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SUMMARY: An Archer/T'Pol romance fic set during Christmas 2155. This takes place approximately 11 months after the season 4 episode Terra Prime. It's set on Earth, in Lake Tahoe, California.

Christmas at Lake Tahoe

Chapter 1

Christmas Eve 2155

Jonathan smiled as he watched Porthos sleep, all curled up by the fire. It was beginning to die down so he threw another log into the fireplace and watched the flames as they flickered to life. He warmed his hands briefly. He leaned back against the sofa, crossed his legs and sipped at his sherry.

He felt mellow and relaxed. Playing in the background was a favourite Christmas song of his — Carol of the Bells, performed by the New York Philharmonic. Outside the snow continued to fall relentlessly from the heavens, blanketing the area in a carpet of snow. There was no need to worry about not having a White Christmas.

As he watched the flames dance he found himself thinking about the past. This Christmas was different; it was quiet, relaxed and the first one he'd spent on Earth in a long time.

Two years ago he'd been in the Expanse. In trying to locate the Xindi weapon he hadn't given the holidays much thought. Chef had organized a Christmas dinner for the crew, but he hadn't attended. And last year they'd had celebrations aboard the ship, but he'd been distracted by their mission to the Berengarius system. Most of Christmas day was spent in his Ready Room reading over the data Starfleet had sent.

Tonight there were no reports or duty rosters to read. Instead, he and the rest of the crew had been granted two weeks shore leave whilst Enterprise's systems were upgraded. They'd been called back to Earth for a retrofit. This could have been done in February or March but Gardner had told him in confidence that he'd moved it up so the crew would have a chance to spend the holidays on Earth. He thought it would be a good way of lifting crew morale.

Archer had agreed — T'Pol herself had mentioned to him a few weeks previous that the crew's efficiency was down by several percent and that shore leave was in order. They hadn't had a break or been back to Earth since the Terra Prime incident eleven months ago.

However there was a downside to him spending Christmas on Earth — it meant spending it alone. Why did this bother him? It wasn't as if he was the most social animal on board Enterprise. Recalling the last two Christmases he'd practically spent them alone. Maybe it was because even though he'd been alone, there were people all around the ship and he'd been secure in the knowledge that if he had wanted company he could have sought it out.

After Gardner had given him the order to return to Earth he'd tried to decide what to do with all the spare time he'd have on his hands. His first idea was to remain in San Francisco. He could catch up on some reading, pore over some starcharts — that sort of thing.

Word has spread quickly that Starfleet's flagship was returning home, and he'd received a few invites. An old friend from Stanford had got in touch and invited him up to Seattle; another was from an aunt in upstate New York who he hadn't seen since he was seven. Rebecca had sent a note, inviting him to Christmas dinner with her family. He appreciated her kindness, but didn't want to intrude. She was married now and had her own life. He doubted her husband would have wanted an ex-boyfriend at the dinner table. Besides, it would have been weird…

In the end he'd decided to come up here. He'd bought this house not long after graduating from flight school. He'd had his eye on it even when he'd been dating Margaret, thinking it would be a great weekend retreat. It was only a 2-hour drive or a short shuttlepod ride from San Francisco. It was a small vacation home — 2 bed, 2 bath, living room and kitchen. It was nothing extravagant — but great for a weekend away. And the location was ideal — lakefront.

But he'd never used it much. Once he'd got involved in the NX-Project he'd never seemed to have any spare weekends. Then when he'd become captain of Enterprise he'd decided to rent it out and employed a leasing agency to take care of it. The current lease had run out 2 months ago and the place, while kept up by the agency, had remained empty.

His eyes roved around the room and he smiled to himself. This place had a homey feel about it, more so than his apartment back in the city. In the far corner of the room was a piano that had been taken out of storage when Jonathan had purchased the house and transported up here. It had originally come from the house of Henry Archer, and been put in storage after his father died. It had been a gift for him from his father on his 10th birthday. After Henry died he didn't feel like playing it much.

But they say time heals all wounds…and by his 20s he'd regained his enthusiasm for playing the piano. There was no room for it in his San Francisco abode, so bringing it up here seemed ideal. He might try playing a few tunes on it tomorrow, he thought.

Overall, it had seemed a good idea to come up here. He could get a little skiing in if he wanted, take a boat out on the lake, or even try his hand at poker at the nearby casino on the Nevada side. South Lake Tahoe was a great place to spend a few days.

He refilled his empty glass with more sherry and wondered what his shipmates were up to. He knew Trip was in Florida with his family. He wondered if T'Pol had accompanied him. He presumed she had. Neither one of them had actually informed him of the status quo of their relationship but he guessed that they were together.

Malcolm had reluctantly travelled to Malaysia to visit his parents. Travis and Hoshi had departed on a trip to the Grand Canyon, hoping to walk from the south rim to the north rim, staying overnight at the famous Phantom Ranch. Phlox had returned to Denobula to spend some time with his three wives.

It seemed everyone had someplace to go — family to be with. He was the only one who was truly alone. Times like this he wished he hadn't been an only child — it might have been nice to have a younger brother or sister. It didn't bother him when he was on Enterprise — he considered the crew his family, but right how he felt a little isolated.

Tomorrow he'd feel differently; he'd be too busy enjoying the view and the fresh air on his skin as he tried out the surrounding ski slopes.

He heard the antique grandfather clock in the hallway chime in the new day. It was midnight; Christmas Day had arrived.

"Merry Christmas," he whispered to Porthos.

Jonathan stared out onto the lake from his living room window. It was a glorious morning — the sun was shining, it was no longer snowing and the sky was a cloudless brilliant blue.

He had breakfast and then opened up the presents some of the crew had given him before they'd all gone their separate ways. The senior staff minus Trip and T'Pol had gathered together at the 602 Club for a Christmas drink a few nights ago. Hoshi had collected all the neatly wrapped up parcels for the captain and handed them over to him, on the strict condition that he wouldn't open them until Christmas morning. He'd give her his word of honor. Now he looked them over and wondered which one to open first.

He'd made sure the entire crew received gift certificates from him — it was impossible to buy individual gifts for a crew of almost 90. For members of the senior staff he'd bought personal gifts — a book on homeopathy for Phlox who'd been researching this form of alternative medicine, a computer game based on the film Star Wars for Malcolm and a model of Cochrane's ship Phoenix for Travis. For Hoshi he'd bought a silver chain and matching earrings and a bottle of the finest bourbon for Trip.

T'Pol's gift had been a little more complicated. Gardner had given him a month's notice of the retrofit so it had given him time to organize something. He'd contacted a jeweller's in the Vulcan capital of Shi'kahr asking them for advice on Vulcan jewellery. With the shop owner's help he'd picked out a gemstone called Z'liuma that was reminiscent of an Earth ruby and asked for a necklace to be made from it. The item was to be delivered to Jonathan's Earth address.

He'd been disappointed to discover that the necklace hadn't arrived in time and that it probably wouldn't be delivered until after the New Year.

Well it didn't really matter now…he could give it to her when they re-boarded Enterprise. After ordering it he'd had second thoughts. Was it appropriate for him to be buying jewellery for his chief engineer's girlfriend? That is if she was. But he assumed they'd both see it as a gesture of friendship.

Turning his attention to his own gifts he opened the one from Hoshi; careful not to rip the shiny golden paper she'd wrapped it in. He smiled as he gazed at what she'd bought for him. It was a revised edition of the astronomy book his father had given him when he was eight. When they'd seen the Arachnid Nebula for themselves it was discovered that it was in fact 8 billion kilometres in diameter, not 6.5 as the book had originally stated. Hoshi had made some remark about sending the readings to the publisher so they could put out a revised edition, but he'd thought nothing more of it. It seemed she really had done that.

Malcolm had given him the latest sci-fi thriller by one of his favourite authors. He'd have plenty of time up here to read it. Travis had bought him a music disc — a collection of classical pieces by Mozart, Chopin and Vivaldi. Next he opened Trip's gift which he guessed the engineer had passed onto Hoshi before he'd left for Florida. It was a diving mask with a note attached — for our next dive in the Keys.

Phlox had also included a gift — a bottle of expensive cologne. His note said he'd been told this brand was just the ticket for attracting the ladies. Jonathan laughed at the thought of Phlox in some department store being served by an overzealous sales assistant who would tell Phlox anything in an attempt to reach her monthly target.

With all the packages opened, he collected up the paper they'd been wrapped in and neatly folded it away. Then he remembered an unopened package in the bedroom, which he went to retrieve.

"Hey boy," he called to Porthos, as he returned to the living room. "Hoshi told me this one's for you." The dog trotted up to his master to investigate what the fuss was about. Jonathan opened it up to reveal a dog coat made from wool. "This will come in handy up here, won't it?" Porthos cocked his head to the side. "Wanna go for a walk and try it out?" The dog barked in agreement.

Jonathan placed the coat over Porthos' back and went to retrieve his ski jacket. Despite the sun's warming rays the temperature remained in the low 20s outside. It was prudent to wrap up warm. Putting on his scarf, gloves and jacket he then attached Porthos' leash to his collar and they exited out the door together.

His house fronted the lake and they walked along the trail that followed the water's edge and led into town. Jonathan's feet crunched against the snow as he inhaled the mountain air, which was icy with a slight hint of pine. It was breathtakingly beautiful here; he was glad of his choice in coming here. He just wished he had someone to share it with. Well at least he had Porthos…

It wasn't like him to be melancholic. Running a starship kept him so busy he didn't have time to get depressed or blue. At the end of the day he was normally too tired to even think.

Now he could think to his heart's content, and he found his thoughts turning to T'Pol and what might have been. He imagined she'd like it up here — she appreciated beauty. He could imagine her saying how the lake and mountains were aesthetically pleasing.

There'd been a time, about three years ago when he'd believed she might return his feelings. But that was before the Expanse…

She'd been on board Enterprise less than a year when he'd become aware of his attachment to his Vulcan first officer. At the time he'd tried to ignore his own feelings, telling himself it was exactly what Phlox diagnosed — sexual attraction. It wasn't until he discovered she was suffering from Pa'nar syndrome that he allowed himself to acknowledge that he was in love with her.

But he'd never told her; he didn't deem it appropriate. That didn't stop him wishing that secretly she felt the same way. Her concern for him over A.G.'s death had been touching, and fed the hope that one day she might feel more. One of his fondest memories was watching the dark matter nebula come alive before his eyes, with T'Pol at his side.

Then the Xindi attacked Earth and everything changed. He pulled away from everyone, especially T'Pol. By the time the mission was over, he was a different man. During that time, while he'd isolated himself from everyone, his chief engineer and first officer had sought solace in each other's arms.

He didn't blame them — he was sure they weren't the only couple on board who had done so. At first he'd thought it had been a fling or one nightstand — though he knew nothing of the particulars. War did strange things to people.

They seemed an unlikely couple — T'Pol had always appeared to display disdain for Tucker. At times he'd worried they would never come to like each other. Well he didn't need to worry about that anymore, the Expanse had seen to that.

Being so engrossed in the mission, he hadn't given their relationship much thought. Technically it was against Starfleet regulations — Trip reported directly to T'Pol. In other circumstances he might have politely reminded them of the rules. However he'd had far more pressing matters to deal with. And then he'd pondered what he would have done in Trip's shoes. Would he have turned the beautiful Vulcan down because of regulations?

Their relationship wasn't bought to the fore until they'd encountered Lorian and the second Enterprise. Then the facts spoke for themselves — the T'Pol and Trip of the other timeline had been husband and wife and their union had produced a son.

He didn't know if the Trip and T'Pol of his timeline were in love or wanted to get married, but felt it wasn't his business. If either one of them wanted to confide in him, they would have.

When he'd heard that Trip had accompanied T'Pol to Vulcan, after the Xindi mission had ended, he wondered if she'd taken him to get her mother's approval on her choice of mate. When news of T'Pol's wedding on Vulcan had first filtered though, his initial thought was that she'd married Tucker. It wasn't until he met up privately with T'Pol upon her return that she informed him she'd married Koss.

Soon after their mission to The Forge her marriage had been dissolved and he'd assumed that Trip and T'Pol picked up from where they left off. So it was more than likely to think that she was in Florida with Trip's family at this moment.

So whatever feelings he had…well they'd always be unrequited. If the Xindi attack hadn't happened, if he hadn't pushed her away perhaps it would have been different. But there was no point dwelling on the past. He hoped she and Trip would be happy together.

After a twenty-minute walk Jonathan turned around and headed back towards the house. He hoped to get some skiing in this afternoon after lunch. Porthos seemed in a hurry to get back; Jonathan hoped it wasn't because he was cold.

They turned the corner away from the water, and headed up the steps to the house. Jonathan opened the door, undid Porthos' leash and the dog rushed in. He locked the door and went to find his dog. Porthos was sitting by the fire, warming himself up.

"So you were a little cold, huh boy?"

The dog barked back. "How about some cheese to warm you up?"

The animal recognized the word cheese and began to bark and wag his tail madly. Jonathan went into the kitchen and took some cheese out of the refrigerator. Porthos eagerly followed.

After feeding his dog several cubes of cheese, Jonathan made himself a sandwich. He sat down in the living room to eat it, turning the television on. He flicked through the channels until he came to the Weather Channel — the forecast was excellent and the skiing conditions perfect.

He placed his plate in the sink; he could wash it up later and went to change into
his ski suit.

He rented a pair of skis and boots from the sports shop situated right next to the gondola. Then he queued up to board the Heavenly Mountain Resort Gondola that would take him to the top of the 10,000ft mountain.

The 2.4-mile journey took less than 10 minutes. As the altitude changed he remembered to blow his ears; something his mother had reminded him to do the first time he'd ever taken a ride in a cable car or gondola. That had been in Palm Springs — Sally Archer had finally persuaded her husband to take some time off from the Warp 5 Project and they'd travelled south to the desert resort for a few days. Jonathan, who'd been five years old at the time, had found the whole trip very exciting.

He'd been intrigued by the facts and figures and read up on them as they'd waited to board the aerial tramway. His mother had sat by and smiled, muttering something about him being his father's son.

He was awoken from his memories as the gondola doors opened. He stepped onto the moving platform and then exited to the skiing area. He felt the change in temperature keenly — the elevation change was over 2000ft. He surveyed the surrounding area, it was covered in snow packed powder. There was a tinge of excitement in his belly. He just hoped he wasn't rusty — it had been years since he'd been skiing.

He studied the trail map and decided to begin with an intermediate slope. He'd been on black runs before, but he didn't want to chance one today as he was out of practice.

Jonathan took in the beauty that surrounded him; it was awe-inspiring. The mountains were covered in a white blanket of snow. At the foot of the mountains he spied the lake. The waters looked a sapphire color from his elevation. Heavenly Valley lived up to its name — it had a heavenly feel about it.

He breathed in the cool mountain air and slowly exhaled. Having admired the scenery long enough he decided it was time to take to the slopes. He pushed his ski poles into the snow and propelled himself forward.

The slope was steep and his speed was fast. It was exhilarating, the cold mountain air rushing passed his face, the trees blurring out of focus as he whizzed by them on his journey to the bottom. He was having fun. All too quickly he was at the bottom. He felt his heart racing from the adrenaline rush.

This was fun, and he wasn't as out of practice as he'd thought. He skied over to the chair lift to take him to another peak.

After two hours he decided to take a break — the cold had started to nip at him. A nice cup of hot coffee ought to do the trick and warm him up a bit. He skied over to one of the mountain cafes that were dotted across the resort. Removing his skies, he ambled inside.

The smell of coffee and hot food greeted him. He realized he was hungry as well as cold — he'd only had one sandwich for lunch and skiing had given him a real appetite. He ordered a cheeseburger, large fries, a large mug of coffee and a hot apple pie for dessert from the self-service section.

He found an unoccupied table and transferred the food from his tray to the table. Sitting down he began to dig in. A few moments later he was interrupted by a female voice.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?"

He looked up and saw a woman with short blond hair and blue eyes smiling down at him. She seemed vaguely familiar but he couldn't place her. He'd had a hard time finding an unoccupied table himself — the place was very busy, so he guessed she hadn't found one at all.

"No," he answered. "Take a seat."

"Thanks," she answered, sitting down. "It's Captain Archer, isn't it?"

"Err…yes," he answered, hating to be recognized. "How do you know me?"

"I'm Commander Collins. I work for Starfleet Security. We met a few months ago when Doctor Phlox was abducted by the Rigellians."

"Oh yes, I remember now."

"The skiing's great, isn't it?" she asked.

He nodded; he didn't want to speak with his mouthful. After he'd swallowed he answered. "Yeah ideal conditions. You on leave from Starfleet then?"

"Yeah…I got a friend to cover my shifts over the holiday period. I booked this vacation months ago — my sister was supposed to meet me up here, but she had to cancel at the last minute — some emergency at work."

"Sorry to hear that."

"Not much fun being alone on the holidays, but at least the skiing's top notch. Oh and I won 1000 credits on the slot machine in my hotel last night — that was fun!"

"Congratulations. You're staying on the Nevada side?"

"Yeah in Stateline. And you?"

"I have a house here in town."

"Sounds nice," she remarked. "You here with friends or family?""Nope, it's just me and Porthos." She gave him a puzzled expression. "My dog," he explained.

"Oh. Cute name — guess you're a fan of the Dumas novel."

He smiled but didn't answer; instead he finished off his cheeseburger.

"Listen, since we're both up here alone, would you like to have dinner with me tonight?"

Jonathan shifted in his chair — he felt a little uncomfortable. Was she asking him out on a date or was it just two colleagues having dinner? He was out of practice when it came to this kind of thing.

"Err…sure I guess…why not?" He'd wanted to say no, but didn't wish to appear rude.

"Great, why don't you come by the Tahoe Lodge at around 7pm?"

"Sounds good," he answered as he gathered his empty plate and coffee mug to return to the area for dirty dishes.

"Captain, do you mind if I call you Jonathan?"

"Not at all," he answered nervously.

"Great, and I'm Sarah."

"I'll see you tonight, Sarah," he said and got up to return the dishes. Coming back to the table he slipped on his ski jacket and bid her goodbye for the time being.

He stayed out on the slopes until sunset. The resort offered night skiing, but not over the holidays. From the 27th onwards one could ski up until midnight as the trails were lit. Jonathan had planned to stay up here until after the New Year, so he definitely planned to try out the night skiing.

He returned to the house, showered and changed. Did he have to dress up for this dinner with Sarah? He wasn't quite sure. Hopefully a sweater and a pair of black pants would do, he hadn't brought anything smart. He picked out his black polo neck, then wondered if maybe he'd look too much like a cat burglar. An ex-girlfriend had told him once that black was very becoming, so he shrugged off the idea of looking like a burglar and slipped the polo neck on.

It was only 5:30pm, he had around 90 minutes to kill. Well a little less, he'd take a taxi to the hotel around 6:40pm, giving himself plenty of time to get there. He crossed over to the computer terminal in the living room and tapping in a few keys ordered a taxi for that time.

In the meantime he retrieved Malcolm's gift — the sci-fi thriller and made a start on it. He sat down on the sofa and opened the hardback book. Porthos, who'd just finished eating, hopped up and joined him.

The next hour passed quickly as he found himself engrossed in the story line. Glancing at the clock he noted it was 6:30pm. He closed the book, leaving it on the coffee table and made his way into the bathroom. He combed his hair and made sure he looked presentable.

Twenty-five minutes later he was walking into the lobby of the Tahoe Lodge. It looked like a hunting lodge of old — the area was heavily decorated in oak. The head of a stag was hung over the large stone fireplace. There was a stuffed grizzly by the fireplace in a standing pose, as if it was about to attack. He guessed it had been caught in Alaska and brought down here, he didn't think grizzlies were native to this area.

He asked a young man at the reception desk where the restaurant was. He was told to walk straight ahead down the corridor and it was the 2nd on the right, after the casino. He thanked the guy and made his way there.

Sarah was already seated at a table near the window that looked out onto the lake.

"Right on time," she said, as he sat down across from her. "I like a man who's punctual."

"Wouldn't be much of a Starfleet captain if I wasn't." He smiled at her, feeling a little nervous. This did feel like a date, and he wasn't sure if he was keen on that idea. He rather it was a dinner between two acquaintances.

The waiter handed them the menus, and Jonathan perused them. He decided to go for something non-traditional — he didn't feel like turkey or ham, so he chose the grilled salmon fillet. Sarah ordered the turkey and a bottle of red wine for both of them.

"Oh I'm sorry, I ordered without asking if you like red wine."

"Yes, that's fine," he answered. "I'll just make sure I don't drink too much."

"Doesn't agree with you?"

"Too many glasses and I'll end up with a bad headache."

"That can happen with cheaper brands — it might not be the case with this one."

"Perhaps. You a wine connoisseur?"

"I've spent a fair amount of time up in Napa. My father's a vintner. I think he'd hoped I carry on with the family business and was dismayed when I applied to join Starfleet."

"Always been based on Earth?"

"Yes. You probably don't remember, but I applied for Lieutenant's Reed's position when you were selecting a crew for Enterprise."

It seemed like years ago now, and he'd had to plough through so many applications at the time for all the different crew positions, it had been mind-boggling. In the end he'd had A.G. and Admiral Forrest help him out. "Sorry, I don't recall. But you wouldn't believe how many people were trying for a position on Enterprise."

"I can imagine."

"Did you ever apply again for a shipboard position?"

"Yes, with Captain Hernandez, but I never heard back. I guess I'm destined to keeping Earth safe," she laughed.

"That's not a bad job."

"But it's not exploring space."

"No, but there are advantages."

She appeared surprised by his comment. Their meal was served and the waiter filled their wineglasses with an expensive Merlot. Jonathan sampled it, and complimented Sarah on her choice.

Both of them were hungry, so tucked in eagerly. "How's the salmon?"

"Delicious," he answered. He didn't remember it saying in the menu that it would be in a pesto sauce, but that only added to the flavour. He enquired as to Sarah's meal and she answered that it was most satisfactory.

For some reason her reply reminded him of T'Pol — most satisfactory almost sounded like something the Vulcan would say. He wondered what his first officer was doing. Was she out on some beach with Trip walking along the water's edge? Or was she being polite and kind while she listened to the ruckus the Tucker clan made? He imagined how out of place she would feel surrounded by Trip's extroverted, excitable cousins, aunts and uncles.

"Jonathan, may I ask you a question?"

"Sure, fire away."

"You said earlier there are advantages to being stationed on Earth…perhaps you could elaborate?"

"Oh that…hmm." He took a sip of wine. "Well there's more chance of having a personal life…that is if you want one."

"And that was all you meant?"

"Well I think it's all individual. Some people, even though they think the exploration of space is new and exciting, after a few months out amongst the stars begin to miss home. I've seen it happen with a few crewmembers. So for people like that…well I think they are better off stationed on Earth."

"I understand."

Sarah continued to pepper him with questions throughout the evening — and he obliged with tales of some of Enterprise's first missions.

"She turned into a slug?" she chuckled, in response to his tale of the mystery woman who'd actually been a wraith on the rogue planet.

"Well that's the only way I can think of describing the creature. But life comes in all shapes and sizes out there."

"Sounds exciting."

After dessert Sarah asked if he'd like to go for a walk around the lake. He'd decided that his fears had been unfounded and that this had merely been a dinner between Starfleet colleagues. He'd enjoyed her company, and it had taken his mind off being alone. He suggested they go back to the house. He could show her around and she could meet Porthos. Besides, the view of the lake was better from his house than here at the hotel.

She enthusiastically agreed, and they took a taxi back to his place.

It was 9pm when they arrived back at the house. They stepped out of the taxi and walked up the drive. It was dark and Jonathan's hadn't turned on the porch light, but he was sure he could make a figure out standing by his door. As he got closer the silhouette seemed familiar. Surely it couldn't be? What would she be doing here?

"Good evening, Captain." The voice was very familiar.

The figure stepped out of the shadows. "T'Pol?" he asked, astonished.

"I apologize for turning up like this uninvited."

"No, it's okay. Is everything all right?" He couldn't think of any reason for T'Pol's appearance except an emergency. "Let's get inside, it's freezing out here." He slipped in the keycard for the front door and all three of them stepped inside.

TBC