with the command staff, they are a good group of people. I told them that no matter how many other captains sit in the chair, none of them will be prouder of their crews than I am. I told them to remember back to when the ship was launched, back when they were explorers, I want them to return to that. I also had a final, more private meeting with T'Pol in the ready room. We said lots of things, none of which I'm going to repeat here. I wish to place formal commendations for each member of the crew into their records. There never will be a better crew on this ship."

"Computer end log entry and encrypt"

On the bridge, the rest of the command crew watch as the shuttle with Archer at the helm, launch, and receives one final communication from him.

Jon: "I'm heading in."

T'Pol nods to Hoshi who acknowledges the signal, then she turns and heads into the ready room, once there she staggers against the wall, and looking physically drained, and sheds a tear for her mate.

Archers shuttle heads for the water planet where Travis and Trip found the hidden weapon, setting his course he enters a steep dive and cuts through the planets atmosphere and then plunges into the water. Jon sets the same course as Trip and Travis and soon comes to the location of the weapon, he looks out the window in surprise, the damn thing is gone!

Jon rechecks the readings and is angered to find that he's in the right place, only the weapon has vanished. Suddenly an alarm begins to go off , three Xindi ships are closing on him.

Xindi translated: "Power down your shuttle"

Jon desperately thinks of what to do, he hadn't counted on the damn thing being gone. The Xindi voice comes over the speakers again.

Xindi: "Power down or we will open fire"

Jon reaches for the controls as the shuttle is rocked from a hit, *They sure don't give a guy much time before they make good on their word.* Jon thought to himself as the shuttle was rocked again by another hit. Jon had no choice but to power down and surrender.

Back on Enterprise, Trip is standing by Malcolm's station, too much time has passed since Jon left, he takes a look around the Bridge and sees the worried looks on everyone's face. Trip mutters an oath and heads to the ready room.

Upon entering it he looks at T'Pol who is seated behind Jon's desk.

Trip: "Still no news"

T'Pol: "I am aware of that Commander"

Trip: "Ya know, it's been 2 hours, it only took Travis n me about 25 minutes to find the thing, and we didn't know where to look. Do ya think our sensors coulda missed it? The explosion I mean."

T'Pol: "It is, doubtful."

Trip: "Ya know, ya should be out there, on the bridge, the Captain isn't coming back, you're in command now, the crew needs to see you out there."

T'Pol: "I do not need command advice from you Mr. Tucker."

Trip: "Look, T'Pol..."

T'Pol turns on him with fury in her eyes. "Get out Commander"

Trip shakes his head and exit's the room, T'Pol wearily collapses into the chair. She tries to reach out to Jonathan through their link, but receives no reply, she has even lost contact with his presence in her mind, where he once was, is now a void.

Archer meanwhile is being held captive, his wrist chained and hung above his head, he is being, interrogated, by Xindi Reptilian soldiers, from the blood running down his face and the numerous bruises, the questioning has been going on for a while. Of course Jon wasn't making it any easier on himself.

Each time he would be questioned, he would give a flippant reply, earning him another few blows. The one who appeared to be in charge came up to Jon and looked at his face and sneered.

Reptile: "I had no idea Humans were so, resilient. You know, I selected the pilot of the probe that attacked your pitiful planet."

Jon coughs a few times and then responds: "65 million years ago, reptiles rules my planet, but a comet wiped them out, then mammals rose to become the dominant life form, funny, reptiles might have come out on top, if they hadn't had a mild disadvantage."

Reptile: "And what was that?"

Jon: "They all had brains the size of walnuts, and it seems to be a constant in the universe. But I'm sorry, not all reptiles died, some evolved, into turtles, I know of this restaurant that make a great turtle soup."

The Reptilian reaches out and grasps Jon's throat, squeezing off his air, he leans in and hisses "I should kill you!, but not yet" he releases Jon who hangs limp from his chains.

The Reptilian paces a bit before coming back to where Jon is.

Rep: "We have the location of your vessel Human, tell us what we want to know, or we'll send a squadron after them."

Jon knows that Enterprise is no match for that many Xindi ships, agrees to tell them, but on one condition.

Jon: "Degra....I'll only talk to Degra."

Rep: "Who is Degra?"

Jon: "You know damn well who he is, he's the one who built your weapon."

Rep: "Why would Degra want to talk with you?"

Jon: "Tells Degra (cough cough) Tell Degra, the name of his third child is, Trennia."

The Reptilian laughs. "Degra has only two offspring."

Jon looks up with steel in his eyes: "Go tell him."

On Enterprise, standing at the rear of the bridge, T'Pol, Trip and Malcolm are discussing what to do next.

Trip: "We need to go in and finish this ourselves, let's take Enterprise down there and blow the hell out of that thing."

Reed: "I agree, we need to destroy it."

T'Pol: "Well I do not agree, that course of action is foolhardy and reckless. The Captain may yet succeed."

Trip: "Jeeze! T'Pol, look how long it's been, if he had succeeded, then we'd have known something by now, Cap'n Archer failed, now we need to finish it."

T'Pol: "Emotional outbursts will not help Commander, I am in charge, however, if we do not hear from the Captain or detect anything else in one hour, then I will take a shuttle into the system, and try to establish a diplomatic solution."

As T'Pol turns away, Trip looks at Reed and shakes his head.

Jon, still hanging around, hears the door to the chamber he is in open, he tries without success to swing around. But he didn't need to bother, as he see's Degra step in front of him.

Degra: "How do you know me? Repeat what you told the Reptilian to tell me."

Jon: "The name of your third child is Trennia"

Degra takes a step back, clearly shocked. He looks around at the other Xindi in the room, then barks a command.

Degra: "Out!"

Soon the room is cleared, leaving only Jon and Degra, Jon looks Degra in the eyes and continues speaking.

Jon: "You and your wife, lost a child, when you reviewed the telemetry from the probe, you wondered to yourself, how many of the dead were children."

Degra stands there stunned "Who are you?"

Jon: "It doesn't matter who I am, or where I got my information, what matters is that you listen to me. The reason you're building the weapon, is a lie."

Degra replies to this with anger in his voice: "What is the reason then? It's no lie that Humans will destroy the Xindi."

Jon: "What about the spheres? They're being built by a race we call the sphere-builders in order to invade, they're the ones who will destroy you, not us."

Degra: "That isn't true, there's no evidence to support any of what you've told me."

Jon takes a deep breath: "I've been to the future, I've seen it."

Degra scoffs openly: "You expect me to believe that?"

Jon: "In my right pocket, there is something that will back up what I'm saying."

Degra unzips the pocket and pulls out the medallion Daniels had given to Archer. Degra shakes his head.

Degra: "This is a simple initiation medal."

Jon: "Have it quantum dated, it will confirm what I've said."

Degra: "Why should..."

Jon angrily shouts out: "Do it, because if you don't believe me, you'll not only be destroying my species, but your own as well!"

Later, Degra meets with a Xindi-Sloth and a Xindi-Primate. Degra is showing them the medallion he took from Archer.

Degra: "It's been quantum dated, it confirms what he's told us."

Sloth: "If that is so, then what we've been told by Her, cannot be true."

Degra: "Archer has told me, that our future contact, has had secret dealings with the Reptilians, he saw them in the past on his home planet. He said they were developing a bio-weapon."

Sloth: "Impossible, the council has forbidden that."

Degra: "Archer described it in great detail. And if I wanted to keep what I was doing a secret from the rest of us, the past would be a good place to do it."

The three continue to discuss these events, finally coming to the agreement that what they've been told by Archer merits further investigation, Also they decide to inform the Aquatics secretly of this news, as to keep their advantage over the Reptilians.

On Enterprise, Trip and T'Pol are heading for the launch bay. Trip is still trying to talk T'Pol out of going.

Trip: "You're in command, you can't go."

T'Pol raised her eyebrow "Jonathan was in command and he left"

Trip: "You're only doing this to try and get him back."

T'Pol: "I am doing this for the mission Commander, without Captain Archer, we will fail."

Trip: "That's bullshit an you know it."

T'Pol turns on Trip once more, this time the anger just isn't in his eyes, but all over her face: "I am in charge! You will do as I've ordered you! I'm tired of you always questioning my orders..."

"Bridge to Sub-Commander T'Pol"

T'Pol calms down enough to answer the COMM

"T'Pol here, go ahead Lieutenant"

Reed: "Ma'am, I think you better get back to the Bridge, it appears we're going to have uninvited guests for tea."

T'Pol: "I don't understand"

Reed: "The Xindi are here."

Back in Archers interrogation room, the three Xindi have come to meet with Jon.

Xindi-Primate: "What is your proposal?"

Jon: "That we begin to trust each other."

XP: "Trust each other? We captured you in a stolen shuttle filled with explosives, how do you expect us to trust you? I think you are only trying this tactic because you failed, Tell me Human, if we do join together, would you protect us in the future?"

Jon: "We are both fighting the wrong enemy here. Let me address your council, let me present my case to everyone."

Degra: "Some of the council would rather you be dead than listen to you."

Jon: "Then help me change their minds."

Sloth: "You haven't even changed ours."

Jon: "True, but I have made an impression, or else you wouldn't still be here."

T'Pol makes it to the bridge in time to see the first ships open fire on them, the ship begins taking heavy damage. Consoles blow out, monitors spark and die.

Reed: "Hull plating is gone!"

T'Pol: "Return fire, Ensign evasive action, get us out of here."

Travis tries to comply, but to no avail.

Travis: "Helm control gone Sub-Commander!"

The ship get hit again, a fire breaks out along the aft starboard side of the bridge, the is a tearing sound from above and Travis and T'Pol look up in time to see the main bridge lighting give way, they both jump out of the way as it comes crashing down onto the helm station. In engineering, the warp core goes dark as Trip shuts it down to avoid a breech, the deck is taking heavy damage.

In Archers interrogation room, the Reptilian has returned, he orders Archer transferred to a detention center where he will stay, along with any of his crew that survive that attack on their ship.

Degra: "Call of this attack. Or we will inform the council."

Rep scoffs: "By the time the council hears of this, it will be too late, their ship will be dust."

Still arguing, the Xindi depart, leaving Archer alone.

Reed: "Hull breaches on C, D And E decks!"

T'Pol: "Seal them off."

Reed struggles with the controls "Bulkheads not responding, we're venting atmosphere!"

In engineering, Trip is fighting the fires that have broken out, behind him he hears a scream and as he turn he see's on of his crew on fire, he sprays him down with the extinguisher.

More Xindi ships arrive and begin to open fire on the Enterprise, shattering her starboard nacelle, punching holes through the ships hull, as crew are sucked to their deaths. In engineering more alarms begin to go off.

Trip: "Coolant leak! Evacuate the room, move, move!"

As Enterprise loses control and begins to drift, Xindi ships continue to fire, a large section of the hull is blasted away, pulling more crew into space. T'Pol clutches the arms of the Captain's chair with all her strength, the Bridge is in flames.

T'Pol: *I cannot do this, It is too much, Aisha, Jonathan, where are you?*

*Jon opened his eyes, and stretched, he revelled in the feeling of warmth and comfort, looking up at the ceiling, it took him a moment to notice it was different, the structural support beams were laid out wrong, quickly glancing to his right, he saw that this desk which should have been there was now gone, and was that actual sunlight streaming in through the window? What the hell was going on here? Jon quickly sat up and stumbled from the bed, this was most definatly not his cabin on the Enterprise.

Jon walked around the room, looking at things he recognized as his, and some things that weren't, his statue of Zephram Cochrane, had a broken off leg, some of his books. Jon walked past a small mirror hung on the wall, and then backed up to look into it again, what he saw shocked him even more.

It was his own reflection, but his hair was now tinged with silver, and there were more lines around his eyes and mouth. He reached a hand up and touched his face, watching how the reflection mimicked the movement.

Jon was really confused now, the last thing he remembered was reaching for T'Pol's hand in the corridor, and then being tossed off his feet by the spatial anomaly. Nut, that was only a few minutes ago, wasn't it?

Jon turned as he heard the sound of what seemed to be dishes clattering against each other came from another room. Slowly he left the bedroom and walked down a short corridor, he took quick notice that there seemed to be just the one bedroom and bed in this place.

As he slowly exited the short hall, he saw the figure of a woman standing with her back to him, at a counter, She had long brown hair that was pulled back into a simple pony tail, she was wearing a pair of light grey pants and a red blouse that seemed to hug her curves, he called out to her.

Jon: "Hello?"

She turned and Jon's breath was taken away, he knew her, he knew who this woman was. It was T'Pol.

T'Pol: "Good Morning Jonathan, please sit, breakfast is almost ready."

Jon looked at the table where T'Pol had indicated him to sit, and saw that there was indeed, breakfast dishes already out. Jon warily made his way over to the table and sat down.

T'Pol: "I am sure you have many questions, and I promise, I will answer what I can, but only after you've eaten."

Jon nodded absently, and took a sip of what tasted like orange juice that she had set before him, he watched as she ladled out a helping of what appeared to be scrambled eggs onto a plate and also set that before him, Jon simply sat there and watched her. He watched as she returned the pan to what looked to be the stove top, and then watched as she took a seat by him and lift a cup to her mouth and take a drink.

T'Pol looked at Jon as she placed the cup back down. It was going to be another long day.

T'Pol: "Jonathan, please eat. I have much to tell you."

Jon: "I...I'm really not hungry...T'Pol."

T'Pol sighed: "Very well, what is the last thing you remember?"

Jon thought for a moment, then answered "We were in a corridor, on Enterprise, there was an anomaly, you were trapped I freed you."

T'Pol: "Anything else?"

Jon: "No, wait, after freeing you, I reached for your hand, but the ship was hit by another anomaly, that's the last thing I can remember before waking up here."

T'Pol: "Jonathan, that happened 7 years ago. You were injured in the second anomaly, it deposited a type of parasite into your brain, they inhibit the production of long term memories. You can remember everything up to the moment of the accident, but everything after that fades after a few hours."

Jon looked scared and shocked at the news, he didn't know what to say. He looked around the room again and then back at T'Pol.

Jon: "Where are we?"

T'Pol: "We are in a colony on Ceti Alpha V, we have been here for 6 years."

Jon: "Where's the ship?"

T'Pol: "Enterprise patrols this system, it is never very faraway."

Jon: "Why are you here with me? Why aren't you commanding the ship?"

T'Pol: "When it was proven that your illness rendered you no longer able to command I had taken over as Captain, but when we arrived here, I decided it would be best for you to remain on the surface, and that you would need a caretaker, someone you were comfortable with, and that you would trust. It was only logical that I be that person."

Jon got up and walked around the room, looking at the furniture, and other odds and ends.

Jon: "What about Earth?"

T'Pol hesitated only a moment before answering. "Destroyed along with all other colonies and outposts."

T'Pol watched as Jon collapsed into a chair. She wanted to go to him, to hold and comfort him, but knew from past experiences, such gestures would only serve to confuse him more.

Jon: "How many of us are left?"

T'Pol: "Less than 6000"

Jon buried his face in his hands for a few moments, the stood and faced her, as he was about to say something she interrupted him.

T'Pol: "This is usually the point where you say you are the victim of some elaborate hoax. I assure you, you are not."

Jon closed his mouth and looked at the floor before speaking "The thought had crossed my mind."

He turned and began heading back into the bedroom, he had to get out of here, this was wrong. Before he made it more than five feet, he was stopped by two words.

"Margaret Mullen"

Jon slowly turned and looked at T'Pol

T'Pol: "Margaret Mullen, you met her when you were in Starfleet Academy, you had become quite attached to her, you asked her to marry you, but she turned you down, saying she didn't wish to end up a Starfleet widow."

Jon just stood there staring at her "How the hell do you know this?"

T'Pol: "You've told it to me on many occasions. Over the years our, relationship, has evolved."

Jon: "Just how much has it evolved?"

T'Pol looked at him with one of her trademark stares before answering

T'Pol: "Jonathan, 6 months ago you helped me through the Vulcan mating urge known has Pon'farr."

Jon nodded: "I've heard of it."

T'Pol: "Indeed, you are also quite a vigorous lover. The experience was very, pleasing, to say the least."

Jon smirked a bit. And then blushed as he realized, he'd had sex with her, with his First Officer, his Vulcan first officer..

T'Pol then held up her left hand, on the third finger shone a small gold band, Jon felt his heart stop.

T'Pol: Last month you made me your fiancé, is that a satisfactory answer to your question?"*

Jon awoke with a start. He tried to stand up straight but the restraints on his wrists prevented him from doing so. This was the third time he'd had a dream about that strange time when he and T'Pol had been living together. An Alternate reality, she had once called it. Jon looked over and saw he was still being monitored by his Xindi captures, he wondered how the ship was doing.