Day 19

Trip looked down at the bowl of liquid in front of him, trying to remember what it was called. T'Pol told him when she'd brought it over, but he'd already forgotten. Shur, he recalled suddenly. Literally translated as soup. This was some kind of vegetable soup, and even though none of the vegetables were recognizable as food, it was actually pretty good. He would never admit it to T'Pol, but he was fast developing a taste for Vulcan cuisine.

Now that they were closer to Vulcan, Trip was becoming more excited. He'd never been to Vulcan before, as T'Pol had pointed out, and he was eager to do some sightseeing while they were planetside. A brief vision of he and T'Pol walking hand in hand along a moonlit beach flashed through his mind, but he knew that scenario would be unlikely, as Vulcan was a desert planet. But other than that, he realized he didn't know all that much about it. In all the years he'd known T'Pol, he hadn't ever really asked her about Vulcan.

"Hey, T'Pol," he said, downing another swallow of soup, "did you have anything planned for our vacation, or are we just gonna hang out at your mom's?"

She glanced up at him. "Did you have something in mind, Commander?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I've never been to Vulcan, and I really don't know much about it. But, you know, I kinda thought maybe we'd do some sightseein'."

T'Pol lifted an eyebrow. "Was there anything in particular you wished to see?"

"I don't know. Anythin' you wanna show me? I mean, it's your planet, so you should get to pick. Now, if we were goin' to Earth, I'd want to show you places that you just hafta see – like the Grand Canyon or the Great Barrier Reef. Any places like that on Vulcan?"

She reached across the table and grabbed his biscuit – he couldn't remember for the life of him the Vulcan name for it – and started tearing it to pieces, which she popped into her mouth. He hoped he managed to control his shocked reaction. She'd never done that before. "Well, I suppose you should see the Fire Plains. They are quite striking."

Trip grabbed a piece of fruit off her plate. She didn't even bat an eye, but he was sure the act had not gone unnoticed by the passengers who remained in the mess hall. "The Fire Plains, huh? Big tourist attraction?"

She gave him a look so completely Vulcan that he had to resist the urge to laugh. "Vulcan does not get many 'tourists', Commander. But, yes, I suppose it is a very popular destination."

"Anything else?" Trip asked, taking a bite of the fruit. He spit it out immediately, forgetting that the oblong ones were really sour. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and took a long drink of water.

T'Pol was quiet for a moment, absentmindedly tearing the pieces of biscuit into even smaller pieces. "The Shi'al province does offer some rather beautiful sites. The Caves of Kulvir are located there, as well as Da'Kum'Ulcha – 'the city of shadows', ancient ruins."

Trip nodded slowly. "Ancient ruins could be cool. Bet it's kinda like goin' to see the ruins in Rome or Athens or somethin'."

"I wouldn't know. I have never spent much time on Earth."

"You know, I've never been to those places either. Maybe, when we get back to Earth, we could go?" He'd meant to make it come out as a casual suggestion, but he was so nervous that his voice cracked at the end, making it sound like a question.

There was a flicker of amusement in T'Pol's eyes. She'd obviously caught that. "That would be acceptable, Mister Tucker."

He grinned and returned his attention to his soup. He and T'Pol ate in companionable silence for a few moments before she spoke again. "Commander, are you familiar with a play entitled Romeo and Juliet?"

Trip choked on his mouthful of soup. When he had managed to get it down and get his breathing under control, he glanced up at her. "Why do you ask?"

She stiffened. "I ran into Solen last night. He mentioned it. I am unfamiliar with it, although I do recall hearing Lieutenant Reed and Ensign Sato discussing it once."

Trip forced himself to smile. "Yeah, Malcolm's always tryin' to shove Shakespeare down my throat. He gave me a copy of his complete works last Christmas. I got it with me, if you're interested in readin' it. It's supposed to be the greatest love story ever told."

T'Pol nodded. "Could the play be compared to us in any way?"

Trip fought back the surge of glee that accompanied T'Pol's use of the word "us". He'd referred to them as an "us" numerous times, and while she never corrected him, she didn't do the same. "Well, Romeo and Juliet are what they call 'star-crossed lovers', 'cause their families hated each other, but they managed to fall in love anyway." He looked her directly in her big doe eyes. "And we're about as star-crossed as you get."

She nodded shortly. "I should very much like to read this play," she said, her voice soft.

He smiled – a genuine one this time. "I'll get it for you."

A/N: Again, many thanks to the Vulcan Language Dictionary.

Also, many thanks to those who reviewed! I promise you there's good stuff coming!