Chapter Five
It was seven o'clock sharp when Trip's doorbell chimed. You could say a lot about T'Pol, but being late for an appointment was definitely not one of her traits.
Trip was quite nervous. This would be the first personal moment they shared with each other since Elizabeth's death six months ago. And he hoped, it wouldn't be the last for as long. The food was prepared already, and Trip had needed to force himself to wait for T'Pol. He hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. He was starved! In fact, he was so tired and so exhausted that he wondered why he had asked her to dinner in the first place. These doubts vanished quickly though, when he opened the door and found her wearing his favourite outfit: the red cat-suit.
He smiled at her while waving her inside.
"On time as usual. Hope your hungry, Chef has prepared a feast."
Trip offered her a chair, and she sat down gracefully.
"Thank you," T'Pol said. While Trip walked back to his own seat, she glanced around the room with barely hidden curiosity. When she noticed a small photo in the corner which was lying down face forward, she threw Trip a look and raised her right eyebrow in question.
"It's a picture of Elizabeth," Trip replied softly. "I know talking about her still upsets you , and I didn't want to ruin things this evening … I can put it away in the--"
"No, please return it to its original position. You derive pleasure from remembering her; I don't want to deprive you of this."
"Do you still think of her?" Trip asked and indicated for T'Pol to tuck in.
"Occasionally."
"Occasionally?" he queried, a little surprised considering Elizabeth had been her child.
"It is illogical to spend one's life thinking about 'what might have been'. I grieve for her in my own way. Vulcan's may suppress their emotions but that doesn't mean I don't miss her."
"I am sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you didn't … It's difficult … Um, maybe I shouldn't have brought the topic up."
"It is fine," T'Pol said quietly. "I understand that talking about her helps you deal with your grief."
There was a tense silence for a few moments. So they both tucked into their meal and wondered what subject to approach next. "This macaroni cheese is delicious," T'Pol offered at last. "Aren't you hungry? You have eaten very little."
"Thought I was, but I seem to have a bit of heart burn that's putting me off."
"Would you like some water?" T'Pol asked, and rose to her feet to get it for him.
"Thanks, but I'll get it," Trip interrupted her. He stood up and walked over to the bathroom, but he was suddenly overcome by a dizzy spell which caused him to stumble and grip his desk for support.
"Damn, I think there's something wrong with the environmental controls… It's a bit hot all of a sudden …" the Commander said to himself before the whole room began to spin out of control and he felt himself collapse onto the floor. The last thing he heard was a faint cry of his name.
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Slowly, Trip pulled himself upwards through muggy water. The closer he got to the surface, the clearer his mind became. By now he could make out faint voices of people close by; and he used them as a guide to pull himself closer until he broke the surface to a blinding light. He had to blink to clear his vision. After a moment, the blurred images became clear enough for Trip to recognise Sickbay. with T'Pol, Phlox, and Captain Archer stood next to him.
"Damn, how the hell did I get in here?" he asked quietly, and attempted to sit up.
"Easy!" said Archer, rushing to his friend's side in order to help him into a more comfortable position. "Can you remember what happened?"
"Things are a little hazy …" mumbled Trip, trying to think back to how he got into this predicament.
"We were having dinner in your quarters," T'Pol reminded him and offered him a glass of water. "You were feeling a little nauseous from heartburn, and were about to get a drink of water when you suddenly collapsed."
"That's right! I think the environmental controls were a little off, 'cos the last thing I remember was getting so hot that I couldn't think straight … then everything went blank."
"I don't think it was the environmental controls, Commander," said Phlox. "Your blood pressure is very high, and your low serotonin levels indicate that you are hungry and exhausted. All of these combined added to your collapse."
"I admit, I've been exhausted lately, and I may have skipped a few meals, but it's no different from what I've been through before, Doc. I don't know why my blood pressure would be high. I've never suffered from that in the past."
"As I recall," Phlox corrected him, "you have suffered high blood pressure during your Xryellian pregnancy."
"That was four years ago, and I'm not pregnant!" Trip countered forcefully. He wondered why Archer, Phlox, and T'Pol were suddenly exchanging looks as if they knew something he didn't. "Cap'n, Phlox, what's going on?"
Archer sat down next to him on a chair. "Trip, were there anyone other crewmen on the ship aside from Allion and Trevella?"
"No. It was just them. You should know that, you scanned the ship."
"Did anything happen while you were over there?"
"Like what?"
"Did you touch or do anything you weren't sure about?"
"No, I didn't! Look will ya tell me what's going on? I'm getting real worried."
"Commander," T'Pol began. She looked quite agitated. "It seems you are pregnant … again."
Trip was so perplexed, all he could do was to throw out a 'WTF' look. "Is this a joke?" he whispered, then chuckled after deciding that it had to be a joke. The Captain was trying to pull a fast one. "Good one, Cap'n. Ya almost got me going there."
Archer's face didn't look like he was joking at all though. "Trip, we're not joking," he replied in a solemn voice. At last Phlox moved the overhead view screen so Trip could look at his recent scans.
"This cluster over here, Commander is the embryo. I've been able to determine that it was impregnated about four, maybe five days ago, but it's growing at an exponential rate. I'd say it will come to full term in about five to six months."
Slowly the truth began to dawn on him, and Trip was unsettled. "How the hell did this happen?"
"That is what we are trying to find out, Commander," T'Pol bit at him in an accusing voice.
"Cap'n, I swear, I didn't go near or touch any pebbles this time."
"Can you think back to what happened on the ship?" Captain Archer asked. "Something must have happened around the last day you were there."
Trip furrowed his brow.
"That's the thing, Cap'n; I can't remember what happened that day. Everything's a bit fuzzy. I was gonna see Phlox about it, but I figured it were just the side-effects of the medication he gave me."
Phlox was puzzled.
"I haven't seen or treated you for anything in weeks, Commander."
"What do ya mean, Doc? I had a bad reaction to some of the alien's food, and you came aboard and treated me. Allion gave the medication you left for me when I came round."
"You are mistaken, Commander. I haven't set foot on the alien's ship."
"Why would Allion lie?"
"I don't know, Trip," said Captain Archer, "but I intend to find out. Doc, how is Trip? Will he be okay?" Trip was about to retort that he was fine and not someone to be mothered, but decided to keep quiet when he caught the warning glance in Archer's eye.
"I'd like to monitor him in Sickbay for the next 24 hours, but he should be okay to return on-duty tomorrow -- on the condition that he sees me twice a day, gets plenty of rest, and doesn't miss any meals."
"Don't worry, Doc, he will," replied Captain Archer in his 'I mean business' tone of voice.
Then he turned to his pregnant Chief Engineer. "Don't worry, Trip," he said, "we'll find the Daladians, and then we'll figure this all out."
Archer turned to leave Sickbay, but hesitated for a moment. Then he added: "We'll better keep this to ourselves … for now."
"God damn it," thought Trip while lying back down on the bio bed, "why does this always happen to me?"
He had just been getting back with T'Pol … bud judging from the look she threw him, he doubted she'd come within ten foot of him now