The Ambassador

A/N: Thanks to everyone for your kind words. A special thanks to Gammara. This chapter is a breather before things really crank up. I may have to go to M before I am finished.

Chapter Nine

The sterile odor is pungent and nearly takes my breath away. Once again here I am, lying on my back in Starfleet Medical. 'I am so tired of this.' A sigh escaped my lips.
"Are we bored? Don't you enjoy my company, T'Pol?" "You know what's wrong, Phlox." Shocked at the raspy sound of my voice, I glared at him. "How long are you going to keep me?"

With a look of indifference he went on, "You haven't even asked what we did while you were under and I was looking forward to going over the procedures with you. Don't you realize it's not often I get to perform such a delicate operation, T'Pol, and I'm quite proud of myself, actually. We even did a few extra nips and tucks while we had you under."

He had my attention now. "What do you mean by nips and tucks, Phlox? I was of the understanding you were going to do some minor corrective surgery to my glands."

Come on T'Pol, humor me, please, just play along and ask, alright."

"I thought I just did." My words were slightly sharper than I intended, but I was getting perturbed. 'I seem to be more emotional, lately.'

"I have someone I would like you to meet, T'Pol. Remember, I told you about my colleague who wanted to assist with your surgery; well, you were already under when he arrived so I couldn't make the proper introductions, but he's here now. Sural, will you come in here."
It was impossible to hide my surprise. Standing over me was a Vulcan.
"T'Pol, this is my friend and colleague, Dr. Sural."

Stammering and barely able to speak clearly, I finally tucked my head in acknowledgment and uttered, "Dr. Sural."

"Ambassador T'Pol, it is an honor to at last meet you. Phlox and I have discussed you many times over the years."

I was at a loss for words. He was almost smiling at me and his arched brows indicated that he was enjoying my look of astonishment.

"How are you feeling, Ambassador?"

Trying to clear my throat again, I attempted to speak. "I'm not sure, Dr. Sural, please, excuse the hoarseness, I haven't been awake long….and please call me T'Pol."

"Perhaps it will help if we explain a few things, T'Pol." Dr. Sural looked up at Phlox and I saw him nod, evidently, indicating for him to continue.

"Thanks Phlox, first, the hoarseness in your voice will be with you for a few days, we corrected the damage done to your larynx and your esophagus. Phlox, perhaps you would like to explain the rest to her."

Now I was concerned again but as Phlox came around beside Dr. Sural, he broke into a rather large smile.

"Certainly, my pleasure, I am happy to inform you that we have cleaned up the scar tissue where your knees and ankles were broken, T'Pol, we believe that you're going to regain a large portion of your mobility." His eyes sparkled.

"I can't wait to tell you in more detail about the procedure we used. The Vulcan Medical Academy perfected the method using this splendid tool that Dr. Sural brought with him. I tell you T'Pol, it was amazing, it helped us safely reconstruct your birthing canal."

I was stunned; I hadn't even thought that far ahead, the birthing canal, 'I can't even comprehend the fact that I'm pregnant and your talking of natural childbirth.'

"Jonathan expressed a desire for you to give birth without a C session if at all possible. I assumed that you two had already discussed this in detail." Phlox had a look that indicated he wasn't so sure now.

"That's alright, Phlox, to be honest with you I would like nothing better, it just hadn't crossed my mind yet. I 'm still shocked by the news that I'm pregnant. What about nursing? That was the reason for this surgery, wasn't it?"

Dr. Sural leaned in closer, "You will be able to nurse and as your body adjusts to the new sensations, the discomfort will disappear. Your stomach is the most challenging; we want to consult with more of our colleagues from the Vulcan Medical Academy before we attempt any surgery. We will wait until after the birth of your child.

"Phlox did a marvelous job the first time, T'Pol, but since then, we have made phenomenal advancements, I want to help rectify the damage we caused not coming to your aid when you so desperately needed us. I hope you can forgive your people for their ignorance."

"I don't know what to say, Doctor," I was shocked.

"Just say yes to whatever we decide to do, and trust us, T'Pol. We will also be with you throughout your pregnancy. Now you need to rest. Phlox is going to give you something to help you into a healing trance. You'll awake in a few hours feeling considerably better than you do now. Then you have many visitors waiting to see you."

I looked over at Phlox, for clarification. "Ambassador V'Lar has been in several times and so has Hoshi."

Hesitating a moment, he went on, "Ral has called several times. He is here, T'Pol. Shran brought him and his delegation in late last night and he is being housed at Starfleet Academy. Ral believes your injuries are still related to the bombing, it's amazing how realistic his concerns appear to be."

Shuddering at the thought, I asked, "Where is Jonathan?"

"He has gone to see Captain Reed. He left shortly after you went back to sleep, I believe he wanted to see what Malcolm had planned. Now lets get you into that healing trance."

I felt the hypo-spray then nothing else.

Five hours later I awoke feeling refreshed and considerably more comfortable and I had a ravenous appetite. "Phlox," still hoarse, I called out again. "Phlox, I'm starved, could you send someone to the cafeteria and see if they have any plomeek soup?"

"I'll be right with you, T'Pol, it's nice to hear that you're hungry. I'll just finish feeding my guests and be right with you. I'll call the cafeteria and see what they have that they can send up here. It's after hours, but they may still have something."

"What time is it, Phlox?" I searched the walls but found nothing that would indicate the time. Thank heaven my eyesight was returning to normal. I waited but there was no response. 'Perhaps he has slipped to the back.'

I felt amazingly better. Not even a queasy stomach to contend with for a change. 'Perhaps the worst of the nausea is over.'

The doors slid open and then I heard Jonathan's voice. "Phlox, where are you?"

"Jonathan, I believe he has gone to the back or perhaps to the office." I raised my brows as he peered around the corner of my draperies that were hiding me from the front entrance.

"Well, what do you know, it looks like my favorite Vulcan is awake." Smiling he came on in and sat on the corner of the bed, and leaning in, he kissed me.

"Where have you been, Jonathan?"

"Well, I've made the rounds, as soon as I was sure you were alright, I went to see Malcolm. After I made him mad I left and went to talk to Marshall. Made him mad too. I made some phone calls, trying to find us a place secure to move into. I came back here, but you were out again for the count so I went to get some lunch. Then the funniest thing happened and I thought I'd better come back here to see Phlox, but, I got hung up talking to people all wanting to know how you're doing, finally here I am. Where'd you say he went?"

"I'm right here." We watched as Phlox came around the corner pushing a stainless steel cart, not one from the Lab but one from the Cafeteria. "Dinner is served. T'Pol, your request has been filled, the Chef made Plomeek soup just for you; it's fresh and I might add it's really hot. Admiral, did you want to see me for a reason?"

"Ah, yeah, as a matter of fact, I did, I'm not feeling so good. I got sick when I stopped for lunch. No one else had a problem with it but the smell made me sick enough that I had to go to the Head, now I'm feeling funny again just smelling T'Pol's soup."

I lowered my eyes.

"T'Pol, how are you feeling now?" Phlox had sat the open bowl of soup in front of me.

"I feel fine." I didn't look up.

"Admiral, what time was it exactly, when you felt nauseated the first time? Was it approximately five hours ago?"

"As a matter of fact it was, why?"

I could feel Phlox staring at me. I shook my head. "I have no idea Phlox."

"Well I believe I do and I think you do too. Might it possibly be Transference, T'Pol?"

Jonathan's mouth dropped. "T'Pol, how could you."

"I didn't intentionally. Remember, I was in a deep healing trance five hours ago." Now I was pouting. It had felt so good being free of the nausea. I really hadn't transferred my morning sickness to him, had I?

TBC