Disclaimer: I do not own the characters depicted in Star Trek: Enterprise, and I'm not making any money off this story. The story idea is my own.
Archive: If you want to, but email me first.
A/N: Thanks to my brilliant two betas Sailor Coruscant and G. Eliot.
Spoilers: Similitude
I'll Always Be Here
Sim slept.
The room was different to what he remembered: warmer, more vibrant, alive with dust that swirled chaotically in the light streaming through the window. There were models of ships on shelves around the room, bits of machinery scattered in corners. Parts he could name, that he could remember the uses of; a harmonica sitting beside the unmade bed, the space-themed quilt in an untidy mess on the floor.
His room. The room he had grown up in. One of the rooms he had grown up in. The room he'd never been in before and could never be in. He crossed to the window and looked outside, at a world he'd never seen, he'd never stood on. But a world he remembered. Was that what a blue sky really looked like, what the heat on his face felt like? He closed his eyes, seeing the red he remembered would appear, yet never had experienced.
"It's peaceful." The voice was his own.
"Yes," he agreed, not looking away from the view.
"I'd missed this. I really should make the bed before Mom kills me."
"I never imagined..." He opened his eyes, to look out at a place that no longer existed.
"I know. Baby sis will be home soon. I don't want her to find the house empty. Will you stay?"
He turned from the window. "I think we better make that bed."
They both moved towards it, heading to the same side. He smiled at the other. "You take this side." He picked up a pillow from the bed and placed it on the floor. "They need you back, you know. You can't stay here. He needs you back. Oh, he says it's for the mission, but..."
"He's never been able to lie to us." The other straightened the sheet out, smoothing all the wrinkles. "I'm scared to go back. It's so peaceful here. And she's coming home soon; she's still here."
"I'll look after baby sis. We can't both stay here." He reached out a hand and placed it on the other's wrist. "You go; I'll finish this. And never doubt that I wanted to do this; I wouldn't be if it weren't for you. I'll always be here."
Trip woke.
A/N: Inspired by a scene in "This Year's Girl" from the fourth season of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer.