Plan B, part 5

A/N: Thanks! I hope, Dennis, I'm getting to some of the things you were concerned about.

Archer poured the coffee down his throat, thankful there was some to drink at all. After Shran's visit, he'd stayed awake worrying … well about too many things … to fall into slumber.

His mind had churned on how soft T'Pol's lips were, how her tongue had barely touched his during their all-too-brief kiss, how having her tongue touch his wanted to make him push her against her pillow, Trip and T'Pol's relationship, and the predicament that kept her in his bed.

She gave me an open-mouth kiss and caressed my tongue with hers. She's obviously learned a few things.

From Trip.

He shook his head.

I'm a fool.

When their kiss had ended and after Shran had left the room, he should've dragged his ass over to the floor and slept there. Alone! Instead, he'd let her soft Vulcan voice coax him into lying next to her until 0700. The excuse – staying in bed – felt weaker than the coffee he was drinking, but he didn't want to leave her side … even in the quiet and the dark.

When the alarm rang, he was already mentally awake and shut it off quickly. Assuming she was asleep, he stared at her a few minutes, wondering … thinking about how she'd kissed him.

"What am I going to do?" he asked, quietly.

Instead of touching her hair or pressing his lips to her forehead, he let himself stare just a few seconds longer before getting up.

Back to reality.

As Phlox described the creature piloting the marauder ship matched the Andorian genome most closely, Archer flung his eyes to Shran. The Andorian's antennae squirmed and he looked too shocked to deny it.

"Shran?" Archer asked.

"Captain, I'd like to speak to you in your office."

Archer gathered he meant "Ready Room" and filed over there with the Andorian, glancing only briefly at T'Pol and then slowly at Commander Tucker.

When they reached the Ready Room, Shran leaned against a beam and explained the situation: who the Aenar were, how much the Andorians didn't know about them and how really their only alternative was to speak with them.

The captain had to agree. Crossing the room, he gave the order to get to Aenar as quickly as possible – maximum warp. As his fingers depressed the button, Shran wandered behind him.

"I apologize for not believing you."

Archer raised both eyebrows and stared at him. "It's okay."

Shran shook his head and sat wearily down in the chair at the other end of Archer's desk.

"No, it isn't. I won't come into your room again."

"I'm glad to hear you're finally convinced."

The Andorian shook his head. "I have to admit. I'm jealous. Talas and I shared quarters for so long. Watching you flush against her, your hand bringing her closer to you – that, I suppose is, what I miss most. The small things. The smell of her hair and the sound of her sleeping."

Archer frowned.

"You're a lucky man. And to have a Vulcan return those feelings … well, I would've thought it impossible."

The captain remained quiet.

"Did I say something to upset you?" Shran asked.

"No." With a feigned smile, he added, "Just thinking."

"There's something bothering you, pink skin. I can tell. You know, if we had a little Andorian ale, I'm sure we could get to the bottom of your troubles."

He disagreed. "I don't think we should. We'll need to stay sharp for the planet. It gets 60 below, right?"

"It can." As Shran got up, he admitted something. "I think I know what concerns you. I watched the way Commander Tucker was looking at your wife."

Archer's eyebrows raised. "I don't …."

"It would bother me, too." The Andorian held onto the beams as he paced slowly, unbalanced, around the room. "Grenak, my number six in command, had a thing for Talas. When Talas chose to mate with me … well, let's just say there were problems."

"Listen, I don't …."

"I could've stood back and done nothing, but that would only cause dissention. No, instead I chose to act."

Almost afraid to ask, he heard himself mumble. "Whadd'ya do?"

"I liked Grenak – young, impetuous … a lot like your Commander Tucker."

Archer smiled.

"So, I put an end to it."

Archer's face fell. "What?"

"Grenak was kicked out of the military."

"I wouldn't think that showing love would be against the regulations of the Imperial Guard – I mean, you and Talas got together. Couldn't you have tolerated Grenak's feelings for Talas?"

"Talas didn't return them."

"Even still …."

"The Imperial Guard doesn't tolerate love in the lower ranks. No, it was for the best."

"You didn't even give him a chance, huh?"

"Her. It was for the best. Her droopy antennae were a distraction; she didn't serve well after that."

A lop-sided frown sparked on Jon's face. "Oh."

"I'm not saying you should do the same with Tucker. Your Vulcan doesn't seem to return his feelings."

"What makes you say that?"

The blue man smiled and showed a tinge of azure on his teeth. "She's only got eyes for you, pink skin."

If Shran only knew.

"Not the best taste in the world, but I guess you two have been through as many scrapes as we have, huh, Captain?"

A snort left his nose and he corrected the man. "More."

"You see," Shran said.

"Didn't you say you were going back to your room to rest?"

His antennae curled back and he nodded. "Of course. I guess our conversation about your wife is done … for now."

Archer scowled as the two filed out of the Ready Room.

Maybe I will ask her about Trip.


Trip waited around the Mess Hall hoping to meet up with Commander T'Pol. The place was packed – noon seemed to be everyone's favorite mealtime. As he was thinking she wouldn't show up, he spied a smallish creature packed into a purple jumpsuit and waved. With one nod, she met him at his table.

"I was afraid you wouldn't show," he confessed. Getting up and offering her a seat, she folded herself neatly into one of the chairs as he sat down.

"I told you I would meet you," she said.

He decided not to mention their tiff in the morning about the telepressence. It seemed these days really all they did was argue; he thought it meant they still cared for each other, but maybe that wasn't the case.

After watching her settle in and sip her tea, he decided to reassert the words he'd already spoken to her in Sickbay.

"I'm just gonna come out and say this. I'd like to continue to give us a chance. I think there's an us worth pursuing and I'm kinda betting that you do, too."

She opened her mouth, but he was determined to keep going. "Now, I know you're going through a few things and need some time sorting stuff out. I know I'm not exactly up on Vulcan traditions, but you and I make some sort of crazy sense." Wanting to hold her hand, but not risking it in the overcrowded Mess Hall, he simply placed his fingers close to hers without allowing them to touch.

"I think we could really work out. At least, based on the way I feel, I think we can."

T'Pol's lips flattened. "Trip, I've never given you any indication that there was anything more between us. It's important we re-establish our friendship and our working relationship."

"Are you saying that after we do that, maybe we have a chance?"

Her eyes fell to her mug, which he took to mean either she wasn't sure or didn't want to say. After almost a full minute of silence, T'Pol spoke up.

"The captain and Shran should be leaving for the planet soon. I'd like to meet him on the platform before he leaves."

"Mal said he was transporting the cap'n down."

She looked into his eyes. "I'll see you this afternoon for testing."

As she was about to get up, he stopped her with his voice. "Avoiding this isn't going to help."

Before she could correct him, he did it himself. "It's not gonna help me."

"I have a duty to perform."

Tucker stuck out his lower lip and gazed down at the table. He was surprised she stuck around for a minute and wondered what she was trying to assess.

"It seems the resolution we both seek isn't one that is mutually beneficial. I urge you, as a friend, to allow this to fade over time," she said.

He was about to protest, but she could apparently read him too well – she always could.

"It will eventually fade over time. If I have learned anything about you, Trip, it's that your heart is always open and that you need time."

With that, she walked away. The words she'd spoken, everything she'd said had to be wrong. Being together felt like an inevitability, not something that after a confusing year and a night of great sex would end so unceremoniously. Maybe this was how a Vulcans dated. Maybe this was part of their mating customs. Maybe … maybe he'd need to think about this and determine what exactly she meant.

Too bad I gotta see her in another hour.

TBC