A/N: Someone on the HoT Bulletin Board figured that it would take about 24 days to reach Vulcan using warp 6 (remember, it's 16 light years away from Earth), based on something from TOS, in case anyone was wondering why it was taking so long. I don't understand it, but I don't really understand anything math or science related, which is why I was an English major.

Thanks for the reviews!

Oh, I got the teachings of Surak from the Vulcan Language Dictionary, but they can also be found at the Vulcan Language Institute. (I have no life.)

Day 7

Offer them peace, then you will have peace.

Pretty self-explanatory. Trip had re-read T'Pol's copy of The Teachings of Surak three times since she had given it to him the day before. He was hoping to have become a master of the sayings by the time the shuttle landed on Vulcan. He thought it might impress T'Pol's mother if he knew something about the Vulcan culture other than the salute, since he could not seem to properly pronounce the greeting that went with it.

The spear in the other's heart is the spear in your own.

That one was proving to be a little more difficult. He interpreted it to mean that violence against another was violence against yourself, that taking someone else's life would ultimately destroy your own. It seemed to be the interpretation that made the most sense, since most of Surak's sayings were directed at non-violence.

As far as possible, do not kill.

Then be slow to take life.

Can you return to life what you kill?

He whistled softly. "Man," he said to his empty room, "Vulcans sure have a thing about killin' stuff."

He was glad T'Pol wasn't there, though the room felt empty without her. At breakfast that morning, he'd asked if she wanted to read with him – she was still poring over The Lord of the Rings – but she said that she was enjoying the book too much to be distracted by him. He had chosen to focus on the fact that she liked the book rather than the fact that she'd out-and-out told him he was annoying.

And if she had been there, she would have lectured him about respecting the beliefs of other cultures – the same way she got on his case when he teased her about her eating habits or her distaste of touching.

Cast out fear. There is no room for anything else until you cast out fear.

Trip snorted. That was one teaching which he was sure T'Pol was trying to ignore. It was the only reason he could think of for their current predicament. He had feelings for her – strong feelings – and he knew she reciprocated, at least to the extent that a Vulcan could. Yeah, she'd never admitted it outright, but why else would she have seduced him? In his eyes, that was a clear indication that she felt more for him than just friendship. He knew it wasn't just some exploration of sexual curiosity, because otherwise she would have done something about it a lot sooner.

No. She definitely felt something and was afraid to do anything about it.

Hell, he was afraid, too. He'd have to be an idiot not to be. New relationships always made him nervous, but entering into an intimate relationship with a Vulcan – a species that practically despised everything about his planet – was downright petrifying. So many things could go wrong. For starters, if the High Command or the Earth government found out, they'd probably forbid them from seeing each other. They might even try to forcibly separate him from T'Pol. He wouldn't go quietly. He'd go kicking and screaming like a two-year-old throwing a tantrum. Plus, they would most likely become social pariahs among both their cultures, in much the same way the first interracial couples must have. They might not even be accepted on other planets because they were outsiders. They would probably never find a place where they could live freely. Their only chance would be to get stranded on Enterprise, just like their alternate selves. And he would always be afraid that he loved her more than she loved him, simply because Vulcans didn't recognize the emotion.

But, God, the way he felt when he was with T'Pol, he'd never felt that way before. Ever. He was willing to bet his engines that he'd never feel that way again. And he didn't want to let that go just because she was scared.

We have differences. May we, together, become greater than the sum of both of us.

He liked that one the best.