Disclaimer: Enterprise and her crew belong to Paramount, not me. Unfortunately.

Memory Lapse - Part 7

Jon couldn't believe it

Trip had kissed him.

The thing he had wanted for so long had finally happened.

And yet it wasn't real.

Jon knew that Trip had only kissed him out of some misguided sense of gratitude. He knew it. There was no way he was even going to contemplate any other reason. Because if he did he would allow himself to get his hopes up. And he would inevitably be disappointed.

And besides – Jon allowed himself to entertain his wildest dreams for one tiny second – even if Trip's feeling were real, this was the new Trip. The old Trip – if he ever returned – would never feel this way. And yet again Jon's hopes would be dashed.

So he had backed away. He hadn't allowed himself to melt, even for one moment. Because that way lay disappointment and heartbreak.

However, he couldn't get the look of betrayal on Trip's face out of his head. Trip had obviously placed all his trust in Jon, and Jon had thrown it back in his face. But in the end, it was for the best. Jon knew that Trip didn't really love him, and he had guarded his own feelings for far too long to let them show on the strength of one mistaken kiss.

So caught up was he in his thoughts that it was several minutes before Archer realised he was being commed.

"Ensign Sato to the Captain."

"Archer here. What is it, Hoshi?"

"There's a ship approaching at high warp. It's the Anarian rebels, sir. They've obviously escaped custody, and are looking to finish what they started."

"On my way."


Archer reached the Bridge just as the first burst of weapons fire rocked Enterprise.

"Hail them," he barked at Hoshi.

"I've tried, sir. They're not responding."

"Hull-plating is polarised, sir," reported Reed. "But their weapons are high yield. We won't last very long under a sustained attack."

"Last time we managed to disable their ship…eventually," said Archer. "Can we achieve the same goal a little more quickly this time?"

"I believe so," replied Reed. "I still have the scans of the ship's configuration that we gained during our last encounter. If I can score a direct hit on the underside of one of their nacelles, it should overload all their power relays. They would be dead in the water, sir."

"That sounds like a plan, Mr. Reed. Do it."


Trip stood by his window, gazing out at the stars. He had thought that he would never get tired of this view, but now he was starting to wish that Enterprise would reach Earth a little more quickly. Although, to be fair to the beauty of the star field, his desire had a little more to do with Jonathan Archer, and less with the wonders of space.

He couldn't believe he had been so stupid. He had ruined everything. Jon had been the best of friends to him – both before and after his accident – and he had messed everything up by being far too impulsive. He should have spoken to Jon about his feelings, not kissed him. Although it was obvious that any way of telling Jon that he loved him would have garnered Trip the same result. The look on Jon's face as he had pulled away had said it all. There was obviously nothing he wanted less than to be kissed by Trip Tucker.

Trip was so lost in his misery that he was completely unprepared for the weapons fire that rocked the ship. He was knocked to the ground, impacting with a thud that left him gasping for breath. Pulling himself upright again, he struggled towards the panel on the wall with the aim of comming the Bridge to find out what was going on. But another weapons impact sent him flying across the room. His head collided forcefully with the desk, and he slipped to the ground, unconsciousness overtaking him. One word escaped his lips as the blackness descended.

"Jon…"