By: JennaTripped
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Gah... if these two were mine, T'Pol wouldn't be getting married in two days! I guess I own Michelle and the dog version of Soval though. :-D
Summary: Swimming lessons... not as dirty as I'd planned. LOL.
A/N: No spoilers guys! Yay!
T'Pol quickly changed out of her robes and into the tight-fitting material of the "wetsuit". It was very similar to her uniform on board Enterprise. She had become proficient in donning the uniforms out of necessity, and had no trouble zipping into the wetsuit without help. It fit her surprisingly well, and T'Pol briefly wondered who the previous owner had been. Barefoot, she walked out onto the deck of the small seacraft. The motion of the boat on the water disturbed her profoundly. She had experienced nausea when she first boarded, but Trip had located a hypospray in his emergency medical kit and since it had been administered she felt markedly better. Her sense of unease remained but she did not expect it to fade; Vulcans were not meant for water.
Sunlight glinted brightly off the metal railing and T'Pol's eyes followed it to rest on her companions. Trip and Charles stood at the stern preparing equipment, while Michelle was below-deck trying to locate a spare oxygen tank. One of the dogs lounged lazily in the sun on the deck. T'Pol felt out of her element and did not enjoy the sensation. She was anxious about being made to swim in waters infested with animals large enough to cause her serious injury. One of Trip's more inventive movie night choices had been a film called "Jaws" in which a large aquatic carnivore had attacked a human population. If she remembered correctly, these creatures were attracted by the scent of blood. She wondered if Vulcan science officers were on its menu.
Consciously she released her fierce grip on the railing and approached Trip and his father, skirting the massive canine who did not seem prepared to get out of her way. These flights of imagination were not productive.
"May I help with something?"
Trip spun around, snorkel in hand, and grinned. "Hey T'Pol." He looked her up and down, his eyes lingering in certain places. "Good. It fits." He set the snorkel on top of a pile of equipment.
T'Pol noticed the mess had been separated into four piles. She patiently waited for him to answer her question. Instead, he turned to Charles.
"Dad, can you and Michelle finish this up?"
"Sure son. I'll let you know when we're ready to go." Charles gave Trip and T'Pol an appraising glance before his gray head disappeared below the main deck. "Michelle? You down here?"
T'Pol looked at Trip. Trip looked at T'Pol. T'Pol quirked an eyebrow. Trip laughed.
"Come on. Let's get you a swimming lesson."
With some coaxing and several reassuring smiles, Trip managed to get T'Pol to enter the water without too much protest. It was shallow enough that she could stand on her toes and keep her chin above water, but she seemed more comfortable clinging to the side of the boat and gently kicking her feet behind her.
"You okay?"
"I am fine, Co- Trip."
"Then why don't you let go of the boat?"
"I cannot swim."
"I know. I'm going to teach you. But you'll have to trust me first." Trip tread water gently and watched her as a myriad of emotions flickered across her face. She carefully replied.
"It is not a matter of trust. I trust you. It is a simple fact that I cannot swim, and letting go of the boat would be unwise given that information. Vulcans have a greater muscle density than humans. I will sink."
The last line was said with such conviction that Trip had to smile.
"You can touch the bottom here T'Pol. And I would never let you drown."
T'Pol studied him for several moments, a disgruntled look on her face. Trip stopped treading water and stood, his greater height allowing the tops of his shoulders to skim the surface of the water. T'Pol gingerly reached out a hand and clasped his arm, transferring her death grip on the boat to Trip's shoulders. He grabbed her other hand and pulled her away from the boat, humbled that she trusted him enough to let him hold her.
T'Pol tensed as Trip continued to move backwards, away from the boat. "Are you sure this is wise? If something was to happen, we should remain close to the safety of the craft..."
Trip turned his head so their faces were mere inches from one another. "What do you think is going to happen, T'Pol?" He asked quietly, pausing his movement and reveling in the feeling of her arms wound around his shoulders.
She swallowed and met his expectant gaze. They stared at each other for a long moment, and Trip felt his heart begin to pound erratically. All of his senses were heightened, and he wondered in a flash if he could... he bent his head slightly towards her and skimmed his lips across her cheek. "Where was the film "Jaws" taped?
Trip blinked in surprise and then let out a loud bark of laughter. "You think there are sharks?" At her censuring look, he quieted. "T'Pol, there are sharks around here, but trust me, they aren't after us."
"How do you know this?"
"Because I've lived here all mah life, and dived here for nearly as long, and I have never seen a shark approach a diver unless the diver was lookin' for the shark."
"And we are not looking for sharks."
He shook his head and smiled. The tension eased from her body and Trip suddenly remembered that they were pressed hip to hip, chest to chest. He resisted the reflex to swallow, and cleared his throat instead. She looked at him and the corners of her mouth turned up almost imperceptibly. Trip's heart nearly stopped, and he knew this moment would be seared into his memory for the rest of his life. T'Pol had smiled. She had smiled at him.
"What is the first step in learning to swim?"
Trip shook his head lightly, realizing his gaze had lingered on her mouth. "Ah, I'll teach ya how to float. Just lean your head back and I'll hold you up over the water."
T'Pol gave him a doubtful look but dutifully leaned her head back into the water, wetting her hair and submerging her ears. She was tense. All she could feel was Trip's cool hands under her back; they were the only things keeping her afloat. After a moment, she realized Trip had been speaking and lifted her head out of the water.
"I could not hear you."
"Oops, sorry. I figured you'd still be able to with those ears an' all. Just lean back and look at the sky. It'll help if you spread out your arms and legs."
"You will not let go?"
"Nope. Not 'til you're ready."
Satisfied, she leaned back once more, this time focusing on the clouds overhead. They were large and white and decidedly alien. Although she had spent a great deal of time on Earth, the distinct blue of the sky often reminded her of how far from home she was. The water around her head muted out every sound but that of her heart beating rhythmically. She closed her eyes and relaxed. This was very like the state she sought during meditation. Gradually, T'Pol lost track of her surroundings and the hands holding her gently. When she opened her eyes again and turned her head, she found Trip standing several feet from her with his arms crossed and a foolishly endearing grin on his face. Startled, T'Pol leaned forward and lost the delicate balance she had achieved.
Trip was at her side in an instant and prevented her head from being submersed as she struggled to stay afloat. She grabbed onto him and gripped his shoulders tightly, the sudden fright having been enough to render her speechless.
"Hey, you're fine. You were doing really well! See? I told you you'd be able to swim."
T'Pol swallowed several times and pinned him with a severe glare. "You promised you would not let go."
"Until you were ready... you were. You were floating by yourself for almost five minutes. You only got into trouble when you got scared."
T'Pol opened her mouth once, but decided it was not worth denying the accusation. She had been startled. But it was entirely Trip's fault. She gave him another stare for good measure, but her desire to learn the art of swimming and her hidden pleasure over having floated on her first try helped her forgive him quickly.
"What is next?"
"Well, um... you seemed a little uncomfortable with going under water." Trip brought up the subject carefully. "Since you can stand here, we might as well get you used to holding your breath." He let her go a little, until her toes hit the sand and she steadied herself with her arms. Trip took a breath and dipped under the water, slowly and deliberately releasing the air in a cascade of bubbles through his nose. T'Pol watched him carefully, marveling at the ease with which he moved in the water and scolding her illogical fear of drowning.
He surfaced and gently reached for her hand. "We'll do it together, okay?"
She locked eyes with him. T'Pol nodded quickly and took a deep breath just before the pressure Trip applied to her hand tugged her under.
They did this several more times until T'Pol had nearly gotten the hang of it. Trip allowed himself an internal pat on the back, even though he knew her success was due more to her amazing fearlessness and the ease with which she learned new things rather than his tutoring skills. The next time they went under, Trip released her hand and maneuvered himself to the sea bottom. He'd felt a shell under his feet before. His hands shifted through the sand until they found it. Trip looked at it for a moment before a dark shape in front of him surprised him enough that he released the rest of his oxygen and surfaced.
T'Pol was under water! He cracked a grin as she followed his lead and surfaced.
"Hey! You were swimming!"
"No. I was simply suspended in the water. It occurred to me the water creates a similar environment to that of zero gravity. Now that I am proficient at holding and releasing my breath in it, it is simply a matter of time before I deduce the easiest way of maneuvering in it." T'Pol realized she was rambling and reached out to touch him.
Trip nodded, amused by her stream of consciousness, as she attached herself to his shoulders again. He held his right hand in front of her, fingers closed and waited until she had turned his fist over before uncurling his fingers and letting her see the shell. T'Pol lifted the delicate prize and turned it over and over again in her hand, feeling the inner smoothness and soft pink color as well as the rough edges of the outside.
"This is you, T'Pol." She met his eyes, confused, as he smiled at her in that same strange way he had... "A little rough around the edges, but beautiful and precious on the inside."
T'Pol blinked at him and felt her eyes flutter shut as he kissed her softly on the lips. She did not think the day could possibly be any more perfect.
Trip sighed against her lips, marveling that even his prickly Vulcan wasn't immune to human compliments...
Charles Tucker II found his niece below-deck, half buried under boxes and knickknacks from the closet she'd been rummaging in.
"Uncle Charlie, I know we have another O2 tank here somewhere. Trip must have hidden it!"
Charles laughed deeply and opened a panel along the wall, revealing three miniature O2 tanks in a tidy little row.
"Oh. Oops." Michelle smiled. "Where's is Trip, by the way?"
"He took T'Pol swimming. I guess they don't have much opportunity for that on Vulcan."
"I would guess not. Vulcan doesn't have any oceans, and their lakes aren't really suitable for swimming."
"Since when are you an expert, Missy?"
Charles sat down next to his niece with only a minimal protest from his back.
"Oh, I read some things..."
"Things?"
She sighed. "Well, last night I started poking around in our library. I mean, Trip seems pretty into this woman, and I just... I just figured it might be nice if I made the effort, you know?"
Charles patted his youngest niece on the leg. "That was nice of you, Michelle. I don't think it's really sunk in with the rest of the family yet. An' Trip's mom is gonna be difficult..."
"You think so?" Michelle stared thoughtfully at her uncle. She knew he and her aunt Susan had had a rough time since Lizzie died. People weren't sure how to act around them, and even for her it got exasperating to have to always defend Trip. Whenever people made the connection between her family and Commander Trip Tucker, they seemed to look at her a little differently. A little more warily. That's why she was trying to change things for T'Pol. It wasn't fair. The prejudice wasn't fair.
Charles smiled at her sadly. "We'll get through it. Family sticks together. You're a good girl Michelle. I'm proud of you, and I know your daddy would have been too."
"Thanks Uncle Charlie."
"Now, let's get this show on the road!"
TBC... hopefully it won't take so long next time. This has officially veered into AU I guess. Stupid T'Bastard Koss.