Chapter Twelve

Entering his quarters, a very apprehensive Trip sat down on his bed, waiting to hear what his dad had to tell him. Mr. Tucker looked uncomfortable, clearly struggling with what he had to say. "Dad, ya making me really nervous here …"

"This isn't easy, Son, but as I told ya mom, it needs to be said so we can get our family back on the right track, trusting each other again. All this suspicion and evasiveness is leading to bad feelin's and I won't have it anymore."

"I'm sorry for ma part in that, Dad--"

"You've nothing to be sorry about, Son," replied Mr. Tucker, as he came to sit down next to Trip, putting an arm around him. "I've wanted to talk to ya about this for a while, more so when ya got ya job on board this ship with Captain Archer."

Trip looked curiously at his dad, urging him silently to go on as he waited for answers.

"Ya mom been ma sweetheart, ever since high school. I knew from the instant I saw her that we'd be great for each other. Took her some convincing mind you, but the old Tucker charm worked its magic," replied Mr. Tucker, as Trip sat next to him listening with a smile on his face. We had been dating on and off for a few years an I'd been trying to get Sue to settle down an start a family. The problem was ya mom's career as a top-notch architect was just starting to take off. Starfleet had offered her a job designing the Warp 5 complex but it meant her relocating to San Francisco. I didn't want her to accept it but that would have meant being selfish, standing in the way of her career. I couldn't take the chance of her resenting me later on in life for not giving her the chance of achieving her dream. So I trusted that what we had was strong enough to survive and waved her off.

"What happened," asked Trip eager to hear more of his dad's story.

"I thought I'd blown it between us," replied Mr. Tucker sadly. "She'd been gone three years and her phone calls and letters were getting further and further apart. I was glad that Sue was making a success of her life, but it was killing me knowing that I had the chance to make her my wife but didn't. Dad told me to stop moping around and find someone else, but I couldn't. Once us Tuckers give away our heart it's pretty hard to go back and start again."

"Definitely agree with ya there," thought Trip, as his mind wandered to his funny kind of relationship with T'Pol.

"Anyway, out of the blue, Sue phones me," said Mr. Tucker. "She didn't actually say it, but I could tell from the sound of her voice that she was upset an' in trouble. All I could think about was jumping on the nearest plane to help her. She was very upset when I got there, but I soon convinced her to come home and let me help. Not long after that she moved in and we got married."

"Did mom tell ya what had happened?"

"It took her a few days, but she thought I deserved the truth," said Mr. Tucker, unsure how Trip was going to take the next bit of news. "She'd met someone while she was in San Francisco. He was a married man who was working at the Warp 5 complex."

"Married!" exclaimed Trip in shock.

"He told her that his marriage was virtually over … I know, that's hardly an excuse," said Mr. Tucker, "but I'm not gonna condemn her, as I don't know the circumstances surrounding them getting together."

"But, Dad,"

"Trip, she made a mistake."

"A pretty big one," exclaimed Trip angrily, as he stood up and walked to the window.

"That may be so, but she did the right thing once she found out what he'd been saying was a sham."

"I can see now why she wanted to keep it a secret from me when I joined up," said Trip. "Did she tell ya who it was? Does he still work for Starfleet? Do I know him?"

"Yes she did, no he doesn't still work for Starfleet and no, I don't believe you ever met him," replied Mr. Tucker in as vague a manner as possible. He'd decided that he wasn't going to tell Trip who it was, due to the fact that Trip worked along side his son Jonathan and he wasn't prepared to jeopardize their friendship or Trip's career.

After a few minutes, Trip turned around, "Mom could have said something ya know when I signed up. Why all the secrecy? I would've understood."

"It's not that simple, son," replied Mr. Tucker, taking a deep breath for the outburst he expected at the next big bombshell. "Sue was pregnant … with you."

There was silence as Trip went white, feeling like he had been suddenly gut punched as he gaped in shock at the man he worshipped, who he'd always believed to be his father.

After a few minutes Mr. Tucker decided to break the silent void that had descended onto the room. "Speak to me, Son. I know we sho--"

"Son!" interrupted Trip angrily. "I think what ya just said makes a mockery of that."

"That's where ya wrong, Trip," replied Mr. Tucker. "Being a father isn't just creating a new life and passing on your DNA, it's what you do with that new life that matters – being there, passing on your morals, sculpting him or her and helping them grow. That's being a father. I know you're angry at us right now for keeping this from ya, but when you've had some time to take all this in, I want ya to look me in the eye and tell me if I haven't done all of that for ya."

Standing up, Charles Tucker II took one last look at the angry, shocked face of his much loved child. "I'm going to see Captain Archer about some quarters. I hope I get the chance to talk to ya again before I leave in the morning. See ya, Son. Think about what I've just said."

Turning around, he walked out of the door, hoping that he hadn't just ostracised his son from him forever.

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