Walk in the Dark
By Drogna
Chapter 9
AN: Just to make it clear, this is not a deathfic, even though it is doing its best to masquerade as one.
The Telkara arrived exactly on time. It was a Vulcan ship of the D'Kyr class, the circular warp ring dominating the structure. A shuttle was sent across to Enterprise carrying the doctors who were to assess Trip's condition and whether he was suitable for the experimental treatment. Phlox met his Vulcan colleagues and took them to sickbay where Trip was still residing.
"Commander, these are Doctors T'Mila and Sorek," said Phlox.
"Hi," said Trip, slightly self-consciously. "It's nice to meet you."
The doctors appeared to be unzipping his skin with their eyes. He was obviously of great interest to them.
"It is agreeable to meet you also, Commander," said Doctor T'Mila. "I am the head researcher on the project which Doctor Phlox has told you about. We would like your permission to examine you and then we will make an assessment of your condition and suitability for the treatment."
"You've got my permission to poke and prod me to your heart's content," said Trip.
The Vulcans looked puzzled.
"I mean, you can go ahead and examine me," said Trip.
"Thank you, Commander," replied T'Mila. T'Mila spoke in Vulcan to Doctor Sorek and he moved to their equipment to start getting things ready. "Please excuse my use of Vulcan, but many of the medical terms that I am using have no exact translation in English."
"That's okay, I understand that working in another language must make things more difficult," said Trip.
"I have some questions that I need to ask you regarding your health prior to the onset of Clarke's Syndrome." T'Mila got out the Vulcan equivalent of a padd and stylus. "Is it correct that your occupation is Engineer?"
"Yeah, I've been Chief Engineer of Enterprise for the last five years," said Trip.
"Were you generally fit before the onset of symptoms?"
"I caught the odd cold like anyone else. Plus I've had my fair share of injuries."
"Those are detailed in your medical records," replied T'Mila. "How long has it been since the onset of symptoms?"
"About eighteen months," said Trip.
Phlox and T'Mila exchanged a knowing look that Trip didn't like one bit. He suspected that it was because eighteen months was quick progression even for Clarke's Syndrome. His condition appeared to be worsening more quickly in its later stages.
"You had a seizure two days ago. Were you working with anything unusual at the time?"
"No, just climbing out of a Jeffries tube," said Trip.
"Have you suffered any other symptoms that you have not informed your doctor about?"
"No, it's all in my records. I know better than to hide stuff from the guy who's trying to help me." Trip was glad that Phlox refrained from reminding him that this hadn't always been the case.
"Doctor Phlox, I would like to examine the latest scans that you have taken and then we will commence the tests."
"Very well, Doctor T'Mila," said Phlox and bustled away to find the appropriate files.
Doctor Sorek approached Trip. "Doctor T'Mila has asked me to take scans and blood samples that I will then perform various tests upon. I will proceed, with your permission."
"Sure, go ahead," said Trip. He hadn't expected the Vulcans to be thoughtful enough to check that he was happy to have the tests done. T'Mila seemed to have a good bedside manner and, although Sorek was more straight forward, he too was making sure that Trip was comfortable with being tested. Phlox had explained that consent by the patient was of huge importance in Denobulan medical ethics but somehow that fitted with his picture of Denobula. He had never considered that consent might be an important tenet of Vulcan medicine.
Trip lay back and let the Vulcans perform their tests. For the moment this was the most useful thing that he could do.
Archer once again wished that he didn't have to be the bearer of bad news, but someone had to officially inform Trip that his active status had been revoked. It was one of the longest walks to sickbay that Archer had ever made. When he arrived the Vulcans were assessing the results of their tests and there seemed to be considerable activity around the various analysing devices. T'Pol was assisting and caught his eye, giving him a nod of acknowledgement as he entered, before turning back to her work.
"Hey, Captain," greeted Trip.
"Hi there, how are you doing?" Archer approached Trip's biobed.
"A bit tired but I think I'm on the mend," replied Trip.
Archer took a deep breath and looked guiltily at his friend. "Trip…"
"Save your breath, Captain, I already know what you've come to say. I've been recalled."
Once again Trip had spared his Captain from uttering the words that he never wanted to say. Trip was to be taken off Enterprise at the earliest possible opportunity, which was now, since they had rendezvoused with the Vulcan ship.
Archer looked down, unable to meet Trip's eyes. "Depending on the outcome of the Vulcan doctors' assessment, you're either to go with them and receive treatment, or return to Earth and report to Research and Development. Either way you're to leave with the Vulcans when they depart and then they'll get you where you need to go."
"I thought that's what they'd say," said Trip.
"I'm sorry, Trip."
"There's nothing to be sorry about, Captain. We both knew this was going to happen. I just hadn't expected it to be this soon." Trip ran a shaking hand through his hair.
"I thought it would be easier, being forewarned, but it isn't."
"Now don't you get all sentimental on me," replied Trip, holding up a finger to emphasis his point.
Archer shrugged and changed the subject. "How are the Vulcans doing?"
"I don't know. They've been analysing the results of the tests for hours. T'Pol and Phlox have been helping but I'm not sure it's making the process go any faster," said Trip. "I don't think there's a single part of me that they didn't either scan or take a blood sample from. I was beginning to wonder if I'm just a pincushion to them."
"Doctors tend to want to do that sort of thing," said Archer, with a half smile. It was good to know that Trip's sense of humour was still intact.
Doctor Phlox interrupted them. "Doctor T'Mila and Doctor Sorek have finished their analysis of your test results."
The two doctors approached Trip's bed, and he noticed T'Pol standing back a little behind them.
Doctor T'Mila looked at Trip without a trace of emotion on her face. "We have assessed the results of our tests. We have been unable to find a way to adapt the treatment for humans. We will, of course, continue to conduct research in this area but I do not believe this avenue of research will bear fruit within an appropriate time frame."
Doctor Sorek then joined them. "Given your current condition, which has been complicated by your recent seizure, we do not believe that you have the required stamina to undertake treatment unless it can begin immediately."
"So you won't even try?" asked Trip.
"As I said, we will continue our research, but you would not survive beyond the first week of treatment unless the mutagen can be properly adapted to rewrite your genetic code correctly. It requires further research and time that we do not have. I am sorry, Commander."
Archer didn't think he'd ever heard a Vulcan say that she was sorry, but he was grateful for her sop to human customs. He could see disappointment flood through Trip. This had been his last hope, and if it wasn't to be, well, fate could be unkind when she chose to be.
"So, you'll take me back to Earth," said Trip.
"We have arrangements in place," said T'Mila. "We will give you time to ready yourself and leave tomorrow."
Trip nodded, closing his eyes. "Okay."
Archer couldn't shake the feeling that he should have been able to come up with something more to help Trip, but so far he was drawing a blank. All their medical knowledge combined hadn't been enough to help his friend. Andorians didn't suffer from anything similar, Vulcans did but apparently their treatment wasn't far enough along to help, humans refused to do genetic research, Denobulans had genetic research but their genome was too dissimilar from humans, Tellarites refused to allow their medical research to be used by anyone, even their allies, and that left only enemies who had no reason to even talk to the humans.
All they could do was send Trip back to Earth and hope that someone came up with something before it was too late. Archer knew that the odds were against them there.
Archer stood in the launch bay and waited. Beside him stood T'Pol, Lieutenant Reed, Ensign Sato and Ensign Mayweather, all waiting in the launch bay to say their farewells. No one was talking, and the mood was sombre. Phlox would accompany Trip to the Vulcan ship, make sure he was settled in and his notes properly transferred, before he came back to Enterprise. The shuttlepod was prepped and ready to go. All it needed was the passenger.
They heard Trip before they saw him. Phlox had insisted on putting Trip in a wheelchair for his journey down from sickbay to the launch bay. Although Phlox had Trip on anti-seizure medication, there was still the possibility that he could have another attack. Naturally Trip was complaining about this, but the doctor was arguing his case admirably. In any other circumstances, Archer would have smiled, this was so typical for Trip; today, it just reminded him how much he was going to miss his friend.
"I told the Doc that I didn't want any fuss," said Trip as he saw the small group waiting for him.
"We decided to ignore you," said Archer, with a knowing smile.
"We couldn't just let you go without saying goodbye," added Hoshi.
"It would have been illogical to fail to wish you well on your journey," said T'Pol.
Trip looked down at his hands embarrassedly for a moment, unsure how to take this show of solidarity, before raising his head and grinning at the assembled group. "Are you sure that you're not just here to make sure that I leave?"
Reed rolled his eyes, obviously Trip was going to handle this the only way he knew how. "Of course, Commander. I'm making sure that you won't be overloading my phase cannons again."
Trip looked pseudo indignant while the Captain, Hoshi and Mayweather chuckled. T'Pol looked slightly perplexed, but approving.
"Actually we wanted to throw you a farewell party, but the doctor wouldn't let us," said Mayweather.
"For good reason," intoned Phlox.
"Yeah, thanks for that Doc," said Trip.
"I know what you're going to say, but we got you a gift," said Archer.
Trip accepted the rectangular parcel wrapped in dark red paper and rested it on his knees. "Engineering red?" he asked.
"We thought it was appropriate," said Archer.
Trip nodded and tore off the wrapping paper to reveal the matt black box inside. He lifted off the lid to see a piece of jagged, flat, burnished metal, about twenty centimetres long and half that across at its widest point, resting on some plastic packing material.
"Is this what I think it is?" asked Trip, letting his eyes wander across the polished metal.
"It's the piece of the Andorian ship's hull that went through the EPS conduit in the nacelle. We wanted you to remember that you saved our lives that day and on countless other occasions," said Archer.
Trip fingered the edges of the metal and looked at how light moved across its shiny surface. "Thanks, Captain, it's beautiful. It's a great present. I can't believe someone kept the debris."
"I asked them to," said Archer. "I wanted to make sure no one forgot what you did for us."
"I was just doing what any other engineer would have done," said Trip, modestly.
"You've never done just what any other engineer would have done and that's why Enterprise is still flying," replied Archer.
"Can you guys let me have a private word with the Captain?"
"I'll be waiting for you on the 'pod, Commander," said Phlox and disappeared inside, closing the hatch behind him. The others took that as their cue to go as well.
"It's been an honour," said Reed, shaking Trip's hand warmly and giving him a friendly pat on the back.
"You too Malcolm, you too," replied Trip.
Reed smiled warmly, turned and headed quickly out of the launch bay to let the others say their farewells. Hoshi thought that she caught the shine of tears in the Armoury officer's eyes and that was why he had left so rapidly. Reed was a proud man and wouldn't want to be seen crying.
"Your presence in Engineering will be missed," said T'Pol.
"Just in Engineering?" asked Trip.
T'Pol favoured Trip with an almost smile. "I will miss you too."
Trip levered himself out of the wheelchair and hugged T'Pol much to her surprise, but she didn't flinch away, just allowed him to hold her. Trip finally let her go and she backed up enough to let Hoshi step forward.
Hoshi gave Trip a fierce hug, as if she could hold onto him and stop him leaving. "It's not going to be the same around here without you. As soon as we're back at Earth we'll come by for a visit."
"I'll look forward to that," replied Trip.
Mayweather looked a little awkward, but Trip took the initiative and turned the stilted handshake into a hug.
"I'm not expecting any dents in Enterprise's hull next time I see her," said Trip. "Make sure you keep flying her out of trouble."
"You have my word on that, Commander," said Mayweather.
The officers filed out of the launch bay and Trip turned to Archer.
"Captain, we need to talk about a few things," said Trip, sitting back down in the wheelchair heavily and once more looking down at his hands. "My will's in the computer, coded to your voice imprint, and instructions about what I want for my funeral. I'll be working at R&D for as long as I can. After that, I've picked out a nice hospice, close to my folks so they can come and visit, although I'm not sure that they'll want to."
"Of course they'll want to visit, we all will. We don't need to talk about this now," said Archer. He would prefer to discuss the good times, not the logistics of his friend's decline.
Trip met his eyes, finally.
"Captain, I've had this all planned out for a while now, it's nothing new as far as I'm concerned. We knew it was only a matter of time. My parents will want to take care of me, and I can't let that happen. They don't deserve to spend their time caring for their terminally ill son. All I'm asking is that you make it happen. I've given you the power to make medical decisions for me, so you can do everything that you need to. I'll keep seeing Lieutenant Francis when I'm back on Earth."
"Would you stop treating this as if it isn't your death we're talking about, and for god's sake at least admit that it's painful, and horrible, and unfair."
"It's all of those things, but I've been living with this for nearly two years. Who knows how long I've got before all this is gone, I don't have time to grieve for what I can't change. I'm way past that."
"But I need to grieve!" said Archer, vehemently. He could feel tears forming in his eyes despite his best attempts. "You're my best friend and I'm going to miss you like hell."
"More like a hole in the head," replied Trip with a self-deprecating, lopsided smile. His eyes were shining too and Archer knew that Trip might be putting on a good act but he wasn't far away from tears either.
He gave up trying to talk and just enfolded Trip in a rib crushing embrace. "Look after yourself and listen to the doctors." He cried into Trip's shoulder and he felt his friend shudder in his embrace, finally giving in to his own emotions. Archer released his hold a little. "I want letters. You're not getting away without writing."
"I promise I'll let you know how I'm doing," replied Trip, between sniffles. He wiped his eyes on his sleeve. "For as long as I can, anyway."
Trip was escorted to his quarters on the Vulcan ship by a junior Vulcan officer and Doctor Phlox. Phlox looked around the quarters, making sure that Trip would have everything that he'd need.
"You should be quite comfortable here," said Phlox.
Trip got up out of his wheelchair and limped across to the long window that lined one side of the room. He stared out at Enterprise.
"Damn, she's a beautiful ship," said Trip, as he leaned against the window frame. It reminded him of the time he had decided to transfer to Columbia, except then he'd been looking out at Enterprise's twin. He'd been spotting the differences and thinking even then that leaving was probably going to turn out to be a mistake. Now he was looking at the ship he was leaving and about the only place he'd called home for years. All his belongings had been packed up and put in crates to be loaded onto the Vulcan ship.
He knew every corner of Enterprise, her every foible and preference. Lieutenant Commander Hess would do a good job, but it still felt like he was abandoning the crew. The starlight glinted on Enterprise's hull and he glimpsed the scar from the weld they'd had to hastily make to the nacelle after the incident with the Andorians. He'd been meaning to get that finished off properly but hadn't had time to put through the work order. His mind went over his list of ongoing projects and hoped that he'd briefed his staff thoroughly enough. He wished that he could stay with them. He felt like he was at a loose end, not being down in the Engine Room.
He stepped back from the window, and sat down on the bed. "It's going to be strange being a passenger."
"You need the rest, Commander," said Phlox. "I believe the Telkara has an extensive English literature library. You could catch up on your reading. Doctor T'Mila will keep an eye on you while you're on board so I know that I'm leaving you in very good hands. Unfortunately, I must leave you to get settled in, Enterprise is expecting me back shortly."
"Thanks, Doc, for everything. I know I haven't been the best of patients," said Trip.
"There is no need to thank me, Commander. I have come to regard all the senior staff as my friends and I hope that you consider me the same way. Even if you were not a model patient, I will, of course, miss you."
Trip looked a little stunned and then smiled. "Take care, Doc."
Phlox heard the underlying request to take care of everyone on Enterprise, and he would do it to the best of his abilities.
Enterprise received word a few weeks later that Trip had been delivered to Earth safely. It was another couple of weeks before the first communication from Trip arrived on Enterprise. It was addressed to Archer and simply said: "No intergalactic incidents all week. Should I be worried by that? Trip." Archer laughed and then had to show the message to the complete bridge staff to explain his strange behaviour.
Subspace carried letters to and from Trip. Hoshi couldn't remember one person ever being sent so much mail and he wrote back in the same volume. Everyone missed him and it showed in the amount of correspondence that he received. Trip told everyone what he was doing at Research and Development, corresponding about the latest upgrades and advances. The crew told their former Chief Engineer what was happening on Enterprise. It carried on for months at the same pace and then Trip's side of the correspondence became more erratic, before it stopped entirely.
Archer received an urgent subspace call, not from Trip but from his mother. Trip had been admitted to hospital. He had been forgetting to take his medication and then had accidentally overdosed on his pain killers. He had been found by one of his colleagues at Research and Development, unconscious at his desk. It came out later that he had been forgetting to eat as well and generally hadn't been caring for himself properly. It had taken some time to stabilise his condition and rebalance his medication.
Trip's wishes had been very clear. His parents were not to waste their lives caring for their terminally ill son. He had chosen a hospice that specialised in neural diseases but was renowned for its standard of care. He had visited it and vetted the place himself. He knew that he would be giving up some freedoms but he couldn't let his parents burden themselves with his care in the final stages of the disease.
Trip had asked Archer to make sure that it all happened and that was what he was going to do. Despite Mrs Tucker's protestations that Trip could come home, Archer pointed out that Trip needed constant care. He was beginning to see why Trip had asked him to sort this out, his parents never would have been able to let their son be placed in a hospice. Archer himself didn't like the thought of Trip being permanently in an institution, but he'd promised Trip that when the time came he'd follow his wishes. That went for the "do not resuscitate" order that had been placed on his medical file as well.
The doctors told Archer that this was the beginning of the end. He wished that he had evidence to suggest otherwise, but he knew all too well that Trip was now very sick.
He wished that he could turn around and go back to Earth. He was sure that Trip needed every friendly face he could get at the moment. Enterprise was once more exploring in deep space and they certainly didn't intend on returning to Earth for some months. But the Romulans, as always, had their own ideas about Enterprise's plans. Several dog fights with Imperial Romulan war-birds and two new species later, Enterprise was so badly damaged that they had to return home to make repairs. It wasn't how Archer would have wished to go back to Earth, but he'd accept that the bad luck came with an up side.
It was a sunny morning when Archer arrived at the grey, unassuming building. He went through the glass double entrance doors and found a reception desk with a helpful middle aged receptionist. She directed him to the room that he needed and he apprehensively made his way down the corridors. He found that the door to the room he wanted was already open, the occupant hadn't realised that he was there yet so he took a moment to survey the scene.
Trip sat in a wheelchair at a desk, obviously deeply engrossed in whatever it was that he was working on. The room reflected the owner, pads were piled high on surfaces and pieces of technology lay around in various states of repair. On the wall were pictures that Trip had taken and framed engine schematics. The brass diving helmet had even found a home in a corner. If Archer hadn't known better he would have assumed that this was just Trip's quarters, however the medical equipment and hospital issue bed gave away the fact the room was in a hospice. Trip himself was thinner than when Archer had last seen him, muscle wastage was becoming obvious, and there was now a visible tremor in his right hand as well as the left. The fingers of both hands were curled up awkwardly and Trip was obviously having to work hard to maintain a grip on the stylus he was using.
Archer knocked on the wood of the doorway.
"Can I pull you away from your important work for a moment?" he asked grinning.
Trip twisted around in surprise and returned the grin. "Captain! I didn't think that Enterprise was due back for another month." He clumsily activated the wheelchair controls and turned himself around to face his guest. "Grab a chair."
"We were able to cut our last mission short and get back a bit early. We took some damage and really needed the facilities of Jupiter Station. Lieutenant Commander Hess is a good engineer but she isn't you."
Even though Trip was sitting completely still his hands trembled and his thin legs would occasionally twitch. There was also a slight slur to his words that probably would have been unnoticeable to anyone who didn't know him very well.
"Missing me already then?"
"As soon as you set foot on the shuttlepod," replied Archer. "T'Pol, Malcolm and the others are hoping that they can come by at some point as well, but it depends how the repairs are going. In fact it seems that the only person who really isn't needed at the moment is the Captain."
"So how'd you sustain enough damage to need to come home?"
"It's a long story and some of it's classified. Suffice to say that we had some more trouble with our Romulan friends. Anyway, enough of my woes, how are you doing?"
"Well my legs finally gave out last month, as you can see from this torture device they have me in. My coordination is pretty terrible and I haven't really got the hang of moving myself around. My hands are almost useless but I can still press buttons. Plus my memory isn't what it used to be, if you come back tomorrow I might not remember you were here today. Swiss cheese would be a good description of my brain at the moment. I write a lot of stuff down and just have to accept it when things appear on a padd and I don't remember writing them."
"What about the seizures?"
"Mostly under control, but the medication hasn't stopped them completely. I seem to be deteriorating at a fairly constant rate, like Phlox said I would."
"So you're still working?"
"When I can. I get tired quickly and it's really frustrating when I can't remember something. Every so often I send a batch of stuff to R and D and they put it to good use. Occasionally they let me know that I've duplicated my work and then I try something else. So far I can still remember enough to be helpful and it keeps me occupied. Even if I can't recall the correct terms for everything."
"What about this place? It seems okay," said Archer.
"Well the food isn't bad and the staff are pretty nice. They mostly leave me to my own devices except at feeding time. The doctor comes round every day to check on me and one of the nurses gives me my meds. Most days I can't remember if I've taken them or not, so that's one responsibility I had to give up. If I do need someone then there are call buttons and vid cameras monitoring the room. It's a bit of an invasion of privacy but it's sort of a necessary evil, they don't want their patients passing out on the floor without being able to summon help."
"I'm glad you're being well looked after," said Archer.
"There are a couple of other patients with CS here so they know what they're dealing with. I don't feel like they're treating me like a child or crowding me with help I don't need. You don't want to hear about my dull life though, I bet you've got far more interesting stuff to tell me."
They spent the rest of the visit discussing the mission that Enterprise had just returned from, the bits Archer could talk about anyway, gossiping about the crew and reminiscing. If it wasn't for the setting then it would have been just like old times and a couple of hours passed without them noticing.
"Trip, I'm sorry to interrupt," said a nurse standing at the door. Archer noticed that she used Trip's nickname to address him. "You're scheduled for physiotherapy now."
Trip groaned. "It's not like it does any good anyway, except I suppose it stops me seizing up completely."
"I'd better go," said Archer, getting up from his seat. "I hadn't meant to stay so long."
"It sure was good to see you, Captain. Do you think you'll be able to squeeze in another visit before you leave?"
"Like I was saying, the Captain seems to be surplus to requirements at the moment. I've got a hotel room a couple of blocks over. I was hoping I could come by tomorrow and they might let you out of here in my care?"
The nurse smiled. "I'm sure that could be arranged."
"I'd enjoy that," said Trip. "I haven't been anywhere outside the grounds for months."
"That's settled then, I'll be back tomorrow," said Archer. He made his farewells and left Trip in the care of the nurse.
Archer returned the next day to find Trip at his desk again.
"Morning Commander, how would you like to get out of this place for a couple of hours?"
"Captain!" said Trip, in surprise. "I didn't think Enterprise was due back for another month."
Archer tried his best to hide the pained reaction that Trip's greeting had produced, but he must have failed because a look of realisation and resignation had appeared on Trip's face.
"You've already been to visit, haven't you?" asked Trip.
Archer nodded. "Yes, I was here yesterday. We arranged to go out."
"I'm sorry Captain, it's this damn Swiss cheese effect that the CS has on my brain. I never know what I'm going to remember, but I guess I already told you that yesterday."
"You don't need to apologise. It's not your fault that you don't remember. I'm planning on being around for the next couple of weeks while Enterprise is being repaired, we've got plenty of time to talk. I took a hotel room in town."
"Great, because you're going to be telling me everything that you told me yesterday again. So do you want to spring me from this place before I forget you're here?" Trip grinned, once more making light of his condition. Archer wasn't exactly sure how he could do it, but it did brighten the atmosphere and he couldn't help but grin back.
Their first outing into town went quite well. Archer pushed Trip's wheelchair around one of the shopping malls, taking his friend to all the technology and electronics shops that Trip seemed endlessly fascinated by. However, Archer hadn't been prepared for how easily Trip became tired or the level of pain that he was in. He constantly wore a small disc on his upper arm that dispensed pain medication and had to be replaced at hourly intervals. If Trip was in Archer's care then he was in charge of ensuring that the disc was replaced and the nurse instructed him carefully before they would let him take Trip anywhere outside the grounds of the hospice.
Archer ended up visiting Trip every day for the next three weeks while Enterprise was in dock. Usually he just took Trip out for a walk, but occasionally he bundled Trip into the hover car and they went for a longer excursion. Some days Trip wasn't up to getting out of bed, but then Archer just pulled up a chair and they chatted for as long as Trip could stay awake. He did have to repeat news a lot but some of it stuck and Trip didn't always forget that he'd been to visit the previous day. More disturbing was Trip's continuing forgetfulness when it came to common words, but Archer got good at inferring his meaning from his descriptions. Very occasionally Trip's awareness would wander and Archer would have to pull him back from wherever he was.
T'Pol and Reed both found the time to visit between repairs and their own leave. T'Pol was planning to return to Vulcan, so only had a limited amount of time on Earth. Her single visit was lengthy but Archer got the impression that she wasn't sure how to react to Trip's developing disabilities. Of all of them, T'Pol had the most difficulty dealing with the mental aspects of Trip's condition.
Reed spent a couple of days with Trip and Archer before leaving for Malaysia to visit his family. Reed and Trip bantered as if nothing was wrong, although Trip was a beat slower with his comebacks than he had been six months ago. Trip even bounced ideas off Reed for shield improvements and it was like listening to a staff meeting back on Enterprise. Archer kept expecting Trip to complain that the Armoury officer was drawing too much power for his weapons. He became depressed by the thought that Trip wouldn't be making that complaint ever again.
Enterprise's repairs seemed to be completed far too soon. Archer came to visit Trip one last time before he left for San Francisco and the Jupiter Station shuttle.
"You know you didn't have to spend all your leave visiting me," said Trip.
"How do you know that I did?" asked Archer.
"I keep a personal log and I played back all the entries for the last three weeks. You've been to see me every day. Plus pictures of you keep mysteriously appearing on my camera and even I can't take that many pictures in a few days. I may be a bit forgetful but I know you pretty well, and spending all your vacation time with me is the kind of thing you'd do."
"I wouldn't want to spend my vacation any other way," said Archer. "We had a great time together, even if you can't remember it all."
"I remember a lot of it," said Trip. "You could have been visiting your mother."
"My mother will understand." Archer rose from his seat to go. "Take care of yourself, Trip. As soon as Enterprise is back home again I'll drop by."
"Yeah, I'll look forward to that. Tell Hess to take good care of my engine."
Archer left the hospice wishing that he could have found the right words to tell Trip just how much he meant to him. Trip's CS was progressing quickly now and they were both aware that his condition could well go downhill sufficiently that he wouldn't be able to recognise his former Captain when Enterprise returned to Earth again. Neither of them would have said it, but they knew that this could be their last real goodbye.