Chapter 7

T'Pol was near Archer's biobed in sickbay. He was still unconscious. Phlox had told her that he was weak, but there was no danger of death. T'Pol watched how serene seemed his face, the thick eyelashes closed on those beautiful green eyes she longed to see once again. By instinct she raised her hand to brush his hairs ... she shivered at the contact. She asked herself what was the meaning of this emotion that was nearly overwhelming her. She was afraid to know ... Vulcans don't experience fear! she tried hard to convince herself of that ... but she lost.
Archer moaned, trying to open his eyes. When he focused T'Pol's face, he couldn't believe what he saw. A tear was rolling on her cheek.
"T'Pol!" he murmured.
T'Pol tried to regain her composure, drying her face with the back of her hand.
Archer felt flattered ... maybe she cares for me, a little ... he thought.
"How do you feel ... Captain?"
"Not bad ... it hurts only if I breathe" he tried to joke. "Were you worried about me?"
T'Pol raised an eyebrow: "Worried?"
"I'm not used to see you cry, T'Pol ..."
T'Pol couldn't deny it, so she remained silent, avoiding his eyes.
Archer raised a hand and gently stroked her cheek.
"There's nothing to worry about ... I'm here, I'm OK" he said, tenderly "Now, let me know what happened."
"After you left the surface, the shuttle was attacked. Lt. Parker couldn't return fire because the enemy was ... invisible."
"What?"
"Our sensors didn't trace anything out there ... but there was something firing on the shuttle." she paused "Lt. Parker made you beam aboard for your own safety and tried to reach Enterprise, but the shuttle was hooked."
Archer became worried: "And?"
"She decided to initialize the shuttle self-destruction. The shuttle exploded."
A shiver ran down Archer's spine.
"Where is Niki? Is she ..."
"She's fine. We could beam her aboard 1.5 seconds before the explosion."
Archer sighed in relief.
"You know ... she saved my life. I couldn't have forgiven myself if ... she died."
"I know, Captain" T'Pol silently thanked Niki for that.
Phlox appeared behind the curtain.
"Very well, very well! Our patient is awake" he smiled. Niki was with him.
"Glad to see you're OK, Captain." she said with a smile.
"Thanks to you, Niki." he said "I never suspected you could be so strong and good in close combat."
"When I went to Nepal, I didn't spend all my time in meditation, Sir." she winked at him.
"You're pretty full of surprises." he grinned and tried to get up, but Phlox pushed him down.
"No, no, Captain, you're not going anywhere right now. You need to rest and recover from your injuries."
Archer sighed: "Come on, Doctor, I need to go to the bridge and ..."
Niki interrupted him: "You're forgetting that T'Pol is the acting Captain, Sir. The ship is in good hands."
T'Pol nodded: "We have already reported the incident to StarFleet and we are making long-range scans to check if that "invisible" ship can be detected."
"So, everything is done and you can't desobey your Doctor's orders." Niki added.
Archer looked at both women and surrendered: "You two together can't be defeated."
"Don't even try, Captain." Niki gave an understanding look to T'Pol, who said: "Recover soon." then they left sickbay together.
Archer sighed again.
Phlox giggled: "Womens! Some of them are so charming, no matter what species they are. If you were Denobulan, Captain, you should marry them both!"
Archer looked at his Doctor questioningly: "Are you pulling my leg, Doctor?"

At the end of her shift, Niki went to her quarters to change for physical exercises.
She found Daniels waiting for her.
Her reaction was quick and furious. She catched him by the throat and put him against the wall, lifting Daniels from the floor without effort.
"You bastard!"
"Calm down, Niki" he said with muffled voice.
"It was a simple task to perform ... just get the shuttle and free my father! But your squad nearly killed the Captain! You're so stupid you're not even able to organize a fake attack. I was a fool to listen to you!"
"Niki, let me explain ..."
Niki sighed and let him go: "Just get out of here."
"Your father is safe ... he has already reached his destination and is in good condition."
"I don't give a damn about him!"
"Why are you so angry?"
"Those humanoids have risked to endanger the outcome of my mission!"
"Is this the only reason?"
Niki didn't answer.
"You're making a big mistake, Niki. You're putting your personal feelings in this mission, I need you to face this with detachment, otherwise ..."
"I'll do what I have to. I won't back down."
"I hope so." Daniels sighed "Next weeks will be quiet, so you will have time enough to prepare for the next move."
"I'll be ready."
He disappeared.

Enterprise had resumed course and Captain Archer had fully recovered from his injuries.
A few weeks had passed quietly and Niki had nearly completed shuttle flight tests. She was working around the last phase: shuttle weapons.
When she was off duty, she spent a lot of time with Hoshi and T'Pol. The three women had developed a good relationship and T'Pol seemed at ease when she was with them.
Niki had developed friendship with Archer too. They often had dinner or movie together. There was a strong attraction between them, and Niki was secretly pining for a kiss, but every time there was a moment ... Archer backed out.
Niki didn't want to push things, so she just enjoyed the time she could spend with him.
On the other side, Archer was trying to draw near T'Pol again. She seemed less edgy than before and Archer wanted to try to understand her better. The image of a crying T'Pol in sickbay was still in his head, he wanted to find out more about that.

Niki, Hoshi and T'Pol were together on the floor in the lotus position, forming a triangle; their eyes were closed and they were holding hands.
Niki was speaking calmly: "May your body be still and comfortable... May your head, neck and trunk be aligned... May your breath be smooth, slow, serene, and with no pauses... May the flow of thoughts in your mind not disturb you... May your meditation today bring you peace, happiness and bliss..."
Niki and T'Pol were perfectly relaxed, but Hoshi felt uncomfortable.
After a couple of minutes, she sighed and opened her eyes: "Sorry, I just ... can't concentrate, tonight."
"You don't need to concentrate, Hoshi ... you need to relax." Niki smiled "What's wrong?"
Hoshi hesitated.
"We might help." T'Pol added kindly.
"It's ... it's Malcolm ... I don't know if I did something wrong but ... he's been avoiding me lately."
"Oh, oh, heart matters!" Niki teased her. "Did you use too much "body language", Hoshi?"
"I don't know ... maybe he just doesn't like me."
"Or maybe he's running away, because he likes you too much." Niki said.
"Really?" Hoshi opened her eyes wide, full of hope.
T'Pol raised an eyebrow: "That's not logical."
"Humans are highly illogical, you should know that, T'Pol." Niki smiled "And men are so unpredictable when their hearts are into play. Sometimes they are afraid to show affection for a woman."
"I don't understand."
"If you want to learn more about human males, T'Pol ... you should spend more time with human women ... our point of view could be enlightening." Niki winked at Hoshi.
"I'm wondering how you developed your feelings for Lt. Reed after such a long time." T'Pol was curious about that.
"Oh I guess ... I was attracted to him from the very start ... but I'm not the kind of woman who bases a relationship only on physical attraction. It takes a long time to get to know well a man ... considering we're on a starship. And spiritual attraction is more important to me." Hoshi explained.
"Physique is important too, Hoshi. And you could say that Malcolm is well equipped." Niki chuckled.
Hoshi giggled.
"Yeah, he's got a nice ass, don't you agree?" Niki joked.
"Nice ass?" T'Pol looked both questioningly.
"A Vulcan could say that Lt.Reed's posterior is aesthetically pleasing."
"Niki, you're incorrigible" Hoshi laughed heartily.
T'Pol seemed confused by their behaviour.
Hoshi stopped laughing and asked to Niki: "So, what am I supposed to do about Malcolm?"
"Put him on the wrong track."
"What?"
"You showed him your interest ... and he didn't make the move. Now it's time you ignore him ..."
"But, Niki ..." Hoshi tried to protest.
"Men hate being ignored! Have a little fait, Hoshi ... you might be surprised."