Disclaimer: People who abused them sorely own them, not me.
A/N: Takes place after the final scene in "Terra Prime." Disregards the lack of T/T in "These Are the Voyages."
Between the Silences
They sat in mournful silence for a long time, holding each other's hands and thinking about the daughter they'd known for so brief a time. T'Pol had the IDIC pendant clutched tightly in her other hand.
Trip considered his words carefully before speaking. He knew that she might not find them appropriate, but he had to tell her. She needed to know how he felt.
"It's possible to have a healthy Vulcan-human baby," he began. "Which means that if we ever want to have another baby, we could."
T'Pol had been looking at a candle, but now she focused squarely on him. "You anticipate that we may choose to have another child together in the future?" She pulled her hand out of his to turn the IDIC pendant over, all the while looking at his eyes.
Blinking away a tear, he gave a small shrug. "Maybe. We've got this bond thing, an' as much as we get on each other's nerves, we can't seem to stop thinkin' about each other. The daydreams an' Columbia an' all, I mean. It's just… us." After he said it, the last sentence seemed to Trip one of the more ridiculous he'd said in a while.
She thought of her daughter. Motherhood had been thrust upon her, and she was initially somewhat uncertain as to how she ought to proceed. Illogical as it was, instinct took over, and she grew attached to Elizabeth in the short time she had spent with her.
"When I thought that she was gonna be okay, I thought that we'd have made a good family. It's not like we can ever replace Elizabeth, but maybe we could learn…" he trailed off, unable to find words to express how he felt. Certainly losing Elizabeth was devastating, but there was still that idea of a family. It gave him hope. He just lacked the ability to express all his jumbled emotions to T'Pol. Just when the bond could've come in handy, T'Pol gave him a confused look. Well, maybe his feelings were too jumbled for her to make sense of. He could hardly make sense of them.
"Our relationship is complex," she said finally. "I do not know what will happen in the future, but you are right about us. The nature of our relationship defies description, and yet it is persistent."
"Yeah. Persistent."
"Perhaps we should avoid rule out possibilities," she concluded. "Elizabeth was never considered a possibility, and we were prepared to raise her."
He knew that by "raise her," T'Pol meant "love her." It was one of those Vulcan things, because T'Pol was just as pained as he was. It was plain as day.
Tears welled up in his eyes again. "She was beautiful."
Reaching for his hand again, T'Pol looked at the pendant in her hand. "Yes, she was."
Mournful silence took over once again. They sat, holding each other's hands, thinking about their daughter. The IDIC pendant swung slightly, moving back and forth for several long moments until it was perfectly still.
