Chapter Five

Early the next morning, Trip walked into sickbay after being summoned by Doctor Phlox.

"You wanted to see me, Doc?" Trip asked as he walked through the doors.

"Commander Tucker," smiled Phlox, indicating for Trip to sit down on the nearest bio bed. "I wanted to redo some more of those tests I ran a few days ago."

"Is there a problem I should be aware of," asked Trip, raising his eyebrows in question.

"Not yet," evaded Phlox as he ran his hand scanner over Trip once more.

"Excuse me?" replied Trip, as he wondered what, 'net yet', meant?"

After a slight pause, Phlox stopped what he was doing so he could he explain himself. "I found some discrepancies I believe to be the cause of your headaches …"

"That's good isn't it?" interrupted Trip.

"Not quite, the discrepancies themselves are a cause for concern," said Phlox sadly. "I just want to run some more tests to be sure of my findings."

"What kind of discrepancies?" asked Trip, brushing away the doctor's hand, not wanting to let the topic drop until he had some more answers, "Is it serious?"

"My results show that your headaches are just an early symptom of a more underlying problem. Have you heard of Clarks syndrome, Commander?" asked Phlox to a rather pale Trip.

"Isn't that what the Cap'n's daddy died of?"

"Yes, it's a degenerative disease … for which there is still no cure for," said Phlox as he stared at Trip's blank face.

"Are you implying that I have this disease?"

"Yes … I've very sorry, Commander, but my tests show you are showing the very early symptoms."

"So if there's still no cure … are you … are you saying, I'm going to die?"

"Not if I can help it, Commander. I will do everything in my power to help you, both physically and emotionally."

Trip took some time to digest all this. Well as much as anyone could when they had just found out that they had a terminal illness and were likely to die at an early age.

"So how long have I got before …"

"Commander, the disease is in its very early stages. Even if this wasn't the case, medical technology has progressed enough to control and keep most of the symptoms at bay."

"But you just said it's degenerative …" interrupted Trip.

"That is correct, Commander. I can hold the symptoms at bay for a while, but not forever. There has been a lot of research into the disease, but so far, no success finding a cure."

"How long have I got until …."

"As I said, we've caught this in its very early stages," replied Phlox, trying to reassure him. Trip was trying to put on a brave face, but Phlox could see that this new had affected him more deeply than he wanted to let on.

"Can you keep this to yourself for the moment?"

"So long as your work isn't affected, then yes, I should think so. Although I strongly advise against this and ask that you seek counsel. It's not something you can just push to the back of your mind and deal with in a few years time. It's going to take a major drain on you, not only physically but emotionally as well. I strongly recommend that you seek out someone who's been through this to help you deal with what's going to happen."

"You're referring to the Cap'n, aren't ya?"

"His previous experience of going through this with his father does make him the most suitable person to advise and guide you."

"I don't know, Doc. The Cap'n was a lot younger when his daddy died and it had a huge effect on him, even now. I don't know if I could put him through something like that again."

"What about T'Pol?" asked Phlox determined not to give in and drop the subject. "She helped you a lot last year coping with your sister's death."

"Helping someone cope with someone else's death and helping someone cope with facing there own death, are two different things, Doc. I'm not really sure she'd understand," said Trip, standing up to leave, so he could seek out familiar territory. This was too much for him to deal with right now. He needed to get to Engineering, a place where he felt comfortable and could deal with the stresses of what he was about to face.

"Wrong, Commander," muttered Phlox under his breath, not wanting to betray T'Pol's confidence, as Trip walked out of the door. "I think she'll understand a lot more than you'd think."

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