Putting Together the Puzzle
Later that evening, the Captain, Hoshi and Travis were all seated and having dinner in the Mess Hall. After talking about the ship's good condition, the Xindi Mission and how everybody was, Travis had begun a new topic that seemed to strike an interest.
"Did anyone notice weird behaviour coming from Trip and T'Pol over the last few days?" Travis asked and then bit into his steak.
"Yes." Hoshi dropped her knife and fork, pouring all her attention into the new, more important topic. "I went into Engineering the other day and I saw trip and T'Pol talking very privately in the corner."
"That could have been about work." The Captain intervened.
"I know, but they seemed quite close and when they separated, they couldn't take their eyes off each other." Hoshi wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
"And what about this morning? Trip carrying T'Pol's clothes? And the lame attempt at lying." Travis asked incredulously.
"He was carrying his clothes?" Captain Archer said, very surprised.
"Haven't you noticed anything sir?" Travis asked.
"Well, now that you mention it, I'm fairly certain that Trip lied to me this morning." The Captain saw two confused faces staring back at him. "When you've known Trip for as long as I have, you know that he's a rotten liar." The Captain smiled, but continued. "Anyway, he seemed like he was in a rush and I asked where T'Pol was and he said the Mess Hall. She wasn't there."
"Trip said the same to us, but as we were just in the Mess Hall, he fed us some line about T'Pol being in Sickbay." Hoshi revealed.
Before anyone else could say anything, Malcolm and Doctor Phlox stood before them.
"Do you mind if we join you?" Doctor Phlox asked, cheerily.
"Not at all." The Captain welcomed and pulled up two more chairs to the table.
"We were just discussing the Commander and Sub-Commander's strange behaviour." Travis updated. Doctor Phlox instantly looked down to his food, trying to avoid the subject. He had doctor/ patient confidentiality to keep to.
"Speaking of that," Malcolm tuned in. "I did a crewman count and position quite early this morning, about 0700 I'd say, and Sub-Commander T'Pol was in Trip's quarters." Travis, Hoshi and Captain Archer looked at each other while they processed this new and shocking news. Everyone seemed deeply interested except for Doctor Phlox.
"Haven't you noticed anything, Doctor?" Came the question the doctor was dreading. Since he had been a small child, he had never been able to lie successfully well.
"Nothing out of the ordinary." Doctor Phlox answered the Captain neutrally.
"You know that every time you lie your nostrils flare, right?" The Captain laughed, as did everyone else.
"Ah, so that's how my parents caught me." The Denobulan smiled.
"So what do you know?" Hoshi asked, every pair of eyes now on Doctor Phlox. He sighed; he'd never been able to keep a secret for long either.
"Sub-Commander T'Pol came in this afternoon, claiming that she has had problems concentrating the last few days… that her emotions have been out of her Vulcan control." The doctor muttered. He left out the part about Commander Tucker, although he was sure they'd figure it out.
"Ok, so let's get this straight," Malcolm concluded. "T'Pol and Trip are acting coupley in Engineering, he lies about her whereabouts, it turns out she was in his quarters in the early hours of the morning, and T'Pol is having emotional problems. Did I leave anything out?"
"I don't think so." Hoshi replied.
"So what does this all mean? I mean, you don't think that…" The Captain trailed off, but he thought that everyone had come to the same conclusion.
"It's a possibility. Well, more than likely actually, when you consider the facts." Doctor Phlox answered. Everyone played with their food for the rest of the meal until Hoshi looked up.
"I think this could be a good thing. For both of them." Hoshi said. With uncertain nods coming from all directions, no one picked up that Captain Archer felt a little confused and jealous.
