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, but with definite AU qualities.
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 Stub, the super beta
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Trip/T'Pol Romance; Mystery
Chapter Seven - What *was* so funny?
As T'Pol stepped into the turbolift at the end of her shift, she wondered about the coughing-fits that seemed to seize several members of the bridge crew. Though she had not noticed anything unusual about the environmental conditions, she would make mention of it to Commander Tucker. Humans, she found, were quite sensitive.
Pressing the control panel for Engineering, the sub-commander made a final glance back to the bridge and was not surprised to find several pairs of eyes watching her departure. As the turbolift began its descent, she leaned against the wall and allowed herself a moment to relax. Despite not showing any outward signs of her pregnancy, the internal signals were enough to tax every method of control she had. Sitting in the command seat for hours had been torture as the muscles in her back worked to compensate the burden she would eventually carry. Unlike Human pregnancies, Vulcan physiology prepared itself early so that the body's energy could be focused on the maturing fetus in later months. In addition to the physical changes, T'Pol was still becoming accustomed to wading through the different thoughts and emotions in her mind.
The baby she had become used to, Commander Tucker she had not.
At his own request, T'Pol was teaching the engineer to meditate and temper his thoughts so that he wasn't broadcasting them to her. She'd been surprised at how quickly he took to the lessons, but did concede that neuropressure and the mental disciplines shared some basic fundamentals.
Still, as far as she knew, no Human had ever been introduced to either aspect of Vulcan culture. Perhaps her people gave the Humans too little credit.
Then again, she amended as the turbolift slowed to a stop and she again straightened her spine, one could not judge an entire species by on individual.
It was possible that Commander Tucker was simply an extraordinary Human.
Whistling a nameless tune, the extraordinary Human strolled into the Armory and was surprised to see at least a dozen officers tending to various tasks.
Seeing the head of Enterprise security, Trip made his way over to him.
"Hey, Malcolm," the engineer greeted, sidestepping a young ensign as she hurried to do her supervisor's bidding. "What's going on here?"
Lieutenant Malcolm Reed looked up from the inventory list. "I figured since I can't really use any of the weapons systems right now, we'd redecorate the Armory."
Trip stared for a moment, not sure whether the younger man was joking or not. He shook his head, ignoring the image of tapestries hanging from the scaffolding that popped into his head. "I heard you wanted to see me. What can I do for you?"
"You didn't need to come up here to answer my question, Commander. I merely wanted to know when I can expect to have the phase cannons back online."
"Rodriguez and Hess should have them done in a couple more hours," Trip replied eyeing two security officers as they walked by carrying a case of phase rifles. "You had a chance to try out the grappler modifications, yet?"
"I can't very well grapple something while the ship's moving at warp speed, can I?" Malcolm shrugged. "I'm sure your improvements are adequate."
"Adequate? Malcolm -- they're the specs you wanted," Trip protested. "What's eatin' you this morning?"
"Afternoon," Malcolm corrected, turning away to address a question from a junior-grade lieutenant.
"What?" Trip asked, following the retreating security officer as he walked to the other end of the Armory.
Malcolm didn't bother turning as he answered, "It's afternoon, Commander. Not morning."
"Oh. Okay. Then what's eating you this afternoon?" Trip drawled, more than a little annoyed to be chasing the conversation.
"Nothing's 'eating' me, Commander, I --"
"That's the third time you've called me 'commander' since I got here two minutes ago. You wanna tell me what the problem is?" Trip stopped short. "Wait a minute -- does this have to do with me and T'Pol?"
Malcolm turned abruptly and regarded the engineer. "I thought there was no 'you and T'Pol.'"
"So that is what this is about." Trip crossed his arms over his chest defensively, anticipating a lecture from his friend. In hopes of getting it started and over with as quickly as possible, Trip asked, "What's the matter, Malcolm? You still got a crush on T'Pol?"
Malcolm's face reddened a bit. "First of all, I never had a crush on the sub-commander. I merely stated that she had a nice bum. And secondly," he turned and began walking away again, "nothing is the matter."
Trip continued the pursuit. "You're acting like there's something the matter."
"And you're acting like nothing's changed."
"What?" Trip stopped short again, noticing the curious stares from Malcolm's crew. "Y'think we should go someplace else to talk about this?"
"Why would you want to do that, Trip? It's not like we just discussed the intimate details of the past month during a staff meeting? Why would you have a problem discussing anything in front of my staff?"
Trip stared hard at the security officer. "I really have no idea what you're talking about, Malcolm. What did I do to tick you off?"
"It's what you didn't do." Malcolm handed the PADD he was holding to a nearby crewman and walked toward an unoccupied wall. When Trip joined him, the lieutenant lowered his voice so the group working in the vicinity could not hear them.
Trip waited expectantly for Malcolm to begin, but then gave up and prompted, "Well?"
"If you must know...I didn't appreciate finding out about your pending parenthood from Captain Archer during a ship's briefing. You've known for a month that T'Pol was pregnant and you kept the information to yourself. First of all, as head of security, I should have been informed of such a grievace breach. Not to mention that my closest friend abord Enterprise is going to be a father."
"Malcolm, I --"
"The safety of this crew is my responsibility, Trip. When you and T'Pol were missing, I felt I had failed the ship and my friend. When we found you, it was almost enough that nothing had bad happened to either of you. It turns out you were abducted -- violated -- and no one saw fit to inform the head of security?"
Trip's gaze fell to the tips of his boots, studying them intently. "I never really thought about that, Malcolm. I'm sorry. T'Pol and I weren't ready to tell anyone at first."
Malcolm nodded his head slowly in understanding.
Thinking they'd spent enough time talking about their feelings in the middle of the Armory, Trip asked in a joking tone, "So you're not really jealous of me and T'Pol?"
The lieutenant tilted his head to the side, narrowing his eyes. "Is there something to be jealous of?"
"No, not really. I mean, sure, we're having a baby together and -- " Trip trailed off and his mouth hanging open in surprise at the conclusion he'd just come to.
Malcolm grinned widely at his friend, seeing that he'd finally come to the conclusion many members of the crew were already drawing. Turning to rejoin his workers, he said over his shoulder, "You will, of course, name me godfather when the little bundle of joy arrives, won't you?"
In a bit of a daze, Trip walked back toward Engineering with his thoughts intent on the epiphany he'd had in the Armory.
Despite his declaration and efforts to be there for T'Pol in the past weeks, he hadn't given any true thought to his motivation behind it and what that meant for the future; how things would really be after the baby arrived.
For now, things were fine while they were aboard Enterprise -- despite the danger of their current mission -- but the starship was no place for a family. What were they going to do when the mission was over -- if they lived through it, at any rate. There was no guarantee that any of them was going to leave the Expanse.
Don't go thinking those kinds of thoughts there, Trip, he chastised himself. It's things like that that upset the baby. Redirecting his thoughts, Trip tried imagining that the mission was over and Earth was safe.
What then?
Trip'd worked his entire adult life to be part of the Warp 5 Project. Could he really throw all that away? Of course, he didn't have to be on a starship to design an engine for one. He was sure the boys back home could use some real-world experience to help them iron out some of the bugs in the lab simulations. But would T'Pol be up for settling on Earth? She'd spent a couple months at most in San Francisco before coming aboard Enterprise. He never thought to ask her what she thought of it; if she ever thought of calling Earth 'home.'
And could he really ask her that? She'd already sacrificed so much of who she was. As much as he liked to see her softening up toward the crew, he knew she lost a bit of what made her Vulcan with every concession she made. Should T'Pol be the one to sacrifice everything? Could he really ask her to give up everything for him and their child? Was he willing to make the same sacrifice?
Mired be even deeper thoughts than he was ready for, Trip was surprised to find he'd already arrived outside his office in Engineering. T'Pol was teaching him how to center his thoughts and block out the rest of the world for meditation, he didn't expect he'd ever start walking around while stuck in his own head.
Pressing the release on the door, Trip was a bit surprised by the sight of a shapely back clad in purple velour seated in his chair as she rearranged a stack of PADDs he'd been meaning to look over.
"Those your nesting instincts kickin' in?" he asked, stepping into the office moving to the other seat.
At T'Pol's raised eyebrow, Trip clarified, "Some Human mothers go on cleaning sprees when they're expecting. I thought maybe you were having a nesting fit."
"No, I am not having a 'nesting fit.' I came to report a possible problem with the environmental controls on the bridge."
"Really? Y'havin' hot flashes, now, too?"
Again she didn't seem to understand what he was talking about, so he cut her some slack and asked why she was cleaning his office. "Lieutenant Hess was able to handle diagnostic and informed me you would be back momentarily. I wondered if you would care to join me for lunch after my appointment in Sickbay."
Thinking that the two of them had a lot to talk about -- when didn't they? -- Trip smiled, "That sounds like a great idea, actually. Why don't I come with you to see Phlox?"
T'Pol looked at him a moment, as though trying to read his expression, before agreeing.
"Great. Just let me --" Trip grabbed the top-most PADD from the pile T'Pol had so neatly arranged and quickly scanned the screen. "You made a report of all my reports."
"I thought they would be more easily accessible if your logs were better organized," T'Pol offered, stepping to the door and waiting for him to join her.
"I don't know what Vulcans call it, but you're definitely doing some nesting."
~~~
More to come...
