Title: Demons Part 3
Part/Chapter: 2 of 4
Summary: Set after 'Demons'. My resolve of the Terra Prime crisis. Read this, if you didn't like what happened in the last two episodes :)
Spoiler: 4.20 'Demons'
Rating: PG-13 (just to be on the save side, or is it 'T' now?)
Disclaimer: If Enterprise would belong to me, there would definitely be a fifth season. But since this isn't the case… All characters of Star Trek Enterprise belong to Paramount.
A/N: I haven't watched 4.21 & 4.22 yet, but somehow I stumbled about pieces of information that I really don't like. This fanfic is the way 'Terra Prime' should have ended to give us ENT-fans at least one 'Valentine episode'.

Thanks for the nice reviews Kitty and Luna.
Thanks for the review, Princess Persephone, here is the update :)
Thanks for the review and the Alert List, Miranda Merlin. I can't bring myself to watch those episodes either. At least Beavis' contract is running out in 1,5 years and Butthead has a new show to play with…
Thanks for the review, LucreziaNoin86.

I would be happy to hear from you all again :)

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Chapter 2

Reluctantly T'Pol had rested a few hours in her quarters as Dr. Phlox had insisted her to do. Now she was sitting on the bed next to Trip's, her little daughter in her arms. When she had entered sickbay at 5.38AM, Crewman Peterson was still on night shift. He seemed to be surprised, that the Vulcan obviously cared and worried for her child and maybe even Commander Tucker. He gave his permission that she could pick up her baby and brought her a soft yellow blanket, which Crewman Cutler had laid ready for the child the previous night. The infant was awake and grateful that finally her mother had come to pick her up.

While holding her child, fragments of lyrics of an old Vulcan lullaby, her mother had sung for her as a child, crept to T'Pol's mind. It was only a few strophes she could remember, but soon she caught herself humming the slow and rhythmic melody. She eyed her child's content face, the faint smile on her little lips that was only suspended by a yawn. Absently she stroked the downy head, while her thoughts drifted to the events of the previous night.

"Is something wrong with her lungs?" T'Pol's look left her child's smiling face and met the stares of Phlox and Captain Archer. "Will she be fine, doctor?"

Phlox approached. "My medical scanners aren't calibrated for her physiology. She must have picked up some kind of bacteria that had made its way into her lungs. Her blood oxygenation is a little bad, but nothing to worry about, Commander."

"Can you cure her?"

"Not at the moment, but I'm confident that I will as soon as the monitoring equipment is calibrated. Lieutenant Hess has already promised to help in this issue." The doctor paused for a moment. "But to be honest, I can't tell you if her lungs will stay that weak. Only time will show us."

Captain Archer had finally walked away from Trip's bed and was now examining the little girl. "She looks so healthy." The child turned her head slightly into the direction of the ship's Captain, as if she would know, he was talking about her. A faint smile crept on Jon's features when his eyes caught sight of the pointed ears. "She is beautiful, T'Pol."

"I would suggest to let my patients rest. In the morning you will be able to hold your child, Commander. But until then, I want to check on you and I insist that you try to sleep for some hours."

"I am fine, doctor."

"Commander." Phlox watched the Vulcan withdraw her hand unwillingly . Before she followed him to his scanners, she reached for the white fabric that separated her child from her father. "I would prefer to let the curtain open."

A soft moan ripped the Vulcan out of her reverie and her eyes immediately wandered to Trip's bed. His head slowly rolled in her direction and when his blue orbs caught sight of her a bright smile appeared on his face. "Must be in heaven, when two so beautiful angels are watching over me."

"Hardly. You are far from death, Trip." T'Pol watched his already big smile grew bigger. "How are you?"

"As good as new. How is our girl?" Trip tried to push himself into a sitting position, but would have fallen back on his back, if T'Pol hadn't assisted him with her free hand. A hiss of pain escaped his lips, but once he saw his sleeping little daughter, all agony was vanished from his features.

"She is fine. But she won't be able to leave sickbay until Doctor Phlox can cure her infection."

Worry was evident on the engineer's face and he grasped with two of his fingers his daughter's tiny hand. "How serious is it?"

"At the moment she is breathing normally, but the doctor can't determine the type of bacteria, due to his medical scanners don't work on her physiology."

"I will work on this. Don't worry, T'Pol, our little one will leave this room soon." Trip was about to swing his legs over the edge of his bed, when a stinging pain rushed through his chest. All air was pressed out of his lungs and the hand that was stroking his daughter a moment before, was now clutched to his upper body.

The Science officer's hand rested on his shoulder. "At the moment my concerns for your condition are higher than the ones for our child's." She watched Crewman Peterson opening the curtain that had provided them privacy.

The young man checked the Commander's vital signs on the screen above the bed. "Commander Tucker, you have to lay down. You are severely injured."

"I'm fine, Jeff. I need to get my tools and get the work on the scanner started."

"Your concerns for our daughter's health are respectable, but it won't help her when her father is risking his life."

"You are exaggerating, T'Pol. I'm-"

"Besides, Lieutenant Hess is already working on the monitoring device."

"Sir, I must insist that you lay down. Otherwise Doctor Phlox will have to put those brown worms on your wound to help it heal." The Crewmen knew from previous visits of the engineer to sickbay that he gets the creeps only thinking about those animals sucking on his skin.

Trip rolled his eyes and relaxed a little – still sitting on his bed. "Fine, you won. Happy now?" Peterson gave the Commander a hypospray and left, closing the privacy curtain behind him.

Some moments in silence past, both Commanders' eyes were glued on the white curtain. Only the cooing sounds from the little bundle in the Vulcan's arms were to hear in the somehow awakened atmosphere of sickbay.

Trip looked back to the small child. He was about to ask T'Pol to finally hold her, but before he could speak up, she laid the girl carefully down in her father's arms. He frowned puzzled, but got his answer when she raised her eyebrow.

"I begin to like this bond-thing, you know?" With a proud and content smile Trip eyed his tiny daughter. "Hello, there." His hand stroked carefully over the infant's belly. "I'm your Daddy. And I love you very very much, my little angel." The Commander grasped one small hand and kissed it, causing the girl to smile up at him. "Hey, she is smiling at me." He began tickling the child's stomach and she started to laugh and kicked with her arms and feet.

"I never thought that human males would bound that fast with their child." T'Pol's words made him stop in his game with the girl and his confused look meet hers.

After a second his bafflement disappeared and he gave her the same proud and loving smile he had given their daughter a moment before. "Why should I have different feelings for my daughter than I already have for her mother?"

It took T'Pol some time to process this piece of information. "You love me?"

'Damit, it was too early!' The sparkle in Trip's eyes vanished, when he saw the Vulcan's uneasiness. Fear crept up inside him – he didn't want to loose her now, when there was finally a change they could work things out. "Look, T'Pol, I do love you with all my heart, but I don'-"

Before he was able to finish his torrent of thoughts, his lips were caught in a long and passionate kiss. Suddenly he felt other strong emotions - feelings that didn't belong to him. He realized that their bond must have deepened in the last days and that it were his Vulcan's emotions, he was now experiencing like his own. When Trip tried to 'send' his love for her to his beloved one, she slid her hand to the back of his neck and deepened the kiss even more. After a long moment T'Pol finally broke the kiss and moved some inches away from his face. She watched Trip turn his face away, so she wouldn't see the bright grin that had formed on his features. When he looked back at her, stroking his daughter's head absently, the former sparkle was back in his eyes. "That was unexpected."

T'Pol lifted her eyebrow once more. "Are you complaining?"

"Hardly." He smiled at her. Then he shifted his attention back to the infant in his arms. The little girl was yawning again and her eyes were almost closed. The Science officer sat down on the edge of Trip's bed, watching him and their child closely.

After a while, his eyes still locked on the infant's face, Trip spoke to T'Pol in a whisper, not to startle his daughter. "You know… when Phlox told us we would have a child … and you had no doubts he was right … I was totally confused and … afraid. I mean I wasn't sure if we had a relationship – I'm still not sure about this now – and if we could work things out, without breaking up or hurting each other. I asked myself, if we could care for a child together and what a father I would be? And on top of that, I didn't know if you ever wanted to have children." Trip paused and smiled down on his tiny daughter. "Then I remembered that if things had turned out differently in the Expanse, we would have married and would have had a son. …"

"Lorian."

"Yeah, he had told me how happy we were, that we never regretted the decision to spend our lives together. He'd shown me pictures of the three of us. It just looked so right." His sparkling eyes searched for T'Pol's, before Trip continued. "I don't really understand this bond-thing that's going on, but I know, we can work this out, not only for our daughter, but also for us."

"I'm also confident that we will work things out in this relationship."

"So… we have a relationship." Trip raised his eyebrows and a smirk appeared on his face, when he saw T'Pol's slightly sheepish expression. His hand grasped for her shoulder and he pulled her closer, kissing her light on the soft lips, their sleeping child between them.

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Soon after that kiss, morning shift had started and the dimmed sickbay started to wake up. Doctor Phlox had entered with two medic Crewmen in tow and his first tasked on that day was checking on the two Tuckers, while his animals were jumping up and down in their cages.

"Good morning, Commanders." The big smile seemed to never fade from the Denobulan's face. "How are my patients doing this morning?"

"Just fine, doc." Trip answered, while T'Pol stood up, holding her child and Phlox had a look on the Commander's injury.

"The wound is closing, no infection. You should be as good as new in some days." The doctor informed. "I would recommend, you take your daughter as example and try to sleep."

Trip escaped a moan and he rolled his eyes. "But I slept until now."

"But your body is still weak. Nothing is better than a little sleep, Commander." Phlox turned around and motioned T'Pol to lay the infant back into the medical box. She obeyed and wrapped the yellow blanket carefully around the child's body.

Before Phlox took care of the girl, he shifted his attention back on one of the Crewmen. "Crewmen Taylor, would you be so kind and feed the animals, before they wake the child." The answer was just a nod and a stare into the direction of T'Pol and her daughter.

The Science officer eyed the young man for a moment, remembering that he had joint Enterprise shortly after the Xindi probe was destroyed. Somehow she didn't like the expression, he had cast on her child.

"Commander? Is something wrong?" Phlox was a little concerned, when he saw the distant look in the Vulcan's eyes.

"No, doctor." Her interest was back on her sleeping child. "How is my daughter?"

"Her blood oxygenation is much better than yesterday."

"So she is doing better?" Trip asked concerned.

"Yes, Commander. Lieutenant Hess thinks the calibration will be finished till noon." Phlox was smiling again. "You should rest now." With those words he left the separated area, gesturing T'Pol to leave her family now.

Before she did as the doctor had suggested, the Vulcan stroked one last time over her daughter's downy head and then meet Trip's proudly sparkling eyes. "Sweet dreams, Trip."

A big smile appeared on his face, when he heard his nickname spoken by her in public. "See ye later." He watched his Vulcan close the curtain and then eyed his sleeping daughter.

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With a dark expression Dan Taylor watched Enterprise's SIC leave sickbay.

Crewman Cutler had noticed his stare and decided to join him feeding the strange creatures. She took some bugs and held them into a cage. When Dan didn't say anything she broke the silence. "I could hardly image Vulcans to be loving parents."

"I know what you mean. Hard to believe they can show affection towards their children with all their expressionless and cold attitudes."

Cutler frowned a little about this statement. "Commander T'Pol seems to deeply care for her child. You can clearly see that. Jeff had told me she had even hummed a lullaby for her daughter today in the morning."

"Hard to believe." The Crewman showed no emotion, his face hard as stone.

"And the baby is so cute. Always smiling."

"Sure, it is." Dan couldn't bear this conversation any longer and threw a handful bugs into each cage, finishing his appointed work fast. He left a confused looking woman standing between happily chewing animals.

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"Your eggs are getting cold." Hoshi looked startled up, still lost in her thoughts. Malcolm was gesturing towards her plate with scrambled eggs.

"May we join you?" Travis asked and sat down next to her, when she nodded.

Hoshi began digging her fork into her breakfast, not really acknowledging her two comrades. The two men exchanged a questioning glance, before the Armory officer finally began to voice their common curiosity. "A penny for your thoughts."

Sighting Hoshi lay her fork down on her half finished plate and pushed it a little away. "Have you seen Commander T'Pol today?"

Frowning both men shook their heads. "Why?"

The young woman winked Malcolm nearer and lowered her voice. "Yesterday, after you had arrested Paxton and his men, I went to sickbay to report to the Captain. When I arrived there, Trip and the child still must have been in surgery and outside… I saw T'Pol … crying … and Captain Archer comforting her." Hoshi looked down on her folded hands. "I felt so sorry for her. I want to know if she's alright."

"She cried?" asked Travis a little unbelieving. "Normally she is such a strong woman."

"No wonder, even for a Vulcan it must have been an extremely emotional situation. Seeing the own child and ex struggling with death." Malcolm took a sip from his coffee.

Hoshi and Travis were now alert. "Ex?" The Communication officer hissed . "So they really had something going on? Paxton didn't make this up?"

Malcolm was now caught. What should he tell them? How much was good? Or better – how much did he know about the couple? Looking to both sides, checking if someone was listening to their conversation, he whispered: "You have to keep this to yourself, understood? That's an order." When both of them nodded conspiratorially, he continued. "They had something, while we were in the Expanse. But when T'Pol had to merry that Vulcan, they broke up. After they were divorced, Trip and T'Pol seemed to have a tough time. Last thing I heard was that's over."

Travis leaned more towards his superior officer. "I suppose you know that by first hand."

"He told me this weeks ago." Malcolm finished his coffee. "But you don't say anything about this matter. You know nothing."

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Enterprise had reached Earth hours ago and the security teams of StarFleet had immediately taken care of Paxton and the other 'Terra Prime' members. Furthermore Captain Archer had some talks with Admiral Gardner and Samuels. The night was short for the Captain of the starship Enterprise.

Now he was on his way to sickbay, hoping to have a more pleasant talk with his friend. When he entered, his eyes caught instantly sight of Trip sitting upright in his bed, holding his daughter in one arm and a bottle in the other hand. One side of the separation curtain was pushed aside. Archer approached the engineer, smiling when he saw the proud expression on the other men's face. He had no doubts that Trip loved his little daughter and would always be there for her, no matter in what a relation he stood to the child's mother.

Jon watched in silence.

"Wanna know from whom you have your eating habits, sweety. Surly not from me or your Mommy."

"Something wrong, Trip?"

Jon's friend looked up and sighted. "When she keeps up with this speed, it'll be time for the next bottle."

"Maybe she doesn't like the milk?"

"Already tried that. She is just slow with drinking." Trip's eyes searched again for his daughter's beautiful face. "Something new, Jon?"

"Your parents were worried 'bout you and had contacted StarFleet while you were asleep. I was so free to talk to them. I told them that you were fine and would call them back in the next days."

"Thanks, Jon."

"You're welcome." The Captain changed the conversation to the topic he actually had come for. "How are you, Trip?"

"Just fine. Never felt better." The Chief Engineer smiled down at the little child, then he became a little serious again. "Phlox said, I can leave sickbay in the evening. But I will stay during night. Don't wanna leave my little girl here all alone with Phloxe's strange creatures."

Jon nodded, then frowned. "You haven't named her yet?"

"I have something in mind, but I wanna talk to T'Pol and hear her suggestions first." After a moment he added. "Do ye know, where T'Pol is?"

"Heard she's in Engineering helping Hess with the medical scanner."

"But telling me, I should rest." Trip grimaced.

Meanwhile the infant had stopped sucking and eyed with wide eyes the two men in her field of vision. Her father instantly noticed this and carefully removed the bottle, glad she'd finally finished eating. But as soon as the child had realized this, she stretched her little arms towards the bottle and frowned angrily. Slowly her eyes began to fill with big tears.

"Woah, she can look really angry!" Jon was astonished by the determined expression of the young child and grateful that Trip gave her the bottle back in time, before the girl could start crying.

"At least I'm sure that determinedness comes from her mother." Both men chuckled about Trip's comment.

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The rest of the day elapsed in no time, giving the young family no undisturbed moment together. Firstly the scanner was working and Phlox was finally able to destine the type of bacteria and began treating the infection, then at least half of the crew had visited sickbay – curious about the Human-Vulcan child. Most of them were very polite and congratulated the couple. Almost every female officer'd let drop something like 'she's so cute' and 'she's beautiful'. Some were quieter – unsure what to think about the situation yet.

After the last visitor had left Sickbay, Trip was too exhaust for an important conversation with his Vulcan. He was glad that she had noticed this - maybe with a little help from their bound.

The next morning T'Pol entered Sickbay with a plate of apple pie. Trip had insisted in staying with his daughter during night and was now feeding her. When he saw the Science officer approach, he greeted her with a warm smile and patted on the free chair next to him.

Once his eyes fell onto the plate, he raised both eyebrows in astonishment. "You brought me apple pie? How d-… the bond again." He rolled his eyes.

"I had the image of a hot piece apple cake in my mind since I woke up." She placed the plate next to the plastic box, their daughter had spent the night in.

"Sorry, dear. Didn't mean to disturb you. Malcolm just kept ranting about that delicious apple pie last evening."

"I wanted to bring you a piece as long as there is still one left. But it isn't warm anymore."

"It's the thought that counts." Trip leaned forward and kissed his Vulcan on the lips, appreciating that Crewman Cutler was off to Mess fetching them both a cup of coffee.

When they broke the kiss, T'Pol carefully picked her child up and continued feeding. Trip's interest was divided between T'Pol, his daughter and the cake. He took a bite from his breakfast, savouring the taste. "You know, this bond-thing isn't that bad." This comment earned Trip a mental poke. "Hey!" When he looked to T'Pol slightly annoyed, he felt she meant this chastisement playfully.

A moment past by, before Trip eventually asked what he wanted to know for months. "So what's the deal with this bond we share?"

T'Pol thought for a moment, while she put the bottle away and lifted her daughter to her shoulder, rubbing her back. "I'm not completely certain about this. Usually a bond needs a decade to establish to be nearly as strong as ours already is."

"A decade?" Trip almost dropped his fork and eyed his Vulcan skeptically.

"You have to consider that in Vulcan tradition the families arrange the wedding. Both betrothed hardly know each other. After the wedding the couple usually lives at least one year together to get to know each other. In this period the groundwork for the later bond is done." She wiped her child's milk smeared mouth and cradled the cooing infant in her arms.

"You said the bond would be established by 'mating'. So, what takes them so long?"

"Vulcan couples mate every seven years."

"And? I know …you can more often than all seven years."

Somehow shy, T'Pol fixed her attention on the baby's tiny hands. "My people doesn't discuss this, not among themselves, nor with others. …About the age of 69/ 70 every Vulcan passes through the Pon'Farr for the first time – the cycle of mating takes place every seven years from then on. …During the Pon'Farr our logic is replaced with… basic instincts… if we don't mate, we'll die."

"Die? You don't mean it, do ye?" Trip's face showed pure shock.

But T'Pol's expression told him she meant every word. "The Pon' Farr is fading to some extent when the first child is born. A child strengthens the bond the parents share and becomes part of that connection as well."

"That's why you believed Phlox."

"A child with you would be the only logical conclusion for our bond."

Trip let sunk in this new information. "So… because with all your logic… you Vulcans would hardly mate, nature invented that Pon'Farr thing to ensure your people would not decline." He eyed T'Pol's reaction – her slightly tilted head told him, she didn't consider his assumption too far away from a logical explanation. "What exactly is this relation? Is there an expression?"

"I suppose the most fitting term would be 'bondmate'."

The conversation had ended and a comfortable silence settled over the young family, both parents watching their daughter kick her legs. Trip reached for the girl's hand, holding it between his thumb and index finger – smiling proudly. "She's so beautiful."

T'Pol faced her bondmate. "I don't believe this was the topic you wanted to discuss with me yesterday."

"True." The engineer stroked the brown-blond hair of the infant. "She's almost six month old and has still no name. We should begin to think about one. Something we both like and that fits with her beauty."

T'Pol lifted her child to the shoulder and planted a kiss on the top of her head. "I think I've found a suitable name for our daughter."

Trip raised both eyebrows, curious for her suggestion. "I'm all ears."

"Elizabeth Tucker." (A/N: 'k, I went with the crowd) The Vulcan watched a big grin appear on her mate's handsome face.

"Thought, naming a child after an ancestor is very illogical."

"I found a certain logic in this human tradition. And I believe you would have suggested this name as well." T'Pol raised an eyebrow questioning, earning a light kiss on her lips.

Breaking away Trip lifted his daughter from her mother's shoulder, holding her up in the air. "So, it's Elizabeth Tucker then. … Hello, little Lizzie. How do you like your name?" The infant giggled joyfully, pleased being centre of her parents' attention.

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A/N: I wanna know, if you would like to have a chapter (chapter 4) about Trip's parents meeting their granddaughter or a sequel to this story - about Elizabeth growing up on Enterprise?

A/N2: I will keep my faith of the heart and will continue to hope that 'Terra Prime and TATV' aren't the final journeys of Enterprise and that those two catastrophes aren't un-alterable – for a good writer as Manny Coto is, it would be more than easy, I assume.
And even if Enterprise and Star Trek remains off air for the next years (I suppose that it will be much more than 5 years, if we fans doesn't keep our voices heard) there is still fanfiction, and our vision of the Voyages of StarTrek:Enterprise. (Sorry, I just have to encourage myself to keep writing…)

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