Author's note

Blackn'blue this chapters especially for you! Hope you like!

Chapter 13

Trip practically sprinted down the corridor towards the bridge. It had been over two weeks since Hoshi had sent out the signal, and they had just received a response. During those two weeks, the Captain had been getting pressure put on him from the new Admiral, Forest's replacement. It seemed Starfleet couldn't 'risk' one of their warp five ships over the trivial matter of a person's life. The Vulcan's had also expressed their condolences, and said an investigation would be carried out. However, Trip had the feeling that both organisations had dismissed her as dead. A fact he would never accept!

The Captain had just contacted Trip over the com in engineering, and had been very brief about who had contacted them. All Trip knew was that their informant was named Kolot, and he had information relevant to T'Pol. Whether it was good or bad news he didn't know.

Trip entered the lift and arrived on the bridge in record time. He was met with the image of an alien very similar in appearance to humans, the only exception being that in place of a nose were two narrow slits. Kolot, Trip assumed. The alien was displayed on the main view screen and was in the middle of talking to Archer. Trip was able to pick up the end of the conversation.

"…..passed them days ago they were heading to an abandoned lunar colony."

Trip looked over towards Archer; the Captain had a genuine smile on his face. "We can't thank you enough Kolot for your assistance."

"It is my pleasure Captain, and I will send you the coordinates and schematics of the colony immediately."

Hoshi's console beeped, and indicated that the information had been delivered, she nodded to Archer.

"I must now depart Captain, I am glad I could help." The alien stated.

"Hopefully we will meet again." Archer replied.

Kolot paused "Of that I have no doubt Captain." he said and smiled, the connection terminating. A second later the Starfleet logo appeared upon the dormant screen.

Sovek was already analysing the data; plotting the coordinates, and determining the safest and quickest course.

The bridge crew waited with baited breath, "we will be able to arrive in four days at maximum warp." The Vulcan stated, answering the question Archer was about to ask.

"Are there any dangers we should know about?" inquired Archer, he wanted to rescue T'Pol but he wouldn't put over eighty people at risk.

"None that I can see, it is in a reasonably un-travelled area of space."

Archer acknowledged this, "Mr Mayweather set a course warp five."

"Yes sir." the boomer replied enthusiastically.

Trip left the bridge. In truth he didn't know what he was feeling, he was ecstatic about finding T'Pol, but he was also terrified about what they would find. He went straight to his quarters; his shift had officially ended when he was on the bridge. It was probably a good thing anyway. In the past two weeks he had almost certainly sustained more cuts, shocks and bruises in engineering from his mind wandering to T'Pol than in his first two years on Enterprise! And that was saying something.

He entered his quarters; work was scattered haphazardly across his desk, and spreading onto the floor. A plate of uneaten food lay on the side. Trip had lost his appetite in the recent weeks, but that hadn't stopped Chef from sending him ample amounts of food. Trip sat down on his bed, a padd in his hand. He had been reading the Kir'sha'ra, and was surprisingly quite a way through. He had started reading the book shortly after T'Pol was taken. It reminded him of her and it was almost as if a small part of him felt more connected to her just by reading it. There was also the reason that it eventually sent him to sleep! Not an easy feat considering every time he closed his eyes he experienced a nightmare concerning her. As an engineer he was used to endless boring schematics, but the Vulcan text was especially dry reading, however Trip had surprised himself by finding it quite interesting.

Several hours later his eyelids were flickering shut, the padd dropping slightly from his grasp, his breathing becoming calmer, and more peaceful.

T'Pol was thrown back into her cell; her body impacted the floor hard. She was bruised all over and had several different injuries scattered about her body. She curled up in to a ball, breathing in raspy breaths, her voice hoarse from screaming and shouting. Her emotional control was in tatters. She had been tortured for what felt like months… or it could have been years. She had lost all sense of time, not that it mattered though, she grimly reflected.

Her captors had been attempting to get her to reveal information to them. It seemed she was the perfect candidate to gather intelligence from. She was a Commander in Starfleet, she knew schematics of all of Earth's warp five vessels, knew where to hit them, where to make the most damage. Also vast amounts of other information, which could highlight some of Earth's vulnerabilities. On top of all that she knew several confidential bits of Vulcan intelligence from her time in the ministry, information she had sworn to protect, which could be very damaging to Vulcan in the wrong hands.

A cry escaped her lips as she moved ever so slightly. Her torturers had developed many skills and technologies to get someone to talk, Vulcan's included. She had not broken yet, but she knew the next time they came for her she would. And then, then she would have outlived her usefulness and they would kill her. 'Maybe that would be for the best.' A small part of her consciousness whispered. If she had to admit it she had lost all hope of ever being rescued, she hated that fact, but it was true. Soon she would die, just after she helped the enemy, helped the enemy in their attack on her world and Trip's.

The thought of her human sent a lone tear rolling down her battered and bruised face. "I'm sorry Trip," she whispered into the darkness. "Sorry I couldn't be stronger, sorry I lost hope, sorry I won't ever see you again." she murmured regretfully.

"T'Pol?"

T'Pol slowly looked round her cell, did she just hear Trip? The sound of his distinctive southern accent quickening her heart rate. She dismissed it, she had hallucinated before, and that had been the cruellest interrogating of all. They had tricked her into believing she was back on Enterprise, back with Trip. This was no different.

"T'Pol? Was that you?"

T'Pol closed her eyes. "Please stop." she called out "This is cruel, stop, please stop." she whimpered, her voice quivering.

"T'Pol?" T'Pol slowly opened her eyes and took in her surroundings; she could barely make out the white room. The room she meditated in, a place of calm. She squinted behind her from where the voice had come from.

"Trip?" she whispered, hesitantly.

"Oh god dar'lin what have they done to you?" Trip cried, burning anger flowing through his veins. He took a step towards her; she could just about make out his shape, and in turn she took a step back.

T'Pol started shaking her head. "No, this isn't real, this isn't real, please stop, please stop." she pleaded with an invisible force.

Trip looked at T'Pol; his heart broke to see her like this. He walked towards her and captured her in his arms. "It's real T'Pol, I'm real, we've come to get you we'll be here soon." he soothed

T'Pol tried to resist him, struggling against him, trying to get out of his embrace. He leaned down and passionately kissed her, their bond strengthened and Trip sensed everything she was feeling. He took all of her uncertainty and fear and locked it away inside himself. T'Pol in turn felt his emotions, his love and in particular his anger at what had been done to her. It really was him, Trip had come to save her, rescue her like she knew he would. She collapsed in his arms, all of her energy depleted. "It's ok T'Pol I'm here, your safe here." he whispered to her. She held onto him, as if scared he would leave her at any second.

She shook her head. "I'm not safe. They will come for me tomorrow… I won't be able to resist them Trip, I'm sorry."

"T'Pol, you're the strongest person I know, Enterprise will be there within 3 days, can't you hold on?" Trip whispered, they had finally found T'Pol; he wasn't ready to let her go.

"I don't have any strength to resist them, when they come for me I will break and tell them everything and then they will kill me." T'Pol responded, sounding frustrated with herself for not being stronger. She hugged Trip tighter.

"I am sorry I couldn't hold on Trip. I am sorry I will never see you again."

Trip had tears in his eyes. "You don't have to apologise for anything dar'lin. I love you."

A slight smile graced T'Pol's lips "You made me a better person Trip."

A tiny grin formed on Trip's face, the smile however didn't reach his eyes. "That wasn't difficult." he responded, his voice cracking.

The two held each other, T'Pol grateful she had had time to say her goodbye. The white room flickered slightly.

"Our connection is weakening." T'Pol said urgently

"Don't leave me T'Pol" Trip responded.

"We don't have a choice." T'Pol responded sadly.

"T'Pol please don't go." He choked. "I love you darl'in"

"… And I you T'hy'la"

T'Pol leaned up to Trip, catching his lips with hers and in those mere seconds nothing else mattered, they were together, how it should be. The white room faded around them, the two lovers still trapped in their embrace. Their connection finally ended. T'Pol was back in her cell, and Trip shot up out of his bed within his quarters on Enterprise. Tears had stained their faces, and a part of them both knew that that had probably been the last time they were ever going to see one another.

Trip blinked, and touched a finger to his lips. It was as if he could still feel her lips on his, he could almost taste her. It had been real of that he would bet anything, it had to have been the bond. He pushed himself up off his bed. He'd be damned if he was going to lose her again. He stood up, throwing on the clothes closest to him. He didn't care what he'd have to do, what lengths he'd have to go to. He would save her, or he would die trying!

I am not sure when the next chapter will be out, but exams will be over within the next few weeks! Then i'll be able to write to my heart's content.

Please review!