Christmas at Lake Tahoe

Chapter 5

Jonathan leaned against the side of the tub as the jets massaged his back. T'Pol didn't know what she was missing…this was bliss. He watched as the steam rose from the water. He sunk deeper in, with only his head being visible above the water.

He should have been happy; here he was in an idyllic mountain resort sharing it with the woman he loved. But little doubts bothered him. He didn't like Trip contacting T'Pol. Of course it could be completely innocent. T'Pol had said they were only friends…and his ex-girlfriends had contacted him in the past. Rebecca had even kept up a correspondence with him over the years.

But for all he knew Trip and T'Pol may have only recently split up. The fact that he'd written to T'Pol and not to him seemed to suggest that. He didn't know if he could deal with them getting back together…especially now. Could he work with the two of them, side by side, knowing they were a couple?

It hadn't bothered him while in the Expanse — he'd been too busy finding the Xindi weapon. But with the mission complete it did cross his mind from time to time. Trip had been moody and stand-offish after T'Pol's marriage to Koss. He stopped eating dinner in the Captain's Mess and whenever Archer had asked him about it he'd always make up some excuse about something needing calibration.

Things came to a head when he'd asked for a transfer to Columbia. Jonathan had been shocked. When Trip had been uncooperative in providing an explanation, Jonathan had thought long and hard as to why his chief engineer would want to leave Enterprise. T'Pol seemed a reasonable explanation — there was no other. Trip had wanted to be on Enterprise and Archer's team from the time they'd first met during the NX-Project.

Trip agreed to come back a few weeks before their encounter with the Orion slave girls — Archer had assumed he and T'Pol had patched up their differences and decided to try again.

Who was to say they wouldn't try that again? He sighed. Was he wasting his time with T'Pol? On the other hand, she'd been the one to come here. He hadn't invited her. Last night she'd said she'd wanted to spend some time with a friend but had been pleased to discover he still had feelings for her.

He felt at war with his own insecurities. He was either going to have to ask her point blank for the answers or simply ignore his doubts and just enjoy his vacation.

He heard the back door open and then footsteps running towards him.

"T'Pol?"

She rounded the corner and approached the Jacuzzi. "It's freezing out here."

"Hop in then," he invited.

She took off her robe, placing it next to Jonathan's on a wooden chair. The cold air stung her exposed flesh. She climbed in and submerged her body in the steaming water.

"Better?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Nice outfit, by the way." She looked sexy in black.

He wrapped his hand around hers and led her into the center of the tub, which was the deepest part. Encircling her waist he whispered into her ear. "I missed you. Thanks for joining me."

He nibbled at her ear then kissed down her throat. She tasted of chlorine, but he didn't care. He kissed her on the mouth.

"That was a quick meditation," he mused.

"I didn't…meditate," she answered, regaining her breath.

"Why not?" he asked with concern. "You said you were feeling restless."

"I decided it could wait."

"Okay." He smiled at her, glad of her decision to join him. "But make sure you meditate before going to bed tonight."

"Yes, sir."

They both sat down by the jets. "Mmm…this feels great."

"Better than a shoulder rub from me?" she asked.

"No…never, T'Pol." He thought back to last night and how he'd felt the tension drain from his shoulders as she'd massaged his tired and knotted muscles.

"Jonathan, what you said earlier about being lonely — was that meant to be humorous?"

"When?"

"When we were walking by the lake. You suggested I tell my aunt that I was keeping you company."

"Oh that…"

"There's nothing wrong with admitting to the feeling," she explained, stroking his cheek. "Even Vulcans experience loneliness."

He took her hand and kissed her palm. They gazed longingly into each other's eyes. She sensed her control slipping away. His lips were so tempting and begged to be kissed. She did, running her fingers through his wet hair, then down his bare back. This felt so good…her fingers on his skin, his passionate lips responding to hers, the fire burning in her veins.

She came up for air and tried to control her breathing.

"You okay?" he asked.

She nodded. "I'm unaccustomed to feeling this way…I can't think of a term to describe it."

"How would you describe it in Vulcan?"

"Terms related to the Pon Farr come to mind, but I know this is not my time. I used to believe Vulcans only experienced such intense emotions then, I see I was wrong."

"Perhaps they do, it just isn't spoken of."

"Yes."

Hadn't she ever experienced this with Trip? What did she mean she was unaccustomed? It puzzled him.

"I will adjust…it will take time, that is all."

She made it sound like she wanted the relationship to be permanent or was he reading into things? He told himself not to hope too much.

She leaned back against the water jets. Under the water she searched for his hand and upon finding it, intertwined their fingers. "You have icicles in your hair."

"I know," he laughed. "You will in a few minutes as well. So, what made you change your mind?"

"About joining you?""Yeah."

"I wanted to be with you."

He stroked her cheek with his other hand. "I love you. When I saw you standing on my front porch last night I thought my eyes deceived me…that it was just wishful thinking. When I heard your voice I think my heart skipped a beat."

"And I felt like a fool, intruding on your date."

He laughed. "I'm glad you did."

The jets stopped. "Is something broken?" T'Pol asked.

"No, they are on a timer. Shall I set it for another 15 minutes or do you want to go in?"

"Another 15 minutes would be agreeable."

He hopped out of the tub, into the freezing night air and turned the timer dial. Instantly the jets came to life.

"When were you lonely, T'Pol?" he asked as he returned to her side.

"As a child…I didn't have many friends. Growing up I often sought the company of older Vulcans…I didn't seem to have a lot in common with people my own age. When I first transferred to San Francisco I felt alone in an alien world, where my kind were mistrusted and looked down upon. The first few weeks on Enterprise I felt isolated. I was glad of Phlox's attempts to befriend me."

"I never knew. I feel so dense."

"No need to."

"Any other times?"

"When we first entered the Expanse…I missed your friendship."

He hung his head down in regret. "I'm sorry."

"What's done is done, Jonathan. There is no point dwelling on the past. You already explained you had to stay focused on the mission…I understand."

"I was lonely up here before you arrived," he confessed. "Although I liked the idea of returning to Earth, when Gardener gave me the order part of me hated the idea."

She squeezed his hand. "It appears my timing was impeccable."

"Indeed," he chuckled.

Ten minutes later the jets came to a halt and they decided to head inside. Jonathan stepped out first, wrapped his robe around him and held T'Pol's out for her so she could climb into it as she emerged from the water. Taking her hand they hurried back into the house.

They both showered to rinse off the chlorine. Jonathan said he was going to read for a while, and T'Pol went to her room to meditate.

An hour later she returned to the living room and found Jonathan asleep sitting up on the sofa, with his book of poetry. He must have been tired.

She tiptoed into the kitchen to make herself some camomile tea. Porthos followed her in, hoping for some cheese. When she didn't seem to pay him any attention he barked at her.

"Be quiet, Porthos." He'd wake Jonathan up. The dog wasn't listening and barked again, sitting himself down by the door to the fridge.

Jonathan ambled into the kitchen. "What's up with Porthos?"

"I do not know."

"Bet he wants some cheese," Jonathan yawned.

"I had hoped he wouldn't wake you."

"It's okay, couldn't stay like that all night could I?" He rolled his neck around to ease out some of the kinks.

"I was thinking if you didn't wake up, I would carry you to your room."

"Really?" he laughed. "That's a first, a woman carrying a man to bed."

"You forget I'm Vulcan and stronger than you."

"I guess I forget the latter at times — you appear so petite."

"Appearances can be deceiving."

"Touché."

Porthos barked again, impatient that no one was paying heed to his wishes. Jonathan opened the fridge door and retrieved a few slices of cheese. Once he'd had his fill, the dog trotted off back to the fireplace.

"I'm making some tea, would you like some?" T'Pol asked. Jonathan replied in the affirmative and they retired to the living room, sitting side by side.

"What time are we leaving tomorrow?" T'Pol enquired.

"Hmm…well your skiing lesson is at 12:30pm and we need to buy you a ski suit, and sort out the rental of your skis and boots. I'd say we should leave the house around 10am. That okay with you?"

She nodded. "Could you play something on the piano?" she requested.

"Now?"

"Unless you're too tired."

"I think I can manage one song," he smiled, moving over to the piano. "Any requests?"

"If I was more familiar with Earth style music, I would suggest something. But since I am not, I leave the choice to you."

"Okay."

He thought for a moment and then he remembered an Irving Berlin classic he'd always liked. His fingers touched the keys and he played the introduction. But this was a song that he loved not only for the melody but the lyrics. He decided to sing it for T'Pol.

What I'll do
When you are far away
And I am blue
What I'll do

What I'll do
When I'm wondering who
Is kissing you
What I'll do

What I'll do
With just a photograph
To tell my troubles to
When I'm alone
With only dreams of you
That won't come true
What I'll do

T'Pol joined him at the piano, sitting next to him. "You never told me you could sing."

"Didn't I say if you stuck around you'd learn more about me?" he smiled, then leaned across and kissed her gently.
"You have a melodious soothing voice. It is a shame you don't wish to share your talents with the crew." Listening to him sing and play for a few hours would be a great deal more enjoyable than being subjected to yet another Frankenstein movie.

"Thank you, T'Pol. But I don't want to appear to be an exhibitionist. I'm more than happy to play or sing for you, if you like."

She would be content with that. "It was a sad song."

"You didn't like it?"

"I did, you performed it with emotion. Almost as if you were singing about yourself."

Hmm…he hadn't thought about that. Had he chosen the song subconsciously? "No, but I agree it's sad. Sometimes it's the sad songs that are the best."

The hall clock chimed, announcing it was midnight. They both decided it was time to get some sleep, as they were tired. Also, they had a busy day tomorrow.

"Goodnight, Jonathan."

He didn't answer, just watched with surprise as she walked into the guestroom. Confused, he followed and knocked on her door. She bid him enter.

"Is everything all right?" she asked, noticing the puzzled expression on his face. She'd just been about to get into bed.

"Err…well I guess I assumed that you'd…but I suppose I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."

"Excuse me?" She didn't know what he was talking about.

"You wish to sleep alone?" He blurted out.

"Oh…that."

"Look I don't mean to put pressure on you…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed."

"Jonathan, I hope you'll understand. I thought we both agreed that we're tired.""We did.""Oh good, then you understand."

"Hmm…not exactly. But I wouldn't be offended if you said sharing a bed with a human wasn't comfortable."

"Oh…you are talking about only sleeping?"

"Yes…why did you think—"

"Yes."

"Well I'm not opposed to that idea," he grinned, "…but it is late and we are both sleepy. So wanna join me…just to sleep?" he asked with a smile, holding out his hand.

"I accept." She took his hand and they walked into his bedroom together.

Jonathan wished T'Pol luck and left her in the capable hands of Hans Schneider for her first skiing lesson. Hans was a tall, stocky built guy with sun bleached blond hair and ocean blue eyes. He looked to be in his early 40s. He towered over Archer who estimated him to be around 6-foot 6.

"Don't worry, Captain. I'll take care of your little Vulcan," Hans smiled.

T'Pol exchanged a look with Archer. She didn't know if she liked being referred to as little.

"See you in two hours," Archer told her, smiling. She nodded and went with Hans to join the rest of the class.

Jonathan watched her for a moment. She looked incredible! Together they'd picked out a great ski suit — it was burgundy and white. The weather was on their side, after a cold night the temperature had picked up and it was around 36F. No need to worry about T'Pol getting cold, her suit was well insulated.

He continued to look on for a few minutes, but not wanting to make T'Pol self-conscious skied off in the direction of the chair lift.

Within ten minutes he was skiing down a slope at tremendous speed. This was so much fun…he almost wished Enterprise were called home for the holidays every year just to get some skiing in. It hadn't snowed last night; the previous night's snow had thawed and refrozen over night. Conditions were a little icy, but he didn't mind. He felt like he was flying as he zoomed down the slope.

He managed to ski down three different slopes in the first hour. Before taking the lift back up again he consulted the trail map, working out how long it would take to get back to T'Pol.

"Hi, Jonathan!"

He looked up from the map and saw it was Sarah Collins.

"Hi, Sarah. How are you?"

"Great. I got your note last night. Sorry you can't make dinner tonight. You busy tomorrow night as well?"

It seemed his polite way of telling her he wasn't interested yesterday hadn't got through. "I've got plans for the rest of my stay."

"Oh? That's a shame. We could have had some fun together. How long you gonna be here?"

"I'm returning to San Francisco on 2nd January."

"Is Enterprise leaving on the 3rd?"

"Not sure, I'd need to check with Admiral Gardener on the retrofit. But shore leave is officially over on the 3rd."

"I'll be back in the city on the 3rd myself. Listen, if you haven't shipped out by the time I get back, maybe we could grab a bite then."

"Perhaps." He felt like a coward. But he couldn't exactly tell her that T'Pol and him were involved.

"So what happened with Commander T'Pol?"

"She decided to stay up here. She's having a skiing lesson at the moment."

"I see."

Jonathan had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Was there a chance that Sarah would be indiscreet and say something to Gardener about him and T'Pol? That was if she thought more than friendship was going on. He dismissed the thought. He was overly paranoid at times.

"I hope she enjoys herself. It's kind of you to be such a good friend."

"What do you mean?" The question popped out without thinking.

"Or it's nothing really. Just months old Starfleet gossip."

Starfleet members had been gossiping about T'Pol? What had they been saying? He debated over whether to ask for details.

Sarah continued without being prompted. "She seemed uncomfortable the other night. I thought perhaps her and Commander Tucker had split up or something and she was turning to you as her friend. When she said it wasn't ship's business, I assumed it was personal."

Did everyone know Trip and T'Pol had been a couple?

"I had no idea such matters were common knowledge."

"They aren't Jonathan. But the whole incident with Terra Prime and the creation of a Vulcan/Human hybrid; the matter was rather public and my department was heavily involved. It led to a whole bunch of speculation."

"Speculation?"

"Starfleet members assumed your chief engineer and first officer were a couple. People were intrigued I guess. I mean they were the first interspecies couple. Can't really blame people for talking."

"Guess not," he answered, not denying a word she'd uttered.

She edged closer to him. "Between you and me, Jonathan, if I'd been T'Pol…I wouldn't have chosen Commander Tucker." She winked at him. "I'll give you a call when I'm back in the city and maybe we can get together." He nodded and she skied off.

He returned to studying his map and tried to put that conversation out of his mind. Once he'd decided on his route he skied up to the chair lift.

T'Pol glanced at her watch — it was 2:40pm. Jonathan was ten minutes late. Hans stayed with her while she waited.

"Do you think the Kir'shara will be translated into English?" Hans asked. He was fascinated by Vulcan culture.

"I believe scholars are attempting to do so at the moment."

"I look forward to getting a copy then. Doubt I can hope for a German version," he laughed.

"I wouldn't hold out too much hope," T'Pol replied.

On the horizon she spied a tall dark blonde man dressed in an all black outfit skiing towards her. It was Jonathan.

"Sorry I'm late, T'Pol. Did you have a good lesson?" he asked.

"It was excellent."

"She's a natural," interrupted Hans, in a heavy Austrian accent. "She was my star pupil this morning. In fact I think she only needs one or two more lessons and she'll be a pro. I've never seen anyone pick it up so quick."

"Hans says I can try some of the easier intermediate slopes." T'Pol got her own map out and pointed out to Jonathan which runs they could try together.

"That's great," Jonathan remarked.

"You two enjoy your afternoon," Hans added. "And if you can make it for dinner, it will be at 8pm at the Hilton." He skied off in the direction of the gondola.

"Dinner?" Jonathan asked.

"Hans puts on a buffet dinner once a week for all his students. It happened to be tonight so we're invited."

"Ah."

"We don't have to go if you don't want to."

"No, it's okay. Think they'll be anything on the menu for vegetarians?"

"I already asked him. He said yes."

"So you like skiing?"

"It is an exhilarating sport. I'm anxious to try out something more challenging."

"Well let's get to it then," Jonathan answered.

T'Pol asked him again where he'd like to ski this afternoon. When he didn't answer she asked if something was wrong.

"I'm fine," he replied.

"You seem distracted."

"We can talk about it later."

"So I was correct. Why did you say you were fine?""I don't want you to make a big deal of it."

"How can I? I don't even know what is bothering you."

"You're in a good mood, you had a fun skiing lesson. I don't want to spoil that."

"But something is on your mind and when I ask you what it is, I would appreciate your honesty. I don't care for you disguising how you feel. It reminds me too much of how you were in the Expanse."

She skied away from him towards the lift. Oh boy, had he upset her? He followed after her and joined the queue. They stood waiting to board in awkward silence.

"I bumped into Sarah Collins before coming to meet you," he said, after they'd hopped on.

"And this is what upset you?"

"What she said didn't upset me…it was a bit of an eye-opener that's all."

"In what way?" T'Pol's first thought was that the Commander has asked him out on a date or something. From Jonathan's expression it appeared far more serious.

"She insinuated that Starfleet members had been gossiping about you."

"Oh?" she asked with surprise. "I can't imagine I'd be a very interesting topic," she mused light-heartedly.

"You wouldn't be so flippant if you knew what it was about."

"I'm not being flippant. I'm relieved she didn't make a pass at you. Your intentions towards her may have been that of friendship, but that was not the vibe I picked up from her Christmas evening." Archer said nothing. "I surmise this gossip must be very serious then, if it has you all tied up in knots.

"T'Pol, I'm not tied up in knots."

"Your jaw is ridged and your spine is as stiff as a rod."

"Okay," he sighed. "You're right. Let's just enjoy this afternoon. I'm sorry I brought this up."

"You're going to drop the topic now? You aren't even going to share what the gossip was about?" She was intrigued.

"All right. I'll try and summarize. Sarah thought you'd come up here because you'd broken off your relationship with Trip. She assumed you were here crying on my shoulder so to speak and I was doing the good friend routine. I asked her why she thought that. She explained that most of Starfleet assumed you and Trip were a couple."

"There must not be a lot going on around Starfleet if that's considered the juiciest titbit going around. Besides, it is old news."

"You don't care?" he asked, taken aback by her calm reaction.

"You wish me to get upset like you?"

"No, but you seem unaffected."

"I see no reason in expending my energy cultivating unnecessary emotions. I cannot alter the way people think or change their perception of things they know nothing of."

Maybe that was a healthy altitude, he thought.

"Jonathan, are you concerned there will be gossip about you and I?"

He couldn't answer as they'd reached the summit. They jumped off and exited to the right.

"You didn't answer my question," she stated after they'd exited the chair lift area.

"There won't be any gossip because no one knows about us."

"I see. But do you think it will remain a secret?"

He didn't know how to answer. He still didn't know whether this was something that was going to turn into a permanent relationship, or whether it was just a holiday romance. Sure she'd said she didn't want a casual relationship, and neither did he. What did T'Pol want? Did she wish for this to continue after they left Tahoe?

"I don't know, T'Pol. So tell me, what trails did you have in mind?" he asked changing the subject.

"I already told you when we were with Hans. Were you not listening?"

"I can't remember what you said. Refresh my memory."

"How about this yellow trail?" she asked, pointing to it on the map.

"That's quite steep. Think you can manage?"

"Yes," she replied with confidence.

"Okay. You go first, and I'll ski behind you to make sure you're okay."

"There's no need for you to be overprotective." She almost sounded annoyed.

"I'm not. Simply erring on the side of caution."

Pushing her poles into the snow, she propelled herself forward towards the start of the trail. Jonathan followed. Hans was right — she was a great skier and had picked up the sport within one lesson. Her balance and co-ordination were perfect. He kept his distance behind her; he didn't want to plough into her and the trail was rather crowded.

He kept his eyes focused on her — her descent was speedy, he was a little concerned that she could be a tad overconfident. He recalled the first day he'd skied; he thought he was invincible. He'd ended up almost twisting his ankle, and getting a lecture from his dad. After that he'd taken it slowly and kept to his father's side.

They reached the end of the trail without incident. "I can see why you enjoy this so much," T'Pol said.

"It is fun. Hans was right — you're a natural, T'Pol."

"Thank you." Her face looked as if it was about to break into a smile but didn't. Instead her eyes twinkled with amusement. "Can we try that again?"

"Sure."

They spent the rest of the afternoon skiing trail after trail. T'Pol was getting really good, she even attempted some of the more difficult runs. She fell over once or twice, but it was nothing serious. They caught the last gondola back to town, around 4:45pm, just as the sun was setting.

Jonathan put his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. "Sleepy?" he asked.

"A little. Must be all the fresh air."

"You've had an exciting, fun-packed day. Plus you're probably still getting acclimatised to the higher elevations."

"Mmm."

He let her rest while he admired the view on the journey down.

TBC