Between Friends
Summary: One shot. T'Pol is no longer married to Kos. What's the next step? Who does she turn to? A/T'P friendship.
T'Pol sped through the corridors of the Enterprise. She wasn't sure where she was going, or what she intended to do when she go there. She was only aware of the need to move, and the need to find...someone. She wasn't certain who it was she was looking for.
Just as long as it wasn't Trip.
T'Pol miraculously managed to keep her face neutral as she maneuvered her way around the crew members in the corridors. The turmoil within her was conveyed only by the frantic pace she kept, and to those who knew her, the distraught look in her eyes.
She even managed to keep from shouting out when she sharply turned a corner and plowed into Jonathan Archer as he exited his quarters.
With the quick reflexes developed through years of water polo, Archer caught T'Pol by the elbow before she could fall to the floor. "Whoa, there," he said, straightening out his second-in-command. "In a rush, Commander?"
Jon took a moment to asses the Vulcan. She looked distracted, her eyes were wide, and there was a slight tremble to her frame. She barely even seemed aware that she had nearly knocked her Captain over. T'Pol's gaze finally fell on her commanding officer, seemingly noticing for the first time that he was before her.
"Captain," she said, vainly attempting to keep the tremor from her voice. "I apologize, I did not see you-"
"T'Pol," Archer said firmly, looking her in the eye. Feeling uncomfortable, T'Pol turned her gaze to the floor. "Are you alright?"
T'Pol's head nodded half an inch. Taking a deep breath, Archer put his hand under T'Pol's chin and lifted her face to his. Her eyes widened. He reached behind him and opened the door to his quarters.
"Please join me, Commander," he said softly, motioning towards the opening door. T'Pol nodded again and stepped into Archer's quarters. He glanced around the corridor before following her in, the door hissing shut behind him. He was amused to see Porthos seated in front of T'Pol, tail wagging. His tail stopped wagging, he cocked his head to the side, and he let out a short, high pitched whine. T'Pol glanced down at the beagle.
"I am fine," she said firmly. Jon wasn't sure if she was talking to him, the dog in front of her, or if she was attempting to convince herself. He came up behind her and resisted the urge to place his hand comfortingly on her shoulder.
"T'Pol," he said slowly, "do you consider me to be your...friend?"
The Vulcan woman turned towards him, giving him a curious look. "Of course, Captain-"
"Please, T'Pol," he said, motioning around his quarters, "in here, I'm Jonathan."
T'Pol seemed to consider this for a moment. "Jonathan, you have done everything within your power to make my life on Enterprise comfortable. Despite your past misgivings about Vulcans, you have treated me as an equal, and have shown me the same respect as any of the human members of your crew." T'Pol's voice seemed to soften as she continued speaking. "You have repeatedly saved my life, stood up to the High Command for me, and while the human emotional attachment to the word is more in depth than how a Vulcan would categorize it..." she paused, taking the time to establish eye contact with her Captain. "I have long thought of you as one of my 'friends', Jonathan."
Jon took a step towards her, giving in to the urge to comfort the woman before him. He placed his hand on her shoulder, and was pleased when she didn't flinch or pull back.
"Then tell me, T'Pol, what the matter is." He held up his hand to prevent her protests from escaping. Her mouth snapped shut. "And don't even try to tell me that everything is fine. You are visibly distraught, for a Vulcan, anyway. Something has happened, and you nearly face planted into the floor due to your distraction." He took a deep breath, hoping that he could keep his wording delicate. "I know that your...that you and Trip are strained right now...and if you need anyone to talk to-"
"Jonathan," T'Pol said frankly, eyeing her Captain wearily, "Do you know why I married Kos?"
Taken aback by the abruptness of T'Pol's change of attitude, Archer sat on the end of his bed, looking up at T'Pol. "No, I don't," he said honestly. "Trip had told me that you were engaged to him, but that was over a year ago. When he returned from Vulcan, Trip wouldn't talk about it. Lately, he and I...well, we don't talk as much as we once did."
"To put it simply, I was blackmailed." One of T'Pol's eyebrows shot to her hairline when her Captain opened and shut his mouth several times in rapid succession, seemingly impersonating a fish. He finally seemed to find his voice.
"Vulcans do that?" he asked incredulously.
"Unfortunately, yes," T'Pol said somberly. "They wished to punish me for choosing to leave the High Command and remain aboard a Human vessel; however, there was little they could do to me in the Expanse, so their wrath fell on...my mother." The last words were uttered barely above a whisper, and Archer knew that T'Pol was still dealing with the loss. "They forced her into retirement. She was –" T'Pol paused, in search of a word without emotional connotations, "- malcontent. And the fact that they were punishing her on my behalf was not something I was willing to inflict on her."
T'Pol sat down next to Jon, releasing a long breath. Jon nodded sympathetically.
"And now-"
"She is gone," T'Pol cut off, choking slightly on her words. "It was all for nothing."
"I'm sorry, T'Pol," Archer said.
"You do not understand," T'Pol said, somewhat desperately. "Kos has released me from my marriage."
"What?" Archer's head whipped around, staring at her. Her head was hung, and she was breathing shallowly. "Why would he do that?"
"Because," T'Pol whispered, "Despite my view on him, Kos actually cared for me. Like I for my mother, Kos did not wish to see me...malcontent."
Jon slowly processed this information. "And what are you going to do now, T'Pol?"
"I don't know!"
Archer was shocked by his first officer's outburst, but vaguely recalled T'Pol's mother telling her that she had always had a hard time suppressing her emotions.
"What is your 'view' on Trip?" Jon asked curiously, wondering how T'Pol would verbalize her relationship with Trip without indicating any actual feeling.
T'Pol turned her head away from her Captain, and at first, Archer wasn't certain she was going to respond.
"I believe I am in love with him."
It was barely audible, but with that single sentence, Captain Jonathan Archer - captain of humanity's first warp 5 ship, alleged world savior - was absolutely floored. He realized that he mustn't have heard correctly.
"You are?"
"Yes."
"T'Pol," Jon said cautiously, "love is an emotion."
"I know," she whispered.
"But I thought," he said slowly, "that Vulcan's don't have emotion. Or that they suppress it."
"I have always had...difficulties...suppressing my emotion," T'Pol admitted, and Archer knew that it couldn't have been an easy admission. "Also, there have recently been external factors causing more emotional responses than is normal for me."
Archer was too shocked to ask what those external factors were. T'Pol was in love with Trip. And as far as he (or anyone else, for that matter) could tell, Trip was certainly in love with her.
"What should I do?" she asked. Jon was struck by how hopeless T'Pol's situation must seem to her. She was a woman from an entire race of people whose entire lives were devoted to logic and the suppression of emotion, and here she found herself in love. And not only was she in love, but she was in love with a member of a species who openly embraced their emotions, and were sometimes more driven by them than by logic.
"You should go to him," Jon said simply. It was T'Pol's turn to stare at her Captain. She seemed to be rapidly processing the information.
"Would that be wise?" she asked, her voice laced with genuine curiosity.
"Yes," Archer said firmly, standing up. "In fact, I think it would probably best if you went to him immediately, so that there's no chance of him hearing this from anyone other than you."
T'Pol nodded solemnly. She rose and placed her hand on Jon's arm.
"Thank you...Jonathan. You truly are my friend."
Jon smiled, and in a spontaneous move, he leaned forward and placed a gently kiss on T'Pol's forehead. He pulled back, and was relieved to see respect – and perhaps affection? – reflected in her eyes.
"You're more than welcome, T'Pol. My door is always open to you."
T'Pol nodded, and turned to leave. Her hand paused before pressing the control for the door. She turned back to Archer.
"Jonathan, I can trust that this will stay between us?"
Jon nodded seriously. "Or course T'Pol. Between friends."
"Yes," T'Pol whispered, pressing the door release. "Between friends."
A/N: That was one shot. Or should it be? If you think I should go on with it, you'll have to review :D