The Cultural Addition
a
Star Trek: Enterprise - based fan fiction
by: Joycelyn Solo

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Summary: An unexpected pregnancy has some interesting consequences for Trip, T'Pol, the Enterprise and the future of Humanity.
Author's note: This story takes place Season Three, so expect general episodic references. Though I loved "Similitude," it doesn't fit with this story's progression of our favorite couple's romance and will be ignored.
Disclaimer: Star Trek: Enterprise and associated characters are property of Paramount Pictures. I mean no copyright infringement, this story is for entertainment purposes only.
Special Thanks: To my beta Stub...You ROCK!!
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Trip/T'Pol Romance; Mystery

Chapter Three - Archer, don't preach

Sickbay was a popular place when Jonathon Archer arrived two hours later.

Phlox had stressed the urgency of seeing the captain as soon as possible. Archer assumed whatever the doctor wanted to talk to him about was important, but he hadn't expected to find half of his command crew waiting for him.

Trip and T'Pol were seated on biobeds, though neither seemed ill or injured, and the captain gave Phlox a questioning frown. "I wasn't expecting a full staff meeting when I came down here. What's going on?"

"We have a bit of a mystery on our hands, Captain." Phlox said, nodding his head the biobeds. "It appears we will have an addition to the crew in several months."

Remembering the last time he was called into a similar conference, Archer allowed a teasing grin to settle on his features as he looked pointedly at Trip. "What did you do?"

"It isn't Commander Tucker, this time, Captain." Phlox clarified. "At least, he isn't the pregnant one."

"Then who?" Archer asked, turning his attention back to Phlox as his grin faded back to puzzlement.

The Denobulan tilted his head toward T'Pol. "It seems the Sub-Commander is expecting a bundle of Vulcan joy."

For the first time, Archer noticed the monitoring device strapped to T'Pol's abdomen. Then he looked again at Trip -- and noted that his "best friend" was doing his best to avoid looking him in the eyes.

All sense of teasing or puzzlement were gone as Archer turned to his chief engineer. "Of all the irresponsible...I knew the two of you were spending a lot of time together, that the neuropressure sessions were just to help you sleep. Obviously sleep is the last thing you've --"

Trip's head snapped up and he glared at Archer. "Now just wait a minute, Cap'n. This wasn't my idea any more than it was T'Pol's."

"Well of course it wasn't anyone's idea, but it's bound to happen when you start --"

Trip pushed himself up off the biobed, standing tall as he matched his commanding officer's ire. "Maybe if you'd wait for the doc to explain before you started harping on the two of us you'd know what was going on."

"I don't need Phlox to explain the birds and the bees to me." He turned his attention to T'Pol. "How long has this been going on?"

T'Pol, her face even more unreadable than usual, replied quietly. "The fetus appears to be three weeks along, but the Commander and I have not --"

"Three weeks ago, huh?" Archer cut her off and turned, again, on Trip. "It was awfully convenient how you disappeared for three days. I can't believe you would endanger the crew just so you two could enjoy a little holiday."

Trip took a step toward Archer, only to take it back as he felt T'Pol's hand on his arm. He took a deep breath to calm himself, even as T'Pol's innocent action stoked the fire quickly burning through Archer's mind. "I can understand you're thinkin' so little of me in this situation, but I can't believe you'd accuse T'Pol of the same. If you'd just let Phlox explain..."

"He's right, Captain." Phlox said, stepping to Archer's side, a PADD in hand. "Even if the Commander and Sub-Commander were intimate, it is unlikely a conception would occur."

Archer frowned at Phlox, some of the temper easing from his features as he regarded the Denobulan. "You said Vulcans and Humans were compatible."

"Oh, yes, they are. But a Vulcan-Human hybrid would require additional assistance to what Mother Nature can provide." Phlox handed the PADD to Archer. "Take a look at this."

"What am I looking at?" Archer glared at the display screen, remembering why he went into command instead of science.

"When I examined Commander Tucker and T'Pol after their disappearance, I found high hormone levels. Not knowing what they had experienced on the planet, I attributed it as the body's response to a high-stress ordeal.

"What I did not notice until recently, when the Sub-Commander began feeling unwell, was the presence of iron in her blood."

Archer, knowing little of Vulcan physiology, asked, "So?"

"Vulcan blood has a copper base, giving it a greenish tint while iron gives Human blood a red look. For T'Pol to have an iron mix in her blood is highly unusual."

By the furrow of Archer's brow, it was plain he did not understand what the doctor was saying.

Phlox tried for further clarification. "If someone was hoping for Human genetic material to survive in a Vulcan host, the iron would have to be introduced to create a welcoming environment."

"So, what you're saying," Archer asked incredulously, "Is someone abducted Trip and T'Pol for the soul purpose of breeding them?"

Phlox sighed. "Frankly...yes."

"Why?"

"That's what we'd like to know." Trip said, still standing next to T'Pol.

"The logical course of action would be returning to that planet and finding those responsible."

Archer opened his mouth to agree, but then quickly closed it and shook his head. "We can't do that. We're three weeks away. If we turned around now it would take a month, at least, to get back here. That's time we can't afford."

"But, Cap'n --"

"I'm sorry, Trip. You of all people know how important this mission is. We need to find the Xindi."

"Captain --"

"No, Doctor. Even if we did go back, there's no guarantee we'd find anything. Malcolm's team searched every inch of that planet when Trip and T'Pol went missing. There was no sign of anyone -- not even them -- during the three-day investigation."

Trip looked from Archer, to T'Pol, and back to Archer. "So what do we do?"

Archer shrugged his shoulders. "You tell me."

With that, he turned on his heel and left Sickbay.

~ ~ ~

"That went about as well as I'd expected."

T'Pol, still seated on the biobed, turned her attention from the closed Sickbay doors to Trip. "Indeed."

More than a little surprised by the captain's abrupt departure, Phlox nodded. "He is probably right. Even if we did go back, it is doubtful there would be anything to find. Wherever you were taken for those three days must have been very well-hidden."

"And whatever whammie they did on us was pretty effective." Trip shook his head. "I still can't remember anything that happened between taking those soil samples and waking up in the shuttlepod."

"Nor can I." T'Pol added. "It seems their medical technology is fairly advanced to have been able to create the hybrid. It is likely they had a sophisticated 'whammy' to prevent us from remember the ordeal, as well."

Phlox was about to say something when their was a high-pitched screech from the back of Sickbay. "Oh my," he said, looking at the chrono-display. "It is much later than I had thought. I forgot to feed the Aludan dune rat. If you will excuse me."

Leaving the PADD on the counter, he quickly followed the sound of the screeching.

Trip watched the Denobulan go, then looked at T'Pol. "Speaking of the...hybrid..." He resumed his place on the biobed, feet hanging over the edge so he could look at T'Pol.

T'Pol, in turn, focused her gaze on the flat of her abdomen. Despite the scientific proof and messages from her own body, it was still difficult to believe there was a living being -- a half-Human being -- growing inside of her.

When she did not answer, Trip continued, "I still can't believe it, really. I think when Phlox told me, I was still half-asleep. Then when he was doing all those tests and after with the captain...I guess I was just too stunned to really say or feel anything. But now...it is real, isn't it?"

T'Pol nodded, a Human trait she'd begun to emulate. Trip wondered if she even noticed that she'd picked up that particular habit. It was amazing, really, how much she'd become a part of the crew, a part of their culture. When he looked at her he didn't see Vulcan or alien...he saw T'Pol.

Now she was closer to Humanity than she ever wanted to be.

"I'm sorry, T'Pol."

"For what, Commander?"

"For this...for everything. I'm sorry."

"As we already explained to the captain, you had as much control over this as I did. Your apology is illogical."

Trip smiled. No matter how much time she spent with Humans, it was good to know T'Pol could still whip out the logic. "I can't help but feel a little responsible. It is my genetic material in there. We're still foggy on how it got there, but...Have you thought about what we're going to do?"

"I have reviewed several options, but any decision made will affect both of us."

"You more than me, but I want you to know that I'm here for ya." He leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. "Uh...I don't know know if you've even considered this route, and I hate to tell you what to do with your body, but, personally, I don't like the idea of just getting rid of it."

One sculpted Vulcan eyebrow rose slightly. "The thought had not occurred to me, Commander. Nor would I consider it an option."

"That's good." Trip felt a margin of tension in his shoulders ease. "I mean, if you had decided to...I'd stick by ya...but it's just not kosher with how I was raised."

"I did not realize you were Jewish, Commander."

"Jewish? Wha -- Oh, no. I'm not, I just meant the idea didn't sit well with me."

"Nor with me." T'Pol seemed to think about something a moment. "As you most likely know, Vulcans have an aptitude for certain levels of telepathy. During pregnancy, a bond is formed between the child and the mother, which is why termination of pregnancy is not heard of in our culture."

A looked crossed Trip's face that T'Pol could not read. "Have you, uh, bonded with the baby?"

"Yes, though I had not realized it. I believe that is why I have had difficulty concentrating of late. My sub-conscious has been divided, causing my thoughts to become unfocused."

"You've been daydreamin'?"

With her eyes cast down toward the fetal monitor, T'Pol did not notice the strange look that again graced his features. "That is an apt-enough term." She answered, grateful he did not ask what she had daydreamed about.

"So..." He leaned even more forward, placing himself in danger of toppling off the biobed. "We're keeping the baby."

T'Pol turned to look at him. "I already said you do not have to feel responsible, Commander."

"When I say 'we,' T'Pol, I mean it. We may not have gotten here the old-fashioned way, but we're both in the same boat."

Before T'Pol could discourage him, Phlox returned. "I believe we can remove that monitor now, Sub-Commander. Though I would like to see you again tomorrow morning to discuss prenatal care. I don't need to tell you that this will be a very special pregnancy."

"How'd you know we were going to continue with the pregnancy?" Trip asked, suspicious that Phlox had left the alone only to spy on them.

Phlox smiled, a "normal"-sized smile by Human standards. "Knowing the two of you, I did not doubt the outcome of your discussion. Nor should I be surprised that you are going to play an active role, Commander. You've grown up very much since your first pregnancy. I believe the two of you will make fine parents."

~~~
More to come...including Archer's skepticism and reactions from the rest of the crew.

Oh, by the way, while we're at it...
If you would like to vote for baby gender...please e-mail me (joycelyn_solo@hotmail.com) with a subject of either:

"Cultural Addition: It's a GIRL!!"

- or -

"Cultural Addition: It's a BOY!!"

Be sure to submit a review to FF.N, too, but votes must be e-mailed (makes it more of a surprise than if y'all can tally the votes yourselves).